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Ball with internal impact detector and an indicator to indicate impactRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Projectile, Per Se; Part Thereof Or Accessory ThereforBall with internal impact detector and an indicator to indicate impact description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20050288133, Ball with internal impact detector and an indicator to indicate impact. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO CROSS-RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to provisional Application No. 60/469,601, filed on May 7, 2003. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a game ball that contains the number of times a player(s) hits the ball. [0004] 2. Prior Art [0005] There have been marketed game balls that can be kicked between players. Balls such as HACKY SACK (registered trademark of Wham-O Corp.) are constructed from a soft cover material that is filled with an impact absorbing material such as cloth wadding. One object of the game is to see how many times the ball can be successively kicked between players. The players must count each time the ball is kicked, requiring dual concentration to both kick and count. [0006] There have been marketed balls that contain internal electronic circuits and devices that can detect and display the speed of the ball. For example, Tron Link Co. markets a baseball under the name LASER BALL that has an LCD which displays the speed of the ball. This product does not count the number of times the ball is thrown or makes impact with another object such as a player. It would be desirable to provide a soft ball that can automatically count and indicate the number of times the ball makes contact with another object such as a player of the game. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] A game ball that has an impact detector located within a housing. The ball also has a circuit that counts the detected impacts and drives an output device to provide an indication of a number of housing impacts. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a game ball; [0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the game ball being kicked by a player; [0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic of a circuit and output devices of the game ball; [0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the game ball; [0012] FIG. 5 is an illustration of an impact detector; [0013] FIG. 6 is an illustration of an alternate embodiment of the impact detector; [0014] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the game ball being hit with a plurality of paddles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0015] Disclosed is a game ball that can count and indicate the number of times the ball has been hit by a player(s). The game ball includes an impact detector located within a ball housing. The impact detector can detect each time the ball housing is hit. The impact detector is coupled to a circuit that can count each impact detection. The circuit drives an output device to indicate, visually and/or audibly, a number of detected impacts. This allows a player(s) to determine the number of times the ball is successively hit without having to manually count during play of the game. [0016] Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a game ball 10. The game ball 10 includes an outer housing 12 that is preferably constructed from a soft material such as leather or vinyl. Within the housing 12 is an impact absorbing material 14 such as cloth wadding or plastic beads, etc. The ball 10 may have one or more light emitting diodes ("LEDs") 16 attached to the housing 14. [0017] As shown in FIG. 2 the ball 10 is typically small enough to be kicked by a player. The game ball 10 can be used in a game where the ball 10 is kicked between multiple players. In general, the ball 10 is constructed to be deformable. For example, the ball 10 is much like a sack that can be balanced on a player's leg. [0018] As shown in FIG. 3 the game ball 10 may include an impact detector 18 that is coupled to a circuit 20. The impact detector 18 may detect the number of times the ball housing 12 is impacted by an external object such as the foot or leg of a player. The circuit 20 may contain a counter that counts the number of times the detector 18 detects impact. By way of example, the circuit 20 may include a controller 22 that is mounted to a printed circuit board 24. [0019] The controller 22 may operate in accordance with data and operating instructions stored on-board, or in a separate memory device (not shown). The controller 22 may drive a speaker 26 that is attached to the housing 12. The controller 22 and speaker 26 may generate an audible sound each time the impact detector 18 detects impact of the ball 10. Additionally, the controller 22 may operate a program to count the number of impacts and then generate an audible output that indicates the number of times the ball is impacted. By way of example, the speaker 26 may emit a voice sound such as "8" or "12". Alternatively, the speaker 26 may emit 8 or 12 beeping sounds. Continue reading about Ball with internal impact detector and an indicator to indicate impact... Full patent description for Ball with internal impact detector and an indicator to indicate impact Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Ball with internal impact detector and an indicator to indicate impact patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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