The present invention relates generally to a tactical board and more specifically to a tactical board having embedded magnets.
Coaching in sports requires a lot of pre-planning and instruction. Common tasks that a coach or trainer must prepare a player for includes proper nutrition, personal skill training, and mental and emotional focus, among others. Sports can be either individual or team-oriented.
A major task of a coach is to instruct an individual or a team of proper tactics specific to that sport. This is especially true with team sports, such as football, baseball, hockey, and soccer. Even though it is preferred that this tactical instruction is delivered in a practice or extended time session, often times it is necessary to provide such instruction right before the game on a field or during the game, such as halftime or during a stoppage in play, such as a time out.
Also, it is necessary to be able to quickly instruct such players, especially in a team setting, where the coach can display the tactical structure and common movements and anticipated events and reactions with an implement that enables such actions. An easy-to-use and easy-to-view type of coaching implement is therefore beneficial. The tactical board with embedded magnets fulfills this need.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, it has been observed that there is need for a tactical board which comprises a substrate delineated between a field section and an open section and a cover which is positioned overtop a first side of the substrate. The cover is coextensive with the substrate and mounted parallel thereto at a height there above. The tactical board also comprises a border binding a common perimeter edge of the substrate and the cover and an interstitial space which is bounded by the substrate, the cover, and the border. The interstitial space includes a plurality of markers that reside within the interstitial space. The tactical board also comprises a field section having a plurality of features that delineate a common sports playing field. A reverse side of the substrate is coated with a marking surface to enhance one or more instructional features.
The substrate may be magnetic or may comprise a magnetic coating. The cover may be transparent and may be made of acrylic or glass. The common perimeter edge may be continuous to provide a continuous integral element and may include a plurality of frame pieces to provide a continuous integral element. The border adhesively bonds to the perimeter edges of the substrate and the cover. The border may be conjoined with a friction-style fitting to the perimeter edges of the substrate and the cover. The cover may be a transparent view of the open section and the field section may be unimpeded.
Each of the markers are magnetic to enable a magnetic communication with the substrate in order to secure retention of its position thereon when positioned. Each of the markers may be coated with a magnetic material to enable the magnetic communication with the substrate in order to secure retention of its position thereon when positioned. Further retention of the markers, the interstitial space may be at a height that may be slightly greater than the thickness of each of the markers to restrict them from unintended movement when the entire board may be moved. The features are a plurality of indicia that resemble a sports playing field which may be located centrally on the substrate or may be biased on a side of the substrate.
A magnetic stylus may be provided with the board to facilitate positioning of any of the markers on the substrate. The magnetic stylus may have a magnetic tip portion of the stylus or the magnetic stylus may be magnetic.
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
10
12
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14
15
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25
a
25
b
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30
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1) of the referenced items.
Referring now to
The board 10 essentially comprises a substrate 15 delineated between a field section 20 and an open section 14 and has a cover 12 positioned overtop a first side of the substrate. The cover 12 is coextensive with the substrate 15 and mounted parallel thereto at a height there above. The common perimeter edge of the substrate 15 and cover 12 is bound with a border 13 that may be continuous or comprise multiple frame pieces to provide a continuous integral element. The border 13 may be adhesively or otherwise affixed to the perimeter edges of the substrate 15 and cover 12, or merely conjoin them with a friction-style fitting. The volume of the space bounded by the substrate 15, cover 20, and border 13 is defined as an interstitial space 17.
The field section 20 comprises the majority of the substrate 15 and preferably has indicia 19 or features that delineate a common sports playing field. The exemplary embodiment shown in
Referring more closely now to
To facilitate the positioning of any of the markers 25a, 25b on the substrate 15, a magnetic stylus 30 is provided with the board 10. This is particularly shown in
In another embodiment, the reverse side of the substrate 15 (i.e., the side opposite the open portion 14 and field portion 20) may be coated with a marking surface (e.g., a chalkboard, dry erase board, etc.) to enhance instructional features given. Also, the cover 20 may be of a material that is not only transparent, but capable of being marked with a removable marking implement (e.g. wax markers).
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
The present invention was first described in and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Pat. Application No. 62/818,176 filed on Mar. 14, 2019, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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62818176 | Mar 2019 | US |