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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the game of golf, and more particularly to the
method and apparatus useful in determining club selection.
The game of golf is played by using one of a number of clubs to drive a
ball toward the next hole, or pin. In addition to the skill required to
drive the ball, it is also necessary to select a club appropriate to the
distance over which the ball is to be driven. In the past, it has been
found that this selection is made difficult by uncertainty as to the
distance remaining to the pin and uncertainty as to how far an individual
normally hits the ball with a given club.
Many golfers have attempted to deal with this problem by relying upon
guesswork, making a visual estimation of the distance to the pin and
relying upon memory to determine the appropriate choice of clubs. Other
golfers have attempted to obtain a more precise selection by using paper
and pencil, a calculator, and a simple scheme of pacing off the distance.
These expedients have suffered from the disadvantages of being
inconvenient, unreliable, and time consuming.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide the method
and means of providing information about typical, recent club performance,
and about the distance remaining to the pin in a convenient, reliable, and
timely fashion. It is another object of this invention to provide a
portable and precise method and means for calculating the distance
remaining to the pin. It is still another object of this invention to
provide an apparatus which may be mounted upon or integrated with a
hand-drawn, wheeled golf-bag caddy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an electronic device is provided
which has a memory, manual and transducer input devices, a microprocessor
and a display. The memory stores data representing prior performance with
each club, and data needed to calculate the remaining distance to the pin.
Information representing recent, prior performance with each of the golf
clubs is stored in a set of memory registers. This information is
processed using one of a number of well-known statistical devices,
including simple averaging, weighted averaging, or determination of median
performance in order to provide a predictor of future performance with
each club. As the game progresses, the information stored in the registers
is automatically updated to reflect the most recent set of data derived
from a player's performance.
The apparatus includes a keyboard for manual entry of selected information
and for activatig given functions, and also includes a distance-measuring
means, such as a counter and a sensor attached to a wheel. By enterig the
official yardage of a fairway or section thereof into the keyboard and
then pacing the distance that the ball was actually driven while manually
drawing the wheel along, an accurate reading of the distance attained and
of distance remaining to the next pin are provided. At the same time, the
distance attained and the club used may be entered into the memory
registers, thus updating the stored information in those registers.
An angle-measuring device is also provided for use in those instances in
which the ball does not travel straight down the fairway. In these cases,
the angle between the path of the ball and the direction to the pin is
detected, the distance of the ball is paced off and counted with the
sensing wheel, and trigonometric functions are applied to find the
distance remaining to the pin.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of the present invention installed on
a golf caddy having a rotating sensor wheel;
FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of one embodiment of the present
invention for installation on a golf caddy;
FIG. 3 and 4 are pictorial diagrams illustrating some trigonometric
functions involved in computing remaining distance to the pin;
FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram of one embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 6 is a table for pictorially illustrating the stored distances
attained with selector clubs, and
FIG. 7 (comprising FIGS. 7A and 7B) represent a flow chart illustrating
operation of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment of the present
invention wherein a device constructed according to the present invention
is removably mounted on a hand-held cart 11. The processing unit 12 is
attached to the cart and is connected to a sensing wheel 16 of the cart
11.
The processing unit 12 includes electronic circuitry for performing the
functions described below, and includes a keyboard 13, a display 14, and
an angle-detecting device 15, 25 for determining angles. As described more
fully below, special function keys are included in keyboard 13.
The sensing wheel 16 is adapted to supply pulses via cable 8 to the
processing unit 12 as the wheel turns, thereby supplying information
representing the distance traveled. A typical and convenient means of
providing such pulses is by the use of an opto-electronic emitter and
detector pair which respond to reflected or interrupted light as the
spokes of wheel 16 pass the emitter and detector pair 9. Alternatively, a
magnet may be provided at one or more locations on the wheel which may be
conveniently detected by a Hall-effect sensing device.
The processing unit 12 may also include a connector or other interface 17
for use in coupling a printer or other apparatus to the processing unit
for permanent read-out of game parameters.
Referring now to the illustrated embodiment of the processing unit in FIG.
2, the keyboard 13 may include a standard numeric keyboard additionally
provided with "CLEAR" and "ENTER" keys. A plurality of special function
keys is also provided.
In operation, the cart 11 with the processor 12 mounted upon it is placed
in line with the official yard marker and the yardage to the next pin or
green, to the beginning of the next fairway (measured from the official
yard marker down the center of the fairway), is entered through the
keyboard 13 and the OFFICIAL YARDAGE button 22.
The processing unit may be activated by pressing the HELP key 23 alone to
display a club appropriate to the distance remaining. Such display may
represent the closest comparison of the distance remaining (or the
official yardage) with a statistical sampling of past achievements using
various clubs.
If the user desires assistance in choosing a club, then the number of the
proposed club may be entered through the keyboard 13 followed by the
special function HELP key 23. This will cause the processing unit 12 to
display a value representing a predicted performance with the proposed
club. This predicted performance may be reached by any of a number of ways
including, but not limited to, providing an average of the last ten
distances achieved with that club. Alternatively, a median value or
weighted mean value may be provided in a manner well known to the field of
statistics.
Once a choice of club has been made, the player enters the club used to hit
the ball, and calculates the distance that the ball was hit, and the
distance remaining in the following manner:
First, the player presses the special function "STROKE" key 24 and enters
the number of the club actually used via keyboard 13 and presses the CLUB
key 27. After pressing the START key 28 to activate the reception of
pulses from the sensing wheel 16, the player then rolls the cart 11
substantially in direct line to the ball. The distance between the
location where the stroke was taken and where the ball came to rest is
measured by counting the pulses received from the sensing wheel 16. When
the user has arrived at the location of the ball the ACTUAL YARDS key 29
is pressed to activate the processing unit 12 to calculate the distance
over which the ball has traveled and the distance remaining from the ball
to the pin. Additionally, the information regarding the performance with
the designated club is added to the appropriate memory register as
graphically illustrated in the table of FIG. 6, thus keeping performance
information up-to-date. Specifically, the distances attained in each of
the last ten strokes with each designated club may be stored and updated
by deleting the oldest stored distance and inserting the most recent
distance attained with each club.
In the event that the ball did not travel straight down the center of the
fairway, the player measures the angle of deviation off center by aiming
pointer 15 along the center of the fairway, and by then aiming the pointer
25 toward the point where the ball came to rest. A conventional angle
transducer (not shown) attached to the pointers 15 and 25 provides an
input directly to the processing unit 12. Once the pointers are aimed
along the center of the fairway and at the location of the ball, the ANGLE
key 26 is pressed.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art of computers and
calculators that the calculations described herein may be performed by a
microprocessor in conventional manner in accordance with standard program
instructions that may be conveniently stored in a read-only memory.
Preferably, the stored information representing performance history with
each club is stored in non-volatile memory registers which may be altered
during operation of the processing unit 12 so that the information will
not be erased when the processing unit 12 is shut off.
Thus, in complex situations, the player calculates the yardage to the pin
or to the end of the first fairway segment of a "dog-leg" by pressing the
special function CALCULATE key 30. This activates the processing unit 12
to calculate and display the distance remaining to the pin. Even where the
pin or the end of the next fairway segment is visible, and is the overall
objective, the yardage to the initial objective must be calculated. This
information is necessary for calculating the distance from the ball to the
initial objective.
In order to calculate the distance between the location of the ball and the
new objective, the player enters the official yardage for the next fairway
segment via the special function OFFICIAL YARDAGE key 22 and the keyboard
13. Next, with the processing unit 12 positioned adjacent to the ball, the
angle between the direction to the first objective and the direction to
the second objective is entered via the pointers and the ANGLE key 26. The
yardage to the next goal is calculated and displayed in conventional
manner when the CALCULATE key 30 is pressed.
In some instances, it is not possible or appropriate to roll a golf cart up
to the ball, for example, where the ball has landed in a water trap or in
the woods. In these instances, a PAUSE key 31 may be pressed, disabling
the entry of distance information from the sensing wheel 16 to the
processing unit 12. The processing unit 12 may be detached from the cart
11 and cable 8 and carried by hand to the location of the ball, with the
player counting one yard for every step. When the player reaches the ball,
the "step-yardage" is entered. This is done by pressing the special
function PAUSE key 31 a second time, returning the processing unit 12 to
an active state and entering the additional step yardage via the special
function AUXILIARY key 32. At this point, the player may take the next
stroke with a club selected on the basis of the distance calculation
provided and upon consultation with the performance information accessed
from the memory registers.
Once the ball is hit, the club used is entered, the pointers 25 and
necessary keys are operated to enter the direction, and the distance from
the initial location of the ball where the stroke was taken to the new
location of the ball are all entered into the processig unit 12 in the
manner previously described at each location of the ball over the course
of play.
Referring now to the pictorial diagram of FIG. 3, it may be seen that the
apparatus and method of the present invention may calculate remaining
distance by the conventional application of trigonometric principles.
Three trigonometric identities having general application to the solution
of non-right triangles are applied when calculating the yardage to the
initial, or to the next objectives. These are:
(i) The Law of Sines, which states: The sines of the angles of any triangle
are proportional to the lengths of the opposite sides. The processing unit
12 uses the Law of Sines to calculate yardage in all cases where the
objective changes from one stroke to the next. The Law of Sines is used to
solve triangles where two sides and an angle opposite one of the sides are
known.
(ii) Angle Summary Identity for Triangles, which states: The sum of the
angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees. The processing unit 12 uses the
Angle Summation Identity as an intermediate calculation when using the Law
of Sines to derive the distance for a case where the objective has changed
from one stroke to the next.
(iii) Law of Cosines states: The square of the side opposite the known
angle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides minus
twice their product times the cosine of the included angle. The processing
unit 12 uses the Law of Cosines to derive the distance for all cases where
the objective remains the same from one stroke to the next, including all
first strokes. The Law of Cosines is used to solve for remaining distance
where two sides and the included angle are known.
Referring again to FIG. 3, there is shown a pictorial diagram of a golf
course in a simple case with the pin 34 visible from the tee-off location
35. Line AC 36 connects the pin 34 and the tee 35. Line 36 represents the
official yardage to that pin 34. An actual line of travel of the ball is
represented by the line segment AB 37. The desired information of yardage
to the pin 34 from the location 38 where the ball landed is represented by
the line segment BC 39. Line segment AC 36 is known because it is the
official yardage to the pin. Line segment AC 37 is measured by the sensor
wheel 16. Angle BAC 40 is measured by the pointers 15 and 25 of the
angle-measuring means. Thus, by the Law of Cosines above, the distance
remaining along line segment BC 39 is simply computed.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a pictorial diagram of a golf
course with the pin 41 not visible and on a "dog-leg" from the tee-off
point 42. Line segment AB 43 represents the official yardage from the
tee-off point 42 to the end 44 of the first fairway segment, and line
segment BD 45 represents the official yardage from the end 44 of the first
fairway segment to the pin 41.
Line segment AC 46 represents the path and distance the ball actually
traveled. The desired information about distance remaining to the pin 41
from the location 47 where the ball landed is represented by the line
segment CD 48. In order to calculate the value of CD 48 it is first
necessary to calculate the distance to the end 44 of the first fairway
segment BC 49 from the location 47 where the ball landed. This is done
using the Law of Cosines in the manner described above.
Once the distance over line segment BC 49 is determined, the official
yardage BD 45 of the second segment is entered. The angle BCD 50 between
the end 44 of the first segment and the pin 41 is then entered, using the
pointers 15 and 25. The calculation of the distance CD 48 to the pin 41 is
then a three-step process. First, the Law of Sines is used with the values
of BC 49, BD 45 and angle BCD 50 to calculate the angle CDB 51. Secondly,
the Angle Summation Identity for Triangles is used with the angles BCD 50
and CDB 51 to determine the remaining angle CBD 52. Finally, the Law of
Sines is used with the values of BD 45, angle BCD 50, and angle CBD 52 to
calculate the distance CD 48 to the pin 41.
The line of travel on the second stroke is represented by the line segment
CE 53. The distance to the pin is represented by the line segment ED 54.
The calculaton of the distance ED 54 is thus in conventional manner using
Law of Cosines.
It will be appreciated that the steps described above may be repeated as
necessary until the pin is reached. The steps of the simple example
previously described with reference to FIG. 3 may be repeated with each
successive stroke on a single fairway segment, while the additional steps
outlined with reference to FIG. 4 may be used where the objective changes
after each stroke.
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a block schematic diagram of one
embodiment of the present invention. A central processing unit (CPU) 55 of
conventional design is coupled to a read-only memory (ROM) 56 which
provides the program instructions and algorithms by which the central
processing unit 55 performs the calculations and other described
operations to display performance characteristics and distances according
to the present invention. Memory 57 is coupled to the central processing
unit 55 to store the temporary distances attained and remaining on each
stroke, as well as the performance characteristics with selected clubs on
previous strokes. Preferably, at least the portion of the memory that
stores the performance characteristics of previous strokes is non-volatile
to retain the stored data after the unit is shut off.
Information and operation instructions for the CPU 55 are entered through
the keyboard 54 and its special function keys. Distance data via sensor 9,
cable 8, and connector 7 and angle data via pointers 15 and 25 associated
angle transducer (not shown) are provided directly through the sensor
inputs 59. As discussed above, these may include conventional pulse
counter and angle transducer.
Display 60 is a conventional liquid crystal or light-emitting diode device,
and a printer 61 may be incorporated into the unit 12, or may be coupled
to the unit 12 via an interface connection 17.
Referring now to the table of FIG. 6, there is shown a graphic illustration
of one format for storage of information in memory 57 about the distance
performances previously achieved using various designated clubs. Each of
the information `bins` 63 will store therein the distance a ball was hit
with the designated club associated therewith. As the available `bins` for
a given club fill up in succession with distance information from previous
strokes with such club (say, 10 `bins`, or other convenient number of
`bins`), the oldest information is discarded as newest information is
included. With the distance information per club thus stored, the central
processing unit 55 may compare a distance-remaining calculation with the
closely-related distances in storage for designated clubs, and can select
for display the number of the particular club with which such distance was
previously attained.
Alternatively, the central processing unit 55 may perform standard
averaging, or geometric mean analysis, or the like, on the distance data
stored per club (on subsets of such data stored per club) before comparing
a distance-remaining calculation with such modified data to display a
suggested club.
Referring now to FIG. 7A and 7B, there is shown a flow chart which
illustrates the steps involved in operation of the present invention.
Initially, various memory or storage registers may be cleared 73 of their
previous values. Of course, the registers in memory 57 that store the
distance data per club (FIG. 6) are normally not reset for each new pin.
The official yardage to the pin is then entered 74 and the angle-measuring
device is referenced or `zeroed` 75 by aiming one pointer 15 along the
line of sign from the tee-off point to the pin. The player may receive
display 75 of distances previously attained with given clubs. All strokes
must be entered 77, 78, 79 via the special function `stroke` keys.
Once the ball has been hit, the angle relative to the line of sight of the
line to the location of the ball is then determined by aiming the other
pointer 25 at the location of the ball, and such angle is then entered 80,
81 in step 81. In addition, the club that was actually used must be
entered 82.
The memory registers and bins 57, display 60 and CPU 55 are prepared to
receive data from the wheel sensor unit 9 by pressing the special function
`START` key 28. The user travels 84 to the location where the ball came to
rest and enters 85 the distance and then calculates 86 the remaining
distance to pin via the special function `CALCULATE` key 30.
If it is determined 87 that the player will be hitting through a `dog-leg`
(i.e., new objective), then new yardage must be entered 88, pointer 15 and
25 must be aimed 89, and the new angle must be measured and entered 90.
Then the remaining distance to the new objective may be calculated 91. If
it is determined that the objective has not changed 87, then it must be
determined 92 if the player is on the green. If so, then remaining
distance is not a concern, and the ball is hit and all strokes must be
entered 94, 95 via the special function `STROKE` key 24. If the last
stroke did not finish play for the hole, the player hits (or putts) until
finished and then tallies all strokes 98 for display and clears the
temporary registers 57 (but not separate stroke and putt counters and not
the bins of distance information for each club) and begins play on the
next hole. If it is determined 92 that the user is not on the green, then
the angle-measuring device is `zeroed` and the angle is entered 75 in
order to prepare for the next stroke.
* * * * *
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