G:\SECDATA\mbutler\Coventry\92633-01 PCT Spec.doc

SKIPPING APPARATUS

This invention relates to skipping apparatus, of the type conventionally known as a "skipping rope" or "jump rope".

A skipping rope is an elongate flexible element, conventionally in form of a rope or cord, which is held at both ends. A pair of handles is typically provided for this purpose. The ends are then rotated around a generally horizontal axis, each end usually following a generally circular path of relatively small diameter, lying in a vertical plane. As a result the skipping rope rotates and, between its ends, describes the surface of an ellipsoid. At the lower part of the skipping rope's path of rotation, a user jumps over the rope, whilst at the upper part of the path of rotation the rope passes over the user's head. Depending on the length of the rope and the distance between its ends, the plane sections of the ellipsoid may be generally circular of generally oval.

The user may hold the ends of the rope, or they may be held by two assistants, one at each end. Skipping using a rope in such a manner can provide a combination of exercise and amusement - many skipping games are known.

It has been proposed that in place of a conventional rope or cord, a skipping rope may use a flexible, hollow, translucent element which is provided along its length with lights powered by a power source in one of the handles. As the rope is used, the lights provide decorative patterns as the rope sweeps round, which amuses both the user and onlookers.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided skipping apparatus comprising an elongate flexible element; a handle connected to one end of the flexible element, the handle comprising a static part and a rotatable part which comprises a coupling member connected to the elongate flexible element; a sensor

comprising a first sensor component on the static part of the handle and a second sensor component on the rotatable part of the handle, the sensor being adapted to provide a signal indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle; a plurality of illuminating elements disposed at intervals along the elongate flexible element; and a controller which receives the signal indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle, and which is adapted to control illumination of the illuminating elements whilst the skipping apparatus is in use, at times during a cycle of rotation of the elongate flexible element in accordance with a predetermined sequence.

In use in a manner as intended, during rotation of the elongate element whilst a user is skipping, the illuminating elements will occupy positions defined on part of the surface of an ellipsoid which is swept by the elongate element. The predetermined sequence, synchronised with the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle, will be such that the illuminating elements will display a predetermined pattern as the illuminating elements are illuminated at selected times during a cycle of rotation of the elongate flexible element. The invention takes advantage of the fact that if the elongate element rotates at a sufficient speed, all the information provided by the illuminating elements will persist as a whole on the retinas of the eye. There are previous devices which take advantage of this effect in order to display messages. For example, EP 0546844 discloses a traffic control stick which can be waved to the left and right in a vertical plane to display a message such as "STOP".

The present invention is specifically concerned with displaying a pattern W sequence of patterns when a person is skipping, and at a basic level works as follows. Assume, that there are, by way of example only, nine illuminating elements arranged at intervals along the elongate flexible element. At the mid-point in the passage of the elongate element from above the head of a user to the feet of the user, the elongate element will extend horizontally when viewed from in front of the user. For a distance above and below the mid-point, the elongate element will appear to

be generally horizontal although some curvature will be visible. This region can be used to define a matrix, with the horizontal positions being defined by the positions of the illuminating elements along the elongate element, and the vertical positions being defined by the positions of the elongate element at different points in the cycle.

Thus, assume as the elongate element reaches the top of the matrix the time is to, and the effective vertical speed of the elongate element is v ms ^"1 . If an 9 x 9 matrix is desired, over a vertical distance of 1 m, then this can be provided by the positions of each illuminating element at nine points in time to to t ₈ , separated vertically by equal distance and time . If the illuminating elements are Lo to L ₈ , then the 81 points in the 9 x 9 matrix are defined by L _n by times t _n , with n in the range of 0 to 8. Thus a simple square pattern would be provided by illuminating the illuminating elements L3, L4 and L5 at times t ₃ , t ₄ , and t ₅

Accordingly, there would be stored in the controller the parameters necessary to illuminate the illuminating elements at these times. The time to would be set by the sensor. This could trigger the sequence of illuminating the illuminating elements at to as the elongate element reaches the appropriate point in its cycle, or it could detect the position of the elongate element at a reference point, such as top dead centre when it is over the head of the user, and then trigger the sequence at a predetermined time from that when the elongate element is. at an appropriate position. By working from a reference position, the time before triggering commences can be varied, for example by stored parameters, so as to control the vertical extent of the matrix. If desired, the number of rows in the matrix can also be adjusted depending on the vertical extent.

The above simple description of how the matrix is defined does not take into account the curvature of the elongate element. When the elongate element is at a mid-point across the body of the user, it appears horizontal when viewed from the from the front but in plan view it will have a significant curvature, meaning that evenly spaced illuminating elements will appear from the front to have variable

spacings. One way of dealing with that, is to vary the spacing of the elements in accordance with the distance away from the centre of the elongate element. Thus, the further towards the ends of the elongate element the illuminating elements are positioned, the greater the spacing between adjacent illuminating elements. From the front, they may be made to appear as if they are at equal spacings. An alternative method would be to use a significantly higher density of illuminating elements so that there is greater choice as to the elements to use at any particular phase in the cycle of rotation of the elongate element. Further opportunities may be extended by the incorporation of an electro-active polymer into the rope to resist the tendency of increased curvature as the rope speed increases.

When the elongate element is not at the mid-point, it will not appear from the front to be horizontal, but to have an upwards or downwards curvature. If the area over which the matrix is used is reasonably close to the mid-point, where the curvature does not appear from the front to be great, the curvature may not be sufficiently visible to make it necessary to take any particular steps. However, an alternative approach will be effectively to increase the vertical density of the matrix, by increasing the number of rows - i.e. the number of time intervals - and controlling the illuminating elements more closely.

The arrangement may be that a predetermined pattern is displayed twice, or more, by defining a number of matrices on the external side of the rope, for example one facing outward away from the skipper and one behind the skipper. Different patterns could be displayed on the different matrices. An additional option would be to display a mirror image on the inner part of the skipping rope, optionally.at a reduced size, to allow the skipper to monitor the outward facing projections from the rope. Different matrices may have their own triggering points. There is also the possibility of a sensing device to detect the position of the viewer - in order to adjust the image parameters accordingly.

In a preferred arrangement, the controller includes storage means for storing parameters associated with the required illumination of the illuminating elements,

and preferably means are provided for loading the storage means with parameters associated with a chosen pattern.

The predetermined pattern whose parameters are stored in the storage means can be an alphanumeric character, and / or a word, and / or a graphical symbol or anything else it is desired to display. The arrangement can be such that a sequence of patterns can be stored. These could be such that one pattern is displayed at the front of the user, and a different pattern at the back. The arrangement could be that on every complete revolution of the elongate element, or after a predetermined number of revolutions, the pattern could change. Thus, for example, in five revolutions the letters HELLO could be spelt out, one letter per revolution. Additionally or alternatively, over a number of revolutions a shape could evolve into a different shape, and so forth. With sufficient resolution, i.e. sufficient illuminating elements arranged along the elongate element; a word such as HELLO could be produced in a single revolution. The alphanumeric and graphic possibilities are considerable and the present invention is not limited to any particular artistic implementations.

Thus in general, in a preferred embodiment the predetermined pattern changes over a number of cycles of rotation of the .elongate flexible element, in accordance with a predetermined sequence. The predetermined pattern may change for each cycle of rotation of the elongate flexible element. In any event, in preferred embodiments the predetermined patterns in the sequence may be alphanumeric characters.

In addition to determining when a particular illuminating element should be illuminated in order to provide the desired effect, there should also be determined a time for how long the illuminating element should remain on. This could be done simply by having a default illumination time for the illuminating elements, effectively working to a fixed matrix. The system could determine that if an element is to be illuminated at two successive times, then it should be left on after being triggered for the first time. The default time for which an element is on could depend on the part of the cycle for which it is to be illuminated. Around the mid point, an element which is illuminated for a specific time tj will remain illuminated over its

maximum extent of vertical movement. At the top and bottom of the cycle, the vertical extent covered during a particular time of rotation will be smaller, as the elongate element curves away from or towards the viewer, and thus the illuminating elements could be controlled to stay on longer to take that into account.

Although in the possible embodiments of the invention discussed above, the sensor provides only a single signal at a particular point in the skipping cycle, or for example at two or more specific points, more complex sensing could be provided. For example, there could be a continuous record of the rotational position of the coupling member with respect to the handle so that any variations in skipping speed can be accounted for. Alternatively, there could be a continuous record of the speed of rotation so that variations can be accounted for. Continuous monitoring could, for example be achieved by having one sensor portion in the form of a circular encoded strip, and the other sensor portion reading the code to determine the position in the rotational cycle.

It will be appreciated that the more complex the control of the illuminating elements, the more illuminating elements, and the more varied the degree of control, the more complex and expensive the apparatus will need to be, and the more complex the derivation of the parameters which must be stored to have the desired effect.

There should preferably be means to ensure that the position at which the pattern is displayed is correct. As noted above,- this can be done by ensuring that a trigger is provided at the appropriate point in the cycle, and this in general will mean that the sensor system must be aligned correctly, namely so that the sensor component on the handle is positioned correctly - for example corresponding to top dead centre or to the mid-point across the body. This can be achieved by having the handle shaped so that it can only be held comfortably in one orientation, in which case the second sensor component will be in the correct position. Additionally or alternatively there could be a marking, on the handle which will assist a user to hold it in the correct position. It would also be possible to incorporate a positional, e.g. gravitational, , sensor in the handle which would provide a warning if the handle is not being held

in the correct orientation. Alternatively, a positional sensor for the handle could detect the orientation of the handle and apply compensation to the signal indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle.

An alternative approach would be for a user to start skipping and then to adjust the handle position until the image is in the correct position, or even to operate a control such as a thumb wheel that will shift the image electronically until it is in the correct position.

In general, the user must skip at an appropriate rate for the pattern to be displayed correctly. There will usually be a range of skipping speeds over whiph the pattern will be displayed in an appropriate form. An adjustment could be provided to vary the implementation of the parameters, so that a faster or slower speed will be tolerated.

Although reference has been made to a "matrix" this can be virtual, and whilst working to a matrix to determine the parameters for a particular pattern can be one means of operating, the parameters for a particular pattern or point of display can be calculated by any suitable means. For example, there could be software which analyses a pattern and converts it directly to timing parameters for illuminating the individual illumination elements that can be loaded into the storage means.

In addition to the sensor components, control circuitry and storage means, there should be a source of power such as a battery which can be replaceable and / or rechargeable, or a generator which utilises relative rotation of the coupling member and the handle to generate the power required or to recharge a battery. There could be a rechargeable battery which is sufficient to keep the electronics operative to deal -with receiving parameters and so forth, and a generator which provides the power for lighting once skipping commences.

In general, there will be two handles, each with a rotatable coupling member, coupled to opposite ends of the elongate element. The functions could be shared between the two handles - for example one containing the senor components and the electronics, and the other a battery and /or a generator. Since electrical connections are required from the control means and power source, it is most convenient that such components are provided on the rotatable part of the handle rather than the static part.

Although the apparatus could be pre-programmed with various patterns which a user can select, and that could be the full range of patterns possible, in a preferred arrangement additionally or alternatively a user can load the storage means with one or more sets of parameters for patterns or sequences of patterns that the user has chosen or generated. The electronics provided by the apparatus itself could be sufficiently powerful to convert images in certain formats, such as JPEG or GIF, into the parameters required so that these images could be fed directly to the apparatus. Additionally or alternatively, separate software could be used to create the parameters, and this would make it simpler to define features such as a sequence of patterns, size, animation and so forth. Such software could be run on any suitable device, such as a Personal Computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or suitably enabled mobile phone.

Communication with an external source of images or parameters can be by any or all of known means of communication, such, as by a network port, WiFi, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, infrared communication or Bluetooth (TM) or other wireless radio frequency communication protocol.

In a preferred arrangement, a spectator with a suitable controller, such as a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone can control the selection of patterns / sequence of patterns remotely and thus interact with the person skipping. Remote control could also be used to control the speed at which the user must skip in order to display a pattern correctly.

In a preferred embodiment the elongate element which forms the skipping "rope" is in the form of a plastics or polymer based tube, containing, for example, LED's (light emitting diodes), portions of LEP (light emitting polymer) or the like. An advantage of LEP portions is that they allow for the production of a more aerodynamic rope with a larger illuminated pixel area to enhance the possibility of programming an animated light sequence, and in addition they consume less power.

Programmable adjustment to pixel colouration may be provided,- for example by having different coloured illuminating elements closely adjacent at a particular point, or for example by incorporating a liquid crystal layer or the like above an illuminating element to achieve a coloured display.

The sensor components may be of any suitable type but in one preferred embodiment one component is a Hall Effect sensor and the other component is a magnet.

The apparatus may also be provided with means for the production of sound, such as music or effects, which can be played during skipping and if desired synchronised with activation of the illuminating elements. Indeed, it would be possible to have an arrangement in which there is control of sound, and there are no illuminating elements, or the illuminating elements are not controlled in accordance with the signal indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle. For example, there could be random operation of the illuminating elements, or they could be controlled in accordance with the music output, in a manner similar for example to lights used in a discotheque.

Viewed from another aspect there is provided skipping apparatus comprising an elongate flexible element; a handle connected.to one end of the flexible element, the handle comprising a static part and a rotatable part which comprises a coupling member connected to the elongate flexible element; a sensor comprising a first sensor component on the static part of the handle and a second sensor component on the rotatable part of the handle, the sensor being adapted to provide a signal

indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle; audio and/or visual output means; and a controller which receives the signal indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle, and which is adapted to control the audio and / or visual output means whilst the skipping apparatus is in use, in accordance with the signal indicative of the angular orientation of the coupling member with respect to the static part of the handle.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general schematic view of a skipping rope in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the elongate element with illuminating portions, forming part of the skipping apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of one handle of the elongate element;

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the other handle of the elongate element;

Figure 5 is a circuit diagram of electronics used in the skipping rope;

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing how a pattern can be generated using the skipping rope; and

Figure 7 is an amended circuit, in diagrammatic form, for LEP incorporation in the skipping rope.

As shown in Figure 1, skipping apparatus 1 comprises an elongate flexible skipping "rope" or "jump rope" 2, provided at its ends with handles 3 and 4. This figure shows the apparatus as it would be in use, with the rope 2 being rotated in the sense

of arrow A, so that it traces out the approximate surface of an ellipsoid. Figure 2 shows the rope 2 in its rest form. It is in the form of a transparent flexible plastic tube 5 containing a number of light emitting diodes (LED's) 6, in this case nine. The diodes are spaced together more closely towards the centre of the tube 5 than at the ends, for reasons described later. In addition to the light emitting diodes, the tube 5 also carries wires for transmitting power, signals and so forth.

Figure 3 shows the handle 4. It comprises a static elongate grip part 7, which is held by the user, on which is mounted a rotatable part 8 by means of a bearing 9. The rotatable part 8 is arranged for rotation about the axis of the elongate part 7 and is coupled firmly to one end 10 of the plastic tube 5 which forms the "rope" 2. Mounted inside the rotatable part 8 is a battery 11 , which extends into a space within the elongate part 7. Leads 12 extend from the battery into the tube 5 to provide power to other components of the apparatus.

Figure 4 shows the other handle 3. This also comprises a static elongate grip part 13, which is held by the user, on which is mounted a rotatable part 14 by means of a bearing 15. The rotatable part 14 is arranged for rotation about the axis of the elongate part 13 and is coupled firmly to the other end 16 of the plastic tube 5 which forms the "rope" 2. Mounted inside the rotatable part 14 is control circuitry 17 which is connected to leads 12 from the battery 11 and leads 18 which provide signals to the LED's 6 in the tube 5. Mounted on the static elongate part 13 is a magnet 19, and mounted on the rotatable part 14 is a Hall Effect sensor 20, which provides signals to the control circuitry 17 as the sensor passes the magnet 19 during rotation. There is also an audio transducer 21 connected to the control circuitry 17, to provide sound effects. The rotatable part 14 is, provided with a switch 22 for activating the system. On the static elongate part there is a mark 23, to make it easier for a user to ensure that the handle 3 is held in the correct orientation.

The weight of handle 3, which includes the control circuitry, is balanced by the weight of the. battery 11 in handle 4.

The control circuitry 17 includes a pre-programmed microcontroller which is activated by the Hall Effect sensor 20 to control the operation of the LED's 6 and the other electronic components that are installed in the rotatable part 14 of handle 3.

When a user is skipping, the rope 2 will revolve in a curved path through the air; the horizontal array of LED lights 6 will be sweeping across a 3D surface area of an ellipsoid in space. Each individual LED unit flashes at different frequency along the path of the rope 2 to form a representative image, letter or even animation. Messages can be displayed at any position along the path of the rope's motion depending on how the skipper twists handle 3 that contains the Hall Effect sensor 20. This function is indicated by the mark 23 on the handle 3. The operator can determine where the image will be displayed by means of twisting the handle 3 to change the position of Hall Effect sensor 20. Each image can be refreshed in sequence accompanied by a musical tone through the audio transducer 21.

As the user skips, and the rope 2 rotates, the rotatable handle parts 8 and 14 rotate - with respect to the static parts 7 and 13. As the Hall Effect sensor 20 in part 14 rotates over the position where the magnet 19 is embedded in handle part 13, a electrical connection occurs and a pulse is detected to trigger a light sequence. As a result, an image starts to be built up in the air. The cycle time period is dependent on the pulse interval, which is related to how fast the skipper can rotate the rope 2 each time.

The time interval of LED's on and off is pre-set in the microcontroller's program, and can be loaded in from storage means.

The skipper should adjust their skipping speed to get the best effect from the image display. Since people may prefer to skip at their own speed, the program may be such as to recognize the different levels of proficiency and to automatically change to a different time interval. A switch may be provided so that the user can choose the right program for their preferred speed. For example, if user chooses a program for slow skipping, then images will be displayed according to that speed.

An example of control circuitry 17 is shown in Figure 5, by way of example only.

The circuitry includes:

Ix Microchip 8-bit microcontroller integrated circuit (PIC16F84A)

Ix Octal High Voltage High Current Darlington Transistor Array (ULN2803)

Ix Voltage regulator (LM7805)

4x Electrolytic capacitors 2x Ceramic capacitors (22pF)

Ix Hall Effect sensor

Ix A DC operated Piezoelectric audio transducer (SP)

Ix NPN Transistor (Ql)

1x 4 MHz crystal Hx Resistors

1 x UHF AM Receiver module (AM - HRFn)

Ix Single Pole Single Throw switch

The circuit is powered from 9 volt- DC battery 11 in handle 4, which is regulated from 9 volts DC to provide a constant DC supply of 5 volts to power the microcontroller and associated control hardware electronics. A single pole single throw switch connects the positive supply to the input of the voltage regulator. To reduce any variance of noise on the voltage supply on both the input and the output of the regulator, two electrolytic capacitors are used, the negative parts of which are connected to ground. An electrolytic capacitor connected to the 5 volt supply and ground ensures that the supply is not dragged down so as to cause a voltage 'chirp' on the supply line when the microcontroller first starts up.

The microcontroller is based upon a Microchip PICl 6F84A microcontroller integrated circuit. The microcontroller is connected to the 5 volt supply via pin 14 (VDD) ₅ and to ground via pin 5 (GND).

A 4 MHz parallel resonant quartz crystal is used as an external reference clock for the microcontroller. This is used for internal timing of the execution of the firmware code. The crystal is connected to pin 15 (OSC2) and pin 16 (OSCl). Two capacitors are wired, one each to each side of the crystal and the other leg of each capacitor is. wired to ground. This ensures that the crystal oscillates, as the crystal expects to see a capacitance load on each of its terminals in order for it to function correctly.

A resistor is wired to the 5 volt supply and to pin 4 (MLCR) of the microcontroller to ensure that when the circuit is powered up, a clean reset signal is sent to the microcontroller to ensure that the microcontroller starts executing code at the beginning i.e. at programme register counter 0000. Without this, incorrect parameters could be inserted in to the microcontroller's programme register counter and causes the microcontroller to start executing an incorrect sequence of machine code.

The Hall Effect sensor 20 is a magnetic field sensitive switch, which produces a short circuit (closed contact) if a magnetic field is passed in close proximity to it, i.e. on every cycle of rotation as the sensor 20 passes over block of magnetic material 19. Upon each rotation of the skipping rope 2 an open - closed - open contact pulse is made. The sensor 20 does not perform any calculation of speed nor timed pulse; this can be achieved in the microcontroller's firmware.

The output of the Hall Effect sensor 20 is connected to pin 3 (RA4) of the microcontroller. The sensor is powered from both the 5 volt supply and ground. A resistor is wired across the output of the sensor and the 5 volt supply to ensure that any "sensed magnetic field" will produce a p'ositive going output.

The piezoelectric audio transducer 21 is used to produce simple tones from the microcontroller. A pulse is produced on the data line of the microcontroller and is filtered using a capacitor. The result is fed to the piezoelectric audio transducer, which then physically oscillates at a certain frequency, creating a tone.

Pin 18 (RAl) of the microcontroller is connected to the piezoelectric audio transducer 21 via an electrolytic capacitor. The data on this pin is pulsed in a sequence, and when smoothed by the capacitor can allow the piezoelectric transducer to produce the tone.

The described embodiment uses the nine LED's 6 to display the image, but of course the number can be different.

The first eight LED's are controlled from the microcontrollers output ports RBO (Pin 6) to RB7 (pin 13). These outputs are connected to the input ports, pins 1 to 8 (IB to 8B) of an Octal High Voltage High Current Darlington Transistor Array (ULN2803). The output pins (pins 11 - 18) of the Darlington array are wired individually to the anode connection of the first eight LED's. The cathode of each LED is wired to the 9-volt supply via a current limiting resistor.

The use of this Darlington Transistor Array integrated circuit allows the microcontroller to switch higher current rated components than the microcontroller can do by itself. Thus, for example, a high brightness LED can be controlled.

As this version of the circuit drives nine 9 high brightness LED's and the ULN2803 device only allows up to eight devices to be driven, an different design is used for the ninth LED. The ninth LED is controlled from pin 17 (RAO) of the microcontroller using a transistor. The base of an NPN transistor is wired to pin 17 (RAO), the emitter to ground and the ^* collector is wired to the anode of the LED. The cathode of the LED is fed to the 9-volt supply by a current limiting resistor in a similar fashion to the previous eight LED's.

If more LED's or other types of illuminating elements are used, an alternative switching design can be used, together with additional memory to store more complicated patterns.

A pre-packaged surface mounted UHF AM Radio Receiver module is connected the pin 2 (RA3) of the microcontroller. A pulse is generated at pin 14 of the radio module if the receiver detects a frequency carrier wave within its receivable frequency bandwidth. The length of the pulse generated will be determined by how long the receiver can receive the signal. Any information carried (modulated) on to the radio signal will be converted in to a sequence of positive going pulses.

In a sense the receiver plays a non intelligent part and all decoding and validation information will be processed within the firmware of the microcontroller. In one arrangement, a simple pulse detected from the receiver can act as a simple trigger to activate a different set of patterns to be displayed on the skipping rope.

The firmware can be written in a high level language such as "BASIC" before being compiled in to machine code and then written to the microcontroller.

Image data may be stored within the microcontroller's internal memory, or more and more complex images can be stored in larger external memory chips allied to the main control module.

Upon start up, the microcontroller defines the input and output ports, when a pattern should be displayed, how long the LED's should remain on, how long they should remain off, the number of patterns stored, how many patterns are in each set, and so forth.

Internal counters keeps track of which pattern is to be displayed next and from which set. After a first pattern has been displayed the next pattern is loaded from memory. Once all patterns from a set have been presented, the counter is reset and the set of images is then repeated from the beginning.

Should the radio receiver module detect a valid signal prior to displaying an image; the internal counters will reflect that the first image from the alternative bank of images should be loaded for display. This set of images will continue to cycle

around until another valid signal is detected via the radio receiver module. Therefore a valid radio signal toggles the display of one set of images to the other.

After initialisation, the microcontroller cycles in a loop looking for either a valid radio signal pulse and /or a pulse generated by the Hall Effect sensor switch 20. Any detected pulse is timed and validated.

Each image pattern is activated when a pulse generated by the Hall Effect 18 sensor switch has been detected. The mark 23 on the handle 3 means that the handle 3 is held such that sensor switch will be triggered when the rope is in the air at its maximum height, and from then the pattern starts to display.

The firmware commands that when pin 3 (RA4) detects a pulse; it simultaneously initiates the light pattern build sequence and a combined audio signal. Each image is built by flashing a different combination of lights consecutively over a precisely measured interval. In the programme, the binary number system is used to direct which lights flash at what point in time. Each pulse will change one image incrementally to the next image.

As mentioned earlier, the time intervals are pre-set in the firmware. For example, firmware may be such that both LED on and off times are set for 30 milliseconds.

Alternative power sources are possible, including larger battery capacities, to support higher current demanding modules such as other illuminating substrates and radio modules. There may be a self-charging mechanism, where an electromagnetic dynamo or spring is used to generate a regulated electromotive force (to aid in self charging of the rechargeable batteries during the skipping rope's use. A rechargeable battery charging circuit powered by an external power supply is also possible; connections could be made via a USB socket or from an independent power socket.

The components may change to provide faster calculations and the ability to provide advanced user programming interfaces and larger storage of user definable patterns.

Certain programmable routines may be included for variations in the product range such as measurement of simple speed control of the skipping rope for fitness environments. Timing delays, illumination on and off times could be user definable.

An I2C or SPI based sound tone generator with audio amplifier could replace the piezoelectric transducer. This would allow more defined music notes to be produced, or even provide the ability of playing out pre-recorded digitised sound samples.

Different illuminating substrates and quantities are possible. The use of an I2C or SPI communications bus to send serial information from the microcontroller to serial to parallel decoders (expanders) would allow a large multiplex of illuminating elements to be controlled. Each decoder could control a group of sixteen elements each. Limitation on certain I2C bus expanders could limit to eight expanders on the I2C bus at one time. Therefore assuming the I2C bus would be used for multiplexing the control of illuminating elements only, up to 128 individual elements could be individually controlled.

A firmware programming module may be provided to allow people to re-programme the firmware and onboard memory in order to alter the skipping ropes electronics functionality and/or store patterns and variables.

A Universal Serial Bus (USB) module may be used to allow people to alter the patterns stored in the onboard memory and/or alter the user definable variables when the skipping rope is statically attached to a host computer.

A UHF Radio Module may be provided in order to communicate or to act upon when receiving a remote command whilst the skipping rope is in use. A Bluetooth module may allow people to alter the patterns stored in the onboard memory and/or alter the user definable variables whilst the skipping rope is in use from a remote mobile phone or PDA.

Figure 6 shows how a simple "star" character can be created. In this, the tube 5 is shown as it would be in use. The curvature of the tube means that the LED's 6, which are in fact spaced at varying intervals in the tube as shown in Figure 2, appear to be evenly spaced. At time T ₀ the 9 LED's, Lo to L ₈ , define a first row in a 9 x 9 matrix. The other rows are defined by the positions of the tube 5 at times T ₀ to T ₈ as the tube 5 moves in the direction of arrow B. The individual LED's are activated as necessary at the appropriate times to produce a virtual star shape by virtue of persistency of vision. In this simple example, it is assumed that over the area swept in front of the user, the rope 2 appears to be generally horizontal. In practice, steps can be taken to take into account that it will in fact appear to be somewhat curved.

Figure 7 shows a circuit diagram for use with a system using any desired number N of light emitting polymers, LEP 1 to LEP N, using a driver 24 and a multiplexer 25.

There is thus produced skipping apparatus which not only provides exercise but also provides entertainment, in an interactive fashion, with users and onlookers.

In summary, the preferred embodiment of the invention provides skipping apparatus 1 which comprises a rope 5 with handles 3 and 4. Each handle comprises a static part 7, 13 and a rotatable part 8, 14 which is connected to the rope. One of the handles 3 is provided with a sensor comprising a first sensor component 19 on the static part and a second sensor component 20 on the rotatable part, to indicate the angular orientation of the two parts. Lights 6 are arranged at intervals along the rope. The handle 3 includes a controller 17 which stores data for a pattern to be displayed by the lights 6 during skipping. The controller receives a signal from the sensor and controls illumination of the lights 6 at times during a cycle of rotation of the rope so as to display the stored pattern. The other handle 4 contains a battery 11.