IP Library Granted Patent US 7,704,157
Granted Patent B2
US 7,704,157 · App. 11/089,230 · Granted Apr 27, 2010

Golf swing-measuring system

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,704,157
App. No.
11/089,230
Granted
Apr 27, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

A golf swing-measuring system including a computer ( 16 ) for capturing a colored moving image obtained by photographing a golfer ( 11 ) who swings by gripping a golf club ( 13 ). The computer ( 16 ) selects and extracts one or more images each showing a swing posture as check-point images such as an address image, a take-back shaft 8 o'clock image, a take-back shaft 9 o'clock image, a take-back unskillful arm horizontal image, a top image, a downswing unskillful arm horizontal image, a downswing shaft 9 o'clock image, an impact image, a follow-through shaft 3 o'clock image, and a finish image and extracts from a large number of still images constituting said color moving image. Thereafter the computer ( 16 ) obtains coordinates of positions of attention-focused points that operate in said check-point images when said golfer swings.

Claims (18)

1. A golf swing-measuring system comprising:

a computer for capturing a colored moving image obtained by photographing a golfer who swings by gripping a golf club,

wherein said computer selects and extracts one or more images each showing a swing posture as check-point images, including an address image, a take-back shaft 8 o'clock image, a take-back shaft 9 o'clock image, a take-back unskillful arm horizontal image, a top image, a downswing unskillful arm horizontal image, a downswing shaft 9 o'clock image, an impact image, a follow-through shaft 3 o'clock image, and a finish image, and extracts from a large number of still images constituting said colored moving image, and obtains coordinates of positions of attention-focused points that operate in said check-point images when said golfer swings;

wherein when a colored mark is provided on at least one of said attention-focused points, a search range which is a region in which presence of said colored mark is estimated is set in said check-point image, and a color range which is an allowable range in which color information of a pixel in said image is regarded as the same as that of a reference color of said colored mark is set, and a coordinate of a position of each of said attention-focused points is obtained in said search range by regarding a pixel whose color falls in said color range as a position of said color mark,

wherein when a colored mark is not provided or when the provided colored mark is not found on the displayed image on at least one of said attention-focused points, differential processing is executed between said check-point image and a background image in which a golfer is not photographed to obtain a golfer's silhouette and extract a contour of said silhouette, a portion of said obtained contour where not less than a predetermined number of pixels having curvatures in a range from −10° to 10° are continuously present is extracted as a straight line portion, and a coordinate of a position of said attention-focused point is specified by using said straight line portion, and

wherein a pixel present at a position where an extension of said straight line portion intersects with said contour is specified as a coordinate of a position of said attention-focused point.

2. The golf swing-measuring system according to claim 1 , wherein said attention-focused point includes a golfer's head, neck, shoulder, elbow, waist, knee, ankle, wrist or/and toe.

3. The golf swing-measuring system according to claim 1 , wherein said attention-focused point includes a golfer's silhouette, a color of a golfer's wear, a golfer's gloves or/and a golfer's skin color.

4. The golf swing-measuring system according to claim 1 , wherein the differential processing is executed between said check-point image and the background image to extract the golfer's silhouette by using hue, saturation and lightness of said check-point image and the background image.

5. A golf swing-measuring system comprising:

a computer for capturing a colored moving image obtained by photographing a golfer who swings by gripping a golf club,

wherein said computer selects and extracts one or more images each showing a swing posture as check-point images, including an address image, a take-back shaft 8 o'clock image, a take-back shaft 9 o'clock image, a take-back unskillful arm horizontal image, a top image, a downswing unskillful arm horizontal image, a downswing shaft 9 o'clock image, an impact image, a follow-through shaft 3 o'clock image, and a finish image, and extracts from a large number of still images constituting said colored moving image, and obtains coordinates of positions of attention-focused points that operate in said check-point images when said golfer swings;

wherein when a colored mark is provided on at least one of said attention-focused points, a search range which is a region in which presence of said colored mark is estimated is set in said check-point image, and a color range which is an allowable range in which color information of a pixel in said image is regarded as the same as that of a reference color of said colored mark is set, and a coordinate of a position of each of said attention-focused points is obtained in said search range by regarding a pixel whose color falls in said color range as a position of said color mark,

wherein when a colored mark is not provided or when the provided colored mark is not found on the displayed image on at least one of said attention-focused points, differential processing is executed between said check-point image and a background image in which a golfer is not photographed to obtain a golfer's silhouette and extract a contour of said silhouette, a portion of said obtained contour where not less than a predetermined number of pixels having curvatures in a range from −10° to 10° are continuously present is extracted as a straight line portion, and a coordinate of a position of said attention-focused point is specified by using said straight line portion, and

wherein a pixel present at a position where extensions of two of said straight line portions intersect with each other or a point of a contour present nearest to said intersection position is specified as a coordinate of a position of said attention-focused point.

6. The golf swing-measuring system according to claim 5 , wherein said attention-focused point includes a golfer's head, neck, shoulder, elbow, waist, knee, ankle, wrist or/and toe.

7. The golf swing-measuring system according to claim 5 , wherein said attention-focused point includes a golfer's silhouette, a color of a golfer's wear, a golfer's gloves or/and a golfer's skin color.

8. The golf swing-measuring system according to claim 5 , wherein the differential processing is executed between said check-point image and the background image to extract the golfer's silhouette by using hue, saturation and lightness of said check-point image and the background image.

Assignments (2)
MERGER Recorded Apr 17, 2018
From: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
To: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
Reel/Frame 045959/0204 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 12, 2018
From: SRI SPORTS LIMITED
To: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
Reel/Frame 045932/0024 →