Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
Fransua Rachmann December 11, 2018
ELECTRONIC SCORE KEEPING REBOUNDING AND AGILITY GAUGE DEVICE
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This invention records points on a scoreboard from the
footspeed, agility and accuracy of a person that repeatedly alternates between
striking a ball onto
a rebounder and running to activate switches that are a short distance away
from the rebounder.
Numerous devices can return or rebound a kicked, thrown or hit balls. The
typical purpose of
these devices are to enable a person to practice a sport, which normally
requires more than one
person, by themselves. These devices may be able to keep a score of the
accuracy or number of
times a ball is struck against the rebounder surface.
This device application is for measuring the accuracy of the player's hit,
throw or kick (strike) ,
and also reward agility and speed between strikes by providing an electronic
score keeping
device to measure strikes against the rebounder, and also records and keeps
track of the player
running and activating switches connected to the score board between hits.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION: This application is a continuation
application of applicant's co-pending patent application Ser. No. 317,833,
filed Nov. 3, 1981
(abandoned), entitled "Baseball Practice Partner".
This application is a continuation application from the following
applications:
US Patent 4,417,728 Nov 29, 1983 Hay et al.
1975-09-22 US05615876 Expired - Lifetime
1977-03-22 U54013292A Cohen et al
2016-07-28 U520160213989A1 Fristaczki
04/27/1965 U515102561A Oskar, Kallai
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BRIEF DISCRIPTION OF CURRENT ART:
Figure 1. Shows the complete device with components during play
Figure 2. Shows the rebounder from the side to see the path that the ball
needs to take to be able
to rebound to the player
Figure 3. Illustrates the detached scoreboard, switches, impact sensor and
control box of the
device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND BEST MODE OF IMPLEMENTATION
Numerous devices can return or rebound a kicked, thrown or hit balls. The
typical purpose of
these devices are to enable a person to practice a sport, which normally
requires more than one
person, by themselves. These devices may be able to keep a score of the
accuracy or number of
times a ball is struck against the rebounder surface.
This device application is for measuring the accuracy of the player's hit,
throw or kick (strike) ,
and also reward agility and speed between strikes by providing an electronic
score keeping
device to measure strikes against the rebounder, and also records and keeps
track of the player
running through activating switches connected to the score board between hits.
FIGURE 1
This device can be used in numerous physical recreation settings to measure
the accuracy of a
single player's hits, kicks or throws (strikes) against a rebounder device
111, together with
measuring the agility and speed the player can display between these strikes.
The game consists of two parts:
The Rebounder 111 that returns an object 131 that has been kicked, hit or
thrown against the
netting 110, by a player 133 that may or may not use a racquet 132 or a paddle
or a bat. And The
Electronic System 138 (Details in Figure 3) that records the amount of
successful strikes and
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switch activations and displays this amount on a scoreboard or counter 134 for
the player and for
any people around to see.
The rebounder 111 is placed in the middle of the playing area and any amount
of switches (six
switches being the most common) 122, 123, 124, 125, 126 and 127 are placed at
predetermined
distances away from the rebounder. Equal amounts of switches are put to the
left and the right of
the rebounder. The reason for switches being on both side of the rebounder is
to accommodate
left and right handed players, and also to give players the opportunity to
practice equally running
to the right or the left after each strike. The switches are usually raised
between 2 and 3 feet off
the ground with a footing, 128, 129, but it can be flat on the ground too or
raised higher if
needed.
The player 133 can hit a ball 131 with a racquet 132 or kick a ball or throw a
ball against the
netting 110 that is suspended in a plastic, metal or wooden frame. The Frame
consists of
horizontal pieces 119 attached with angled pieces 114 or in any other
permanent or temporary
way to vertical 112, and forty five degree 113 pieces. The pieces can be
joined together
permanently by any means depending on the material. The angle can be adjusted
through design
to different settings. The netting 110 and the frame 112, 113, 119, with
joining pieces 114 and
attachments 115, 116, 117 are the Rebounder. The netting 110 is not completely
tensioned or
stiff and the ball rolls on the netting to a retainer section (Fig 2) where
the ball stops and rolls
down the netting 110 back to the player.
The netting is equipped with openings 116 where it can be attached to eyebolts
in the frame 117
with rope, string, stiff hooks or elastic material.
Once the ball is struck onto the netting, a motion sensor 120 is triggered
that is attached to the
frame with a string or a wire 121 that can move once the ball hits the top of
the netting. This
motion sensor 120 sends a signal to the electronic scoring board 134 to
register a point on the
electronic display 135. Every time the ball triggers the motion sensor the
scoreboard counts and
adds a predetermined amount of points on the scoreboard. (Electronic
Components details in
Figure 3)
The electronic scoreboard 134 is big enough that the player and spectators can
see the score. The
electronic scoreboard is raised off the ground by any means. 136 and 137 shows
a simple footing
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from a stiff material like metal, wood or plastic. Any footing can be used or
the scoreboard can
be put on any flat surface to make it more visible or the scoreboard can be
suspended from a
higher point.
The switch consist of 4 parts:
122 The electronic switch
128 A stand to raise the switch of the ground
130 Footing to keep the stand upright
129 Electronic components to connect the switch to the electronic scoreboard
The Rebounder can take different forms and any variation of device, shape,
angle, material or
application can be used to combine it with the Electronic component of this
invention. The
player can let the ball bounce or take it from the air and hit, kick or throw
(strike) the ball back
onto the netting. This action can be repeated indefinitely unless the player
fail to strike the ball
accurately onto the rebounder netting and the rebounder does not return the
ball.
FIGURE 2
Path 204 of the ball 203 is shown onto the netting 202 of the rebounder 201,
where it rebounds
against the top of the netting 205. The ball then rolls down the netting 206,
207 and bounces on
the ground to be struck again in a similar fashion.
The netting is securely attached to a horizontal framing piece 209. It is then
attached to vertical
framing 210 and slopes down to a horizontal bar 211. The netting is just
draped over the
horizontal bar 211, but it is attached to the sides of the frame (Figure 1 ¨
116, 117) the netting
then hangs down to the ground.
FIGURE 3
A diagram of the Electronic component of the device.
The electronic system consists of the main computer 301, the scoreboard 303
and the switches
309, 311, 313, 315, 317, 319 and the motion sensor 307.
rr
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Where 301 is the main computer and is connected to a power source with an
electrical cord 326,
or contain a power source (like batteries) to drive the system. The main
computer is equipped
with a control panel 302 with an on/off switch, a reset switch 327, and a time
setting switch 328.
It can be equipped with more controls to alter the scoring, sensitivity of the
switches or other
game variables. The electronic scoreboard 303 is connected to the main
computer with cord 325
and displays the score through a digital number display 305. It can be a 7
segment display or a
LED, LCD ECD, PDP or any number of displays able to show a score clearly to
the player and
spectators. The motion sensor 307 will be attached to the rebounder to detect
each time the ball is
struck onto the rebounder. It will be connected to the main computer 323
either through a wire
321 or it can be constructed to transfer information to the main computer
wireless. Six switches
are displayed 309, 311, 313, 315, 317, 319, but there can be more or less
switches connected to
the system. The switches are connected to the main computer at a connection
point 323, through
electric wires 321 or it can also be manufactured to transfer the signal
wireless to the main
computer.
GAME PLAY
The goal of the game is to score the highest possible score either before you
make a mistake
rebounding the ball against the rebounder (either by failing to let the ball
make successful
contact with the rebounder or missing the ball completely) or before the end
of a predetermined
time. The score is displayed on the large electronic scoreboard / counter.
The device let the player scores point in two different ways: By letting a
ball make contact with
the surface of the rebounder. And by activating one of the switches a certain
distance away from
the rebounder. The switch can be pushed by hand, or it can be struck by the
equipment that the
player uses to play the game. (Like a racquet, a paddle, a bat etc.)
The player can choose to score points by only striking balls onto the
rebounder. Or the player
can choose to activate a switch of his or her choosing between strikes to
score more points in the
same amount of time.
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The game prevents a player from activating a switch more than once and from
activating more
than one switch between strikes. Extra switch activations will not affect the
score, until the ball
has been struck against the rebounder again.
The ball has to be hit, thrown or kicked with a certain minimum amount of
force against the
rebounder to register a strike, so that a point can be scored from that strike
before the next switch
can be activated.
The device can be used in many settings for different applications such as:
a. As a personal training apparatus.
b. It can be used by a trainer to measure the accuracy of strikes and
agility between students
and to measure progress in these activities from time to time.
c. It can be used in a competition setting to let players compete in age,
skill or size
categories to see who gets the highest score.
Once the player has struck the ball onto the netting and the ball is rolling
on the netting, the
player can choose to add more points to the score by moving to one of the
switches and pushing
or striking (activating) the switch. Each switch has a determined value.
Switches closer to the
rebounder and has a lesser point value than the switches further away and.
Switches furthest
away have the biggest point value.
After each strike onto the rebounder, the player moves swiftly to any of the
switches to activate
the switch to score more points.
After the player has activated a switch, the player has to move quick enough
back to the front of
the rebounder to be able to hit the rebounding ball back onto the netting.
After the ball has been
struck onto the netting, the player can choose to move to one of the switches,
activate one switch
and move back to the front of the rebounder to strike the ball again.
The player repeat this sequence a many times as possible within a certain
amount of time or until
the player fails to strike the ball back onto the rebounder to guarantee the
ball returning
successfully.
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The game can be played for any set amount of time. The electronic system can
be equipped with
an audible alarm that sounds when the player's time is over. Or the system can
cause the score
board to give a visual signal that the time has expired. The score on the
scoreboard freezes and
the player, operator and spectators can see the score, where it can be
recorded for competition
against other players or to compare to past or future scores from the same
player. The electronic
scoreboard can now be reset back to zero for the next player to start the
game. Or for the same
player to try and get a different score.
Scoring
Each time the player strikes the ball onto the rebounder, the motion sensor
sends a signal to the
electronic scoreboard and registers the minimum amount of points. I.E. one
point is added to the
score on the scoreboard.
For simplicity and explanation purposes this application will use the simplest
amount of scoring.
In practice the device can be programmed to score any amount of points.
Each switch has a predetermined value.
The value of the score of the switch increase as the distance away from the
rebounded increases.
A system with 6 scoring switches (FIGURE 1. - Three switches to the left and
three switches on
the right hand side of the game) will have 3 different values. Switches
closest to the rebounder
has the least value.
Switches A - The two switches closest to the rebounder on either side are
worth 2 points.
Switches B - The next switches further away on either are worth 3 points
Switches C - The two switches on either side that are the furthest away from
the rebounder are
worth 4 points
A player that is trying to get a very high score will try and hit the switch
furthest away from the
rebounder after each strike. Activating the switch furthest away each time
after a strike will be
difficult for the player since he or she will have to cover the most ground
between strikes which
will tire the player out or force the player to make a mistake on the strike.
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EXAMPLE A
Device has a rebounder with 6 switches.
Player A is less fit and fast and choose to activate switches closer to the
rebounder (Switch A) to
decrease his possibility of making a strike mistake.
He activates the game with his first strike and choose to activate Switch A
between strikes, this
player makes 20 strikes before he makes a mistake with the strike. His score
will be calculated
as follows:
Strike, Switch A, Strike, Switch A, Strike, Switch A, Strike, Switch A for 20
repetitions in total
before the player fails to hit the ball back onto the rebounder.
The system will add up the following numbers:
1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1+2+1
+2+1+2=60 points
Player A has 60 points and his turn on the game is finished.
EXAMPLE B
Player B has more agility and footspeed than Player A and decide to hit as
many 3 and 4 point
switches as she can during each hit. For this example we'll also just use 20
strikes in total.
Strike, Switch C, Strike. Switch B, for 20 repetitions in total.
The system will add up the following numbers:
1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1+4+1+3+1
+4+1+3=90
Player B has 90 points and her turn on the game is finished.
It is possible to only strike the ball against the rebounder and not activate
any switches between
strikes. But the player will take a longer time to score as many points as
Players A and B, and if
the game is time limited the player will not be able to score as many points
as Players A and B.
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A player that chooses to only do strikes against the rebounder will only score
20 points from 20
strikes.
The game configuration prohibits more than one switch to be activated between
strikes. So the
following sequence will not be possible.
Strike, Switch A, Switch B, Strike, Switch C, Switch C, Switch B, Strike,
Switch B, Switch C,
Strike.
The score in this example will only show 11 points.
1+2+1+4+1+2
The counter will only register the first switch activated after each strike.
EXAMPLE C
Player C goes for random switches but does not make a mistake as soon as
players A and B.
Player C is able to get 30 strikes and activating Switches A, B and C on
either sides randomly
The system will add up the following numbers:
1+4+1+3+1+3+1+2+1+4+1+2+1+2+1+4+1+4+1+3+1+2+1+2+1+3+1+3+1+4+1+2+1+4+1+2+1
+2+1+3+1+2+1+2+1+4+1+2+1+3+1+2+1+3+1+3+1+4+1+2=115
Player C has 115 Points and are the winner between the 3 players.
VARIATIONS
Although the main objective of scoring points on a scoreboard through
activating the highest
amount of high value switches in the shortest amount of time stay the same,
there could be
different ways of programming the device to make game play less or more
difficult or less or
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more physically challenging. An easier setting for children for example and a
more difficult
setting for experienced players.
The most obvious way is to put the switches closer or further away from the
rebounder. The
further switches are away from the rebounder, the faster a player will have to
move to activate
the switches to score more points which will fatigue a player much faster
Another way to make the game easier is to make the play time shorter. The game
has a built in
timer that can be programmed with a switch to how long the game should be
played.
The game can also be ended in a different way. To make it more difficult the
game can be said
to be done when the player makes a mistake, (failure to hit the ball onto the
rebounder correctly
or failure to make physical contact with the ball). And to make it easier it
can be said that if a
player makes that mistake, he/she can use the same ball or another ball and
continue the game
until the time runs out.
Variations in game play:
a) There can be variations to the programming of the system to complicate the
game by only
making certain switches "live" during game play. The live switches can be
indicated by
an audible or visual signal. The live switches that has to be activated can be
lit up after
each strike onto the rebounder and the player has to only hit specific
switches to be able
to score points.
b) The switches can be lit up in sequence or can be lit up one by one to force
a player to hit
specific switches to make the game more challenging.
c) The switches can all be lit up at the beginning of a game and the player
has to hit each
switch (one at a time after each strike) until all the switches have been
activated. After a
switch has been activated, its light automatically turns off. Once all the
switches have
been activated, all the lights turn on again and the player has to repeat the
action, again
hitting all 6 switches, to continue the game. The sequence keeps repeating
until the time
runs out or until the player makes a mistake (depending on which way the game
was
setup at the start)
d) The system can be programmed to make only 3 switches live at a time. The
switches on
the left or the right of the rebounder can alternate in being live. So that a
player is forced
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to alternate running left and right after each strike to activate a switch.
Any 3 of the
switches can be activated, but it has to be on the specific side where the
switches are live.
e) More variations can be placed on the amount of switches that are available
to activate.
More switches can be placed around the rebounder to give the player more
opportunities
to activate different switches with different point values. Or less switches
can be placed
around the rebounder to give the player less options of which switches to
activate for
points
f) The switches can be placed in different locations in relation to the
rebounder (further
away, more to the back of the rebounder, more behind the player to force
him/her to turn
around to activate switches). Switches can also be placed lower or higher to
make it more
difficult for the player. If switches are placed on the ground it will be more
challenging
for taller players to activate the switches.
g) The switches can be placed anywhere on the X, Y, Z axis in relation to the
rebounder to
make the game more or less challenging, depending on the age, size, fitness
level and
skill level of the player.
h) The netting on the rebounder can be adjusted to make the ball return faster
or slower. Or
the netting can be adjusted to make the ball bounce higher or lower when the
ball rolls off
the front of the netting back to the player. A higher slower bounce will be
achieved by
making the netting looser and make it sag more in the middle, which will make
it easier
on the player. While a tight netting will cause a ball to be returned faster
and bounce
lower and give the player less time to return to the front of the rebounder
after each
switch activation.
i) The scoring system can be adjusted to show a higher value for each strike
or switch
activation. Instead of just a value of 1 for each strike, like in the
examples, any amount
can be specified and programmed for strikes and each switch. Higher scores
might
appeal to a higher excitement level for the players. The programming of the
scoreboard
and amount of 7-segment display numbers on the scoreboard might have to be
adjusted if
each strike and switch have a higher point value.
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