GB2132340A

GB2132340A - Distance-measuring apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2132340A
Application number: GB08315952A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William John Oliphant
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-11-29
Filing date: 1983-06-10
Publication date: 1984-07-04
Also published as: GB8315952D0

Abstract

A distance-measuring apparatus for a wheeled vehicle, such as a golf trolley 10. The apparatus comprises an optical or magnetic sensor 16 for sensing revolutions of a ground wheel 12 and for providing a plurality of signals dependent upon the number of revolutions of the wheel. A counter- divider circuit counts the signals and provides an output signal dependent upon the distance travelled by the vehicle 10. The output signal is decoded and used to drive a digital display 20 to provide an indication of that distance. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Distance measuring apparatus This invention relates to distance measuring apparatus for use with a sports vehicle such as a golf trolley.

Although it is believed that the apparatus could find application with other vehicles, the following description will be directed to the use of apparatus according to the invention with a golf trolley.

On a typical golf course, the distance between the tee and the pin will vary from hole to hole and it is important that a golfer should not only know that distance but after driving his ball from the tee towards the pin he should be able to assess the ramaining distance from where his ball has come to rest to the pin so that he can adjust the power of his shot accordingly.

The distance between tee and pin for any given hole is given so that the golfer is particularly interested in the distance his ball has travelled from the tee and the residual distance to be covered. It is difficult to gauge substantially horizontal distances by sight particularly if there are undulations or obstacles in the line of sight.

There is thus a need for a device which the golfer can use to assist him in assessing the length of his shot and therefore the remaining distance to the pin.

According to the invention there is provided a distance measuring apparatus for a wheeled vehicle, comprising sensing means for sensing revolutions of a ground wheel and for providing a plurality of signals dependent upon the number of revolutions of the wheel, means for counting said signals and for deriving therefrom a distance signal dependent upon the total number of revolutions of the ground wheel and hence the distance travelled, and display means coupled to receive said distance signal and arranged to provide an output indication dependent upon the distance travelled by the vehicle.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows a collapsible golf trolley fitted with one embodiment of a distance measuring apparatus according to the invention; FIGURE 2 shows part of the trolley of Figure 1 with part of the apparatus including the display device; FIGURES 3 and 4 are perspective views from the front and rear of the part of the apparatus shown in Figure 2; FIGURES 5 and 6 are perspective views of the sensing means of the apparatus; FIGURE 7 is a block schematic diagram of one circuit for use with the apparatus according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a typical, collapsible golf trolley 10 having a frame 11 and ground wheels 12, 13.

The distance measuring device 14 comprises a sensor 16 arranged to sense rotation of the ground wheel 1 2 and to provide a plurality of signals dependent upon the number of revolutions of the wheel. These signals are coupled by way of a multicore cable 1 7 to a housing 18 containing the rest of the apparatus 14. The housing 1 8 contains counting means for counting the signals received from the sensor 1 6 and for converting the counted signal into a signal representative of the distance covered by the ground wheel 12. The distance is displayed on a digital display device 20 such as a liquid crystal display. The display device will be calibrated to display distance in convenient units, such as metres or yards.

The sensor 1 6 comprises an elongate plastics housing 22 formed in two pieces for ease of assembly. The housing 22 is securely mounted on a frame member of frame 11 by means of a bracket and nut and bolt assembly 24. Mounted within the housing 22 are batteries (not shown) to energise the apparatus 14 and an optical transmitter/receiver in the form of an infra-red emitter diode 26 and a photo Darlington transmitter 28.

Mounted for rotation with the wheel 12 is an annular, target disc 30 having a generality non reflective (matt black) surface 32 provided with a plurality of radially extending, equispaced reflective strips 34. The disc 30 is securely mounted on the wheel 12 by brackets 36.

A window 38 formed in an end face of the housing 1 6 facing the target disc 30, allows light from the diode 26 to be directed towards the surface 32 and reflective strips 34 and the light reflected from the strips 34 to be received by the photo transistor 28. Thus, for each rotation of the wheel 12, a plurality of signals equal to the number of reflective strips 34 will be generated by transistor 28. Clearly, if the circumference of the wheel 12 is known, the number of signals in the form of pulses generated from the light pulses reflected from the strips 34, will be dependent upon the distance travelled.

The signal pulses from diode 28 are coupled by way of cable 17 to the housing 14, through a pulse shaper 40, which provides generally square output pulses to a counter/divider circuit 42 and a two-input NOR circuit 43. The circuit 42 is preset to count one each time a predetermined number of pulses has been recieved. For example for a given diameter of wheel 12, the number of reflective strips can be so selected that a count of one is registered in circuit 2 each time the wheel 12 has moved through a distance of one metre (or one yard).

Thus the count accumulated in circuit 42 is equivalent to the distance travelled. The output of the counter 42 is coupled through NOR gate 43 and decoded in a decoder-driver circuit 44 and coupled to the liquid crystal display device 20. As shown in Fig. 7 the display 20 indicates that the trolley has travelled a distance of 1 85 metres (or yards).

In a game of golf, for a 'hole' 385 metres long, if the display 20 registered zero when the golfer teed off and registered 185 metres when the golfer or his caddie, with the trolley, reached the ball, he would know that he still had to drive the ball (385-1 85 200 metres to reach the pin.

This assumes that the trolley was towed in a straight line between a point from where the shot was taken to the point where the ball came to rest.

This assumes that the line of flight of the ball is in a straight line between the tee and the pin. Of course, in a practical situation this is unlikely to be the case, but the distance measurement indicated on the display 20 enables the golfer to make a reasonable estimate of the distance his ball has travelled and the residual distance to the pin.

In another arrangement the length of the hole could be preset in the counter 42 and display 20 and pulses subtracted from the counter 42 so that the number indicated in the display 20 is a direct indication of the residual distance for the hole being played.

As mentioned, power for the apparatus is provided by batteries in the housing 1 6 and an on/off switch 46 is provided on the rear of the housing 18. Also provided on the rear of the housing 18 are reset and clear switches 48, 50 respectively. The reset switch 48 is arranged, when operated, to cause the count in the counter/divider circuit 42 and hence the distance displayed on display 20 to be rounded up to the next full metre (or yard). On operation of the clear switch 50, the count in circuit 42 and display 20 is set to zero prior to playing the next hole.

In the simple apparatus described it has been assumed that the wheel 12 is of a standard circumference.

For trolleys having ground wheels of a different circumference then the apparatus would have to be modified in some way. For example, the target discs 30 could be modified to provide sufficient reflective strips 34 to provide the required number of signals indicative of the standard distance travelled, e.g. 1 metre (or 1 yard). Thus the apparatus could be supplied with a target disc 30 appropriate to the size of the ground wheel.

In another arrangement, a multi-position switch (not shown) could be provided, conveniently on the housing, selectively to vary the division ratio of the circuit 42 according to the size of the wheel 12.

Access to the battery compartment in housing 16 is by way of screw caps 52, 54 in the end 56.

The circuit will operate over a voltage range of about 5 to 6.5 volts and it has been found that four nickel calcium rechargeable batteries of AA size or the less expensive alkaline nonrechargeable batteries, are suitable.

Although a photo-optical sensor 1 6 has been described it is believed that other sensors could be used, such as a magnetic sensor in which magnetic elements, such as strips are formed on the target disc and arranged to generate pulses in a pick-up head in the sensor housing when the wheel is rotated. Also, whilst a target disc has been disclosed, the reflective or magnetic elements could be mounted directly on the wheel.

In a development of the invention, the pulse signals from the sensor 1 6 can be fed to a microprocessor which could be programmed to present the information in a variety of ways, for example to indicate the distance travelled from the tee or the residual distance to the tee, to store the distances travelled between shots over the various holes of the golf course so that the golfer can compare his form with a previous game or games.

The microprocessor could conveniently be mounted in the housing 18 which could also be provided with a keyboard to allow the user to call up specific programs and/or, for example to key in the wheel diameter if the apparatus is transferred to a different trolley and so on.

Claims

1. Distance measuring apparatus for a wheeled vehicle, comprising sensing means for sensing revolutions of a ground wheel and for providing a plurality of signals dependent upon the number of revolutions of the wheel, counting means for counting said signals and for deriving therefrom a distance signal and display means coupled to receive said distance signal and arranged to provide an output indication dependent upon the distance travelled by the vehicle.

2. Distance measuring apparatus according to Claim 1, in which the sensing means is an optoelectronic device.

3. Distance measuring apparatus according to Claim 2, in which the sensing means comprises an optical transmitter/receiver mounted on a frame member of said vehicle and a reflective device mounted for rotation with said ground wheel and positioned to receive light from the transmitter and reflect it towards the receiver.

4. Distance measuring apparatus according to Claim 3, in which the optical transmitter comprises an infra-red emitting diode.

5. Distance measuringt apparatus according to Claim 3 or 4 in which the receiver comprises a phototransmitter.

6. Distance measuring apparatus according to Claim 1, in which the sensing means comprises at least one magnetic device mounted for rotation with said ground wheel and a magnetic pick-up device arranged to provide an output signal each time a magnetic device passes thereby.

7. Distance measuring apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the counting means for counting said signals comprises means for dividing the accumulated signal by a divisor such that the output signal is representative of the distance travelled in a selected dimension, such as metres or yards.

8. Distance measuring apparatus according to Claim 5, in which the means for dividing is presettable.

9. Distance measuring apparatus according to Claim 6, in which the means for dividing is selectively presettable.

1 0. Distance measuring apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims including digital storage means for storing a distance travelled between two points for comparison with the distance travelled between the same two points on a subsequent occasion.

11. Distance measuring apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a microcomputer for controlling operation of the apparatus.

12. Distance measuring apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

13. A vehicle comprising distance measuring apparatus according to any one of the accompanying drawings.

14. A golf trolley including distance measuring apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 1 3.

1 5. Distance measuring apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the counting means can be preset to zero or a datum value and arranged to count-up during travel to provide an indication of the distance travelled.

1 6. Distance measuring apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, in which the counting means can be preset to a predetermined value representative of the distance to be travelled and arranged to count-down during travel to provide an indication of the residual distance to be travelled.

1 7. Distance measuring apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the display means comprises a digital indicator device.