The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 31, 2016
Filed:
Mar. 15, 2013
University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD (US);
Spessard Manufacturing, Llc, Mercersburg, PA (US);
Christopher C. Davis, Bowie, MD (US);
John Rzasa, College Park, MD (US);
Gerald W. Spessard, Mercersburg, PA (US);
Leroy B. Chamberlain, Jr., Berkeley Springs, WV (US);
Jakob R. Scharmer, Hagerstown, MD (US);
University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD (US);
Spessard Manufacturing, LLC, Mercersburg, PA (US);
Abstract
An electronic home plate providing assistance to an umpire in determination whether a pitch results in a 'strike' or a 'ball'. The electronic home plate is implemented with eye-safe LEDs producing light beams extending vertically. If a ball intersects the light beams, the light reflected from the ball is scattered and incident on photodetectors embedded in the home plate. A microcomputer embedded in the electronic home plate calculates the height of the ball crossing the light beams, and if the height falls between the top and bottom boundaries of a strike zone adjusted to the height of the batter, an indication system is activated to produce a “strike” signal. The microcomputer in the electronic home plate is further configured to calculate speed of the ball passing over the home plate, and the lateral position of the ball.