US 5,638,300 · Granted 1997-06-10
The 1997 Golf Swing Tracker That Made Motion Analysis Smart
Imagine a mat with touch zones that recognize where you're pointing a club or bat, then automatically analyzes your swing and tells you what you did right or wrong. This patent protects that core idea: a sensor-equipped surface that reads your position in real time and triggers instant feedback tailored to wherever you're standing.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a motion analysis system with a control surface divided into multiple zones, each linked to a specific instruction or analysis routine. What's protected here is the combination of a position-detecting sensor that tracks an object (like a golf club), a control surface with predefined areas, and an analyzer that matches the object's location to a corresponding action. Someone copying this approach—using zones on a mat to trigger swing feedback—would be infringing.
Why it matters
This patent arrived during the early wave of digital sports coaching, when motion capture was expensive and clunky. By mapping a physical surface into smart zones, it created a low-cost way to give golfers real-time swing feedback without cameras or complex lab equipment. That blend of accessibility and instant analysis made personalized golf coaching available to everyday players rather than just pros with million-dollar facilities.
Real-world use
When you step up to a golf simulator or indoor training mat that lights up different zones and tells you your swing speed or angle, you're likely using technology descended from this zone-sensing approach.
Original USPTO abstract
The present invention concerns a motion analysis system for analyzing the motion of an individual. The system has a control surface having one or more control areas, each control area corresponding to a predetermined instruction. An object is then held by an individual for use with the control surface. The system has a sensor for detecting the position of the object and producing a signal representative of the position. An analyzer then receives the signal from the sensor, wherein when the object is positioned at one of the control areas on the control surface the analyzer performs the predetermined instruction corresponding to the control area that the object is positioned.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,638,300
- Filing date
- 1994-12-05
- Grant date
- 1997-06-10
- Assignee
- Johnson; Lee E.
- Inventor(s)
- JOHNSON; LEE E.
- CPC class
- A63B24/0003
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