Patent Publication Number: US-2019168099-A1

Title: Device Configured To Enable Scorekeeping For Activities Including Bat And/Or Racquet-Based Sports

Description:
STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is filed as a national phase utility application, claiming priority to a foreign-filed application under 35 U.S.C. § 371. The application claims priority to Australian Appl. No. 2017/904839 entitled “A Device Configured To Enable Scorekeeping For Activities Including Bat And/Or Racquet-Based Sports.” 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a device configured to enable scorekeeping for activities including bat and/or racquet-based sports. Embodiments have been particularly developed as a convenient means for tennis players to keep track of scores. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. 
     Scorekeeping in competitive sports is often facilitated by an umpire/referee, and/or additional non-player participants (such as a scorekeeper). It is known for those sorts of people to make use of technology to assist with scorekeeping (for example electronic scoreboard infrastructure), thereby to reduce the likelihood of disputes. However, it is also common for people to partake in sports without assistance from umpires/referees and/or other non-player participants. In those situations, the players themselves keep a mental note of scores. This is by no means ideal; during prolonged and/or strenuous exercise, human memory can often suffer. This often results in inaccurate recollection of scoring, and score disputes between opposing players. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. 
     In broad terms, the present invention provides a portable device for players of a game, sporting event or other competitive activity to keep score as the game, event or activity progresses. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for scorekeeping of a competitive activity between two or more players, the device including:
         a scoring unit having a display screen;   one or more physical inputs for receiving a signal from a player, and   a logic unit in communication with the display screen, the logic unit being configured to modify data displayed on the display screen based on: (i) signals from the one or more physical units; and (ii) predefined scoring logic.       

     Preferably, the scoring unit and display screen are housed within a housing. In some embodiments, the housing is formed of a relatively rigid material. In other embodiments, one or more components of the housing is formed of a flexible material, thereby to facilitate in accommodating movement of a player, in use. In some embodiments, the housing is formed as a one-piece unit. In other forms, the housings are formed of a modular construction, with two or more housing components being connectable to each other to form the housing. It will be appreciated that, in some forms, a housing formed by way of a modular construction can readily assist in enabling access to an interior of the housing for cleaning, maintenance or repair. 
     In some embodiments, the device includes a mounting unit having a first mounting formation adapted to enable the scoring unit to be releasably mounted thereto. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the first mounting formation of the mounting unit is formed of a resiliently deformable material, thereby to facilitate mounting of the scoring unit therein. 
     In some embodiments, the mounting unit has a second mounting formation such that the mounting unit is releasably mountable to an object. Preferably, the object is an item of equipment used in the competitive activity. In some embodiments, the item of equipment is a hand-held item such as, for example, a bat (e.g. cricket), club (e.g. golf), racquet (e.g. tennis), stick (e.g. hockey) or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the mounting unit is adapted to be wearable. In certain embodiments, the mounting unit may be configured to be worn on the wrist of a player. 
     In some embodiments, the second mounting formation includes a loop, band, or strap, thereby to facilitate secure mounting about an object (e.g. a handle of the item of equipment) or (wrist of) a player. In some embodiments, the loop, band, or strap is endless. In such embodiments, the second mounting formation of the mounting unit is preferably formed of a resiliently deformable material, thereby to facilitate mounting of the mounting unit to an object or player. In some embodiments, the loop, band, or strap includes or cooperates with a coupling element such as, for example, a buckle, to facilitate opening and closing of the loop, band or strap to secure or release the mounting unit to or from the object of player. In some embodiments, the band has a first band portion with a first coupling formation and a second band portion with a second coupling formation, wherein the first and second coupling formations are configured to be releasably connected to one another to close or open the band, as desired. In some embodiments, the coupling formation is configured to facilitate adjustment to the effective length of the band, thereby to facilitate secure mounting of the mounting unit to objects of different sizes. 
     In some embodiments, the mounting unit has a primary aperture extending longitudinally through the mounting unit, the primary aperture being configured to receive at least a portion of the object to which the mounting unit is to be mounted. In some embodiments, the primary aperture defines a passage having a substantially circular cross-sectional profile. In such embodiments, the primary aperture is advantageously configured to receive an object such as, for example, an elongate member also having a substantially circular cross-sectional profile. It will be appreciated, however, that the cross-sectional profile of the primary aperture and the object are not limited to circular profiles nor that both profiles be the same. 
     In some embodiments, the cross-sectional diameter of the object is greater than the diameter of the passage, thereby requiring the second mounting formation of the mounting unit to resliently deform or stretch so as to securely mount the mounting member to the object. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device configured to enable scorekeeping, the device including:
         a scoring unit, wherein the control unit is mounted in a rigid housing, wherein the scoring unit includes:   a display screen;   one or more physical inputs; and   a logic unit that is configured to modify data displayed on the display screen based on: (i) signals from the one or more physical units; and (ii) predefined scoring logic;   a mounting unit formed of a resilient material, the mounting unit being formed to define:   a primary aperture, wherein the primary aperture extends longitudinally through the mounting unit thereby to define a passage of substantially circular cross section, the primary aperture being configured to receive an elongate member of substantially circular cross section and a cross-sectional diameter exceeding the diameter of the passage by stretching of the resilient material, thereby to securely mount the mounting member to the elongate member; and   a secondary aperture, wherein the secondary aperture is configured to receive the rigid housing by stretching of the resilient material about the secondary aperture, and securely contain the logic unit.       

     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “some embodiments” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in some embodiments” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments. 
     As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner. 
     In the claims below and the description herein, any one of the terms comprising, comprised of or which comprises is an open term that means including at least the elements/features that follow, but not excluding others. Thus, the term comprising, when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means or elements or steps listed thereafter. For example, the scope of the expression a device comprising A and B should not be limited to devices consisting only of elements A and B. Any one of the terms including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising. 
     As used herein, the term “exemplary” is used in the sense of providing examples, as opposed to indicating quality. That is, an “exemplary embodiment” is an embodiment provided as an example, as opposed to necessarily being an embodiment of exemplary quality. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a device according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  provides an exploded view of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  provide wireframe views of a mounting component of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5A  to  FIG. 5C  provide views of an electronic housing unit for the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  schematically illustrated a control unit for the device of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates, in various embodiments, to devices configured to enable scorekeeping for activities including bat and/or racquet-based sports. Embodiments will be described by reference to a device configured specifically for use in tennis. However, it will be appreciated that the same device is equally applicable to other sports (such as squash, cricket, and so on), for example by way of modification of control logic and/or a display screen. 
       FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  illustrate a device  100  according to one embodiment. Device  100  is formed of two primary components: a mounting unit  101  formed of a resilient material, and a scoring unit  102 , wherein the control unit is mounted in a rigid housing. 
     Scoring unit  102  includes a display screen  103  (in this embodiment being a low-power multi-digit segmented numerical LCD display), and one or more physical inputs (in the illustrated embodiment including two incrementor buttons  104   a  and  104   b , and a “reset” button  105 ). It win be appreciated that other configurations may also be used. Scoring unit  102  additionally includes a logic unit (for example via one or more integrated circuits on a printed circuit board) that is configured to modify data displayed on the display screen based on: (i) signals from the one or more physical units; and (ii) predefined scoring logic. For example, this is configured to increment a tennis score, as discussed further below. 
     Mounting unit  101  is formed of a resilient material such as, for example, silicone. This may be constructed via an injection moulding or other process. The mounting unit is formed to define a primary aperture  110 , a secondary aperture  111 , and in this embodiment a further aperture  112 . These are best illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the primary aperture  110  extends longitudinally through the mounting unit thereby to define a passage of substantially circular cross section. In this manner, the primary aperture is configured to receive an elongate member of substantially circular cross section, such as the handle of a tennis racquet. Where this is an elongate member of cross-sectional diameter exceeding the diameter of the passage, the member is received by stretching of the resilient material, thereby to securely mount the mounting member to the elongate member within the aperture. A relationship between the cross-sectional diameters is of course restricted by material tolerances of the material from which the mounting member is formed; a difference of up to about 10% is preferred. 
     Secondary aperture  111  is configured to receive the rigid housing of scoring unit  102  by stretching of the resilient material about the secondary aperture. Upon insertion, the scoring unit is securely maintained (but selectively removable, for example to enable replacement of a battery or the like). Aperture  112  is provided to enable access to “reset” button  105  upon insertion of control unit  102 . 
       FIG. 5A  to  FIG. 5C  illustrate housing components  102   a  and  102   b  which collectively form the rigid housing of scoring unit  102 . In this embodiment the housing components are held together by extemal fasteners (screws and bolts), but other arrangements including snap-locking configurations may also be used. Component  102   a  is shaped to securely contain electronic componentry, and provides frontal apertures  121   a  and  121   b  for buttons  104   a  and  104   b  respectively, along with an aperture  120  for display screen  103 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an example scoring unit electronic component  130 , which is in an example embodiment contained within the housing defined by components  102   a  and  102   b . This is not illustrated to scale; it is a schematic illustration to show example components. Unit  103  includes a logic unit embodied in a printed circuit board  131 , which includes integrated circuits configured to execute logic thereby to control a LCD display  103  in response to signals from inputs  134 ,  135  and  136 . A power supply  132 , for example a battery power supply, is provided. In some embodiments a charging unit, preferably a solar charging unit, for charging the power supply is also present. 
     In this embodiment, the predefined scoring logic configures the logic unit to, in response to score increment messages, increment a score display on the display screen based on defined rules. In this example the display includes multiple tiered counters, each having at least one respective vertically aligned digit pair. The example of  FIG. 6  shows a highest tier, including three digit pairs  133   a ,  133   b  and  133   c  (which represents scores for up to three tennis sets; in further embodiments an alternate number of digit pairs is provided for set scoring), a middle tier having a single digit pair  133   d  (which represents games in a current tennis set), and a lowest tier having a single digit pair  133   e  (which represents a score for a current game). 
     It will be appreciated that, in other forms, the display screen may include other elements or indicia for displaying the screen. For example, a plurality of multiple discrete indicia may be used, wherein the indicia can be selectively turned on or off such that the number of indicia in an “on” state is representative of the (current) score. In other forms, graphs, charts, lines or other suitable visual elements may be used of represent the score on the display screen, optionally of varying length, size, colour, intensity or the like. 
     The defined rules cause incrementing of a higher-tier counter in response to defined conditions at a lower-tier counter, and are in this example configured for tennis scoring. Example logic is provided below for a score increment button for one player (Player A).
         IF ValueGemePlayerA=0, THEN set ValueGamePlayerA to 15;   IF ValueGamePlayerA=15, THEN set ValueGamePlayerA to 30;   IF ValueGamePlayerA=30, THEN set ValueGamePlayerA to 40;   IF ValueGamePaeyerA=40, AND ValueGamePlayerB=40 THEN set ValueGamePayerA to A;   IF VelueGamePlayerA=40, AND ValueGamePlayerB=A THEN set ValueGamePlayerB to 40   IF:
           ValueGamePlayerA=40, AND ValueGameB=(0 OR 15 OR 30); OR   ValueGamePlayerA=A   THEN:   set ValueGamePlayerA to 0 AND set ValueGamePlayeiB to 0   AND . . .   
               

     The “ . . . ” following the “AND” represents a continuation to set and match scoring logic. It will be appreciated that scoring rules for tennis are readily implemented using such logical operators, thereby to cause incrementing of scores based on pressing of one of two player point incrementor buttons. 
     In some embodiments a non-standard button press provides for a “reverse increment” functionality, for example to rectify a mistake (preferably this is set such that a button press is required for a predetermined interval of time; e.g. a “long press” between 1 and 4.99 seconds). 
     Reset button  105  resets all values to zero (and preferably also requires a button press for a predetermined interval of time; e.g. a “longer press” of 5 seconds or greater). 
     It will be appreciated that the above disclosure provides technology that allows a player of a sport involving a bat or racquet to keep score in a reliable, and yet simple and convenient manner. 
     It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, FIG., or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention. 
     Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination. 
     In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. 
     Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as falling within the scope of the invention. For example, any formulas given above are merely representative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention.