Speed indicating apparatus

Abstract

A speed indicating system useful in training an athlete includes a spool on which a tether line is wound with the free end thereof then secured to the body of the athlete, any selected one of the athlete's limbs, or any object swung, kicked or thrown by the athlete. The spool includes one or more permanent magnet pieces mounted on its periphery in an alignment adjacent an inductive pickup coil which then communicates the current level induced to a meter indicating the tether line deployment rate. The reverse electromotive force resulting from the inductive coupling is then useful to reduce the inertially driven tether line deployment.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application obtains the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 202,528 filed on Mar. 10, 2009.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention:[0003]The present invention relates to apparatus for sensing the movement of the the whole or portions of the body of an athlete, or any sports object moved thereby, and more particularly to a measurement system in which the rate of deployment of a flexible tether line from a rotary spool provides an observable measurement useful in training.[0004]2. Description of the Prior Art:[0005]The course of training an athlete often entails many measurements that are taken either for positive reinforcement of desired body movement or as an indication of improper habits. In each instance it is not the absolute value of the measurement but its trend over time that provides the significant information to the trainer and for these reasons simple and therefore rel...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Other objects of the invention are to provide a measurement system in which the signal indicating a rate of change acts also to attenuate the inertia induced deployment of the measuring mechanism, thereby rendering it less obtrusive.

[0014]One or more magnetized pieces fixed to the periphery of one of the two coaxial end discs, or wheels, defining the spool are then advanced across a set of pickup coils at a rate corresponding to the deployment of the tether webbing, generating an electrical current sensed by a meter containing a galvanometer movement with the meter deflection then corresponding to the rate of tether deployment. In this manner a measurement indication is obtained that corresponds directly to the rotation rate of the spool which, in turn, corresponds to the movement rate of the body, limb, sports device or ball that is tied to the free tether end, providing the athlete a visual feedback.

[0015]Of course, the same current that is induced in the pickup coil to drive the meter also generates a correspondingly opposing electromotive force (back EMF) against the rotation of the wheel, thus opposing any further unwanted deployment of the tether resulting from the stored spool rotary momentum to reduce the incidence of the unwanted loose ribbon coils. The inventive measurement system thus elegantly dissipates these inertial effects within the measurement process itself to provide a more accurate indication of the athlete's performance while also limiting the deployment of unwanted tether coils that may confuse the measurement, or even hinder the athletic exercise. As result a simple, and therefore reliable, measurement system is provided which is particularly useful for comparative training.

Problems solved by technology

Those skilled in the art, however, have noted that the development of a particular muscular group alone does not necessarily result in a superlative performance of a particular athletic endeavor.

Heretofore the complex mass distribution, inertia, elasticity and aerodynamic components of a tether line have limited its use to what are essentially these highly stressed, steady state applications.

Simply, the dynamic response of a free tether line rarely matches the accelerations and decelerations of a complex body movement, leaving whole lengths of the tether as freely undulating loops that either interfered with the athlete's motions or even confuse them.

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