Electronic football capable of measuring throwing statistics

[0002] This invention relates generally to balls, and specifically to, a football that may be thrown and which includes means to measure and record specific throwing statistics, such as the distance the ball was thrown, the speed the ball was thrown and/or the length of time the ball was in the air, as well as other well known passing or throwing statistics.

[0003] The competitiveness of throwing objects, such as baseballs, footballs, Frisbees™, and the like, are often the subject of many child and adult games. Many devices or objects have been the subject of the prior art to increase throwing attributes, such as the distance or height one may throw the object or the time the object remains in the air. However, the ability to accurately measure these throwing attributes has been largely ignored. While various devices such as velocity measuring devices equipped for measuring professional pitching speeds and hockey puck shots are widely used in professional and amateur sports, these devices are extremely costly to employ and are not designed to be placed within the objects themselves.

[0004] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,576 entitled “Throw-Measuring Football” (referred to herein as the '576 patent) a measuring apparatus is embedded within the football itself and measures the distance the football was thrown, the acceleration of the football and the time aloft. The '576 patent uses an accelerometer to measure the acceleration of the football. However, if the football is thrown with too severe of a loft the vertical component of the acceleration is greater then the horizontal component, causing the measurements to be inaccurate. In such conditions the '576 patent displays a “LOB” reading to indicate that the trajectory was too high (See Col 3, lines 20-25). In addition it was further found that if the football has the slightest wobble to the throw, there is an extra component that is added to the acceleration reading by the accelerometer that should be compensated for or else the calculations become inaccurate. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a more accurate measurement device that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.

[0005] In accordance with the present invention an electronic football is capable of calculating various throwing statistics. The electronic football includes a start switch in communication with a timer means that starts when the start switch is released substantially when the football is thrown. Upon impact, an impact switch triggers the timer to stop, thereby providing a total flight time. The electronic football further includes a pressure gauge positioned in an opening in the forward section of the football for measuring the air pressure when the football is thrown. The pressure readings are received by a microprocessor, which calculates the various throwing statistics. The throwing statistics may further be displayed on a display screen or emitted to the user through a speaker. The electronic football further includes the ability to track the history of the throwing statistics thereby providing the means to calculate averages as well as the maximum values during the history. The football may further include a tail that projects from the rearward section of the football providing a means to keep the football from wobbling.

[0006] Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings.

[0007] A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic football capable of measuring throwing statistics in accordance with the present invention having a display screen for displaying various throwing statistics;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second electronic football capable of measuring throwing statistics in accordance with the present invention having a speaker for emitting various throwing statistics;

[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an electronic football in accordance with the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the electronics of the electronic football in FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a representation of the trajectory of the electronic football with vertical and horizontal components; and

[0013] FIG. 6 is a table illustrating test data plotted from various pressure readings versus total initial velocity permitting the use of a best-fit-line to determine the total initial velocity from a given pressure reading.

[0014] While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope of the invention and/or claims of the embodiments illustrated.

[0015] Referring first to FIG. 1, a football in accordance with the present invention is shown and generally referenced to as 10. The football is designed to provide the user with various throwing statistics. Such throwing statistics may include the distance the ball was thrown, the speed the ball was thrown, the length of time the ball was thrown (flight time) as well as calculating and storing the total distance, top speed, total flight time, averages and the total times the ball has been thrown. As opposed to other footballs that measure throwing statistics by measuring the initial acceleration with an accelerometer, the present invention measures velocity by using an air pressure gauge 11 mounted in the forward section of the football (shown and explained in greater detail below) providing the present invention with the ability to display throwing statistics for virtually any angle of trajectory.

[0016] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, the football 10 includes an outer body 12 preferably made from a resilient foam material or other soft materials. However, it may also include other known materials such as leather, rubbers or synthetic mixtures. The football 10 further includes an on/off switch 14 and a start/restart button 16 that are mounted within the interior of the football 10 and positioned through the outer body 12. The above mentioned throwing statistics are displayed on a display screen 20 that is also set within the interior of the football 10 and is viewed through an opening 18 in the outer body 12. The football 10 may also include fabricated or molded laces 22 in order to provide the user with the proper means to grip and throw the football 10.

[0017] It is also contemplated that other well-known means for replaying the statistics may be employed, such as audibly emitting the statistics through a speaker 24, illustrated in FIG. 2. As such the statistics may be replayed in any well-known visual or audible means. After the ball is thrown, the thrower or a second person (generally referred to as “user”) may retrieve the ball and view the throwing statistics on the display screen 20 or listen to the same through the speaker 24. The user may further be capable of scrolling through the statistics or through previously stored statistics (referred to as a “history”) by pressing the start/restart button 16.

[0018] Referring now to FIG. 3, an exploded view of the football 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown. The football 10 includes an outer body 12 that is preferably resilient to maintain a desired shape. The outer body 12 is also hollow and includes a small aperture (not shown) in the forward section 28 of the football 10 for receiving an air pressure gauge 30. The air pressure gauge 30 consists of a pitot tube 32 in communication with the atmosphere through the small aperture and connected to a pressure sensor 34 for measuring various air pressures traveling through the pitot tube 32. The information or data is stored by a memory means on a microprocessor 36, such that the data may be utilized to calculate the aforementioned throwing statistics. The calculations are discussed in greater detail below.

[0019] The microprocessor 36 is connected to a power source 38, such as a lithium battery cell; however, other well-known battery packs or power supplies may be utilized. In further communication with the power source 38 and the microprocessor 36 are the aforementioned on/off switch 14 and the start/restart button 16. A user may toggle the power supplied to the microprocessor 36 and other components through the on/off switch 14. The collected and calculated data is displayed or emitted through a display screen 20 or the speaker 24, depending upon the specific embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the various electronic components are secured within a housing 40, which is preferably a two-piece construction.

[0020] The housing 40 is secured within the outer body 12 and includes a window 42 that aligns with the opening 18 in the outer body 12. The display screen 20 within the housing 40 is fastening therein such that it may be viewed through the window 42 of the housing 40 and as such through the opening 18 in the outer body 12.

[0021] The football 10 may further include a tail 46 that attaches to a bayonet mounting 48 secured within the rear section 29 of the football 10. However, the tail 46 may be secured within the housing 40. The tail 46 includes tail fins 50 that protrude radially from the tail 46. The tail 46 also includes a bore 52 that receives a tail fin rod 54. One end 56 of the tail fin rod is further secured to the bayonet mounting 48 along the same symmetrical axis of the football 10, thus securing the tail 46 to the football 10. Tail 46 stabilizes the flight of a thrown football, such that the forward section 28 is continually pointing forwards during flight. However, the tail 46 is not essential to the operation of the present invention.

[0022] During operation a user turns the football 10 on by toggling the on/off switch 14 to the on position. Gripping the football 10 about the laces 22, the user's thumb will also be position to press and hold down the start/restart button 16. Regardless of whether the user is left-handed or right-handed, when the football 10 is gripped about the laces 22 such that the forward section 28 is pointing in the direction the user wants to throw the football 10, the user's thumb will also be in position to hold down the start/restart button 16. Once the user releases the football 10, the user releases the start/restart button 16 approximately at the same time the football 10 is released. The instant the start/restart button 16 is released an internal timer (not shown) within the microprocessor 36 is started. This timer calculates the total flight time for each particular throw. Further illustration is shown by the block diagram in FIG. 4.

[0023] A fraction of a second after the football 10 is released the microprocessor 36 will take a series of readings from the air pressure gauge 30. The readings from the pressure gauge 30 are first fed through amplifier circuits 62 to an analog-to-digital converter 60 that is in communication with the microprocessor 36. The analog-to-digital converter 60 takes the analog signals from the pressure gauge 30 and converts the signals to digital signals.

[0024] When the football is caught or lands on the ground an impact switch 64 is triggered. The triggering of the impact switch 64 further causes the internal timer to stop, thereby providing the microprocessor 36 with the total flight time the ball was in the air. The impact switch 64 (also illustrated in FIG. 3) includes a post 66 with a spring 68 mounted on the microprocessor 36. Upon impact, the impact switch 64 sends a signal to the microprocessor 36, which will then immediately stop the internal timer. The flight time and pressure readings are used thereafter to calculate velocity and distance. These values are sent to the display screen 20 and can be scrolled through by depressing the start/restart switch 16. Once all the data is displayed the microprocessor 36 displays the word “READY” on the display screen 20 and the user is ready to throw the football 10 again. When the user is finished playing, the user may turn the display off, by toggling the on/off switch 14 to the off position. Alternatively, the football 10 may be equipped with an automatic shutoff that is set to turn off the football when not activated for a predetermined period of time. The user may also reset the stored data and start from the beginning by pressing and holding the start/restart button 16 for a predetermined period of time, for instance 3-5 seconds.

[0025] A further discussion is now made in relation to the calculations made and used in determining the distance the football 10 is thrown. The equations for projectile motion govern, when calculating the distance (“D”), flight time (“T”) and initial velocity (“V₀”) for a thrown object. Illustrated in FIG. 5, the path 70 shows the typical path characterized by the thrown object. It is important to note that the following equations employ the fact that the projectile is thrown over a level plane. If you throw the football at around shoulder height but the other person catches it at their shoestrings, there will be some error introduced into distance calculations. In this case, the distance that the ball calculates would be greater than the actual distance due to the extra time the ball was in the air. A second source of error can be wind. The football uses a pressure gauge to determine ball velocity as it travels through the air. If there is a wind, this can affect the overall pressure readings by varying amounts depending on wind speed, wind direction, etc. For best results, the football should be thrown perpendicular to the direction of the wind.

[0026] Under vector analysis the initial total velocity V₀may be broken into velocity components in both the x and y direction and is represented under the Pythagorean theorem as the square of the initial velocity is equal to the sum of the squares of the velocity in both the x and y direction.

[0027] V₀²=V_x0²+V_y0²  [1.0]

[0028] where V₀is the; V_x0is the initial velocity in the x direction and V_y0is the initial velocity in the y direction.

[0029] If the magnitude of V₀can be determined, we can easily determine the magnitude of V_x0and V_y0by using the equations for projectile motion. We can also determine the angle that the ball was thrown from this information. Using the equations under projectile motion, we know that:

[0030] V_y=V_y0−g·t  [2.0]

[0031] where V_yis the velocity in the y direction; g is the acceleration of gravity and t is ½ the total flight time (T) or ^T/2. When the football reaches the maximum height in its trajectory, the velocity in the y direction is 0. Thus, we can determine the y-component of the initial velocity may be set to zero at the top of the trajectory, such that the above equation becomes:

[0032] V_y=−g·t  [3.0]

[0033] In the case of projectile motion, the velocity that the ball leaves the ground, ignoring the effects of air friction and assuming that the ball is thrown over a flat plane, is equal to the velocity that the ball has when it hits the ground at the end of its flight. Thus

[0034] V_y=V_y0  [4.0]

[0035] Since we know V₀and V_y0, we can solve for V_x0from equation 1.0. Thus:

[0036] V_x={square root over ((V₀²−V_y²))}  [5.0]

[0037] Since the pressure sensor is designed to have a linear output over its specified range, a linear equation (y=m·x+b) can be used to approximate velocities over wider ranges, where y and x are components in the x, y axis, and m and b are defined as the slope of the line and the y intercept, respectively. FIG. 6 illustrates test data taken for pressure readings versus total initial velocity for a thrown football 10. Since the pressure sensor has a linear output a linear equation may be extrapolated from the test data using a best-fit straight line. The linear equation may further be defined as:

[0038] V₀=m·(pr)+b  [6.0]

[0039] where V₀is the initial total velocity, m is the slope, pr is the pressure reading and b is the intercept. From a best-fit line determination it was found that m is approximately 0.1448643, and b is approximately 24.4271248.

[0040] Furthermore, since projectile motion provides that the distance the ball traveled in the x-direction (or the football's range) is determined from:

[0041] D=V_x0·T  [7.0]

[0042] the above equations may be substituted into equation [7.0], yielding:

[0043] D=({square root over ((m·pr+b)²−(g·t)²)})×2t  [8.0]

[0044] In addition thereto, the angle the ball was thrown at can also be solved from either V_y0=V₀sin Ø or V_x0=V₀cos Ø where Ø is the angle. Similarly, the aforementioned equations can be used to determine other flight characteristics, for instance the total height of the football at the top of its path, or the top speed, which would be determined from the maximum pressure sensor reading taken within a short time period after releasing the start/restart button.

[0045] From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the invention. It is contemplated that the above invention may be used with a glider or airplane or other thrown projectiles. Moreover, it is readily apparent that the equations represented above are but one way in determining the throwing statistics and the calculated best-fit line may be adjusted if the pressure sensor outputs a maximum value at a distance shorter than what is desired as a maximum distance reading, such that new data may be plotted and recalculated to determine a subsequent best fit line equation. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific methods and apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.