Golf swing trainer and method of improving a golf swing

Abstract

The present invention relates to a golf swing trainer. The golf swing trainer includes a body member including a first surface; a first elongated array of light emitting elements arranged in a longitudinal direction on the first surface of the longitudinal body member; and a controller configured actuate the first elongated array of light emitting elements to generate a moving light pattern representing a position of a simulated golf club head during a simulated swing with at least one of the light emitting elements of the first elongated array.

1 . A golf swing trainer, comprising:
 a body member including a first surface;   a first elongated array of light emitting elements arranged in a longitudinal direction on the first surface of the body member; and   a controller configured to actuate the first elongated array of light emitting elements to generate a moving light pattern simulating a position of a simulated golf club head during a simulated golf club swing with at least one of the light emitting elements of the first elongated array.   
   
   
       2 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1 , further comprising one or more input elements, the microcontroller being arranged to vary at least one parameter of the simulated swing responsive to operation of at least one of the one or more input elements. 
   
   
       3 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more input elements is arranged on the body member and is configured to be activated by an actual golf club head. 
   
   
       4 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a display device configured to display at least one operation mode of the golf swing trainer, and at least one of the parameters of the simulated swing.   
   
   
       5 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 4 , wherein the parameters of the simulated swing include:
 a tempo of the simulated swing; and   a length of the simulated swing.   
   
   
       6 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is operative to actuate the first elongated array of light emitting elements to display a front and back maximal amplitude and a starting point of the simulated golf club head. 
   
   
       7 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1 , wherein a start of the simulated golf head during the simulated swing is indicated with a first flash of at least one of the light emitting elements, a second flash of at least one of the light emitting elements, and a movement of the moving light pattern along the first elongated array of light emitting elements, and
 wherein the timing between the first and second flash, and the second flash and the start of the movement are substantially the same duration.   
   
   
       8 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a pointing device mounted to the body member,   wherein the pointing device is arranged to project a light beam along the longitudinal direction of the body member.   
   
   
       9 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensor elements mounted to the body member and arranged to detect positions of an actual golf club head during an actual swing of an actual club. 
   
   
       10 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1  wherein the one or more sensor elements include an elongated array of sensor elements arranged substantially in parallel with the first elongated array of light emitting elements. 
   
   
       11 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a second elongated array of light emitting elements arranged substantially in parallel with the first elongated array of light emitting elements, the controller being operative to actuate the second elongated array of light emitting elements to display positions of the actual golf club head measured by said one or more sensor elements.   
   
   
       12 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a remote control separate from the body element, and a remote control input sensor mounted to the body element configured to receive commands from the remote control, the controller configured to set one or more parameters of the simulated swing responsive to the commands received by the remote control input sensor.   
   
   
       13 . The golf swing trainer according to  claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to capture information representing the actual golf swing from the one or more sensor elements, and reuse the captured information to generate the simulated golf swing. 
   
   
       14 . A method of training a golf swing, comprising the steps of:
 displaying a moving light pattern simulating a position of a simulated golf club head in a simulated golf club swing along a longitudinal direction of a body with a first elongated array of light emitting elements; and   attempting to match the position of the simulated golf head with an actual position of an actual golf club head in an actual golf club swing.   
   
   
       15 . The method of training a golf swing according to  claim 14 , further comprising the step of:
 indicating a start position of the simulated golf club head on the first elongated array of light emitting elements.   
   
   
       16 . The method of training a golf swing according to  claim 14 , further comprising the steps of:
 measuring the actual position of the actual golf club head simultaneously with said step of displaying the moving light pattern representing the position of the simulated golf club; and   displaying the actual measured position of the actual golf club head on a second elongated array of light emitting elements.   
   
   
       17 . The method of training a golf swing according to  claim 16 , further comprising the steps of:
 comparing the position of the simulated golf club head with the measured actual position of the actual golf club head; and   displaying the difference between positions.