HOCKEY SKILL-TESTING, PRACTICE AND GAME APPARATUS
United States Patent 3709489
This easily-assembled, low cost, versatile apparatus for evaluating the hockey skills of individual players, particularly their shooting, passing and stick handling abilities, comprises a self-supporting, multi-sectioned upstanding wall structure defining, on a substantially flat surface, at least first, second and third adjacent substantially-rectilinear compartments. Two of the compartments have puck target means at one end and are open at the other end so as to provide a shooting position for the contestant, the puck target means comprising a vertically-disposed wall having a plurality of puck receiving apertures therethrough, the size and location of the apertures differing in the respective compartments. The third, substantially-larger compartment has a plurality of upstanding separator devices positionable on the flat surface therein and in spaced relation from each other and from the wall structure so as to define a continuous serpentine path for the contestant to follow. In addition to testing ice, roller and field hockey skills, the apparatus may be used for hockey practice and as a competitive game.
US Patent References:
Game apparatus
Lotes - December 1937 - 2103428
Game apparatus
Foltin et al. - September 1941 - 2256555
Golf chipping and putting target including ball return means
Richman - August 1965 - 3202429
Golf game apparatus with electrical scoring means
Blanding - November 1968 - 3411788
BOUNCING BALL GAME METHOD
McCarthy - May 1971 - 3580578
Game apparatus
Lotes - December 1937 - 2103428
Game apparatus
Foltin et al. - September 1941 - 2256555
Golf chipping and putting target including ball return means
Richman - August 1965 - 3202429
Golf game apparatus with electrical scoring means
Blanding - November 1968 - 3411788
BOUNCING BALL GAME METHOD
McCarthy - May 1971 - 3580578
Inventors:
Holleran, Thomas M. (South Holland, IL)
Green, Frederick T. (Munster, IN)
Green, Frederick T. (Munster, IN)
Application Number:
05/159872
Publication Date:
01/09/1973
Filing Date:
07/06/1971
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
273/DIG.004, 472/94, 273/127B, 273/402
International Classes:
A63B69/00; A63B69/00
Field of Search:
273/1B,15R,127R,127B 272/3
Primary Examiner:
Oechsle, Anton O.
Assistant Examiner:
Shapiro, Paule E.
Claims:
Having described the invention, what is claimed is
1. A hockey skill-testing, practice and game apparatus comprising in combination:
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein substantially all sections of said multi-sectioned vertical wall are equal in length and height, the length of the sides of each compartment being determined by the number of sections therein.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said sections has a length between about 5 and 20 feet and a height of between about 1 and 4 feet.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sections of said multi-sectioned vertical wall structure comprise wood and are secured to one another by metallic brackets with horizontal flange portions having pole-receiving apertures therein for supporting vertically disposed poles.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein at least one side of each of said compartments is in alignment with each other, and including a plurality of flagpoles supported in the pole-receiving apertures of the brackets along said aligned sides.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 including at least one banner bearing instructional indicia suspended between flagpoles of each of said compartments.
7. The apparatus of claim 4 including vertically disposed poles in brackets securing sections of the side walls of said first and second compartments.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 including puck retaining netting suspended in vertical disposition between the flagpoles and the poles of said first and second compartments.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said netting comprises nylon netting.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sections of said multi-sectioned vertical wall structure comprise wall sections having hinge brackets thereon with aperture axes vertically disposed and including vertically-disposed elongated members as hinge pins in aligned hinge brackets of adjacent sections whereby to splice adjacent sections together.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein a plurality of said elongated members extends substantially above said wall sections and including puck retaining netting supported in vertical disposition above said wall sections and between said elongated members.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the puck receiving apertures of at least one of said puck target means are vertically disposed at different levels above the flat surface.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the puck receiving apertures of at least one of said puck target means are aligned adjacent said flat surface.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said upstanding separator devices comprise resilient truncated cones.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said compartments has at least one wall common to another of said compartments.
1. A hockey skill-testing, practice and game apparatus comprising in combination:
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein substantially all sections of said multi-sectioned vertical wall are equal in length and height, the length of the sides of each compartment being determined by the number of sections therein.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said sections has a length between about 5 and 20 feet and a height of between about 1 and 4 feet.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sections of said multi-sectioned vertical wall structure comprise wood and are secured to one another by metallic brackets with horizontal flange portions having pole-receiving apertures therein for supporting vertically disposed poles.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein at least one side of each of said compartments is in alignment with each other, and including a plurality of flagpoles supported in the pole-receiving apertures of the brackets along said aligned sides.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 including at least one banner bearing instructional indicia suspended between flagpoles of each of said compartments.
7. The apparatus of claim 4 including vertically disposed poles in brackets securing sections of the side walls of said first and second compartments.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 including puck retaining netting suspended in vertical disposition between the flagpoles and the poles of said first and second compartments.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said netting comprises nylon netting.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sections of said multi-sectioned vertical wall structure comprise wall sections having hinge brackets thereon with aperture axes vertically disposed and including vertically-disposed elongated members as hinge pins in aligned hinge brackets of adjacent sections whereby to splice adjacent sections together.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein a plurality of said elongated members extends substantially above said wall sections and including puck retaining netting supported in vertical disposition above said wall sections and between said elongated members.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the puck receiving apertures of at least one of said puck target means are vertically disposed at different levels above the flat surface.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the puck receiving apertures of at least one of said puck target means are aligned adjacent said flat surface.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said upstanding separator devices comprise resilient truncated cones.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said compartments has at least one wall common to another of said compartments.
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel apparatus which can be readily set up indoors or outdoors for testing selected hockey skills of individual participants. More specifically, it relates to a low-cost, three-compartment apparatus which may be employed for measuring selected hockey skills, for hockey practice or as a competitive game, the three compartments being adapted to test shooting, passing and stick handling capabilities, respectively.
While the present invention is described herein with particular reference to a promotional contest embodiment suitable for erection on an asphalt-coated surface such as a playground or parking lot, it should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto. The invention can be adapted for various purposes and for erection on many substantially-flat surfaces including ice, wood, cement, linoleum, asphalt and the like, e.g., gym floors as used in floor hockey, as those skilled in the art will recognize in the light of the present disclosure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore the evaluation or measurement of hockey playing capabilities of an individual has been subjective, often haphazard and non-selective. Ice or roller skating ability is taken for granted but additional required skills include some excellence in shooting, passing and stick handling. These skills are difficult to segregate when observing individual hockey players in action and individual weaknesses are difficult to spot and diagnose.
Remedial action in the form of practice of such individual skills is difficult to implement for large groups because an individual player can tie up a substantial area of a rink attempting to correct a particular shortcoming. Moreover, the continued practice of individual skills without the fun and enjoyment of competitive activity reduces the practice to drudgery. Space limitations may even preclude practice.
In the climatically-more-temperate areas, the measurement and development of hockey skills is even more difficult. The natural ice season is so short that the individual players are projected into competitive games before their skills have been fully developed through adequate practice. In some instances the playing season is over before the individual player has had sufficient practice to reach his peak proficiency.
The situation has been alleviated somewhat in recent years by the development of pucks for iceless surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, wood and the like. These pucks simulate the performance of a conventional hard rubber hockey puck on ice. The frequent unavailability of space for the safe practice of hockey skills, however, has created a need for an apparatus for such purposes.
It is to these and other associated problems of the prior art that the present invention is addressed, as will be apparent from the following objects.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a versatile apparatus for competitively evaluating the hockey skills of an individual. It is another general object to provide a low-cost apparatus for evaluating the shooting, passing and stick handling capabilities of an individual participant, which apparatus can be employed on ice or iceless surfaces. It is another general object to provide a competitive game based upon the contestant's puck shooting, passing and stick handling capabilities. It is still another general object to provide a hockey skill measuring, practice and game apparatus which lends itself to attention-gathering promotional activities.
It is a more specific object to provide a relatively-inexpensive, readily-assembled indoor or outdoor hockey apparatus which provides a numerical measurement of an individual contestant's skills. It is another specific object to provide a competitive hockey game apparatus which can be assembled and employed on almost any smooth, flat surface in any climate and can be readily broken down for compact storage or transport. It is another specific object to provide a hockey apparatus featuring modular construction and common elements whereby the size can be readily varied by adjusting the number of modules.
It is another specific object to provide an apparatus for measuring hockey prowess having multi-functioned components and common wall portions, said apparatus designed for simultaneous safe use by more than one contestant. It is still another specific object to provide an "audience participation" promotional apparatus based on the participant's hockey skills, the apparatus being readily transportable and quickly set up and requiring no special site preparation. These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the detailed description proceeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects are achieved in a particular embodiment by an apparatus comprising in combination a self-supporting, multi-sectioned upstanding wall structure which is erected on a substantially smooth surface and defines at least first, second and third adjacent substantially-rectilinear compartments. Each compartment is designed to evaluate a particular hockey skill, i.e., shooting ability, passing ability and stick handling ability.
The compartments for measuring, shooting and passing abilities are open at one end to provide a shooting position for the contestants and have puck target means at the opposite end. The target means comprises a vertically disposed wall with a plurality of puck-receiving apertures therethrough. The size and location of the apertures differ in the two compartments to reflect differences in the skills being tested, as hereinafter set forth.
The third compartment is substantially larger than the other two and has a plurality of upstanding separator devices such as resilient rubber or plastic truncated cones therein. These are distributed on the flat surface in spaced relation from each other and the wall structure so as to define a continuous serpentine path for the contestant to follow as he demonstrates his stick handling capabilities.
The wall sections of the multi-sectioned vertical wall are preferably equal in length and height whereby the length of the sides of each compartment is determined by the number of sections or modules therein. In a typical embodiment each of the sections comprises a one-half-inch to 1-inch thick barrier which has a length between about 5 and 20 feet and a height of between about 6 inches and 4 feet.
The various sections of the multi-walled structure are secured to one another by metallic brackets with horizontal flange portions having pole or other upright-receiving apertures therein for supporting vertically-disposed poles, uprights or the like. The poles inserted in these apertures may be flag or pennant poles or may be netting or banner-support poles. The poles may also comprise support structures for various other objects such as floodlighting or other illumination or promotional devices. Manifestly, the structural strength of the pole or upright must be commensurate with the load imposed thereon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention and detailed aspects thereof will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of a promotional contest embodiment, read in conjunction with accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the overall apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof on a slightly larger scale than FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an overhead plan view on the same scale as FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a section view along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary, perspective views in section of typical corners of the wall structure showing the corner braces;
FIG. 7 is a section view along the line 7--7 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevation view of the wall structure showing the side braces joining adjacent aligned sections thereof;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic plan views of other illustrative compartment arrangements which may optionally be employed to meet particular needs; and
FIGS. 11-16 are various views of alternative bracket means for joining adjacent sections of the wall structure.
It should be understood that in some instances diagrammatic or graphic symbols are employed in the drawings, that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that details shown in some figures may be omitted in other figures for simplicity and drawing economy. Thus the drawings may depart in certain respects from actual appearances when visually observed. It should also be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiment illustrated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS, INCLUDING PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the embodiment comprises a vertical wall structure made up of substantially identical wall sections 10 which are assembled on a substantially flat and smooth surface to define rectilinear compartments A, B and C, respectively, each of said compartments being defined to evaluate particular hockey skills. In the exemplar, compartment A is used for the shooting event, i.e., the evaluation of shooting skills. Compartment B is used for the passing event, i.e., the evaluation of passing skills. Compartment C is used for the stick handling event, i.e., the evaluation of the contestant's stick handling ability. Manifestly, the events in compartments A and B can be interchanged by interchanging the target means hereinafter described.
In this exemplar, the sections 10 comprise 3/4-inch plywood having a length of 8 feet and a height of 2 feet. Thus, compartments A and B have a width of 8 feet and a length of 16 feet, and compartment C is 16 feet by 32 feet. End portions are supported and steadied by 3/4-inch plywood sections 12, said sections being 2 feet square. While sections 10 are not depicted as having the same length in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 to meet drawing space limitations, it is preferable that they be equal in length for interchangeability and modular construction, e.g., 8 feet long, as above indicated.
Attention-gathering pennant or flagpoles 14 are aligned along the back wall and net support poles 16 are supported along the sides of compartments A and B. Poles 16 and 18 are preferably identical, e.g., 3/4-inch steel or aluminum pipe having a wall thickness of about one-eighth inch, and a length of 10 feet. Spaced rings are secured adjacent the top for attaching banners and netting. Pennants and flags are added simply by inserting the supporting stick with collar into the open end of the pole.
Netting 18 of natural or synthetic construction, e.g., cotton, fiber glass, nylon or the like, preferably nylon, is strung between the poles of compartments A and B as a convenience and safety measure whereby to prevent the puck from being projected outside the compartment. The combination of low wall heights and netting also minimizes wind resistance so that the apparatus may be of lightweight and thus less expensive construction.
In addition to supporting the netting and pennants, the poles may also provide the suspension means for banners bearing instructional indicia, advertising and other promotional material. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 only, scoring instructions for the stick-handling event carried out in compartment C can be set forth on a lightweight cloth or plastic banners 19. Similarly, instructional information for contestants can be set forth on banners suspended between the flagpoles of compartments A and B, as desired.
Referring to compartment A, the contestant stands immediately adjacent the compartment outside the chalk line (the crosshatched line in FIGS. 1 and 3). With a hockey stick he shoots a puck from the crosshatched circle towards target means 20, which is spaced about 18 inches from the rear wall, as further discussed in connection with FIG. 7. In this event, the object is to shoot the puck through any selected one of the five square apertures 22, each aperture being assigned a particular number of scoring points as illustrated in FIG. 4.
In a specific embodiment, shoot board 20 is made up of 3/4-inch thick plywood having a length of 6 feet and a height of 4 feet, although in another embodiment it comprises a heavy angular frame stand. The apertures are 1 foot square each, the edges of the corner apertures being located 2 inches from the respective margins of the board. The inner aperture is centered, the edges thus being 21/2 feet from the side margins and 11/2 feet from the top and bottom margins.
Referring to compartment B, the contestant similarly positions himself outside the chalk line and with a hockey stick passes a puck from the crosshatched circle towards target means 24. Target means 24 comprises 3/4-inch thick plywood having a length of 8 feet and a height of 2 feet and is spaced about 20 inches from the rear wall. Three semi-circular cut out sections 26 are the targets through which the contestant attempts to pass the puck. The cut out sections 26 are located at 2 foot centers along target means 24 and are cut on a radius of 41/2 inches, the height of the cut out at the center being 43/4 inches.
Referring to compartment C, the contestant commences his stick handling run from outside the chalk line with the puck in the crosshatched circle. He then stick handles the puck around the serpentine path defined by truncated rubber cones 28, as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 3. The contestant finally exits through the same opening in the wall structure, his time to complete the course being the measure of his stick-handling ability. Cones 28 may comprise the conventional traffic-control cones which are commercially available, or the like.
Details of the brackets for supporting the wall sections are shown in FIGS. 5 through 8. In FIGS. 5 and 6, which illustrate the adjacent rear corners of compartments B and C, identical corner brackets 30 comprise vertical flanges 32 and 34 and horizontal flanges 36 and 38. The corner brackets 30 are secured to the wall members by bolt and wing nut combinations 40 for ease of assembly and disassembly. Corner brackets 30 are used interchangeably at each corner of the apparatus.
In FIG. 5, the target means 24 and the associated wall structure are stabilized by stabilizer bars 42 and 44 having vertical portions which pass through center apertures in horizontal flanges 36 and 38, respectively, as indicated. In FIG. 6, flagpole 14 passes through and is held erect by the center apertures. Smaller apertures are also drilled in horizontal flanges 36 and 38 of the corner brackets 30 so that tie-down cords or ropes 46 and 48 for netting 18 may be secured thereto.
Referring to FIG. 7, target means 20 comprises 3/4-inch thick plywood which is strengthened by 2-inch by 4-inch wood ribs 56, which are glued and nailed thereto adjacent the rear periphery thereof. Target means 20 is secured to the rear wall structure by bracket means comprising horizontal portion 58, vertical portion 60 and slanted portion 62. The horizontal portion 58 is notched adjacent the rear extremity thereof to accommodate wall section 10.
Referring to FIG. 8, the aligned wall sections are held in place by brackets having vertical portions 64 and horizontal portions 66. The vertical portions are apertured to receive bolt and wing nut combinations 68 and horizontal portions are apertured adjacent the center to receive poles 12 or 14, as the case may be. The horizontal portions have additional small apertures 70 therein to provide anchor holes for netting tie-down cords or the like.
Alternative means for assembling the various wall sections into compartments is illustrated in FIGS. 11-16. As will be apparent, this alternative means utilizes the upright poles as hinge pins for interlocking adjacent sections. It also eliminates the need for applying or removing bolt and wing nut combinations whenever assembling or dismantling the apparatus.
In the assembled view of FIG. 11 and the exploded view of FIG. 12, wall section 80 is disposed at right angles to an intermediate portion of wall section 82 by means of narrow bracket members 84 and 86 on wall section 80 and wide bracket member 88 on wall member 82. The bracket members are held in interlocked relationship by means of pole 90 which passes through the respective aligned apertures. The bracket members in turn support the pole member vertically.
Referring to FIG. 13, wall member 92 is spliced to wall member 94 in end-to-end relationship by means of hinge-like bracket members 96 and 98 on wall member 92 and hinge members 100 and 102 on wall member 94. As in FIGS. 11 and 12, the hinge members are held together by means of an elongated pin or pole 104 which passes through the aligned apertures in the respective bracket members.
Instead of an aligned relationship, the wall members 92 and 94 may alternately be disposed at right angles or other angular relationship. This is achieved simply by rotating wall members 92 and 94 relative to each other as suggested in dashed outline in FIG. 14.
Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, three wall sections 106, 108 and 110 are interconnected by means of bracket members 112 and 114 on wall member 106, bracket member 116 on wall member 108 and bracket members 118 and 120 on wall member 110. Rod member or pole 122 passes through the aligned apertures in the brackets to form the splice or interlock and to provide support means for itself.
The versatility of such modular construction is manifest. It can readily be assembled and disassembled by inserting or removing the respective pole members. No time is lost in assembling bolt and wing nut combinations, fewer components are required and the possibility of losing components is minimized, particularly the bolt and wing nut combinations.
While the present embodiment has the various compartments arranged in a particular orientation, the invention is manifestly not limited thereto. Other arrangements may be devised using the same modular components to meet specific needs or space limitations. Illustrative alternative arrangements are shown in diagrammatic form in FIGS. 9 and 10. Also, for example, while a common entry and exit are employed in zone or compartment C, a separate entry and exit can be readily devised, as those skilled in the art will recognize in the light of this disclosure.
EXAMPLE -- HOCKEY CONTEST
The apparatus described above in connection with FIGS. 1 through 8 is set up on the substantially-smooth asphalt-covered parking lot of a sports center without any preliminary site preparation or anchoring devices. Pennants bearing the legend "Hockey Contest" are placed on top of each of the rear poles and banners bearing the rules for the "Shoot Event," "Passing Event" and "Stick Handling Event" are strung between the adjacent poles of compartments A, B and C, i.e., first, second and third modules from the left as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, a banner bearing the "General Rules" is suspended between the poles of the fourth module. All of the banners bear promotional indicia adjacent the rules so that the sponsor is assured maximum exposure for his product or message.
Chalk lines and starting circles (the crosshatched areas in FIGS. 1 and 3) are drawn on the asphalt at the entry to each compartment. In addition, chalk arrows marking the serpentine path in zone C are drawn and the location of each of the truncated-cone rubber separators is marked on the asphalt so that they can be accurately relocated in the event of accidental displacement.
Each contestant, e.g., boys 14 years and younger, is tested in each zone or compartment. In compartment A, the contestant has 60 seconds to shoot 10 pucks and receives 10 points for so doing plus additional points for any pucks passing through one of the apertures, the number of points being as indicated in FIG. 4. In compartment B, the contestant has 60 seconds to pass six pucks and receives 10 points for so doing plus 10 additional points for any pucks passing through one of the apertures. In compartment C, the contestant has 60 seconds to stick handle the puck around the serpentine path and receives 10 points for so doing plus 10 additional points for every second under 60. The highest score wins.
Because the surface is asphalt, pucks for iceless surfaces are employed. A preferred form is a polyethylene puck having substantially the same dimensions of a conventional hard-rubber ice hockey puck except that the normally-flat surfaces are concave. Manifestly, the apparatus of the present invention may be set up on ice and conventional ice hockey pucks used also.
When set up and played as above indicated, as many as 400 contestants can compete in an 8-hour period. Because of the ease of assembly and disassembly, the apparatus can be brought to the site, set up, used throughout the day, and disassembled and removed from the site, all in 1 day. Chalk marks are readily washed away, leaving the site unmarked and unmarred after removal.
From the above description and specific example, it is apparent that the objects of the present invention have been achieved. While only certain embodiments have been set forth, alternative modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art. These and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel apparatus which can be readily set up indoors or outdoors for testing selected hockey skills of individual participants. More specifically, it relates to a low-cost, three-compartment apparatus which may be employed for measuring selected hockey skills, for hockey practice or as a competitive game, the three compartments being adapted to test shooting, passing and stick handling capabilities, respectively.
While the present invention is described herein with particular reference to a promotional contest embodiment suitable for erection on an asphalt-coated surface such as a playground or parking lot, it should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto. The invention can be adapted for various purposes and for erection on many substantially-flat surfaces including ice, wood, cement, linoleum, asphalt and the like, e.g., gym floors as used in floor hockey, as those skilled in the art will recognize in the light of the present disclosure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore the evaluation or measurement of hockey playing capabilities of an individual has been subjective, often haphazard and non-selective. Ice or roller skating ability is taken for granted but additional required skills include some excellence in shooting, passing and stick handling. These skills are difficult to segregate when observing individual hockey players in action and individual weaknesses are difficult to spot and diagnose.
Remedial action in the form of practice of such individual skills is difficult to implement for large groups because an individual player can tie up a substantial area of a rink attempting to correct a particular shortcoming. Moreover, the continued practice of individual skills without the fun and enjoyment of competitive activity reduces the practice to drudgery. Space limitations may even preclude practice.
In the climatically-more-temperate areas, the measurement and development of hockey skills is even more difficult. The natural ice season is so short that the individual players are projected into competitive games before their skills have been fully developed through adequate practice. In some instances the playing season is over before the individual player has had sufficient practice to reach his peak proficiency.
The situation has been alleviated somewhat in recent years by the development of pucks for iceless surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, wood and the like. These pucks simulate the performance of a conventional hard rubber hockey puck on ice. The frequent unavailability of space for the safe practice of hockey skills, however, has created a need for an apparatus for such purposes.
It is to these and other associated problems of the prior art that the present invention is addressed, as will be apparent from the following objects.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a versatile apparatus for competitively evaluating the hockey skills of an individual. It is another general object to provide a low-cost apparatus for evaluating the shooting, passing and stick handling capabilities of an individual participant, which apparatus can be employed on ice or iceless surfaces. It is another general object to provide a competitive game based upon the contestant's puck shooting, passing and stick handling capabilities. It is still another general object to provide a hockey skill measuring, practice and game apparatus which lends itself to attention-gathering promotional activities.
It is a more specific object to provide a relatively-inexpensive, readily-assembled indoor or outdoor hockey apparatus which provides a numerical measurement of an individual contestant's skills. It is another specific object to provide a competitive hockey game apparatus which can be assembled and employed on almost any smooth, flat surface in any climate and can be readily broken down for compact storage or transport. It is another specific object to provide a hockey apparatus featuring modular construction and common elements whereby the size can be readily varied by adjusting the number of modules.
It is another specific object to provide an apparatus for measuring hockey prowess having multi-functioned components and common wall portions, said apparatus designed for simultaneous safe use by more than one contestant. It is still another specific object to provide an "audience participation" promotional apparatus based on the participant's hockey skills, the apparatus being readily transportable and quickly set up and requiring no special site preparation. These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the detailed description proceeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects are achieved in a particular embodiment by an apparatus comprising in combination a self-supporting, multi-sectioned upstanding wall structure which is erected on a substantially smooth surface and defines at least first, second and third adjacent substantially-rectilinear compartments. Each compartment is designed to evaluate a particular hockey skill, i.e., shooting ability, passing ability and stick handling ability.
The compartments for measuring, shooting and passing abilities are open at one end to provide a shooting position for the contestants and have puck target means at the opposite end. The target means comprises a vertically disposed wall with a plurality of puck-receiving apertures therethrough. The size and location of the apertures differ in the two compartments to reflect differences in the skills being tested, as hereinafter set forth.
The third compartment is substantially larger than the other two and has a plurality of upstanding separator devices such as resilient rubber or plastic truncated cones therein. These are distributed on the flat surface in spaced relation from each other and the wall structure so as to define a continuous serpentine path for the contestant to follow as he demonstrates his stick handling capabilities.
The wall sections of the multi-sectioned vertical wall are preferably equal in length and height whereby the length of the sides of each compartment is determined by the number of sections or modules therein. In a typical embodiment each of the sections comprises a one-half-inch to 1-inch thick barrier which has a length between about 5 and 20 feet and a height of between about 6 inches and 4 feet.
The various sections of the multi-walled structure are secured to one another by metallic brackets with horizontal flange portions having pole or other upright-receiving apertures therein for supporting vertically-disposed poles, uprights or the like. The poles inserted in these apertures may be flag or pennant poles or may be netting or banner-support poles. The poles may also comprise support structures for various other objects such as floodlighting or other illumination or promotional devices. Manifestly, the structural strength of the pole or upright must be commensurate with the load imposed thereon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention and detailed aspects thereof will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of a promotional contest embodiment, read in conjunction with accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the overall apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof on a slightly larger scale than FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an overhead plan view on the same scale as FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a section view along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary, perspective views in section of typical corners of the wall structure showing the corner braces;
FIG. 7 is a section view along the line 7--7 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevation view of the wall structure showing the side braces joining adjacent aligned sections thereof;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic plan views of other illustrative compartment arrangements which may optionally be employed to meet particular needs; and
FIGS. 11-16 are various views of alternative bracket means for joining adjacent sections of the wall structure.
It should be understood that in some instances diagrammatic or graphic symbols are employed in the drawings, that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that details shown in some figures may be omitted in other figures for simplicity and drawing economy. Thus the drawings may depart in certain respects from actual appearances when visually observed. It should also be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiment illustrated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS, INCLUDING PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the embodiment comprises a vertical wall structure made up of substantially identical wall sections 10 which are assembled on a substantially flat and smooth surface to define rectilinear compartments A, B and C, respectively, each of said compartments being defined to evaluate particular hockey skills. In the exemplar, compartment A is used for the shooting event, i.e., the evaluation of shooting skills. Compartment B is used for the passing event, i.e., the evaluation of passing skills. Compartment C is used for the stick handling event, i.e., the evaluation of the contestant's stick handling ability. Manifestly, the events in compartments A and B can be interchanged by interchanging the target means hereinafter described.
In this exemplar, the sections 10 comprise 3/4-inch plywood having a length of 8 feet and a height of 2 feet. Thus, compartments A and B have a width of 8 feet and a length of 16 feet, and compartment C is 16 feet by 32 feet. End portions are supported and steadied by 3/4-inch plywood sections 12, said sections being 2 feet square. While sections 10 are not depicted as having the same length in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 to meet drawing space limitations, it is preferable that they be equal in length for interchangeability and modular construction, e.g., 8 feet long, as above indicated.
Attention-gathering pennant or flagpoles 14 are aligned along the back wall and net support poles 16 are supported along the sides of compartments A and B. Poles 16 and 18 are preferably identical, e.g., 3/4-inch steel or aluminum pipe having a wall thickness of about one-eighth inch, and a length of 10 feet. Spaced rings are secured adjacent the top for attaching banners and netting. Pennants and flags are added simply by inserting the supporting stick with collar into the open end of the pole.
Netting 18 of natural or synthetic construction, e.g., cotton, fiber glass, nylon or the like, preferably nylon, is strung between the poles of compartments A and B as a convenience and safety measure whereby to prevent the puck from being projected outside the compartment. The combination of low wall heights and netting also minimizes wind resistance so that the apparatus may be of lightweight and thus less expensive construction.
In addition to supporting the netting and pennants, the poles may also provide the suspension means for banners bearing instructional indicia, advertising and other promotional material. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 only, scoring instructions for the stick-handling event carried out in compartment C can be set forth on a lightweight cloth or plastic banners 19. Similarly, instructional information for contestants can be set forth on banners suspended between the flagpoles of compartments A and B, as desired.
Referring to compartment A, the contestant stands immediately adjacent the compartment outside the chalk line (the crosshatched line in FIGS. 1 and 3). With a hockey stick he shoots a puck from the crosshatched circle towards target means 20, which is spaced about 18 inches from the rear wall, as further discussed in connection with FIG. 7. In this event, the object is to shoot the puck through any selected one of the five square apertures 22, each aperture being assigned a particular number of scoring points as illustrated in FIG. 4.
In a specific embodiment, shoot board 20 is made up of 3/4-inch thick plywood having a length of 6 feet and a height of 4 feet, although in another embodiment it comprises a heavy angular frame stand. The apertures are 1 foot square each, the edges of the corner apertures being located 2 inches from the respective margins of the board. The inner aperture is centered, the edges thus being 21/2 feet from the side margins and 11/2 feet from the top and bottom margins.
Referring to compartment B, the contestant similarly positions himself outside the chalk line and with a hockey stick passes a puck from the crosshatched circle towards target means 24. Target means 24 comprises 3/4-inch thick plywood having a length of 8 feet and a height of 2 feet and is spaced about 20 inches from the rear wall. Three semi-circular cut out sections 26 are the targets through which the contestant attempts to pass the puck. The cut out sections 26 are located at 2 foot centers along target means 24 and are cut on a radius of 41/2 inches, the height of the cut out at the center being 43/4 inches.
Referring to compartment C, the contestant commences his stick handling run from outside the chalk line with the puck in the crosshatched circle. He then stick handles the puck around the serpentine path defined by truncated rubber cones 28, as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 3. The contestant finally exits through the same opening in the wall structure, his time to complete the course being the measure of his stick-handling ability. Cones 28 may comprise the conventional traffic-control cones which are commercially available, or the like.
Details of the brackets for supporting the wall sections are shown in FIGS. 5 through 8. In FIGS. 5 and 6, which illustrate the adjacent rear corners of compartments B and C, identical corner brackets 30 comprise vertical flanges 32 and 34 and horizontal flanges 36 and 38. The corner brackets 30 are secured to the wall members by bolt and wing nut combinations 40 for ease of assembly and disassembly. Corner brackets 30 are used interchangeably at each corner of the apparatus.
In FIG. 5, the target means 24 and the associated wall structure are stabilized by stabilizer bars 42 and 44 having vertical portions which pass through center apertures in horizontal flanges 36 and 38, respectively, as indicated. In FIG. 6, flagpole 14 passes through and is held erect by the center apertures. Smaller apertures are also drilled in horizontal flanges 36 and 38 of the corner brackets 30 so that tie-down cords or ropes 46 and 48 for netting 18 may be secured thereto.
Referring to FIG. 7, target means 20 comprises 3/4-inch thick plywood which is strengthened by 2-inch by 4-inch wood ribs 56, which are glued and nailed thereto adjacent the rear periphery thereof. Target means 20 is secured to the rear wall structure by bracket means comprising horizontal portion 58, vertical portion 60 and slanted portion 62. The horizontal portion 58 is notched adjacent the rear extremity thereof to accommodate wall section 10.
Referring to FIG. 8, the aligned wall sections are held in place by brackets having vertical portions 64 and horizontal portions 66. The vertical portions are apertured to receive bolt and wing nut combinations 68 and horizontal portions are apertured adjacent the center to receive poles 12 or 14, as the case may be. The horizontal portions have additional small apertures 70 therein to provide anchor holes for netting tie-down cords or the like.
Alternative means for assembling the various wall sections into compartments is illustrated in FIGS. 11-16. As will be apparent, this alternative means utilizes the upright poles as hinge pins for interlocking adjacent sections. It also eliminates the need for applying or removing bolt and wing nut combinations whenever assembling or dismantling the apparatus.
In the assembled view of FIG. 11 and the exploded view of FIG. 12, wall section 80 is disposed at right angles to an intermediate portion of wall section 82 by means of narrow bracket members 84 and 86 on wall section 80 and wide bracket member 88 on wall member 82. The bracket members are held in interlocked relationship by means of pole 90 which passes through the respective aligned apertures. The bracket members in turn support the pole member vertically.
Referring to FIG. 13, wall member 92 is spliced to wall member 94 in end-to-end relationship by means of hinge-like bracket members 96 and 98 on wall member 92 and hinge members 100 and 102 on wall member 94. As in FIGS. 11 and 12, the hinge members are held together by means of an elongated pin or pole 104 which passes through the aligned apertures in the respective bracket members.
Instead of an aligned relationship, the wall members 92 and 94 may alternately be disposed at right angles or other angular relationship. This is achieved simply by rotating wall members 92 and 94 relative to each other as suggested in dashed outline in FIG. 14.
Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, three wall sections 106, 108 and 110 are interconnected by means of bracket members 112 and 114 on wall member 106, bracket member 116 on wall member 108 and bracket members 118 and 120 on wall member 110. Rod member or pole 122 passes through the aligned apertures in the brackets to form the splice or interlock and to provide support means for itself.
The versatility of such modular construction is manifest. It can readily be assembled and disassembled by inserting or removing the respective pole members. No time is lost in assembling bolt and wing nut combinations, fewer components are required and the possibility of losing components is minimized, particularly the bolt and wing nut combinations.
While the present embodiment has the various compartments arranged in a particular orientation, the invention is manifestly not limited thereto. Other arrangements may be devised using the same modular components to meet specific needs or space limitations. Illustrative alternative arrangements are shown in diagrammatic form in FIGS. 9 and 10. Also, for example, while a common entry and exit are employed in zone or compartment C, a separate entry and exit can be readily devised, as those skilled in the art will recognize in the light of this disclosure.
EXAMPLE -- HOCKEY CONTEST
The apparatus described above in connection with FIGS. 1 through 8 is set up on the substantially-smooth asphalt-covered parking lot of a sports center without any preliminary site preparation or anchoring devices. Pennants bearing the legend "Hockey Contest" are placed on top of each of the rear poles and banners bearing the rules for the "Shoot Event," "Passing Event" and "Stick Handling Event" are strung between the adjacent poles of compartments A, B and C, i.e., first, second and third modules from the left as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, a banner bearing the "General Rules" is suspended between the poles of the fourth module. All of the banners bear promotional indicia adjacent the rules so that the sponsor is assured maximum exposure for his product or message.
Chalk lines and starting circles (the crosshatched areas in FIGS. 1 and 3) are drawn on the asphalt at the entry to each compartment. In addition, chalk arrows marking the serpentine path in zone C are drawn and the location of each of the truncated-cone rubber separators is marked on the asphalt so that they can be accurately relocated in the event of accidental displacement.
Each contestant, e.g., boys 14 years and younger, is tested in each zone or compartment. In compartment A, the contestant has 60 seconds to shoot 10 pucks and receives 10 points for so doing plus additional points for any pucks passing through one of the apertures, the number of points being as indicated in FIG. 4. In compartment B, the contestant has 60 seconds to pass six pucks and receives 10 points for so doing plus 10 additional points for any pucks passing through one of the apertures. In compartment C, the contestant has 60 seconds to stick handle the puck around the serpentine path and receives 10 points for so doing plus 10 additional points for every second under 60. The highest score wins.
Because the surface is asphalt, pucks for iceless surfaces are employed. A preferred form is a polyethylene puck having substantially the same dimensions of a conventional hard-rubber ice hockey puck except that the normally-flat surfaces are concave. Manifestly, the apparatus of the present invention may be set up on ice and conventional ice hockey pucks used also.
When set up and played as above indicated, as many as 400 contestants can compete in an 8-hour period. Because of the ease of assembly and disassembly, the apparatus can be brought to the site, set up, used throughout the day, and disassembled and removed from the site, all in 1 day. Chalk marks are readily washed away, leaving the site unmarked and unmarred after removal.
From the above description and specific example, it is apparent that the objects of the present invention have been achieved. While only certain embodiments have been set forth, alternative modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art. These and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of the present invention.