The present invention relates generally to sports training devices and more particularly to a sports training behavior modification system with devices such as ankle bands, head bands, shoes or other worn attire that can present a visual color or make other presentations when particular movements are being made, and present a different color or presentation when they are not being made or they are being made incorrectly. The system can be commanded by an instructor to vibrate or otherwise signal a player who is not moving correctly.
Athletes participating in most sports are required to move their feet, their arms or other parts of their bodies, or otherwise hold or move parts of their body in particular ways. This is particularly true in a sport like tennis or Cardio Tennis™ where the player should keep the feet in continual movement. Coaches have a particularly difficult time training players, especially newer players, to keep the feet moving. It would be advantageous to have a system including devices that could be worn by participants during training such as a shoe, a band or other attire that could signal that a particular foot movement, or other body behavior, is not taking place or should have taken place. This system should also allow the coach or trainer to direct the movement and hence change behavior. In addition, a visual display that the player is moving wrong (or not moving) would make the player stand out among other players and hence tend to cause self-correction.
Vibration devices and alarms have been used in shoes in the art. Matlock in U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,432 teaches a tennis training shoe that contains a removable alarm that alarms when the heel touches the ground. This shoe can be used for tennis training to alert the player not to rest the heel on the ground. This device gives no visual indication of proper movement.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,571, Lee teaches a training slipper that can be used to teach children to dance. This slipper can buzz or play music and can be instructed by an instructor to signal to the dancer. Pairs of slippers or shoes can communicate with each other wirelessly.
Cherdak in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,343,445 and 5,452,269 teaches an athletic shoe that includes a timing device for measuring the amount of time the shoe is off the ground in the air.
Schmidt et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,186 teaches a foot weight alarm that signals when too much weight is being put on a single foot. This invention can be used with patients recovering from hip and knee replacements.
Norment in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,626 teaches an athletic shoe that can generate and broadcast an audible signal in the form of music or a message.
Cox in U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,759 teaches vibrating footwear using a vibrating assembly. Cox's shoe is generally used for providing a foot massage. Koenig in U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,345 also teaches a therapeutic vibrating shoe that can be used with tired, achy feet. Reilly in U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,838 teaches a vibrating foot pad or insole apparatus.
Rodgers in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,009 teaches flashing footwear that are provided with a battery and light source such that the light comes on for a predetermined interval when the foot is placed down. After the predetermined interval, the light shuts off. This causes the shoe or device to flash when the wearer walks.
None of the prior art devices provide a method where a coach can train a participant or player to move a certain way such as left, right, forward and backward, or train the player to keep the feet or other body parts moving or in a particular position that allows self-correction. It would be advantageous to have a sports training device that could visually indicate that a player is not moving correctly so that the player would be motivated to self-correct, and that could be remotely commanded by an instructor to signal the player when the foot or other body part should be moved or correctly placed if not self-corrected.
The present invention relates to system including a visual indicator and an optional player signaling device in a ankle brace, wrist band, shoe, knee band or brace, head band, elbow band or waist band or other attire, worn or attached. The indicator can be a panel with light sources like LEDs that change color when the player is not moving, or moving improperly or any other type of indicator. For example, the device might display blue on any participant who is moving correctly and yellow or red on participants who are not. The signaling device can be generally controlled by the instructor and can be a vibrator, an alarm such as a beeper, or any other signaling device. The instructor can cause vibrations or beeps to particularly chosen players to aid them to keep moving or to show them the proper rhythm. The system can be used in any sport for training, and it can be associated with any type of apparel such as a shoe, wrist band, knee band or brace, waist band, socks or headband or other attire. The present invention can be used for training athletes or participants in any sport to achieve behavior modification during training to improve technique for the particular sport and obtain optimum performance. The devices of the present system can be controlled locally by a sensor, an embedded processor, or remotely controlled by a coach or trainer.
The present invention also finds application in diverse areas such as military group training programs and the like, to train soldiers to follow an instructor's orders. Here, visual indicators show who is moving correctly and who is not; the instructor can send signals to any individual group member, subgroup, or to the entire group. The present invention also finds application in such diverse sports training as swimming, horse racing jockey training, boxing, volleyball, football, down-hill skiing, skating, track event, baseball, and any other individual or group training where body movement or placement is important. In addition, the present invention finds application in dance training such as: ballet posture training, Salsa and Tango dancing to follow the beat and maintain proper body posture, as well as yoga for breathing and posture discipline, cheerleading for footwork and posture discipline, tap dancing and any other dances or dance training.
The technique eventually leads a trainee to develop muscle memory or habit to keep the feet or other parts of the body in motion or in the correct position. In tennis, the trainee develops the habit of keeping the feet in motion, quick reactions, running to the shot and an early racket preparation. This is especially true in cardio or aerobics tennis where the feet are kept constantly in motion allowing a sustained higher heart rate which improves cardio vascular endurance, fitness and overall performance.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, a sensor can be positioned in a shoe that senses motion. As long as the feet are in motion, a visual indicator shows a particular color (such as blue). If the participant stops moving, the sensor can cause the visual indicator to show a different color (such as yellow). The instructor can also selectively send a wireless signal to a particular participant to indicate that the player is not moving. Using the vibration or signal, the instructor can also establish a rhythm of foot movement for that player. In another shoe embodiment of the invention, one or both shoes can contain an embedded processor that sets up various rhythm patterns used in practice along with visual indication of lack of movement or wrong movement.
The present invention can be used by coaches or trainers in any sport to correct mechanics particular to that sport such as batting stance in baseball (keeping the back elbow up) for example. In particular, the device can be used during cardio tennis classes signaling participants to continually move their feet during class. It can also be used among players during practice sessions to train the feet to stay in motion and eventually develop the muscle memory or habit to keep the feet in motion.
Various embodiments of the present invention can be totally controlled remotely by wireless signal. For example, the device can contain a wireless receiver or transceiver that receives commands from a remote unit worn or held by the coach. This unit can signal the worn device to change color or can cause a vibration or beep upon command. In the case of a device embedded in a shoe, the coach can command each shoe to vibrate or signal when desired through the use of push buttons or other switching devices from a remote unit. With this configuration, the coach can send a buzz or beep command to the particular shoe indicating to the player that that particular foot should be moved. The coach can set up a rhythm for the player if desired. Different types of beeps or vibrations can signal that the desired movement is forward, backward, left or right or what ever movement or position applies to a particular sport.
In another embodiment, each of a pair of shoes can communicate with the other member of the pair wirelessly so that a processor in one of the shoes can coordinate a rhythm pattern of vibration or beeping signals between the shoes.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the quality of sport training and the learning process which will eventually lead to optimum performance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a training system that leads to self-correcting behavior by presenting a visual indication that other participants can see indicating proper or improper movement.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a training system that is a helper telling the trainees the basic mantra of “move your feet” or arms or whatever part of the body is required for the proper technique for a particular sport or activity.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system that allows the coach or trainer to focus and teach other technical aspects of the sport besides simply basic movements.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide a helper for the trainer that will allow the trainer to do a better job of instruction.
It is important to note, that the present invention can help a player improve without intervention from a coach simply by displaying a different visual indication when the player is not moving right, or not in the right position. This leads to self-correction.
Attention is now directed to several illustrations provided to aid in understanding the features of the present invention:
Several drawings and illustrations have been presented to allow further understanding of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to what is shown in the figures.
The present invention relates to a sports training system that allows a device worn anywhere on a participant's body such as in or on a shoe, or on a band or brace, to present a visual indication of whether the participant is moving correctly. Optionally, the worn device can signal an athlete through a vibration, beep or other signal to provide a training tool for behavior modification for the particular sport such as foot movement. The devices of the invention can generally be placed in or on a shoe, ankle brace, wrist band, head band, elbow band, waist band or knee brace or band, or anywhere else on the athlete's body. The worn part of the invention can also be clipped to a shoe or other place such as the tongue of the shoe, or the side or back, to the belt or anywhere. Any placement of the worn device is within the scope of the present invention. In particular embodiments, a coach can remotely control movement by sending a radio or other wireless signal from a remote unit to one or more of the worn devices. In other embodiments, an embedded processor can create and control a rhythm or control the visual indication. In some shoe configurations, a processor in one shoe can control the vibrations or signals in both of the shoes by communicating wirelessly with the other shoe.
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The worn devices of the of the present invention can contain a controller 9 (shown in
In some embodiments of the present invention, an instructor may want to send a signal to one (or a sub-group) of worn units (people being trained). This can be easily done by selecting a particular unit's address by using a button on the instructor's remote unit. The remote unit can then send an addressed wireless message that is only decoded and acted upon by the particular unit addressed. The address can be stored in a message header or the transmitter can send different codes or transmit on different frequencies to different participants. Any method or technique for routing or transmitting a message to a particular receiver in a group of receivers is within the scope of the present invention. In this way, for example, a particular soldier or dancer in a group can be signaled without distracting or signaling the other soldiers or dancers. This is shown in
The preferred signaling device for those embodiments having a signaling device is a miniature vibrator that is found in a variety of devices on the market. Usually some sort of vibrating member is disposed in proximity to a small motor that activates the member. A vibrating member can be a flat metal plate (or any other rigid material). Usually a rotating arm mechanically attached to the motor drives a protrusion or cam on the plate to cause vibration. While a vibrator is a preferred signaling device, a beeper, light or any other type of signaling device is within the scope of the present invention.
A preferred sensor for embodiments having a sensor can be a simple solid state pressure sensor, acceleration sensor or position sensor known in the art.
In various embodiments of the present invention, the components may be disposed anywhere in the device or in any juxtaposition. In particular, in shoe embodiments, the components can be in a single module or disposed in the sole of the shoe (or elsewhere) as shown in some of the figures.
The preferred visual indicator can be a panel of LEDs or similar light emitting devices. Any color indicator or light emitting device is within the scope of the present invention. Colors can be blue, yellow, red or any other color or combination of colors to signal different conditions.
It should be noted that while the preferred embodiments generally display a first color or visual indication with correct motion or position, and a second color or visual indication with incorrect motion, it is possible to operate the present invention in modes where no visual indication is made until the motion or position is wrong, or visual indication stops when the motion or position is wrong. In other words in an off-on mode rather than a change of presentation mode.
Several descriptions and illustrations have been presented to aid in understanding the features of the present invention. One skilled in the art will realize that numerous changes and variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Each of these changes and variations is within the scope of the present invention.