WO1996009857A1

WO1996009857A1 - Golfers head movement detector

Info

Publication number: WO1996009857A1
Application number: PCT/AU1995/000636
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joseph Elie Tefaye
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-09-27
Filing date: 1995-09-27
Publication date: 1996-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 1997-03-27

Abstract

Apparatus for alerting a golfer to movement of the golfers head during a golf swing comprising a movement detector (10, 10A) secured to the golfers head providing a signal to an alarm (48) in response to head movement. The movement detector (10, 10A) is a mercury switch (10, 10A) located in an earplug (40) or headset (38) worn by the golfer and is particularly for detecting tilting or lifting of the head during the golf swing. The alarm (48) provides an audible tone from a buzzer (50) which is heard at a point during the follow through stage of the golf swing. Buzzer volume control (56) is provided. Further alerting may be provided to the golfer by the use of light or vibration.

Description

GOLFERSHEADMOVEMENTDETECTOR

TECHNICAL FISI.P

The present invention relates to a golfing aid and, more particularly, to an apparatus for alerting a golfer to movement of the golfer's head during a golf swing. BACKGROUND ART

There are many variables which must be controlled for a golfer to attain a good reproducible swing. One of the most important variables is the positioning and movement of the golfer's head from the point where the golfer positions himself/herself to play a shot (the address position) through the subsequent stages of back swing, down swing, striking of the ball, and follow through. It is conventional wisdom that a golfer should "keep his head down" during the golf swing and failure to do so is recognised as a common problem in achieving a good reproducible golf swing. One factor that has been identified in golfers failing to keep their heads down is the tendency to watch the ball throughout the golf swing. This is desirable at the address position, the back swing, the down swing and at the point of striking the ball, but is not desirable during the follow through. From a point at or just prior to striking the ball and through the initial stages of the follow through, golfers tend to follow the path of the golf ball by inappropriate head movement and this typically results from an innate desire to observe the result of the shot that has been played.

Assuming that the face of a golf club is appropriately positioned with respect to the ball at the point where it strikes the ball, a good reproducible golf swing will result if the head of the golf club travels through a circular or near circular path during the down swing, the striking of the ball and the follow through. Notwithstanding that the ball has already been struck during the follow through phase of the golf swing it remains important that the club head continue on its circular path for as long as possible after striking the ball because failure to do so typically results in a wayward shot. The centre of the swing arc (ie. the centre of the notional circle) is typically in the vicinity of the golfer's throat and undesirable movement of the golfer's head results in movement of the centre of the swing arc with consequential undesirable impact on the path through which the head of the golf club travels.

At the address position, a golfer is ideally standing with his/her feet placed comfortably apart and bending slightly from the waist towards the ball with his/her back straight and his/her head comfortably positioned in line with his/her spine. In achieving a circular path of the head of the golf club during a swing, upper body movement comprises rotation about the axis of the spine. During the back swing, down swing and striking of the ball, the golfer's head ideally remains stationary with the remainder of the upper body effectively rotating about the axis of the spine below the head. Ideally, after striking of the ball, the golfer's head remains stationary with his/her upper body again rotating about the axis of the spine during the follow through until a point is reached where movement of the head is required to enable the upper body to complete the follow through stage of the swing. When this point of head movement is reached, the head ideally follows the movement of the remainder of the upper body by also rotating about the axis of the spine and thereby maintaining the centre of the swing arc fixed. That is to say that it is undesirable if movement of the head at that point in the golf swing results in a tilting of the head with respect to the axis of the golfer's spine and hence translation of the centre of the swing arc.

In light of the foregoing, it would be useful if a golfer were able to determine whether he/she had kept his/her head down during a golf swing. Conventionally, golfers have been instructed in this regard by way of observation and comment by playing partners or coaches but such approaches prove difficult in practice because of the rapid time frame within which a golf swing occurs. Even where a golfer's swing is recorded and replayed in slow motion, it is difficult for the golfer to correct a problem with head movement because it is virtually impossible to be conscious of head movement during a golf swing. Accordingly, it would be useful for a golfer to be alerted to movement of his/her head during a golf swing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an apparatus for alerting a golfer to movement of the golfer's head during a golf swing, the apparatus comprising detection means arranged to be secured to the golfer's head and detect movement of the golfer's head during the golf swing and alarm means arranged to receive a signal from the detection means when movement of the golfer's head is detected by the detection means.

The detection means can be arranged to detect various movements of the golfer's head. For example, the detection means can be arranged to detect undesirable tilting of the golfer's head (with consequential translation of the centre of the swing arc) at various points during the golf swing with the alarm means then instantaneously alerting the golfer to the problem. In this way, the present invention can be used for alerting a golfer to a problem during his/her swing but preferably, the apparatus is arranged to alert the golfer when desirable movement of the golfer's head has occurred and thereby provide positive reinforcement to the golfer. Preferably, the detection means is arranged to detect rotation of the golfer's head about the axis of the golfer's spine and more preferably, the detection means is arranged to provide a signal to the alarm means at a point during the follow through of the golfer's swing. Preferably, the detection means comprises a mercury switch; however, it is to be understood that any other detection means which can be secured to a golfer's head and detect movement of the golfer's head during a golf swing can be utilised. For example, the detection means may comprise a track along which a metallic ball can roll, a spring arranged to bend during movement of the golfer's head, or a pendulum which swings during movement of the golfer's head.

Various arrangements for securing the detection means to the golfer's head are possible. One preferred arrangement is location of the detection means in an apparatus worn by the golfer in a manner analogous to a headset of the kind used for listening to music or a pair of ear muffs. In a second preferred arrangement, the detection means is housed in an ear-piece assembly having an ear plug which is arranged to be located in an ear of the golfer. The alarm means is arranged to receive a signal from the detection means when movement of the golfer's head is detected by the detection means. The signal may take the form of an infrared signal or the like in which case the alarm means need not be physically connected to the detection means. However, for simplicity of design, it is preferred that the alarm means is electrically connected to the detection means. The alarm means may be configured to alert the golfer that the detection means has detected movement of the golfer's head in various ways. For example, the alarm means may be caused to vibrate in contact with a portion of the golfer's body or to produce a light which can be observed by the golfer during the swing. Preferably however, the alarm means is arranged to emit a tone which is audible to the golfer on receipt of a signal from the detection means and in such case the alarm means preferably includes a source of power in the form of a battery and a buzzer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a golfer at a point just subsequent to striking a golf ball, Figure 2 illustrates the golfer of Figure 1 at a point during the golf swing subsequent to that illustrated in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a mercury switch, Figure 4 is a side view of an ear-piece assembly which houses the mercury switch of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a side view of an upper portion of the assembly illustrated in Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a lower portion of the assembly illustrated in Figure 4,

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the upper portion illustrated in Figure 5 additionally illustrating an ear plug,

Figure 8 is an underside perspective view of the upper portion illustrated in Figure 5,

Figures 9 and 10 are cross-sections of the mercury switch illustrated in Figure 3 at different positions,

Figure 11 is a partially schematic view of a headset which houses the mercury switch of Figure 3 and alarm means, and

Figure 12 is a wiring diagram of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 11. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 1 illustrates a golfer subsequent to striking the golf ball at an early point of the follow through stage of the golf swing from which it can be noticed that the golfer's head remains fixed in the position of the address position and is perpendicular to the horizontal. Figure 2 illustrates a subsequent point in the follow through at which the golfer's head has rotated about his spine through angle o. with the horizontal and it is such movement to which the golfer is preferably alerted during the golf swing by the present invention. It is to be noted that although the golfer's head has rotated, it has not tilted with respect to the axis of his spine and at the point illustrated in

Figure 2, the golfer would still be unable to sight the ball which has been struck. The angle en may vary slightly between different golfers but will typically be in the order of 30°-40°.

Referring now to Figures 3-10, the detection means preferably comprises a mercury switch 10 having a base 12 and two contacts 14 which penetrate through and project from its top 16. The mercury switch 10 is coaxially housed within an ear-piece assembly 18 comprising a first body portion 20 and a second body portion 22 which are secured together by pegs 24 in the first body portion and corresponding recesses 26 in the second body portion. The first body portion 20 is formed with a protrusion 28 which is arranged to receive a plug 30 suitable for insertion into a golfer's ear. The mercury switch 10 is located within recesses 32 and 34 in the first and second body portions 20 and 22 respectively with the base 12 of mercury switch 10 sitting in recess 34. Wires (not shown) connected between the contacts 14 and the alarm means (not shown) exit the assembly 18 via aperture 36 in a wall of the first body portion 20. The first body portion 20 is of a bent configuration with the result that when the detection means is assembled and the plug 30 is placed in the golfer's ear with the second body portion 22 lowermost, mercury 37 sits lowermost within the mercury switch 10 and remote from the contacts 14 as illustrated in Figure 9. The angle β between the axis of the mercury switch 10 and the horizontal will typically be in the order of 30°-40° and, although not illustrated, it is to be noted that the angle could be varied to suit individual golfers by arranging housing of the mercury switch 10 within the assembly 18 such that the axis of the mercury switch 10 was variable with respect to the axis of the assembly 18, for example, by mounting the mercury switch 10 on an axle. Rotation of the golfer's head from the point illustrated in Figure 1 to the point illustrated in Figure 2 causes the mercury switch 10 to move from the position illustrated in Figure 9 to that illustrated in Figure 10 with consequential closing of the mercury switch 10 by virtue of the mercury 37 providing electrical conduction between contacts 14. The closing of the mercury switch 10 completes an electric circuit with the alarm means (not shown) , thereby sending a signal to the alarm means (not shown) which emits a tone which is audible to the golfer. The alarm means (not shown) may be clipped to the golfer's belt, hang around the golfer's neck, sit within the golfer's pocket or the like and will include a battery and a buzzer. It is to be noted that the embodiment described above can be used by either left-handed or right-handed golfers. In the case of a right-handed golfer the plug 30 of the ear-piece assembly 18 will be placed in the golfer's left ear and in the case of a left-handed golfer, the plug 30 of the ear-piece assembly 18 will be placed in the golfer's right ear.

In use, a right-handed golfer places the plug 30 of the ear-piece assembly 18 in his/her left ear with the second body portion 22 pointing towards the ground. In playing a shot the golfer will not hear a tone from the alarm means until the back swing, down swing and striking of the ball have been completed and his/her head has rotated sufficiently about the axis of his/her spine for the mercury switch 10 to have been moved to a point where its axis passes through the horizontal and allows the mercury 37 to form an electrical bridge between the contacts 14. Accordingly, the golfer will not hear a tone until this point has been reached even if he/she lifts his/her head during striking of the ball or following through. In this way the golfer will know that his/her head movement has been correct if a tone is heard which commences part-way through the follow through and which persists until the mercury 37 returns to the bottom 12 of the mercury switch 10 as a consequence of the golfer completing or near completing the follow through. Failure to hear such a tone will indicate to the golfer that he/she has lifted as opposed to rotated his/her head. Referring now to Figures 11 and 12, the apparatus takes the form of a headset 38 having ear-pieces 40 and 42 which are connected by a frame 44 and which are arranged to sit adjacent the golfer's ears (not shown). A mercury switch 10 is located in ear-piece 40 and is electrically connected by wires 46 to alarm means 48 located in ear-piece 42. The alarm means 48 includes a buzzer 50, a battery 52, an on-off switch 54 and a volume controller 56 for the buzzer 50. The apparatus functions in the same manner as the embodiment described above. Accordingly, for a right-handed golfer the headset 38 will be worn with ear-pieces 40 and 42 adjacent the golfer's left and right ears respectively with the positioning of the ear-pieces reversed for a left-handed golfer. Alternatively, ear-piece 40 may include a second mercury switch 10A with both mercury switches 10 and 10A wired to alarm means 48 in parallel as illustrated in Figure 12 with the advantage that ear-pieces 40 and 42 can be positioned adjacent either ear irrespective of whether the golfer is left-handed or right-handed. As in the case of the embodiment described above, the angle β between the axis of the mercury switch 10 or 10A and the horizontal can be varied to suit individual golfers by movement of ear-piece 40 relative to frame 44.

Claims

1. An apparatus for alerting a golfer to movement of the golfer's head during a golf swing, the apparatus comprising detection means arranged to be secured to the golfer's head and detect movement of the golfer's head during the golf swing and alarm means arranged to receive a signal from the detection means when movement of the golfer's head is detected by the detection means.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the detection means is arranged to detect rotation of the golfer's head about the axis of the golfer's spine.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the detection means is arranged to provide a signal to the alarm means at a point during the follow through of the golfer's swing.

4. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the detection means comprises a mercury switch.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the detection means is housed in an ear plug arranged to be located in an ear of the golfer.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the detection means is located in a headset arranged to be worn atop the head of the golfer.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the alarm means is arranged to emit a tone audible to the golfer on receipt of a signal from the detection means.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the alarm means is electrically connected to the detection means.