대표
청구항
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1. A method of estimating a spin frequency of an unmarked rotating sports ball in flight, the method comprising: receiving, using a receiver of a radar arrangement, electromagnetic waves reflected from the unmarked rotating sports ball;deriving from said received electromagnetic waves, via the radar arrangement, a signal having a first frequency corresponding to a velocity of the unmarked rotating sports ball, the signal being amplitude modulated by a modulation frequency; andestimating, via the radar arrangement, at at least a single point in time, the ...
1. A method of estimating a spin frequency of an unmarked rotating sports ball in flight, the method comprising: receiving, using a receiver of a radar arrangement, electromagnetic waves reflected from the unmarked rotating sports ball;deriving from said received electromagnetic waves, via the radar arrangement, a signal having a first frequency corresponding to a velocity of the unmarked rotating sports ball, the signal being amplitude modulated by a modulation frequency; andestimating, via the radar arrangement, at at least a single point in time, the spin frequency of the unmarked rotating sports ball based on at least one frequency distance between a harmonic of the modulation frequency and one or more of: in a first case, the first frequency and, in a second case, an additional harmonic of the modulation frequency. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the spin frequency is determined by dividing the frequency distance by a harmonic number of the harmonic in the first case or a difference in harmonic number of the harmonics in the second case. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the deriving step includes performing a frequency analysis of the signal. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of performing the frequency analysis comprises detecting a plurality of harmonics. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said harmonic and said additional harmonic comprise harmonics symmetric about the first frequency. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said first harmonic and said additional harmonic comprise two adjacent harmonics. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the spin frequency of the rotating sports ball is estimated based on the at least one frequency distance between the first frequency and each of said harmonic and said additional harmonic. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frequency corresponds to the velocity of the rotating sports ball in a direction toward or away from the receiver. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimating step is repeated at at least one additional point in time during the flight of the rotating sports ball. 10. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of performing a frequency analysis comprises: identifying the first frequency as a 0th harmonic, the first frequency corresponding to the velocity of the rotating sports ball in a direction toward or away from the receiver, tracking a plurality of harmonics of the modulation frequency of said signal over time, qualifying the tracked plurality of harmonics by requiring that the tracked plurality of harmonics are equally spaced in frequency, and solving the qualified harmonics for their corresponding harmonic number, wherein the step of estimating comprises estimating, at at least one point in time, the spin frequency from two of the qualified harmonics by dividing the frequency distance by a difference between respective corresponding harmonic numbers of said two qualified harmonics. 11. A system for estimating a spin frequency of an unmarked rotating sports ball in flight, the system comprising: a receiver of a radar arrangement configured to, at at least a single point in time, receive electromagnetic waves reflected from the unmarked rotating sports ball and provide a corresponding signal, which is amplitude modulated by a modulation frequency, wherein the radar arrangement is configured to perform a frequency analysis of the amplitude modulated signal and detect at least one harmonic of the modulation frequency, the radar arrangement being further configured to estimate the spin frequency from a frequency distance between said at least one harmonic and one or more of: in a first case, a first frequency corresponding to a velocity of the unmarked rotating sports ball and, in a second case, an additional harmonic of the modulation frequency. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the spin frequency is determined by dividing the frequency distance by a harmonic number of the harmonic in the first case or a difference in harmonic number of the harmonics in the second case. 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the radar arrangement is further configured to identify, subsequent to the frequency analysis, the first frequency as a 0th harmonic, the first frequency corresponding to the velocity of the rotating sports ball in a direction toward or away from the receiver, track a plurality of harmonics of the modulation frequency of said signal over time, qualify the tracked plurality of harmonics by requiring that the tracked plurality of harmonics are equally spaced in frequency, solve the qualified harmonics for their corresponding harmonic number, and estimate the spin frequency from two of the qualified harmonics by dividing the frequency distance by a difference between respective corresponding harmonic numbers of said two qualified harmonics. 14. The system of claim 11, wherein said at least one harmonic and said additional harmonic comprise two adjacent harmonics. 15. The system of claim 11, wherein said at least one harmonic and said additional harmonic comprise harmonics symmetric about the first frequency. 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the spin frequency of the rotating sports ball is estimated based on the frequency distance between the first frequency and each of said at least one harmonic and said additional harmonic. 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first frequency corresponds to the velocity of the rotating sports ball in a direction toward or away from the receiver. 18. A system for estimating a spin frequency of an unmarked rotating sports ball in flight, the system comprising: a receiver of a radar arrangement; and a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on the receiver, cause the receiver to perform operations comprising: receiving electromagnetic wave reflected from the unmarked rotating sports ball; deriving, from the electromagnetic waves, a signal having a first frequency corresponding to a velocity of the unmarked rotating sports ball, the signal being amplitude modulated by a modulation frequency; and estimating, at a point in time, the spin frequency of the unmarked rotating sports ball based on a frequency distance between a harmonic of the modulation frequency and one of the first frequency and an additional harmonic of the modulation frequency. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the spin frequency is determined by dividing the frequency distance by one of a harmonic number of the harmonic and a difference in harmonic number of the harmonics. 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the deriving of the signal further comprises performing a frequency analysis of the signal. 21. A method for estimating a spin frequency of a rotating sports ball in flight, comprising: receiving, using a receiver of a radar arrangement, electromagnetic waves reflected from the rotating sports ball;deriving, without regard to any marking on the rotating sports ball, from said received electromagnetic waves, via the radar arrangement, a signal having a first frequency corresponding to a velocity of the rotating sports ball, the signal being amplitude modulated by a modulation frequency; andestimating, without regard to any marking on the rotating sports ball, via the radar arrangement, at at least a single point in time, the spin frequency of the rotating sports ball based on at least one frequency distance between a harmonic of the modulation frequency and one of the first frequency and an additional harmonic of the modulation frequency. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the spin frequency is determined by dividing the frequency distance by one a harmonic number of the harmonic and a difference in harmonic number of the harmonics. 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of performing a frequency analysis comprising detecting a plurality of harmonics disposed symmetrically about the first frequency. 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the spin frequency of the rotating sports ball is estimated based on the at least one frequency distance between the first frequency and each of said harmonic and said additional harmonic. 25. A system for estimating a spin frequency of a rotating sports ball in flight, comprising: a receiver of a radar arrangement configured to, at at least a single point in time, receive electromagnetic waves reflected from the rotating sports ball and provide a corresponding signal, which is amplitude modulated by a modulation frequency, wherein the radar arrangement is configured to perform, without regard to any marking on the rotating sports ball, a frequency analysis of the modulated signal and detect at least one harmonic of the modulation frequency, the radar arrangement being further configured to estimate, without regard to any marking on the rotating sports ball, the spin frequency from a frequency distance between said at least one harmonic and one of a first frequency corresponding to a velocity of the rotating sports ball and an additional harmonic of the modulation frequency. 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the spin frequency is determined by dividing the frequency distance by one of a harmonic number of the harmonic and a difference in harmonic number of the harmonics. 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the radar arrangement is further configured to identify, subsequent to the frequency analysis, the first frequency as a 0th harmonic, the first frequency corresponding to the velocity of the rotating sports ball in a direction toward or away from the receiver, track a plurality of harmonics of the modulation frequency of said signal over time, qualify the tracked plurality of harmonics by requiring that the tracked plurality of harmonics are equally spaced in frequency, solve the qualified harmonics for their corresponding harmonic number, and estimate the spin frequency from two of the qualified harmonics by dividing the frequency distance by a difference between respective corresponding harmonic numbers of said two qualified harmonics.