Information Ball

Abstract

To prevent lost ball or misjudgement in a ball game, and acquire other information.SOLUTION: An information ball of the invention has an information unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ball used in ball games and the like, and to an information ball that provides various information such as position information. [Background technology]

[0002] Well-known ball games include soccer, basketball, baseball, rugby, and golf. These ball games involve games using a ball, and various decisions are made by a referee or the like depending on the position of the ball. For example, in soccer, a goal is determined when the referee determines that the ball has entered the goal area. In baseball, a strike is called when the umpire determines that the ball thrown by the pitcher has passed over home base. In rugby, a try is awarded when the referee determines that the ball has been grounded in the in-goal area. Golf can also be a problem for players who lose sight of the ball or for the ball's position to be an issue. Basketball can also be a problem for players who go over the line or the ball goes into the basket. Also, no information is collected using the ball. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] However, since such judgments are made by people such as umpires, erroneous judgments may occur. Such misjudgments not only affect the outcome of the game, but also the records of players and teams. In order to prevent such misjudgments, some ball games use video refereeing, whereby judges make decisions based on camera footage. However, in the case of video review, many cameras must be installed to avoid blind spots, but even then blind spots will still occur depending on the camera's position. Furthermore, video review still lacks accuracy because it requires human visual judgment. Also, he is quick at gathering information using the ball.

[0004] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a position information ball that identifies the position of the ball based on the position information of the ball, thereby preventing problems in making various judgments in ball games and making use of various data obtained from the ball. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the information ball (hereinafter simply referred to as "ball") of the present invention is provided with a transmitting / receiving device that can obtain various data such as the position of the ball. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this invention, the exact location of the ball can be identified, eliminating troubles caused by incorrect judgement. Lost balls can be easily found, making games more enjoyable. Lost time in games is eliminated. Games progress faster, and a wide variety of data can be obtained by transmitting and receiving data to and from the ball. By analyzing this data, even more data can be obtained. Ball IoT contributes to improvements in sports and health, thereby contributing to humanity. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an information ball of the present invention. (a) is an example of a soccer ball, (b) is an example of a baseball, and (c) is an example of a rugby ball. (d) is a diagram showing an information device embedded in a baseball or a golf ball, and (e) is a diagram showing an example in which an information device is suspended in the center of a soccer ball, basketball, rugby ball, etc. Note that a film information device may also be attached to the inside of the skin instead of the center of the ball (not shown). [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a judgment system using an information ball. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information device. [Figure 4]FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of goal information. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a goal determination method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the information ball of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an information-carrying ball of the present invention, where (a) is a soccer ball, (b) is a baseball, and (c) is a rugby ball. The present invention can also be applied to other balls such as basketballs and golf balls. As shown in FIG. 1, an information transmission device 2 is embedded inside a ball 1. The information device is a GPS device, an IC tag, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 1(d), in the case of a baseball or golf ball having an internal component 3 such as rubber or thread, the information device 1 may be formed by wrapping thread around the center, or may be embedded in the internal component such as rubber, or may be attached to the back of the surface. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1(e), in the case of a hollow soccer ball, volleyball, rugby ball, etc., the information device 1 is suspended within the ball 1. Specifically, it is embedded in the ball so that it is supported by support members (hanging members) 4 provided within the ball. In FIG. 1(e), the information device 1 is configured with three support members, but there is no limit to the number, and it may be one, two, four or more. The present invention also includes the case where the sensor is provided on the back side of the surface of the information device 1, or in the case of a ball with a string, the sensor is provided on the string itself or inside the string portion.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a soccer judging system using an information ball. As shown in FIG. 2, the determination system includes an information ball 1, an information device 2 embedded in the information ball 1, a GPS satellite 5, and an information processing device 6 such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. In this embodiment, a judgment system for soccer in which a goal 7 is provided is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to any ball game such as baseball or rugby, even if the respective forms are changed.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information device. As shown in FIG. 3, the information device 2 includes a GPS unit 21, a communication unit 22, a power supply unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 20. The power supply unit 23 can be a lithium battery or a solar cell. In the case of a solar cell, a flexible sheet-like solar cell can be attached to the inside of the ball's surface, or it can be the surface itself. A temperature difference power generation element can also be used. GPS unit 21 receives signals such as time information from a plurality of GPS satellites 3 . This signal is used to identify the position of the ball 1. The communication unit 22 is a wireless communication means such as a mobile phone network, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and wirelessly transmits the position information of the ball 1 to an information processing device 4 described below. The information device is not limited to the above, and the present invention also includes cases where an IC tag or other sensors are used.

[0012] The power supply unit 23 that operates the information device is made up of a rechargeable battery such as a lithium battery, and can be charged by connecting to a charger 8. Charging can be performed using a connector method as shown in FIG. 4(a) or a wireless method (wireless charging) as shown in FIG. 4(b). In the case of the connector method, a cable 11 for supplying electricity to the information device 1 is provided inside the ball 1, and a connector (concave portion) 12 corresponding to the connector (convex portion) 80 of the charger 8 is provided on the surface of the ball 1 at the end of this cable 11. As a result, by placing the ball 1 on the charger 8 so that the connector (concave portion) 12 of the ball 1 fits into the connector (convex portion) 80 of the power receiver 5, charging can be performed. On the other hand, the wireless method is a charging method that uses electromagnetic induction, and charging can be performed while the ball 1 and the wireless charger 81 are separated from each other. In this case, the power supply unit 23 includes a power receiving coil 25 inside the ball that corresponds to the power transmitting coil 810 included in the wireless charger 81. In addition, power is supplied or charging is performed from the solar cell described above. This allows charging to be performed from a distance by simply connecting the ball 1 to the charger 8 or by placing the ball 1 in an area where charging by electromagnetic induction is possible. For this reason,

[0013] The storage unit 24 is a storage means such as a ROM or RAM, and stores programs. The control unit 20 performs various control operations based on the operation of the program. For example, the GPS unit 21 controls operations such as identifying the position (latitude and longitude) of the ball 1 based on a signal received from a GPS satellite 5 and transmitting the identified position information of the ball 1 to the information processing device 4.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device. As shown in FIG. 5, the information processing device 4 includes a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, a display unit 43, an operation unit 44, and a control unit 40. The communication unit 41 is a wireless communication means such as a mobile phone network, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and receives the position information of the ball 1 from the position information device 2 wirelessly. The storage unit 42 is a storage means such as a ROM, a RAM, or a hard disk, and stores programs and data. The data stored in the storage unit 42 includes goal position information required for goal determination in soccer. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the position information (latitude and longitude) of four points A to D corresponding to the four corners of the goal in plan view is stored in advance. That is, the position information that can identify the goal area is stored. In the case of a strike decision in baseball, position information that can identify the home base area (for example, position information of each vertex of the home base) is stored, and in the case of a try decision in rugby, position information that can identify the in-goal area (for example, position information of the four corners of the in-goal area) is stored. The same applies to golf and volleyball. The display unit 43 is a display means such as a liquid crystal display, and can display, for example, the result of the goal determination (goal / no goal) or (strike / ball). The operation unit 44 is an operation means such as a keyboard and a mouse. When the information processing device 4 is a smartphone or a tablet terminal, the display unit 43 and the operation unit 44 are integrally configured. The control unit 40 performs various control operations based on a program.

[0015] Specifically, goal determination is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the information processing device 4 constantly receives position information of the ball 1 (S1). That is, the ball 1 (position information device 2) constantly receives signals from the GPS satellites 3, identifies the position of the ball 1 based on the received signals, and transmits the identified position information of the ball 1 to the information processing device 4. Therefore, the information processing device 4 continuously receives the position information that is constantly transmitted from the ball 1. The information processing device 4 determines whether or not the ball 1 is in the goal area based on the position information received from the ball 1 (S2). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the position information of the ball 1 is included within the goal area specified by the position information of the goal stored in the storage unit 42 (see FIG. 6). As a result of the determination in S2, if it is determined that the ball 1 is in the goal area (S2-Yes), it is determined as a "goal" (S3). In S2, if it is not determined that the ball 1 is in the goal area (S2-No), the processes of S1 to S2 are repeated until a goal is determined.

[0016] (Modifications and application examples) The same can be done for determining strikes in baseball, tries in rugby, volleyball, basketball, cricket, etc. In the former case, based on the position information of ball 1 and the position information of home base, if it is determined that ball 1 has passed through the home base area identified from the position information of home base, it can be determined as a strike, and otherwise it can be determined as a ball. In addition, determining a strike also requires judging the height, but this can be determined via Bluetooth (see below) or left to an umpire or video review. In the latter case, a try can be determined based on the position information of the ball 1 and the position information of the in-goal area if it is determined that the ball 1 is within the in-goal area specified by the position information of the in-goal area. In addition, a try decision also requires a determination that ball 1 has been grounded in the in-goal area, but this can be done in conjunction with a referee or video review.

[0017] In addition to determining goals, it is also possible to analyze game trends based on the history of ball 1 position information. For example, it is possible to calculate the percentage of time that the ball 1 is located in the teammate's area or the opponent's area throughout the game, or to calculate the percentage of time that the ball 1 enters the penalty area or the vital area. In the case of golf, it can also be constructed as a system for searching for lost balls.

[0018] Instead of or in addition to GPS, an IC tag or Bluetooth may also be included in the configuration. For example, by embedding an IC tag in the ball 1 and adding it to the configuration of the position information device 2, it is possible to determine whether a goal has been scored by placing an IC tag reader on the goal post or crossbar. Conversely, by placing IC tags on goal posts or the like and embedding an IC tag reader in the ball and adding it to the configuration of the position information device 2, it is also possible to judge whether a goal has been scored. Furthermore, by arranging a Bluetooth master device so that the goal area is included in the communication area and adding a slave device to the configuration of the position information device 2, it is also possible to perform goal determination. In addition, by placing a Bluetooth master unit, for example, buried under home base, and adding a slave unit to the configuration of the position information device 2, it is possible to determine the height of a strike. Similarly, by locating a Bluetooth master unit, for example by embedding it under the goal, and adding a slave unit to the configuration of the position information device 2, it is possible to determine the height of the goal.

[0019] In this way, with the position information ball 1 of the present invention, goal judgments and the like can be performed accurately without misjudging, so that the game can be played comfortably without any trouble. Furthermore, the position information ball 1 allows various decisions and analyses to be made in ball games.

[0020] Although several embodiments of the position information ball 1 of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0021] The present invention can be used in various ball games, and can promote the sports industry in a healthy manner since it allows players to enjoy sports without having to worry about incorrect calls or lost balls. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1. Location Ball 11 Cable 12 Connector (recess) 2 Location information device 20 Control Unit 21 GPS section 22 Communications Department 23 Power supply section 24 Memory section 25 Receiving coil 3 Internal components 4 Support member 40 Control Unit 41 Communications Department 42 Storage section 43 Display section 44 Control section 5 GPS satellites 6. Information processing equipment 7 goals 71 Finish Line 8 charger 80 Charger connector (protruding part) 81 Wireless charger 810 transmitting coil S1: Continuously acquires ball position information S2 Is the ball in the goal area? S3: "Goal"

Claims

[Claim 1] A judging method characterized by comprising: an information ball equipped with a GPS unit and an IC tag or BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) communication device inside or on the surface of the ball; position information (latitude and longitude) at each vertex of home base or at the four corners of the in-goal and position information from the GPS unit of the ball; and an IC tag or BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) receiver used at home base or goal, wherein the IC tag reader or BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) parent unit is embedded under home base, or placed on the goal post or crossbar, or embedded under the goal so that the strike area or goal area is included in the communication area, thereby measuring distance and identifying the exact height position of the ball, determining whether the ball is in the strike area or goal area, and making a strike or goal judgment.

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