Patent Publication Number: US-11040254-B1

Title: GPS-locating sports ball

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of sports equipment, more specifically, a GPS-locating sports ball. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The GPS-locating sports ball comprises a ball, a locating circuit, and software. The locating circuit may determine one or more physical parameters of the ball. As a non-limiting example, the ball may be a golf ball, a tennis ball, a baseball, a softball, or a bowling ball. The locating circuit may communicate the one or more physical parameters to the software running on a smart device. The software may be operable to assist in locating a lost ball and in monitoring improvements in athletic performance based upon an analysis of the one or more physical parameters. 
     An object of the invention is to determine one or more physical parameters of a sports ball. 
     Another object of the invention is to communicate the one or more physical parameters of the sports ball to software executing on a smart device. 
     A further object of the invention is to report the location of a lost sports ball. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a mount for coupling a locating circuit to a sports ball. 
     These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the GPS-locating sports ball will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the GPS-locating sports ball in detail, it is to be understood that the GPS-locating sports ball is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the GPS-locating sports ball. 
     It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the GPS-locating sports ball. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a detail view of an embodiment of the disclosure illustrating the area designated as  3  in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments of the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. As used herein, the word “or” is intended to be inclusive. 
     Detailed reference will now be made to a first potential embodiment of the disclosure, which is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . 
     The GPS-locating sports ball  100  (hereinafter invention) comprises a ball  200 , a locating circuit  220 , and software  240 . The locating circuit  220  may determine one or more physical parameters of the ball  200 . As a non-limiting example, the ball  200  may be a golf ball, a tennis ball, a baseball, a softball, or a bowling ball. The locating circuit  220  may communicate the one or more physical parameters to the software  240  running on a smart device  900 . The software  240  may be operable to assist in locating a lost ball and in monitoring improvements in athletic performance based upon an analysis of the one or more physical parameters. 
     The locating circuit  220  may comprise a global positioning system  222  and a wireless transceiver  224 . The locating circuit  220  may be coupled to the ball  200  such that movements of the locating circuit  220  correlate with movements of the ball  200 . In some embodiments, the locating circuit  220  may be imbedded within the ball  200 . 
     The global positioning system  222  may be a Global Positioning System receiver. The global positioning system  222  may receive plurality of radio signals from satellites in the constellation of GPS satellites. The global positioning system  222  may perform calculations to determine geolocation and time information. The global positioning system  222  may deliver the geolocation information, the time information, or both to the wireless transceiver  224 . 
     The wireless transceiver  224  may exchange ball information and ball commands with the smart device  900  over a wireless communication link  226 . As a non-limiting example, the ball information may comprise a positional history of the ball  200  within a 3D dimensional space. As a further non-limiting example, the ball commands may direct the ball  200  to clear the positional history log of the ball  200 . 
     The software  240  may be operable to execute on one or more processors of the smart device  900 . The software  240  may determine the value of the one or more physical parameters by analyzing the ball information sent from the ball  200  to the smart device  900 . As a non-limiting example, the one or more physical parameters may comprise one or more position values. As a non-limiting example, the one or more physical parameters may comprise one or more speed values. As a non-limiting example, the one or more physical parameters may comprise one or more direction values. As a non-limiting example, the one or more physical parameters may comprise one or more acceleration values. As a non-limiting example, the one or more physical parameters may comprise one or more spin values. In some embodiments, the software  240  may determine an average value for at least one of the one or more physical parameters. In some embodiments, the software  240  may determine a minimum value for at least one of the one or more physical parameters. In some embodiments, the software  240  may determine a maximum value for at least one of the one or more physical parameters. 
     The software  240  may be adapted to interact with a user  910  via a user interface  242 . The user interface  242  may report the one or more physical parameters and may be adapted to allow the user  910  to interact with the one or more physical parameters. As a non-limiting example, the software  240  may analyze the ball information to determine the one or more position values of the ball  200  over time while practicing a sporting skill. The software  240  may determine from the one or more position values of the ball  200  over time the degree of curvature in the path of the ball  200 . The user  910  may practice the sporting skill repeatedly using various techniques to determine which techniques result in the most desirable degree of curvature. As non-limiting example, the sporting skill may comprise serving the tennis ball, pitching the baseball, shooting a basketball, and putting the golf ball. 
     In some embodiments, the locating circuit  220  may be removably coupled to the ball  200  using a mount  270 . The mount  270  may be an elastic band having an unstretched diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the ball  200 . The locating circuit  220  may be coupled to the mount  270 . The mount  270  may be installed by stretching to have a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the ball  200 , placing the mount  270  around an orthodrome of the ball  200 , and releasing the mount  270  such that the mount  270  encircles the ball  200 . 
     In use, the user  910  practices or plays a game using the ball  200 . During use, the ball  200  may send the ball information to the smart device  900 . The software  240  executing on the smart device  900  may present the one or more physical parameters derived from the ball information on the user interface  242 . As non-limiting examples, the one or more physical parameters may assist in finding a lost ball, may present performance metrics associated with completing sporting skills, may compare and contrast multiple practice attempts at sporting skills, or combinations thereof. 
     Definitions 
     As used in this disclosure, a “ball” refers to an object with a spherical or nearly spherical shape. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “band” is a flat loop of material. 
     As used herein, the words “couple”, “couples”, “coupled” or “coupling”, refer to connecting, either directly or indirectly, and does not necessarily imply a mechanical connection. 
     As used herein, the words “data” and “information” are used interchangeably to refer to raw, unprocessed facts and to facts that have been processed, structured, organized, or presented in a context that makes the facts useful. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “diameter” of an object is a straight line segment that passes through the center (or center axis) of an object. The line segment of the diameter is terminated at the perimeter or boundary of the object through which the line segment of the diameter runs. 
     As used in this disclosure, “elastic” refers to a material or object that deforms when a force is applied to stretch or compress the material and that returns to its relaxed shape after the force is removed. A material that exhibits these qualities is also referred to as an elastomeric material. 
     As used herein, “great circle” or “orthodrome” refers to a circle formed by the intersection of a sphere and a plane passing through the center of the sphere. The diameter of a great circle is the same as the diameter of the sphere. 
     As used herein, “GPS” refers to a device that uses signals received from a system of navigational satellites to determine the position of the device. GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System. 
     As used herein, “smart device” refers to a portable electrical device comprising at least a processor, display, input device, and network connection. The input device is generally a touch screen, keyboard, or voice recognition. The network connection is generally wireless. Non-limiting examples of smart devices may include smartphones, tablets, personal digital assistants, laptop computers, and smartwatches. 
     As used in this disclosure, a “transceiver” is a device that is used to transmit and/or receive signals. The signals may be audible, optical, or RF in nature. 
     With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention described above and in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the invention. 
     It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.