Tracking balls in sports

Abstract

An electronically trackable ball consisting of a cover, an inflatable bladder, a valve in the bladder a mounting structure attached to said valve and extending inwardly of the valve toward the center of the inflated bladder and an electronic transmission device on said mounting structure remote from said valve. The mounting structure is preferably a lightweight polymeric cylinder with the electronics fitted at the end remote from the valve and close to the center of mass of the ball. The device is within the ball, and is constrained from moving around inside the ball.

Claims

1. An electronically trackable ball comprising: an inflatable bladder, a valve in the bladder, a mounting structure comprising a first end attached to said valve, a second end, and a mounting surface located at the second end, the mounting structure extending inwardly of the valve toward the centre of the inflated bladder such that the mounting surface is closer to the center of mass of the ball than the valve, and an electronic transmission device on said mounting surface, wherein the mounting structure comprises a wall extending between the first end and the second end, the wall forming an open center portion into which the valve extends and including a plurality of perforations for compressed air to pass from the valve within the open center portion and into the bladder during inflation.

2. The electronically trackable ball as claimed in claim 1 in which the electronic transmission device includes a power source, and electronic transmission circuit and an antenna.

3. The electronically trackable ball as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a battery which is rechargeable by inductive charging.

4. The electronically trackable ball as claimed in claim 1 in which the mounting structure is a cylinder with a rigid flange around one end so that the flange is attached to the bladder wall around the valve.

5. A system for tracking a ball as claimed in claim 1 in which a data logger worn by the player receives signals from the electronics device in the ball when the player is contesting the ball or in possession of the ball.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5 which includes location sensors in the data logger for tracking the movements of the players on the playing field.

7. An electronically trackable ball comprising: an inflatable bladder, a valve in the bladder, a mounting structure comprising a first end attached to said valve, a second end, and a mounting surface located at the second end, the mounting structure extending inwardly of the valve toward the centre of the inflated bladder such that the mounting surface is closer to the center of mass of the ball than the valve, and an electronic transmission device on said mounting surface, wherein: the valve comprises a valve body, an inside flange, and an outside flange, with a wall of the bladder seated adhered between the inside flange and the outside flange; and the mounting structure comprises a wall and a support flange, wherein the support flange is located at the first end of the mounting structure extending outward from the wall and abuts against the inside flange of the valve.

8. The electronically trackable ball as claimed in claim 7, wherein the support flange of the mounting structure is adhered to the inside flange of the valve.

9. The electronically trackable ball as claimed in claim 7 in which the electronic transmission device includes a power source, and electronic transmission circuit and an antenna.

10. The electronically trackable ball as claimed in claim 7 further comprising a battery which is rechargeable by inductive charging.

11. A system for tracking a ball as claimed in claim 7 in which a data logger worn by the player receives signals from the electronics device in the ball when the player is contesting the ball or in possession of the ball.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11 which includes location sensors in the data logger for tracking the movements of the players on the playing field.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(1) A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a mounting cylinder of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates the cylinder of FIG. 1 bonded to a valve assembly

(4) FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the attachment of the cylinder to the valve assembly;

(5) FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the assembled unit prior to fitting to a ball bladder; and

(6) FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the assembled unit fitted to a ball bladder.

(7) The ball and tracking system is as disclosed in Australian patent 2008205421 and is used with a data logger as disclosed in Australian patent 2006222732.

(8) The mounting piece 10 is perforated with openings 16 to reduce the amount of weight added to the ball and further help move the centre of mass of the ball tracking assembly towards the original centre of mass of the ball. The perforations 16 also allow the compressed air to enter the main bladder 26 during inflation. The mounting piece 10 is made of tough polymer that damps impact and vibration and is not susceptible to brittle or fatigue failure.

(9) The mounting piece 10 is fixed to the valve assembly 20 on the inside of the bladder 26. It may be fixed by glue 25 and or screws 17. The valve assembly consists of the valve body 21 an inside flange 22, an outside flange 23 and an inflation inlet 24. The flange 11 at the base of the mounting device 10 may be glued to the inside flange 22 of the valve assembly at glue areas 25. The wall of the bladder 26 is adhered to the valve assembly 20 between the inside flange 22 and the outside flange 23 of the valve assembly. The electronic components and circuit board 14 and the battery 15 of the tracking device are mounted within the compartment 12 at the inner end of the mounting device 10. Two antennae 13 are connected electrically to the electronics 14 and fitted to the mounting cylinder 10. The antenna may be any conventional arrangement and may extend around compartment 12 or flange 11. Since the valve assembly 20 is typically very compliant (eg. Rubber or latex) the flange 11 of the mounting device prevents the assembly 10 from pivoting around the valve assembly 20 and impacting the side wall of the ball during impact.

(10) The flange 11 is not very large in diameter however so that players cannot feel a stiffer section of the surface around the valve body 21.

(11) Since all the ball tracking electronics 14 and power supply 15 and antenna 13 are mounted in or adjacent the compartment 12 at the end of the mounting piece 10, the centre of mass of the ball tracking module is moved away from the side wall of the ball towards the centre of mass of the ball. This means minimum impact on the balls balance (and consequent flight, bounce etc.)

(12) By fixing the mounting piece to the external wall, the potential for it to move around inside the ball is greatly reduced. The device is not affected when the ball is impacted.

(13) Most ball manufacturers make the bladders in 2 parts: the main bladder and the valve assembly. The main bladder has a hole in it and the valve assembly 20 is then glued or otherwise bonded in. This means that the assembly process for the tracking module of this invention can fit neatly into the existing assembly processes. The module 10 can be first assembled to the valve assembly 20, and then the valve assembly can be glued or bonded to the main bladder as per normal balls.

(14) Alternative methods of mounting electronics in balls seem to have much more complicated structures that are difficult and expensive to manufacture.

(15) Since the electronics used in the ball are low powered, the battery will last longer than the ball. The electronics are also inexpensive so that the cost of the instrumented balls is only a small increment above normal ball cost. If desired a switch on/off functionality via a reed switch in the electronics may be provided but it is preferred to use impact sensors to automatically switch on the beacon. Inductive charging may be used to recharge the battery before use. The battery 15 may be connected to a charging coil wound around the base of the valve assembly 21 close to the internal wall of the ball.

(16) Those skilled in the art will realise that this invention provides a unique system that is able to be used in a range of sports to track the movement of the ball relative to one or more players. Those skilled in the art will also realise that this invention can be implemented in embodiments other than those described without departing from the core teachings of the invention.