Sporting Equipment Feedback Using Angle and Pressure Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional sporting equipment lacks active feedback mechanisms to guide users in achieving the proper position and orientation during use, relying solely on passive feedback from results, which is often obstructed and difficult for coaches to provide contemporaneous correction, especially in fast-paced games or crowded fields.
Innovation Solution
An equipment feedback apparatus integrated into sporting equipment, such as a lacrosse stick, featuring sensors to detect angle and pressure, and an indicator, like a vibration motor, providing real-time feedback to users on their technique.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional passive feedback from results is used, then the equipment structure remains simple, but the user cannot receive real-time guidance on technique during use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback by integrating sensors (pressure sensor, angle sensor) that detect user technique during equipment use and provide immediate feedback through indicators (LED lights, vibration motor). This resolves the contradiction by transforming passive result-based feedback into active real-time feedback, enabling users to adjust their technique contemporaneously rather than waiting for outcome evaluation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary feedback system consisting of sensors and indicators that mediate between the user's actions and the equipment's response. The sensors detect technical parameters (pressure, angle) and the indicators translate this data into user-comprehensible signals, creating an intermediary layer that bridges the gap between user technique and actionable feedback without requiring direct coach intervention.
2Reliability
If coaches provide active feedback by observing and instructing, then technique correction is more effective, but it becomes difficult to observe and provide contemporaneous correction in fast-paced games or crowded fields
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables self-service technique correction by equipping the equipment with autonomous sensing and feedback capabilities. The embedded sensors and indicators allow users to self-diagnose and self-correct their technique in real-time without requiring external coach observation or intervention. This resolves the contradiction by making technique correction independent of coach availability, enabling reliable feedback even in fast-paced or crowded conditions where coaching oversight is difficult.
3Loss of information
If multiple sensors and indicators are integrated into the equipment, then real-time feedback capability is achieved, but the equipment weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by strategically placing sensors and indicators only at critical locations where technique parameters need to be measured and feedback delivered. Rather than uniformly distributing components throughout the equipment, the system concentrates sensing and feedback elements at specific points (e.g., pressure sensor at the contact point, angle sensor at the joint) where they provide maximum diagnostic value with minimum weight addition.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables users to adjust their technique in real-time, enhancing training efficiency and accuracy by providing immediate feedback on position and orientation, reducing the need for continuous coaching oversight.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure sensor configured to detect an amount of pressure applied to the head when the head is in contact with the ground
Implementation Method 2
an angle sensor configured to detect an angle of the shaft relative to the ground
Implementation Method 3
an indicator configured to vibrate when: i) the tactile switch is in a position in which the tactile switch is depressed against the ground; and contemporaneously ii) the angle sensor detects the shaft of the lacrosse stick is in a predefined angular range relative to the ground
Data Source
AI summary
In the specification and drawings an equipment feedback system is shown and described with an equipment body; a power source structure connected to the equipment body; a pressure sensor connected to the power source structure; a position sensor connected to the power source structure; and an indicator in communication with the pressure sensor and the position sensor, wherein the indicator is capable of providing an indication to a user that the equipment body is held in a proper position by a user based on information generated by the pressure sensor and the position sensor.