A device periodically transmits a request to the RFID tag affixed to each golf club in the set of golf clubs. If a golf club is within a pre-determined distance from the device, the RFID tag affixed to the golf club will respond to the request. If the golf club is not within the pre-determined distance from the device, the RFID tag affixed to the golf club will not issue a response. The failure of a golf club to respond within a specified time interval will result in the display of a message on the device indicating that a golf club is unaccounted for. The device can transmit a signal to a handheld device wearable on a golf course reporting the missing golf club directly to the owner of the golf club who is wearing the handheld device.
H04Q 5/22 - Dispositifs de sélection dans lesquels plusieurs postes d’abonnés sont connectés par la même ligne au central avec connexion indirecte, c. à d. à travers un centre de commutation subordonné le centre subordonné ne permettant pas une interconnexion d'abonnés reliés à ce centre
G08B 13/14 - Déclenchement mécanique par l'enlèvement ou les essais de déplacement d'articles portatifs
2.
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS ON THE MOTION OF GOLFING EQUIPMENT
Sensor and imaging circuitry are embedded into golfing equipment such as clubs and balls in order to determine golf swing characteristics by monitoring atmospheric conditions such as altitude, barometric pressure, temperature, wind speed and wind velocity. These atmospheric parameters are displayed on a hand held device in graphic and tabular form. In an embodiment of the present invention, the distance to an object is provided in view of one or more parameters of atmospheric conditions.
A one dimensional (ID) line imaging system that operates at a scanning (clock) rate of between 10-40 MHz is used to monitor the characteristics of a golf swing. A line image is analyzed in real time by an associate computer imaging system removing the need for a trigger to operate. Optics of the imaging system are designed to relate ball image size to distance so that the number of 1 D pixels imaging the ball, in particular sensing a white object, have a relation to distance to the ball. Ball image size is related to distance by monitoring the rate of increase (rate of change) of the pixels imaging the ball with time so that the speed of the club head can be determined. The speed of a golf ball that has been struck is determined by monitoring the rate of decrease (rate of change) of the pixels imaging the ball.
A platform is provided that includes a handheld device that can obtain a Handicap Index for use in calculating a Handicap for a course, a Handicap for one or more holes of a course, a score for a hole of a course, and a score for a round of golf. Calculations can be performed at a remote location and transmitted to the handheld device for display on the handheld device. The device can communicate with other devices having similar functionality to receive and transmit this and other information. The information obtained and calculated can be for one or more golfers on the same or different golf courses.
G06F 19/00 - Équipement ou méthodes de traitement de données ou de calcul numérique, spécialement adaptés à des applications spécifiques (spécialement adaptés à des fonctions spécifiques G06F 17/00;systèmes ou méthodes de traitement de données spécialement adaptés à des fins administratives, commerciales, financières, de gestion, de surveillance ou de prévision G06Q;informatique médicale G16H)
5.
METHOD AND IMAGER FOR DETERMINING THE POINT OF IMPACT ON A PUTTER FACE
Imaging circuitry integrated into a golf club head, such as a putter, obtains an image from as the golf club head strikes a golf ball as well as successive images after the golf ball is struck, such nឬ5. The images can be analyzed by integral computational software provided in the imaging device operable to (i) analyze whether the ball was struck in the middle of the golf club head, (ii) whether the golf club head was square to the target and (iii) based on comparison of n successive images, calculate the immediate path of the golf ball.
An object is applied to a golf ball after the golf ball is manufactured for the purpose of allowing the golf ball to be easily located if lost during play in a round of golf. The object is applied to the golf ball without adversely affecting the aerodynamic properties of the golf ball. The object can be applied using Pin Printing technology to at least one dimple of a golf ball. The object applied can be detected by a hand-held device operable to detect one or more properties of the object.
A device detects the location of patterned objects in an environment by receiving an optical image and converting the optical image of the lost object into a color digital image. The device employs software to perform an analysis of the color digital image to detect the location of the one or more patterned objects in the environment by using color characteristics of light reflected from a pattern on the one or more patterned objects. The software uses a range of the visible portion of the color space uniquely identified for the light reflected from the pattern on the object and identifies those pixels in the digital image that may be possible targets.
A golf ball is illuminated with diffused back lighting. CCD images of the golf ball are taken while the golf ball is being illuminated with the diffused back lighting. The edge or circumference of the golf ball is captured and sharply defined in the CCD images. The uniformity of the circumference may be determined by evaluating the radius of the object's circumference in an image, where an image is generated for n points around the circumference of the object, such as every 20 ° or 30°. By rotating the game ball, preferable with a battery operated stepper motor, the surface of the golf ball can be mapped.
A device determines the contour of a landscape by receiving an optical image having a grid pattern projected thereon and converting the optical image of the landscape and the grid pattern into a digital image. The device employs software to perform an analysis of the color digital image to detect the grid pattern by using color characteristics of the mapping grid for processing the distortions of the grid pattern based on the Hausler and Heckel principles. An image is presented in real time to the viewer showing the depth pattern of the landscape in the image. This presentation may be by various colors, by outlines of constant depth and alike means commonly used in visual displays.
G06K 9/00 - Méthodes ou dispositions pour la lecture ou la reconnaissance de caractères imprimés ou écrits ou pour la reconnaissance de formes, p.ex. d'empreintes digitales
G06K 9/36 - Prétraitement de l'image, c. à d. traitement de l'information image sans se préoccuper de l'identité de l'image