Abstract: A sport apparatus comprising a shaft, wherein the shaft comprises a notch fitting and a sensor housing. The sensor housing comprises an alignment rib fitting, printed circuit board, rechargeable battery, one or more motion sensors, a transceiver, an inductive charging coil, among other necessary elements for the sport apparatus as described herein. A portion of the sensor housing resides within the shaft, wherein the alignment rib of the sensor housing mates with a notch or other locking mechanism of the shaft.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 19, 2020
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
KINETEK SPORTS
Inventors:
Thomas H. Lupfer, Patrick M. Steusloff, Michael A. Kurtz
Abstract: This disclosure relates to an evaluation device and methods for evaluating the swing of a piece of athletic equipment. The evaluation device may include a microphone, an accelerometer, and a microcontroller configured to detect a stroke and ball strike and track the position of the athletic equipment in three-dimensional space. The evaluation device may also include a radio for wireless transmissions, a battery, and a sound tube connected to the microphone. The evaluation device can be used in conjunction with a host computer to store, and display data gathered by the evaluation device. In some methods, a stroke that is detected from a swing and a ball strike can be determined by comparing signals received from the accelerometer and the microphone to predetermined criteria.