Patent Application
20190154411
The present invention relates to darts and, more particularly, to American football darts.
American football has become the most popular sport in the United States. Consumers are always looking for new ways in which to play the game of football and bring the experience of being in the game.
As can be seen, there is a need for a dart board and game that incorporates American football.
In one aspect of the present invention, a method of playing darts comprises: providing a dart board comprising: an annular frame; a dart surface disposed within the frame and comprising: an inner concentric divider defining a center target; a plurality of radial dividers forming target segments; a plurality of outer concentric dividers defining target sub-segments within each of the target segments; and indicia disposed within each of the target sub-segments and the center target, wherein the indicia comprise a type of American football play comprising one of a negative play and a positive play; and throwing darts at the dart board by a plurality of players, wherein hitting one or more positive plays leads to a win and hitting one or more negative plays leads to a loss.
In another aspect of the present invention, a dart board comprises: an annular frame; a dart surface disposed within the frame and comprising: an inner concentric divider defining a center target; a plurality of radial dividers forming target segments; a plurality of outer concentric dividers defining target sub-segments within each of the target segments; and indicia disposed within each of the target sub-segments and the center target, wherein the indicia comprise a type of American football play comprising one of a negative play and a positive play.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
The present invention includes American football darts. The present invention provides a new way for football fans to incorporate the sport into a game and allows them to do so with the combined fun and excitement of playing darts. The sections of the dartboard all have been designated to represent various outcomes of a “play” in American football. Although the dart board has been uniquely configured, the outcomes are common football outcomes (i.e. interception, touch down, etc.). Therefore, the true uniqueness of the game comes when combining dartboard with the rules of the game, which comes with each board. Darts are thrown at the dart board by each player. The score of each dart is based on what section each corresponding dart lands on the board.
Referring to
The frame 30 of the present invention may further includes a backing 34. The dart surface 32 may include a fibrous board. In alternative embodiments, the dart surface 32 may be an electronic dart surface, a magnetic dart surface, a hook and look fastener dart surface, or any type of surface that releasably attaches to corresponding darts. For example, the dart surface 32 may be produced as an electronic dartboard. Electronic scoring computers are preprogrammed to keep the score of the game. In such embodiments, the board is made of plastic facings with small holes. The holes slant out, allowing the plastic-tipped darts to stick inside. When the plastic dart strikes the board, the section makes contact with a metal plate, telling the computer where the player has thrown. For the hook and loop version, the darts may be replaced by small ping pong ball sized darts with two hook and loop fastener bands circling each ball in cross formation. The dart board can also be made as a magnetized dart boards with magnet darts.
In certain embodiments, the dart surface 32 may resemble an American football field. In such embodiments, the dividers are white and the dart surface is green. The white dividers may be in a style that resembles white paint on an American football field. The green dart surface with the fibrous board may represent a grass field.
Each board may come with a manual explaining how to play the game, how to score it, and a definition of all terms involved. The dart board may be hung on the wall. The standard height from the floor to the middle of the dartboard is about 5 feet 8 inches. The distance between the front of the board and the toe-line is about 7 feet 9.25 inches. Each player has four darts, which represents four downs. Each player throws one dart at the center of the board, representing the coin toss. The player closest to the Touch Down (TD) acronym in the middle of the board goes first. There are four quarters in each game. Each player gets four possessions (turns) each quarter, barring overtime. Each player strives to get a touchdown. In the interim, the goal is to get first downs and ultimately a first and goal. There are various ways to do so by following the game rules (i.e. hitting two completed passes gets the player a first down). Once at first and goal the player has a few ways to score. The whole time the player must avoid the various danger spots on the board, such as throwing interceptions, punting, fumbling, etc.
A method of making the present invention may include the following. The dart board is grass green and made of sisal fibers and bristle. The dart board may be about 17¾ inches (451 mm) in diameter and is divided into eight wedge-shaped slices. Each slice may have five sub-sections, totaling 41 different sections on the board. Each section is separated with a white line. Each section is labeled with a specific action in American football in order to simulate that action. The goal of the game is to score more than the opponent.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/589,855, filed Nov. 22, 2017, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62589855 | Nov 2017 | US |
