TRACKABLE BALL

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to ball games, and more particularly to a ball of a ball game whose whereabouts are trackable.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

Golf is a leisure and competitive sport activity where the main objective is to hit the ball into distant holes. Therefore, golf courses are typically located outdoors and are spacious. To increase the difficulty, various terrains and types of areas (such as sand traps, fairways, roughs, etc.) are designed on the course. Due to its small size, golf balls are easily lost on the course.

Taiwan Patent No. 1543800, titled “Detectable Golf Ball,” teaches a golf ball which includes circuitry fixed inside the ball's cavity. This circuitry consists of a battery unit, a control unit, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a signal processing unit, and a timing unit. The control unit has an antenna and is configured to control the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer to sense the ball's movement and angular velocity when it receives wireless signals from an external transmitter via the antenna. The signal processing unit converts the signals generated by the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer into motion signals, which are then transmitted externally via the antenna. The timing unit provides a first timing signal for the control unit to control the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer to continue sensing until the first sensing time ends, and to control the antenna until the first sensing time ends.

The aforementioned technology may be utilized to search for lost golf balls, but there are drawbacks such as complex structure, high cost, and difficulty in operation, which affect its practicality and thus require further improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention discloses a trackable ball, including a ball member, and an electronic tag configured on the ball member. The electronic tag includes an identification chip and a transceiver antenna.

The electronic tag is signally connected to a mobile device. The mobile device is a smartphone or a smartwatch. The mobile device is equipped with an electronic tag reader.

Alternatively, the electronic tag is signally connected to a mobile device. The mobile device is a smartphone or a smartwatch. The mobile device is equipped with an electronic tag reader, and an indicator.

Specifically, the ball member is a golf ball.

Specifically, the electronic tag is a wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or a near-field communication (NFC) tag.

In this way, the user can detect and track the ball member using the mobile device.

Because mobile devices such as smartphones or smartwatches are very common and easy to carry, the interaction between the electronic tag reader of the mobile device and the electronic tag can occur at close range, achieving the purpose of quickly searching for the ball member, making it convenient and efficient.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a trackable ball according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the trackable ball of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the trackable ball of FIG. 1 signally linked with a mobile device.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the trackable ball of FIG. 1 signally linked with another mobile device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the trackable ball of FIG. 1 applied to a gold ball.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the trackable ball of FIG. 1 tracked by a smartphone.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the trackable ball of FIG. 1 tracked by a smartwatch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a trackable ball according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a ball member 1 and an electronic tag 2.

The ball member 1 can be a golf ball. The shape of the ball member 1 can be spherical or elliptical.

The electronic tag 2 is configured on the ball member 1 and comprises an identification chip 21 and a transceiver antenna 22. Referring to FIG. 3, the electronic tag 2 is signally connected to a mobile device 3, which can be a smartphone 5 (as illustrated in FIG. 6) or a smartwatch 6 (as illustrated in FIG. 7), and the mobile device 3 is equipped with an electronic tag reader 31. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the mobile device 3 may have an electronic tag reader 31 and an indicator 32. The electronic tag reader 31 is used to detect and read the electronic tag 2. The indicator 32 can be a warning light or a buzzer, providing visual or auditory warning functions. The electronic tag 2 can be a wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or a near-field communication (NFC) tag, and the electronic tag reader 31 can correspond to an RFID reader or an NFC reader. It should be noted that the mobile device 3 includes but is not limited to smartphones 5 or smartwatches 6; other electronic devices such as tablets or wearable devices are also applicable.

Please refer to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. In the present embodiment, the electronic tag 2 can be formed as a circular or disc-shaped piece. The electronic tag 2 is attached to the surface of the ball member 1 or embedded within the interior of the ball member 1, thus being integrated with the ball member 1. This allows the position of the electronic tag 2 to represent the position of the ball member 1. Furthermore, referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, for example, when a user 4 is playing golf, the user 4 hits the ball member 1. The user 4 can then hold the mobile device 3 (such as a smartphone 5) and walk slowly. The mobile device 3 emits radio waves through the electronic tag reader 31 to detect and read the electronic tag 2. If the ball member 1 senses the radio waves emitted by the electronic tag reader 31 through the transceiver antenna 22, the transceiver antenna 22 generates electricity, triggering the identification chip 21. Once triggered, the identification chip 21 emits the data stored internally through the transceiver antenna 22. Then, the electronic tag reader 31 of the mobile device 3 can read the information stored inside the identification chip 21 to determine the position of the ball member 1. If the mobile device 3 is equipped with the indicator 32, it can also emit visual or auditory warnings through the indicator 32 to alert the user 4.

In this way, the user 4 can detect and track the ball member 1 using the mobile device 3. Because mobile devices such as smartphones 5 or smartwatches 6 are very common and easy to carry, the interaction between the electronic tag reader 31 of the mobile device 3 and the electronic tag 2 can occur at close range, achieving the purpose of quickly searching for the ball member 1, making it convenient and efficient.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the claims of the present invention.