Balance assessment system

Abstract

A body movement assessment device for measuring a position of a center of gravity of a person at a plurality of time intervals relative to a recordable event, such as ball impact in a golf swing, and displaying those measurements for analysis. The body movement assessment device is useful in analyzing the tempo of body movement of a person, the consistency of body movement over two or more repetitions of a movement, the weight shift and postures of the person, and balance of the person. The body movement assessment device may include a visual recording device that enables a visual image of the person to be recorded and replayed together with other analytical information for increased analysis and understanding by the person. In at least one embodiment, the body movement assessment device may be configured to analyze a golf swing.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to balance assessment of a person during an athletic activity, and more particularly, to the balance assessment of a person to heighten body coordination skills critical to maximizing the power and accuracy of movements during athletic activities. BACKGROUND [0002] Many exercise performances, such as athletic activities, are focused, in part, on participants' abilities to repeatedly contact a ball or release a ball in a particular manner. For instance, golf, baseball, and softball include ball contact as a major portion of the games, and basketball, football, baseball, and softball, include ball release actions. Participants who excel in these activities often possess a number of attributes that, when combined, enable those participants to hit or throw a ball further, straighter, and more accurately then other competitors. One factor that typically plays a major part in whether a person excels in an athletic activity is the person'...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] Another advantage of the invention is that the alarm function enables a person to determine whether the person has fallen out of balance very easily. Conventional systems typically require a person to be viewing a monitor to determine whether the person has fallen out of balance, which at times, forces the person to be placed into an unnatural position. In the instant invention, the person may be alerted that the person has fallen out of balance through an audible alarm. Thus, the person can maintain focus on the ball in a natural position, rather than unnaturally viewing a monitor while swinging at the ball. Enabling the person to maintain a natural position can greatly assist the person in determining where the problem areas in his swing exist more rapidly. In addition, the alarms may be used not only for analysis but also for training exercises to remove bad habits, such as reverse pivots, weight transfers not along the sagittal plane, and others.

[0013] Yet another advantage of the invention is that the person may review a swing in numerous manners simultaneously. More specifically, the person may review a swing by watching a replayed visual recording of the swing that is in time with analytical information showing the percentage of weight in each of the quadrants of the feet and showing the location of the person's center of gravity relative to the sagittal plane. The visual recording may be replayed at normal speed, a slower speed, a faster speed, or paused to assist the analysis. The visual recording improves upon the center of gravity testing by giving a person a chance to determine whether the person's posture is correct in addition to having a balanced stance with weight properly distributed. A person can be properly balanced but at the same time have bad posture as he steps to the ball in a golf situation or vice versa.

[0014] Another advantage of this invention is that the alarms and the display screen enable a person to identify and learn to stay within a “balance zone” to increase the person's ability to repeat a particular movement or position consistently without exceeding such zone and suffering from increased stress on the body resulting from over compensation.

[0015] These and other embodiments are described in more detail below.

Problems solved by technology

While conventional systems have assisted people in identifying poor balance during a golf swing and other athletic movement, conventional systems have not addressed other factors that affect an athletic movement.

For instance, conventional systems have not addressed analyzing the tempo of athletic movements, which is often a major factor in a successful athletic movement.

In addition, while conventional systems provide a good basis for analysis, the conventional systems typically do not include elements that facilitate rapid teaching of a well-balance movement to users.

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