Abstract:
An apparatus is provided for use in a fencing game. The apparatus contains optical electronics disposed in an internal space. The optical electronics operate to emit light, detect optical signals and provide electrical signals corresponding to detected optical signals. A transmitter is provided for transmitting the electrical signals to a first location for displaying a number of touches obtained by a user of the apparatus. The apparatus includes a blade attached to the handle having a base portion coupled to the optical electronics, a translucent tip portion, and a conduit between the base portion and the translucent tip, for conveying light between the translucent tip portion and the optical electronics.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is generally directed to gaming devices and methods for their use. More particularly, the invention is directed to a fencing apparatus and methods for using the same. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Fencing is a sport premised on the use of a weapon, e.g. foil, sword, epee, saber, etc., which the fencer wields to “score” points against his/her opponent. The fencing bout or match pits one fencer against another. The outcome of the fencing bout is determined according to a predetermined number of first touches inflicted with the weapon&#39;s tip by one opponent against his/her adversary. Various areas on each fencer&#39;s body produce a “score” when touched with the weapon tip or the blade, when using a saber. Each fencing tournament utilizes a predetermined amount of required scoring touches in determining the winner of a fencing contest. 
     Fencing tournaments involve a number of contestants who are matched against one another in various rounds until one fencer defeats all others and is crowned the champion. Each fencing tournament has its own scoring procedures and rules for deciding what constitutes a scoring touch. For example, one scoring system utilizes what are called “line judges”. It is necessary to have four people, one person for each comer of the “strip” (the fencer&#39;s area of play). The scoring is entirely subjective, since the judges rely on their eyes to see the touches. If four people are not available, it is left to one “judge” who observes the fencing bout and decides whether one opponent achieves a scoring touch against his/her opponent. This type of scoring system is not very accurate or fair since the scores are determined subjectively. 
     Attempts have been made to circumvent the subjective standard of the above described fencing scoring system, by “automating” the scoring determination, thereby adding a degree of objectiveness to scoring touches achieved during a fencing bout. However, attempts in automating the scoring determination of a fencing bout have resulted in less-than-ideal equipment prone to malfunction, leading to inaccurate scoring results and lengthy downtime while the fencer attempts to “fix” any malfunctioning fencing equipment. Furthermore, the current automated equipment used in fencing bouts is bulky, non-robust, and limits a fencer&#39;s maneuverability. 
     Therefore, a fencing apparatus is needed that overcomes the disadvantages of the current fencing systems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the invention, a fencing apparatus is provided for use in a fencing game. The fencing apparatus includes a handle having an internal space, wherein optical electronics are disposed. The optical electronics operate to emit light, detect optical signals and provide electrical signals corresponding to detected optical signals. The apparatus also includes a power source which provides power to the optical electronics and the transmitter for transmitting the electrical signals to a first location. A blade is attached to the handle having a base portion coupled to the optical electronics, a translucent tip portion, and a conduit disposed between the base portion and the translucent tip. The conduit being operable to convey light between the translucent tip portion and the optical electronics. 
     In another aspect, a fencing scoring system is provided for compiling game points obtained by a user during a fencing contest. The fencing scoring system includes an apparatus for a user to wield during the contest. The apparatus includes a handle having an internal space wherein optical electronics are disposed. The optical electronics being operable to emit light, detect optical signals and provide electrical signals corresponding to detected optical signals. The apparatus also includes a blade attached to the handle, the blade including a base portion coupled to the optical electronics, a translucent tip portion, and a conduit located between the base portion and the translucent tip portion, for conveying light between the translucent tip portion and the optical electronics. The scoring system also includes a transmitter for transmitting the electrical signals to a first location, a power source for providing power to the optical electronics and transmitter, a receiving unit for receiving the electrical signals transmitted by the transmitter, and a display device in electrical communication with the receiving unit for displaying whether a point has been scored by the user. 
     In yet another aspect, the invention provides fencing equipment for use by fencers in a fencing game. The fencing equipment includes at least one colored target disposed on a target area of each fencer. Each fencer wields a weapon having handle, wherein optical electronics are adjacently disposed. The optical electronics are operable to emit light, detect optical signals and provide electrical signals corresponding to detected optical signals. The fencing equipment also includes a transmitter for transmitting the electrical signals to a first location and a power source for providing power to the optical electronics and transmitter. The weapon further includes a blade attached to the handle having a base portion coupled to the optical electronics and a distal portion for contacting a colored target disposed on a fencer. A conduit is located between the base portion and the distal portion, which conveys light between the distal portion and the optical electronics. 
     According to the invention, a system is provided allowing multiple players to participate in any number of swordplay or fencing games, without having a restricted range of movement due to external cables coupled to a floor reel. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the detailed description of preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the drawings, which are not to scale, wherein like reference characters designate like or similar elements throughout the several drawings as follows: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the fencing scoring system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the electronics of the fencing scoring system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the fencing scoring system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; and, 
     FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the electronics of the fencing scoring system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIG. 1, a fencing scoring system  10  is provided for scoring a swordplay or fencing game. According to the invention, it is possible to keep track of the number of touches achieved by one or more players during a game. Games utilize any number of weapon types including, but are not limited to, foil, epee, saber, etc. The invention can accommodate any number of game players. The system  10  includes an apparatus  12  for each player to wield during a game. Each player preferably wears a black uniform, including at least one color target area  14 . A scoreboard or display  16  is utilized to tally the number of touches registered by each player according to the color touched with the apparatus  12 . 
     According to the invention, preferably no cables are required to provide communication between the apparatus  12  and the display  16  of the system  10 . Thus, the system  10  enables the players to have an unlimited range of mobility during a game. The apparatus  12  is preferably of substantially the same weight and appearance as an actual competition weapon, such as a foil, epee, or saber, etc. The apparatus  12  includes a handle  18 , which resembles the hilt or grip of a weapon. Releasably connected to the handle  18  is an elongate member  20 , which resembles a blade of a weapon. The elongate member  20  has a first end  22  and a second end  24 , and is preferably constructed from steel. The elongate member  20  also contains a bore  26 , which preferably houses one or more fiber optic lines  28 . In the preferred embodiment, the fiber optic line  28  traverses the entire length of the elongate member  20 , from the second end  24  to the first end  22 . Preferably, the second end  24  of the elongate member  20  encapsulates a lens member  30 . Preferably, the lens member is a convex type lens constructed of plastic, having a diameter of between about ⅛ inch and about ¼ inch. Alternatively, the fiber optic line  28  can be equipped with a lens member  30 . 
     In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle  18  of the apparatus  12  houses optical electronics  32  (FIG. 2) in the form of a chip. Each player also wears an attachable box  35 , preferably at a belt location, which houses a wireless transmitter  34  and a power source  37 , preferably a rechargeable nickel cadmium battery, for providing power to the transmitter  34  and the optical electronics  32 . The wireless transmitter  34  is preferably a frequency modulated (FM) transmitter. In the preferred embodiment, a direct cable link  38  is used to connect the transmitter  34  to the optical electronics  32 , providing power thereby. Alternatively, the handle  18  can house a mini-transmitter, power supply  33  (FIG.  3 ), and antenna for transmitting signals from the apparatus  12  to the box  35 , for ultimate transmission to the receiver  36  and display  16 . It will be appreciated that the apparatus  12  and box  35  can include additional or less components and the invention is not intended to be limited by the specific examples and embodiments detailed herein. Furthermore, the apparatus  12  and the box  35  can be described generally as the weapon which each player uses during a fencing match. 
     With additional reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2, a preferred embodiment of the optical electronics  32  and transmission circuitry is shown. The optical electronics  32  preferably include a light emitter  40 , an optical filter  42 , a photodetector  44 , and a driver  46 . The light emitter  40  is preferably a light emitting diode (LED) white light source operable to transmit white light conveyed by the fiber optic line  28  and out of the translucent lens member  30 . 
     The box  35  includes an off/on switch  39  for enabling the transmitter  34  and providing power to the optical electronics  32  via the direct cable link  38 . The handle  18  of the apparatus  12  is preferably equipped with an off/on switch  48  (FIG.  1 ), which when switched to the “on” position, allows power to be provided from the power source  37  the optical electronics  32 . 
     Correspondingly, when the handle switch  48  is in the “on” position, power is provided to the optical electronics  32 . As a result, the light emitter  40  emits light which is conveyed by the fiber optic line  28  and emitted out of the lens member  30 . When a player touches the lens member  30  of the apparatus  12  against a target  14  located on the uniform of another player, light is reflected from the target  14  and conveyed by the fiber optics  38  to the optical filter  42  of the optical electronics  32 . Preferably, the optical filter  42  is a red, blue or green filter. The optical filter  42  is operable to pass reflected light having frequencies within the passband of the optical filter  42 . Accordingly, when an opponent is touched with the apparatus  12  in an area having a color which reflects a frequency in the passband of the optical filter  42 , the optical signals pass through the filter  42 . Thus, light signals having frequencies within the passband of the optical filter  42  are passed to the photodetector  44 . 
     The photodetector  44  produces an analog electrical signal when impinged upon by the light passed by the optical filter  42 . As shown in FIG. 2, driver electronics  46  amplify the electrical signal produced by the photodetector  44  before transmission by the direct cable link  38  to the box  35 . Once the amplified signal reaches the box  35 , the transmitter  34  transmits the signal to a remote location, where the receiver  36  receives the signal and outputs the received signal to the display  16 . The box  35  preferably includes a frequency selectable transmitter  34 , so that each player may set the transmitter  34  to a different operating frequency. In this manner, the receiver  36  is able to distinguish one player&#39;s touch (transmission) from another. Accordingly, the receiver  36  is selectively enabled to receive the corresponding transmission frequencies of the transmitter  34 . Additionally, the receiver  36  or alternatively, the display  16  includes processing electronics, including a microprocessor  71 . Accordingly, the microprocessor  71  can be configured by software or firmware functions, to incorporate rules of different games. For example, one function of the microprocessor  71  can enable the receiver  36  to block a subsequent touch (transmission) when a first touch has already occurred. It is preferred that the receiver  36  and the display  16  are incorporated into a single unit. 
     The preferred display  16  will incorporate four lights which are located on a front side of the display  16 . The receiver  36  upon receipt of a transmission from a player generates a signal which is sent to the display  16 . Depending on the type of hit, on-target or off-target, the display  16 , via the four lights, indicates whether a point has been scored and by which player. For example, the four lights may include, from left to right on the display  16 , a white light, red light, green light and second white light. The red light, when lit, is indicative of a scoring touch achieved by player one and the green light, when lit, is indicative of a scoring touch achieved by player two. Similarly, for a particular game, the white lights are indicators of off-target touches by a respective player. It is also preferred that the display  16  and/or receiver  36  include a mechanism for determining the type of scores to be indicated. The mechanism can be in the form of a button, switch or dial and when actuated, configures the receiver  36  and display  16  for the rules of a particular game. For example, the mechanism can be configured to score a foil, epee or saber match. When foil is selected, all of the lights are operable to score on and off target touches by each player. When the epee or saber is selected, only the colored lights are operable, since off target scores are not tabulated. It will be appreciated that variations of the display  16  and the receiver  36  can include more or less indicators and internal circuitry and can be provisioned according to each particular game. 
     As an example of this preferred embodiment, for two players in a fencing game, each player wears a uniform, preferably black, which includes a colored target area  14 . The color of the target area  14  corresponds to the passband frequency of the optical filter  42 . Each player switches on the apparatus  12  and the box  35 , with the switches  48  and  39 . Once the components have been turned on, the transmission frequencies of each player&#39;s transmitter  34  are adjusted, so that the each transmitter  34  is transmitting at a different coded set of frequencies. Depending on the type of transmitter  34 , different types of encoding are available. For example, manual “dip switches” can be used to encode each transmitter  34 . Also, each apparatus  12  can be electrically connected to a central computer, wherein the computer electrically encodes each transmitter  34  to have different transmission frequencies. The receiver  36  is likewise adjusted to receive each player&#39;s transmission frequencies, thus discriminating touches of each player. 
     As the game begins, each player wields the respective apparatus  12 , attempting to touch the target area  14  of the opponent. As the players spar, white light is being transmitted from the lens  30  of the apparatus by the light emitter  40 , illuminating the area of the uniform that is touched. As one opponent touches the other opponent in the colored target area  14 , light having the wavelength of the color touched is transmitted back through the fiber optic line  28  to the optical filter  42 . Since the optical filter  42  has a passband which includes the touched target color, light passes through the filter  42  and impinges upon the photodetector  44 . In response, the photodetector  44  outputs an analog electric signal to the driver  46 . The driver  46  amplifies the signal, and the direct cable link  38  provides the amplified signal to the box  35 , which houses the transmitter  34 . The transmitter  34 , operating at the player&#39;s selected frequency, transmits the amplified signal to the receiver  36 . The received signal is output to the display  16 , displaying that a point has been scored by the player. As described above, for this embodiment, it is also preferred that the receiver  36  includes processing electronics which operate to block the other player&#39;s reception should he touch the target area  14  shortly after the first touch. Preferably, the channel remains blocked for a selected period of time, automatically resetting before the players begin a second round of fencing. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the handle  18  includes the transmitter  34  and an antenna  41  for directly transmitting scoring signals to the receiver  36  which is electrically connected to the display  16 . Preferably, antenna  41  is located at the base of the handle  18 , so that the antenna  41  does not inhibit the user&#39;s handling of the weapon. The transmitter  34  is located adjacent to the optical electronics  32  to reduce the amount of electrical wiring and power driving requirements to electrically connect the transmitter  34  to the optical electronics  32 . For this embodiment, it is preferred that the handle include an internal power source for providing power to the transmitter  34  and optical electronics  32 . 
     In yet another embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the optical electronics  32  of the apparatus  12  include a plurality of optical filters  50 ,  52  and  54 , each having a passband corresponding to a different color frequency. Each filter  50 - 54  is coupled to a separate photodetector  56 ,  58  and  60  and drivers  62 ,  64 , and  66 . According to this embodiment of the invention, a black uniform worn by each opponent includes multiple target areas, each having a different color, such as red, etc., which include wavelengths in correspondence with the passbands of the optical filters  50 - 54 . As described below, each color provides a different score when touched by the apparatus  12 . The drivers  62 - 66  provide touch signals output from the photodetectors  56 - 60  to an analog-to-digital converter  68 . The analog-to-digital converter  68  converts the analog signals to a digital representation, and the digital signals are output to a microprocessor  70  for further processing. 
     The microprocessor  70  encodes the signals depending on which filter  50 - 54  passed an optical signal. The encoded signal corresponds to a score determined by which color was touched by the apparatus  12 , and passed by the corresponding optical filter  50 - 54 . The encoded signal is output by the microprocessor  70  to a digital-to-analog converter  72  and is transmitted by the transmitter  73  to an analog-to-digital pre-stage  74  at the receiver location. The receiver  76  includes microprocessing features which are operable to decode the signal output from the analog-to-digital pre-stage  74 . Based on the decoded signal, the receiver  76  outputs a signal to the display  16  corresponding to the number of points scored according to the color touched. 
     Alternatively, the microprocessor  70  can be configured to provide a score signal to the digital-to-analog converter  72 . That is, based on the color touched, the microprocessor  70  determines the score, which after conversion is transmitted by the transmitter  73  to the analog-to-digital pre-stage  74  and receiver  76 . Furthermore, the microprocessor  70  is preferably operable to tally a number of touches before providing an output signal to indicate a tallied score. 
     Examples provided above are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention accordingly numerous modification are available. Thus, other games can be devised using the apparatus  12 , wherein the box  35  includes various settings according to the type of game desired. For example, a game using an epee-type weapon can be implemented, wherein only a first hit provides a score. For this game, a point (score) is also awarded to each player is a simultaneous touch. 
     It is contemplated, and will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the preceding description and the accompanying drawings that modifications and/or changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention. For example, the players of each game can adorn uniforms having colors other than black. Additional circuitry is provided in the optical electronics to discriminate different color uniforms. For example, for a white uniform having separate colored target areas, additional discriminating circuitry is included operable to determine when the white portion of the uniform is touched and thereby not awarding a point or score. The discriminating circuitry determines that more than one color has been returned from a touch, indicating a non-target area and no score. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings are illustrative of preferred embodiments only, not limiting thereto, and that the true spirit and scope of the present invention be determined by reference to the appended claims.