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

[0003] , ,

[0004]

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

Background Art

[0002] With the progress of technology, indoor simulated sports have gradually gained popularity. For example, indoor simulated golf courses are more well-known because they require a much smaller space than actual golf courses. Conventional indoor simulated golf courses project a golf course (course) image onto a projection screen in front of the user, analyze the speed, position, and distance of the golf ball, and provide the user with hitting information. Since the camera device, display device, and computing device of conventional indoor simulated golf courses are independently arranged at separate positions, there are drawbacks such as complicated installation and unclear display. Also, in conventional indoor simulated golf courses, the standing position of the user is restricted by the position of the machine. The design of an integrated indoor golf simulation device that can read and display a user's sports information is an important issue in the sports equipment industry.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] In order 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 Problems

[0004] In the claimed invention, the sports simulation apparatus includes a camera module, a projection module, and an operating device. The camera module is adapted to capture a top-view image related to the user. The projection module is integrated with the camera module. The operating device is electrically connected to the camera module and the projection module. The operating 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 and second regions onto a support plate on which the user is standing according to the predetermined characteristics.

[0005] In the claimed invention, the operating device is adapted to drive a projection module to project a second region of a top-view image onto a support plate when the user determines that they are standing in a position corresponding to a first region of a top-view image according to predetermined features. The operating 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 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, the VCSEL unit generating a structured laser signal, and the ToF sensor receiving the structured laser signal reflected from the user to form a point cloud structure diagram. The camera module further includes a color sensor adapted to acquire image information of the user and the associated environment for auxiliary calculations. The sports simulation apparatus further includes a case, and the camera module, projection module, and control processing device are arranged within 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, and the camera module is very close to the projection module (for example, the distance between the camera module and the projection module may preferably be less than 10 centimeters), so that the integrated camera module and projection module can be positioned directly above the user. The sports simulation device projects image content including a golf court, shot suggestions, and club operation onto a support plate, captures images of the user's shot posture and shot results directly below, and further projects top-view images of the user's shot posture, relevant shot suggestions, and relevant club operation onto the support plate where 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, can automatically identify the user's shot position, and can process and output the corresponding top-view image, thereby providing sports information quickly and accurately and improving training efficiency.

[0008] These and other objects of the present invention will become undoubtedly apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments shown in various figures and drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is an application diagram of a sports simulation device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a functional block diagram of a sports simulation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a top-view image captured by a sports simulation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a diagram illustrating the application of a sports simulation device in another scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5]This is a diagram illustrating the application of a sports simulation device in another scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is an application diagram of the sports simulation device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 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 wired or wireless connections. The sports simulation device 10 is a projection device equipped with motion analysis functions that can analyze the user O's body posture, club changes, and / or ball-hitting results, and transmit the analysis results to the external computer device 12 for subsequent operation.

[0011] Refer to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a diagram of a top-view image I captured by a sports simulation device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, the sports simulation device 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 the 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 device 10 may be located in 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 located in the case 20.

[0012] Refer to Figures 4 and 5. Figures 4 and 5 are application diagrams of the sports simulation device 10 in another scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sports simulation device 10 can use a camera module 14 to capture a top-view image I of user O to obtain the appearance, depth, user O's posture, and the shape and appearance of the associated club and ball. The operation processing device 18 can analyze the top-view image I to find predetermined features of 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 user O's hands or feet, a golf club held by user O, or a ball near the golf club held by user O.

[0013] For example, the sports simulation device 10 may define a region of the top-view image I corresponding to the position of user O as a first region R1, and another region of the top-view image I containing an image of user O's hands or feet, or 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. The sports simulation device 10 can immediately provide information on user O's body posture, club changes, and / or shot results, and accordingly, user O can view the aforementioned information and adjust their body posture. If the operation processing device 18 determines that user O is standing in the first region R1 of the top-view image I, it can drive a projection module 16 positioned directly above user O to project the second region R2 of the top-view image I onto the support plate S on which user O is standing, according to predetermined features. The sports simulation device 10 may preferably be positioned directly above user O, but actual applications are not limited to the above embodiment.

[0014] For example, the sports simulation device 10 may be positioned at another location near the upper side of the user O (e.g., diagonally in front of or behind the user) as needed, and the top-view image I may be projected onto the support plate S using an oblique projection method. The sports simulation device 10, which includes a camera module 14 and a projection module 16 integrated within the same case 20, can be positioned at any location 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 scope of the present invention.

[0015] The operation processing device 18 can transmit only the second region R2 of the top-view image I to the projection module 16 for projection, and accordingly discard the image content relating to the first region R1 of the top-view image I. Alternatively, the operation processing device 18 may also transmit the top-view image I to the projection module 16, and the first region R1 of the top-view image I can be shaded or presented with a specific pattern (e.g., mosaic or grid pattern). The projection module 16 can then project only the second region R2 of the top-view image I onto the support plate S, that is, hide the image content relating to 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, but any method that prevents the image content of the first region R1 from appearing on the support plate S is within the scope of the design of the present invention.

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

[0017] In the present invention, when the sports simulation device 10 detects a predetermined feature of user O in a top-view image I, the sports simulation device 10 may set a specific range of the top-view image I as a second region R2 based on the predetermined feature, and set the other range of the top-view image I excluding the second region R2 as the first region R1. In this embodiment, the size of the first region R1 may differ from the size of the second region R2, but the actual application is not limited to the above situation. For example, the sports simulation device 10 may equally divide the top-view image I into the first region R1 and the second region R2, analyze the coordinate information of the predetermined feature in the top-view image I, define the region of the top-view image I that contains the coordinate information of the predetermined feature as the second region R2, and define the other region of the top-view image I that does not contain the coordinate information of the predetermined feature as the first region R1. The above-mentioned equal division can be performed by dividing the top-view image I along a vertical axis or a horizontal axis, depending on the actual requirements.

[0018] To correctly identify predetermined features of user O, the camera module 14 of the sports simulation device 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 user O. The ToF sensor 24 can receive the structured laser signal reflected from user O and form a point cloud structure diagram. The operation processing device 18 can use the spatial data points of the point cloud structure diagram to acquire three-dimensional shapes of user O, such as hands, feet, golf clubs, and / or balls, in order to correctly identify predetermined features of user O. Furthermore, the camera module 14 may include a color sensor 26 used to acquire image information of user O and the associated environment, and the image information provided by the color sensor 26 can be used as auxiliary computation in the performance of feature identification.

[0019] Therefore, the sports simulation device 10 of the present invention can be positioned directly above the user O, and the projection module 16 can project a top-view image I containing image content related to the user O's batting posture onto the support plate S on which the user O is standing. The sports simulation device 10 can be designed to project only the portion of the top-view image I containing the user O's batting posture onto the support plate S for reference. The sports simulation device 10 can identify predetermined features of the user O within the top-view image I using object recognition technology, neural network computation, or other recognition technology, and automatically discard the region of the top-view image I containing image content of the user O's body. In other words, the user O can freely select either a right-handed or left-handed batting position, and the sports simulation device 10 can automatically detect the user O's position for adaptive adjustment.

[0020] In short, the sports simulation device of the present invention can integrate a camera module and a projection module into the same case, and the camera module is very close to the projection module (for example, the distance between the camera module and the projection module may preferably be less than 10 centimeters), so that the integrated camera module and projection module can be positioned directly above the user. The sports simulation device projects image content including a golf court, shot suggestions, and club operation onto a support plate, captures images of the user's batting posture and shot results directly below, and further projects top-view images of the user's batting posture, related shot suggestions, and related club operation onto the support plate where 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, can automatically identify the user's batting position, and can process and output the corresponding top-view image, thus providing sports information quickly and accurately and improving training efficiency.

[0021] Those skilled in the art will readily see that many modifications and changes can be made to the apparatus and method while maintaining the teachings of the present invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be interpreted as being limited only by the boundaries and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A camera module adapted to capture top-view images relevant to the user, A projection module integrated with the aforementioned camera module, An operating device electrically connected to the camera module and the projection module, wherein the operating device analyzes the top-view image to find predetermined characteristics of the user, divides the top-view image into a first region and a second region according to the predetermined characteristics, and drives the projection module to project one of the first region and the second region onto a support plate on which the user is standing according to the predetermined characteristics, A sports simulation device equipped with the following features.

2. The sports simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 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 the user determines that the user is standing in a position corresponding to a first region of the top-view image according to the predetermined features.

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

5. The sports simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the camera module and the projection module are positioned directly above the user.

6. The sports simulation apparatus according to 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 generates a structured laser signal, and the ToF sensor receives the structured laser signal reflected from the user to form a point cloud structure diagram.

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

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

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

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

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