SENSING DEVICE FOR DETECTING MOVING GOLF BALL AND SENSING METHOD FOR THE SAME

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application is the 35 U.S.C. 371 national stage of international application PCT/KR2023/006964 filed on May 23, 2023, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0066529 filed on May 31, 2022. The entire contents of each of the above-identified applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is related to a sensing device and method for detecting a moving golf ball, specifically, as the golf ball moved by the user's putting passes through a plurality of sensing lights, the sensing device based on an optical sensor detects the golf ball and calculates information on the moving characteristics of the golf ball by the detection result.

Background Art

Recently, virtual simulation systems for sports that are very restrictive to play directly on the field, such as golf and baseball, have become widely popular.

Furthermore, virtual sports simulation systems for net sports, in which both players exchange balls with each other over nets such as tennis, squash, and badminton, are also emerging, making it easier for users to enjoy various sports in popular cultural spaces.

In such a virtual sports simulation, the game is basically played while the player hits the ball, and for simulation on the image of the ball hit by the player, a sensing device capable of effectively sensing the moving ball is required.

As a sensing device that detects a ball moving due to a user's hit, optical sensing devices, camera-based sensing devices, and radar-based sensing devices are widely used.

In particular, in the case of golf putting, the golf ball is basically hit so that it rolls on a bottom such as a mat, and as a sensing device to detect the movement of the golf ball rolling on the mat, an optical sensing device, which is relatively inexpensive sensing device, are mainly used rather than expensive sensing devices (such as camera-based sensing devices or radar-based sensing devices).

As prior arts regarding a sensing device using an optical sensing method for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to a golf putting, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0026093, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0671751, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0108330, and Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0923452, etc. are disclosed.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a sensing device for detecting a golf ball during a golf putting according to the above-mentioned prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional golf putting sensing device is provided with a light emitting device 10 on the right side of the path along which the golf ball moves, and a light receiving device 20 on the left side. The light emitting device 10 is provided with a light emitting unit 11, and the light receiving device 20 is provided with two light receiving units 21 and 22 that receive light from the light emitting unit 11.

In FIGS. 1, A1 and A2 represent the light received from the light emitting unit 11 to each light receiving unit 21, 22 as lines, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the golf ball 1 moves in the bp direction centered on the center line 2 by the user's putting, the golf ball 1 passes through the A1 light line and the A2 light line, respectively.

When the golf ball 1 blocks the A2 light line, the light receiving unit 22 cannot receive light, thereby detecting the golf ball, and when the golf ball 1 blocks the A1 light line, the light receiving unit 21 cannot receive light, thereby detecting the golf ball. As shown in FIG. 1, the time when the golf ball blocks the A2 light line is indicated as b1, and the time when the A1 light line is interrupted is indicated as b2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the golf ball moving in the bp direction can be detected by the light receiving units at the b1 and b2 positions, respectively.

As described above, the conventional technology detects the time at the b1 and b2 positions, obtains the direction angle a in the bp direction, which is the moving direction of the golf ball, through geometric analysis, and obtains the speed of the golf ball using the distance and time at the b1 and b2 positions.

However, the conventional technology as described above assumes that the b1 position and the b2 position, which are the positions when the golf ball blocks the A2 light line and the A1 light line, respectively, when the light-receiving unit detects the golf ball as shown in FIG. 1, are the positions of the center point of the golf ball, and calculates the directional angle and speed.

However, in reality, the light-receiving unit detects the golf ball not when the center of the golf ball blocks the light, but when the light is blocked at the outer edge of the golf ball, so there is a problem that calculating the movement characteristics of the golf ball assuming that the center point of the golf ball is detected when the light-receiving unit detects the golf ball as shown in FIG. 1 can cause a significant error.

The farther the directional angle according to the movement of the golf ball is from the center line, the more the result calculated assuming that the center point of the golf ball is detected as shown in FIG. 1 according to the conventional technology causes a larger error from the actual movement characteristics of the golf ball.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

• • Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0026093
  • Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0671751
  • Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0108330
  • Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0923452

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sensing device and method for detecting a moving golf ball that fundamentally resolves the cause of errors in sensing results according to conventional technologies in detecting the movement of a golf ball using a light-sensing type golf putting sensing device, thereby further improving the precision of the sensing results.

Technical Solution

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a sensing device for sensing movement of a golf ball comprising: a light emitting assembly that is provided on one side of a path through which the golf ball moves according to the user's putting and including a plurality of light emitters each of which is irradiate light to the other side; a light receiving assembly that is provided on the other side of the path through which the golf ball moves and including a plurality of light receivers for receiving the light emitted by each of the plurality of light emitters; and a controller that determines movement characteristic information of the golf ball using results detected by each of the plurality of light receivers as the moving golf ball passes while blocking light from each of the plurality of light emitters to each of the plurality of light receivers, wherein the controller is configured to set a distance from a center of the golf ball to a line of the light as an effective radius at the point in time when a sensing condition preset for the light receiver to detect the golf ball is met, and obtain the movement characteristic information of the golf ball by geometric analysis, taking the point in time when each of the light receivers detects the golf ball as the point in time when an effective circle with the effective radius comes into contact each of the light lines.

The light emitting assembly may include: a first light emitter and a second light emitter that irradiate light substantially in parallel to sense a speed of the golf ball; and a first cross-light emitter and a second cross-light emitter that are provided between the first light emitter and the second light emitter and irradiate light in an X shape, respectively, and the light receiving assembly may include: a first light receiver that receives the light from the first light emitter; a second light receiver that receives the light from the second light emitter; a first cross-light receiver that receives the light from the first cross-light emitter; and a second cross-light receiver that receives the light from the second cross-light emitter.

The light emitting assembly may be configured to include: a first light emitting hole through which the light of the first light emitter passes to form a first light beam; a second light emitting hole through which the light from the second light emitter passes to form a second light beam; a first cross-light emitting hole for passing through which the light of the first cross-light emitter passes to form a first cross-light beam; a second cross-light emitting hole through which the light of the second cross-light emitter passes to form a second cross-light beam, and the light receiving assembly may be configured to include: a first light receiving hole for passing the first light beam to the first light receiver; a second light receiving hole for passing the second light beam to the second light receiver; a first cross-light receiving hole for passing the first cross-light beam to the first cross-light receiver; and a second cross-light receiving hole for passing the second cross-light beam to the second cross-light receiver.

The controller may be configured to preset the effective radius measured in advance according to a size of the golf ball, a height at which the light emitter and the light receiver are installed, and a beam width of the light from the light emitter to the light receiver.

The controller may be configured to preset the effective radius measured in advance for each golf ball manufacturer or brand, and identify a manufacturer or brand of the golf ball used by the user for putting and apply a preset effective radius of the golf ball corresponding to the identified manufacturer or brand.

The controller may be configured to distinguishes a new golf ball and a used golf ball, preset each effective radius measured in advance for the new golf ball and the used golf ball, and identify whether a golf ball used by the user for putting is a new or used golf ball and apply a preset effective radius of the identified golf ball.

The sensing device may further comprise an effective radius measuring device for measuring the effective radius of a golf ball used by the user for putting, and wherein the controller is configured to set a value measured by the effective radius measuring device for the golf ball moving as the user putts as the effective radius so as to obtain the movement characteristic information of the golf ball using the set effective radius.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sensing method of a sensing device in which a plurality of light emitters are configured to emit light on one side of a path along which a golf ball moves according to a user's putting, and a plurality of light receivers on the other side each receive light, and a controller senses the movement of the golf ball through detection results of each of the plurality of light receivers, the method comprising: setting a distance from a center of the golf ball to a line of the light as an effective radius at the point in time when a sensing condition preset for the light receiver to detect the golf ball is met; receiving the detection results of each of the plurality of light receivers as the golf ball moves according to the user's putting; and obtaining the movement characteristic information of the golf ball by geometric analysis, taking the point in time when each of the light receivers detects the golf ball as the point in time when an effective circle with the effective radius comes into contact each of the light lines.

The setting the distance as the effective radius may include setting the effective radius measured in advance according to a size of the golf ball, a height at which the light emitter and the light receiver are installed, and a beam width of the light from the light emitter to the light receiver.

The setting the distance as the effective radius may include setting the effective radius measured in advance for each golf ball manufacturer or brand, and the obtaining the movement characteristic information of the golf ball may include identifying a manufacturer or brand of the golf ball used by the user for putting and applying a preset effective radius of the golf ball corresponding to the identified manufacturer or brand.

The setting the distance as the effective radius may include distinguishing a new golf ball and a used golf ball, and setting each effective radius measured in advance for the new golf ball and the used golf ball, and the obtaining the movement characteristic information of the golf ball may include identifying whether a golf ball used by the user for putting is a new or used golf ball, and applying a preset effective radius of the identified golf ball.

The sensing device may further include an effective radius measuring device for measuring the effective radius of a golf ball used by the user for putting, and the setting the distance as the effective radius may include setting a value measured by the effective radius measuring device for the golf ball moving as the user putts as the effective radius so as to obtain the movement characteristic information of the golf ball using the set effective radius.

Advantageous Effects

The sensing device and sensing method for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to the present invention that fundamentally solves the cause of errors in the sensing results according to the prior art that arises from the premise that the position of the center point of the golf ball is detected at the time of detection of the light receiving unit when detecting the movement of the golf ball by a golf putting sensing device of the optical sensing type, and has the effect of further improving the precision of the sensing results by utilizing the concept of the effective radius.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a movement of a golf ball on a sensing device of a light-emitting/light-receiving sensing method for detecting the golf ball during golf putting according to a prior art.

FIG. 2 shows a putting practice device to which a sensing device for detecting the movement of a golf ball is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a sensing device applied to the putting practice device shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from above.

FIG. 4 shows a case in which a golf ball is detected by each light-receiver when the golf ball is hit and moves in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a case where a moving ball blocks or does not block an optical line according to an installation height of a sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows the concept of an effective radius used in the sensing device and method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows light lines represented by simplifying light beams between the light emitters and the light receivers of the sensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which a moving golf ball is detected in each light line shown in FIG. 7 according to a conventional method.

FIG. 9 shows a state for performing geometric analysis using each light line shown in FIG. 7 and an effective circle by an effective radius according to a sensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a case in which an effective radius is directly measured using an effective radius measuring unit separately provided by a sensing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 11 to 13 show specific examples of calculating movement characteristics of a golf ball by geometric analysis in a state where an effective circle by an effective radius is shown to be in contact with each light line according to a sensing device and method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

A sensing device and sensing method for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the sensing device for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows a putting practice device to which a sensing device for detecting the movement of a golf ball is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a sensing device applied to the putting practice device shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from above.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensing device for sensing the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a putting practice device that allows a user to practice putting a golf ball GB with a golf club GC on a putting mat 100.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensing device for sensing the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a light emitting assembly 200 which is provided on one side of the path through which the golf ball moves by the user's putting and comprising a plurality of light emitters 210, 220, 230 and 240 irradiating light L1, L2, LX1 and LX2 to the other side, respectively; a light receiving assembly 300 provided on the side facing the light emitting assembly 200 and having a plurality of light receivers 310, 320, 330 and 340 for receiving the light L1, L2, LX1 and LX2 irradiated by each of the light emitters 210, 220, 230 and 240 of the light emitting assembly 200; and a controller 150 that determines the movement characteristic information of the golf ball using a result of each of the plurality of light receivers 310, 320, 330, and 340 detecting the golf ball as the moving golf ball GB passes while blocking the light L1, L2, LX1, and LX2 from each of the plurality of light emitters 210, 220, 230, and 240 as described above.

The controller 150 may obtain information such as the moving direction of the golf ball and the moving speed of the golf ball through geometric analysis using the result of detecting the golf ball GB by each light receiver.

The controller 150 may transmit the obtained characteristic information of the moving golf ball to a client 500 so that various services of the client related to golf putting are provided to the user.

For example, the client 500 can be provided as a simulation device that implements an image of a virtual green and a simulation image in which a virtual golf ball moves on the virtual green based on the movement characteristic information of the golf ball determined by the controller 150.

In addition, for example, the client 500 may be provided as a putting analysis device that displays and provides analysis results according to the user's putting.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensing device for sensing the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a ball-ready sensor for sensing whether the golf ball GB is in a hitting position. The ball-ready sensor may be implemented in an optical sensing method by the light-emitting unit 112 of the light emitting sensor 110 and the light-receiving unit 122 of the light receiving sensor 120, and although not shown in the drawings, the ball-ready sensor may be implemented as a position sensor provided inside the mat at the initial hitting position of the golf ball.

When the above-described ball-ready sensor is implemented in the optical sensing method by the light-emitting unit 112 of the light-emitting sensor 110 and the light-receiving unit 122 of the light-receiving sensor 120, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, if the light-receiving unit 122 receives sensing light LR emitted from the light-emitting unit 112, a golf ball is not in the initial hitting position, and as the user positions the golf ball GB at the initial hitting position, as shown in FIG. 3, when the golf ball GB blocks the sensing light LR and the light-receiving unit 122 does not receive the sensing light LR, the controller 150 can detect that the golf ball GB is located at the initial hitting position.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light emitting assembly 200 of the sensing device that senses the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a first light emitter 210 and a second light emitter 220 each of which irradiates light in substantial parallel for sensing a speed of the golf ball, and a first cross-light emitter 230 and a second cross-light emitter 240 that are provided between the first light emitter 210 and the second light emitter 220 to irradiate light in an X shape, respectively.

Furthermore, the light receiving assembly 300 may be configured to include a first light receiver 310 that receives light from the first light emitter 210, the second light receiver 320 that receives light from the second light emitter 220, the first cross-light receiver 330 that receives light from the diagonal direction of the first cross-light emitter 230, and the second cross-light receiver 340 that receives light from the diagonal direction of the second cross-light emitter 240.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light receiving unit 122 of the ball-ready sensor, and the first light receiver 310, the second light receiver 320, the first cross-light receiver 330 and the second cross-light receiver 340 of the light receiving assembly 300 are connected to the controller 150, and the controller may receive detection results from each light receiver. Although not shown in the drawings, the light emitting unit 112 of the ball-ready sensor, and the first light emitter 210, the second light emitter 220, the first cross-light emitter 230, and the second cross-light emitter 240 of the light emitting assembly 200 may also be connected to the controller 150 to turn on/off light irradiation of each light emitter under the control of the controller 150.

The light emitting assembly 200 as described above may include: a first light emitting hole 201 in which the light of the first light emitter 210 passes to form a first light beam L1; a second light emitting hole 202 in which the light of the second light emitter 220 passes to form a second light beam L2; a first cross-light emitting hole 203 in which the light of the first cross-light emitter 203 passes to form a first cross-light beam LX1; and a second cross-light emitting hole 204 in which the light of the second cross-light emitter 240 passes to form a second cross light beam LX2.

Furthermore, the light receiving assembly 300 as described above may include a first light receiving hole 301 that passes the first light beam L1 to the first light receiver 310, a second light receiving hole 302 that passes the second light beam L2 to the second light receiver 320, a first cross-light receiving hole 303 that passes the first cross-light beam LX1 to the first cross-light receiver 330, and a second cross-light receiving hole 304 that passes the second cross-light beam LX2 to the second cross-light receiver 340.

The first light emitter 210, the second light emitter 220, the first cross-light emitter 230, and the second cross-light emitter 240 of the light emitting assembly 200 as described above may be provided as light emitting elements such as LEDs.

Accordingly, since the light emitted by each light emitter, which is a light emitting element such as an LED, is widely spread, the first light emitting hole 201, the second light emitting hole 202, the first cross-light emitting hole 203, and the second cross-light emitting hole 204 may be formed in the light emitting assembly 200 so that the light emitted by each light emitter may go straight to each corresponding light receiver of the light receiving assembly in the form of a beam, wherein each of the light emitting holes may be formed in a size corresponding to a required beam size so that the light beam according to the required beam size may be irradiated.

In addition, as described above, each of the first light receiving hole 301, the second light receiving hole 302, the first cross-light receiving hole 302 and the second cross-light receiving hole 304 provided in the light receiving assembly 300 may be formed with a size corresponding to the size of each of the first light emitting hole 201, the second light emitting hole 202, the first cross-light emitting hole 203, and the second cross-light emitting hole 204 formed in the light emitting assembly 200.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the first light beam L1, the second light beam L2, the first cross-light beam LX1, and the second cross-light beam LX2 having required beam sizes may be formed by each of the holes as described above.

FIG. 4 shows a case in which the golf ball is detected by each light receiver 310, 320, 330, 340 when the golf ball GB is struck and moved in the sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the golf ball GB is moved in the BD direction by the user's putting, wherein the first light beam L1 is blocked at the B1 position by the golf ball so that the first light receiver 310 may detect the golf ball at the B1 position, and then the first cross-light beam LX1 is blocked by the golf ball at the B2 position so that the first cross-light receiver 310 may detect the golf ball at the B2 position, and then the second cross-light beam LX2 is blocked by the golf ball at the B3 position so that the second cross-light receiver 340 may detect the golf ball at the B3 position, and then the second light beam L2 is blocked by the golf ball at the B4 position so that the second light receiver 320 may detect the golf ball at the B4 position.

Where, the meaning of ‘the light beam is “blocked” by the golf ball, so that the light receiver may detect the golf ball’ is explained as follows.

When the light receiver detects a certain amount of light, whether to detect the golf ball may vary depending on how the controller sets a sensing condition.

For example, if the amount of light that the light receiver can receive is 10, depending on the degree to which the golf ball covers the light beam, the time when the light receiver detects the golf ball may be when the light receiving amount becomes 5, when the light receiving amount becomes 2, or when the light receiving amount becomes 0. This depends on how the controller sets the sensing condition for determining when a golf ball is detected using the detection results of the light receiver.

For example, if the amount of light that the light receiver can receive is 10, and the controller sets the sensing condition for detecting a golf ball by the light receiver to when the amount of light received is 2 or less, the light receiver initially receives 10 light amount, but as the golf ball moves, the light is gradually blocked by the golf ball, so the amount of light received by the light receiver gradually decreases, and in the process, when the amount of light received by the light receiver becomes 2 or less, the controller can determine that the light receiver has detected the golf ball.

Accordingly, the above ‘the light beam is blocked by the golf ball’ may include the degree to which the golf ball covers the light beam (the amount of light received by the light receiver) when the detection result of the light receiver is determined to be the detection of the golf ball according to the sensing condition setting of the controller.

In other words, the above “block” may include not only a case where the golf ball completely covers the light beam and the amount of light received by the light receiver is zero, but also a case where the amount of light is detected below a set value.

Hereinafter, the expression ‘the golf ball “blocks” the light beam’ is used in the same sense as described above.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the golf ball blocks the light beams L1, LX1, LX2, and L2 at each position of B1 to B4, each light receiver 310, 330, 340, 320 detects the golf ball, unlike conventional technology, when the center position of the golf ball is not located on the line of the light beam, but the outer part of the golf ball covers part or all of the light beam.

As shown in FIG. 4, when each light receiver 310, 330, 340, 320 detects a golf ball at each position of B1 to B4, the position of the golf ball's center point c1 at the B1 position, the position of the golf ball's center point c2 at the B2 position, the golf ball's center point c3 at the B3 position, and the position of the golf ball's center point c4 at the B4 position are calculated, and it is a preferable method to reduce errors and improve sensing accuracy to derive the movement characteristics of the golf ball based on the respective center point locations c1, c2, c3 and c4.

However, according to the conventional technology, the moving characteristics of the golf ball are not calculated based on the position of the center point c1, c2, c3 and c4 of the golf ball when the golf ball comes to each position of B1 to B4, but the moving characteristics information of the golf ball are calculated by assuming that the center point is located on the light beams L1, L2, LX1, and LX2, respectively, so the calculation result was inevitably inaccurate with the actual situation.

As shown in FIG. 4, the present invention can provide a method for accurately calculating the movement characteristics of the golf ball by geometric analysis by considering the center point positions c1, c2, c3 and c4 of the golf ball when the golf ball comes to each position of B1 to B4, and uses the concept of “effective radius” for this purpose.

The concept of the “effective radius” as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 sequentially shows the state of a golf ball passing through a light beam irradiated from a light emitter to a light receiver as the golf ball moves, and FIG. 5(a) to (c) show the light beam L irradiated from the light emitter 210 and received from the light receiver 310 when the golf ball GB passes, and FIG. 5(d) to (f) show the side cross-section of FIG. 5(a) to (c), respectively, cut along the direction of the golf ball.

Although not shown in the drawing, it is assumed that the light beam L is irradiated from the light emitter 210 and passes through a through hole (not shown) of a predetermined size to have a predetermined beam width.

As shown in FIG. 5(a) to (c), whether the golf ball GB effectively blocked the light beam L while traveling in the direction of the arrow cannot be clearly seen from the top to the bottom, and can be seen through the side cross-section as shown in FIG. 5(d) to (f).

Even if the outer surface of the golf ball GB appears to be in contact with the light beam L as shown in FIG. 5(a), the distance between the outer surface of the golf ball GB and the light beam may vary depending on the height of the light emitter 210 as shown in FIG. 5(d).

As shown in FIG. 5(d), the distance between the outer surface of the golf ball GB and the light beam is different in the case where a light emitter is installed at a higher position than the light beam L of the light emitter 210 and irradiates the light beam Lh and in the case where a light emitter is installed at a lower position than the light beam L of the light emitter 210 and irradiates the light beam Lw. That is, the distance between the outer surface of the golf ball GB and the light beam may be different depending on the height of each light beam Lh, L, Lw.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5(d), the distance between the golf ball GB and the light beam may vary according to the beam width bw of the light beam. That is, the traveling distance of the golf ball for blocking the light beam may vary according to the beam width bw of the light beam.

Depending on the beam width of the light beam as described above and the setting of the light-receiving rate of the light receiver that is recognized to have detected the golf ball, the traveling distance of the golf ball for blocking the light beam may vary.

For example, if the light beam is set to be “blocked” to detect the golf ball even if only 10% of the light beam is covered by the golf ball, the distance the golf ball needs to travel for the “blocking” may be shortened because the “blocking” occurs even if the golf ball blocks only a very small portion of the wide beam width, and the golf ball may need to travel a relatively long distance to block the narrow beam width. For example, if the light beam is set to be “blocked” when 90% of the light beam is blocked by the golf ball, the golf ball needs to travel a long additional distance to block almost all of the wide beam width, and only needs to travel a little further to block the narrow beam width.

Referring to FIGS. 5(b) and (e), when the golf ball GB went a little further, at the location of the L light beam, the golf ball GB covered only a part of the L light beam, but the Lh light beam at a higher position can be effectively blocked by the golf ball GB, and the Lw light beam at a lower position is in a state where the golf ball GB is close.

As shown in FIGS. 5(c) and (f), the golf ball GB effectively blocked the L light beam at the location of the L light beam when the golf ball GB went further, the Lh light beam at the higher position was completely blocked by the golf ball GB, and the Lw light beam at the lower position was in contact with the outer surface of the golf ball GB.

As shown in FIG. 5(c), when the L light beam is blocked by the golf ball GB, when viewed from above, the outer surface of the golf ball GB appears to have passed through the light beam L, and if it is the Lw light beam, it can be seen that the light beam Lw can be effectively blocked only when the golf ball GB proceeds further in the traveling direction.

FIG. 6(a) and FIG. 6(b) show the states of FIG. 5(c) and FIG. 5(f), respectively (a state in which the golf ball effectively blocks the L light beam).

As shown in FIG. 6(a), when the golf ball GB effectively blocks the L light beam and satisfies the sensing condition set by the controller, if the light beam L is simplified as a light line LL, the distance of the light line LL from the center Cb of the golf ball GB can be defined as the effective radius ER.

As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and (b), a circle having the effective radius ER which is the distance from the center Cb of the golf ball GB to the light line LL, is defined as an effective circle EC.

A sensing device and a sensing method for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to one embodiment of the present invention may preset the above stated “effective radius” of the golf ball by the controller, and set the point in time at which each light receiver detects the golf ball as the point in time at which an “effective circle” having the effective radius contacts each light line, and process to determine movement characteristic information of the golf ball by geometric analysis considering the center point position of the golf ball using the effective radius at each point in time.

FIG. 7 shows light lines represented by simplifying light beams between the light emitters and the light receivers of the sensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 shows a state in which a moving golf ball is detected in each light line shown in FIG. 7 according to a conventional method, and FIG. 9 shows a state for performing geometric analysis using each light line shown in FIG. 7 and an effective circle by an effective radius according to a sensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the light beam LR of the ball-ready sensor may be represented by simplifying as the initial light line lLR, the first light beam L1 as the first light line lL1, the second light beam L2 as the second light line lL2, the first cross-light beam LX1 as the first cross-light line lLX1, and the second cross-light beam LX2 as the second cross-light line lLX2.

The sensing device and method for sensing the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a geometric analysis by placing that each of the effective circles EC1, EC2, EC3 and EC4 according to the effective radius come into contact with each of the light lines IL1, lLX1, lLX2 and lL2 at the time when each golf ball is detected, as shown in FIG. 9, using the preset values of the effective radius defined as shown in FIG. 6, when each light receiver detects a golf ball according to the sensing conditions.

In a state where the effective circles EC1, EC2, EC3 and EC4 according to the effective radius predefined for the golf ball are shown to be in contact with each of the light lines IL1, lLX1, lLX2 and lL2 as shown in FIG. 9, the sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention may accurately calculate the movement characteristics of the golf ball through geometric analysis using the position of the center point (this is the center point of the golf ball) of each effective circle EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4.

FIG. 8 shows a geometric analysis state according to a conventional method, that is, a state in which each center of the circle b1, b2, b3, b4 representing the golf ball is located on each light line lL1, lLX1, lLX2, IL2. In the prior art, the geometric calculation was performed in the state as shown in FIG. 8 with respect to the time when each light receiver detected the golf ball.

Even when comparing FIG. 8 according to the prior art and FIG. 9 according to the present invention with the naked eye, it can be seen that the sensed time and position of the golf ball are significantly different.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the sensing device and sensing method that detect the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention enable more precise and accurate sensing than the prior art.

The “effective radius” as described above may vary depending on the height of the light beam according to the installation height of the light emitter and the light receiver (the height from the surface on which the golf ball moves), the size of the beam width according to the sizes of the light-emitting hole of the light emitting assembly and the light-receiving hole of the light receiving assembly (see FIG. 5(d)), the sensing conditions under which the light receiver can determine that the golf ball has been detected, and the shape of the dimple formed on the surface of the golf ball.

Accordingly, the above-mentioned effective radius can be measured and determined in advance after the sensing device is specifically designed or manufactured and conditions such as the height of the light beam and the beam width of the light beam are determined, and the effective radius value measured and determined in advance can be set in the controller so as to be used in calculating the movement characteristics of the golf ball.

In addition, since the size of the effective radius may vary depending on the shape of the dimple formed on the surface of the golf ball even in the sensing device under the same condition, the controller of the sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention may set effective radius values measured in advance for each manufacturer or brand of the golf ball as the effective radius for the corresponding type of golf ball. Furthermore, when a user putts under the sensing of the sensing device, the controller may check the manufacturer or brand of the golf ball used by the user for putting (the user may input and set the manufacturer or brand of the golf ball used in advance or may detect this with a separate sensor) and apply the preset effective radius to the checked golf ball to calculate the movement characteristics of the golf ball.

In addition, the effective radius of each new golf ball and used golf ball may be different because dimples of the golf balls may wear out or become contaminated with foreign substances through repeated use.

Accordingly, the controller of the sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention may measure and set the effective radius for the new golf ball and the effective radius for the used golf ball in advance, respectively. When the user putts under the sensing of the sensing device, the controller checks whether the golf ball used for putting by the user is a new golf ball or a used golf ball (the user may input and set in advance, or may detect it with a separate sensor) to calculate movement characteristics of the golf ball by applying the preset effective radius to the checked golf ball.

Furthermore, it is also possible to have sensing performed by measuring and setting the effective radius by a separate device or module when the user putts without measuring the effective radius in advance as described above.

FIG. 10 shows a case where the sensing device according to another embodiment of the present invention directly measures an effective radius during the user's putting process using a separately provided effective radius measuring device.

As shown in FIG. 10(a), the sensing device for detecting the movement of the golf ball according to another embodiment of the present invention may further include an effective radius measuring device 600 for measuring the effective radius of the golf ball GB that the user is putting.

The effective radius measuring device 600 may be installed on, for example, the first light emitter 210 and the first light receiver 310 through which the moving golf ball passes first, and the corresponding case is shown in FIG. 10(a).

As shown in FIG. 10(a), a device that emits a plurality of small spot light arrays 610 as the effective radius measuring device 600 may be installed on the upper portion of the light emitter 210, and although not shown in the drawing, light receiving arrays corresponding to each of the above-mentioned plurality of small spot light arrays 610 may be installed on the upper portion of the light receiver 310.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10(b), when the golf ball passes through the light beam L by the light emitter 210 while moving, the effective radius can be measured by detecting how many spot lights among the spot light arrays 610 of the effective radius measuring device 600 are blocked at the point in time when the golf ball GB moves along b1→b2→b3 and blocks the light beam L according to the sensing condition (the point in time when the light receiver detects the golf ball).

As described above, the controller sets the ‘effective radius’ for sensing the golf ball using the value measured by the effective radius measuring device 600 for the moving golf ball as the user putts, and can use the measured and set effective radius when calculating the movement characteristics of the golf ball according to the detection result of each light receiver.

Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 11 to 13, a specific example of calculating information such as the movement direction and movement speed of the golf ball by geometric analysis using the effective radius as described above according to the sensing device and sensing method for detecting the movement of the golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below.

FIG. 11 shows an example of geometric analysis when the golf ball moves in the PD1 direction, FIG. 12 shows an example of geometric analysis when the golf ball moves in the PD2 direction, and FIG. 13 shows an example of geometric analysis for calculating time information when the golf ball moves in the PD2 direction.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, each time point when the light receiver detects the golf ball can be shown as a time point when the effective circle EC according to the effective radius ER of the golf ball contacts each light line lL1, lLX1, lLX2, IL2.

As shown in FIG. 11, the distance the golf ball travels to the first light line lL1 is not D₁/cos θ, which is determined by the distance D₁ between the initial position of the golf ball and the first light line lL1 and the direction angle θ, but (D₁−ER)/cos θ (i.e., when the first light beam is blocked, the center of the golf ball is not located on the first light line, but the effective circle is in contact with the first light line, and at this time, the center point of the golf ball cannot but be separated from the first light line by the effective radius ER).

In the same way, the distance the golf ball travels until the golf ball is recognized by the second light line lL2 is (D₂−ER)/cos θ, and since D₁ and D₂ are values predetermined according to the physical conditions of the arrangement of the light emitters and the light receivers and the characteristics of the effective radius sensing device, the length excluding the directional component can be specified from the physical conditions.

When the angle (sensor installation angle) formed by the first cross-light line lLX1 and the second cross-light line lLX2 is SA, as shown in FIG. 11, using the angle SA and the properties of right-angled triangle, etc., it can be seen that an intersection angle near the intersection point of the first cross-light line lLX1 and the second cross-light line lLX2 is 90−SA.

In addition, the same angle as the intersection angle 90−SA can be found along the parallel lines, and the small angle of the right-angled triangle surrounded by the dotted line including the corresponding position can be found to be the same as SA.

Since the direction angle according to the direction of movement of the golf ball is θ, it can be seen that the small angle of the right-angled triangle containing the arrow of PD1 is θ−SA, and the large angle that is not the right angle is 90+SA−θ.

In order to express the distance (movement distance x) that the golf ball moves from the golf ball's initial position to being recognized by the first cross-light line lLX1, first, as shown in FIG. 11, if the length of the section indicated by the di arrow is calculated, it can be expressed as Dc sin (90−SA)−ER.

In FIG. 11, if the length of the section indicated by the di arrow is expressed using the movement distance x, it becomes x sin (90+SA−θ), so the movement distance x can be expressed as the following Equation 1.

D c ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA ) - ER sin ⁡ ( 90 + SA - θ ) [ Equation ⁢ 1 ]

Where, Dc is the distance from the initial position to the intersection point of the first cross-light line and the second crossed-light line, SA is the sensor installation angle, θ is the direction angle according to the movement of the golf ball, and ER is the effective radius. The distance Dc and the sensor installation angle SA are values that are already known since they are values set when the sensor is installed.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 12, the direction angle of the golf ball is smaller than the sensor installation condition SA, so the geometric conditions have changed slightly, but in the same manner as FIG. 11, the distance that the golf ball moving in the PD2 direction moves from the initial position until it is recognized by the first cross-light line lLX1 can be obtained by the following Equation 2.

D c ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA ) - ER sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA + θ ) [ Equation ⁢ 2 ]

If the difference between the above Equations 1 and 2 is mathematically approached, it can be seen as the difference between sin (90+ (SA−θ)) and sin (90−(SA−θ)) (i.e., it can be seen as the position value moved forward or backward (SA−θ) after advancing 90 degrees in the sine function), and since the sine function is symmetrical left and right based on the 90 degree point, sin (90+ (SA−θ)) and sin (90-(SA−θ)) always have the same value, so the above Equations 1 and 2 correspond to the same formula.

In the same way, the distance traveled until the effective circle EC contacts the second cross-light line lLX2 can be expressed as the following Equation 3.

D c ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA ) - ER sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA - θ ) [ Equation ⁢ 3 ]

In FIG. 13, the time points t₀, t₁, t_f, t_b, and t₂ corresponding to each point required to obtain the travel time for converting distance into speed are shown.

Where, t₀ is the time point at which the golf ball starts moving, t₁ is the time point at which the golf ball is detected by the first light receiver (the time point at which the effective circle EC comes into contact with the first light line lL1), and t₂ is the time point at which the golf ball is detected by the second light receiver (the time point at which the effective circle EC comes into contact with the second light line lL2). t_f is the time point at which the golf ball is detected by the first cross-light receiver (the time point at which the effective circle EC comes into contact with the first cross-light line lLX1), and t_b is the time point at which the golf ball is detected by the second cross-light receiver (the time point at which the effective circle EC comes into contact with the second cross-light line lLX2).

In FIG. 13, Equations 4 and 5 below may be obtained as equations related to the speed of the golf ball.

D 1 - ER cos ⁢ θ = v ⁡ ( t 1 - t 0 ) [ Equation ⁢ 4 ] D 2 - ER cos ⁢ θ = v ⁡ ( t 2 - t 0 ) [ Equation ⁢ 5 ]

In order to obtain a velocity component excluding the direction, only the travel distance between the first light line lL1 and the second light line lL2 needs to be considered, so to does not need to be considered. However, when obtaining the direction component, the above Equations 4 and 5 can be used to utilize the direction component.

As the distances for the first cross-light line lLX1 and the second cross-light line lLX2 are also changed to the velocity condition, they can be expressed as Equations 6 and 7 below.

D c ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA ) - ER sin ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA + θ ) = v ⁡ ( t f - t 0 ) [ Equation ⁢ 6 ] D c ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA ) - ER sin ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA - θ ) = v ⁡ ( t b - t 0 ) [ Equation ⁢ 7 ]

Using Equations 4, 5, 6, and 7 above, if t₀ and θ are obtained, respectively, the speed v of the golf ball can also be calculated.

If Equations 4 and 5 above are arranged for the speed v of the golf ball, Equation 8 below can be derived.

v = D 1 - ER cos ⁢ θ ⁡ ( t 1 - t 0 ) ) = D 2 - ER cos ⁢ θ ⁡ ( t 2 - t 0 ) ) ⁢ D 2 - E ⁢ R ) ⁢ ( t 1 - t 0 ) = ( D 1 - ER ) ⁢ ( t 2 - t 0 ) [ Equation ⁢ 8 ]

Using Equation 8 above, Equation 9 below regarding to can be derived.

t 0 = ( D 2 ⁢ t 1 - D 1 ⁢ t 2 + ER ⁡ ( t 2 - t 1 ) ) ( D 2 - D 1 ) [ Equation ⁢ 9 ]

Accordingly, to may be easily calculated using values already known through Equation 9.

Meanwhile, Equation 10 below may be obtained using Equations 6 and 7 described above.

D c ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA ) - ER = v ⁡ ( t f - t 0 ) ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA + θ ) = v ⁡ ( t b - t 0 ) ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA - θ ) ⁢ ( t f - t 0 ) ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA + θ ) = ( t b - t 0 ) ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 90 - SA - θ ) [ Equation ⁢ 10 ]

If Equation 10 is summarized using the properties of the trigonometric function, Equation 11 may be calculated below in relation to the direction angle θ.

sin ⁢ θ cos ⁢ θ = ( t b - t f ) ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA ) ( t f + t b - 2 ⁢ t 0 ) ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA ) ⁢ tan ⁢ θ = ( t b - t f ) ( t f + t b - 2 ⁢ t 0 ) ⁢ tan ⁡ ( 9 ⁢ 0 - SA ) [ Equation ⁢ 11 ]

Since each time value of t₁, t₂, t_f, and t_b and the installation condition SA angle are already known, tan θ may be obtained from Equation 11 above, and the direction angle θ may be calculated therefrom.

As described above, the sensing device and sensing method for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to the present invention that fundamentally solves the cause of errors in the sensing results according to the prior art that arises from the premise that the position of the center point of the golf ball is detected at the time of detection of the light receiving unit when detecting the movement of the golf ball by a golf putting sensing device of the optical sensing type, and has the effect of further improving the precision of the sensing results by utilizing the concept of the effective radius.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The sensing device and sensing method for detecting the movement of a golf ball according to the present invention can be used in the field of golf, especially in fields related to golf analysis based on analysis of a golf ball struck by a putter during putting, or in fields related to virtual golf simulations such as so-called screen golf.