The present invention relates to a ball game. In some embodiments it relates to a portable ball game which is compact and can be set up in a variety of locations.
Many people enjoy games involving balls. Every day, millions of people play basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball and the like. Most of these games, however, have various physical components which limit where they can be played. For example, basketball requires a basketball hoop and a relatively large area of clear ground, soccer requires goals and tennis and volleyball require a net and large areas of clear ground. Because of this, people often avoid playing a particular game at outings, such as on the beach, at a picnic or when camping.
Ball games are good for a variety of reasons. In addition to being fun and entertaining, they encourage people to engage in activities which promote physical activity which provides health benefits and may reduce the effects of aging by encouraging movement of the limbs.
The advantages of the present ball gam include that the game is relatively inexpensive, storable in a small space, easy to set up and easy to play. The game can be played by relatively young children and by senior citizens alike. Moreover, the game can be played on a wide varieties of surfaces includes sand, grass, pavement, concrete and other types of flooring. Additionally, it can be played indoors or out.
The following summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every possible implementation of the invention, but rather to give illustrative examples of application of principles of the present disclosure.
In some configurations, the present disclosure comprises a ball game which can be played in a variety of location by providing a portable playing field boundaries, a ball and a plurality of paddles or rackets.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the playing field includes a plurality of elongate boundary markers which are or can be attached to one another to define the playing area of the game. The elongate boundary markers are preferably flexible so that they may be collapsed and carried in a small bag, backpack or the light so as to keep the game portable and then be straightened or otherwise placed to clearly identify the boundaries of the game. Thus, for example, the boundary markers may be made or rope or straps made of nylon or other materials. For ease of reference the boundary markers will be referred to as straps.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the straps have adjustable attachments to allow the straps may be detached from one another to increase the ability to compact the playing boarders when the game is not in use.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the adjustable attachments may be used to adjust the size of the playing area to adapt to the abilities of those playing the game.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the boundary markers may be attached to or attachable to a central boundary marker which identifies a central point in the game in which the ball may not be hit during play without penalty. The elongate boundary markers may be selectively attachable to the central boundary marker and to an exterior boundary marker so as to allow users to select the number of slices present in the game. Thus, for example, the game could be made to provide 2 slices, 3 slices, 4 slices, 6 slices, etc. Thus, the game can be adjusted to compensate for the number of people who are available to play.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the game may include a plurality of rules which define the process for playing the game. The rules may require the players to stand in one of a number of areas, referred to as a slice, designated by the elongate boundary markers. The rules may further require paddles to be used to hit a ball in an upward trajectory toward the slice of another player such that if the ball lands in that players slice a point is accessed against that player.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the process for playing the game may include accessing a point against a player if the player does not hit the ball in an upward direction. The process may also include accessing a player a point if the player hits the ball and it lands outside the playing area, or within the central boundary marker.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the process may include assessing the player a point if the ball hits any of the boundary markers. Likewise, the process of playing the game may assess a player a point if the ball lands in their slice.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the process may include a player being dismissed from the game once the player has reached a predetermined threshold of points, such as 7 points or 10 points. Play may continue with the remaining players continuing to play and rotating through the slices. Because one of the players has been dismissed from the game, one of the slices will be empty. Therefore a player who hits the ball into an empty slice may be assessed a point. The game may continue until all but one player has been dismissed or eliminated from the game. If 2 or more slices are empty, the players may be rearranged to generally have them opposite one another during play.
These and other aspects of the present invention are realized in a ball game with a plurality of elongate boundary markers, paddles or rackets, and a ball. It will be appreciated that some or all of the aspects of the invention discussed above may be used in the game and the summary of these aspects is not intended to imply that any aspect is required.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described in reference to the numbered drawings wherein:
It will be appreciated that the drawings are illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims. The embodiments shown accomplish various aspects and objects of the invention. It will be appreciated that it is not possible to clearly show each element and aspect of the present disclosure in a single figure, and as such, multiple figures are presented to separately illustrate the various details of different aspects of the invention in greater clarity. Similarly, not all configurations or embodiments described herein or covered by the appended claims will include all of the aspects of the present disclosure as discussed above.
Various aspects of the invention and accompanying drawings will now be discussed in reference to the numerals provided therein so as to enable one skilled in the art to practice the present invention. The skilled artisan will understand, however, that the methods described below can be practiced without employing these specific details, or that they can be used for purposes other than those described herein. Indeed, they can be modified and can be used in conjunction with products and techniques known to those of skill in the art in light of the present disclosure. The drawings and the descriptions thereof are intended to be exemplary of various aspects of the invention and are not intended to narrow the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the drawings may show aspects of the invention in isolation and the elements in one figure may be used in conjunction with elements shown in other figures.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment,” “one configuration,” “an embodiment,” or “a configuration” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment, etc. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places may not necessarily limit the inclusion of a particular element of the invention to a single embodiment, rather the element may be included in other or all embodiments discussed herein.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details may be provided, such as examples of products or manufacturing techniques that may be used, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments discussed in the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations may not be shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
Before the present invention is disclosed and described in detail, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to any particular structures, process steps, or materials discussed or disclosed herein, but is extended to include equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those of ordinarily skill in the relevant art. More specifically, the invention is defined by the terms set forth in the claims. It should also be understood that terminology contained herein is used for the purpose of describing particular aspects of the invention only and is not intended to limit the invention to the aspects or embodiments shown unless expressly indicated as such. Likewise, the discussion of any particular aspect of the invention is not to be understood as a requirement that such aspect is required to be present apart from an express inclusion of that aspect in the claims.
It should also be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, singular forms such as “a,” “an,” and “the” may include the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a bracket” may include an embodiment having one or more of such brackets, and reference to “the target plate” may include reference to one or more of such target plates.
As used herein, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result to function as indicated. For example, an object that is “substantially” enclosed would mean that the object is either completely enclosed or nearly completely enclosed. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context, such that enclosing the nearly all of the length of a lumen would be substantially enclosed, even if the distal end of the structure enclosing the lumen had a slit or channel formed along a portion thereof. The use of “substantially” is equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, structure which is “substantially free of” a bottom would either completely lack a bottom or so nearly completely lack a bottom that the effect would be effectively the same as if it completely lacked a bottom.
As used herein, the term “generally” refers to something that has characteristics of a quality without being exactly that quality. For example, a structure said to be generally vertical would be at least as vertical as horizontal, i.e. would extend 45 degrees or greater from horizontal. Likewise, something said to be generally circular may be rounded like an oval but need not have a consistent diameter in every direction.
As used herein, the term “about” is used to provide flexibility to a numerical range endpoint by providing that a given value may be “a little above” or “a little below” the endpoint while still accomplishing the function associated with the range.
As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member.
Concentrations, amounts, proportions and other numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration, a numerical range of “about 1 to about 5” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but also include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3, and 4 and sub-ranges such as from 1-3, from 2-4, and from 3-5, etc., as well as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, individually. This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value as a minimum or a maximum. Furthermore, such an interpretation should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described.
Turning now to
The playing area 8 may also include a central boundary marker 24. The central boundary marker 24 may be simply formed from an elongate piece of boundary marker material, or may include central material 28 which can include the name of the game, advertising, or other information. The central boundary marker 24 may be of virtually any size, with the larger the size causing more challenging play for reasons which will be discussed below with respect to rules for the game.
Extending between the central boundary marker 24 and the outer boundary marker 16 are a plurality of elongate inner boundary markers 32. The inner boundary markers 32 divide the area between the outer boundary marker 16 and the central boundary marker 24 into the player play areas or slices 12. Thus, the number of inner boundary markers used will determine the number of slices. As shown in
As shown in
Set up of the playing area 8 can be done relatively quickly. With the configuration shown in
The ball game 4 also includes a plurality of rackets or paddles 40 and a ball 44. In playing the game, each player would stand in their own slice 12 while holding one of the paddles. In one example of play, the paddle 40 is used to hit the ball into play with a serve. After the ball has been hit by the paddle 40, the ball during a serve must pass above the servers' shoulders. Thereafter, each hit need only be in an upward direction. If the ball lands in one of the slices, such as slice 12a, the person standing in the slice is assessed a point or a “burn”. If a ball lands outside the outer boundary marker 24, the player who hit the ball is assessed a burn. If the ball lands within the area of the inner or central boundary marker 24, the player that hit the ball receives a burn. Once a player has a predetermined number of burns, such as 7 burns or 10 burns, the player is eliminated from the game. The remaining players continue to play until only one player remains with fewer than the predetermined number of burns. Some rules may be modified once a player is removed. For example hitting the ball into an empty slice may result in a burn for the party hitting the ball. Additionally, the players may be repositioned in the slices to balance the game as players are eliminated. Alternatively, players may be assigned multiple slices. Thus, for example, in
Obviously, different rules may be used to accommodate the desires of various players. However, one set of rules for the game may be as follows:
ShakaBall Setup
ShakaBall Rules
Turning now to
Turning now to
It will also be appreciated that the configuration shown in
Turning now to
It is not required that the outer boundary marker 16 be circular.
It will also be appreciated that the playing area 8 could be formed as a kit a user can mix-and-match outer boundary markers, central boundary markers an inner boundary markers to define the desired playing area. Any unused length of inner boundary marker can simply be folded over and secured in place with 1 of the fasteners if needed. While not required, it is advantageous that all of the boundary markers are made from a flexible and preferably foldable material so that the entire playing area can be fold up into a small bag, backpack, etc. Could easily be done with rope, cord, or straps of nylon or other similar material. Additionally, the outer boundary markers and the inner boundary markets may have two pieces of elongate material disposed into one another, with the area therebetween providing a different burn assessment than when the ball lands in a different area.
Turning now to
Thus there is disclosed a ball game and methods for playing the same. It will be appreciated that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. The appended claims are intended to cover such modifications.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62718875 | Aug 2018 | US |