Patent Application
20240279946
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to arena apparatuses and methods of using and constructing same.
Arena construction and styles are well known. Typical arenas provide enclosed areas within which certain sports are conducted, such as boxing or other fighting sports. Viewing stands are also typically provided for allowing spectators to view and enjoy the sports.
Sporting events are operated primarily for the benefit of spectators, who provide revenue in the form of ticket sales and TV show rentals. For this reason, and to ensure maximum attendance at sporting events, it is important to manage and present sporting events in a manner that maximizes spectator enjoyment.
Spectators of fighting sports, for example, generally enjoy viewing close-quarters fighting at the center of an arena (or ring) where participants vie with one another for control of a fight. However, typical sports arenas (such as fighting arenas) are enclosed by standard vertical walls or other structures that permit fighters to spend substantial time maneuvering to other areas of the ring (rather than fighting) in an effort to gain advantage over their opponents. Such walls or other structures also provide physical support and, thus, do not provide the necessary disincentive to prevent fighters from retreating from their opponents.
Furthermore, existing arena styles often include ropes, cages, or other features that impede viewership of the fight and provide obstacles for production equipment such as video cameras. Such obstacles may require the equipment to be lifted over the ropes, cages, or other features and/or may require events to be filmed from a farther distance and at a higher height.
Existing arenas are also typically large and imposing, having limited ability to blend in with natural backgrounds and environments
It is to be understood that this summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. This summary is exemplary and not restrictive and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope thereof. The sole purpose of this summary is to explain and exemplify certain concepts of the disclosure as an introduction to the following complete and extensive detailed description.
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, an arena is provided for the staging of various sports, such as fighting or boxing. The arena includes walls extending upwardly and outwardly at steep angles from the floor of the arena. By providing angled walls, an athlete that is forced backwards to the perimeter of the arena may lose his or her footing causing the athlete to, for example, trip or fall, into a compromised position, thereby allowing for follow up maneuvers by another aggressor athlete. In this manner, athletes, such as fighters, are incentivized to maneuver towards and aggressively engage with other athletes in the middle of the arena, rather than retreat to the walls of the arena at which there is a greater risk of loss.
The angled walls may also facilitate a greater degree of tactical play based on match-ups or fighting styles, as some athletes fight better moving backwards. For example, an athlete moving backward may launch off the angled wall to transition from a passive retreat to a surprising attack. The angled walls may also facilitate offensive and defensive tactical plays, wall-based attacks, transitions from a retreat to a wall-based attack, evasions, angle attacks, and combinations thereof. These and other inventive features of the arena provide for a more unique and exciting experience for spectators.
Additionally, in some embodiments, the configuration of the arena enhances viewing and production angles by eliminating cages, ropes, and other typical obstacles. The arena may also have a relatively low profile that allows it to blend into its surrounding environment, although such features are not required by various claimed embodiments.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an arena apparatus for staging a sport is provided. The apparatus includes at least one wall frame, a bottom end of the at least one wall frame located proximal to a perimeter of a floor frame or a floor area, the at least one wall frame extending upwardly and outwardly from the vertical plane of the perimeter at an angle of greater than or equal to fifteen degrees and less than sixty degrees; and at least one first covering for covering the floor frame or the floor area and the at least one wall frame, with the at least one first covering forming a floor and at least one wall.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an arena apparatus for staging a sport is provided. The arena apparatus includes at least one wall, a bottom end of the at least one wall located proximal to a perimeter of a floor area, the at least one wall extending upwardly and outwardly from the vertical plane of the perimeter at an angle of greater than or equal to fifteen degrees and less than sixty degrees.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, an arena apparatus for staging a sport is provided. The arena apparatus includes at least one wall frame for supporting the at least one covering, a bottom end of the at least one wall frame located proximal to a perimeter of a floor frame or a floor area, the at least one wall frame extending upwardly and outwardly from the vertical plane of the perimeter at an angle that facilitates at least one of the group consisting of offensive and defensive tactical plays, wall-based attacks, transitions from a retreat to a wall-based attack, loss of footing, movement to a compromised position, trips, falls, launch attacks, evasions, angle attacks, and combinations thereof; and at least one first covering for covering the floor frame or the floor area and the at least one wall frame, the at least one first covering forming a floor and at least one wall.
In one aspect, an arena apparatus for staging a sport with at least one athlete is provided, the arena apparatus comprising a floor defining a perimeter, at least one wall coupled to the floor at the perimeter and extending upwardly and outwardly from the floor at an obtuse operative angle relative to the floor, an access point configured to permit the at least one athlete to selectively access the arena, and a support coupled to the floor.
In various aspects, an arena apparatus for staging a sport with at least one athlete, the arena apparatus includes a floor defining a perimeter; a wall coupled to the floor at the perimeter and extending upwardly and outwardly from the floor at an obtuse operative angle relative to the floor; an access point configured to permit the at least one athlete to selectively access the arena; and a support coupled to the floor.
Various implementations described in the present disclosure may comprise additional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which may not necessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the present disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims. The features and advantages of such implementations may be realized and obtained by means of the systems, methods, features particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims or may be learned by the practice of such exemplary implementations as set forth hereinafter.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and, together with the description, explain various principles of the disclosure. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Corresponding features and components throughout the figures may be designated by matching reference characters for the sake of consistency and clarity.
The present disclosure can be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, examples, drawings, and claims, and their previous and following description. However, before the present devices, systems, and/or methods are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific devices, systems, and/or methods disclosed unless otherwise specified, as such can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting.
The following description is provided as an enabling teaching of the present devices, systems, and/or methods in their best, currently known aspect. To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various aspects described herein while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present disclosure. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present disclosure can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present disclosure without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present disclosure are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present disclosure. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure and not in limitation thereof.
As used throughout, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a quantity of one of a particular element can comprise two or more such elements unless the context indicates otherwise. In addition, any of the elements described herein can be a first such element, a second such element, and so forth (e.g., a first widget and a second widget, even if only a “widget” is referenced).
Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another aspect comprises from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about” or “substantially,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another aspect. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint and independently of the other endpoint.
For purposes of the current disclosure, a material property or dimension measuring about X or substantially X on a particular measurement scale measures within a range between X plus an industry-standard upper tolerance for the specified measurement and X minus an industry-standard lower tolerance for the specified measurement. Because tolerances can vary between different materials, processes, and between different models, the tolerance for a particular measurement of a particular component can fall within a range of tolerances.
As used herein, the terms “optional” or “optionally” mean that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur and that the description comprises instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.
The word “or” as used herein means any one member of a particular list and also comprises any combination of members of that list. The phrase “at least one of A and B” as used herein means “only A, only B, or both A and B”; while the phrase “one of A and B” means “A or B.”
As used herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the term “monolithic” in the description of a component means that the component is formed as a singular component that constitutes a single material without joints or seams. Unless otherwise specified herein, any structure disclosed in the drawings or in the written description as being so formed can be monolithic whether or not such an explicit description of the structure is included herein.
To simplify the description of various elements disclosed herein, the conventions of “left,” “right,” “front,” “rear,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “inside,” “outside,” “inboard,” “outboard,” “horizontal,” and/or “vertical” may be referenced. Unless stated otherwise, “front” describes that end of a break check valve nearest to an outlet of the valve, and “rear” is the end of the break check valve which can be opposite or distal the front. “Horizontal” or “horizontal orientation” describes that which is in a plane extending from left to right and aligned with the horizon. “Vertical” or “vertical orientation” describes that which is in a plane which can be angled at 90 degrees to the horizontal.
Referring now to
In some embodiments of the invention, such as the one shown in
While arena apparatus 100 of
Although
In the embodiment shown in
Floor and wall coverings 130, 135 are substantially planar (but need not be in other embodiments) and may be constructed from any material suitable for a particular sporting event. For example, where the sporting event is a fight, floor and/or wall coverings 130, 135 may be constructed from a solid and rigid material (such as wood or metal, which may be the case when floor frame 105 and/or wall frames 110 and floor and wall coverings 130, 135, respectively, are formed integrally), or alternatively, from a fabric or padded material, such as a mat or panel. Floor and wall coverings 130, 135 may also be formed together as a single integral piece or in modular fashion, e.g., from multiple mats or panels positioned adjacent to one another. For example, in one embodiment (not shown) floor covering 130 is formed from five adjacent, rectangular mats. In another embodiment (not shown), wall covering 135 for each wall frame 110 includes one or more mats, together forming one surface with angled sides to accommodate an angle at which wall frame 110 meets an adjacent wall frame 110. That is, the mat(s) covering each wall frame 110 is/are formed in the shape of a trapezoid. However, it should be appreciated that alternate shapes and/or quantities of mats may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Referring now to
One should note that positional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless expressly stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain aspects include, while other aspects do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such positional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular aspects or that one or more particular aspects necessarily comprise logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular aspect.
It should be emphasized that the above-described aspects are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described aspect(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. Further, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any combinations and sub-combinations of all elements, features, and aspects discussed above. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects or combinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by the present disclosure.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/690,606, filed Mar. 9, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/883,260, filed May 26, 2020, which issued into U.S. Pat. No. 11,332,948 on May 17, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/255,232, filed Jan. 23, 2019, which issued into U.S. Pat. No. 10,711,473 on Jul. 14, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/620,914, filed Jan. 23, 2018, each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62620914 | Jan 2018 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17690606 | Mar 2022 | US |
| Child | 18651574 | US | |
| Parent | 16883260 | May 2020 | US |
| Child | 17690606 | US | |
| Parent | 16255232 | Jan 2019 | US |
| Child | 16883260 | US |
