Instrumented and communicating golf club head, corresponding golf club

Abstract

The invention relates to a golf club head (3), comprising: - a striking face (31); - a frame (32) fixed to the striking face and having a housing (33); - an accelerometer (44) configured to determine the orientation of the striking face (31) with respect to three perpendicular axes and configured to determine the magnitude of an acceleration about at least one axis, the accelerometer (44) being fixed to the frame and positioned in the housing (33); - a communication circuit (43) configured to wirelessly communicate the determined orientation and the determined acceleration to an external device (9). Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Instrumented and communicating golf club head, corresponding golf club

[0001] The invention relates to the practice of golf, and in particular the analysis of shots made with a golf club, typically a putter.

[0002] Playing golf requires many hours of practice to improve one's skill level, particularly for shots made in the final part of the course. It is difficult for a golfer to truly identify flaws in their movements without the guidance of a coach. There are few objective elements that allow a golfer to determine the flaws in their movements, from preparation to impact. Even a coach does not have completely objective information about a player's flaws in the entire preparatory movement leading up to impact.

[0003] The invention aims to resolve one or more of these drawbacks. The invention thus relates to a golf club head, comprising:

[0004] -a striking face;

[0005] -a frame attached to the striking face and comprising a housing;

[0006] -an accelerometer configured to determine the orientation of the striking face by ratio to three perpendicular axes and configured to determine the magnitude of an acceleration along at least one axis, the accelerometer being fixed to the armature and positioned in the housing;

[0007] -a communication circuit configured to wirelessly communicate the determined orientation and the determined acceleration to an external device.

[0008] The invention also relates to the following variants. Those skilled in the art will understand that each of the features of the following variants can be combined independently with the above features, without thereby constituting an intermediate generalization.

[0009] According to one variant, the head further includes a power supply battery for the accelerometer and the communication circuit, the battery being positioned in said housing.

[0010] According to another variant, the head further comprises a hermetically sealed housing in which said accelerometer is housed, the hermetically sealed housing being positioned in said housing.

[0011] The invention also relates to a golf club comprising:

[0012] -an elongated handle;

[0013] -a golf club head as defined above, fixed to one end of the extended handle.

[0014] The invention further relates to an assembly comprising a communicating device and a golf club head as defined above, the device is configured to communicate with the communication circuit of the head and configured to perform digital processing of the determined orientation and the amplitude of the determined acceleration.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the device or golf club head includes a processing circuit configured to identify a strike based on the determined acceleration amplitude.

[0016] According to yet another variant, said processing circuit is further configured to determine the attitude of the striking face at the time of striking as a function of the orientation of the determined striking face.

[0017] According to another variant, said processing circuit is further configured to calculate the trajectory of the golf head preceding the strike as a function of the determined orientation of the striking face.

[0018] Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description, which is by way of example and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] [Fig-1] is an exploded perspective view of an example of a golf club with a head according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0020] [Fig.2] is a schematic representation of an electronic golf club circuit board interacting with a portable communication terminal;

[0021] [Fig.3] is a schematic representation of an interface displayed on a screen of a terminal during a preparation phase;

[0022] [Fig.4] is a schematic representation of an interface displayed on a screen of a terminal after a keystroke.

[0023] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a golf club 1 equipped with a head 3 according to the invention. The golf club head 3 comprises, in a manner known per se, a striking face 31 and a frame 32 integral with the striking face 31 and having a housing 33. The striking face 31 may, for example, have a substantially flat surface perpendicular to a lower wall. The head 3 illustrated here corresponds to a putter, intended for finishing the approach to the hole. However, it is also possible to consider its application to any other type of golf club.

[0024] As illustrated in [Fig. 2], the head 3 includes an accelerometer 44 and a communication circuit 43. The accelerometer 44 and the communication circuit 43 are here mounted on an electronic board 4L

[0025] The accelerometer 44 is configured to determine the orientation of the striking face 31 with respect to three perpendicular axes. The accelerometer 44 is further configured to determine the magnitude of an acceleration about at least one axis, typically a axis perpendicular to the striking face 31. In order to have precise information concerning the orientation of the striking face 31 and the amplitude of its acceleration, the accelerometer 44 is fixed to the armature 32. In order to protect the accelerometer 44 from shocks, the accelerometer 44 is positioned in the housing 33.

[0026] The communication circuit 43 is configured to wirelessly transmit the determined orientation and acceleration to an external device 9. As illustrated in [Fig. 2], the external device 9 can be a communicating terminal, such as a smartphone, smartwatch, or tablet. The external device 9 advantageously includes a display screen to allow the user to view information from the accelerometer 44. The communication circuit 43 can be configured to communicate using one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.15.1.

[0027] Although power supply via an energy recovery system could be envisaged, the golf club head 3 advantageously includes a battery 42 for powering the accelerometer 44 and the communication circuit 43. The battery 42 is positioned in the housing 33.

[0028] The golf club head 3 here includes a hermetically sealed housing in which the accelerometer 44 is housed. The electronic board 41 is housed within the hermetically sealed housing, along with the communication circuit 43 and the battery 42. The hermetically sealed housing includes a lower cover 52 and an upper cover 51, which are joined to form a watertight enclosure. The covers 51 and 52 are advantageously made of synthetic materials to facilitate wireless communication of the communication circuit 43. The hermetically sealed housing is attached to the frame in the housing 33. The battery 42 can be connected to a charging interface accessible from outside the housing.

[0029] The head 3 is attached to an elongated shaft 22 of a golf club 1. The shaft 22 is equipped in a manner known per se with a grip portion 21 at its upper end and a connecting portion 23 at its lower end. The head 3 is attached to the lower end of the shaft 22 by means of the connecting portion 23.

[0030] The accelerometer 44 and the communication circuit 43 can be put into standby mode after a certain time delay. The accelerometer 44 and the communication circuit 43 can be activated by any suitable means, for example, motion detection, pressing a button, or disconnecting a cable from the battery charging interface.

[0031] The external device 9 has a wireless communication interface 92 compatible with the communication circuit 43. The external device 9 also includes a storage device 91 storing software configured for communicate with the communication circuit 43 of head 3 and configured to perform digital processing of the determined orientation and the determined acceleration amplitude.

[0032] Typically, the device 9 may include a display screen managed by an application communicating with the head 3. Figure 3 illustrates an example of a display on the device 9 depending on the orientation determined prior to a keystroke. A processing device may control the display of the battery charge level 42. The processing device (housed either in the head 3 or in a software application of the device 9) may also display the real-time orientation of the head 3 with respect to certain axes, and thus display a view of the head 3 from different viewpoints, in order to allow the user to visualize in real time their influence on the attitude of the head 3.

[0033] The processing device can also be configured to identify a strike based on the determined acceleration amplitude. Figure 4 illustrates an example of the display on the device 9 after the strike, allowing the user to see that the strike has been successfully registered. The processing device can further be configured to determine the attitude of the striking face 31 at the moment of the strike. This attitude can be displayed graphically and / or as numerical values ​​from different viewpoints, as illustrated in Figure 4. The numerical values ​​can, for example, be given in degrees in the direct counterclockwise direction with respect to each reference axis.

[0034] The processing device can also be configured to calculate the trajectory of the clubhead 3 prior to impact based on the determined orientation of the striking face 31. This trajectory calculation allows the user, for example, to identify any club 3 guidance defects prior to impact.

Claims

Demands

1. Golf club head (3), characterized in that it comprises: - a striking face (31); - a frame (32) integral with the striking face and having a housing (33); - an accelerometer (44) configured to determine the orientation of the striking face (31) with respect to three perpendicular axes and configured to determine the magnitude of an acceleration about at least one axis, the accelerometer (44) being integral with the frame and positioned in the housing (33); - a communication circuit (43) configured to wirelessly communicate the determined orientation and the determined acceleration to an external device (9).

2. Golf club head (3) according to claim 1, further comprising a battery (42) for powering the accelerometer and the communication circuit, the battery being positioned in said housing (33).

3. Golf club head (3) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a hermetically sealed housing (51, 52) in which said accelerometer (44) is housed, the hermetically sealed housing (51, 52) being positioned in said housing (33).

4. Golf club (1) comprising: -an elongated handle (22); -a golf club head (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, fixed to one end of the elongated handle (22).

5. Assembly comprising a communicating device (9) and a golf club head according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the device (9) is configured to communicate with the communication circuit (43) of the head and configured to perform digital processing of the determined orientation and the determined acceleration amplitude.

6. Assembly according to claim 5, wherein the device or golf club head includes a processing circuit configured to identify a strike based on the determined acceleration amplitude.

7. Assembly according to claim 6, wherein said processing circuit is further configured to determine the attitude of the striking face at the time of striking as a function of the determined orientation of the striking face.

8. Assembly according to claim 6 or 7, wherein said processing circuit is further configured to calculate the trajectory of the golf head prior to the strike as a function of the determined striking face orientation.

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