Patent ID: 6496787
Filing Date: 2002-12-17
Classification: A42B,A61B,A63B,A63C,G01P,G01S,G04F

Abstract:
An apparatus for determining loft time of a moving vehicle off of a surface, the moving vehicle of the type which is ridden along the surface by a user of the vehicle, comprising:a loft sensor for sensing a first condition that is indicative of the moving vehicle leaving the surface, and a second condition indicative of the moving vehicle returning to the surface, the loft sensor being constructed and arranged so as to be substantially non-interfering with motion of the moving vehicle along the surface, wherein the loft sensor is selected from the group of (i) an accelerometer that senses a vibrational spectrum; (ii) a microphone assembly that senses a noise spectrum; (iii) a switch that is responsive to a weight of a user of the moving vehicle; (iv) a voltage-resistance sensor that generates a voltage indicative of a speed of the moving vehicle; and (v) a plurality of accelerometers connected for evaluating a speed of the moving vehicle and; a microprocessor subsystem for determining a loft time that is based on the first and second conditions, wherein the microprocessor subsystem comprises means for interpreting data from the loft sensor to determine the loft time from a time difference between the first and second conditions.