Golf aid including heads up display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9597574-B2
Application number	US-201414291236-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2014
Priority date	Dec 30, 2011
Publication date	Mar 21, 2017
Grant date	Mar 21, 2017

Abstract

A golf aid for displaying one or more golf-related statistics to a user includes a golf ball tracking system for tracking a flight of a golf ball, a heads up display, and a processor in communication with the golf ball tracking system and the heads up display. The heads up display is configured to be worn on the user's head and display an image within the user's field of view. The processor is configured to compute one or more shot statistics from the tracked flight of the golf ball and display the one or more computed shot statistics within the field of view of the user via the heads up display. The one or more shot statistics include at least one of an initial ball speed, a spin rate, a carry, and a remaining distance to the pin.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A golf aid for displaying one or more golf-related statistics to a user, the golf aid comprising:
a golf ball tracking system for tracking a flight of a golf ball;
a heads up display configured to be worn on the user's head and display an image within a field of view of the user;
a processor in communication with the golf ball tracking system and the heads up display, the processor configured to:
compute one or more shot statistics from the tracked flight of the golf ball;
wherein the one or more shot statistics include at least one of an initial ball speed, a spin rate, a carry, and a remaining distance to the pin; and
display the one or more computed shot statistics within the field of view of the user via the heads up display.

2. The golf aid of claim 1 , wherein the golf ball tracking system includes one or more sensors disposed on the heads up display.

3. The golf aid of claim 2 , wherein the one or more sensors include at least one of a camera, a radar, or a lidar sensor.

4. The golf aid of claim 1 , wherein the golf ball tracking system includes a launch monitor.

5. The golf aid of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
maintain one or more play statistics relating to a plurality of golf shots; wherein the one or more play statistics include at least one of a total number of strokes for a round, a score relative to par, a number of fairways hit, a number of greens in regulation, and an average number of puts per green; and
display the one or more play statistics within the field of view of the user via the heads up display.

6. The golf aid of claim 1 , wherein the processor displays the shot statistics for only a predetermined amount of time following a shot.

7. The golf aid of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to use the tracked flight of the golf ball to display an enhanced image of the golf ball flight within the field of view of the user via the heads up display.

8. A golf aid for displaying one or more golf-related statistics to a user, the golf aid comprising:
a golf ball tracking system for tracking a flight of a golf ball;
a heads up display configured to be worn on the user's head and display an image within a field of view of the user;
a processor in communication with the golf ball tracking system and the heads up display, the processor configured to:
compute one or more shot statistics from the tracked flight of the golf ball;
maintain one or more play statistics relating to a plurality of golf shots;
display the one or more computed shot statistics, the one or more play statistics, and an enhanced image of the golf ball flight within the field of view of the user via the heads up display.

9. The golf aid of claim 8 , wherein the one or more shot statistics include at least one of an initial ball speed, a spin rate, a carry, and a remaining distance to the pin; and
wherein the one or more play statistics include at least one of a total number of strokes for a round, a score relative to par, a number of fairways hit, a number of greens in regulation, and an average number of puts per green.

10. The golf aid of claim 8 , wherein the golf ball tracking system includes one or more sensors disposed on the heads up display.

11. The golf aid of claim 10 , wherein the one or more sensors include at least one of a camera, a radar, or a lidar sensor.

12. The golf aid of claim 8 , wherein the golf ball tracking system includes a launch monitor.

13. The golf aid of claim 8 , wherein the processor displays the shot statistics for only a predetermined amount of time following a shot.

14. A non-transitory, computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for execution by a processor to perform steps comprising:
receiving an indication of a tracked flight of a golf ball from a sensor;
computing one or more shot statistics from the tracked flight of the golf ball; wherein the one or more shot statistics include at least one of an initial ball speed, a spin rate, a carry, and a remaining distance to the pin; and
displaying the one or more computed shot statistics within the field of view of the user via a heads up display configured to be worn on the user's head.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14 , further comprising instructions for causing the processor to perform the steps of:
maintaining one or more play statistics relating to a plurality of golf shots; wherein the one or more play statistics include at least one of a total number of strokes for a round, a score relative to par, a number of fairways hit, a number of greens in regulation, and an average number of putts per green; and
displaying the one or more play statistics within the field of view of the user via the heads up display.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 14 , further comprising instructions for causing the processor to use the tracked flight of the golf ball to display an enhanced image of the golf ball flight within the field of view of the user via the heads up display.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Leech Nicholas A

Classifications

• A63B2220/833

  Sensors arranged on the exercise apparatus or sports implement · CPC title

• A63B2024/0034

  during flight · CPC title

• A63B24/0062

  Monitoring athletic performances, e.g. for determining the work of a user on an exercise apparatus, the completed jogging or cycling distance · CPC title

• A63B2220/802

  Ultra-sound sensors · CPC title

• G02B2027/0138

  comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera · CPC title