Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
74~4
. . .
G F SIMULATQR APPDU~ 5100
Thi~ is a Continuation-In-Part of co~pendlng
appli~ation Serl~l No. 07/357,0~g, filed May 2S, l9~9, in
~he name o~ Donald B, Curchod ~n~ ~ntitl~d Gol~ Slmulator
Appara~us and M~hod.
.
BACKG~OU~ OF THE INVENTION
_~___ _
1. Fie~ _lnve ~ ~h~ pres~nt lnven~ion
r~lates ~o ~ol 3im~lation. More-~pe~ific~lly, the present
lnvention rel~tes to reali~tically ~imulating the drlving
por~lon of a ~ol~ g~me ln association with an ~ctual ~olf
green, thereby ~i~ni~icantly reduoing the geo~raphlcal area
~equired ~o play a ~ame of ~ol~.
2. Prlor Art. A s~andard game o~ gol~ 16 played on
an l~-hole cour6e. The ~ame l~ co~pri ed of drivlng and
putting ~trokes. The pl~ye~ drlYe hl~ or he~ b~ll to the
lS graRn A~ea and thsn putts the ball into the hole.
A~ is well known, ths ~riv~n~ por~ion of ~he ~ame
recluire~ the gre~tes~ g~o~xaphical area. Of~en it ~kes
two to four stxokes to p~ a ball in the green area. ~ach
o~ the~ 3trokes A~e powerful drives hltting the gol~ ball
~ slgnificant di~tance down the ai~way~ The puttlng
portion, on the other hand, r~q~ires precision. The ball
mu~t be skillfully hlt, of~en wi~h a r~ther 60fk touch.
~herefore, puttin~ reg~ir~s the ~mallegt ~eographical area
of a golf ~our~.
A~50605~l/BGR/SJAl _lw
2 '~
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With the growth ol our ci~i~s, re~l estAte ~or gol~
courses clo&e ~o urban center~ has been hard to ~ind.
Also, wi~h the rise ln real e~ta~e p~lces, golf courses may
be hard to justi~y. Therefore, nttempt9 have been made to
5 reduc~ the 81z~ of the drivlng portion of the ~our~e.
One present method consists of ~n electronlc pad wlth
sen~ors. In thls in~tance, the ~all is plAced on a tee and
four or mo~e s~nsors ~re pIa~ed in a reç~angle un~erneath
and hehind the ball. The rectangular sen30r configuratlon
b~6ic~11y ~orms two parallel pair o~ ~en~or~. As a gol
~lub is swun~ ~ a ball and contactg i~, the club passe6
over the fi~6t parallel pAi~ of ~en60rs and th~n ~he second
pair. The time int~rval between the two pairs of senso~s
determin~ the speed o~ the club head at lmpact. Thls 1
~ed ~o de~minq the sp~d of ~he ball.
A pair of sen~o~s is uc~d ~o ~hat the angle of the
club he~d ~ith respect to the ball can be determined. Th~
front edge of the,club forms approximatelY a ~traight llne.
If a club i~ ~wung squ~re on with the b~ he near side
of the club face will p~88 ov~r one o~ ~he se~ond parallel
pair ~nd the ~ar side o the club ~e will pass over the
othe~ sensor o~ the se~ond p~rallel pair at ~he ~ame time.
I~ th~re ls ~ny devi~t~ on s~rc~m bein~ st~aight on, one
portion of ~he club ~ace will p~l85 over one ~ensor before
the oth~ portion pae6e~ ov~r i~s sen~or. This angle of
deviation denote~ the ang~e of the cluh he~d. ~he angle
is used to determine dlrection ~5 well a5 hook or slice.
The pl~yer ls requlrsd ~o enter ~n~o a controlling
compu~er the type of ciub that 1~ being used, i.e., 3 lron,
7 iron, etc. Th~ typa o~ club indica~es ~he cut of the
club face. ~rom the above ~actors the controlllng computer
~etermines the hypothetical di~tance and dir~ctlon of the
~hot.
~-50605~ R/SJA1 ~2
61051-2531
There are several problem~ with thls system wlth respect
to reallstlc slmulation. One i8 that it does not lndicate spln,
either horizontal or vertical. Both of these phenomena have a
signiflcant effect on the fllght of the ball. Another is that
alkhough the type of club can be entered into the computer, a
player may not hlt the ball very well. In that lnstance the
computer uslng speed and angle of the club measurements and the
type of club would provide the same read out regardless o~ the
quallty of hlt. Still another problem is that the simulator, even
though lt may be connected to a cornputer and a CRT monitor ~alls
to compensate for the natural outdoor settiny of regular golf
games. No interaction between A destlnatlon hole and the player
ls provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INV~NTION
Accordingly, lt ls the ob~ect of the present lnventlon
to provide a more realistic slmulated golf game.
It is another ob~ect of the present invention to provide
a simulated golf game whlch measures and takes lnto account the
spln applied to a hit golf ball.
It i8 another ob~ect of the present lnventlon to provide
a golf slmulator that more accurately measures tra~ectory and
speed of a hlt golf ball.
The attainment of these and related ob~ects may be
achieved through use of the novel golf simulator apparatus and
method herein dlsclosed. A golf simulator apparatus and method ln
accordance wlth thls inventlon has a driving simulator and an
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61051-2531
actual green or puttlng area ad~acent thereto for slmulating a
complete game of golf. The system and apparatus cornprlses means
for generating slgnals indlcatlve of the veloclty, tra~ectory and
spin of a hit golf ball. A computer apparatus connected to the
generatlng apparatus ls prov~ded for recelpt of the signals and
for processlng the slgnals to determlne the dlstance and locatlon
that the hlt golf ball would have travelled on a golf course the
computer apparatus calculatlng the location of the lie on the ball
relatlve to a slmulated hole. Also, display apparatus controlled
by the computer apparatus i8 provlded for pro~ectlng the slmulated
hole of golf 50 that as a golfer moves down the falrway the view
of the hole from the golfer's various vantage points 16 displayed.
In one aspect, the invention resides ln an apparatus
comprlsings a golf ball includlng a reflectlve portlon on lts
exterlor surface~ a slngle llght source for lmplnglng llght upon
said reflective portlon of sald golf ball~ and photo detector
array means for measurlng change ln the reflectlon of llght from
sald reflective portion of said golf ball to detect spln applied
to said golf ~all when sald golf ball is struck.
In another asp~ct, the lnventlon resides in a golf
apparatus comprlslng, (A) a slmulator lncludlng: (1) means for
pro~ectlng a plurallty of lmages corresponding to a plurallty of
golf holes to be played, each of sald plurallty of golf holes
lncludlng a falrway, a bunker and a green; (~) means for - -
generating slgnals indlcatlve of the fllght of a golf ball whlch
is hit by a player; (3) means for correlating said signals with
one of sald images of one of sald golf holes to render a golf ball
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61051-2531
posltlon on one of sald golf holes, said pro~ectlng means
thereafter providing an image of sald golf ball posltlon on one of
sald golf holes; and (B) a multlple-hole chipplng/putting area
lncluding (1) a chlpping area with a plurallty of bunkers, and ~2)
a putting green wlth a plurallty of puttlng cups forming a green
reglon, said plurality of bunkers and sald plurallty of putting
cups corresponding to said plurallty of golf holes, sald plurallty
of bunkers and sald plurality of putting CUp8 forrnlng a spatlal
region whlch ls dlvisible into four 90 regions whereln more than
one of said 90 reglons is unconfined, thereby enabllng a large
number of unconstrained approach angles to each of sald plurality
of golf holes.
In a further aspect, the lnventlon resldes ln a golf
apparatus comprising: (A) a multlple-hole chlpplng/puttlng area
lncluding (1) a chlpping area with a plurality of bunkers, and (2)
a puttlng green with a plurality of puttlng cups formlng a green
region, sald plurallty of bunkers and sald plurallty of puttlng
cups correspondln~ to a plurallty of golf holes, sald plurallty of
bunkers and sald plurallty of puttlng cups forming a spatlal
reglon whlch ls dlvlslble into four 90 regions whereln more than
one of sald 90 reglons ls unconflned, thereby enabling a large
plurality of approach angles to each of said plurality of golf
holes; and (B) a slmulator lncludlng: (1) means for pro~ecting a
plurallty of lmages correspondlng to said plurallty of golf holes
to be played, each of said plurality of golf holes including a
fairway, a bunker and a green~ (2) means for ~eneratlng slynals
lndicatlve of the flight of a golf ball whlch is hit by a player;
4a
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61051-2531
(3) means for correlatlng sald signals with one of said lmages of
one of sald golf holes to render a golf ball posltion on one of
sald golf holes, said pro~ectlng means thereafter provldlng an
lmage of sald yolf ball posltlon on one of sald golf holes, sald
golf ball posltlon resultlng ln an addltlonal shot from sald
simulator or from said multlple hole chlpping/puttlng area.
The attainment of the foregoing and related ob~ects,
advantages and features of the lnventlon should be more readlly
apparent to those skllled ln the art, after revlew
4b
;
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2 ~ ~L r~
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of the following more ~etailed de~cription o~ the inven-
tlon, tak~n tog~ther with th~ draWln~B.
3RIEF ~S~RIPTION O~ THE DRAWINGS
The aa~ompanYin~ drawln~s, whlch a~e incorporated in
and form a part o~ this ~pecifi~ation, lllustrste embodl-
ment~ of the lnvention and, ~ogether with the description,
ser~e ~o explain the principle~ o~ th~ inventlon.
Flgure l is a pl~n vlew o~ th~ golf ~imulatl~n device
o~ ~he p~efe~red embodiment.
Fi~ure 2 i~ a perspective ~i~w of the driving ~imu-
lator of the prefe~red ~m~odimen~.
Figure 3 i~ a dlagram o~ ~h~ net sensors of the
pre~er~ed embodiment~
~ lgure 4 ie ~ front vlew of a sen~or ar~angement o~
the pr~ferred ~mbodimen~.
Flgure 5 lq a top v~ew o~ a ~enso~ arran~ement o~ the
prs~erred embodimentG
~ iqure 6 i~ a ~un~tional blQ~k diagram oE the pre~er-
r~ ~mbo~iment.
~igures 7a and ?b lllus~rate ~n ~pplicatlon of the
p~ef erred ~mbodlm~nt .
Fiqur~s 3a ~nd 8b illu~tr~t~ an alterna~e preferred
q~bodim~n~ .
Flgure g ~hows a dia~rAm~atic p~r6pective view o th~
tee area o~ anot:her embodim~nt ac~ordlng to ~he invention.
~i~ure 10 show~ ~n enla~ged di~grammatia vlew o~ a
~pin ~etecting elemen~ us~d in ~he embodimen~ ~hown in
Flguxe 9, and
A 50fiO5-1/Bt~ SJAl -5-
~7~2~
....
.
Figure 11 shows a diagr~mmatic view o~ ~ t~rg~t screen
for us~ with the embodiment~ di~clo~ed herein.
D~TAILE~ 9~ERR~D EMBODIMEN~S
~ _______
~eference s~1ill no~ be made :Ln detail to the pref~rred
~mbodlm~nts of the lnven~ion, ex~ples of which are
Lllustr~ted in the ~ccomp~nylng drawLngs. Whlle the
inventlon wil 1 be ~e~c~ibed in coniunctlon wlth the
pre~erred embo~iments, lt wlll ba understood that they are
not intended to 1 imit th~ invç:ntion to thos~ embodiMent~ .
On ~he contrary, ~he invention 19 intende~ to cover
alterna~ive~, modlfication~ and equlvalent~, which may be
in~lu~ed withLn the 8pirit and 6C:Ope 0~ the lnvention as
def in~d ~y ~h~ app~nded ~l~lms .
Referrln~ to F~gure 1, ~n overvlew of the present
invention and the envirorLment $n WhiCh lt 1~ used is shc~wn.
The pr~ent lnven~ion provides ~ golf ~i~ulation apparatu6
which reduces the &ize in ~ g~ographical oontext of a golf
co~r~e. Thi~ is accompiished by ~ep~ratlng the drlvi ng and
putting and/or putting green surroundln~6 and component~ of
a g41f course. In the gol~ slmulator 10 i9 a ~pP~
driving simulator 20 which ~ B got Up to ~epllc~te the
drivin~ portlon of the golf gam~, the pa~t- which tak~s up
~he largo~t ~ec~graph~cal- portion of a golf ~ourse. The
"driving" psr~lon o~ ~ ~iven gol:e hole i3 congidered to be
that ex~en~ of fairw~y and ~djacerlt rou~h whi~h extendq
from ~he t~e to a predetermlned xegion close to khe g~een
wherein the ~y~tem casl dlr~ct the player to plAce h~ s bAll
~or ~hippln~ or put~ing into th~ hole. Ad~acen~ ~he
drivlng por~ion 2Q, is the putting anà ~hipplng portion
(he~inafter "puttlng por~lon"! (~2~ The putting portion i8
no~ a simulated r~pllcation of a gol ~our~e, it ls a
phy~lo~lly real puttin~ gre~n 24 ~urrounded by ~irway 26
and a bunJcer (2~ In the driving simulator 20 ~ whlch i~
descrlbed in mor~ d~tail ~elow, ~ golfer tee~ of ~ and
~ives down the fairway until he or ~he appro~che~ the
~i~ulated ~reçn. On~a the gol~er ls wi~chin a cer~aln
A-50605-1~BGR~ Al -~
predefined distan~s of the sim~late~ hole, ~h~ gol~er
w~lk~ out of the drivin~ pox~ion 20 and onto th~ green
portlon 22. The gol~ ball is placed on ~he green por~lon
22 at the location 3peci~ied ~y ~he drlvex ~imulator 20.
From thi~ polnt, the gol~r plays th~ ball ~o ~he hole 30.
~o pro~lde a more r~ tic ~imu:Lation ~he ~idoo pro~ection
of ~he hole and green ~r~a 1~ ~ replica o~ ~he ad~cen~,
associa~ed a~tual hole and g~een area. Havlng aspou6ed the
g~ner~l p~inciple of operatlon for the pxesent inventlon,
focus i~ now drawn to the drivin~ slmulator 20. ~urther,
whil~ the green pre~erably i9 a real green o~ gra~,
artificial grag~ c~n be u~ed.
Re errln~ to Figure 2, the driviny slmulator 20
con~6t~ of A plur~lit~ of componen~s~ The ba~i~ precept
ill~strated in Flgure 2 16 th~t the gol~r tees o~i~ Eo~ a
~reen (and hole) pro~ected on ~he ~cr~en 40 by a video
projector 48. The project~d gre~n i3 indlc~tiva of put~ing
area ~2, fa~ilitatlng re~li8~1c go~f1ng experlsnce. Vldeo
p~ojection of an im~ge (~uch as a gol hole) from ~
computer t50 oi~ Ptgure 2) 1~ known ln the art. ~he gol~er
then continueR to driv~ the ~11 untll it re~ches a
prede~ined distance i~xo~ th~ p~oje~ted hole. ~tar~lng at
tee 42 the ~olfer drives a ~olif ~all 46 towards the n~t ~ ~
A~ ~hei golf ball 46 travels ~rom ~he tee 42 to the net 44,
~S 1t passes ~hrou~h, or cQmes ln con~ac~ with, a plurality of
~ensors (which are descrlb~ in mo~e det~ll below). The
scre~n 40 i9 r,~i~ed above or ai eye level w~ ~h the net 4~ .
That way, a ~olfer standing at tee 42 can Ree over the net
44 ~or a clear view of the ~cre~n 40.
A yideo projector 48 display~ a video im~e o~ a hole
of golf as a ~olf~r would view the hole 30 while ~he gol~er
1~ driving toward 1~. The video pro~ect~r i9 con~rolled
by a computer 50. Computer 50 controls ~ plurality of
~unctions, de~crlb~d ~elow, and interac~5 wi~h ~he golfer
3S ~hrough lteyboard 52. In a typlcal s~enario, the ~olfer
prQmpts the ~omputer to indlca e that. a g~me o~ golf is
de~ired. ~he ~olfe~ may play solo o~ play in g~oup~. Onc~
A 50605~1/BGR/S~A1 -~-
~he computex is prompted it g~ner~es an imAg~ o~ ~he fir3t
hole as viewed ~rom th~ t~e ar~a~ A gol~er ~eps to the
t~e ~2 and hit~ A qol ball towaxd the soreen as ~houqh
the golfer wa~ on a raal gol~ cour e hltting of~ tha tee
towards the hole. A tee 8en~0r 49 Ben5e8 mov~ment of the
ball 46 off the tee 42. That way, ~hot~ that do not
regi~ter on the o~her ~en60rs ~56 and 58~ are accounted
for .
The tee 4~ i3 placed on a turnt~ble 41. Turn~able 41
0 i8 dlvided into a plur~lity of s~ction~. They inalude A
f~irway portion 43, a bunker (ox s~nd t~pJ pox~lon 45 and
~ rough portion 47. ~ tae o~ portion may ~lso he pro-
vlded . Ag the player move~ th~3 b l l ~own th~ course ~ny
o~ these situation~ may ~e en~ountered. The co~puter 50
indicat~s whlch one o~ ~hes~ are~s a player ha~ hlt ~nto.
The indlcation appear~ on a C~T monitor 51. The pl~y~r
then places the ball in the de61gnated area and plays on.
The turntable is ea~ily rotatable and lo~ into place
wh~re d~sired~
The ball will fir~t p85~ through ~ plane th~t 1B
parallel ~o the plan~ oP screen 40. Thl~ pl~n~ i8 defined
by sensors ~ A ~nd S6~ and i5 approx~t~ly pcrpendicular
to the ~loor of d~lvlng slmulator 20~ Ball 45 then
contac~s th~ ne~ 44. ~rom the time it takes the b~ll to
pA~g from th~ trst plane, define~ by sen~ors 56A and 56B~
until it contact3 ~he ~econd plan~, ds~ine~ roughly by n~t
44~ is used ~0 cal~ul~t~ the vel~city of th~ ball. Al~o,
~he ~ee sensor 49 could b~ used ~o initiate the v~loclty
m~surement. The c~lculation ~ speed ls simply a
c~lculatlon o~ dletance dlvidad by l:ime, thQ distance the
~all travels once 1~ p~ throu~h the ~ir~t ~ sor plan~
to the second ~ensor plane dlvld~d by the amount of tlme
raqulred ~or the bal l to travel ~hat distance . Since the
plane def ine¢l by the net ~4 1~ in fact "planar~' ~he
~5 dist~nce the ba~ ravel~ rom ~he tee to the ne~ will vary
dapending on which portLon o~ the "et th~ ba~l contact~.
Note thdt for the di~t~nc~ ~rom the tee 42 to the ne~ ~4 to
A-50~0S~ GR/SJA1 ~8~
7 ~ 2 t~
be the ~ame or each positlon on the net ~4, ~e n~t 4~
would have ~o he 6pheri~al. In or~er to compensate for
thi~ shortcoming and in ~rder to acc~rately calculate ball
~ra~ectory, four sen~ors 58A-~ are pl~ced at the ~our
corners o~ the net 44. The sen~ors SaA-D ~r~ pres~ure
tran~ducers. The~r output6 ~re inpu~ to the computer S0.
Ref~rring to Figur~ 3, the loca~lon of the ~en~ors
58A-D relatlve to the net an~ to an in~oming ball are
11lustrated. The ~o~r ssnsor~, 5~A-D, produce analog
voltage slgn~l~ indi~iv~ o~ the amount o~ ~or~e applled
by the ~all 46 on th~ net 44. For ~xample, l ~he ~all 46
cont~cts ~he net 44 in i~s eXact center the voltage signal
produce~ by e~ch sensor 58A-D wlll ~e ~he ~ame. ~hese
analo~ si~nals are m~asure~ ~t their pe~k, converted to
di~ital si~nals and ~en~ to the computer ~0. The c~lcula-
tlon to determlne l~ca~ion of net 44 contact involves
several paramet~r~. ~ocu61n~ on ~h~ horizontal component,
THD equals total horizon.~l ~i5tar.ce. ~he dl~tance of the
ball ~om the le~t side i~ dl, from the right side dr. The
~otal senso~ readings on the lef~ sld~ ls S~, on the right
SR. When the ~all stop~ mov1ng, the ~ensor reading~ ar~ at
a maximum, ~t c~n be ~ho~n that for the horlzont~l ~a~es:
S~dl = S~dr
si~ce the ~D = dl ~ dr ~nd dl = t~Rdr/SL):
SRdr ~ dr ~ T~
SolYing ~c~r d~:
dr l~Rt~ THD, ~o
` ~r ~ f~R/SL ~ 11
Thl6 glve~ the horizont~l di~tance of the ball 46 ~rom the
le~ han~ side o~ th~ ne~ 44. Th~ v~rtlc~l positLon of the
ball is determlned in tha ~me manner. Once vertlcal and
hori~ontal meaciur~ment of ball ~re known, the dl~tance ~om
the tee 42 to that lo~a~ion on the nst 44 ia r~adlly
ascertained~ ~lternatlv~ mathsma~lcal oparatlQns aould ~e
us~d to m~a~ure ball ~6 loca~ion o~ the net 44. These are
A-S0605-1/BGR/S3Al -g-
2Q~7~
~ell known and in~orporated hereln. Once the dl~tance ~rom
the ~ee 42 to th~ net ~4 l~ ~et~rmined, it iB dlvided hy
tr~vel ~ime to giv~ ~elool~y.
In ~ddition to ~eln~ useful for me~uring th~ velocity
S of the ball 46, t~e location at which the b~ll 4~ contacts
thP ne~ 42 ~lso determlne~ the tr~ec~or~ o~ the ball 46.
The ~aje~ory and ~alo~ity o~ the ball are u~ed to
determine where the bal 1 46 would have lande~ had the
golfer been on a regular gol~ ~ourse.
Note ~ha~ the s~r~en 40, w~ll 55 and a wall acro4s the
net 44 ~rom wall 55 ~not ~hown) ar~ u8ed to trac~ mi~hlts
which mi~ the net 44 t~he na~ ls po~itloned to catch
~orrectly hit ball~ ~ro~ all ~andar~ ~lubs). sensor~ Sl
a-d (on w~ll 55) ~nd ~3 a-d ~on s~r~en 40~ s~rve ~he 6amq
function as ~en60rs ~ d. S~n~or6 maY al~o be posi~ioned
on the celllng l"ot ~hown) BO th~t all ~hot6 are accounte~
~or.
Another crucial a~pec~ i~ c~lculatin~ where a hlt gol
ball 4~ will land i~ d~t~rminin~ ~he hook or slice in the
~olf ball 46 as d~termined by the amoun~ o ~pin lnjected
ln~o the ball ~. Thi3 mea3u~ement i~ ~ad~ using
plurality o~ comp4n~n~6. ~he~e component~ include ll~h~
sour~e~ 54A and 54B and eensors 56A and 56B. Referring to
~igure 4, th~ relationship be~ween the ligh~ ~ourc~3 54,
~5 ball 46 and 3ensors S~ 1~ lllu~trated. Li~ht sour~e~ 54
emit ~ light be~m which propaga~cs wlthln the pl~ne def ined
by the ligh~ æour~es 54A zsnd B and s~nsor~ 56A and s. For
purposes o the pres~nt inv~ntion, ~ ~pecial golf b~ll 45
1~ used. The g31~ ball 4~ 18 spe~ial be~ause ~t haæ highly
r~lective facet6 62. The~e fac~t~ ~ serve to r~flec~ the
light emitted by light so~r~ 54A and B onto sensors 5~A
~n~ B. Figure 4 illu~ra~e~ the reflectlon o~ th~ h~
beam off of the hlghly refle~tive facets 6~ o~ the gol~
bal 1 46 and onto the ~en~or 56A,
A-50605-1/BG~/S~Al -10~
2~7~
, . ...
R~ferring to Fl~ S, a top vlew of the gol~ ball 46
and the ~ensor~ 5~A nnd 56B 1~ a~hown. ~he ~en~or~ 56A and
56~ are ~lvided i~to tw~ ~OW8 6~iA and 66B and 6BA and 6BB.
EAch o~ the~e row~ 1~ comprl~ed of ~ plur~lity o~ light
s~nslng davl~e~ 64 . Th~ arran~ement of these row~ form~ ~n
import~nt a3p~ct o~ th~ present lnvention for rate o~ spln
~etermination in a horizont~l and vertlc~l plRn~
The horizontal ~pLn componen~ iB repre~ented by arrow
61. ~ the ~dll 46 p~89a~ lnto the plane of the llght
source 54A and 54~ a~d ~he sen~ors 56A and 56B, li~ht 15
refle~tad from the ll~h~ source onto the sen~ors 56A and
S6~. Focu~ing on ~ensor S~B, ~he reflecting llqht will
~tr~e ~ow 68 ~designa~ed by letter A) and row 66 ~de~ig-
nated by letter ~) a~ erent time9. Whether the light
i~pinges on ro~ A be~ore ~ implnges on row B gl~e6 the
dlrection o~ the spin, An ~ddltional m~a~urement i~ made
~uivalen~ t~ the time it ~akes the li~h~ ~o reach ~rom row
A ~o row B or vi~a versa. ~hi~ .~ea~uremen~ i~ used to
dete~mine rate of spin, Focu~l ng now on sen~or ~6A t~.e
3ame p~ocedure is ~ollowsd~ The ~pin on the b~ll 4~ w$11
cau~e the r~flected beam of ligh~ ~o lmpinge upon either
row 6~A then row 68A tdesignated by letters ~1 ~n~ Al,
reqpe~tiv~ly), or vlc~-ver~a.
I th~ ball pA~e~ over the sensors 56A and 56~ with
no spin, lt will f~r~t re~l~ct llght onto the flr~t row cf
sen~or~ ~A and Al) and then on the ~econd row ~B And ~1).
The time dif~er~n~e ~etween row6 of the two 5en80r~ 56A and
B will be identical, th~reby indi~atln~ that there is no
ho~izontal ~pin~ Horizontal ~pin is indicated when there
30 i8 a di~renc~ in the m~asurement betw~en the two rows
(A/Al and ~/~1) for the ~wo ~en~or~ 56A and ~. ~he rate of
3pin i5 proportion~l to the d$~fer~n~e in time measurem~nt~
~or the light to ~rav~l di~t~nce d and dl, 1~ ball 46 is
~ntere~ betw~,en 56a an~ 56b.
3S If ball 46 i~ not ~enter~d over ~en60r3 56a and 56b,
this o~ centex can be calculated from the posltion where
A-50605~ RtSJAl
2 ~ L r7 ~ 2 l;~
ball 46 strike~ ne~ 44. In thi~ ca6e any e~ror in
horizontal spin rat~ from ~hiR l~ck of cen'cering can be
ellmln~ed pxior to calculation o~ tra~ect~ry.
~he vertical 9pin ~ompon~nt i9 illu~trated l~y a~Eow
63. Vertical ~pin ls me~ured by comp~rlnq ~wo velocity
mea~urem~nts~ ~he 1'~1~8~ velo~lty measurement i~ that
discussed above, ~ me~ur~d betwe~n sensorQ 56A an~ E~ and
the net 4~ (he~eina~t~r "TV" ~or t-otal velo~lty), The
se~nd meABUrement i~ ~h~ veloclty of li~ht r~le~ln~ o~f
th2 bal 1 from a ~irs~ s~nsor row 6~A ~o a ~cond row 6~ .
To compensate ~or the ball 46 being closer to one sen60r
56, an aver~ge is ~aken of the veloci'cy me~sUrement fDr
each ~ or:
(V56p~ ~ V5~) /2
1~ where Vg6A is ~o~ ~h~ 1~3ft ~en~or and
V56B is ~or ~h~ right sQn60r.
Vertic:al Ypin velo~ y i~ obtained ~y subtra~ting the~e
meAsur~m~nt3 from on~ another:
i.e. ~ V~tical spin ~ ( ~V~A ~ Ys~
I~ ~he ~esult 1~ z~rc) ln the horlzontal plane there is no
ve~tical ~pin. If it i no~, the dir~ion ~nd magni~ude
o~ ~he ~pln 1~ lcnown~
The sen~or~ 56P~ and B prP~uce digit~l signals indloao
tive of the tlm~ re~llired ~or ~ reflected li~ht beam to
pa~s ~rom ~ow 68 ~o 66. Thi~ si~nal i~ ~upplied ~o ~he
oomputer 5~.
Re~errlng to Figur~ ~, an overall bloc~ dia~ram of the
operation uf the golf si~ul~tor 10 of the preferr~d
embodiment i3 ~hown. Dlqital ~i~n~19 are produced by the
~pin detector 5~A-B (90) ~nd analo~ si~nals ~re produced ~y
th~ net ~en30rs 5~A-D llOO~. At block 92 information ~rom
the gol~ ball spin detector sen80~ 56A~R pro~id~ raw
A-50605-l~BGR/SJAl -12-
~ gl~ 2 ~
digltal ~pln re~ding~ . Also, th.Ls tep indlc~t~3s wherJ ths
ball 46 in~erAee~ llght p~ths rom 60urce~ ~4. In block
102, analog signal in~ormation Erom each o~ the ~ur net
sen~or~ 5~A-D i9 converted to provld~ raw digital ~en~x
readings. Al30~ bloçk 10~ indic~te when and where
the ball ~6 reaches net 4~. ~oth the~ ~ignal~ from block
~2 and blo~k 102 ~re ~ed throu~h a c4mpu~er lnterface (at
blook 941 to cc~mputer 50 at bloc~c 98. A keypad 5G
~represen~ed hy block 9~ provlded for a ~olf~r to
acce~s a computer to lnl~iate a game of golf and to
lnteract wlth eomputer S0 a~ ~he golf garne proceed~. The
keypad ~96) perrnLt the golfer to control those a6pects of
the Bcreen and ga~e function~ which ~equlre u~er lnput.
A'c step 98, ths computer S0 proce~ses and ~auses to ~e
displa~yed the gc IP ~ou~e a~ vlewed f~om the ~antage polnt
Qf the golfer, th~ ball'~ projected motion a~ determined by
cornpute~ S~, and the dls~anc~ of ~h~ ball 46 from the
slm~lated hole. Th~3 informa~ion may be diqplay~d by the
video pro~ctor 4a ~106) OI` on addi~lo~al di~play device~
~108), su~h as a CP~T t51 of ~igure ~ omputer 50 ~lso
a~ltomatic2l11y cau~ss a prlntouk to be made of a map ~f ~he
green area Z2 wlth the l~c~ion oP the ball ~o that a
player car~ accurataly pla~e the bal 1 in ~he green por~ion
22 and play ou~ ~he hole~ Once the data on b~11 3pin,
txa~ectc,~y and ~pee~ is pro~ sed ard d6~termined hy ~he
compu~er 50, ~he tra~ec:tory ~nd motion i~ then displayed.
The vlew displayed on the scr3~n 44 13y th~ vid~o pro~ector
49 $s up~a~ed to xer~lect the vi~w from each new position
of the ball to the graen~ Th~ ~ctual location of the ball,
overl~id on a map o ~che hol0, 16 ~lsplay~d on the monltor
51. Altern~tiv~3ly, the fllgh~ path of the ball 4~ could be
dlsplayed by th~ video projec~or 48 on ~he ~creen 4q. The
position o~ the ball ~6 on the screen 44 is displ~ye~ ln
conjunctior~ with su~h elements ~ "out of bound~," "haz-
Ard~," "fai~way," "~ough," etc., which are taken into
accoun't in l:he clispl~y.
~ ball ent~r~ the im~ginary ~oush, th~ compu~er 50
randomly assign~s a ~onaltlon to the ball 46 ~base~ on
A-50605~1JBGR~SJAl - 13-
~7~2l'~
predetermin~d percentage). For ex~mple, the comput.er 50
may call lo~t halls 20~ o~ the tin~e, unple~ya~3le lies ~0~ o~
the time / out o~ boun~q 30% of the tlme, and ahip out so
rnany y~rds to ~ given po~itlon 30~ o~ the time.
Again, the presen~ tnv~n~ion en~ble8 a play~r to u~e
the computer/ video module hereln di~closed to pl~y l:he
longest part of th2 hole ,, re8erving the green ~rea for
playing of bal 18 consld~ed to ~e within a predetermin~d
distAnce ~r~m the hole. ~he exact location o~ the b~ll
f rom the hole or green ~U~roun~ indlcated . Group~
of golfers are a~le ~o play togother w~th q comp~l~e~
d~ ned to keep track of ea~h gol er ' ~ score and b~l l
po~itlon, ~tc., simultaneou~lY.
R prir~ter and printout c~n also be in~egrated ~ith th~
lS compu~er to ~ive a prln~ut of t~e hol~ ~nd surround, wlth
the posl~ion of each pl~yer's ~ol~ ball indi~ated thereon
and can also be u~ed ~o to~um~nt ea~:h plAyer ' g ~core .
Re~erring to Figure~ 7a and 71:\~ a pl an view and
perspective vlew, respectlYely, o~ a plurality of golf
simulator3 are ~hown ln con~un~tlon with ~ dr~tln~ ~ange
114. In thls ~t~u~ure 110, a plurality of drivlng
SimUlatQrS 112 ~numb~ed 1~ are located ~djacent a
puttlng and/or chipping ~r2a 11~. ~he putting~h~pping
area 116 ~:ontains seve~al holes ~number~d l-g3 whlch
2S correspond to the drivln~ ~imulator~. Not6~ thst som~ hole~
may ~hare a common green. Loc~ted above ~he ~imulato~ 112
and p~l~tin~ area llS 19 ~ drivlng ranqe 114. Th~ drivir~g
range 114 servee; ~s a weAther sh~lter for the areas ll2 ~nd
116 ~nd e~lciently Ut.ili20~1 space.
Refe~ing to Figure~ 8a and 8b) a plan view and ~ide
view of another e Tlbodlment are pre~ ted ~ ~n arm 12 0 i s
positionad to rot~te ~bout ~ vext.ic~l sh~ 12~. A
potentiometer 1~4 is coupl~d to sha~t 122 to mea~ure
velocity. The potentiometer 124 1~ ~ixed to ba~e 126. An
A-S0605~1/B(;;R/SJA1 _1~w
7 ~ ~ ~
. ~ ' . ~ .!
aI~tl~iolal turf 128 i~ a~ixed to base 126 in such a
manner that the tur~ 128 is unde~ the ~rrn 120.
A sim~lated qol b2~11 130 i.8 att~hed to the end of
arm 120 remote ~om pivot 122. ~ lower portlon 132 of
ball 130 is arranged to rota~e around ~ ~ha~t 134. 'rhe
~haft lnside the ball 130 in th~ ball portion oth~r than
the lower ball po~tion 1~3~ ationary, The lower
portlon 132 is $re~ to ~pin about ~haft ~34 ln ~he
horiæontal plane. The lower portion 1~2 of th~ ball ~30
protrude~ furth~r oU~ ~han the other pox~ion~ That w~y
when a bal l i6 hit it i9 gua~nteed that the low~r port~ on
i~ hit flr~t. ~ny horizontal spin ~n~uc~d ~y ~ ~ol club
hit will cause the low~r portion 13~ to rotate ln the
horizontal pl~ne. A pot~nti~met~r 13fi m~a~u~s the r~e of
rotation induoed in the lowar portion an~ feed~ i~ back to
a system computer ~or ~ ulA~ion o ~pin effect on
tra~ectory .
Verti~al li~t o~ khe golf ~all 130 1 determined by
~he me~ur~ment o~ rotatlon of ~rm 120 ~bout pivot 140.
~0 The arm 1~0 rotates ln the v~rtlcAl plAne a~out pivot 140.
Potentlonleter 142 measures ~he ri~e in th~ ~m 1~0 whi~h ~ 8
ab~orbed a~ter a period o~ rotati on about pivot 122 .
As ~hown in Figu~e 9, another embodimant of ~he t~e
- portlon and 9pill detec~lon por~ion o ~he inv~3ntior~ h~
~5 been shown. Thus, ~ re~llient tee element 141 px~trudes
pwardly through ~ hole 14~ in th~ m~t o ~arpet, gras~, or
ar~i1cial tur~ gr~6~. El~m~nt 1~1 ~emains ~r.chored by a
f lange~141à~ beneath mat 144 . The upper end o~ el~men~
i~ shaped to ~upport a ~ol~ ball~llke alement 146
charac~erizad by ~ re1ec1:ive sur~ace portlon 14~ ~or
purposes noted ~elow.
A llght ~ource 147 dir~ts a ~am 14B o~ ~nergy at the
l ike ~ l emen~ 14 6 or~ te~ e l ~rnent l ~ l o
A-50605-1/BGR/SJ~1 ~15
2~7~
~ b~ ov4~en~ ~en0Dr 3lle~n~ 149 ~rvo~ to p~o~l~e
ln~ormation ~or ao~put~r analy~:L~ o:~ th~ mov~nl; o~ ~ha b~
ltka ale~nt 146. ~n~or Ple~ns 14g ~ dl~po~ed ln the ~lrQatlon
o~ ~o~Qm~n~ o~ el~mont 14~ ar~d orlont~ tranDv4r~1y th~r~o~.
~rior t~ ~t~lking ball-llk~ elo~Aer,~ (he~ln~ r "~he
ball~), th~ hall ~ nt~d oll ~he tee in ~ mann~r dl~po~lng
the r~la~tive ~ur~a~ 146a 1 po~ltion to ~lrnat llght ~rom ~eam
148 onto 1~ ovemant ~n~or mQ~n~ 14g.
~en~or Dl~ns 149, ~ 8t ~IhOWn ln Fl~r~ 10, inolu~o a
pa~ r o~ l~t~r~lly ~aco~ vertlcal~y ~l~po~d line~ 1~1, 15~ o~
lndl~lduzll ~en~ ele~ent~ ¢~rri~d on a ~ rigid ~up~ort ~o~rd
153. Boe~rd 153 aloo ~arri~ ~ p~lr or v~rtically ~pacQd but
horlzonltally ~l~po~ed llne~ 154, lS5 o~ ~en~oF element~. ~Ald
mo~r~ment ~n~or ~a~An~ 1~9 ~nf~ le~ot l~rlzo~t~l and
~rtlcal ~plrl or 'che balls~ leJlen~ A~l ~xplAin~ b~ow.
Thu~, ~on~or bo~rd 1~ p~ov~d~ orma~lon r~pr~ nt~ rs
of th~ ~plr~ ball ~. 46 Rbout ~h o~ kwo ax~ . Xt will be
e~ld~nt tl~at, ~ b~ 4~ tru~k, i~ lt i~ rot~d g~n~r~lly
upw~r~ o~lt ~ ho~:1 z~r~al ~xl~ t~le b~ ol:ate~
~loc:kwl~ hown ln Plç~3:~ g, t~le r~lo~a llght oS~ n~or
bo~rd l!~i~ w~ ov~ n~r~lly ~lpw~rdly to ~:~o~ lin~ 154 ~ 155 .
Thufl, tho tim~ b~twa~n ~ h~ns~ ~ight on or o~ the BpotB in
horlzont~l lln~ 4, 15~ p~oY~ n ind~tlor~ o~ t2~ awLount
o~ upw;~d ~ir. on ~h~ ~all.
~imllarly~, th~ e b~tw~n ~lA~h~ ng llg~t on o~ o~ th~
~en~or ~le~aen~ in l~n~ 151, 1S2 pro~ an lndl~tion o~ the
am~unl: o~ or h~k~ d~n~lng orl whether thR llgh~ ~r~
~eing lLght~d ~oving ~ro~ t to r~h~ or ri~h~ to le~t.
Al~nat,lv~ly/ 1~ only two ~oW~ o~ ~n~or el ~er~ Are
e~ploy~d, a~ ~'or ~xdm~la lln~ 154, 155, the ~o~itlon ~t which
~he light ~pot ~r~es lndlvi~ual ~en~o~ llne~ 154, lB5 ~an
also b~ uo~d t:o ~t~t t}~e ar~ount o~ ~hool:" o~ pplled
~o th~ ball b~ thq ~l~yor.
~ner}~lly, ~in ~n b~ d~t~atad ~y morl~o~ whlch
indlv~duzll detec:t~r ~wi~h on or o~ pho~o~t~c~ox ~Atrlx.
.7~2~
.
As ~hown ln the embodiment of the tArge~ portion of
the drlving unit, appearing in Figur~ 11, an im~ge o~ the
golf hole being played i~ pro~ect:ed onto ~ ~le~ible ~c~
156 ~o a~ form something of a targ~t. The target ~embly
157 serves to detect the locu~ thereon where a b~ll driven
lnto the target assem~ly ~t~ike~ 3ame. The tA~g~t a~embly
comprises a ~atrix 158 of conductor~ ~ene~ally comprising a
first plurDlity o~ condu~tors dlsposed to extend in ~ first
directlon ~nd ~ ~e~ond plu~allty of conductors dispo~ed to
extend in ~ second direction and at a sub~t~ntlal Anyle to
the first direction. Each ~ the ~lrst and ~econd
pluraliti~s of ~onductors lles su~st~ntiallY ln a plane
as~oclated wlth othex c~n~ucto~ o such plurallt~ t~
deEine Eir~t and ~econd pl~nes thereo~. Th~ ~irst and
second pl~ne~ are clo~ely 6pAC~d apart 90 AR to be free
from electYl~al ~ontact the~ebetween exCept when st~uck by
a driven ball. A preferred arran~emen~ of the matrlx noted
above i8 ~hown in Pigure 11, wherein the fir~t plurality of
conductor~ can be ~on~idered to be tho~e orianted
2Q vertically and the second plur~ y c~n b~ ~nsldexed to be
~he cond~tors oriented h~r~zont~lly and dl~po~ed behl~d
~hose that Are vertica 1 .
A flexible ~heet of mat~3r~al 156 hung in ~ront o~
matrix 158 serves to provide a ~c~en on whi~h the golf
hole can be di pl~y~d. A ~eml rlgl~ sheet o~ materl~l 161
dispos~d ~ehin~ ma~rlx 15B w~er~by, aQ a drlven ball ~6~
s~rike~ the flexible ~heat 156, ball 162 wlll moY~ A
~onductor b~hind sheet 15~ into eng~ement with a
transversely extending con~uc~or of the othe~ pl~rality
thereo to id~ntify the lo~u~ o~ impact ~ t~e ball on the
screen.
Ac~ordlngly, ~h~ horizontal ~nd ve~ic~l pO~tion o~
the ball i~ identi~ied by the lnter~ec~lon of a conductor
~rom one plur~lity with ~ conductor ~om the other
plurali~y.
A-50605 l/~GR/SJAl ~17-
2~ 7
~hu~, a~ o~m ~n ~i~ure ~ he ou~ut gro~ ~h~
v~r~iaAlly orien~ad ~lur~ y oi~ ~ondu~r~ upp~ vi~ lo~d
163 to a ~wi~c:h array 164 o~ Xno~m ~e~ imll~rly, a lead
l~S 6u~ he ou'eput :~ro~ ~he horiæontAlly ori~nts~
cond~lctor~ Or ~ ~cond p~lrallty to ~witah nrr~y 1~54~ A~ thu~
arrAng~ witah ~rr~y 1~4 ~a~ ~u~gi~ nt in~ut irl~o~cl on to
ld~nti~y th~ locus wh~r~ ~h~ b~ll h~ ~truak the ~cr~an~
~ a n~d ~ p-a~d o~ th~ bsll o~vi~u~ly ~arv~ t~
ldentiry th~ anaa whl~h 1~ i~ hit along the alrway~ In ths
pre~nt ~mbodlmant, ~ pa~ r~adily de~ect~d by ~ir~t
notlng when th~ r~ tlve portion 146a indl~ate~ movem~nt on
san~or bo~r~ lS~, ~h~ indlaating th~t the ball ha~ b~en
o~rucX. ~hls ln~ut lnPo~na~lon 1~ euppl~ ~d ~ tly vl~ lead
166 to oomput~r lC7. ~e ln~ut 1~ Prom ~witc~h ~r~Ay 164
in~laat~ th~t the targ~t ha~ ~aen El~ruc~: by ~h~ ball 162 ~nd,
~h~r~ore the t~ o~ ~ll~t c~ rom tee t~ t~rg~t o~n
raA~lly by det~3ain~d ~y oo~put~ 167.
~ ompute~ 167 ~ ntly gxnerat~ an ou~put on dl~play
169 lnd~ cating !:h~ tano~ ~he ball 2~ b~an hit 1~8e~ on t~a
speed o~ ~h~ ball ~ t~at~d, knowing tho ~lx~d di~t~n~e
b4tws~n th~ ~æ~ Rnd th~ ~rqen.
T~ ~o~golng d~ac~ri~lon~ o~ ~p~cl~ia ~mbo~m~nt~ th~
pre~4n~ ln~anti~n ~avR b~n p~es~ o~ pu:cpo0~3~ of
illu~t~tion and a~erlpt~ on . ~h~y ~r~ not ~ rltend~ to be
exhau~tlv~ or to llmil: the in~ ion to tha pr~oi~e ~o~ms
dl~clo~ed, ~n~ obvloU~ly ~any modi~lca~lon~ ~nd vAriatisns ~ra
posslble ln light o~ the Abov~ t~aehin~. Th~ e~o~lra~n~ were
cho~n ~nd d~ao~ ln ord ~r to bq~ ~xpla~n th~ prlnc:ipls~ o~
the lnv~n~lon ~nd it~ ~aract~ pE~llcation, to th~reby ena~le
okh~rs ~lclll~l in the ~; to b¢~ utillz~ the inv~ntlon and
v~rlou~ ~mbodi~n~nt~ with v~rlou~ laodi~icA~ion~ are suited to
~hR p~rtlaul~r U~B ~on~sm~ ted. I~ i~ intend~d that ~hQ ~cop~
o~ the in~ nt~on
~-5 0~ 05~ a~JAl -l8
2 ~
be def ined by the Cl~ims append~d h~reto ~rd their
equivalont~ .
A~50605~ aRI~JA1 -19-
