The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 05, 1995
Filed:
Jun. 20, 1994
Frank M Bouton, Beaverton, OR (US);
Thrustmaster, Inc., Tigard, OR (US);
Abstract
A video golf system responsive to a user swinging a golf club is described. The system includes a video golf game operating on a personal computer having a monitor, a microprocessor, and a serial port. A golf club swing sensing system is coupled to the personal computer through the serial port of the personal computer. The sensing system is mounted on a pad and includes a linear array of photodetectors for detecting a club head offset angle relative to a desired club head axis by sensing reflected light off the underside of the club head. An analog comparator coupled to each photodetector converts the offset to a digital format. A microcontroller samples the digital offset data and processes the data into a form of information required by the personal computer. An input cable coupled between an output of the microcontroller and the serial port transmits the information to the personal computer. The golf game is responsive to the information to determine a corresponding ball path used as an input to the video game.