Electronic athletic equipment
First Claim
1. An athletic instrument suitable for propelling a game projectile, comprising:
- a head portion having a frame member defining an included area and a plurality of longitudinal and intersecting lateral strings forming a netting matrix extending within said included area, said matrix including selected longitudinal and lateral strings which provide a preferred predetermined area for striking a game projectile to impart motion thereto, wherein said frame member includes a plurality of holes about its periphery and wherein each of said strings passes through adjacent holes in said frame member, thereby looping about said frame member to define a string loop, with said selected strings defining selected string loops;
a handle attached to said head portion;
force sensing means for detecting the impact of the game projectile upon one or more of said selected strings, said force sensing means being located beneath one or more selected string loops, between selected strings and the frame member; and
control circuit means comprising a power source and means for providing an indication of the impact of a game projectile upon the preferred predetermined area, wherein said control circuit means is responsive to said force sensing means.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Electronic athletic equipment is provided by installing one or more force sensors beneath selected strings loops which secure a string bed to a racquet, or the like. The string loops are selected to correspond with strings defining a target area within the string bed. When a movable game element impacts the target area, the force sensors are activated by pressure exerted thereupon by one or more stressed string loops. In response to activation of one or more force snesors, control circuitry affixed to the racquet triggers an audible signal generator, which in turn sounds an indicating signal that the target area has been struck. The present invention may be employed to produce different audible signals in response to different impact locations upon the string bed.
-
Citations
27 Claims
-
1. An athletic instrument suitable for propelling a game projectile, comprising:
-
a head portion having a frame member defining an included area and a plurality of longitudinal and intersecting lateral strings forming a netting matrix extending within said included area, said matrix including selected longitudinal and lateral strings which provide a preferred predetermined area for striking a game projectile to impart motion thereto, wherein said frame member includes a plurality of holes about its periphery and wherein each of said strings passes through adjacent holes in said frame member, thereby looping about said frame member to define a string loop, with said selected strings defining selected string loops; a handle attached to said head portion; force sensing means for detecting the impact of the game projectile upon one or more of said selected strings, said force sensing means being located beneath one or more selected string loops, between selected strings and the frame member; and control circuit means comprising a power source and means for providing an indication of the impact of a game projectile upon the preferred predetermined area, wherein said control circuit means is responsive to said force sensing means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. In combination,
a racquet suitable for use in propelling a movable game element, said racquet comprising a handle portion and a head portion, said head portion including a frame member having an inner margin defining an included area, said frame member supporting projectile propelling means within said included area for providing an impact zone to contact with the game element, the propelling means further including a plurality of longitudinal string lengths and a plurality of transverse string lengths cooperatively forming a striking matrix, said matrix including selected longitudinal and transverse strings which provide a preferred predetermined area for striking a game element to impart motion thereto, wherein said frame member includes a grooved portion about its periphery and a plurality of holes located within said grooved portion, wherein each of said string lengths is provided with respective holes for receiving opposite ends of said string length, said grooved portion accommodating a grommet strip having apertures which align with said holes, wherein each of said string lengths is anchored to said frame member by passage of said string length through its respective hole in said frame member, through an aligned aperture in said grommet strip, then through a neighboring aperture in said grommet strip, which is adjacent to said aligned aperture, and finally through a hole in said frame member which is adjacent to said respective hole and which aligns with said neighboring aperture, wherein said passage of each string length through appropriate aligned holes and apertures is such that each string length loops about said frame member, thereby defining a string loop, with said selected strings defining selected string loops; -
force sensing means for detecting the impact of a game element upon one or more of said selected strings, said force sensing means being located beneath one or more selected string loops, between selected strings and the frame member; and control circuit means comprising a power source and means for providing an indication of the impact of a game element upon the preferred predetermined area, wherein said control circuit means is responsive to said force sensing means. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A racquet comprising:
-
a frame which bounds a string surface defined by a plurality of string lengths, and a handle extending from said frame, wherein said frame includes a plurality of holes about its periphery, with a first set of adjacent holes being provided for one end of each of said string lengths and with a second set of adjacent holes being provided for an opposite end of each of said string lengths, wherein first and second sets of adjacent holes for a given string length are located at positions along the periphery of said frame which are opposite each other, wherein each string length passes through its respective first and second sets of holes in a manner forming string loops about said frame; force sensing means for detecting the impact of a movable game element upon preselected areas of said string surface, said force sensing means comprising one or more capacitive sensors located beneath one or more selected string loops, each of said sensors comprising a bottom conductive member disposed immediately adjacent to said frame, a top conductive member disposed immediately beneath a designated string loop, and an insulating strip of material provided between said top and bottom conductive members, wherein said capacitive sensors are operatively contacted with circuitry means for sensing a variation in capacitance when said insulating strip is compressed between said top and bottom conductive members due to force exerted upon the designed string loop by a game element striking said preselected areas of said string surface; and control circuit means comprising a power source and means for providing an indication of the impact of a game element upon said preselected areas of said string surface, wherein said control circuit means includes said circuitry means for sensing capacitive variation. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
-
-
25. An athletic instrument suitable for propelling a game projectile, comprising:
-
a head portion having a frame member defining an included area and a plurality of longitudinal and intersecting transverse strings forming a netting matrix extending within said included area, said matrix including selected longitudinal and transverse strings which provide a preferred predetermined area for striking a game projectile to impart motion thereto, wherein a groove is provided in the periphery of said frame member; a handle attached to said head portion; force sensing means for detecting the impact of the game projectile upon one or more of said selected strings, said force sensing means being located within said groove; and control cicuit means comprising a power source and means for providing an indication of the impact of a game projectile upon the preferred predetermined area, wherein said control circuit means is responsive to said force sensing means. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
-
Specification