Electronic scoring system with impact zone locator

Abstract

The present invention provides for a scoring system for martial arts with a plurality of zonal areas with a plurality of sensors for determining the location of a strike, and a plurality of proximity sensors distinguish incidental contact from a valid point.

Claims

1. A scoring system comprising: at least one chest protector comprising a plurality of sensors and at least one transmitter, said chest protector comprises a plurality of zonal areas, each zonal area having at least one sensor; at least one helmet comprising a plurality of sensors, said helmet comprises a plurality of zonal areas, each zonal area having at least one sensor; at least one receiver; and a foot gear designed to make impact with said chest protector thereby activating said sensor at a particular zonal area of said chest protector and the impact is then read by said transmitter and sent to said receiver which shows that a body shot was scored by a kick and the location of the impact, said foot gear is designed to make impact with said helmet thereby activating said sensor at a particular zonal area of said helmet and the impact is then read by said transmitter and sent to said receiver which shows that a head shot was scored by a kick and the location of the impact.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said sensor is selected from a group consisting essentially of impact sensor, proximity sensor, magnetic proximity sensor, metal detector proximity sensor and combinations thereof.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said proximity sensor functions to distinguish incidental contact from a valid point.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said helmet houses said receiver and comprises at least one indicator, said indicator is selected from a group consisting essentially of lights, sound, and combinations thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said receiver is connected to a computer and the computer shows where the impact was made.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the computer is connected to at least one display monitor.

7. The system of claim 2 wherein said proximity sensor is selected from a group consisting essentially of a magnetic flux detector, a metal detector and combinations thereof.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprises at least one pair of gloves designed to make impact with said chest protector thereby activating said sensor and the impact is then read by said transmitter and sent to said receiver which shows that a body shot was scored by a punch.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said foot gear and said gloves have triggers, said triggers are selected from a group consisting essentially of plurality of magnets, metal and combinations thereof.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprises a second pair of gloves and a second chest protector with a plurality of sensors and at least one transmitter, said chest protector comprises a plurality of zonal areas, each zonal area having at least one sensor; a second receiver; and a second helmet comprising a plurality of sensors, said helmet comprises a plurality of zonal areas, each zonal area having at least one sensor, said second pair of gloves has a trigger, said trigger is selected from a group consisting essentially of plurality of magnets, metals and combinations thereof.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said foot gear is selected from a group consisting essentially of socks, bootie and an article of clothing.

12. A scoring system comprising: at least one chest protector comprising a plurality of sensors and at least one transmitter, said chest protector comprises a plurality of zonal areas, each zonal area having at least one sensor; at least one receiver; and a foot gear designed to make impact with said chest protector thereby activating said sensor at a particular zonal area of said chest protector and the impact is then read by said transmitter and sent to said receiver which shows that a body shot was scored by a kick and the location of the impact, said foot gear is designed to make impact with said helmet thereby activating said sensor at a particular zonal area of said helmet and the impact is then read by said transmitter and sent to said receiver which shows that a head shot was scored by a kick and the location of the impact.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising at least one helmet comprising a plurality of sensors, said helmet comprises a plurality of zonal areas, each zonal area having at least one sensor.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein said sensor is selected from a group consisting essentially of impact sensor, proximity sensor, magnetic proximity sensor, metal detector proximity sensor and combinations thereof.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said proximity sensor functions to distinguish incidental contact from a valid point.

16. The system of claim 12 further comprises at least one pair of gloves designed to make impact with said chest protector thereby activating said sensor and the impact is then read by said transmitter and sent to said receiver which shows that a body shot was scored by a punch and the location of impact.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein said system is adaptable with smart devices selected from a group consisting essentially of phones, pads and computers.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein said helmet houses said receiver and comprises at least one indicator, said indicator is selected from a group consisting essentially of lights, sound, and combinations thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention. These drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one of the embodiments of the chest protectors of the present invention having contiguous sensors;

(3) FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the chest protectors of the present invention having a sensor with multiple sections and segments for detecting location of impact;

(4) FIG. 3 is a front view showing a scoring system from the prior art using a computer and a display screen; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a front view of the stand-alone system of the present invention.

(6) Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.

(8) FIG. 1 represents one embodiment of the present invention with a single contiguous proximity sensor channel. A contact in any of the area is picked up as a hit to the torso area and collected by the electronics 22. This single contiguous system can be used with a computer and display or can be a stand-alone system as discussed below.

(9) FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention where a single sensor 3 is divided into three separate segments: area 3a covers left, area 4 covers middle, and area 5 covers right. In another embodiment, the single sensor may be divided into two or more segments with no limitation on the number of segments. The segments or sections forming the areas allow the system to identify the location of the contact or impact. A contact area can be identified based on the sensor triggered by the contacting technique. The area can be further identified as the middle of the three when two sensors are triggered. For example, if sensor in area 3 and area 4 is triggered simultaneously, the contact area is determined to be in between the left and middle. This multiple segments or section system can be used with a computer and display or can be a stand-alone system as discussed below.

(10) FIG. 3 depicts the prior art which uses impact sensors with computers and/or displays. There are sensors 2 which pick up contact or impact and have electronics 22, which sends the information wirelessly to a receiver 24. The receiver 24 forwards the data to a computer that displays the results. The prior art did not disclose the use of proximity sensors and combinations of sensors or the use of a stand-alone system as discussed below.

(11) FIG. 4 illustrates a stand-alone system. A sensor 11 picked ups impact or contact and has electronics 12. The electronics 12 in the sensor 11 sends the information to the receiver 13, which is embedded in the head gear or helmet. The information is displayed locally by some visible means as shown by indicator 14. In one embodiment, the indicator 14 can be multiple colored Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Each color could represent different information: for example, red indicates system fault, green indicates body contact that meets the point criteria, blue indicates head contact, and yellow indicates penalty condition. An optional control box 10 links to the electronics 12, and/or a control 13. As stated above, the indicator can also use sound or the combination of lights and sound.

(12) Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the attendant claims attached hereto, this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically disclosed herein.