PLAYING COURT

Abstract

A system (10) for generating markings on a playing surface (30) comprises a playing surface (30) including a phosphorescent material; and a display device (12) for irradiating the surface (30) with an electromagnetic radiation to generate a first set of markings on the surface (30).

Claims

1. A playing surface, the playing surface comprising a phosphorescent material.

2. The playing surface of claim 1, wherein the material is capable of absorbing radiation at predetermined wavelength, and is capable of emitting visible light in a delayed manner following exposure to the radiation.

3. The playing surface of any preceding claim, wherein the phosphorescent material is provided within the surface material.

4. The playing surface of any preceding claim, wherein exposure of the surface to the radiation causes the surface to show markings that correspond to markings for use in an activity, game or sport.

5. The playing surface of any preceding claim, wherein the playing surface comprises a plurality of phosphorescent materials.

6. The playing surface of any preceding claim, wherein the playing surface comprises a first phosphorescent material capable of absorbing energy at a first exposure wavelength and of emitting light at a first emission wavelength following irradiation, and a second phosphorescent material capable of absorbing energy at a second exposure wavelength and of emitting light at a second emission wavelength following irradiation.

7. The playing surface of claim 6, wherein the first exposure wavelength and the second exposure wavelength are different.

8. The playing surface of claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the first emission wavelength and the second emission wavelength are different.

9. A system for generating markings on a playing surface, the system comprising: a playing surface comprising a phosphorescent material; and a display device for irradiating the surface with an electromagnetic radiation to generate a first set of markings on the surface.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the display device is configured to generate, project and/or illuminate the electromagnetic radiation on the playing surface, according to a pattern corresponding to characteristics of a first activity, game or sport.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the display device is configured to expose, irradiate or illuminating areas of the surface where markings are intended to be visible during use, at a first exposure wavelength to generate the first set of markings.

12. A method for generating markings on a playing surface, the method comprising: providing a playing surface comprising a phosphorescent material; and irradiating the surface with electromagnetic radiation to generate a first set of markings on the surface.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising exposing the surface to an electromagnetic radiation selected from ultraviolet (UV) light, infrared (IR) light, laser light, or visible light.

14. The method of claim 12 or claim 13, comprising generating, projecting and/or illuminating an electronic radiation on the surface according to a pattern corresponding to characteristics of a first activity, game or sport.

15. The method of claim 14, comprising exposing, irradiating or illuminating areas of the surface where markings are intended to be visible during use, at a first exposure wavelength to generate the first set of markings.

16. The method of any of claims 12 to 15, comprising generating, projecting and/or illuminating an electronic radiation at a/the first exposure wavelength on the surface to render the first set of markings invisible.

17. The method of any of claims claims 12 to 16, comprising exposing, irradiating or illuminating areas of the surface where markings are intended to be visible during use, at a second exposure wavelength, to generate a second set of markings according to and/or corresponding to characteristics of a second activity, game or sport.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates a playing surface and system according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0046] FIG. 2 illustrates court markings produced by the system of FIG. 1; and

[0047] FIG. 3 illustrates alternative court markings produced by the system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The system 10 includes a projector 12 and a playing surface 30 which contains a phosphorescent material. The projector 12 comprises a light source 14 capable of illuminating the surface 30 with light 20 at a first wavelength.

[0049] The light source 14 may be a laser which can be controlled by a computer to produce a desired pattern.

[0050] In this embodiment, however, the light source 14 has an optical filter 16 and a lens 18 so as to irradiate or expose the surface 30 according to a desired pattern. It is be realised that the illustration of FIG. 1 is schematic and that the known elements of a projector and other elements of the embodiment are not illustrated in detail. For example, the projector 12 comprises intricate electronics which are not shown here. In an embodiment, the projector 12 is a digital projector.

[0051] The projector 12 is situated above the playing surface 30 so that the light 20 emitted by the light source 14 is projected through the optical filter 16 and through the lens 18 onto the playing surface 30. The lens 18 will focus the light 20 onto the playing surface 30.

[0052] The optical filter 16, in this embodiment, may be a stencil holder that holds stencils which correspond to the line markings for the chosen game. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates the court markings for basketball and the stencil holder, for such an arrangement, would hold a stencil having the line markings illustrated in FIG. 2 in negative. Therefore, inserting such a stencil into the stencil holder 16 and turning on the light source 14 would cause the projector 12 to project light 20 corresponding to the court markings 26 of FIG. 2 onto the playing surface 30, so as to activate the phosphorescent material in the playing surface to render markings 26 visible to an observer and/or player following exposure to the light 20 according to the selected pattern. Similarly, if the chosen game were volleyball, a stencil corresponding to the court markings 28 illustrated in FIG. 3, but in negative form, could be inserted into the stencil holder 16 to cause the projector 12 to project light 20 onto playing surface 30 corresponding to the court markings 28 illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0053] The chosen activity could therefore be easily altered by merely changing the stencil in the stencil holder 16. Therefore, embodiments of the invention avoid the confusion of multiple lines on the playing surface whilst providing a quick and cost-effective manner for altering the lines or markings.

[0054] It will be appreciated that any type of optical filter, whether mechanical or digital, may be envisaged so long as it allows the display of light on the surface 30 according to a desired pattern. In addition, when the whole surface 30 is to be irradiated, for example in order to render a first set of markings invisible, the projector can irradiate to whole surface 30 with light, e.g. light at a first wavelength.

[0055] An advantage of the present system is that, because the/each set of markings is activated prior to the surface being used for an activity, such that the markings are visible for a predetermined amount of time and preferably for an amount of time sufficient to allow the activity to occur without interruption, there is no risk of any interaction between the light (e.g., light generated by a projector) and players' bodies, accessories or equipment, during use.

[0056] It is to be realised that more than one light source may be used. In particular, the light source may comprise UV, IR and/or lasers.

[0057] Embodiments of the invention are particularly suited to the indoor environment where the level of ambient light is low and therefore the power required projection is also low. However further embodiments may be suited to the outdoor environment particularly in low light circumstances such as night-time. Further embodiments of the invention involving high-powered projectors are also suitable for use during daytime.

[0058] The user can reverse the activated surface just like deleting the lines ahead of its natural decay time by means of using the light source with a reverse (negative) pattern, activating the earlier non-activated surface until the entire court surface fades into a single colour. The power intensity of the light source can be controlled in such a manner to activate the court surface with a different colour at each pre-set level. Hence the court can be used multiple times during the day.

[0059] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the projector is situated above the playing surface. However, in further embodiments, the projector may be situated elsewhere such as below the playing surface which could be made from glass. Furthermore, the projector need not be situated directly above the playing surface and any distortion in geometry can be accounted for through appropriate arrangement of the optical filter 16 or the projecting light source.