Apparatuses, methods and systems relating to findable golf balls
US8002645B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 31, 2005 |
| Grant date | Aug 23, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 25, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA63B2225/50
- WIPO fieldFurniture, games
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
Golf ball locators and components of such locators and methods of operating such locators and processing signals within such locators. In one aspect of the inventions described herein, an exemplary method of initializing a golf ball locator includes receiving received RF signals while also transmitting signals used to locate balls and determining a parameter representative of received signal strength of the received RF signals and setting a threshold to determine when subsequent received signals are to cause an indication of golf ball detection. In another aspect of this disclosure, the golf ball locator is a handheld unit having a volume of less than about 150 inches cubed and includes a transmitter, a transmit antenna, a receiver, a receive antenna and a processor coupled to the transmitter and to the receiver, and the handheld unit achieves a signal isolation, between a second harmonic of a transmitted signal from the transmitter and the receiver's received signal, of greater than about 130 to 160 dB. Other aspects are also described.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.