US20100273564A1

US20100273564A1 - Audio Alignment of a Golf Shot

Info

Publication number: US20100273564A1
Application number: US12/428,379
Authority: US
Inventors: Wen Sun Hou
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-04-22
Filing date: 2009-04-22
Publication date: 2010-10-28

Abstract

Provided are, among other things, systems, methods and techniques for setting up a golf shot. According to one embodiment, an audio-emitting device is placed at an identified position that is along a line between (i) a first location corresponding to at least one of a position of a golf ball to be hit and a position of a golfer who is to hit the golf ball and (ii) a second location corresponding to a position within 4 feet of a target hole into which the golf ball is desired to be hit. The audio-emitting device is activated so that an audio signal is emitted by the audio-emitting device at a time during which at least a portion of the current golf shot occurs.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the sport of golf and, more particularly, concerns systems, methods, apparatuses and techniques for lining up a golf shot using an audio signal or cue.

BACKGROUND

Golf is a very challenging sport, partly because even slight variations in technique, body alignment and club speed become magnified over the distances typically involved, making it extremely difficult to consistently hit a golf ball to a desired location, or even reasonably close to the desired location. With respect to the body alignment problem, during practice golfers sometimes lay down a marker on the ground indicating the direction to the desired target and then align their bodies relative to the marker in order to achieve better accuracy during their swings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventor has discovered that when playing or practicing golf, visual markers alone often are adequate to allow a golfer to accurately align his or her body to the direction of a desired target, but the mere use of such a marker often is not helpful in allowing the golfer to accurately maintain an appropriate sense of direction during his or her golf swing. Accordingly, the present invention addresses this problem by providing an audio signal or cue that can be used, in addition to or instead of a visual cue, for indicating the direction of a desired target from the vantage point of the golfer (e.g., both before and during the golf swing). In particular, the present inventor has discovered that most people are quite adept at identifying the direction from which a sound is originating, even without any visual cues whatsoever.
Based on these discoveries, the present invention provides, among other things, systems, apparatuses and methods in which an audio source is placed along a line between a location generally corresponding to the golfer (more preferably, the golfer's ear as he or she is looking down at the ball in a posture in which the golfer is ready to swing) and the location of a desired target that generally corresponds to the location of the hole (more preferably, approximately 3 feet to the left of the hole). Using the audio signal from this source, the golfer often can obtain a good indication of the direction to the desired target while his or her eyes are focused on the golf ball.
Thus, one embodiment of the invention is directed toward setting up a golf shot in which an audio-emitting device is placed at an identified position that is along a line between (i) a first location corresponding to at least one of a position of a golf ball to be hit and a position of a golfer who is to hit the golf ball and (ii) a second location corresponding to a position within 4 feet of a target hole into which the golf ball is desired to be hit. The audio-emitting device is activated so that an audio signal is emitted by the audio-emitting device at a time during which at least a portion of the current golf shot occurs.
The foregoing summary is intended merely to provide a brief description of certain aspects of the invention. A more complete understanding of the invention can be obtained by referring to the claims and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in connection with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following disclosure, the invention is described with reference to the attached drawings. However, it should be understood that the drawings merely depict certain representative and/or exemplary embodiments and features of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. The following is a brief description of each of the attached drawings.

FIG. 1A is a flow diagram illustrating a method of using an audio cue to line up a golf shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a flow diagram illustrating a method of placing and aligning an audio-emitting device for the purpose of lining up a golf shot.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual perspective view of the use of an audio-emitting device during a golf shot.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual side view of the use of an audio-emitting device during a golf shot.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate examples of audio patterns that are emitted by an audio-emitting device according to representative embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual side view illustrating the use of a pair of alignment markers to align an audio-emitting device platform according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual top plan view illustrating the lateral adjustment mechanism of the stand for an audio-emitting device according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual side view illustrating the preparation of an audio-emitting device assembly for operational use according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A-C are top plan views illustrating an initial placement and verification of an audio-emitting device assembly.

FIGS. 9A-C are top plan views illustrating a final placement and verification of an audio-emitting device assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

FIG. 1A is a flow diagram illustrating a method 10 of using an audio cue to line up a golf shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following discussion, method 10 is described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, which illustrate method 10 in use.
Initially, in step 12 an audio-emitting device 50 is positioned and/or aligned. Although audio-emitting device 50 can be any device that emits sound, as discussed in more detail below, in certain embodiments audio-emitting device 50 produces a sound that assists the golfer 52 in making his or her swing and/or that is more effective in providing the appropriate directional information to the golfer 52. In any event, audio-emitting device 50 preferably is a small battery-powered electronic device (shown oversized in FIG. 3 and some of the other drawings for emphasis).
In the preferred embodiments, audio-emitting device 50 is positioned along a line 54 between a first location, generally corresponding to the position 56 of the ball to be hit and/or the golfer 52, and a second location, generally corresponding to a position within the vicinity of the hole 57 into which the ball is desired to be hit. More preferably, the first location is (or corresponds to) the position 51 of the golfer's ear at the point that the golfer is ready to begin his or her swing (as shown in FIG. 3), and the second location is (or corresponds to) a position 59 approximately 3 feet to the left of the hole at a height above the ground approximately equal to the height of the golfer's ear above the ground (e.g., approximately where the golfer's ear would be if the golfer 52 were addressing a ball located right on top of the hole, as shown on a phantom flag in FIG. 2). However, in alternate embodiments the second position could be the hole 57 itself or, e.g., any location within a 4-foot radius of the hole 57. The second location sometimes is referred to herein as the target location.
As a result, from the golfer's perspective, the sound produced by the audio-emitting device 50 will be coming from the same direction as the target location. For best results, it currently is preferred to position the audio-emitting device 50 at a distance of 6-12 feet (more preferably, 7-9 feet) from the first location. In the preferred embodiments, the height of audio-emitting device 50 is the height of the line 54 at that location. However, in alternate embodiments audio-emitting device 50 is set at a fixed height (e.g., the height of the golfer's ears 51) irrespective of the difference in elevation between the golf ball 56 and the hole 57.
In order to achieve the desired positioning, audio-emitting device 50 preferably is disposed on a stand 60 that is located at a fixed position on the golf course or practice range. For this purpose, stand 60 preferably is provided with a wide and/or heavy (and thus stable) base 62 (illustrated in FIG. 3 as a solid base, but instead could be a tripod or other multi-leg base). In alternate embodiments, stand 60 is provided with a pointed bottom end, for inserting into the ground; however, such an embodiment tends to cause damage to the course and therefore is not preferred in most cases.
The desired height of audio-emitting device 50 preferably is achieved through the use of an adjustable-height stand 60. Thus, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, stand 60 includes an upper member 64 and a lower member 65, with the upper member 64 telescoping into the lower member 65 in order to adjust the height of stand 60. However, it should be noted that any other number of telescoping members or, for that matter, any other height-adjustment mechanism instead may be used.
In the present embodiment, the audio-emitting device assembly 70 (which includes audio-emitting device 50 and stand 60) also includes several other features. Specifically, in the present embodiment audio-emitting device 50 detachably attaches to a mounting post 72 which, in turn, is attached to a rotatable platform 74. In the present embodiment, a knob 75 rotates platform 74 through a gear linkage (not shown), providing fine adjustment of the rotational orientation of platform 74. In certain embodiments, another knob is provided, and/or platform 74 itself can be manually rotated, in order to provide gross adjustment of the rotational orientation of platform 74. As discussed in more detail below, in the present embodiment the ability to rotate platform 74 assists in more accurately positioning stand 60 along the desired line 54.
Preferably, rotatable platform 74 is disposed on top of a lateral member 78 and includes an adjustment mechanism (such as a knob) 79 that can be used to alter the lateral position of the platform 74. In other words, the platform 74 preferably is both rotationally and laterally adjustable. These features are discussed in more detail below.
Finally, a cage 80 (e.g. a wire mesh cage as shown in FIG. 7) preferably also detachably attaches to platform 74 and, when installed, serves to protect audio-emitting device 50 from damage in the event that audio-emitting device assembly 70 is struck by a golf ball.
A more detailed method for positioning and/or aligning audio-emitting device 50 in this step 12 is described below in connection with FIG. 1B. Returning to FIG. 1A, in step 13, after the audio-emitting device assembly 70 has been placed in the desired position, the audio-emitting device 50 is activated, causing it to begin the process of emitting an audio signal.
Such an audio signal can be in the form of a continuous sound, such as a tone, hum or buzz. Alternatively, it can be provided as a sequence of sounds (typically, each of the same type, but potentially having some variation, such as in pitch, volume or character). When a sequence of sounds is used, each individual sound can immediately follow the previous one or, more preferably, can be separated by an interval of silence. Still further, the audio signal can be any arbitrary sound. In certain embodiments, the audio-emitting device 50: is programmable so that the user can custom-design the audio signal, includes a standard audio player so that the user can upload any desired audio file to be used as the audio signal, and/or has recording capability so that the user can record sound to be used as the audio signal. For these purposes, the audio-emitting device 50 can include memory, an audio signal processor, an amplifier, a loudspeaker and/or a port (e.g., USB) for connecting to a general-purpose computer.
Examples of audio sequences that can be produced by audio-emitting device 50 are shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The sequence 90 shown in FIG. 4A includes three relatively short tones (or other sounds) 91-93, followed by a longer tone (or other sound) 94, with a short silent interval of uniform duration between each sound 91-93 and the immediately following sound 92-94, respectively. The sequence 95 shown in FIG. 4B includes three relatively short tones (or other sounds) 96-98, followed by a relatively long silent period 99, with a short silent interval of uniform duration between each sound 96-97 and the immediately following sound 97-98, respectively.
In any event, the audio signal (e.g., pattern 90 or 95, or even a continuous sound, if used) preferably is provided within a discrete time segment (e.g., 4-10 seconds long. Such a segment can be played just a single time, after which the audio-emitting device 50 must be activated again in order to cause the audio signal to be played again. In order to provide the golfer 52 with an opportunity to set up, a relatively long silent period can be provided following activation but before the actual playing of the audio signal (e.g., sequence 90 or 95). Alternatively, such a segment can be repeated multiple times, with a relatively long silent period between repetitions during which the golfer 52 has an opportunity to place another golf ball down and prepare for another swing.
Depending upon the particular embodiment, audio-emitting device 50 can be activated using a pushbutton or other switch on the device itself or can be activated using a remote-control device, such as wireless remote-control device 105 attached to the golfer's belt in FIG. 3. With respect to the latter, for example, the golfer 52 might press a start button to play a single iteration of sequence 90 or 95 (or other audio segment), or might press the start button to begin a continuous repetition of sequence 90 or 95 (or other audio segment) and then press a stop button to deactivate audio-emitting device 50.
Finally, returning again to FIG. 1A, in step 15 the golfer 52 executes the golf swing, resulting in the ball traveling along a path 58 (as shown in FIG. 2). With respect to the audio sequences 90 and 95, the initial tone 91 or 96 can be used to indicate to the golfer 52 that he or she should start the takeaway, the second tone 92 or 97 can coincide with the golfer's backswing, the third tone 93 or 98 can coincide to a pause at the top of the backswing, and the final tone 94 or silent interval 99 can coincide with the golfer's downswing, through the impact. In this manner, the audio signal provided by audio-emitting device 50 can be used, not just for indicating the direction of the hole 57, but also for helping to time the golfer's rhythm. For this purpose, audio-emitting device 50 preferably includes controls to permit the duration and timing of the individual tones to be set by the golfer 52. In any event, the audio signal preferably is played during at least some portion of the golfer's shot, e.g., including any or all of the golfer's setup, backswing, downswing, through the impact, and follow-through, thus providing the golfer with periodic or continuous audio information indicating the direction of the target location.
FIG. 1B is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method of implementing step 12 (discussed above), i.e., for placing and/or aligning an audio-emitting device 50 for the purpose of lining up a golf shot. The method according to this embodiment contemplates that the audio-emitting device assembly 70 will include certain components and is described with reference to FIGS. 5-7.
In step 21, the stand 60 is placed or positioned on the golf course or practice range. In the initial performance of this step 21, an appropriate position preferably is selected by simply estimating a point on the line 54 that is approximately 7-9 feet back from the location 51 of the golfer 52.
Next, in step 22 the platform 74 is rotationally aligned to the target location. For this purpose, platform 74 preferably has installed on it a pair of alignment markers, which in the present embodiment are configured as thin vertical lines 110 and 112. More preferably, the alignment markers 110 and 112 are detachably attached to platform 74, so that they can be attached for purposes of the alignment and then removed when desired. Markers 110 and 112 can be implemented as thin bars that are inserted into corresponding openings in platform 74. However, more preferably for purposes of structural integrity, each of markers 110 and 112 is part of a larger structure (e.g., having tabs that insert into corresponding slots within platform 74) that is visually transparent (or otherwise see-through) except for lines 110 and 112.
Accordingly, step 22 preferably involves rotating platform 74 (e.g., using knob 75) until lines 110 and 112 visually align with the location 57 of the target location (e.g., position 59). This step can be accomplished, e.g., by lining up markers 110 and 112 with the target location (or an approximation of where the target location is likely to be) while looking in the direction 115 (shown in FIG. 5).
Next, in step 24 a determination is made as to whether the lines 110 and 112 also line up with the first location (e.g., position 51 of golfer's ears), i.e., by looking in the direction 117 (shown in FIG. 5) with the same rotational orientation for platform 74 that was set in step 22. If so, the positioning is complete and the process simply proceeds to step 25. On the other hand, if the lines 110 and 112 do not line up with the location 51, the process proceeds to step 26.
In step 26, the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located is moved laterally to a new position. While it is possible to move the entire stand 60 to accomplish this result, the entire stand 60 preferably is moved only when the current placement of stand 60 (e.g., as determined in step 21) was sufficiently far from the line 54 (e.g., as determined from the evaluation made in step 24). As noted above, in the preferred embodiments, the platform 74 can be moved laterally along a member 78 on the stand 60, and this upon-stand lateral adjustment preferably is used whenever possible in this step 26.
A conceptual top plan view of one structure for performing such lateral adjustment is shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the platform 74 (including the rotation mechanism) moves along a pair of tracks or channels 130 and 132 when knob 79 is turned, e.g., through the use of a screw-drive mechanism.
In order to correctly adjust the lateral position of the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located in step 26, the information obtained in the just-completed performance of step 24 preferably is used. For example, if it was determined in step 24 that lines 110 and 112 actually align with a point that is approximately 6 inches to the left of location 51, then in step 26 the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located preferably is moved slightly less than 6 inches to the right. Mathematically, the ideal distance to move the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located is
$M = E (1 - \frac{d}{D}),$
where M is the amount to move the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located, d is the distance from the first location (e.g., position 51) to the audio-emitting device 50, D is the distance from the golf ball 56 to the hole 57, and E is the alignment error that was determined in step 24. Therefore, with d being 7 feet, D being 50 yards and E being 6 inches, the ideal distance to move the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located (M) is 5.72 inches. On completion of this adjustment step 26, the process continues to the next iteration of step 22 to readjust the rotational orientation of platform 74 so as to align markers 110 and 112 with the target location (e.g., position 59).
In step 25, the audio-emitting device assembly 70 is prepared for operational use. In the present embodiment, this step includes: installing audio-emitting device 50 onto mounting post 72, removing alignment markers 110 and 112, and replacing them with protective cage 80, as shown in FIG. 7. It is noted that if the audio-emitting device 50 can be activated using a control on the device itself, then that activation control preferably is accessible even with protective cage 80 installed.
One particular example of the foregoing alignment procedure is now discussed with reference to FIGS. 8A-C and 9A-C. FIG. 8A shows an example of an initial positioning of stand 60 after the performance of step 21. FIG. 8B shows the configuration of alignment markers 110 and 112 after they have been rotated into alignment with the target location (e.g., position 59) in step 22 (with stand 60 remaining in the same location). FIG. 8C then shows the results of the alignment check against the first location (e.g., position 51), with stand 60 remaining in the same location and alignment markers 110 and 112 in the same rotational orientation and lateral position.
As shown in FIG. 8C, the alignment markers 110 and 112 line up with a point that is to the left of the position 51. Accordingly, in the next iteration of step 26, the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located is moved to the right a distance that is slightly less than the alignment error that was evident after performing step 24 (e.g., calculated or estimated using the formula set forth above).
This new position is indicated in FIG. 9A. As shown, the rotational orientation and lateral position of alignment markers 110 and 112 have not been changed from where they were set in the previous performance of steps 22 and 21, respectively. However, because the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located has now been moved, in step 26 the alignment markers 110 and 112 need to be rotated slightly in the clockwise direction, so that alignment with the target location 59 is restored, as shown in FIG. 9B. Finally, in the second iteration of step 24 it is confirmed that the position 51 is now in line with alignment markers 110 and 112 (with stand 60 remaining in the location established in step 21 and alignment markers 110 and 112 in the same rotational orientation established in the second iteration of step 22), as shown in FIG. 9C. Accordingly, the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located is determined to be correct, and so the process proceeds to step 25.
It should be noted that the foregoing technique for positioning/aligning audio-emitting device 50 is merely exemplary. Any other technique instead may be used. For example, the line 54 can be established with a laser pointer aimed from the first location (e.g., position 51) to the target location (e.g., position 59), and then the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located can be moved until it intersects the laser beam (e.g., as observed visually or as determined by a light sensor located on the platform 74). Alternatively, one could visually align the point at which the audio-emitting device 50 is to be located with the target location from the vantage point of the first location (e.g., position 51). Still further, a mirror alignment system can be used, e.g., with a mirror placed on the stand 60.
It is noted that the method 10 primarily is intended for use during practice, although it could be used during actual play, rules permitting. Also, although method 10 can be used by itself for the purpose of indicating the direction to the target location, in the preferred embodiments it is used in conjunction with a visual marker, e.g., as described in the Background section above.

Additional Considerations.

Several different embodiments of the present invention are described above, with each such embodiment described as including certain features. However, it is intended that the features described in connection with the discussion of any single embodiment are not limited to that embodiment but may be included and/or arranged in various combinations in any of the other embodiments as well, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.
Similarly, in the discussion above, functionality sometimes is ascribed to a particular module or component. However, functionality generally may be redistributed as desired among any different modules or components, in some cases completely obviating the need for a particular component or module and/or requiring the addition of new components or modules. The precise distribution of functionality preferably is made according to known engineering tradeoffs, with reference to the specific embodiment of the invention, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.
Thus, although the present invention has been described in detail with regard to the exemplary embodiments thereof and accompanying drawings, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various adaptations and modifications of the present invention may be accomplished without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments shown in the drawings and described above. Rather, it is intended that all such variations not departing from the spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope thereof as limited solely by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A method of setting up a golf shot, comprising:

placing an audio-emitting device at an identified position that is along a line between (i) a first location corresponding to at least one of a position of a golf ball to be hit and a position of a golfer who is to hit the golf ball and (ii) a second location corresponding to a position within a 4-foot radius of a target hole into which the golf ball is desired to be hit; and

activating the audio-emitting device so that an audio signal is emitted by the audio-emitting device at a time during which at least a portion of the current golf shot occurs.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio-emitting device is placed at the identified position at a height that is approximately the same level as the ears of the golfer.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the identified position is between 6-12 feet from the first location.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the identified position is between 7-9 feet from the first location.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the placing step comprises determining the identified position by using a pair of alignment markers on a stand.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the placing step further comprises attaching the audio-emitting device to the stand after the identified position has been determined.

7. A method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of removing the alignment markers from the stand and attaching a protective cage over the audio-emitting device prior the golfer hitting the golf ball.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio signal includes a sequence of uniformly timed first sounds.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the sequence of uniformly timed first sounds is followed by at least one of: a second sound having a longer duration than each of the first sounds or a period of silence having a longer duration than each of the first sounds.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of making a plurality of golf shots while the audio signal is emitted by the audio-emitting device.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio signal comprises an audio segment that repeats periodically on an automatic basis.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio-emitting device is activated via a remote-control unit.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio-emitting device is placed at the identified position on a stand having adjustable height.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio-emitting device is placed at the identified position on a stand having a main body portion and a rotationally adjustable platform on top of the main body portion, with the audio-emitting device being fixed to the rotationally adjustable platform of the stand.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the audio-emitting device is placed at the identified position on a stand having a main body portion and laterally adjustable platform on top of the main body portion, with the audio-emitting device being fixed to the laterally adjustable platform of the stand.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first location corresponds to the position of the golfer and the second location corresponds to a position approximately 3 feet to the left of the target hole.