Patent Application
20220233943
Baseball, America's pastime, starts with a pitch from a pitcher. Pitching is both an art and a science. The art of pitching involves command/control by the pitcher of each pitch thrown. Command is the ability to pitch to specific locations depending primarily on the specific batter and game situation. Command encompasses hitting a specific spot with each type of pitch in a pitcher's repertoire.
Numerous devices and systems have been utilized to enhance pitching performance. One such device is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. 2006/0243929 A1 (Mc Daniel). An air mattress is provided with a plurality of air valves Signaling devices alert when a strike air valve activates and when a ball air valve activates so as a user knows whether a pitch is a ball or a strike.
Another such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. U.S. 2004/0127308 A1 (Swanson). In this device a multilayered pitching target is disclosed. Marked squares designate ball and strike zones. Ball impacts leave indentations in the target.
The present invention relates to an interactive system (also herein sometimes referred to as a PITCHmat). The PITCHmat is intended to primarily emphasize and enhance a pitcher's command of his or her pitches. It trains the pitcher to locate and hit specific “zones” tallying points for each pitch developing command.
Again, the main focus of the invention is to serve as a baseball/softball teaching and coaching tool and the mat or screen of the present invention normally will be set up 60′ 6″ (MLB baseball) or 43′ (high school/college softball) from the pitcher (the distance from the “mound”/front of the pitching rubber to home plate). However, the system may also serve to teach basic coordination skills as a “target” for younger players at any distance and for game/recreational purposes in gymnasiums, dens and other athletic/recreational indoor/outdoor venues for “players” of all ages with the competitors seeking to achieve the highest score. Softer balls/projectiles such as tennis balls will usually be substituted for baseballs/softballs in the latter usages/venues. Unlike existing dart board games, the “values” assigned in the scoring will not be “fixed” but may be electronically revised requiring the players to adjust their throwing motions/mechanics to strike the changing values and maximize their score.
The present invention may be further modified to function as an interactive game as described below.
The Pitching Interactive Training Mat (PITCHmat or PMAT) consists of a mat or screen against which a projectile such as a baseball or softball is thrown. The PITCHmat has a graphic display of a strike zone broken down into nine subsidiary “zones” and an exterior perimeter of sixteen “zones” surrounding the strike zone. Beneath each zone are embedded sensors and electronics which when impacted with pitched ball registers a point value, for example, from 1 to 10, on the integrated, attached scoreboard.
The embedded sensors (whether pressure sensors or electronic sensors) and associated electronics are well known in the art and are comparable to the “touch pads” used in computers, smart phones, video games, and the like.
Assignment of the point values may be adjusted for each pitch by a cooperating remote control device for each batter depending upon the game situation. A complimentary scoreboard electronically connected to the mat will register whether a ball or a strike is thrown, values for each pitch thrown, and maintains a total score which may be reset for each new batter. The embedded electronics and scoreboard may be powered by battery and may be rechargeable via an attached electric cord plugged into standard electrical outlets. An optional radar gun records the speed of each pitch. Optional high speed sports cameras may be attached to the mat and/or as a stand-alone allowing for measurement of pitch spin rotations, pitch release point, and capturing the entire pitch delivery process for replay to aid coaching and visualizing pitch command.
The present disclosure will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with references to certain drawings, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The drawings are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, size of some of the elements may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes and not drawn on scale. Specific and relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the disclosure. The various embodiments are solely examples and are not limiting the scope of the invention.
The mat 30 has nine numbered square mini zones or tiles (tiles numbered 1-9) within the overall typical “strike zone.” Outside the strike zone are sixteen additional mini-zones, called chase tiles, (tiles numbered 10-25) along the periphery of the “strike zone.” Because it is often important to entice the batter to “chase” pitches outside the strike zone, these chase zones/tiles tiles are important to the development of a pitcher. When the ball is thrown and strikes a tile, an embedded electronic sensor beneath that particular tile transmits the assigned numerical value or score for the struck tile and whether a ball or a strike to the electronic scoreboard.
When pitching with a coach 60 (
The PITCHmat is also designed for use by a pitcher without a coach. In such cases, the PITCHmat zones/tiles may have pre-assigned or randomly-assigned numbers or the pitcher can remotely assign specific values before pitching as desired.
When pitching alone, a pitcher may pitch by pitch count. Typically, a bucket of twenty-four balls (baseballs or softballs) will be pitched with six pitches assigned per simulated batter. At the end of twenty-four pitches the pitcher will retrieve or “shag” the balls from the Ball Retrieval System (BRS) or the ball catchment trough 40 and continue. Shagging balls four times results in a pitch count of ninety-six pitches, which would generally be a maximum limit for young pitchers. Pitch count limits should be set according to a player's age and ability.
Fig.4 illustrates the typical batter 42, catcher 44, and umpire 46 positions above home plate 50. A visual representation of the mat 30 of the present invention is superimposed in the figure to show the various zones/tiles relative to these characters in the typical battery. The strike zone (the shaded portion of
Having now described the invention in conjunction with particularly illustrated embodiments thereof, variations and modifications may now naturally occur from time to time to those persons normally skilled in the art without departing from the essential scope or spirit of the invention, and accordingly it is intended to claim the same broadly as well as specifically as indicated by the appended claims.
