US20240139606A1

US20240139606A1 - Sound device for blind and visually impaired sports

Info

Publication number: US20240139606A1
Application number: US18/385,212
Authority: US
Inventors: Jennifer K. Roth; Stephan A. Roth
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-10-28
Filing date: 2023-10-30
Publication date: 2024-05-02

Abstract

A sound-generating device is adapted to be fitted in a ball or other type of sports equipment and can aid location tracking by blind and visually impaired athletes during game play. The sound generated by the device is adapted for localization by the athlete in each of the x, y, and z planes. A shock sensor can be used to signal a sound generator to produce a different sound when a change of momentum or direction is detected.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/420,228, filed on Oct. 28, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to sports equipment used in blind and visually impaired sporting events. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a sound-generating device that can be incorporated into balls, pucks, and other sporting equipment to assist blind and visually impaired athletes to locate the device during the sporting event.
One challenging aspect for no-vision and low-vision athletes is tracking a moving ball by sound, determining its trajectory and velocity in a three-dimensional space. In tennis, for example, a mechanical rattle is constructed using a hollow plastic ball filled with ball bearings, which is surrounded by a foam outer ball. The ball only generates a brief rattle sound when it hits the ground or is struck by a player. Athletes are challenged to find this mostly silent ball in three-dimensional space. Even when the ball rattles upon striking the ground, the rattle sound is not optimized for source location. With these challenges, striking the ball in mid-flight or after a single bounce is difficult, whereas this move is common in tennis matches involving non-visually impaired athletes.
Other prior attempts to develop sound devices for athletes with low or no vision included inserting mechanical jingle bells and other mechanical rattles into these devices. The mechanical devices do not produce a sound but for the period during a momentum change. The sounds produced by the mechanical device were not adapted for source localization. Others attempted to create electronic sounds, though the sounds were likewise not adapted for source localization. For example, these prior devices used pure tones that generate a sine wave, which is especially difficult for the brain to localize.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a sound-generating device that overcomes the problems with prior devices and improves the participation and enjoyment of blind and visually impaired athletes in various sports.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present disclosure is a sound-generating device that can be incorporated into a ball and other types of sports equipment. The sound-generating device can be tracked by blind and visually impaired athletes in three-dimensional space. Further, the frequency and waveform of the sound generated by the device improves the athlete's perception of velocity and directional change of the ball during game play.
In one embodiment, the device is a battery-powered circuit connected to a speaker, which generates a sound adapted to enable enhanced play by visually impaired athletes. The sound generated by the device is a ‘high color’ sound, meaning that it generates many sound frequencies, and is in a range of frequencies that is easy for the brain to localize. The brain uses different qualities of sound to localize the source of the sound in each the x-, y-, and z-planes. Because sports tend to involve localizing sport devices in all three dimensions, the sound of the device has a set of physical properties that fall within these specifications and ranges for each plane. Furthermore, these sounds are localizable in unaltered sport soundscapes, where sound waves can be altered by other sound waves in the environment and the playing surface. The device can omit a continuous sound, which allows the athletes to track the device continuously. In cases where a sport has previously adopted a sound device that makes a sound upon momentum changes, the device can incorporate a recording of that sound, which is played upon momentum changes in order to give the athlete more information and to stay true to the culture of the sport.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a ball incorporating the sound-generating device, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a sound-generating circuit that can be integrated into a ball.

FIG. 3 is a waveform of a sound generated by the ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to embodiments of the disclosure is sound-generating device 100 used in sporting equipment 101 such as balls, pucks, bats, and other items that must be tracked by an athlete during a sporting performance. The device 100 comprises a sound-generating circuit 110 and a speaker 113. In one example embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the sound device 100 is incorporated into a foam ball 101 suitable for use in tennis and is fully contained within the ball 101. The performance characteristics of the ball 101 are nearly the same as a typical tennis ball without a sound device. During play, the sound emitted from the device 100 within the ball 101 assists players in tracking and locating the ball, improving play and leading to longer volleys. While this embodiment discusses a tennis ball 101, the sound device 100 has a flexible form-factor and can be incorporated into various other sports equipment 101, such as a basketball, hockey puck, baseball bat, badminton shuttle cock, and similar items. As shown in FIG. 1 , the device 100 includes a circuit 110 including a speaker 113 for emitting the sound.
FIG. 2 is a simplified diagram of the circuit 110 used to generate the sound of the sound-generating device 100 and may include a sound generator 111, a power-source 112, a shock sensor 114, and an amplifier 115. The sound generator 111 may comprise a microcomputer, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable logic array, a logic device, an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signal processor, or another data processor and supporting electronic hardware and software. The sound generator 111 outputs a sound signal and is connected to the amplifier 115, which increases the output signal from the sound generator 111. After amplification, the signal is sent to the speaker 113, which produces an audible sound. The power source 112, such as a battery or capacitor, provides power to the components of the circuit 110. The shock sensor 115 is used to detect changes in momentum or direction of the ball 101 and/or device 100. Any change in momentum initiates a second audio signal from the sound generator 111, which in turn initiates the playing of the sound that indicates the momentum or direction change.
The sound generated by the device 100 has specific characteristics that aid the athlete in source localization. The sound qualities are based on the fact that the brain exploits different sound qualities to localize sound in each of the x, y, and z planes. For example, the horizontal plane provides both interaural time differences and level differences. The vertical plane does not have binaural cues, as human ears are relatively level on the sides of our heads, and therefore relies on spectral cues characterized by the head-related or anatomical transfer function specific to an individual. Depth is largely conveyed by sound intensity, though reverberation contributes, too. Moreover, sound ‘color’ such as the varieties of frequencies that convey the meaning or relevance of a sound, and the bandwidth of frequencies are important in a number of dimensions. As a result, in one embodiment, the sound generator 111 produces at least one frequency of sound associated with each of the x, y, and z planes, where the frequency associated with each plane is adapted to improve localization for that particular plane. For sports like hockey, where the puck 101 is largely confined to the x and y planes, the sound associated with the z plane may be omitted.
By way of further example, in one embodiment, the sound generated by the device 100 is continuous, with the sound changing to a different sound upon a momentum or direction change, then back to the continuous sound. A waveform of this sound is depicted in FIG. 3 , which is a Fourier transform of a sound useful for a tennis ball 101. For this sound, in the range of 0-1400 Hz, the sound power distribution is relatively flat, meaning the power is evenly distributed across different frequencies. From 1400 Hz-20000 Hz, the sound drops off to 0 power. The gain is −60 dB in the flat region and drops to −124 dB.
In general, sounds in the vertical plane (y-axis) are best localized when that sound is complex (‘high color’ containing many frequencies) and includes components in the >7000 Hz range. The sound can contain either broadband or narrow band (centered around 8000-10,000 Hz). In the horizontal plane (x-axis), when the source of the sound is in front of the athlete, the sound is localizable at frequencies <1000 Hz and comprises a broad band of frequencies. Distance (z-axis) is localized when the sounds are complex. Taken together, a particular sport's demands can be considered in generating a sound that improves play. For example, is the sport device 101 only localized in the x- and z-axes, such as bocce, or are all three dimensions critical, such as in tennis. In some embodiments, the sport device 101 will include sound frequencies in a variety of ranges, having sounds in the range under 1000 Hz along with sounds greater than 7000 Hz with high sound color.
In a test utilizing the sound-generating device 100, blindfolded participants were able to locate the direction of the sound-generating device 100 with an average angular error of 4.0 degrees at a 30-foot distance compared to an average angular error of 9.5 degrees when locating a standard blind and visually impaired (BVI) tennis rattle ball. The improvement was maintained even after making the rattle sound of the traditional BVI rattle ball continuous. Further, in a tennis match played with both the traditional BVI rattle ball and a ball incorporating the sound-generating device 100, players successfully made contact with the ball incorporating the device 100 100% of the time compared to about 50% for the traditional BVI ball.
When used in this specification and claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps, or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.
The invention may also broadly consist in the parts, elements, steps, examples and/or features referred to or indicated in the specification individually or collectively in any and all combinations of two or more said parts, elements, steps, examples and/or features. In particular, one or more features in any of the embodiments described herein may be combined with one or more features from any other embodiment(s) described herein.
Protection may be sought for any features disclosed in any one or more published documents referenced herein in combination with the present disclosure. Although certain example embodiments of the invention have been described, the scope of the appended claims is not intended to be limited solely to these embodiments. The claims are to be construed literally, purposively, and/or to encompass equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A sound-generating device adapted for use in sporting events, the sound-generating device comprising:

a circuit comprising a sound generator that produces an audio signal adapted to be localized by an athlete; and

a speaker for producing an audible sound from the audio signal.

2. The sound-generating device of claim 1, further comprising:

a ball surrounding the circuit and speaker.

3. The sound-generating device of claim 1, wherein the circuit further comprises:

a shock sensor connected to the sound generator, wherein the sound generator produces a second audio signal when the shock sensor detects a change in direction of the circuit.

4. The sound-generating device of claim 1,

wherein the sound generator produces an audio signal comprising at least one separate frequency for each of a x, y, and z planes; and

wherein the at least one separate frequency is adapted for localization by an athlete in each of the x, y, and z planes.

5. The sound-generating device of claim 4, wherein the audio signal associated with the y plane has a frequency greater than 7,000 Hz.

6. The sound-generating device of claim 4, wherein the audio signal associated with the x plane has a frequency less than 1,000 Hz.

7. The sound-generating device of claim 1, wherein the audio signal is complex.

8. The sound-generating device of claim 1, wherein the audible sound has a flat distribution in a first frequency range of about 0-1,400 Hz.

9. The sound-generating device of claim 8, wherein the first frequency range has a gain of about −60 dB.

10. The sound-generating device of claim 1, wherein the audible sound has a distribution with a drop of about −124 dB.