BASKETBALL NET WHICH DETECTS SHOTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE SUCCESSFULLY

摘要

A made-shot-detecting net system is configured to determine when a basketball passes through the net. The system uses a strand of conductive material that is laced through the net, an electrical property (e.g., resistance) of which changes (e.g., increases) as the net—and hence the strand of conductive material—is stretched. By filtering out steady-state components of a voltage signal obtained from the net, instances where the net is being stretched can be identified. A value obtained by integrating (i.e., summing) the voltage output over the course of a stretch event is compared to various thresholds to identify the nature of the event. In certain embodiments, the fact that a shot has been made is transmitted wirelessly to a basketball-performance tracking application running on a mobile electronic computing device.

主权项

1. A made-shot-detecting net system configured to detect when a basketball shot is made successfully, the net system comprising:
a net with a circumferential direction and a longitudinal direction and upper and lower openings through which a basketball can pass when a basketball shot is made successfully, the configuration of the net being such that the net stretches in at least one direction when a basketball passes through it; a strand of elastomeric conductive material extending along a portion of the net in a manner to stretch with the net when the net stretches as a basketball passes through it, the strand of elastomeric conductive material having an electrical property that varies as the elastomeric conductive material stretches; and a made-shot-detecting electronics module to which the strand of elastomeric conductive material is connected or is configured to be connected, the made-shot-detecting electronics module including a sensing circuit a) that makes electrical contact with the strand of conductive material when the strand of conductive material is connected to the made-shot-detecting electronics module, and b) an electrical output of which varies as the electrical property of the strand of elastomeric conductive material varies; the made-shot-detecting electronics module further including a processor and computer program code configured to cause the processor to read a series of values over time of the sensing circuit's electrical output and to compare the series of values over time to a normative profile of the sensing circuit's electrical output over time that corresponds to a basketball passing through the net.