U.S. patent application number 12/661010 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-16 for speed indicating apparatus.
Invention is credited to Sol Wroclawsky.
Application Number | 20100233664 12/661010 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42731015 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100233664 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wroclawsky; Sol |
September 16, 2010 |
Speed indicating apparatus
Abstract
A speed indicating system useful in training an athlete includes
a spool on which a tether line is wound with the free end thereof
then secured to the body of the athlete, any selected one of the
athlete's limbs, or any object swung, kicked or thrown by the
athlete. The spool includes one or more permanent magnet pieces
mounted on its periphery in an alignment adjacent an inductive
pickup coil which then communicates the current level induced to a
meter indicating the tether line deployment rate. The reverse
electromotive force resulting from the inductive coupling is then
useful to reduce the inertially driven tether line deployment.
Inventors: |
Wroclawsky; Sol; (Long
Beach, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
I. Michael Bak-Boychuk;Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 32501
Long Beach
CA
90832
US
|
Family ID: |
42731015 |
Appl. No.: |
12/661010 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61202528 |
Mar 10, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
434/247 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 21/4009 20151001;
A63B 2244/20 20130101; A63B 24/00 20130101; A63B 21/055 20130101;
A63B 2220/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
434/247 |
International
Class: |
A63B 69/00 20060101
A63B069/00 |
Claims
1. Apparatus for measuring the movement rates of an athlete,
comprising in combination: a support assembly conformed for a
restrained positioning upon a ground surface; a spool mounted for
rotation on said support assembly including a flexible tether wound
thereon conformed for attachment of the free end thereof to said
athlete; magnetized means attached to said spool for movement
according to the rotation thereof; sensing means mounted on said
support assembly for deploying an inductive coil adjacent the
movement of said magnetized means for producing an induced current
indicative of said movement, whereby said induced current in said
induction coil imposes an reverse electromotive force on said
magnetized means; and measurement means connected to receive said
induced current for providing an indication of the magnitude
thereof.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said support assembly
includes a base frame selectively securable to said ground
surface.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: said support assembly
further includes a cage supporting said spool pivotally mounted on
said base frame.
4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: said cage includes a
guide aperture for receiving in translation said flexible tether
and is pivotally mounted on said base frame at a pivot axis
generally orthogonal thereto.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: said flexible tether
comprises webbing.
6. A speed indicating system useful in training athletes,
comprising in combination: a generally planar supporting base
conformed for positioning upon a ground surface including a
generally vertical pivot shaft; a spool assembly mounted for
rotation about said pivot shaft including a rotary spool carried
thereon and having flexible webbing wound thereon; magnetized means
attached to said spool for movement with the rotation thereof; and
sensing means mounted on said support assembly for deploying an
inductive coil adjacent the movement of said magnetized means for
producing an induced current indicative of said movement, whereby
said induced current in said induction coil imposes an reverse
electromotive force on said magnetized means.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a meter
connected to receive said induced current for providing a visual
indication of the magnitude thereof.
8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: said support assembly
includes a base frame selectively securable to said ground
surface.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: said spool assembly
includes a guide aperture for receiving in translation said
flexible tether webbing.
10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein: said magnetized means
includes a plurality of permanent magnets.
11. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: the rotary axis of
said spool is generally orthogonal to said pivot shaft.
12. Apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a meter
connected to receive said induced current for providing a visual
indication of the magnitude thereof.
13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein: said support assembly
includes a base frame selectively securable to said ground
surface.
14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: said spool assembly
includes a guide aperture for receiving in translation said
flexible tether webbing.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application obtains the benefit of the earlier filing
date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/202,528 filed on
Mar. 10, 2009.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention:
[0003] The present invention relates to apparatus for sensing the
movement of the the whole or portions of the body of an athlete, or
any sports object moved thereby, and more particularly to a
measurement system in which the rate of deployment of a flexible
tether line from a rotary spool provides an observable measurement
useful in training.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art:
[0005] The course of training an athlete often entails many
measurements that are taken either for positive reinforcement of
desired body movement or as an indication of improper habits. In
each instance it is not the absolute value of the measurement but
its trend over time that provides the significant information to
the trainer and for these reasons simple and therefore reliable
mechanisms are preferred over the more elaborate ones. These same
measurements may be also associated with various mechanisms that
impose a load or resistance on the athlete such as those described
in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,197,931 and 6,652,427 issued
respectively on Mar. 30, 1993 and Nov. 25, 2003.
[0006] Along with my foregoing training resistance mechanisms
various other tethering implementations have been devised in the
past which, in one way or another, either pull the tethered athlete
to higher effort levels, or resist his or her movement, as a part
of the training. Examples of such prior art teachings can be found
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,324 to Dolan, 5,427,394 to Michaelson,
6,053,850 to Martinez et al., 6,123,649 to Lee et al., 6,149,559 to
Mackey, and many others. In each instance the tension levels in the
foregoing tethering mechanisms serve as the resistive force
opposing the movement of selected parts of the athlete's
musculature and these relatively high tension levels keep the
tether line taut.
[0007] Those skilled in the art, however, have noted that the
development of a particular muscular group alone does not
necessarily result in a superlative performance of a particular
athletic endeavor. Thus, for example, the development of leg
musculature does not necessarily result in the lowest time sprints
since the coordinated movement of the whole body is entailed. The
training regimen, therefore, needs to replicate more closely the
whole of the particular athletic endeavor such as the starting
lunge in a sprint, the swing of a bat, and the like. The repetitive
training of these more complex movement sequences, however, entail
much closer attention to the whole body movement that resolves
itself in acceleration and velocity profiles, and it is the
immediate feedback of this information, rather than any force or
tension feedback, that best serves the training of this more
complex whole body endeavor.
[0008] Heretofore the complex mass distribution, inertia,
elasticity and aerodynamic components of a tether line have limited
its use to what are essentially these highly stressed, steady state
applications. Simply, the dynamic response of a free tether line
rarely matches the accelerations and decelerations of a complex
body movement, leaving whole lengths of the tether as freely
undulating loops that either interfered with the athlete's motions
or even confuse them.
[0009] Thus the use of tethers has been deferred to uses that
create resistance to a confined movement as clearly illustrated by
the rich variety of this theme in the prior art and even though the
manifest simplicity of a tether line offers highly desirable
benefits as a measurement mechanism the associated burden of loose
lengths of string flying around has discouraged all efforts at
combining the tether with signal producing mechanisms Thus
measurement systems utilizing a tether haves had little development
in the past even while being particularly useful in applications
where continuous, or analog, measurements of whole body motion are
needed. It is therefore the novel adaptation of the tether line
into a continuous measurement system that I now describe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the
present invention to conform the deployment of a tether line from a
spool as a measurement mechanism wherein the measurement of its
rate of deployment also serves as a negative feedback to dissipate
the momentum stored.
[0011] Other objects of the invention are to provide a measurement
system in which the signal indicating a rate of change acts also to
attenuate the inertia induced deployment of the measuring
mechanism, thereby rendering it less obtrusive.
[0012] Yet additional and further objects of the invention shall
become apparent upon the inspection of the description that now
follows, in conjunction with the accompanying illustrations.
[0013] Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the
present invention by mounting on a base a freely rotating spool on
which a length of tether string or webbing is wound with the base
then positioned and secured adjacent the starting place of the
athletic endeavor. Once thus aligned, the free end of the tether
webbing is attached to the body or limb of the athlete whose
movement is to be measured, or alternatively to the sports device
like a bat, racquet, ball or golf club held, kicked or thrown, to
be unwound from the spool by the lunge, jump or swing by increments
and rates that correspond to the motion.
[0014] One or more magnetized pieces fixed to the periphery of one
of the two coaxial end discs, or wheels, defining the spool are
then advanced across a set of pickup coils at a rate corresponding
to the deployment of the tether webbing, generating an electrical
current sensed by a meter containing a galvanometer movement with
the meter deflection then corresponding to the rate of tether
deployment. In this manner a measurement indication is obtained
that corresponds directly to the rotation rate of the spool which,
in turn, corresponds to the movement rate of the body, limb, sports
device or ball that is tied to the free tether end, providing the
athlete a visual feedback.
[0015] Of course, the same current that is induced in the pickup
coil to drive the meter also generates a correspondingly opposing
electromotive force (back EMF) against the rotation of the wheel,
thus opposing any further unwanted deployment of the tether
resulting from the stored spool rotary momentum to reduce the
incidence of the unwanted loose ribbon coils. The inventive
measurement system thus elegantly dissipates these inertial effects
within the measurement process itself to provide a more accurate
indication of the athlete's performance while also limiting the
deployment of unwanted tether coils that may confuse the
measurement, or even hinder the athletic exercise. As result a
simple, and therefore reliable, measurement system is provided
which is particularly useful for comparative training.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a side view illustration of the inventive speed
indicating system connected to an athlete in the course of starting
a spring from the starting blocks of a track circuit;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective illustrations of the inventive
speed indicating system deployed for use;
[0018] FIG. 3 is yet another perspective illustration, separated by
parts, of the inventive speed indicating system; and
[0019] FIG. 4 is a further diagrammatic rear perspective
illustrations of an alternative manners of retaining the inventive
speed indicating system in a setting like at the site of a swimming
pool where impervious ground surfaces are entailed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 the inventive speed indicating
system generally designated by the numeral 10 is defined by a
substantially flat base frame 11 provided with a vertical pivot
post 12 on which a spool carrier assembly 20 is pivotally mounted.
Base frame 11 may be fixed in its position on the ground G either
by spikes 14 driven into the ground through securement holes 16 at
the frame corners, or may be held in place by weight bags 16B, as
illustrated in FIG. 4, when the athletic exercise takes place on a
concrete or otherwise impervious surface IS. Both these modes of
securement restrain the base assembly 11 in place while the free
end of a tether line or webbing 25 stored on a spool 21 mounted for
rotation on a pin 22P bridging across a cage 22 defining the
carrier assembly 20 is tied to the athlete AT, or to an object
swung, kicked or thrown by the athlete AT (not shown).
[0021] Preferably the spool carrier assembly 20 includes a
vertically aligned pivot bore 23 formed in a pivot tube 24 fixed to
one edge of carrier frame 22 in which the vertical post 12 is
received, allowing some freedom of pivotal motion of the spool
carrier assembly 20 as the webbing 25 is deployed from the spool
through an opening 26 in a guide structure 27 cantilevered from the
other edge of the cage, thus continuously aligning the assembly
along the proper azimuth towards the athlete. One of the two end
discs 29 defining spool 21 is then provided with one or more spaced
magnetized pieces 28 radially spaced to pass adjacent a pickup coil
31 that is connected to a meter 30 to drive its movement by the
current induced by the spool rotation.
[0022] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the current
induced in coil 31 by the spool rotation will inherently produce an
opposing electromotive force, sometimes referred to as back EMF,
that acts in a direction opposite to the spool rotation as
illustrated by the arrow EMF in FIG. 2. Thus as the athlete AT
engages in a lunge or jump, as illustrated by the prospective dive
from the starting platform SP at a swimming event illustrated in
FIG. 4, a following arcuate loop AL of the webbing 25 is formed
which then abruptly ends upon the athlete's water entry.
Consequently, unless some restraint is provided on this excess
webbing deployment loose coils thereof will accumulate on the water
surface to interfere with the athletic exercise.
[0023] Of course, similar loose lengths of webbing will accumulate
as the athlete AT leaves the starting blocks SB of a field track
event illustrated in FIG. 1, primarily as a consequence to the
athlete's initial velocity transient which thereafter settles to a
steady state level that is often lower than the initial state.
Notably, these transients coincide with the expenditure of great
levels of force by the athlete and the small restraint posed by the
tug of the inherent back EMF result in little interference that is
hardly perceptible.
[0024] More importantly, this opposing electromotive force
increases with the spool rotation rate coinciding with the time
when loose lengths of the webbing on the exercise surface would
create most distraction but not at the time of the initial
transient that is most significant in any training measurement.
Thus the inventive speed indicating system elegantly resolves the
many competing interests that arise in any arrangement suited for
training. Simply, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art,
a training athlete ordinarily has a keen interest in any
contemporaneous measurement indication, which ordinarily entails
some significant current levels driving any measurement display,
while the same current levels are also inventively utilized in the
instant invention to avoid any interfering clutter.
[0025] Moreover, the simple instant resolution of these competing
interests is particularly useful in a setting where less attention
is likely to be paid to the measuring device while all focus is
directed on the athlete. Thus the simplicity of this arrangement
renders a robust, easily understood and therefore easily used
mechanism that avails clear notice when a problem has occurred.
[0026] Obviously many modifications and variations of the instant
invention can be effected without departing from the spirit of the
teachings herein. It is therefore intended that the scope of the
invention be determined solely by the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *