U.S. patent application number 11/458063 was filed with the patent office on 2007-01-18 for device for measuring the striking force and reaction time of martial artists.
This patent application is currently assigned to University of Victoria Innovation and Development Corporation. Invention is credited to Albert Raymond Penner, Peter A. Walsh, William George Weller.
Application Number | 20070015637 11/458063 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37662308 |
Filed Date | 2007-01-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070015637 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Penner; Albert Raymond ; et
al. |
January 18, 2007 |
DEVICE FOR MEASURING THE STRIKING FORCE AND REACTION TIME OF
MARTIAL ARTISTS
Abstract
A training device for measuring the impact of an athlete on the
training device is provided. The training device comprises a
striker module, a display module and a communication system. The
striker module comprises a front, a back, and a detector. The front
comprises a flexible material, and is connected to the back to
define a space. The detector comprises at least two components, one
mounted on the front and the other on the back, such that upon
flexing of the front, the components approach one another. The
communication system sends information from the detector to the
display module. A method of assessing an athlete's impact is also
provided.
Inventors: |
Penner; Albert Raymond;
(Nanaimo, CA) ; Weller; William George; (Nanaimo,
CA) ; Walsh; Peter A.; (Victoria, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DARBY & DARBY P.C.
P. O. BOX 5257
NEW YORK
NY
10150-5257
US
|
Assignee: |
University of Victoria Innovation
and Development Corporation
Victoria
CA
|
Family ID: |
37662308 |
Appl. No.: |
11/458063 |
Filed: |
July 17, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60700419 |
Jul 18, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/84 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 69/32 20130101;
A63B 69/0053 20130101; A63B 2220/53 20130101; A63B 2225/50
20130101; A63B 69/20 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/084 |
International
Class: |
A63B 69/32 20060101
A63B069/32; A63B 69/34 20060101 A63B069/34 |
Claims
1. A training device for measuring the impact of an athlete on the
training device, said training device comprising: a striker module
comprising a front, a back, and a detector, said front comprising a
flexible material, said front connected to said back to define a
space, said detector comprising at least two components, one
mounted on said front and the other on said back, such that upon
flexing of the front, the components approach one another; a
display module; and a communication system whereby information is
sent from the detector to the display module.
2. The training device of claim 1 wherein said detector comprises a
magnet and a wire coil.
3. The training device of claim 2, wherein said front comprises a
contact surface and an inner surface, and said contact surface
further comprises a resilient layer.
4. The training device of claim 3 wherein said resilient layer is a
high density foam layer.
5. The training device of claim 3 wherein said striker module
further comprises at least one set of spacers between said front
and said back to define a space.
6. The training device of claim 5 wherein there is one set of
spacers.
7. The training device of claim 2 wherein said communication system
is a wireless communication system.
8. The training device of claim 2 wherein said communication system
is via an electrical connection.
9. The training device of claim 2 wherein said front and said back
are wooden boards.
10. The training device of claim 2 wherein said display module
further comprises a microcontroller.
11. The training device of claim 2 further comprising a start
signal.
12. The training device of claim 11 further comprising a warning
signal.
13. The training device of claim 12 wherein said start signal and
said warning signals are lights.
14. The training device of claim 12 wherein said start signal and
said warning signal are auditory signals.
15. A method of assessing an athlete's impact, said method
comprising impacting a front of a striker module, flexing said
front towards a back of said striker module, urging components of a
detector towards one another, inducing a voltage through said
detector, and displaying an output.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein said voltage is
electromagnetically induced.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising processing said
output to display relative number of boards broken.
18. The method of claim 15 further comprising signaling a start
time and a processing said output to display a reaction time.
19. The method of claim 18 further comprising a warning signal
prior to signaling a start time.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein said warning signal and said
start time signal are visual.
21. The method of claim 19 wherein said warning signal and said
start time signal are auditory.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/700,419, filed Jul. 18, 2005, which
provisional application is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The invention relates to an apparatus for assessing both the
striking force and the reaction time of martial artists.
Specifically, the invention is based on a makawari that provides
feedback to enable a martial artist to improve their striking
technique.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] Devices for measuring the force of the impact are well known
in the art. Such devices include athletic training apparatus that
are designed to be struck by an athlete's hands or feet. These
athletic training devices are typically adapted to provide the user
with an indication of the impact force of his or her punches and
kicks thereby providing the athlete with feedback on his or her
performance. Accordingly, the feedback enables the user to improve
his or her technique and performance.
[0006] Several devices that indicate the force of a strike or the
reaction time of a martial artist have been patented. Differences
between these devices relate to the structure of the striker
module, the sensor(s) used to determine the magnitude of the
impact, and the method of displaying this magnitude. For example,
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,224 (Impact apparatus, Jul. 25, 1989) and U.S.
Pat. No. 4,084,811 (Hitting device for martial arts, Apr. 18, 1978)
have air chambers located inside a striker module. When the striker
module is struck air is expelled to an indicating apparatus, which
provides a measure of the impact force. These devices are highly
inaccurate and do not provide any measurement of reaction time.
[0007] In an attempt to improve upon the technology, U.S. Pat. No.
5,741,970 (Impact measuring apparatus, Apr. 21, 1998), U.S. Pat.
No. 4,941,660 (Impact and speed measuring system, Jul. 17, 1990),
and U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,315 (Device for self-defense training, May
9, 1998) use pressure transducers embedded within a striker module.
A similar approach was taken in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,107 (Sports
scoring device including a piezoelectric transducer) and U.S. Pat.
No. 4,883,271 (Sports impact measuring device, Nov. 28, 1989)
wherein piezoelectric films are mounted on a striker module. Yet
another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,833
(Electronic martial arts training device, Dec. 4, 1990) wherein
vibrations induced in a speaker-like cone during impact are used to
generate a signal indicative of the force of the blow.
Unfortunately, the output of all these devices is very sensitive to
the location of the strike, and accordingly only provide a rough
estimate of the impact force.
[0008] To overcome the foregoing deficiencies, U.S. Pat. No.
4,565,366 (Martial arts practice device, Jan. 21, 1986) uses a
series of electrical switches which operate to register the force
of the blows delivered to the striker module while U.S. Patent
20030060340 (Impact dynamometer for martial arts and sports
training, Mar. 27, 2003) uses a Tachometer sensor comprising a
magnet and a Hall effect sensor to determine the velocity of a
struck striker module. Although these particular devices measure
the motion of the striker module and are therefore less sensitive
to impact position they are too elaborate to be commercially
viable.
[0009] There is a need for a commercially viable device that will
allow martial artists to accurately assess the force of their
strikes as well as their reaction times. It is an object of the
invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] A training device called a powerboard is provided that is
based on the traditional makawari (striking board) that is used in
the martial arts. The sensor is simple, durable, and inexpensive to
manufacture. The powerboard is a training device for martial
artists that enable them to determine the force of their strikes
(in terms of board breaking ability) and their reaction time.
[0011] In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a
training device for measuring the impact of an athlete on the
training device is provided. The training device comprises a
striker module, a display module and a communication system. The
striker module comprises a front, a back, and a detector. The front
comprises a flexible material, and is connected to the back to
define a space. The detector comprises at least two components, one
mounted on the front and the other on the back, such that upon
flexing of the front, the components approach one another. The
communication system sends information from the detector to the
display module.
[0012] In one aspect of the invention the detector comprises a
magnet and a wire coil.
[0013] In another aspect of the invention, the front comprises a
contact surface and an inner surface, and the contact surface
further comprises a resilient layer.
[0014] In another aspect of the invention, the resilient layer is a
high density foam layer.
[0015] In another aspect of the invention, the striker module
further comprises at least one set of spacers between the front and
the back to define a space.
[0016] In another aspect of the invention, there is one set of
spacers.
[0017] In another aspect of the invention, the communication system
is a wireless communication system.
[0018] In another aspect of the invention, the communication system
is via an electrical connection.
[0019] In another aspect of the invention, the front and the back
are wooden boards.
[0020] In another aspect of the invention, the display module
further comprises a microcontroller.
[0021] In another aspect of the invention, the training device
further comprises a start signal.
[0022] In another aspect of the invention, the training device
further comprises a warning signal.
[0023] In another aspect of the invention, the start signal and the
warning signal are lights.
[0024] In another aspect of the invention, the start signal and the
warning signal are auditory signals.
[0025] A method of assessing an athlete's impact is also provided.
The method comprises impacting a front of a striker module, flexing
the front towards a back of the striker module, urging components
of a detector towards one another, inducing a voltage through the
detector, and displaying an output.
[0026] In one aspect of the method of the invention, the voltage is
electromagnetically induced.
[0027] In another aspect of the invention, the method further
comprises processing the output to display relative number of
boards broken.
[0028] In another aspect of the invention, the method further
comprises signaling a start time and a processing the output to
display a reaction time.
[0029] In another aspect of the invention, the method further
comprises a warning signal prior to signaling a start time.
[0030] In another aspect of the method of the invention, the
warning signal and the start time signal are visual.
[0031] In another aspect of the method of the invention, the
warning signal and the start time signal are auditory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] FIG. 1 is a front view of a training device in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a side view of the training device of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0034] A powerboard, generally referred to as 10, as shown in FIG.
1, is based on the traditional makawari (striking board) that is
used in the martial arts. The powerboard 10 is a training device
for martial artists that enable them to determine the force of
their strikes (in terms of board breaking ability) and their
reaction time. The powerboard 10 has a striker module 12 and a
plug-in electronic display module 14. A high-density foam pad 16 is
affixed to a front board 18 at a contact surface 20. The front
board 18 is in turn joined at an inner surface 22, which opposes
the contact surface 20, via spacers 24, to a back board 26, to
define a space 27. The back board 26 is for attachment to a wall or
beam. A magnet 28 is attached to the inner surface 22 of the front
board 18 and a wire coil 30 is fastened opposing the magnet 28 to a
detection face 32 of the back board 26. The magnet 28 and the wire
coil 30 together form a detector 31. An electrical connection 34
from the wire coil 30 connects to the electronic display module 14,
which includes a microcontroller 36, a display screen 38, a first
light 40 and a second light 42.
[0035] When the high density foam pad 16 is struck, the front board
18 flexes towards the back board 26. As the front board 18 flexes
towards the back board 26 a voltage is generated in the coil 30 by
the magnet 28 via electromagnetic induction. The magnitude of the
voltage increases with the speed at which the magnet 28 moves back
towards the coil 30. The voltage is therefore indicative of the
force with which the pad 16 was struck.
[0036] The module 14 has two basic modes of operation, a power mode
and a reaction mode. When the module 14 is in power mode the
voltage is converted to a number that correlates to the number of
standard martial arts boards that would have been broken. The
number is displayed on a display screen 38. When the module 14 is
in reaction mode a first light 40 comes on to warn the user to
prepare. Then a second light 42 will come on at random time later
(between 1 to 5 seconds after the 1.sup.st light) which triggers
the user to strike the high density foam pad 16. The time of impact
with the striker module 12 is found by determining when the
generated voltage exceeds a set threshold. The time between the
second light 42 coming on and impact with the striker module 12 is
measured by the microcontroller 36 and the result is shown on the
display screen 38.
[0037] In addition to these basic modes the powerboard 10 may also
have several challenge modes. For example, one mode will display a
power level that the user will then try to generate. If the user
strikes the striker module within a predetermined range of the
indicated level the attempt will be considered successful and a new
level will be displayed. Another challenge mode will be similar to
the reaction mode except that the user must strike the striker
module within a predetermined reaction time for the attempt to be
considered successful. The unit will keep track and display the
success rate of the user.
[0038] The foregoing is a description of an embodiment of the
invention. As would be known to one skilled in the art, variations
that do not alter the scope of the invention are contemplated. For
example, the front board may be comprised of wood or any other
flexible material or composites that permit quantification of the
force of an impact. Similarly, the high density foam can be
replaced with another material or composite that is selected to
prevent injury to the athlete, but which permits quantification of
the force of impact. The number of spacers can be variable, as can
their placement. Further, the spacers may be integral with the
front board, the back board or both. Another modification is that
the electrical connection may be removed and replaced with a
wireless communication system.
* * * * *