Three dimensional golf swing analyzer

An apparatus for analyzing a golf swing comprising:

• a golf club;
• a housing attachable to the golf club;
• a power source in the housing;
• a motion detector coupled to the golf club comprising:
• a three-axis MEMS accelerometer in the housing for generating linear acceleration data from the apparatus;
• a three-axis MEMS gyroscope in the housing for generating angular velocity data from the apparatus;
• a three-axis magnetometer in the housing for generating directional orientation data from the apparatus;
• a first microprocessor in the housing and in communication with the accelerometer, the gyroscope and the magnetometer for receiving the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data;
• a first computer memory in the housing and in communication with the first microprocessor;
• and
• a radio transmitter in the housing and in communication with the first microprocessor that transmits the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data from the first computer memory;
• a portable device comprising:
• a radio receiver in the portable device and in communication with the radio transmitter, that receives the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data from the radio transmitter;
• a second computer memory in the portable device and in communication with the radio receiver that stores the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data;
• a third computer memory in the portable device for storing a computer program that processes the data in the second computer memory;
• a second microprocessor in the portable device and in communication with the second computer memory and the third computer memory that inputs angular velocity data from the second computer memory, that outputs data representing coordinates estimating the position of the gyroscope corresponding with a 0-error in angular velocity data, that outputs values defining an error trend of the angular velocity data from the gyroscope, and that uses the angular velocity data from the second computer memory to output data representing the initial orientation of the gyroscope;
• said second microprocessor further in communication with said second memory, where said second microprocessor inputs linear acceleration data from the second computer memory, outputs data representing coordinates where the accelerometer produced data that indicates a shock, and controls the computer program to process the linear acceleration data received by the radio receiver into graphical data and statistical data and that transmits the graphical data and statistical data;
• said second microprocessor further in communication with said second memory, where said second microprocessor inputs directional orientation data from the second computer memory and uses the directional orientation data to output data to select the target line on which a golfer wishes to aim;
• a fourth computer memory for receiving graphical data and statistical data from the second microprocessor;
• and
• a graphics display that displays the graphical data and statistical data in the fourth memory as an image of the movement of the golf club along with related statistics.

A method for analyzing a golf swing comprising:

• providing a golf club;
• attaching a housing to the golf club;
• inserting a power source in the housing;
• providing a motion detector coupled to the golf club comprising:
• generating linear acceleration data from the apparatus using a three-axis MEMS accelerometer in the housing;
• generating angular velocity data from the apparatus using a three-axis MEMS gyroscope in the housing;
• generating directional orientation data from the apparatus using a three-axis magnetometer in the housing;
• providing a first microprocessor in the housing and in communication with the accelerometer, the gyroscope and the magnetometer and receiving the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data;
• providing a first computer memory in the housing and in communication with the first microprocessor;
• and
• transmitting the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data from the first computer memory using a radio transmitter in the housing;
• and
• providing a portable device comprising:
• receiving the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data from the radio transmitter using a radio receiver in the portable device;
• storing the linear acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the directional orientation data in a second computer memory in the portable device;
• storing a computer program in a third computer memory in the portable device that processes the data in the second computer memory;
• providing a second microprocessor in the portable device and in communication with the second computer memory and the third computer memory that inputs angular velocity data from the second computer memory, that outputs data representing coordinates estimating the position of the gyroscope corresponding with a O-error in angular velocity data, that outputs values defining an error trend of the angular velocity data from the gyroscope, and that uses the angular velocity data from the second computer memory to output data representing the initial orientation of the gyroscope;
• further providing said second microprocessor in communication with said second memory, where said second microprocessor inputs linear acceleration data from the second computer memory, outputs data representing coordinates where the accelerometer produced data that indicates a shock, and controls the computer program to process the linear acceleration data received by the radio receiver into graphical data and statistical data and that transmits the graphical data and statistical data;
• further providing said second microprocessor in communication with said second memory, where said second microprocessor inputs directional orientation data from the second computer memory and uses the directional orientation data to output data to select the target line on which a golfer wishes to aim;
• receiving graphical data and statistical data from the second microprocessor into a fourth computer memory;
• and
• displaying an image of a golf club swing and statistical data on a graphics display.