Sport performance monitoring apparatus, process, and method of use

Abstract

A sports monitoring system and method. One disclosed system can be used during skiing and includes a controller transceiver that can be hand held, two ski boot pressure monitor/transmitters, and earphones connectable to the controller/transceiver. The system can be used to provide, through the earphones, sound indicative of pressure applied or not applied by a skier toward a portion of a boot while skiing. The system may also include a proximity sensor mounted within one of the ski boot pressure monitor/transmitters. The system can thereby provide sound responsive to the proximity detector's detection of one boot being at or not at a distance, or within or outside of a distance range, with respect to the other boot.

1 . A boot pressure monitoring system comprising:
 a controller comprising a left boot pressure sensor input communicable with a left boot pressure indicator and a right boot pressure sensor input communicable with a right boot pressure indicator;   a left flexible boot pressure sensor communicable with the left boot pressure sensor input; and   a right flexible boot pressure sensor communicable with the right boot pressure sensor input, wherein each flexible boot pressure sensor comprises a flexible bladder with an interior, material-container compartment, and a pressure sensor communicable with the flexible bladder.   
     
     
         2 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  wherein the flexible bladder is a gas bladder, and the material-container compartment is a gas-container compartment. 
     
     
         3 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  wherein the flexible bladder is configured to be frictionally engaged with the inner surface of a boot. 
     
     
         4 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  wherein the left boot pressure indicator further comprises a left boot pressure audio output, and the right boot pressure indicator further comprises a right boot pressure audio output. 
     
     
         5 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 4  wherein the left boot pressure indicator comprises a left earphone, and the left boot pressure indicator comprises a right earphone. 
     
     
         6 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  wherein left boot pressure indicator comprises a left pressure threshold adjuster, and the right boot pressure indicator comprises a right pressure threshold adjuster. 
     
     
         7 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 4  wherein the left boot pressure indicator comprises a left pressure threshold adjuster, and the right boot pressure indicator comprises a right pressure threshold adjuster. 
     
     
         8 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 5  wherein the left boot pressure indicator comprises a left pressure threshold adjuster, and the right boot pressure indicator comprises a right pressure threshold adjuster communicable with the right boot pressure indicator. 
     
     
         9 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  wherein each flexible boot pressure sensor comprises a wireless pressure information transmitter and the controller comprises a wireless pressure information receiver. 
     
     
         10 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  wherein each flexible pressure boot sensor further comprises an arcuate housing with the flexible bladder extending from the arcuate housing, with the arcuate housing comprising a battery compartment and a pressure sensor circuit. 
     
     
         11 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a boot proximity sensor; and 
 a proximity sensor indicator communicable with the proximity sensor. 
 
     
     
         12 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 11  wherein the boot proximity sensor indicator comprises a proximity audio output. 
     
     
         13 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 12  wherein the proximity audio output comprises at least one earphone. 
     
     
         14 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the controller includes the proximity sensor indicator and further comprises a proximity adjuster. 
     
     
         15 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a left pressure threshold adjuster including a left boot pressure audio output; and   a right pressure threshold adjuster including a right boot pressure audio output.   
     
     
         16 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 5  further comprising:
 a boot proximity sensor; and 
 a proximity sensor indicator communicable with the proximity sensor. 
 
     
     
         17 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 16  wherein the boot proximity sensor indicator comprises a proximity audio output communicable with at least one of the left and right earphones. 
     
     
         18 . The boot pressure monitoring system of  claim 17  wherein the controller further comprises a proximity adjuster communicable with the boot proximity sensor indicator. 
     
     
         19 . A method of boot pressure monitoring comprising:
 monitoring left leg pressure against a left flexible bladder in an interior portion of a left boot;   monitoring right leg pressure against a right flexible bladder in an interior portion of a right boot;   providing a left audio signal based on the monitored left leg pressure; and   providing a right audio signal based on the monitored right leg pressure.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the left audio signal is provided directly to a left ear, and the right audio signal is provided directly to a right ear. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the left audio signal is based on the left leg pressure exceeding a left leg pressure threshold, and the right audio signal is based on the right leg pressure exceeding a right leg pressure threshold. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein, the left flexible bladder a left gas bladder and monitoring left leg pressure comprises monitoring left gas pressure in the left gas bladder; and the right flexible bladder is a right gas bladder and monitoring right leg pressure comprises monitoring right gas pressure in the right gas bladder. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising monitoring boot proximity and providing a proximity audio signal based on the monitored boot proximity as compared to a proximity threshold. 
     
     
         25 . A ski monitoring system comprising:
 a left ski boot pressure sensor transmitter comprising (i) an arcuate housing mountable adjacent the upper edge of a left ski boot and (ii) a left pressure detector extending from the arcuate housing and mountable within and adjacent a left leg surrounding portion of the left ski boot; and   a right ski boot pressure sensor transmitter comprising an arcuate housing (i) mountable adjacent the upper edge of a right ski boot and (ii) a right pressure detector extending from the arcuate housing and mountable within and adjacent a right leg surrounding portion of the right ski boot.   
     
     
         26 . The ski boot monitoring system of  claim 25  including a proximity sensor mounted within at least one among the left ski boot pressure sensor transmitter and left ski boot pressure sensor transmitter. 
     
     
         27 . The ski boot monitoring system of  claim 25  wherein each among the left pressure detector and right pressure detector comprise a bladder containing pressure-responsive matter. 
     
     
         28 . The ski boot monitoring system of  claim 28  wherein: (i) each of the left ski boot pressure sensor transmitter and the right ski boot pressure sensor transmitter comprise a wireless transmitter; and (ii) further including a wireless receiver/controller communicable with left and right earphones.