Portable or stationary signaling system for monitoring the no-volley lines in pickleball.

Abstract

A portable or stationary signaling system for monitoring the no-volley lines in pickleball which will provide an indication when a possible foul has occurred. The devices used in the system will generate and transmit an electronic beam along one or both of the no-volley lines on the court and will produce an indication when the beam has been broken, informing the players that a possible foul has occurred.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

• • Related category-USPTO class A63B sub 69/00, 71/021, 2071/0611

Pickleball is a racket sport similar to tennis which has become very popular in recent years attracting players of all ages and skill levels.

The “kitchen line”, as referred to in this disclosure, will be used interchangeable with the “no-volley line”, these are the terms used to describe the line in the section of the pickleball court closest to and running parallel to the net on either side.

Just like in tennis, pickleball has a playable area and out of bounds. These boundaries are marked with lines and have different rules regarding the location where the ball impacts the ground relative to these lines.

During a serve there are certain areas that the ball can and must bounce before being playable. Throughout the rest of the volley after serve the outer boundaries mark the extent to which the ball can hit the ground and still be playable for the purpose of scoring points.

However, unlike tennis, there is a line which not only has rules associated with it in regards to when and where the ball can land, but also acts as a player boundary, where a player cannot cross in order to not gain an unfair advantage. This line is called the “no-volley line” and the area between the net and the no-volley line is a section of the court often called “the kitchen”, for this reason, the “no-volley line” is often referred to as the “kitchen line”

A play on the ball is not to be made beyond the kitchen line unless the ball being returned to them is on a trajectory that lands it in the kitchen. In the case the ball is short over the net and going into the kitchen, the player is allowed to cross the line and enter the kitchen area in order to make a play on the ball. After the play is made the player must exist the kitchen.

While playing the game, you have to watch the ball at all times, however you must also be mindful of your own footing as to not cross the no-volley line when making a play on the ball and must also monitor your opponent's feet in order to call them out if they step over the kitchen line when hitting the ball.

The monitoring of your opponent's feet relative to their no-volley line can be done by a line judge in “official games” however as most games played are recreational in nature a designated line judge is often not available or practical.

Determining if someone did in fact step on or over the kitchen line when they hit the ball is often a source of argument and unresolve during the game as there is no way to officially prove one way on another after the fact.

There is a need for a system and device that can be put into position to monitor the no-volley line, give aid and evidence of when an infraction might have occurred, and allow players to focus on the game itself rather than the legal position of their opponent.

Prior Art

• 1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,425,245 Dated Aug. 5, 1947. MacLagan. MacLagan discloses a foul line indicator for bowing.
• 2. U.S. Pat. No. 10,143,907B2. Dated Dec. 4, 2018. Gentil. Gentil discloses planar solutions to object tracking problems which is a system for overcoming line calling difficulties.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a device or system of devices that are either portable or designed to remain in place which transmit and receive a beam such that, if the beam is broken, a signal, either auditory or visual, is produce in order that the players are notified that the line has been crossed.

This summary is not an all-inclusive list of possible embodiments nor is it meant to identify necessary components of the invention. In short, this summary intended to limit the claim of the invention.

The goal of the invention is to monitor the no-volley lines in pickleball and notify players when an infraction might have occurred.

The concept of the invention is that a beam transmitter and a beam receiver be placed on either side of the pickleball court such that they create a barrier along the no-volley line. The receiver and transmitter may be placed in the same location when the system is designed to reflect back in some manner from the transmitter to the receiver. During normal play, the beam is detected and no alarm is produced. When the beam is interrupted the receiver will signal the alarm to produce an indication and notify players of a possible line foul.

Whether designed to remain installed on each court, or designed as a portable system, the concept and intent of the system is the same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

SHEET 1 (FIG. 1), (FIG. 2), (FIG. 3) Is an example and different views of how the main device might be designed and housed within a shell. (FIG. 4) shows the components of the main devise. In this particular example the main device houses all working components including the beam transmitter, receiver, and alarm.

SHEET 2 (FIG. 5) Is an example of how the secondary devise of the system may be designed. In this example the secondary device houses only a mirror with the intent of reflecting the beam back to the main housing in order that the beam be received.

SHEET 3 (FIG. 6) shows the layout of the pickleball court and the position of the devices relative to the court and in line with the no-volley line. This example is one that requires a pair of main devices and a secondary devices on each side of the court in order to monitor both no-volley lines.

SHEET 4 (FIG. 7) shows the layout of the court and how a single main device can be used to monitor not only the no-volley line on one side of the court but with the use of two additional secondary, mirror, devices create a beam along both no-volley lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a system of devices used to create a beam along the no-volley lines in pickle ball with the intent of notifying players when the no-volley line has been crossed and a possible foul has occurred.

The invention can be designed to be fixed on the court or designed to be portable to be used on any pickleball court.

The invention is a system of components that create and direct an electrical beam along the no-volley line which, when interrupted, will create an auditory or visual indication notifying the players that a line foul might have occurred.

The system will have at least one beam transmitting device, at least one receiving device for the electronic beam, and at least one alarm or indicator, or output to an external alarm, and an energy source.

The system can be designed such that the transmitting component of the system be positioned on one side of the court and the receiving device with alarm be positioned on the opposite side of the court along the no-volley line but outside of the area of play. This system would require two transmitter devices and two receiving/alarm devices, one pair on each opponent sides of the court.

Or the system can be designed with a single main device housing both the transmitting, receiving, and alarm components in one housing with the secondary device on the other side of the court along the no-volley line housing only a mirror which reflects the beam back to the main device. This set up would still require a pair of main and secondary devices on both opponent sides of the court.

Or the system can be designed with s single main device housing the transmitting component, the receiving component, power source and the alarm/indicator and with three secondary mirror devices positioned along the no-volley lines on each opponent sides of the court. The beam from the main device would be directed to the secondary housing on the opposite side of the court, reflecting to another secondary device on the opponents side of the court, reflecting along the opponent's no-volley line and then the final mirror device directs the beam back to the receiver in the main housing. This system design would allow for a single system to monitor both no-volley lines on the court. This system would be the most efficient however, the drawback would be a higher level of difficulty getting the devices aligned and a single indicator for either side of the court, which could lead to a little ambiguity as to which side crossed their line. However, this system would still be effective in most cases since it will likely be obvious as to who was near the line at the time of the alarm/indication.

The invention can have multiple different styles of housings, however the main working components will remain the same. The housing will be designed to withstand possible impacts from players or balls, however most of these incidences can be avoided by placing the devices far enough away from the main area of play that they are not likely to cause trips or impact play. The housing designs will also need to consider how to block the sun from interfering with reception of the signal as most pickleball games are played outdoors.

Fabrication of the housing can be made from a variety of different materials including, but not limited to plastics, rubber or metal. The beam will likely be a laser or infrared with enough focus to be received by the intended component. The inner workings of the electrical components can be made simplistically with only the alarm being sound when the beam is broken or can include a logic chip that incorporates a timer and programming to fine tune the function of the device for the application, with or without the ability to distinguish between ball crossings which would be quicker and foot crossing or landing which would be longer interruption of the beam.

The necessary components of the invention are (1) electrical beam transmitting component, (2) Electrical beam receiving component, (3) alarm or indicator notifying when the beam has been broken, or ooutput to an alarm or indication outside of the system (4) mirror components to direct the beam if the system is designed in this way. (5) energy source, which could be a battery, solar panel, or plugged in from out outside source. (6) housing, although perhaps not essential, would be likely in order to protect the components and keep components aligned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS AND FIGURES

SHEET 1 (FIG. 1), (FIG. 2), (FIG. 3) shows an example and different views of how the main device may be designed with all working components included within the same housing. (3.1-FIG. 3) is an energy source which is a necessary component, but not included in FIG. 4 of this example. The energy source (3.1-FIG. 3) shown here is an example of a battery. Possible energy sources include but are not limited to: batteries, solar panels, or plugged to an outside source. (FIG. 4) shows the working components of the main device, (4.1-FIG. 4) represents the beam producing/transmitting element of the device. (4.2-FIG. 4) represents the beam receiving element of the device likely functioning from some type of photoelectric resistor/transducer. (4.3-FIG. 4) a programmable chip, this may or may not be required based on the functionality of the system and characteristics desired. (4.4-FIG. 4) represents the alarm component of the device. The alarm can be a buzzer or some type of auditory indication or can be a visual or even mechanical indication of some kind.

SHEET 2 (FIG. 5) depicts how the secondary, or mirror, device of the system may be designed. (5.1-FIG. 5) shows the housing of the mirror component (5.2-FIG. 5). The housing (5.1-FIG. 5) may not be necessary to the functionality of the system but would aid in the protection and alignment of the mirror within.

SHEET 3 (FIG. 6) shows an example of how the system of devices would be positioned on the pickleball court. The main device (6.2-FIG. 6) and the secondary (mirror) device (6.3-FIG. 6) might be spread out more than shown in order to mitigate tripping or interference from the devices themselves. Both devices would be positioned such that the beam (6.1-FIG. 6) produced is aligned with the no-volley line (6.4-FIG. 6). In this example, the main device (6.2-FIG. 6) produces and transmitted the electrical beam (6.1-FIG. 6) to the secondary (mirror) device (6.3-FIG. 6) which reflect the beam (6.1-FIG. 6) back to the main device (6.2-FIG. 6) where the receiving component detects the beam (6.1-FIG. 6), and when interrupted, send the signal to the alarm in order that the players might be notified of possible foul. This arrangement can be changed by separating the transmitting component into one of the housings and the receiving and alarm component into the other housing. This arrangement would require each device have their own energy source, but might be beneficial in the case that a beam with less power can be detected since the distance traveled by the beam is half of that of the reflected design.

SHEET 4 (FIG. 7) Shows how the design of the system might be positioned such that with a single main device (7.2-FIG. 7) housing all working components can transmit the electrical beam (7.1-FIG. 7) through three additional secondary (mirror) devices (7.3-FIG. 7) in order that the beam might not only be aligned with a no-volley line (7.4-FIG. 7) on only one side of the court but also be aligned with the no-volley line on the opponents side of the court as well. In theory, this design and system arrangement would be the most efficient, however might not be the ideal due to the drawbacks mentioned earlier in this disclosure.

Contrast to Prior Art

The invention as disclosed has many of the same working components as MacLagans bowling foul line invention, however Maclagan's invention is written as it applies to bowling, with no insight or understanding of pickleball which would not have been known in his time. An argument could be made for this invention's application into other similar sports all with the intent of limiting the player's offensive position. No mention of how a system would apply to direct competition sports or how the system would be used to monitor both sides of an opponent play area at the same time. The specific application to pickleball is not apparent or obvious from MacLagan's claims.

Gentil's disclosure and solutions to tracking problems has some overlap to my invention with the intent to monitor and make line calls accurately, however, the intent of all accuracy and limitation it to where the ball makes contact with the court. The line calling is not anything to do with position of the player but only position of the ball.

Claims

1. A system of, either portable or fixed, devices used on or in proximity of a pickleball court which, by means of a visual and/or an auditory indication, notifies players when the no-volley line has been crossed and a possible foul might have occurred functioning through the use of an electronic beam generated and transmitted from one side of the pickleball court from a device housing a transmitter and to a device along the no-volley line, on the opposite side of the court, housing a receiver and alarm, or output to an external alarm, which will provide indication when the beam is broken.

2. A system of, either portable or fixed, devices used on or in proximity of a pickleball court which, by means of a visual and/or an auditory indication, notifies players when the no-volley line has been crossed and a possible foul might have occurred functioning through the use of an electronic beam generated and transmitted from one side of the pickleball court from a device housing a transmitter, receiver, and alarm, or output to an external alarm to a device along the no-volley line, on the opposite side of the court, housing a mirror which either reflects the beam back to the receiver or directs the beam to other mirrors to also align with the no-volley line on the opponent side of the court and before retuning back to the device with the receiver and alarm, or output to an alarm, which will provide indication when the beam is broken.