Patent Application
20240115918
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present disclosure relates to the field of indoor/outdoor entertainment, and more specifically to the field of indoor/outdoor entertainment for baseball.
Driving ranges and batting cages are commonly used to allow players to practice hitting balls to improve their games. Batting cages and driving ranges are mostly used by players who care about becoming better. However, driving ranges and batting cages lack an entertaining experience for some customers who want to hit balls for entertainment. Some entertainment companies have tried to solve the lack of an entertaining experience by providing a “high tech” driving range. “High tech” driving ranges use automated systems that dispense golf balls that have sensors within them. The golf balls have tracking sensors that allow the player to view the path of the ball on a display. However, these “high tech” driving ranges do not cater to player with a low skill level.
Indoor/outdoor entertainment centers require a large amount of area to accommodate a large amount of customers. Currently, many entertainment centers provide a substantially rectangular structure with a linear player space. For example, Topgolf and Drive Shack use a driving range that is mostly linear. While the drive ranges used may be slightly concave towards the structure in an attempt to hold more bays, the bays tend to fill up quickly on busier days forcing many customers to wait. A linear range does not maximize the number of bays that can be disposed within the building. The indoor/outdoor entertainment centers like Topgolf and Drive shack does not use its area to its full potential. Furthermore, Topgolf and Drive shack does not provide additional or close parking spaces.
Batting cages also do not provide an entertaining experience because they lack the “real feel” of a baseball field. Batting cages are commonly rectangular, enclosed and small in length, so it doesn't provide the feel a diamond baseball field when players are hitting a ball and/or the real feel of watching your ball flight and situational play; because batting cages are too small, they prevent a hit baseball from undergoing a complete ball path. Additionally, batting cages are enclosed and separate each player, so hit baseballs do not cross paths with baseballs hit by other players. Therefore, batting cages do not provide an interactive experience between players and the field.
As a result, there exists a need for improvements over the prior art and more particularly for a more efficient way of increasing the total number of players hitting a ball into a single field.
An apparatus, system, and method for increasing a total number of players hitting a plurality of baseballs into a single field is disclosed. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of disclosed concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description including the drawings provided. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.
In one embodiment, a method of increasing a total number of players configured to hit a ball into a single field is disclosed. The method comprises providing a substantially circular shaped enclosed field; providing a structure housing a plurality of bays positioned at a midpoint of the substantially circular shaped enclosed field, wherein each of the plurality of bays has an open front side providing access from each of the plurality of bays to the substantially circular shaped enclosed field; and providing a mock pitching mound in the substantially circular shaped enclosed field proximate to and positioned in front of each of the plurality of bays. The method further comprises providing at least one of an elevator or a plurality of stairs between an area below the structure and the structure which provides an ingress and an egress for the plurality of players to enter and leave the structure. The method further comprises providing the substantially circular shaped enclosed field with a portion of field removed, wherein the portion of the field removed extends radially outward from the structure to a perimeter of the field; and providing an ingress and egress to the structure that is positioned where the portion of the field is removed. The plurality of bays is positioned at a perimeter of the structure. The method further includes a height adjustable tee with a top end disposed within a first bay of the plurality of bays, wherein the top end of the height adjustable tee is at an adjustable height above a floor of the first bay for the first player to hit. The method further includes providing a device that throws a retrieved ball from a first area of a first bay of the plurality of bays toward a second area of the first bay. The method further includes providing a second device that throws a retrieved ball from in front of a first bay of the plurality of bays toward a second area of the first bay. The method includes providing at least one sensor to detect a ball path and an ending location of a first ball hit from a first bay of the plurality of bays into the substantially circular shaped enclosed field; accessing, in an attached database, a plurality of virtual field data associated with a virtual field remote to the substantially circular shaped enclosed field; determining, using a processor, a virtual ball path and a virtual ending location of the first ball within the substantially circular shaped enclosed field by comparing the ball path and the ending location of the first ball with the virtual field data associated with the virtual field; presenting, on a graphical display within the first bay, a graphical representation of the virtual ball path and the virtual ending location of the first ball relative to a graphical representation of the virtual field; and providing an entertaining experience, on the graphical display, when the virtual ending location is one of a plurality of virtual scoring locations within the virtual field. The method further includes providing a user interface within the first bay to receive first player skill level information of a first player, wherein the user interface is communication with the processor; creating a first player user record within the attached database and storing the first player skill level information in the first player user record; selecting the virtual field and associated virtual field data based on the first player skill level information of the first player; and after determining with the processor the virtual ball path and the virtual ending location, providing the entertaining experience, on the graphical display, when the virtual ending location is one of the plurality of virtual scoring locations within the virtual field based on the first player skill level information of the first player. The method also includes providing a user interface within the first bay to receive first player skill level information of the first player, wherein the user interface is communication with the processor; creating a first player user record within the attached database and storing the first player skill level information in the first player user record; providing at least one target area having at least one light emitting element visible from the first bay and within the substantially circular shaped enclosed field, wherein the at least one light emitting element is in communication with the processor; determining, using the processor, if the ending location of the first ball is within the at least one target area; determining, using the processor, the first player skill level information of the first player if the ending location is within a first region of the field; and providing a second entertaining experience, based on the first player skill level information, by causing the at least one light emitting element to emit light for at least a predetermined amount of time.
Additional aspects of the disclosed embodiment will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed embodiments. The aspects of the disclosed embodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views of the drawings.
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While disclosed embodiments may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting reordering or adding additional stages or components to the disclosed methods and devices. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosed embodiments. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosed embodiments is defined by the appended claims.
The disclosed embodiments improve upon the problems with the prior art by providing a system and method for increasing the total number of players that hit a plurality of balls into a field. The circular shape allows more players to participate in a building structure without having to increase the size of the system. The circular shaped field and building structure is similar to multiple baseball fields connected making a circle, so when a player is in a bay to hit a ball, the field seems similar to a baseball field. The player's field of view within the bay is similar to the field of view of a batter in a diamond baseball field. This provides the system with the “real feel” of a baseball field. The plurality of bays includes a display that provides an entertaining experience for the user. The display shows a virtual field that can be any professional baseball field, such as baseball fields in Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, etc., to make the players feel as if they are hitting a baseball into a professional baseball field. For example, the player within the bay can select Yankee Stadium, so the display will virtually portray Yankee Stadium.
Referring now to the Figures,
A plurality of bays 110 is housed within the building structure having an open front side 112 on a perimeter 114 of the building structure providing access from each of the plurality of bays to the field. The plurality of bays is positioned around a midpoint 116 of the field at the perimeter of the building structure such that that bays are looped around in a circle. A plurality of mock pitching mounds 120 is concentrically arranged about the building structure such that at least one mock pitching mound of the plurality of mock pitching mounds is proximate to and positioned in front of each bay of the plurality of bays. The mock pitching mounds may include mound clay that is commonly used in baseball infields. Each of the mock pitching mounds may be aligned with a corresponding bay such that a line may go through a mock pitching mound (, its corresponding bay, and the midpoint 116 of the building structure.
The enclosed field may include a first portion 107, which may represent an infield of a baseball field, and a second portion 109, which may represent an outfield of a baseball field. The first portion includes the mock pitching mounds while the second portion may include a plurality of target areas. The target areas are scoring elements configured to provide the players a target to hit the ball to, which will be further described below with reference to
Referring now to
In one embodiment shown in
Referring now to
Referring to
The bay also includes a sensor 522 configured to detect a baseball path and an ending location of at least one baseball of the plurality of baseballs hit from at least one bay of the plurality of bays into the field. The sensor 522 may also detect the speed of the balls that are hit. A processor is in connection with the sensor and the display along with a database. The retrieved ball also includes a sensor 524 to detect a ball path 526 and an ending location 530 of the ball that is hit from the bay into the substantially circular shaped enclosed field. The sensor in the balls may be a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag that identifies the ball. The field may also include sensors 538 that gathers the information of the RFID from the balls on the field. The field includes the target areas 528 that cause the display to provide an entertaining experience when the ball lands in any of the target areas. The target areas may also include sensors to detect if a ball lands within the target areas.
A display 520 is also disposed within the bay. In some, embodiments there may be more than one display. The display provides entertaining experiences for the player and is controlled by a processor in the system. The display allows the player to select which professional baseball stadium they want to be displayed on the screen of the display. The professional baseball stadium may be any one of the MLB® stadiums, Minor League stadiums, and other international base stadiums. Other baseball stadiums, such as college baseball stadiums, etc., may be included and are within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. One example of a professional baseball stadium is Fenway Park. If the player within the bay selects Fenway Park on the display, the display will show a virtual Fenway Park that is interactive via hitting baseballs from within the bay. When the player hits the ball, the screen shows an animation depicting a virtual ball path 532 and a virtual ball ending location 534 in the selected baseball stadium. The virtual ball path and the virtual ball ending location is based on the ball path 526 and the ball ending location 530, respectively. This provides an interactive experience allowing the player to feel as if they were hitting a ball in the selected baseball stadium. The display may show scores, ball paths, the speeds of hit balls, and other statistics corresponding to hitting the ball. The display may include a plurality of user interface elements such as input controls, navigation components, informational components, and containers. Such user interface elements may include for example, accordions, bento menu(s), breadcrumb(s), button(s), card(s), carousel(s), check box(es), comment(s), doner menu(s), dropdown(s), feed(s), form(s), hamburger menu(s), icon(s), input field(s), kebab menu(s), loader(s), meatball menu(s), modal(s), notification(s), pagination(s), picker(s), progress bar(s), radio button(s), search field(s), sidebar(s), slide control(s), stepper(s), tag(s), tab bar(s), tool tip(s), and toggle(s). Each of these user interface elements may be used in certain embodiments to enable each of the players to interact with the system, provide data to and from the server across the communications network and implement the methods as discussed in
The display may also include scoring information for each player within the bay. One method of scoring may be based on traditional baseball. For example, each of the plurality of target area may represent at least one of a single, double, or triple. A single gains one base, a double gains two bases, and a triple gains three bases. Each time the player hits a target area with a ball, the corresponding number of bases is added to the score. Once the player gains four bases, the display registers a run. Each run scores at least one point for the player. The player may also hit a homerun, which counts as four bases, by hitting a certain height on one of the outer walls. If the player misses the ball and travels through the strike zone, the display may register a strike. Once the display registers three strikes for the player, the display will indicate that the player is out, and another player may come up to bat. In some embodiments, the processor may randomly select a target area represents an out such that when the player hits the randomly selected target area, the displayer registers an out for the player. In some embodiments, if the player does not hit a target area or the outer wall, the display may register a foul, which counts as a strike until the player receives two strikes. Another method of scoring may be a point system in which a player loses or gains points depending on the ending location of the ball. The player may gain points if the ball lands in a target area or hits a certain height of the outer walls. The player may also lose points when a strike is called or when a foul is hit. Other methods of scoring, e.g., scoring points based on how far a ball is hit, may be used and are within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The players within each bay may choose to compete against each other or compete against players within a second bay. If the player chooses to compete against players in a second bay, the processor may search for occupied bays that also chose to compete with other players. The processor may match bays depending on the overall skill level of the players within each bay. The skill level of the players will be further described below with reference to
Referring now to
Each of the computing devices may be smart phones, mobile phones, tablet computers, handheld computers, laptops, or the like. Each of the computing devices include a user interface and/or graphical user interface. In certain embodiments, the system may communicate between the display, the computing device, and the playing environment, over the communications network, where the server is the system, and the player is a user who interacts with the system. The players input selections via a user interface on the display and/or computing device to be sent through the communications network via a data packet and to the server.
Server 602 also includes program logic comprising computer source code, scripting language code or interpreted language code that is compiled to produce executable file or computer instructions that perform various functions of the present invention. In another embodiment, the program logic may be distributed among more than one of server 602, computing device 611 or display 610, or any combination of the above.
Note that although server 602 is shown as a single and independent entity, in one embodiment of the present invention, the functions of server 602 may be integrated with another entity, such as the computing device 611 and display 610. Further, server 602 and its functionality, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, can be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in a distributed fashion wherein different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems.
The methods for increasing a total number of players configured to hit a ball simultaneously into a single field will now be described with reference to
Referring now to
In step 810, the method includes providing at least one sensor to detect a ball path and an ending location of a first ball hit from a first bay of the plurality of bays into the substantially circular shaped enclosed field. A sensor may be inside the first ball, and another sensor may be disposed within the first bay. The sensors may also detect the initial velocity at which the ball was hit. The sensors send information to the display 610 and/or computing device 611. The information may include ball path data, ending location data, and ball speed data. Other data corresponding to the ball hit by the player may also be included.
In step 815, the method 800 includes accessing, in the attached database 604, a plurality of virtual field data associated with a virtual field remote to the substantially circular shaped enclosed field. The virtual field data may include data that configures the display 610 or computing device 611 to display a virtual field. There is a plurality of virtual fields that may be chosen by the player. The virtual fields may be professional baseball fields or little league baseball fields. The player in the first bay may select a virtual field by inputting selections via data packet 702 that is sent to the display 610 or the computing device 611. The display sends data packet 704, including selected virtual field information, over the communications network. The server receives data packet 704 as data packet 714 and accesses the plurality of virtual field data in the attached database to retrieve the virtual field data of the selected virtual field. The virtual field data of the selected virtual field is sent via data packet 712 over the communications network and is received by the display 611 as the data packet 706. The display 610 or computing device 611 displays the virtual field corresponding to the virtual field data of the selected virtual field.
In step 820, the method 800 includes determining, using a processor, a virtual ball path and a virtual ending location of the first ball within the substantially circular shaped enclosed field by comparing the ball path and the ending location of the first ball with the virtual field data associated with virtual field. The method 800 includes delivering at least one baseball to at least one bay of the plurality of bays to be hit into the field by at least one player of a plurality of players. Delivering the baseballs include may include providing the dispensing system within the at least one bay. The dispensing system dispenses baseballs to be disposed on the height adjustable tee within the bay. Delivering the baseballs may also include throwing, using a pitching machine, the baseball from the field or from in front of the bay into the at least one bay or tossing, using another pitching machine disposed within the at least one bay, the baseball proximate to the batter's box and the home plate. The pitching machine used to throw the baseball is the second device that provides the standard baseball throw, and the pitching machine used to toss the baseball is the device that provides a soft toss. The bay may include a physical button or a virtual button on the display that can be pressed by the player when the player is ready to hit the ball. The display may present a countdown to notify the user when the ball will be thrown by the device or the second device. The countdown is configured to give the player enough time to position their selves to hit the ball. The button sends data packet 704, including information that the player in the bay is preparing to hit the ball, to the server 602. The server then sends data packet 712 to be received as data packet 710 by the playing environment. Depending on a mode, further discussed below with reference to
In step 830, the method 800 includes providing an entertaining experience, on the graphical display, when the virtual ending location is one of a plurality of virtual scoring locations within the virtual field. The server determines whether the player has scored depending on the ball ending location and the virtual ending location. The virtual scoring locations may correspond to the target areas disposed on the enclosed field. If the ball ending location is within the one of target areas, the display will show that the virtual ending location is within one of the virtual scoring locations. The player may also score if a home run is scored if their ball hits above a specific height on the outer walls. For example, the virtual field may have a virtual outfield fence or virtual outfield wall that may have a certain height. If a ball, hit by a player, hits any of the outer walls above the specific height corresponding to the certain height of the virtual outfield fence or virtual outfield wall, that may count as a home run. The server sends data packet 712, including scoring data, over the communications network 606 to be received by the display 610 as data packet 706. The scoring data includes data configured to display the scoring information for the player. Scoring data may also include data configured to change the scoring information for the player. The server may also store the scores of each player within the first bay, and when a player scores, the display may show that points were added to their score. The entertaining experience may also include graphical animations on the display that depict excitement. For example, if the player hits a homerun as described previously, the display 611 may portray a flashing “HOMERUN!” (536 in
Referring now to
In step 910, the method 900 includes creating a first player user record within the attached database and storing the first player skill level information in the first player user record. The server receives the skill level information and personal information via data packet 614. The server then stores the skill of information and personal information into the first player user record. The server may create a player record for each player within the system. In step 915, the method 900 includes selecting the virtual field and associated virtual field data based on the first player skill information of the first player. The server chooses one of the virtual fields with a difficulty that corresponds to the skill level information of the first player. The server sends the associated virtual field data via data packet 712 over the communications network to be received by the computing device 610 via data packet 706. In some embodiments, the first player may choose to confirm the virtual field or select another virtual field.
In step 920, the method 900 includes determining, with the processor, the virtual ball path and the virtual ending location. The sensor within the retrieved ball periodically or continuously sends ball location data to the server. The ball location data may include all or some instances of the ball's location from the bay and into the field. The sensor sends the ball location data via data packet 708 to be received as data packet 714 by the server. The server calculates the ball path and ball ending location using the ball location data. When a retrieved ball is hit by the first player, the server determines the ball path and ball ending location using the cumulative ball location data. Then, the server calculates the virtual ball path and the virtual ending location of the ball using the ball path and the ball ending location.
In step 925, the method 900 includes providing the entertaining experience, on the graphical display, when the virtual ending location is one of the plurality of virtual scoring locations within the virtual field based on the first player skill level information of the first player. The virtual scoring locations may depend on the first player skill level information of the first player. For example, the virtual scoring locations may be closer if the skill level information corresponds to a beginner or further if the skill level information corresponds to an advanced player. The entertaining experience may also be based on the first player skill level information of the first player. For example, the display may show animations and produce sounds that are appealing to certain age groups, e.g., the display depicting a virtual audience that is cheering the player. The system may also provide an entertaining experience, e.g., the display depicting a virtual audience that is booing the player, when the player does not contact the ball, hits a foul, or hits a corresponding pitching mound. The server may determine if the first player should change skill level depending on the first player's performance. If the first player is not scoring enough or is scoring too much, the system may notify, via the display, the first player that their skill level should decrease or increase, respectively. The first player may choose to change their skill level depending on the systems recommendation or continue to remain within their skill level.
Referring now to
In step 1010, the method 1000 includes determining, using the processor, if the ending location of the first ball is within the target area. The servers may also store location data of each of the target areas within the field. When the first player hits the first ball into the enclosed field, the server receives ending location data from the sensor within the ball. The ending location data is included in the ball location data. The sensor within the ball may send data packet 708, including the ball location data, over the communications network. The server receives the ball location data in data packet 714 and uses the processor to determine if the ending location data of the ball is within the location data of a target area. If the ending location data is within the location data of a target area, the server may send scoring data within data packet 712 to be received as data packet 706 by the display to add points to the first player's score. In step 1015, the method 1000 includes determining, using the processor, the first player skill level information of the first player if the ending location is within a first region of the field. The first region of the field may be within the first portion 107 of the field. If the player consistently hits the ball within the first region of the field, the server may decrease the skill level associated with the player. The first player skill level may increase or decrease depending on the number of target areas that are hit by the first player. For example, if the first player is a beginner and hits a certain number of target areas, the first player skill information may increase to average.
In step 1020, the method 1000 includes providing a second entertaining experience, based on the first player skill level information, by causing the at least one light emitting element to emit light for at least a predetermined amount of time. When the first ball lands within the target area, the sensor within the target area may send a signal, to the light emitting element, to trigger the light emitting element to emit light. The light emitting element within the target area may emit various patterns of light when the first ball lands within the target area. The predetermined amount of time may be based on the distance of the target area from the first bay. For example, the predetermined amount of time would be longer for a target area that is further away from the first bay than other target areas within the line of sight of the first bay.
It is understood that this method is a continuous cycle and that each step of methods 800, 900, 1000 may operate concurrently with another step of methods 800, 900, 1000 to provide a continuously automated and entertaining experience within the system. In other embodiments, the methods 800, 900, 1000 may further include additional steps to promote an automated entertaining experience for players within the system consistent with the systems disclosed herein.
With reference to
Computing device 1100 may have additional features or functionality. For example, computing device 1100 may also include additional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in
Computing device 1100 may also contain a communication connection 1116 that may allow device 1100 to communicate with other computing devices 1118, such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection 1116 is one example of communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acous-tic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both computer storage media and communication media.
As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in system memory 1104, including operating system 1105. While executing on processing unit 1102, programming modules 1106 may perform processes including, for example, one or more of the methods shown in
Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modules may include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that may perform particular tasks or that may implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of the invention may be practiced with other computer system configura-tions, including handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be prac-ticed in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip (such as a System on Chip) containing electronic elements or microprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced using other technologies capable of performing logical operations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a general-purpose computer or in any other circuits or systems.
Embodiments of the present invention, for example, are described above with reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the inven-tion. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the function-ality/acts involved.
While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, other embodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the present invention have been described as being associated with data stored in memory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosed methods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from the invention.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
