Method and apparatus for detecting illegal pitches
First Claim
1. A method for detecting a softball pitch which is illegal in the game of slow pitch softball because of its reaching a height exceeding the legal maximum as the pitch travels from the pitcher'"'"'s mound to home place, said method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a supporting means behind home plate;
b. mounting on said supporting means a unit including means for detecting a beam of radiant energy propagated from behind home plate toward the pitcher'"'"'s mound and reflected from a ball which is traveling from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate and is above the height permissible for a legal pitch; and
c. employing said unit to generate, upon the detection of said radiant energy thus reflected from an illegally pitched ball by said detecting means, a signal by which at least one of the group consisting of spectators, players, and officials can be made aware that an illegal pitch has been thrown.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods of and apparatus for detecting pitches which are illegal in the game of slow pitch softball by virtue of their having exceeded a maximum allowable height of twelve feet in traveling from the pitcher'"'"'s mound to home plate. Infrared, visible, or ultraviolet light is reflected from a ball reaching a height above the permitted maximum to a detector which is incorporated in a unit typically mounted on the backstop at the appropriate height. The light which is reflected may be natural light, or the light may be generated in and propagated from the backstop-mounted unit. In both cases, the impingement of the reflected light on the detector causes that component to output an electrical signal which is amplified and employed to drive a sound generator, thereby providing an audible warning that an illegal pitch has been thrown.
10 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method for detecting a softball pitch which is illegal in the game of slow pitch softball because of its reaching a height exceeding the legal maximum as the pitch travels from the pitcher'"'"'s mound to home place, said method comprising the steps of:
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a. providing a supporting means behind home plate; b. mounting on said supporting means a unit including means for detecting a beam of radiant energy propagated from behind home plate toward the pitcher'"'"'s mound and reflected from a ball which is traveling from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate and is above the height permissible for a legal pitch; and c. employing said unit to generate, upon the detection of said radiant energy thus reflected from an illegally pitched ball by said detecting means, a signal by which at least one of the group consisting of spectators, players, and officials can be made aware that an illegal pitch has been thrown. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for detecting a softball pitch which is illegal in the game of slow pitch softball because of its reaching a height exceeding the legal maximum as the pitch travels from the pitcher'"'"'s mound to home plate, said method comprising the steps of:
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a. providing a supporting means behind home plate; b. mounting on said supporting means a unit including means for detecting a beam of ambient light reflected from a ball which is traveling from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate and is above the height permissible for a legal pitch; and c. employing said unit to generate, upon the detection of ambient light thus reflected from an illegally pitched ball by said detecting means, a signal by which at least one of the group consisting of spectators, players, and officials can be made aware that an illegal pitch has been thrown. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. The combination of a playing surface, a pitcher'"'"'s mound and a home plate on said playing surface, and means for detecting those pitches thrown from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate that are illegal by virtue of their exceeding a maximum permissible height as they travel between the pitcher'"'"'s mound and home plate, said means for detecting illegal pitches comprising:
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a. means for propagating a beam of radiant energy along a path above and paralleling a line between said home plate and said pitcher'"'"'s mound; b. detector means providing an electrical output upon contact therewith of radiant energy propagated from the means defined in paragraph a and reflected from a ball pitched from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate; and b. signaling means electrically coupled to said detector means and activated by the appearance of said detector means output. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. The combination of a playing surface, a pitcher'"'"'s mound and a home plate on said playing surface, and means for detecting those pitches thrown from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate that are illegal by virtue of their exceeding a maximum permissible height as they travel between the pitcher'"'"'s mound and home plate, said means for detecting illegal pitches comprising:
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a. detector means for providing an electrical output upon contact therewith of ambient light reflected from a ball pitched from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate; and b. signaling means electrically coupled to said detector means and activated by the appearance of said detector means output. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A unit which can be mounted on a support and is designed to detect a softball pitch that is illegal by virtue of its reaching a height exceeding the permissible maximum in the game of slow pitch softball as the softball travels from the pitcher'"'"'s mound of a softball field toward home plate, said unit comprising:
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a. a casing; b. means for attaching said casing to a support therefor at a selected height; c. means for propagating a beam of radiant energy along a path parallel to and above the surface of the softball field; d. detector means for providing an electrical output upon being contacted by propagated radiant energy reflected from a ball pitched from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate and reaching a height above the permissible maximum; and e. signaling means electrically coupled to said detector means and activated by the appearance of the electrical output from said detector means. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A unit which can be mounted on a support and is designed to detect a softball pitch that is illegal by virtue of its reaching a height exceeding the permissible maximum in the game of slow pitch softball as the softball travels from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate, said unit comprising:
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a. a casing; b. means for attaching said casing to a support therefor at a selected height; c. detector means for providing an electrical output upon being contacted by ambient light energy reflected from a ball pitched from the pitcher'"'"'s mound toward home plate and reaching a height above the permissible maximum; and d. signaling means electrically coupled to said detector means and activated by the appearance of the electrical output from said detector means. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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Specification