Patent ID: 9352208
Filing Date: 2016-05-31
CPC Classification: A63B

Claim Text:
1. An Electronic Home Plate (EHP) system, comprising: an EHP housing including a bottom module and an upper member attached to said bottom module and defining a space therebetween; a plurality of first light emitting units embedded in said EHP housing at predetermined positions in proximity to said upper member thereof, each of said first light emitting units generating a light beam extending vertically above said upper member of said EHP housing, thereby forming a plurality of vertical light beams spaced apart a predetermined distance one from another, wherein a cross-section of said light beam varies therealong in a predetermined fashion; an optical signal processing unit including: at least one photodetector unit embedded in said EHP housing in proximity to said upper member thereof for detecting an incident optical signal thereon, wherein the incident optical signal includes a scattered light signal produced as a result of interaction of a ball with at least one vertical light beam from said plurality of first light emitting units thereof, and wherein said at least one photodetector unit produces an output electrical signal corresponding to said optical signal incident thereon, an optical receiver circuit operatively coupled to an output of said at least one photodetector unit to amplify and condition said output electrical signal, and an ambient light rejection unit operatively coupled to said optical receiver circuit and configured to remove from the amplified and conditioned output electrical signal an ambient light photocurrent generated by said at least one photodetector unit in response to an ambient light incident thereto; and a microcomputer unit embedded in said EHP housing and operatively coupled to said plurality of first light emitting units and said optical signal processing unit, said microcomputer unit being configured to determine passage of a ball within boundaries of a predetermined strike zone above said EHP housing based on readings of said output electrical signal generated at said at least one photodetector unit.