Abstract:
A rebound wall for a ball sport game permitting a player to hit a ball to the rebound wall and upon the ball rebounding to again hit the ball. The wall is to include sensors and transducers which can calculate and display scoring values based on where the ball strikes the rebound wall. A player can utilize the wall by himself or herself or with other players or with other players exteriorly of its location by connection electronically of the wall to a central location which is also connected to other walls.

Description:
REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based on provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/150,916, filed Aug. 26, 1999, by the same title and same inventors. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1) Field of the Invention 
     The subject matter of this invention is directed to a wall that can be used to rebound a ball to an individual that is propelling the ball into the wall or to an adjacent individual and also a way to use the wall to match the player&#39;s skills against competitors throughout the world. 
     2) Description of the Prior Art 
     Backboards or rebound walls for ball sports have long been known. Typically, such walls have been used within the game of tennis. However, prior to the present invention, it has not been known to electronically activate the wall so as to have the player to be able to play different games and also to keep score. Further, electronic activation permits the wall to be used in competition with other players. A typical rebound wall constitutes no more than a planar wall which is mounted in a vertical upright manner with the player then to strike the ball to the board, and when the ball rebounds to rehit the ball again to the board. This permits the player to work on his or her game without the need of an opponent. 
     In the past, prior art non-permanent installations of rebound walls had a major disadvantage in the fact that substantial noise was emitted when the ball struck the wall. This can become annoying to individuals located nearby that are not using the wall. There is a need to construct a rebound wall that produces minimal noise and enjoys the advantage of a permanent wall installation in regard to noise transmission. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A rebound wall constructed of connected together panels that are mounted in an edge abutting relationship forming, in essence, forming a single wall structure although a single panel could be used as the rebound wall. Each panel of this wall includes a plurality of target areas and a plurality of transducers. The target areas are to be individually illuminated to have a player propel a ball to that particular target area. The transducers are to be used to calculate the location of where the ball strikes the panel. Each of the panels is constructed be filled with a weighted material to increase the mass of the panels in order to deaden or muffle the sound of the ball striking the wall plus increase rigidity of the panel and increase stability primarily to counteract wind load. Electronics are to be incorporated within the wall to display information such as time, score, ball speed and players identification as the game is played. Rebound walls at different locations can be electronically connected to a center location so that competition can be held between players at different locations. 
     One advantage of this invention is that the rebound wall is comparatively inexpensive relative to a permanent installation. 
     Another advantage of this invention is that the rebound wall offers the advantages of a permanent installation but yet the rebound wall is portable and can be moved to another location. 
     Another advantage of this invention is that the performance of the rebound wall in relation to sound transmission is equivalent to a permanent wall installation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a frontal exterior view of an assemblage of a master panel and a pair of slave panels of the rebound wall constructed in accordance with this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the panel assemblage of the rebound wall of this invention showing the angular displacement of the slave panels relative to the master panel forming a slight generally concave appearance facing the player taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a right side view of the panel assemblage of this invention taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 1 showing the tilting of the panels relative to vertical; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view with front section removed of a single panel within the assemblage of FIG. 1 taken in the direction toward the back section of the panel of this invention taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 3; and 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the electrical circuitry included within the wall of this invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown the rebound wall  8  comprised of a series of thin panels in edge abutting arrangement that are mounted in a stood up position on a supporting surface  11  with the bottom edge  19  of the panels located directly adjacent the supporting surface  11 . There actually will be some form of a base that connects with the bottom edge  19  that supports each panel on the supporting surface  11 , which is not shown. The panels are divided into a master panel  10  and a pair of slave panels  13  and  15 . The master panel  10  is located between the slave panels  13  and  15 . All panels  10 ,  13  and  15  are constructed identically. Although three in number (panels  10 ,  13  and  15 ) of panels are shown, there may be used a greater number (such as five) or a lesser number (such as one) with three in number being typical. It is to be noted in referring specifically to FIG. 2 that both slave panels  13  and  15  are angularly displaced at about four degrees relative to the master panel  10 . This produces a slight concave shape facing the player. The player will normally be located in some spaced distance in front of master panel  10 . When the player propels a ball (not shown) into the rebound wall  8  and the ball contacts either slave panel  13  or  15 , the slight angular displacement will tend to rebound the ball toward the player. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, each panel  10 ,  13  and  15  is tilted rearwardly (away from the player) about five degrees. This is so the ball is directed in rebound in a slight upward direction to compensate for gravity and loss of momentum in order for the ball to be returned to the player. Typically, the panels  10 ,  13  and  15  would be constructed of ABS plastic, however other materials of construction could be used. 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that each panel  10 ,  13  and  15  is rectangular in shape having a planar front surface  12 , a planar top edge  14 , a planar right side edge  16 , a planar left side edge  18  and a planar bottom edge  19  which is identical to top edge  14 . Each panel  10 ,  13  and  15  is constructed of a front section  17  and a back section  21 . Mounted on the back section  21  are a series of raised members which are of a height to become flush against the inside surface of the front section  17  when it is attached to the back section  21 . These raised members are not shown and are required to make the panel  10 ,  13  and  15  a rigid structure. It is to be noted that for the purposes of this invention the actual configuration of each panel  10 ,  13  and  15  could be altered such as having the front surface  12  assume a slightly parabolic or dish shape. Each of the panels are about three and one-half inches thick, four feet wide and eight feet tall. It is to be understood that by using of the panels  10 ,  13  and  15  that the rebound wall becomes modular and expandable. The electrical wiring and electronics is imbedded within the panels  10 ,  13  and  15  so that such are hidden from view and, for safety reasons, are not contactable by any individual being in close proximity to the wall  8 . 
     The rebound wall  8  constructed of a plurality of the panels  10 ,  13  and  15  can be designed for anyone of a variety of different sports. A great number of sports are required to use some form of a ball. The sports could include tennis, baseball, football, rugby, cricket, soccer, handball, plus others. 
     A principal feature of the present invention is that each of the panels  10  include imbedded electronic sensors which are to detect the point of impact and speed of impact of a ball. Imbedded within the front surface  12  are between five and nine in number of spaced-apart target areas  20  with only five in number being shown. These target areas  20  can vary in location on the panel  10 . Each target area  20  connects with an internal box  22  each of which has an internal chamber  24 . The display area  28  is designed to display desirable indicia such as time, score and/or player information. Player information would be, for example, if there were more than one player playing so you have player A and player B, and each player would have his or her own display area  28 . Typically, only the display area  28  for the master panel  10  is used in the rebound wall  8  with the display area  28  of the slave panels  13  and  15  not being used. The display area  28  includes appropriate visual display electronics  115 ,  116  and  117  that is connected to a microprocessor  90 . 
     Mounted within the internal chamber  24  of each of the internal boxes  22  is a piezoelectric transducer  34  and a target display LED array  107 . Each display  107  can be set to be illuminated when a ball strikes within a certain distance of the display  107 . For an expert, it is necessary that the ball would strike the particular target area  20  within a certain close proximity such as six inches. For a beginner, it may only be necessary that the ball strike in the general proximity of a target area  20 . The electronics can cause a single target area  20  to be illuminated as opposed to the other target areas  20 . The players then attempt to strike the ball so that it contacts in close proximity of the illuminated target area  20 . Included within the panels  10 ,  13  and  15  are spare internal boxes  30  which can be used as additional target areas  20  when such is deemed to be desired. The internal boxes  30 , each of which have an internal chamber  36 , would normally not be included with a game of tennis, but could possibly be included with other types of games such as soccer or handball. Target areas  23  are used for the game of tennis to indicate a ball that is directed to the rebound wall  8  to low to go over the net in the normal game of tennis therefore target areas  23  are to indicate a negative value. 
     There may be formed within each corner of the panel  10  a corner box  32 . Mounted within each internal chamber  45  of each corner box  32  is a sensor in the form of a piezoelectric transducer  34  or other type of suitable transducer. There may be mounted two in number of the transducers  34  within each corner box  32 . The output of the transducer  34  is to be supplied to the display box  26  of the display area  28 . It may be desirable to mount the piezoelectric transducers  34  at other locations such as a single transducer  34  in a box  36  located below the lowermost target areas  20 . 
     The purpose of the piezoelectric transducers  34  is to function to pick up the acoustic/vibrational wave which is created by the ball when striking the rebound wall panel  8 . The microprocessor  90  notes the time and magnitude that each transducer  34  picks up the acoustic/vibrational wave and by comparing of the times between the different transducers  34  is able to determine the point of origin of impact of the ball on the panel  10 . This information can then be supplied to the display area  28  with appropriate information then being displayed to the player or players. 
     Also formed within each panel  10  are boxes  38  and  40 . Box  38  is designed to have mounted therein a power supply  119 . Box  40  is designed to have mounted therein control circuitry which uses a remote control  118 . It is to be understood that the electronics can take any one of numerous different designs of electronics in order to achieve the same end result. Normally within either box  38  or  40  of only master panel  10  (not slave panels  13  and  15 ) there will also be included a speaker  120  with that speaker  120  to be used to relay to the player or players certain information, such as good shot, poor shot, a score value and so forth. 
     Another feature of the present invention is that each rebound wall panel  10  includes structure to deaden the sound of the impact of the ball on the panels  10 ,  13  and  15 . This structure constitutes a hollow cavity  44  located about the boxes  22 ,  30 ,  32 ,  38  and  40 . Access holes  50  and  52  connect with the hollow cavity  44 . Sand  42  is to be poured through the access holes  50 , and  52  to fill the hollow cavity  44 . Each of the panels  10 ,  13  and  15  can be removed from its established position and replaced in a new position. When doing so, the sand  42  is to be removed by means of drain holes  54  and  56  in order to decrease the weight of each panel  10 ,  13  and  15 . The sand  42  substantially increases the overall stability of the panels  10 ,  13  and  15 . The use of sand  42  minimizes the effect of wind on the rebound wall  8 . The adding of the sand  42  to each of the rebound wall panels  10  substantially deadens the sound of the strike of the ball against the panels  10 ,  13  and  15 . It is desirable to eliminate this sound as sound can become quite annoying to someone who is located in close proximity to the panel but is not actually making use of the panel  10 . Instead of sand  42  being used, other weighted particulate matter could be used such as small metal balls, commonly called shot. Also, a liquid could be used such as water. 
     A player can choose one of several interactive, skill enhancement games from a menu of preprogrammed electronic games. In addition, the player can regulate the skill level and score performance at his or her own level. Different games can be designed to use the target areas  20  and the transducers  34 . For example, one of the games would be called “Chase the Target” which would have a particular target  20  to be randomly illuminated and the player would then attempt to strike a ball to hit that particular target. Once a ball has impacted either panel  10 ,  13  or  15 , a determination is made as to how close that ball came to the specific illuminated target area  20  and a score is appropriately recorded. In addition, some type of sound feedback would be transmitted to the player or players, such as good shot or bad shot. A number of points would be applied depending on the length of time it takes to hit the particular target with the faster the ball reaches the illuminated target, the more points are earned. The aim of the game is to achieve the maximum number of points before the time expires for the allotted time of the game. 
     Additionally, a modem can be utilized to connect the panels  10  of the rebound wall of this invention to the Internet. Games could be played every so often and would be controlled at a particular central location. Players could register to play a preselected game or set of games and pay for usage with a credit card. The game would start at exactly the same time and would last a certain prescribed amount of time, such as sixty seconds in length. On completion, the score from each participating system will be transferred to the control center and the result will be redistributed back to each site within seconds. This would give the ability for players to play a particular rebound wall to compete with players all over the world. Also, players would be able to compete with a professional player or celebrity type competitor. The game could be programmed with a professional player. The programming would have as input where the ball would strike the wall  8  and the time between shots against the wall by the professional player. This could be arrived at by the professional player playing the wall or could be programmed into a program for the wall from an actual game played by the professional. Therefore, any individual could select to play in competition with the professional player if he or she so chooses. 
     The microprocessor  90  comprises a general purpose microcontroller such as manufactured by Microchip, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., part number PIC 16C63. The functions of the microprocessor are: (1) Gather data from the transducers  34 ; (2) Display player information on the targets  20  and on the display area  28 ; (3) Generate audio feedback to player through speaker  120 ; (4) Receive commands from a remote control  13 ; and (5) Communicate serially through an industry standard I 2 C serial communicator bus  100 . 
     Sensor  101  of a sensor target section  121 , comprises a piezoelectric transducer  34  attached to the panel in such a way to pick up panel vibrations or acoustic waves. The electrical signal from sensor  101  is then transmitted to a preamplifier and filter  102 . It is to be understood that there are several of the transducers  34  with each being connected to a preamplifier and filter  102 . The preamplifier and filter  102  conditions the signal to eliminate unnecessary data. The signal is then transmitted to a rectifier  103  where it is converted into a direct current (DC) format and then transmitted to a comparator  104  whose function is to determine the signal threshold necessary for the microprocessor  90  to determine the time and impact essentially providing an analog to digital conversion. This information is then transferred to the microprocessor  90 . 
     The microprocessor  90  transmits serial data to each target display of the targets  20 . This information is received by a serial-to-parallel converter  105 . The parallel information, which represents the display pattern, is transmitted to data latch and LED driver  106 . The information or target pattern is then displayed on the target display LED array  107 . 
     The numeric display section  108  operates in a similar manner by using a series of converters  109 ,  110  and  111 . Converter  109  connects to a data latch and LED driver  112 . Converter  110  is connected to a data latch and LED driver  113 . Converter  111  is connected to a separate data latch and LED driver  114 . The data latch and LED driver  112  is connected to a seven segment LED display  115  which visually represents the hundredths digit. The data latch and LED driver  113  connect to a seven segment LED display  116  which visually represents the tenth&#39;s digit. The data latch and LED driver  114  is connected to a seven segment LED display  117  which visually displays the one&#39;s digit. It is to be understood that the displays  115 ,  116  and  117  could be used by turning of a switch to display either time, score or a player game number or countdown time. It is to be understood that there is an arrangement of the displays  115 ,  116  and  117  within each panel that is used in the rebound wall  8 . Therefore, each arrangement of the display can be used to display a certain value. 
     The microprocessor  90  receives commands via a remote control  118 . This remote control  118  is the commonly available radio frequency type. The power supply  119  is to have as its input conventional alternating current at 120 volts. This conventional current is transformed into  12 VDC at each panel. Further output from the microprocessor  90  is the audio output which is transmitted to an audio amplifier and speaker  120 . 
     The microprocessor  90  communicates to all slave panels  13  and  15  by means of an industry standard I2C bus  100 . This bus  100  transmits all sensor, target and display data between each panel  10 ,  13  and  15 . In addition, all control and command data is transmitted along this bus  100 . It is intended that additional features could be added to the system, i.e., credit card readers, an internet modem, etc., which also communicate via the I 2 C bus  100 . 
     The rebound wall of the present invention is designed for heavy duty use at locations such as health and fitness clubs, sports clubs, hotels, resorts, universities and recreation centers. The rebound wall of this invention is designed to promote physical fitness by allowing children and adults to exercise and get physical activity while having fun. Also, the rebound wall of the present invention is designed to improve motor skills, visual efficiency skills, and intellectual skills.