Patent ID: 8007367

Claim:
A swing motion measuring device for measuring the speed and duration of a swing of a sports object that is simple, low in cost, has utility for the average amateur user, is easy to operate, and is convenient to use without assistance and without interrupting a practice exercise, the device comprising: a portable housing containing a battery powered transmitter-receiver, a Doppler detector and a processor; the transmitter-receiver being operative to transmit a radar signal and to receive said transmitted radar signal as reflected from a swinging sports object; the Doppler detector being coupled to the transmitter-receiver and operative to detect from said transmitted radar signal and said received reflected radar signal a Doppler speed signal representative of the speed of the swinging sports object; and the processor being coupled to the detector and programmed to process said detected Doppler speed signal and: to derive from said detected Doppler speed signal: a swing start-time value representing a start of a swing of the sports object, a maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal, and a swing end-time value responsive to the occurrence of the maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal and representing a point for contact of the swinging sports object with a ball; to derive a swing-speed output signal responsive to said derived maximum value of said detected Doppler speed signal, said swing-speed output signal being representative of a speed of the swinging sports object; and to derive a swing-tempo output signal responsive to the derived swing start-time and the derived end-time values, said swing-tempo output signal being representative of the duration of the swing of the sports object.