Sports simulation device

Abstract

To provide a sport simulation device for reading and displaying sport information of a user.SOLUTION: The sports simulation device 10 includes a camera module, a projection module and an operation processing device. The camera module captures top-view images associated with the user O. The projection module is integrated with the camera module. The operation processor is electrically connected to the camera module and the projection module. The operation processor can analyze the top-view image to find a predetermined feature of the user, divide the top-view image into a first region and a second region according to the predetermined feature, and drive the projection module to project one of the first region and the second region onto a supporting board where the user stands according to the predetermined feature.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sports simulation device, and more particularly to a sports simulation device that reads and displays a user's sports information. [Background technology]

[0002] With technological advances, indoor simulation sports are gradually gaining popularity. For example, indoor simulation golf courses are more well-known because they require a much smaller space than a real golf course. Conventional indoor simulation golf courses project a golf course image onto a projection screen in front of the user and analyze the speed, position, and distance of the golf ball to provide the user with shot information. The camera, display, and computing devices in conventional indoor simulation golf courses are located independently and remotely, resulting in complex installation and unclear displays. Furthermore, conventional indoor simulation golf courses restrict the user's position due to the location of the machine. Designing an integrated indoor golf simulation device that can read and display user sports information is an important challenge in the sports equipment industry. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] To solve the above drawbacks, the present invention provides a sports simulation device that reads and displays a user's sports information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In the claimed invention, the sports simulation apparatus includes a camera module, a projection module, and a manipulation processing device. The camera module is adapted to capture a top-view image related to a user. The projection module is integrated with the camera module. The manipulation processing device is electrically connected to the camera module and the projection module. The manipulation processing device is adapted to analyze the top-view image to find predetermined characteristics of the user, divide the top-view image into a first region and a second region according to the predetermined characteristics, and drive the projection module to project one of the first region and the second region onto a support board on which the user is standing according to the predetermined characteristics.

[0005] In the claimed invention, the operation processing device is adapted to drive the projection module to project a second region of the top-view image onto the support plate when it determines, according to the predetermined characteristic, that the user is standing at a position corresponding to the first region of the top-view image. The operation processing device is adapted to hide or discard the first region of the top-view image and transmit only the second region of the top-view image to the projection module. The camera module and the projection module are positioned directly above the user.

[0006] In the claimed invention, the camera module includes a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) unit and a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor, where the VCSEL unit generates a structured laser signal and the ToF sensor receives the structured laser signal reflected from the user to form a point cloud structure map. The camera module further includes a color sensor adapted to acquire image information of the user and related environment for auxiliary calculation. The sports simulation device further includes a case, where the camera module, projection module, and operation processing device are arranged in the same case. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The sports simulation device of the present invention can integrate a camera module and a projection module into the same case. The camera module is very close to the projection module (e.g., the distance between the camera module and the projection module may be preferably less than 10 centimeters), allowing the integrated camera module and projection module to be positioned directly above the user. The sports simulation device projects image content, including a golf court, a hitting suggestion, and a club operation, onto a support plate, captures images of the user's hitting position and the hitting result directly below, and further projects a top-view image of the user's hitting position, related hitting suggestion, and related club operation onto the support plate where the user is standing as an auxiliary reference for the next shot. Compared to prior art, the sports simulation device of the present invention is not limited by the user's position and can automatically identify the user's hitting position and process and output the corresponding top-view image, thereby providing sports information quickly and accurately and improving training efficiency.

[0008] These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an application of a sports simulation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram of a sports simulation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a top-view image captured by a sports simulation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the application of a sports simulation device in another situation according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the application of a sports simulation device in another situation according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is an application diagram of a sports simulation device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the sports simulation device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present invention, the sports simulation device 10 may be an indoor golf simulator applied to an external computer device 12 such as a desktop computer or a laptop computer, but the actual application of the external computer device 12 is not limited to the above embodiment. The sports simulation device 10 may be electrically connected to the external computer device 12 via a wired or wireless connection. The sports simulation device 10 is a projection device with a motion analysis function that can analyze the body posture, club movement, and / or ball hitting results of a user O and transmit the analysis results to the external computer device 12 for subsequent operation.

[0011] Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a top-view image I captured by a sports simulation apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the sports simulation apparatus 10 may include a camera module 14, a projection module 16, an operation processing device 18, and a case 20. The camera module 14 can capture a top-view image I related to a user O. The projection module 16 can be integrated with the camera module 14. The camera module 14 and the projection module 16 of the sports simulation apparatus 10 may be disposed within the same case 20, and the distance between the camera module 14 and the projection module 16 may preferably be less than 10 centimeters or 15 centimeters. The operation processing device 18 may be electrically connected to the camera module 14 and the projection module 16 and disposed within the case 20.

[0012] Please refer to Figures 4 and 5. Figures 4 and 5 are application diagrams of the sports simulation device 10 in another situation according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sports simulation device 10 can capture a top-view image I of the user O using the camera module 14 to obtain the appearance, depth, posture of the user O, and the shape and appearance of an associated club and an associated ball. The operation processing device 18 can analyze the top-view image I to find predetermined features of the user O and divide the top-view image I into at least a first region R1 and a second region R2 according to the predetermined features. The predetermined features may be the hands or feet of the user O, the golf club held by the user O, or the ball near the golf club held by the user O.

[0013] For example, sports simulation device 10 may define a region of top-view image I corresponding to the position of user O as a first region R1, and define another region of top-view image I containing an image of user O's hands or feet, a golf club held by user O's hands, or a ball near the golf club held by user O as a second region R2. Sports simulation device 10 may provide real-time information on user O's body posture, club change, and / or ball-hitting result, allowing user O to view the information and adjust his or her body posture accordingly. When operation processing device 18 determines that user O is standing in first region R1 of top-view image I, it may drive projection module 16, located directly above user O, to project second region R2 of top-view image I onto support board S on which user O is standing according to predetermined characteristics. Sports simulation device 10 may preferably be located directly above user O, although actual applications are not limited to the above embodiment.

[0014] For example, the sports simulation device 10 may be placed at another position near the upper side of the user O (e.g., diagonally in front of or behind the user) as needed, and project the top-view image I onto the support plate S in an oblique projection manner. The sports simulation device 10 including the camera module 14 and the projection module 16 integrated within the same case 20 can be placed anywhere above the user O and can meet the requirements for downward capture by the camera module 14 and downward projection by the projection module 16, and therefore falls within the design scope of the present invention.

[0015] The manipulation processing device 18 can send only the second region R2 of the top-view image I to the projection module 16 for projection, and accordingly discard the image content associated with the first region R1 of the top-view image I; alternatively, the manipulation processing device 18 can also send the top-view image I to the projection module 16, and can shade or present the first region R1 of the top-view image I in a particular pattern (e.g., a mosaic or checkerboard pattern), and the projection module 16 can project only the second region R2 of the top-view image I onto the support plate S, that is, hide the image content associated with the first region R1 of the top-view image I. The present invention is not limited to discarding or hiding the image content of the first region R1 of the top-view image I; any method that can prevent the image content of the first region R1 from appearing on the support plate S can be within the scope of the present invention.

[0016] 3 and 4, because user O stands on the left side of sports simulation device 10, the left region of top-view image I can be defined as a first shaded region R1, and the right region of top-view image I can be defined as a second region R2 that can be projected onto support plate S to show user O's body posture, club movement, and / or ball hit result. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, because user O stands on the right side of sports simulation device 10, the right region of top-view image I can be defined as a first shaded region R1, and the left region of top-view image I can be defined as a second region R2 that can be projected onto support plate S to show user O's body posture, club movement, and / or ball hit result.

[0017] In the present invention, when sports simulation device 10 detects a predetermined feature of user O in top-view image I, sports simulation device 10 can set a specific area of ​​top-view image I as second region R2 based on the predetermined feature and set the remaining area of ​​top-view image I excluding second region R2 as first region R1 based on the predetermined feature. In this embodiment, the size of first region R1 may be different from the size of second region R2, but actual application is not limited to this situation. For example, sports simulation device 10 can evenly divide top-view image I into first region R1 and second region R2, analyze the coordinate information of the predetermined feature in top-view image I, and define the area of ​​top-view image I that includes the coordinate information of the predetermined feature as second region R2 and the other area of ​​top-view image I that does not include the coordinate information of the predetermined feature as first region R1. The above-mentioned even division can be performed along the vertical axis or horizontal axis according to actual needs.

[0018] To correctly identify the predetermined features of the user O, the camera module 14 of the sports simulation apparatus 10 may optionally include a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser unit 22 and a time-of-flight sensor 24. The VCSEL unit 22 can generate a structured laser signal and project the structured laser signal toward the user O. The ToF sensor 24 can receive the structured laser signal reflected from the user O and form a point cloud structure map. To correctly identify the predetermined features of the user O, the operation processing device 18 can acquire three-dimensional shapes of the user O's hands, feet, golf club, and / or ball using spatial data points of the point cloud structure map. Furthermore, the camera module 14 may include a color sensor 26 used to acquire image information of the user O and the associated environment, and the image information provided by the color sensor 26 can be used as auxiliary computation in performing feature identification.

[0019] Therefore, sports simulation apparatus 10 of the present invention can be placed directly above user O, and projection module 16 can project top-view image I, which contains image content related to user O's hitting posture, onto support board S on which user O is standing. Sports simulation apparatus 10 can be designed to project only the portion of top-view image I, which contains user O's hitting posture, onto support board S for reference. Therefore, sports simulation apparatus 10 can identify predetermined features of user O in top-view image I through object recognition technology, neural network calculation, or other recognition technology, and automatically discard the region of top-view image I, which contains image content of user O's body; that is, user O can freely select a right-handed hitting position or a left-handed hitting position, and sports simulation apparatus 10 can automatically detect the position of user O for adaptive adjustment.

[0020] In summary, the sports simulation device of the present invention can integrate a camera module and a projection module into the same case. The camera module is very close to the projection module (e.g., the distance between the camera module and the projection module may be preferably less than 10 centimeters), allowing the integrated camera module and projection module to be positioned directly above the user. The sports simulation device projects image content, including the golf court, the ball-hitting suggestion, and the club operation, onto a support plate, captures images of the user's batting posture and the ball-hitting result directly below, and further projects a top-view image of the user's batting posture and the associated ball-hitting suggestion and the associated club operation onto the support plate on which the user is standing as an auxiliary reference for the next shot. Compared to the prior art, the sports simulation device of the present invention is not limited by the user's position and can automatically identify the user's batting position and process and output the corresponding top-view image, thereby providing sports information quickly and accurately and improving training efficiency.

[0021] Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that numerous modifications and variations of the apparatus and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the present invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

1. a camera module adapted to capture a top-view image associated with a user; a projection module integrated with the camera module; an operation processing device electrically connected to the camera module and the projection module, the operation processing device being adapted to analyze the top-view image to find predetermined characteristics of the user, divide the top-view image into a first region and a second region according to the predetermined characteristics, and drive the projection module to project one of the first region and the second region onto a support board on which the user is standing according to the predetermined characteristics; A sports simulation device comprising:

2. 2. The sports simulation device of claim 1, wherein the operation processing device is adapted to, when it determines, according to the predetermined characteristic, that the user is standing in a position corresponding to the first region of the top-view image, drive the projection module to project the second region of the top-view image onto the support plate.

3. The sports simulation device according to claim 2 , wherein the operation processing device is adapted to hide or discard the first region of the top-view image and transmit only the second region of the top-view image to the projection module.

4. The sports simulation device according to claim 1 , wherein the operation processing device is adapted to equally divide the top-view image into the first region and the second region according to coordinate information of the predetermined feature in the top-view image.

5. The sports simulation device of claim 1 , wherein the camera module and the projection module are positioned directly above the user.

6. 2. The sports simulation device of claim 1, wherein the camera module includes a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) unit and a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor, the VCSEL unit generating a structured laser signal, and the ToF sensor receiving the structured laser signal reflected from a user to form a point cloud structure map.

7. The sports simulation device of claim 6 , wherein the camera module further comprises a color sensor adapted to acquire image information of the user and associated environment for auxiliary calculations.

8. The sports simulation device of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined feature is a user's hand, a user's foot, a club held by the user's hand, or a ball near a club held by the user.

9. The sports simulation device according to claim 1 , further comprising a case, wherein the camera module, the projection module, and the operation processing device are arranged in the same case.

10. The sports simulation device of claim 9 , wherein the distance between the camera module and the projection module is less than 10 centimeters.

Images