Method and apparatus for measuring golf green speeds
A method, system and golf ball are provided to determine the deceleration of a golf ball and, in turn, the speed of a green. The system may include a golf ball and an offboard display device. The golf ball may include a golf ball body, a motion sensor disposed within the golf ball body to measure acceleration of the golf ball along each of three mutually perpendicular axes, and a transmitter disposed within the golf ball body to transmit data representative of deceleration. The display device may include a receiver to receive data representative of the deceleration of the golf ball from transmitter and a display to provide a representation of the deceleration of the golf ball. At least one of the golf ball and the display device may include a processor to determine deceleration of the golf ball based upon the acceleration measured by the motion sensor.
1. A system comprising:
a golf ball comprising
a golf ball body,
a motion sensor disposed within the golf ball body and configured to measure acceleration of the golf ball along each of three mutually perpendicular axis,
a processor configured to determine a deceleration of the golf ball based upon the acceleration measured by the motion sensor, and wherein the processor is also configured to determine a frequency of signals provided by the motion sensor and to await the frequency falling below a predefined threshold prior to determining a deceleration of the golf ball,
a transmitter disposed within the golf ball body configured to transmit data representative of deceleration of the golf ball; and
a display device comprising,
a receiver configured to receive data representative of the deceleration of the golf ball from transmitter, and
a display configured to provide a representation of a measure of the deceleration of the golf ball.
2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to determine a distance rolled by the golf ball and a time elapsed during rolling of the golf ball, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the deceleration based upon the distance rolled and the time elapsed.
3. A system according to claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to determine a number of cycles of a sine wave signal provided by the motion sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the distance rolled based upon the number of cycles.
4. A system according to claim 1 further comprising a filter configured to remove a DC offset from a signal provided by the motion sensor prior to determination of the deceleration by the processor.
5. A system according to claim 1 wherein the processor, is further configured to determine a plurality of deceleration values with each deceleration value being associated with a different respective velocity of the golf ball.
6. A system comprising:
a golf ball comprising
a golf ball body,
a motion sensor disposed within the golf ball body and configured to measure acceleration of the golf ball along each of three mutually perpendicular axis,
a transmitter disposed within the golf ball body configured to transmit data representative of deceleration of the golf ball; and
a display device comprising,
a receiver configured to receive data representative of the deceleration of the golf ball from transmitter,
a processor configured to determine a deceleration of the golf ball based upon the acceleration measured by the motion sensor, and wherein the processor is also configured to determine a frequency of signals provided by the motion sensor and to await the frequency falling below a predefined threshold prior to determining a deceleration of the golf ball, and
a display configured to provide a representation of a measure of the deceleration of the golf ball.
7. A system according to claim 6 wherein the processor is configured to determine a distance rolled by the golf ball and a time elapsed during rolling of the golf ball, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the deceleration based upon the distance rolled and the time elapsed.
8. A system according to claim 6 wherein the processor is further configured to determine a number of cycles of a sine wave signal provided by the motion sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the distance rolled based upon the number of cycles.
9. A system according to claim 6 further comprising a filter configured to remove a DC offset from a signal provided by the motion sensor prior to determination of the deceleration by the processor.
10. A system according to claim 6 wherein the processor is further configured to determine a plurality of deceleration values with each deceleration value being associated with a different respective velocity of the golf ball.