PACER FOR ATHLETES A63B

The present invention relates to a pacer for training athletes.

BACKGROUND

Athletes require as part of their training programme, to know the progress of their performance. It is also necessary for the athlete to know his level of performance each stage of his training workout. Performance reporting is traditionally provided inter alia by the athlete's coach or watching video recordings of the training session.

There are certain sports such as swimming where the athlete is unable to readily obtain progress reports at any given position of his training. Traditionally, the coach could only advise the athlete of his progress at the end of each lap. The athlete therefore did not have a real-time report of his swimming progress during the swim.

During swimming training, the athlete is primarily focused in his forward moving direction. The athlete's head is also submerged under water for a significant portion of the swim. Therefore, the athlete is unable to adequately listen to voice prompts from his coach. In order to provide effective real-time progress reporting, the athlete would need to receive visual prompts within his line of vision during his swim. Various pacers have been developed to aid training athletes. Such pacers include a continuous tubular housing, containing LEDs, and running the length of the water surface. These housings are often bulky and expensive. The LEDs light up sequentially, as determined by an external programmable controller.

It is an object of the invention to at least partially overcome the abovementioned difficulties of real-time performance reporting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a pacer for swimmers comprising: a plurality of light emitting means (LEM) contained in a housing; a programmable control station enabled to generate various rates and sequences of light emissions by the LEM; the housing securable along a bed of a swimming pool; and reliable into a wound up storage condition.

Preferably each LEM comprises a microprocessor and is individually controllable.

Conveniently the housing is sufficiently weighted to be secured in its desired operative position when placed on the pool bed. The housing may also have a securing means for releasably securing the housing to the pool bed.

Preferably the housing is waterproof, alternatively the LEM is enabled to function when submerged in water.

There is also provided a transmitter for attachment to the athlete, the transmitter capable of relaying the position of the athlete relative to a position along the length of the pacer, to the control station.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of pacing an athlete by using a pacer having: a plurality of individually controllable light emitting means (LEM) contained in a housing;

a programmable control station enabled to generate various rates and sequences of light emissions by the LEM; the housing securable along a bed of a swimming pool.

Conveniently there are a plurality of housings, each having a plurality of individually controllable light emitting means (LEM) contained therein, the housings being releasably secured to one another.

Preferably the method for operating the pacer comprises using LEMs each including a microprocessor, which performs the following steps:

- storing a unique number;

- reading the data off the serial bus;

- deciding if the data is intended for the light unit; and

- controlling the LEM accordingly.

Preferably the method for operating the pacer comprises the following steps:

- activating the LEMs by using a binary addressing scheme, whereby binary control data is sent down a synchronous serial data bus; - the data bus using two wires for unidirectional communication, the first line carrying a clock signal and the second line carries a data signal;

- the LEM sampling and processing data at each transition;

- using a third line signal the start of a data transmission;

- each LEM examining the serial data bus and storing the state of the LEM;

- using LEMs which each have a unique number assigned to it; and

- enabling the LEM to determine whether a transmission is destined for it

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a provided a pacer for athletes comprising:

a plurality of housings, each having a plurality of individually controllable light emitting means (LEM) contained therein, the housings being releasably secured to one another; a programmable control station enabled to generate various rates and sequences of light emissions by the LEM.

The individual housings enable the length of the pacer system to be increased or decreased according to the requirements of the user.

Preferably the pacer comprises at least two lengths of housings. The first length is securable along the bed of a pool and the second length is securable proximal to the surface of the pool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a perspective cut-away view of a swimming pool with the housing of the invention running along the pool bed;

Figure 2 shows an exploded side view of a section of the housing shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a cross sectional view of the housing along the line 3-3;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a control station; and Figure 5 shows a side view of a single length of the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a pacer 10 for swimmers secured to the pool bed 12. The pacer 10 runs the length of the pool bed 12.

The pacer has a plurality of individually controllable and equally spaced light emitting diodes (LED) 14 running the length of a housing 16, as best shown in figures 1 and 2. The housing is connected to a control station 20, which powers the LEDs. The control station transmits data to the LEDs thereby determining when each LED is activated, resulting in a light emission. The housing is waterproof, robust, light-weight and can be rolled up into a storage formation when not in use.

LEDs are activated by using a binary addressing scheme. This scheme enables binary control data to be sent down a synchronous serial data bus.

The data bus uses two wires for communication as communication is simplex.

The first line carrying a clock signal and the second line carries a data signal.

At each transition, the data line is sampled by the LEDs and the specific bit of data processed. A third line is used to signal the start of a data transmission. Each LED examines the serial data bus and stores the state of the LED. Each

LED has a unique number assigned to it, thereby enabling the LED to determine whether a transmission is destined for it.

The LEDs each comprise a microprocessor. The microprocessor enables the pacing of a swimmer by performing the following steps: -storing a unique number; -reading the data off the serial bus;

- deciding if the data is intended for the light unit; and

- controlling the LED accordingly.

The direction and rate of LEDs 14 activation, is determined by the control station 20, which is programmable to provide a variety of pacing settings for the swimmer.

Figure 4 best shows the control station 20 comprises a visual display 22. The visual display provides the user with prompts to guide him in selecting the desired pacing setting. The visual display 22 indicates the speed and

distance swam by the swimmer. There is also provided a positioning transmitter (not shown) for attachment to the swimmer. This transmitter allows the position of the swimmer relative to the path of the housing to be indicated on the visual display 22. The control station has a transmitter 24 for transmitting the control signal to the receiver unit.

The housing has suction cups 26 along its length. These suction cups 26 allow the housing to be releasably secured to the pool's bed.

Figure 5 shows another embodiment of the housing 16.1 having an end male 30 and opposite end, female 32 formation. This allows the housing to be coupled using a tongue and groove formation. The housing length can thereby be lengthened or shortened according to the user's preferences. The ends of each housing have a portion comprising material suitable for conducting electrical current. The housing when coupled, is configured to enabled electrical communication between the individual housings and the control station.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the abovementioned embodiments. For example the housing may be sufficiently weighted to maintain its desired operating position, thereby obviating the need for a securing means. The housing may also be separate from the control station and have its own battery power supply. In such case data transmission would be via a suitable wireless means.

In a further embodiment, there may be a second housing, which floats on the surface of the pool, or is suspended above the surface. This enables the swimmer to determine his position relative to the pacer when his head is submerged or above the water surface.

The claims form an integral part of the description.