Object touchdown and net contact detection systems and game apparatus employing same
OwnerJohn A. Van Auken, M. Gene Kaufmaninventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems for automatically determining whether a conductive, volant game device touches down in bounds or out of bounds on a playing surface. The system includes boundary line and out of bounds circuits which can be completed by the touchdown of the game device thereupon. A control unit processes the signal generated by each completed circuit and turns on a signal which is coded to indicate whether the device touched down in bounds or out of bounds. Associated circuits and control capabilities provide a signal when the game device touches the top of a net or other barrier in games in which that type of contact is significant.
Claims20
An automatic line calling system for a playing surface which has a boundary line, said system comprising:
- a first electrical network providing at least one activatable circuit on said boundary line and a second electrical network providing at least one activatable circuit lying outside of and adjacent said boundary line, each of said circuits being of a character such that it can be completed by the contact of a conductive, volant game device therewith when activated and said system further comprising sensing means operable coincidental with the touchdown of said game device on or adjacent the boundary line for identifying the network or networks with circuits which were activated by the touching down game device, signal means, control means operable in response to inputs from said sensing means for causing said signal means to generated a signal indicative of whether, upon touchdown, said game device:
- (a) completed only a circuit or circuits of a network lying outside of said boundary and therefore landed out of bounds, or (b) completed at least one circuit in a network lying on said boundary line and therefore landed within bounds, whether or not said game device also completed a circuit in a network lying outside of said boundary line, and means incorporated in said control means and operable if first a circuit in a network lying outside of said boundary line and then a circuit in a network lying on said boundary line is completed to cause the input from the boundary line circuit to override any inputs indicative of a circuit in a network lying outside of said boundary line having been completed.
A component which can be applied to a playing surface to provide an electrical network on said playing surface, said component including a removable substrate fabricated of this, flexible, nonconductive material;
- a plurality of elongated, flexible electrical conductors disposed in parallel, spaced relationship on the upper surface of said substrate;
- and, on the opposite, bottom side of the substrate:
- a first bus means connecting alternate conductors on a first, boundary line segment of said substrate into a first circuit;
- a second bus means connecting alternate conductors on a second, adjoining, out-of-bounds segment of said strip into a second, parallel circuit;
- and a third bus means connecting the remainder of the conductors on said substrate into a third circuit which can be connected in series with both said first circuit means and said second circuit means, whereby the conductors on the substrate provide a least one in bounds electrical circuit which can be completed by the game device touching down on a playing surface boundary line and at least one out-of-bounds circuit which can be completed if said game device touches down in an out-of-bounds area immediately adjacent said boundary line.
A component which can be applied to a playing surface to provide a network of parallel, spaced apart conductors on said surface, said component comprising an open mesh substrate having electrically nonconductive warp and woof filaments bonded together at the intersections of the filaments and conductors lying parallel to said warp filaments, each of said conductors being trained over and under successive woof filaments to thereby secure the conductor to the mesh and said conductors being wires fabricated from an electrically conductive metal.
A system for automatically detecting contacts of a conductive, volant game device with the top of a net or other barrier in those circumstances in which the device continues across the net after the contact and such contact may therefore not have been detected, said system comprising means providing at least one electrical circuit which extends along the top of the barrier and can be completed by the contact of the game device therewith and means with an input from said circuit for providing an indication of a contact as aforesaid coincidentally with the completion of the circuit, the means providing said electrical circuit including:
- an elongated fabric strip folded over the top of said barrier;
- elongated electrical conductors extending in parallel, spaced relationship through the fabric and secured in said relationship by threads of the fabric;
- and means for securing said fabric to said barrier with said conductors extending in the same direction as the barrier.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.