Golf shot tracking system

Abstract

A golf tracking system including a tag coupled to a golf club. The tag includes a plurality of sensors, each which output a signal based on a detected movement of the golf club, a microcontroller that compares each of the plurality of sensor outputs to stored reference sensor output values, and a transceiver that transmits data corresponding to the sensor outputs to a device remote from the tag based on the comparison performed by the microcontroller. The location-aware device then processes the information received from the tag to determine whether a shot should be registered.

1 . A tag coupled to a golf club and comprising:
 a plurality of sensors, each configured to output a signal based on a detected movement of the golf club;   a microcontroller configured to compare each of the plurality of sensor outputs to stored reference sensor output values; and   a transceiver configured to transmit data corresponding to the sensor outputs to a device remote from the tag based on the comparison performed by the microcontroller.   
     
     
         2 . The tag of  claim 1 , wherein
 one of the plurality of sensors is an accelerometer configured to detect acceleration of the golf club.   
     
     
         3 . The tag of  claim 1 , wherein
 one of the plurality of sensors is a shock sensor configured to detect a shock imparted on the golf club.   
     
     
         4 . The tag of  claim 1 , wherein
 one of the plurality of sensors is a position sensor configured to detect a position of the golf club.   
     
     
         5 . The tag of  claim 1 , wherein
 one of the plurality of sensors is a gyro sensor configured to detect an orientation of the golf club.   
     
     
         6 . The tag of  claim 1 , wherein
 the plurality of sensors are selected from an accelerometer configured to detect acceleration of the golf club, a shock sensor configured to detect a shock imparted on the golf club, a position sensor configured to detect a position of the golf club, and a gyro sensor configured to detect an orientation of the golf club.   
     
     
         7 . The tag of  claim 6 , wherein
 the microcontroller is configured to compare an output of the selected accelerometer, shock sensor, a position sensor, and/or gyro sensor to stored reference sensor output values corresponding to a ball strike to determine whether the sensor outputs correspond to a ball strike event.   
     
     
         8 . The tag of  claim 7 , wherein
 the transceiver is configured to transmit data corresponding to the outputs of the selected accelerometer, shock sensor, a position sensor, and/or gyro sensor to the device remote from the tag when the comparison determines that a ball strike event has been determined.   
     
     
         9 . The tag of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a tilt sensor configured to output a signal based on a detected tilt of the club.   
     
     
         10 . The tag of  claim 9 , wherein
 the microcontroller is configured to determine whether the club is in an active state based on a determination that the club is upright based on the output of the tilt sensor.   
     
     
         11 . The tag of  claim 10 , wherein
 the microcontroller is configured to control the transceiver to transmit a signal to the device remote from the tag based on the determination that the club is active.   
     
     
         12 . The tag of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a light sensor configured to output a signal based on a detected level of light.   
     
     
         13 . The tag of  claim 9 , wherein
 the microcontroller is configured to determine whether the club is active based on a determination that the tag has gone from a dark to light state based on an output of the light sensor.   
     
     
         14 . The tag of  claim 13 , wherein
 the microcontroller is configured to control the transceiver to transmit a signal to the device remote from the tag based on the determination that the club is active.   
     
     
         15 . An automated golf shot tracking system, comprising:
 a tag coupled to a golf club and including
 a plurality of sensors, each configured to output a signal based on a detected movement of the golf club; 
 a microcontroller configured to compare each of the plurality of sensor outputs to stored reference sensor output values; and 
 a transceiver configured to transmit data corresponding to the sensor outputs to a location-aware device remote from the tag based on the comparison performed by the microcontroller; and 
   the location-aware device including
 a position determination unit configured to determine a current position of the location-aware device; 
 a transceiver configured to receive the data corresponding to the sensor outputs from the tag; 
 a microcontroller configured to process the data corresponding to the sensor outputs received from the tag to determine if a ball strike event has occurred; and 
 a memory configured to store an association between the ball strike event and a current location of the location-aware device determined by the position determination unit. 
   
     
     
         16 . The automated golf tracking system of  claim 15 , wherein
 the microcontroller of the location-aware device is configured to compute a ball strike probability value based on the sensor outputs received from the tag.   
     
     
         17 . The automated golf tracking system of  claim 16 , wherein
 the microcontroller of the location-aware device is configured to compare the computed ball strike probability value to a stored threshold value to determine whether to control the memory to store an association between the ball strike event and a current location of the location-aware device determined by the position determination unit.   
     
     
         18 . The automated golf tracking system of  claim 16 , wherein
 the microcontroller of the location-aware device is configured to compute the ball strike probability value by weighting one or a plurality of the data corresponding to the sensor outputs received from the tag.   
     
     
         19 . The automated golf tracking system of  claim 15 , wherein
 the microcontroller of the location-aware device is configured to control a display to output an indication that an association between the ball strike event and a current location of the location-aware device has been stored.   
     
     
         20 . The automated golf tracking system of  claim 15 , wherein
 the location-aware device further comprises an interface configured to transmit a plurality of stored associations between a ball strike event and a location of the location-aware device to an information processing device.