Golf Ball, System, and Method For Locating A Golf Ball

Abstract

The invention relates to a golf ball (1), which has at least one transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and a position determination unit (11), which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and is designed to receive GPS data, which specify the position of the golf ball (1). Furthermore, the golf ball has a communication unit (12), which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and is designed to transmit radio data, in particular the position of the golf ball (1). In addition, the golf ball has at least one charging coil (14), which is connected to an energy store (13) and is designed to charge the energy store (13) by means of inductive energy transmission. Moreover, the invention relates to a method for locating an object, in particular a ball-like object, for example, a golf ball, and a transmitting and receiving antenna for use in such a ball-like object.

Claims

1. A golf ball (1), which has the following: at least one transmitting and receiving antenna (10); a position determination unit (11), which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and is designed to receive UPS data which indicate a position of the golf ball (1); a communication unit (12), which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and is designed to transmit radio data, including the position of the golf ball (1); at least one charging coil (14), which is connected to an energy store (13) and is designed to charge the energy store (13) by means of inductive energy transfer.

2. The golf ball (1) according to claim 1, characterized by: an inner core (1a), in which the position determination unit (11), the communication unit (12), and the energy store (13) are arranged.

3. The golf ball (1) according to claim 1 characterized by: the inner core (1a) comprising a plastic having nubs on at least one of an inner side and an outer side of an inner core shell as a twist lock (1d), and the position determination unit (11), the communication unit (12), and the energy store (13) are embedded in the inner core (1a).

4. The golf ball (1) according to claim 2, characterized by: the at least one transmitting and receiving antenna (10) is arranged on the surface of the inner core (1a) by one of adhesively bonding and printing.

5. The golf ball (1) according to claim 2, characterized by: the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) is embedded in the inner core (1a) in a range of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm from the surface.

6. The golf ball (1) according to claim 1, characterized by: the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) has at least two antenna units (10a, 10b), wherein each antenna unit (10a, 10b) has a meandering structure.

7. The golf ball (1) according to claim 6, characterized by: the at least two antenna units (10a, 10b) of the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) have a planar structure and cover at least 25%, preferably at least 40%, more preferably at least 60% of the surface of the inner core (1a).

8. The golf ball (1) according to claim 6, by: the two antenna units (10a, 10b) are arranged on the inner core (1a) so that the inner core (1a) is located between the antenna units (10a, 10b) and the antenna units (10a, 10b) lie opposite to one another.

9. The golf ball (1) according to claim 1, characterized by: a sensor unit (15) for acquiring measured values, which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10).

10. The golf ball (1) according to claim 9, characterized by: the sensor unit (15) including at least one acceleration sensor (15a) and at least one rotation rate sensor (15b).

11. The golf ball (1) according to claim 1, characterized by: the at least one charging coil (14) is arranged on the inner core (1a) such that the area enclosed by the charging coil (14) does not overlap with the areas covered by the transmitting and receiving antenna (10).

12. A system for locating an object, comprising: a golf ball (1); and a mobile terminal (20) designed to receive radio data transmitted by the golf ball (1).

13. The system according to claim 12, characterized by: the mobile terminal (20) comprises a display screen, on which a position of the golf ball (1) is displayable.

14. The system according to claim 12, characterized by: the mobile terminal (20) comprises a memory, on which data received from the golf ball (1) are storable.

15. A method for locating an object (1) wherein the object (1) has: at least one transmitting and receiving antenna (10); a position determination unit (11), which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and is designed to receive GPS data which indicate a position of the object (1); a communication unit (12), which has a communicative connection to the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) and is designed to transmit radio data including the position of the object (1); and an energy store (13) which is connected in particular to a charging coil (14), which is designed to charge the energy store (13) by means of inductive energy transfer, wherein the method comprises the steps of: GPS locating of the object (1) on the basis of the GPS data transmitted by the object (1) by means of a mobile terminal (20); and switching to local locating, as soon as the terminal (20) and the object (1) fall below a distance required for local locating.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the steps of: receiving the position of the object (1) located in flight from GPS data transmitted by the object (1); computing the flight path of the object (1) from sensor data ascertained at beginning of movement and/or beginning of flight, in particular upon the stroke, and/or during the flight; ascertaining a computed landing position of the object (1) from the computed flight path; and comparing the computed landing position of the object (1) to GPS data transmitted during the flight.

17. The method according to claim 15, comprising the additional steps of: receiving by the terminal of the radio data transmitted by the object (1); and displaying the position of the object (1) on the terminal on a display screen of the terminal.

18. A transmitting and receiving antenna (10) for a ball-like object which has in particular a ball-like inner core (1a), comprising: sections forming the transmitting and receiving antenna (10), the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) formed as ellipsoidal; and at least two antenna units (10a, 10b), each antenna unit (10a, 10b) has a meandering structure and the two antenna units (10a, 10b) are symmetrical.

19. The transmitting and receiving antenna (10) according to

18, characterized in that the at least two antenna units (10a, 10b), have a planar structure and/or cover at least 25%, preferably at least 40%, more preferably at least 60% one of the surface of the ball-like object and the surface of the ball-like inner core (1a) of the ball-like object.

20. The transmitting and receiving antenna (10) according to claim 18, characterized by: the transmitting and receiving antenna (10) is one of: embedded in the ball-like core (1a) close to the surface of the core (1a) in the range of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm distant from the surface; and adhesively bonded on one of the surface of the core and the surface of the ball-like object.

Description

[0061] The invention will be described hereafter on the basis of exemplary embodiments, which are explained in greater detail on the basis of the figures. In the figures:

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a connection scheme, which schematically shows the electronic components and the connections thereof in a golf ball according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0063] FIG. 2 shows a section, which shows the multilayer structure of the golf ball according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0064] FIG. 3a shows a schematic view of a layout for a transmitting and receiving antenna unit according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0065] FIG. 3b shows a schematic view of a layout for a transmitting and receiving antenna having two antenna units;

[0066] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an inner core of a golf ball, on which the transmitting and receiving antenna is applied;

[0067] FIG. 5a shows a perspective view of the inner core of the golf ball, in which a possible placement of a charging coil with respect to the transmitting and receiving antenna is shown;

[0068] FIG. 5b shows a perspective view of the inner core of the golf ball, in which another possible placement of a charging coil with respect to the transmitting and receiving antenna is shown.

[0069] The same reference signs are used for identical and identically acting parts in the following description.

[0070] FIG. 1 is a connection scheme, which shows the electronic components and the connections thereof in a golf ball 1 according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. The golf ball 1 has a transmitting and receiving antenna 10. It is used to receive data to determine the position of the golf ball 10. The transmitting and receiving antenna 10 is therefore connected to a position determination unit 11, which is formed in the present exemplary embodiment by a commercially available GPS module. An internal antenna of the position determination unit 11 can be omitted in this case. This reduces the power consumption and saves both weight and also structural space.

[0071] The transmitting and receiving antenna 10 is used, on the other hand, for the purpose of transmitting radio data to a user. The transmitting and receiving antenna 10 is therefore connected to a communication unit 12, which provides and transmits the radio data to be transmitted. The golf ball 1 furthermore has a sensor unit 15. The sensor unit 15 comprises an acceleration sensor 15a and a rotation rate sensor 15b. The golf ball 1 additionally has an energy store 13, which supplies the electronic components in the golf ball 1 with electrical energy. The energy store 13 is formed in the present exemplary embodiment by a rechargeable battery, the capacity of which is sufficient to supply the electronic components of the golf ball 1 with an operating voltage of 3 V for 6.5 hours.

[0072] FIG. 2 is a section, which shows the multilayered structure of the golf ball 1 according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. The golf ball 1 consists of an inner core 1a, which is enclosed by an elastic jacket 1b. The outermost layer of the golf ball 1 is formed by the outer envelope 1c.

[0073] The inner core 1a consists of a hard plastic material, having individual nubs 1d to the inside and outside as a twist lock, and is used for protecting the above-described electronic components. These are therefore embedded in the inner core 1a. The arrangement of the electronic components in the inner core 1a is selected so that the center of gravity of the inner core 1a is coincident with its geometric center point, so that the flight properties of the golf ball 1 are not impaired. The density of the material used is similar in this case to the density of the embedded electronic components, to ensure a uniform weight distribution in the interior of the core.

[0074] The elastic jacket 1b is formed from a rubber material. The elastic jacket 1b absorbs the energy of the stroke and conducts it around the inner core 1a. The deformation of the golf ball 1 during the stroke is thus primarily implemented by the elastic jacket 1b, wherein the components located in the inner core 1a are well protected. The elastic jacket 1b can consist of multiple layers of material, to improve the play properties or the dissipation of the energy of the stroke around the inner core 1a of the golf ball.

[0075] The outer envelope 1c is a hard plastic shell, which has dimples to improve the flight properties of the golf ball 1. The diameter of a rule-consistent golf ball 1 has to be at least 42.67 mm, while the weight cannot exceed 45.93 g. The weight of the inner core can be limited to approximately 16 g by the weight savings which result from the use of the common transmitting and receiving antenna 10.

[0076] Since the GPS signal usable by civilians has a frequency of 1575.42 MHz and the SRD band Europe at 868 MHz is used for the communication with the mobile terminal, the transmitting and receiving antenna 10 is designed as a multiband antenna, The multiband antenna 10 consists of two antenna units 10a, 10b, which have a planar structure. A schematic view of an antenna unit of the transmitting and receiving antenna 10 is shown in FIG. 3. The antenna unit is meandering and consists of conductor loops extending in parallel. The loop guiding follows an essentially rectangular outer contour. The multiband antenna consists of two antenna units 10a, 10b, the schematic layout of which is illustrated in FIG. 3b. The antenna units 10a, 10b are connected to one another by connection webs. If the dimensions of the planar layout shown in FIG. 3b are selected suitably, the multiband antenna 10 can be printed directly on the inner core 1a of the golf ball 1. The dimensions are selected in this case so that the connection webs, which extend beyond the two antenna units 10a, 10b, are connected to one another during the printing, so that the multiband antenna 10 spans the complete inner core 1a and the antenna units 10a and 10b lie opposite to one another with respect to the inner core 1a. An inner core 1a thus printed is shown in a perspective illustration in FIG. 4. The configuration having two antenna units 10a, 10b offers the advantage in this case that the golf ball 1 cannot come to rest in a position in which the communication with the GPS satellites or the transmission function of the communication unit 11 is suppressed in that the golf ball 1 shields the multiband antenna 10. It is also ensured during the flight that one of the antenna units 1a, 10b always faces toward the player, which facilitates the transmission of the radio data.

[0077] As can be seen in FIG. 4, four essentially circular areas are formed on the inner core 1a by the design of the multiband antenna 10, which are not covered by the multiband antenna 10. The arrangement of the charging coil 14 in the golf ball 1 is selected so that the charging coil 14 does not interfere with the multiband antenna 10. Two of the possible arrangements for the charging coil 14 are schematically shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. The charging coil 14 can be arranged in this case on the surface of the inner core 1a or embedded close to the surface in the inner core 1a. Multiple charging coils 14 can also be provided.

[0078] To charge the golf ball 1, a charging station (not shown) is provided, which has a primary coil, via which energy is transferred to the charging coil 14 located in the golf ball 1 by induction. The charging station has a depression, which essentially has the shape of a hemisphere and in which the golf ball 1 inserted for charging. The primary coil of the charging station is attached on the circumference of the hemispherical trough or is formed as spherical and is provided in the hemispherical depression of the charging station and encloses the golf ball 1 and the charging coil 14 located therein. The golf ball 1 has a marking on its outer envelope 1c, which enables the golf ball 1 to be inserted into the charging station so that the charging coil 14 and the primary coil are arranged essentially concentrically. The energy transfer is thus improved and the charging time is shortened. The charging coil 14 can be optimized with the aid of additional ferrites to optimize the charging procedure.

[0079] For locating the described golf ball 1, a system is used, which, in addition to the golf ball 1, comprises a mobile terminal 20, using which the data transmitted by the communication unit 12 can be received. The mobile terminal 20 has a display screen, on which the position of the golf ball 1 is displayed together with a terrain map of the golf course. The mobile terminal 20 also comprises a GPS module, so that the position of the player can also be displayed on the map.

[0080] The position of the golf ball 1 is determined using the GPS unit 11 and transmitted to the mobile terminal 20. The range of the radio connection between golf ball 1 and mobile terminal 20 is between 300 and 500 m in the ideal case. In rough terrain, the range is accordingly less. Furthermore, an approximate flight curve of the golf ball 1 is computed on the basis of the data ascertained by the sensor unit 15. This approximate flight curve can already be ascertained and transmitted while the golf ball 1 is in flight. It is thus possible to display to the player the approximate flight path of the golf ball 1 and an approximate landing location immediately after the stroke. The computed flight path is compared in this case to the GPS data, to increase the accuracy. For the case in which the connection between golf ball 1 and mobile terminal 20 is interrupted, an approximate position determination already takes place due to the computed landing location. If the connection between golf ball 1 and mobile terminal 20 is interrupted, both the last position ascertained by means of GPS and also the computed landing location are available. If the golf ball 1 lands, for example, in a water hazard, such an interruption can occur. The last position ascertained via GPS can then be used to determine at which point the golf ball 1 has entered the water hazard. If the golf ball 1 has landed outside the range of the mobile terminal 20, but is still capable of transmitting data, the locating via GPS can take place again as soon the mobile terminal 20 is again within the range of the golf ball 1.

[0081] The accuracy of the GPS locating is approximately 1 m. If the player approaches the golf ball 1 with the mobile terminal 20, as soon as the resolution of the GPS locating is no longer sufficient, it switches over to local locating between golf ball 1 and mobile terminal 20.

[0082] The local locating can be carried out by means of a/the 868 MHz interface of the golf ball 1. At least one IC of the golf ball 1 can transmit a signal, which can be used for the local locating of the golf ball 1.

[0083] Alternatively or additionally, it is possible that the local locating is carried out, for example, by means of near field communication (NFC). For the near field communication, a transponder can be provided in the golf ball 1, which establishes a connection to the mobile terminal 20 upon entry of the mobile terminal 20 into its range. The near field communication can also be carried out by an analysis of the signal strength of the signal emitted by the communication unit 12. If the mobile terminal 20 has a GPS unit, point locating by comparison of the GPS data received by the golf ball 1 and the mobile terminal 20 can also be used to carry out the locating. It is only decisive in this case that the accuracy of the locating by means of near field communication is 10 cm or less, so that the player can reliably find the golf ball 1.

[0084] The invention was described on the basis of a specific exemplary embodiment. In addition, various modifications are possible without deviating from the concept of the invention.

[0085] The components of the position determination unit 11, the communication unit 12, and the sensor unit 15 can be formed completely or partially on a common circuit board. They can be partially formed by software modules, which are available on a common memory. A microprocessor unit can be provided for the activation and data processing of the individual functional elements, such as GPS locating, radio communication, and energy supply. The circuit board can be embodied in Starflex/Flex technology, which enables the circuit board to fold in order to correspond to the small space budget.

[0086] The sensor unit 15 can comprise, in addition to the mentioned sensors, an inertial sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a force sensor, a pressure sensor, and/or a bearing sensor (gyroscope), and also a temperature sensor, by means of which further items of information relevant to the player are measured. The flight velocity upon striking and the rotation of the golf ball 1 during the flight can be used, for example, to conclude the position of the golf club, at which the golf club has hit the golf ball 1. In general, the evaluation of the sensor data can take place in the sensor unit 15 of the golf ball 1, so that the quantity of data to be transmitted to the mobile terminal 20 is reduced. Alternatively, the sensor data can be transmitted unprocessed and the evaluation can take place in the mobile terminal 20.

[0087] To be able to use multiple golf balls 1 according to the invention in a party or in a flight, the golf ball 1 can have a unique electronic identification or identifier, by means of which it can be uniquely associated with a mobile terminal 20.

[0088] The data transmission from the golf ball 1 to the mobile terminal can be performed cyclically, for example, at a frequency of 1 Hz.

[0089] A device conceived separately for the application can also be provided as the mobile terminal 20 by the selection of the radio frequency of a mobile telephone or smart phone. The mobile terminal 20 can also be formed by a watch or a device wearable on the wrist. Alternatively, the display screen for the display can be housed in such a device, which has a radio connection to the mobile terminal 20. In this case, the mobile terminal 20 transmits the display data to the display device. The information to be displayed about the position of the golf ball 1 is thus easily visible to a user, without him having to hold the mobile terminal 20 in the hand.

[0090] The mobile terminal 20 can be equipped by the installation of an app such that it can communicate with the golf ball 1 according to the invention. In this context, the app (for example, on a smart phone) can be equipped for the purpose of assisting the player in finding the golf ball 1.

[0091] Furthermore, all measured values already described and further measured values can be received by the app and displayed to the player in a suitable format. The app can be used for this purpose, in order to collect and analyze received raw data, for example, a plurality of position specifications in the course of the flight of the golf ball 1. Measured values such as the acceleration upon the stroke, the flight duration, the flight course, and the velocity and/or the velocity curve during the flight can be ascertained on the part of the app.

[0092] The app can use some or all of these measured values to improve the game of the player with helpful instructions. In the final effect, the app can assume a type of interactive coaching. For this purpose, it is possible that the app communicates with further units or devices. For example, a communication can take place with a specially equipped training golf club.

[0093] It is possible according to the invention that the app queries and/or stores items of information about the golf course. These items of information can be used to improve the game of the player. Furthermore, these items of information can be used to compare the ascertained ball location with permitted positions (in or out). These items of information can also be used to ascertain the playability of a specific ball rapidly and easily. The app thus essentially contributes, in conjunction with the system and/or golf ball 1 according to the invention, to accelerating the flow of play. The player can decide rapidly whether he gives up on a specific ball or not. Furthermore, special (individual) course suggestions and/or the movement options corresponding to the ball position or also required measures (inter alia, penalty strokes) according to the rules of the game can be displayed via this app. This also facilitates and accelerates the play substantially and moreover assists the player in the rules of the game.

[0094] Furthermore, the app can be equipped for the purpose of using the measured values and/or positions of the golf ball 1 to perform a judgment of the game. It is possible to share this judgment with other players, so that a digital ranking is possible.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0095] 1 golf ball [0096] 1a inner core [0097] 1b elastic jacket [0098] 1c outer envelope [0099] 1d nubs [0100] 10 transmitting and receiving antenna [0101] 10a first antenna unit [0102] 10b second antenna unit [0103] 11 position determination unit [0104] 12 communication unit [0105] 13 energy store [0106] 14 charging coil [0107] 15 sensor unit [0108] 15a acceleration sensor [0109] 15b rotation rate sensor [0110] 20 mobile terminal