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System and method for measuring a golfer's ball striking parameters

System and method for measuring a golfer's ball striking parameters description/claims

The Present Application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/843048, filed on May 10, 2004, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/498,469 filed on Aug. 27, 2003, now abandoned.

Not Applicable

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and method for measuring a golfer's swing parameters during a golf swing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for measuring club head information and golf ball information before and after impact of the golf club with the golf ball.

2. Description of the Related Art

For over twenty-five years, high speed camera technology has been used for gathering information on a golfer's swing. The information has varied from simple club head speed to the spin of the golf ball after impact with a certain golf club. Over the years, this information has fostered numerous improvements in golf clubs and golf balls, and assisted golfers in choosing golf clubs and golf balls that improve their game. Additionally, systems incorporating such high speed camera technology have been used in teaching golfers how to improve their swing when using a given golf club.

An example of such a system is U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,259 to Lynch et al., for a Method Of Matching Golfer With Golf Ball, Golf Club, Or Style Of Play, which was filed in 1975. Lynch discloses a system that provides golf ball launch measurements through use of a shuttered camera that is activated when a club head breaks a beam of light that activates the flashing of a light source to provide stop action of the club head and golf ball on a camera film. The golf ball launch measurements retrieved by the Lynch system include initial velocity, initial spin velocity and launch angle.

Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,387 to Sullivan, et al., for a Golf Club Impact And Golf Ball Launching Monitoring System, which was filed in 1977. Sullivan discloses a system that not only provides golf ball launch measurements, it also provides measurements on the golf club.

Yet another example is a family of patent to Gobush et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,471,383 filed on Sep. 30, 1994; 5,501,463 filed on Feb. 24, 1994; 5,575,719 filed on Aug. 1, 1995; and 5,803,823 filed on Nov. 18, 1996. This family of patents discloses a system that has two cameras angled toward each other, a golf ball with reflective markers, a golf club with reflective markers thereon and a computer. The system allows for measurement of the golf club or golf ball separately, based on the plotting of points.

Yet another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,483 for a Method Of Measuring Motion Of A Golf Ball. The patent discloses a system that uses three cameras, an optical sensor means, and strobes to obtain golf club and golf ball information.

Many current ball launch monitors utilize CCD (charge coupled device) cameras to obtain images to analyze a golfer's swing parameters. A CCD camera is limited to a set field of view, and also has limitations as to the number of images that can be obtained within a second.

The present invention provides a method and system for capturing and analyzing golf club information and golf ball information during and after a golfer's swing is disclosed herein. The golf club information includes golf club head orientation, golf club head velocity, and golf club spin. The golf club head orientation includes dynamic lie, loft and face angle of the golf club head. The golf club head velocity includes path of the golf club head and attack of the golf club head. The golf ball information includes golf ball velocity, golf ball launch angle, golf ball side angle, golf ball speed and golf ball orientation. The golf ball orientation includes the true spin of the golf ball, and the tilt axis of the golf ball which entails the back spin and the side spin of the golf ball.

One aspect of the present invention is a system for simultaneously measuring the golf club properties and the golf ball properties during a golfer's striking of a golf ball. The system includes a pair of CMOS cameras, a golf club, a golf ball, a calculating means and an analysis means. The first and second CMOS cameras each have a lens focused toward a predetermined field of view. The golf club has at least one light contrasting area, and preferably three light contrasting areas. The golf ball is within the predetermined field of view. The analysis means determines the golf club swing properties and golf ball launch properties based on an images generated by the first and second CMOS cameras.

Having briefly described the present invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

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