Thermochromic sensor for locating an area of contact
OwnerLawrence F. Johnson, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermochromic sensor for locating the area of contact between two surfaces moving in relation to each other, has applications in boundary line officiating and other situations where the location of the area of contact is important. For tennis and similar sports, thermochromic sensors are placed along boundary lines. The thermochromic sensors can be formed with thermochromic liquid crystals, which change color in the area of contact, thereby accurately indicating where a ball contacted the court. The color change can be used to characterize the speed of the impact. A temperature controller can be built into the sensor or placed near the sensor to maintain the temperature of the sensor near the sensor trigger point--the point at which a color change will occur on contact.
Claims9
A contact indicator for locating the area of contact of a moving object with a surface, the contact indicator comprising:
- a thermochromic material covering said surface, said thermochromic material changing color in the area of thermochromic material contacted by the moving object, the color change caused by a rise in temperature in the area contacted due to friction between said moving object and said thermochromic material.
A speed indicator for measuring the speed of contact of a moving object with a surface comprising:
- a thermochromic material covering said surface, said thermochromic material changing color in the area of thermochromic material contacted by the moving object, said color change caused by a rise in temperature caused by friction between said moving object and said thermochromic material, wherein a high speed moving object contacting the thermochromic material raises the thermochromic material in the area contacted to a first temperature causing the thermochromic material to change to a first color in the area of contact and wherein a low speed moving object contacting the thermochromic material raises the thermochromic material in the area contacted to a second temperature causing the thermochromic material to change to a second color in the area of contact.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.