DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0024] The present invention will now be described in an embodiment wherein the invention is selectively attached to the shaft, near the head, of a conventional golf club. It is to be understood that the subject invention could also be received in a cavity in the head of a standard golf club. It is also to be understood that appropriately modified embodiments of the present invention could also be attachments to or incorporated as integral members of other swing training devices, for example racquets, bats, and sticks for training tennis and squash players, baseball players, and hockey players, respectively. Suitable embodiments could be made for just about any other sport where the player strikes at a target with a stick, bat, club, or paddle and a proper swing is required so as to impart the proper trajectory to the ball etc.

[0025] For the sake of simplicity, the subject invention 10 is shown and described with a conventional golf club 12 having a shaft 14 with a head 16 fixed to one end thereof The housing 18 of the present invention has a main housing 20 and a clamping plate 22 attached to the main housing at one end by a hinge 24 and adapted to be selectively secured at the other end to the main housing by screws 26 or the like. The main housing and the clamping plate together define a passage 28 for the shaft 14 of the club 12 with the surfaces 30, 32 forming the passage being adapted for gripping the shaft 14 in such manner that there is not movement relative to the shaft during swinging of the club. Orientation means 34, 36 are provided on the shaft 14 and housing 18, respectfully, to insure that the device 10 is always in the same proper orientation each time it is applied to the shaft 14. Orientation means 34 preferably is some sort of permanent indicia while orientation means 36 can be permanent indicia and/or sensing means.

[0026] The main housing 20 encloses a processor 38 which is attached to an X accelerator 40, a Y accelerator 42, and a Z accelerator 44. The accelerometers 40, 42, 44 may be electronic, mechanical, optical or a combination thereof The processor is further attached to data storage means 46 and batteries 48. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processor 38 is further connected to a wireless transmitter 50, for example radio or IR, while in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 the processor is connected to a visual display means 52 mounted on the top exterior surface of the main housing. The housing may optionally be provided with a plurality of switch means 54 to control on/off, mode selection, storage, etc. or the computer LCD may be provided with touch screen capability for making such selections.

[0027] The visual display means 52 can be either an array of light-emiting diodes (LEDs) or, preferably, a liquid crystal display (LCD) either one of which will display either the path of the club moving through a pre installed “master” swing or a swing derived from sampled swing data of the golfer. The device could also be set to input new data or for a training swing. These selections are made by the appropriate selection switch means 54 or by the above-mentioned touch screen at the computer.

[0028] The visual display is shown in FIG. 4 where typically the preprogrammed swing 56 is shown in solid lines, a low swing 58 is shown in dotted lines, and a high swing 60 is shown in dashed lines and/or different colors may be used to display the various swings. Other data, such as club speed, slice degree, hook degree, loft degree, etc., can also be displayed in either numerical or graphic form on the same or different screens.

[0029] When the golfer wants to practice his swing, he takes the club in his hands and assumes a proper stance. Then he turns the device on. He makes his selection of function (i.e., will he use a preprogrammed swing or will he record the swing he will be making or work interactive with a program). He then addresses the ball and begins his back swing followed by the forward swing, striking the ball and follow through. As he makes these moves, the motion of the club will be sensed by the three accelerometers 40, 42, 44. The outputs from the accelerometers will be processed by the programmable logic circuitry to produce a display indicating the proper swing and how and where the golfer deviated from this swing during his shot. Orientation means 36 can include a separate sensor to measure the placement of the unit relative to the shaft to insure that there has been no relative movement and/or to compensate for any movement that might occur.

[0030] The Programmable Logic Circuit program is set to start sampling after sensing an acceleration of the club and will sample, typically 500 samples, through a 2-3 second swing. The data storage will have sufficient capacity to store several swings.

[0031] The programmable logic circuit, with data storage, will have several features in usage. These include:

[0032] 1. The golfer can request to store data from a swing that the golfer, through practice, has determined is his “Master” swing. Then every swing will be compared with thisswing and the display will show how much and in which direction the golfer deviated from this master swing, ie., in his back swing, forward swing as well as rotation of the club, and any deviation from this master swing will be displayed.

[0033] 2. A master swing, such as a swing typically used by a successful professional golfer, can be programed into the unit so that the golfer is trained in achieving this swing. The same comparison and feed back is given.

[0034] 3. An especially memorable swing, either good or bad, can be stored for historic reason or for analysis later on to achieve the proper training in, for example, removing bad habits, etc.

[0035] 4. The golfer's swings can be used for on-line interactive communication with a PC or for historic usage from video games and other games such as virtual golf play etc.

[0036] 5. A set of head phones or ear plugs with a radio receiver will be used for tactile sounds or voice commands.

[0037] The subject invention can be made either as a clip on a device with an integrated display or as a clip on a device without a display but with radio or IR Interface to an external monitoring unit which preferably is a small handheld computer such as an I pac, notebook in combination with head phones.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a block level schematic diagram illustrating the versatility of the subject invention. The sensing unit 62 contains the sensors, accelerometers, processors, data storage, programs, power supply, and wireless transmitter receiver. The unit can be strapped onto a club 64, received in a cavity in a club 66, attached to a glove or boot 68, attached to or received in the handle of a bat (baseball, cricket, etc.) 70, or the handle of a racket-(tennis; squash, etc.) 72. The player can wear a headset 74 to receive information of the swing. Instead of a headset, a display could be worn on the arm, on flip down glasses, or as a flip down from the brim of a hat. A stand alone unit 76 can be placed where it can be viewed by the player and/or coach. This unit would include a computer, preferably a lap top or notebook for portability purposes, connections to a large screen monitor, processor, data storage, wireless transmitter/receiver and power supply.

[0039] It is within the scope of the invention to have swing related data, such a swing speed, slice, hook, contact on the face of the club, and even the stance of the player.

[0040] The present invention may be subject to many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive of the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.