Electronic paddle game device
First Claim
1. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination,a hand-holdable paddle having a generally circular paddle portion defining a pair of opposite outwardly facing substantially rigid striking surfaces, and having a handle portion fixed to said paddle portion for enabling said paddle to be manipulated to impact an object with said striking surface;
- impact sensing means cooperative with one or more discrete areas on at least one of said striking surfaces less than the full area thereof for sensing an impact between said discrete areas of said striking surface and said object;
electronic means carried within said paddle and coupled to said impact sensing means for electronically generating an audible output signal when said impact sensing means senses an impact with a discrete area by said object; and
sound transducing means responsive to said audible output signal for outputting an audible sound.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic paddle game device includes a paddle having a ball striking surface and a hand-gripable handle. A plurality of impact sensors are positioned about the impact surface of the paddle for selective impacting by an object such as a ball struck by the impact surface. An electronic audible output signal generating circuit generates an audible output signal to a speaker when an impact sensor senses impact with an object. The paddle may also carry light emitting devices for visually indicating that an impact target has been struck. A ball is preferably tethered to the paddle. The paddle includes a handle that is adapted to store the ball during non-use. A counter and LCD display may be provided to generate and visually display a score based on impacts sensed by the impact sensors.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination,
a hand-holdable paddle having a generally circular paddle portion defining a pair of opposite outwardly facing substantially rigid striking surfaces, and having a handle portion fixed to said paddle portion for enabling said paddle to be manipulated to impact an object with said striking surface; -
impact sensing means cooperative with one or more discrete areas on at least one of said striking surfaces less than the full area thereof for sensing an impact between said discrete areas of said striking surface and said object; electronic means carried within said paddle and coupled to said impact sensing means for electronically generating an audible output signal when said impact sensing means senses an impact with a discrete area by said object; and sound transducing means responsive to said audible output signal for outputting an audible sound. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination:
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a hand-holdable paddle having a paddle portion defining at least one rigid generally planar striking surface, and handle means fixed to said paddle portion for enabling said paddle to be manipulated to impact an object with said striking surface; impact sensing means including a plurality of impact sensors cooperative with said striking surface for sensing an impact between selective discrete surface areas of said striking surface and said object; means operatively coupled to said plurality of impact sensors for electronically generating a different audible output signal for each different impact sensor; and sound transducing means responsive to each of said different audible output signals for outputting a corresponding different audible sound. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination:
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a hand-holdable paddle having a generally circular paddle portion defining a substantially rigid striking surface, and handle means fixed to said paddle portion for enabling said paddle to be manipulated; a ball tethered to said paddle for impacting by said striking surface of the paddle; a plurality of impact sensing means cooperative with selective surface areas of said striking surface less than the full area of said striking surface to define discrete impact sensing target areas; means operatively coupled to said impact sensing means for electronically generating a different audible output signal in response to impacting of different ones of said discrete impact sensing target areas such that a different audible output signal is generated each time a different impact sensing target area senses an impact with said ball; sound transducing means for outputting a different audible sound in response to said different audible output signals; and means operatively coupled to said plurality of impact sensing means for electronically generating and visually displaying a score based on impacts sensed by said discrete impact sensing target areas. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination,
a hand-holdable paddle having a generally circular paddle portion defining a substantially rigid striking surface, and handle means secured to said paddle portion for enabling said paddle to be manipulated to impact an object with said striking surface; -
a plurality of discrete impact sensors defining a plurality of discrete impact surfaces positioned in a predetermined pattern on said striking surface in substantially coplanar relation with the remainder of said striking surface so as to provide active impact areas and inactive impact areas on said striking surface such that impact of an object with one of said impact surfaces is sensed by at least one of said impact sensors, and impact of said object with said inactive areas is not sensed by said impact sensors; and means operatively coupled to at least one of the plurality of impact sensors for electronically generating and visually displaying a score based on an impact sensed by said at least one impact sensor.
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24. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination,
a paddle having a striking surface and means enabling said paddle to be manipulated to impact an object with said striking surface; -
impact sensing means cooperative with said striking surface for sensing impact between said striking surface and said object; and a plurality of light emitting means spaced about the paddle and operatively coupled to said impact sensing means for emitting light when said impact sensing means senses an impact with said object.
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25. An electronic paddle game device comprising, in combination,
a hand-holdable paddle having a generally circular paddle portion defining a substantially rigid striking surface, and a handle portion secured to said paddle portion for enabling said paddle to be manipulated to impact an object with said striking surface; -
electronic impact sensing means within said paddle for sensing an impact between said striking surface and said object; means operatively coupled to said impact sensing means for electronically generating an output signal when said impact sensing means senses an impact between said striking surface and said object; display means supported by said paddle for visually displaying a numerical value; and electronic means coupling said impact sensing means to said display means for causing a numerical score value to be displayed in response to generated output signals.
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Specification