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Smart communicating sports equipmentRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Golf, Accesory Device Located On Projectile Addressing Surface (e.g., Tee Block, Direction Indicator, Etc.)Smart communicating sports equipment description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060148594, Smart communicating sports equipment. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The sport equipment market continues to expand. Over the past several years, equipment has been developed to analyze the performance of a user with sports equipment. Some of this equipment includes golf devices to measure the speed of a golf swing, as well as the launch angle, backspin, and sidespin of a golf ball. Other sports equipment has been developed to measure the speed of baseball bats, baseball pitches, as well as equipment to determine the location of a ball within an strike zone or near a foul line. This equipment is typically located in close proximity to the user while they are participating or practicing in their sport. For example, a person measuring the speed of their golf swing may please the measuring device within a short distance from their swing plane. Once the person has swung the club, the device outputs the swing speed. This equipment, however, may be very costly and/or cumbersome to use. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0002] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method for interfacing mobile communication devices with sports equipment. [0003] According to one aspect of the invention, the sports equipment has at least one embedded sensor that may wirelessly transmit data. The sensor may be a variety of different sensors, including, but not limited to: 3D acceleration sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors; humidity sensors; wind speed sensors; pressure sensors; and the like. [0004] According to another aspect of the invention, data that relates to the sensor measurements are transmitted wirelessly from the sports equipment to another device, such as a mobile device, that may analyze the data and display the data to the user. The data may also be transmitted through one or more networks to the user and/or other computing devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an exemplary computing devices that may be used in exemplary embodiments of the present invention; [0006] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram generally illustrating a smart communicating sports equipment system; [0007] FIG. 4 illustrates a system diagram of a smart communicating golf club; [0008] FIG. 5 shows a system diagram of a smart communicating sports ball; [0009] FIG. 6 illustrates a system diagram of a smart communicating tee base; [0010] FIG. 7 illustrates a system diagram of a base station; and [0011] FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary mobile device screen shots relating to sensor data received from smart communicating sports equipment; in accordance with aspects of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0012] Generally, the present invention relates to a system and method for interfacing mobile communication devices with sports equipment that includes at least one embedded sensor(s). Sensor data from the smart communicating sports equipment are transmitted wirelessly to a device for further analysis and display. Instead of having to estimate sensor data associated with a piece of equipment, actual sensor data is sent from the piece of equipment to another device, such as a mobile device. Many different types of information may be sensed. For example, 3D-acceleration information, pressure level on a hand grip, bat speed, and the like may be calculated by the embedded sensors. [0013] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram generally illustrating a smart communicating sports equipment system 300, in accordance with aspects of the invention. Computing device 330 is a computing device such as the one described in conjunction with FIG. 1 and mobile device 320 is a mobile computing device such as the one described in conjunction with FIG. 2. [0014] Typically a user will perform analysis of the sensor data received from the sports equipment using a sports application, such as sports application 322 and sports application 332. The sports applications are configured to receive sensor data either through a base station (308, 310), through a network coupled to the sports equipment, or directly from the sporting equipment. Application 332 may be configured to communicate with other applications, such as application 322 on mobile device 320. Once the data is received from the smart communicating sports equipment the user may interact with the data on their device using the sports application. Using a mobile device, the user may interact with the data in almost any location. For example, the user may interact with the golf club sensor data while practicing on the golf course. [0015] Many different types of sports equipment may be interfaced to mobile device 320 and computing device 330. For explanatory purposes, only a few explicit types of sports equipment has been illustrated within FIG. 3. Club 312, ball 314, and tee base 315 are coupled to mobile computing device 320 through base station 308. Equipment 1-N (316-318) are coupled to computing device 330 through base station 308. The sports equipment may also be coupled to other devices (mobile or fixed) through a network connection. Each piece of sports equipment includes a node that includes one or more embedded sensors. At least one of the embedded sensors is configured to wirelessly transmit sensor data. According to one embodiment, each embedded sensor is coupled wirelessly and each node includes the capability to directly communicate wirelessly with other nodes as well as conform to certain network protocols. According to one embodiment, nodes from Crossbow Technology, Inc. are embedded within the smart communicating sports equipment. According to one embodiment, the sensor data produced by the sports equipment is received by a base station and then provided to the device. [0016] Generally a node can sense, perform limited computations and wirelessly communicate with other nodes or devices. A node typically includes a microprocessor, a sensor, such as a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor, and a radio (transceiver) controlled by a small operating system. The microprocessor processes the sensor data, the MEMS sensor(s) provide an array of sensor inputs, and the radio enables the node to wirelessly transmit their sensor readings throughout the network. [0017] A node is typically powered by a small battery, such as a 3V battery. Typically, the node may be powered for around six months to a year using a battery. Some nodes may last much longer using a battery. Some nodes are being developed that run on solar power, or that get power from an outside source. To conserve power, the node may be put to sleep and only wake up when a sensor reading is needed. [0018] According to one embodiment, each node includes an operating system ("TinyOS") which is an open-source operating system designed for wireless embedded sensor networks. TinyOS includes a scheduler, a database, a wireless radio stack, mesh networking software, power management, and encryption technology. TinyOS's component library includes network protocols, distributed services, sensor drivers, and data acquisition tools. TinyOS is an event-driven execution model which enables fine-grained power management yet allows the scheduling flexibility made necessary by the unpredictable nature of wireless communication and physical world interfaces. [0019] Cellular/pager network 850 is a network responsible for delivering messages to and receiving messages from wireless devices. The cellular/pager network 850 may include both wireless and wired components. For example, cellular/pager network may include a cellular tower that is linked to a wired telephone network. Typically, the cellular tower carries communication to and from cell phones, long-distance communication links, and the like. The wireless devices can also connect directly to WAN's, LANs, etc, using hardware such as Wi-Fi cards that are becoming increasingly available for mobile devices. [0020] Gateway 360 routes messages between cellular/pager network 850 and WAN/LAN 840. For example, a computer user may send a message that is addressed to a cellular phone. Gateway 360 provides a means for transporting the message from the WAN/LAN 340 to cellular/pager network 350. Conversely, a user with a device connected to a cellular network may be browsing the Web. Gateway 360 allows hyperlink text protocol (HTTP) messages to be transferred between WAN/LAN 340 and cellular/pager network 350. Continue reading about Smart communicating sports equipment... Full patent description for Smart communicating sports equipment Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Smart communicating sports equipment patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Smart communicating sports equipment or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Golf balls marked with biblical scripture Next Patent Application: Portable telescopic flag distance marker with card holder Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Smart communicating sports equipment patent info. 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