Golf Instruction Device

Abstract

Apparatus is disclosed for golf instruction utilizing a golf club with illuminated lines for quickly available photographic recording and development with respect to a reference line, the recorded pattern of the swing before, when and after the club strikes the ball showing the nature of the swing, the position of the golf club head and the speed of the head.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a golf instruction device with which a quickly available record of the swing of a golfer is made available.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various devices have heretofore been proposed for recording the stroke of a golfer for purposes of analysis.

Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,070,373; 3,173,348; 3,408,750; and 3,649,029. Aitken, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,158,211, shows a light on a golf club head for observing the action of the head.

The golf club heads heretofore available were not adequately shock resistant as to their light sources and the recording equipment heretofore available was complex, was not adequately reliable, did not provide a suitable record for study and analysis and had other shortcomings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention apparatus is provided for recording and making quickly available to a golf player information as to the nature of the swing before, at and after the club strikes a golf ball, the position of the club head before impact, at impact and after impact, and the speed of the golf club head, photographic recording apparatus having been provided for recording the position of a golf club head having top and front illuminated light lines movable with respect to a reference light line from a source.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a golf instruction device with which the characteristics of the swing of a golf club head by a player can be easily recorded and quickly made available for inspection and study.

It is a further object of the invention to provide apparatus of the character aforesaid which is portable, can be readily set up for use, indoors or outdoors as desired, and which does not require a high degree of skill to operate.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple but effective golf club head with line illumination and which is particularly useful for golf instruction

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of a preferred form of golf club for use in connection with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical central sectional view of the upper end of the shaft of the club of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view, enlarged, of the exterior of the head of the club of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the club head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of a stand with camera, reflecting mirrors and other equipment set up for use;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the camera carried on the stand platform;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the light paths;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view showing one of the photoelectric switches carried on the stand;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the collapsible struts which facilitate packing and quick assembly for use;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view, enlarged, showing further detail of the lens and shutter structure of the camera;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view, taken approximately on the line 11--11 of FIG. 10 and showing further detail of the camera structure;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative photograph of the swing of a golfer;

FIG. 13 is a view in elevation of a golfer taking a practice swing as seen facing the golfer, parts of the recording structure being omitted for clarity;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the golfer of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view showing the relation of the reference light beam and recording of the top and front positions of the club head; and

FIG. 16 is a wiring diagram illustrating the power supply, the terminal strip, the motor circuit, the trigger circuit and the timing circuit.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a preferred form of golf club 20 is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The shaft 21 of the golf club 20 has a handle portion 22 for gripping by the hands of the golfer. The handle portion 22 is preferably hollow for the insertion of a flashlight casing 23 with conventional dry cells 24 in series, with a lamp 25 and an on-off switch and rheostat 26 accessible at the end of the handle portion 22 for manual operation. The flashlight casing 23 can be retained in position in any desired manner such as by frictional engagement of the lamp 25 in a resilient ring 27 within the handle portion 22.

The club head 30, at the end of the shaft 21, is preferably provided on the top face 31, with termini 32 of fiber optic strands to be described, and the top face 31 and front side 33 are preferably provided with transverse line termini 35 and 36 of fiber optic strands, the line 35, 36 being in a plane parallel to the face 37 of the club head 30 which strikes the ball. The line 32 extends to and is in a plane perpendicular to the portion of the striking face 37 which should strike the ball.

Within the interior of the club head 30, a plurality of fiber optic strands 39 are provided, extending from the termini 32, 35, 36 and upwardly within the shaft 21 to a fixed stop 40 providing a terminus for the strands 39 for illumination by the lamp 25. The illumination of the strands 39 is effective for illuminating lines 32 and 35, 36.

While the club head 30 is illustrated as in the form of a driver or other wood club, other heads, including irons, could be employed.

A platform 42 is detachably secured by bolts 43 and 44 to intersecting struts 45 connected at their intersections by pins 47. The struts 45 are preferably hinged above and below the pin 47 as shown in FIG. 9, by hinges 48. The contiguous portions of the struts 45 are detachably held together by screws 49 engageable in threaded openings 50. Upon removal of the screws 49 the struts 45 can be collapsed about the hinges 48 to positions shown in broken line in FIG. 9 for storage and shipping in a shipping case 52.

The bottom ends of the struts 45 can be connected by links 53 held by screws 54, and one of the struts 45 can be detachably secured to the shipping case 52 by screws 55 to impart stability to the platform 42.

A horizontal matte 58 is preferably provided of non-reflecting dark green material and may be of textile fabric or synthetic plastic material with a nap to simulate the turf of a golf driving tee area. The matte 58 can be provided with pivotally mounted spikes 59 which can be turned horizontally when the matte 58 is used indoors and can be turned downwardly when the matte 58 is used out of doors to provide greater stability.

The matte 58 provides an area over which the club 20 may be swung in the usual manner and can, if desired be provided with a centrally located flexible tee or other golf ball support 60 for the reception of a ball 61 to serve as a target for the swing.

The ball 61 can be a regulation golf ball, a plastic golf ball or a simulated golf ball as desired and dependent on the place of use.

The platform 42 is so located that it and its associated structure does not interfere with the swinging of the club 20 over the matte 58.

The platform 42 has a camera housing 64 carried thereon with a camera 65 therein provided with a film holder 66 for a supply of rapid development film F. A lens system 67, and an internal shutter 68 are provided, the shutter 68 being controlled by a motor M2, and in front of the lens system 67 a rotatable time exposure shutter 70 is provided, driven by an electric motor M3 and with a shield portion 72 to prevent access of light to the lens system when the internal shutter 68 is opened just prior to a swing, as hereinafter explained.

A rotating multi-exposure synchronized shutter disc 74 is provided in the housing 64 and is provided with a plurality of spaced slits 75, four being shown to provide four exposures per revolution of the shutter disc 74. The shutter disc 74 is driven by motor M1 having a rotor 78 on the shaft 79 to which the shutter disc 74 is secured.

A lower rear mirror 82 is provided for reflection of conditions at the front face 33 of the club head 30.

An upper front mirror 84 is provided for reflection of conditions at the top face 31 of the club head 30. The mirror 84 is carried on brackets 85 mounted on the platform 42.

A prism 86 brings to the lens system 67 reflected beams from the mirrors 82 and 84 to correlate the conditions at the front side 33 and the top face 31 of the club head 30 for simultaneous recording. The camera housing 64 has a transparent front wall 69 for entry of images.

The platform 42 carries one unit P-C of a photo-electric switch S-2, being placed on the ground or floor near the matte 58 and either to the right or to the left of the golfer, dependent on the handedness of the golfer. A signal light 87 on the platform 42 relates to the alignment and sensitivity of photo-electric units L-1 and P-C, as described later. The beam of light 88 between the units L-1 and P-C, upon interruption, such as by the passage of the shaft 21 of the golf club 20 during full back swing, is used to open the time exposure shutter 70.

A conductor 89 is provided which is adapted to be connected to any suitable source of electrical energy such as 115 volt a.c. for supplying electrical energy to the equipment. An on-off switch S-2 is provided for foot operation. A conductor 92 extends to the unit S-2. A manually operable on-off switch S-1 is provided to control the energization of the transformer T-1 and also motors M-3 and M-1, and to open the shutter 68 and operate when the motor M-2 is energized.

Referring now to FIG. 16, a wiring diagram is there shown which includes a plug P-1, connected through a circuit breaker B-1 to an isolation-low voltage transformer T-1 as part of the power supply. The secondary of the transformer T-1 has conductors for power supply at 115 volts a.c. to taps 1 and 2 of a terminal strip T-S.

A main on-off switch S-1 can be provided in the power supply circuitry.

The secondary of the transformer T-1 also has conductors for power supply through a low voltage rectifier D-1 and filter C-1 at 12 volts d.c. to taps 3 and 4 of the terminal strip T-S.

A motor circuit is provided, controlled by a trigger circuit and a timing circuit, to control the disc motor M-1 operating the disc 74, to control the internal shutter motor M-2 to operate the internal shutter 68, and to control the motor M-3 to operate the external shutter 72.

Activation of the taps 1 and 2 is also effective to energize the lamp L-1, a photo-electric cell lamp.

A trigger circuit is provided which includes the photoelectric cell P-C responsive to interruption of light from the lamp L-1, has a sensitivity control resistor R-1, resistor R-2 and diode SCR to control the relay K-1 through taps 5 and 6 and to control the reset through taps 12 and 13.

A timing circuit is also provided which includes winding of relay K-1 and its contacts, the relay K-2 and its contacts, the switch S-3 movable to a "ready" or "set" position as desired, and the time delay relay TR-1 to time the operation of the relay K-2.

The mode of operation will now be pointed out.

The structure in assembled condition may be used indoors or out of doors in a shaded area.

The camera film holder 66 is loaded with film F. The conductor P-1 is connected to a suitable source of electrical energy.

When the switch S-1 is closed, the primary of the transformer T-1 is energized. The primary is protected by circuit breaker B-1. The secondary of the transformer T-1 consists of a 115 volt winding and a 12 volt winding. The 12 volt winding is rectified by diode D-1, filtered by the filter C-1, and applied to terminals 3 and 4 of the terminal strip T-S. Electric energy at 115 volts is immediately applied to the motor M-1 which operates the rotating disk shutter 74 thru terminals 1 and 2 which provide a 115 volt source.

The inclusion in the trigger circuit of the SCR and photo cell P-C provide for variable sensitivity by adjustment of resistor R-1 and the photo cell P-C in series. When the photo cell P-C changes resistance, the balance condition is upset allowing the gate of the SCR to trigger on. When the SCR conducts relay K-1 is energized which in turn energizes the delay relay TR-1 which may be varied from 1 to 10 seconds duration. The relay K-1 is also energized and lights the test lamp L-2 depending on the position of switch S-3. If the switch S-3 is in its "ready" position the camera shutter 72 will be operated by the motor M-3.

Closing of the foot switch S-2 is effective to latch relay K-3 in energized condition and it is held until broken by the energizing of relay K-2. The relay K-2 is energized when the contacts of the delay relay TK-1 are closed. This also opens the SCR and the circuit recycles.

It should be noted that the photo-electric cell unit P-C and L-1 can be aligned mechanically by stretching an elastic cord from the photo-electric housing P-C to the photo-electric light source L-1. The switch S-3 is placed on "set" position and the sensitivity control R-1 is rotated counterclockwise. The lamp L-2 then will light. The sensitivity control rheostat R-1 is rotated until the lamp L-2 turns off. At this point the photo-electric cell unit is at maximum sensitivity, ready to activate the time exposure shutter 70 by its motor M-2 when the light beam 88 is interrupted by the backswing of the club shaft 21. This allows for trial backswings to test the time exposure mechanism without triggering the photographic recording mechanism. When the player is ready to record his swing, the switch S-3 is moved to "ready" position. Then the photo-electric cell unit will operate to activate the full photographic recording system.

The player places a ball 61 or other desired target on the tee 60.

The foot switch S-2 is activated, activating internal shutter 68 by its motor M-2.

The switch S-4 on the golf club handle 22 is moved to its on position illuminating lamp, L-3 and through fiber optic strands 39 the line of termini 32 and the line of termini 35, 36.

The player takes a golf stance and prepares to hit the ball 61.

As the player moves club 20 in full backswing, club shaft 21 interrupts light beam 88 of the photoelectric cell unit S1-S2,P-C and L-1 activating the trigger circuit, and thereby activating motor M-3 to open time exposure shutter 70. It may be noted that the time exposure shutter 70, when opened, remains open for a fixed period of about three or four seconds, i.e., long enough for a backswing and a full forward swing, and then closes automatically. During that time interval the rotary shutter disc 74 is operating at a constant speed so that a series of spaced photographs can be made.

As the club is swung forward the line of termini 32 and 35, 36 through mirrors 82 and 84 and prism 86 make available in sequence the paths of those lines for recording on the film.

The successive positions of the head 30 of the golf club 20 before striking the ball 61, at the moment of impact with the ball 61, and after impact are photographically recorded, the successive movements of the top face 31 of the club head 30 being reflected by the mirror 84 to the prism 86 and therefrom onto the film F. Simultaneously, the successive and corresponding positions of the front side 33 of club head 30 are reflected by mirror 82 to prism 86 and therefrom onto the film F.

When the player has completed a full forward swing the time exposure shutter 70 and the internal shutter 68 close automatically.

The switch S-4 on the end of the club handle 22 is moved to its off position.

The tab T of the film F is pulled and the film development is started, approximately half a minute being required for development of the finished print.

The print can be mounted on a mounting sheet 100 having appropriate identifying indicia and retained for study and later comparison. The procedure can be repeated immediately, if desired.

The recorded pictorial representation of the path of the club head 30 at critical times makes information available immediately, as to the nature of the player's swing.

The speed of movement of the club head 30 can also be determined, based upon the spacing of the lines on the photographic print, and from this it can be inferred that the ball may have reached a determinable distance after having been struck.

Claims

We claim:

1. A golf instruction device comprising

a golf club having a head with visible linear indicia on at least one face portion thereof, and

means for photographically recording successive positions of the club head indicia upon movement of the club head,

said means comprising a target with respect to which said club head is movable by a player,

a camera member having a film holder and a shutter mechanism for successive exposure to said film holder corresponding to successive positions of the club head contiguous to said target, and

a reflecting member in fixed relation to said target for image transfer of successive positions of said linear indicia in relation to the target to the camera member,

said golf club head having visible linear indicia on a plurality of face portions thereof,

said reflecting member being alinged for image transfer from one face portion of said club head, and

an additional reflecting member for simultaneous image transfer to said camera from another related face portion of said club head.

2. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

said camera has a lens system and a member for delivery of aligned images in spaced relation to said camera.

3. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

a time exposure shutter is provided for said camera, and

means is provided to initiate opening movement of said time exposure shutter.

4. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 3 in which

said last mentioned means includes light sensitive elements responsive to movement of a portion of the golf club therebetween.

5. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 3 in which

said time exposure shutter is motor operated.

6. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

said shutter mechanism includes a rotatable shutter disc with a plurality of slits therein for successive image transfer therethrough.

7. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

said golf club head has said visible indicia on a top and an edge face thereof,

said reflecting member is aligned for image transfer from said top face, and

an additional reflecting member is provided for simultaneous image transfer to said camera from said edge face.

8. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 7 in which

said visible indicia includes a light source insertable in a portion of said golf club with light transmitting members interiorly disposed within said golf club.

9. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

a matte is provided for the reception of said target,

a collapsible support is provided on which said camera member and one of said reflecting members are supported, and

said other reflecting member is carried by said support.

10. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 5 in which

a timing circuit including a time delay member is provided for said time exposure shutter.

11. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

said shutter mechanism includes an external shutter and a shutter member for transfer of spaced images to said camera, and

said external shutter and said shutter member are motor operated.

12. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 11 in which

a time delay circuit is provided controlling the motor for said external shutter.

13. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 1 in which

electrical control means is provided for said first mentioned means.

14. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 13 in which

said electrical control means includes a trigger circuit.

15. A golf instruction device as defined in claim 13 in which

said electrical control means includes a timing circuit.