LINE TO GAIN INDICATOR DIAL

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/666,365, entitled LINE TO GAIN INDICATOR DIAL, filed on Jul. 1, 2024, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to a watch to assist football officials to quickly monitor and track and down and distance as well as the yardage line and line-to-gain distances on a device which can be affixed to their body or equipment and easily manipulated in real-time.

BACKGROUND

During football games, at any level from grade school to professional leagues, all officials, but usually the headlines man and line judge on the sideline, have the duty of being sure the first and ten chains and down marker are placed in the right position during a game. In many instances volunteers are used to man those markers which can lead to a three-man crew often referred to as the “chain gang.”

Due to the complexities of the game, fast moving offenses and because most volunteers do not understand all the aspects of maintaining the correct position of the chains or down indicator, they may inadvertently move them before or after the official needs them to. This creates a problem for the official in that they must always remember where the position of the chains and down marker are once a football play is run during a series of plays.

The present disclosure—referred to herein as the Line To Gain Indicator Dial—assists the officials with proper tracking of those markers making it easier to put them back in the right location if they were inadvertently moved. In essence, the dial indicates where the line to gain is for a first down and what the previous line of scrimmage was just in case first and ten or the down markers on the field are moved inadvertently or the markers are incorrectly placed in an inaccurate position.

The first and ten Line To Gain Indicator Dial has the numbers of the football field (goal line to the 50 yard line and 50 yard line to goal line) on a dial that can be utilized to track the line-to-gain and current line of scrimmage, thereby acting as a placeholder reminder to officials as of the location of the first and ten chains and down marker locations as a backup other than memory in the case they are moved before the official needs them moved.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field, the apparatus comprising a frame having a circular structure connected to a first dial display component wherein the exterior of the structure of the a first dial display component is adorned with markings related to yardages on a football field, one or more moveable mechanisms capable of movement to align with the various markings on the first dial display component related to yardages on a football field, and a mechanism configured to affix the apparatus to the user's body or other wearable equipment.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective diagram of the frame, first dial display and moveable mechanism component capable of movement to align with the various markings in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a front diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a side diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a top diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective diagram of the frame, first dial display and moveable mechanism component capable of movement to align with the various markings in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the description that follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals. The drawing figures may be to scale and certain components can be shown in generalized or schematic form and identified by commercial designations in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus comprises a frame 100 having a circular structure connected to a first dial display component 200 wherein the exterior of the structure of the a first dial display component is adorned with markings related to yardages on a football field, one or more moveable mechanisms 300 capable of movement to align with the various markings on the first dial display component related to yardages on a football field, and a mechanism configured to affix the apparatus to the user's body or other wearable equipment.

As depicted in FIG. 1, frame 100 can include top notches including starting yard line indicator notch 101 and yard-to-gain notch 103. Frame 100 may also optionally contain centering mark 102. The top and bottom portions of frame 100 may also include openings 104 configurable to engage with securing strap or other mechanism to affix the apparatus to the body or other garments of the user.

As further depicted in FIG. 1, first dial display component 200 can be movable (including rotatable) such that the yardage marks on first dial display component 200 can be made to align with top notches including starting yard line indicator notch 101 and yard-to-gain notch 103.

As further depicted in FIG. 1, one or more moveable mechanisms 300 can be capable of movement to align with the various markings on the first dial display component 200 related to yardages on a football field and can also (or alternatively) be made to align with top notches including starting yard line indicator notch 101 and yard-to-gain notch 103 as well as any yardages between the notches indicating the present yardage or line of scrimmage. Specifically, one or more moveable mechanisms 300 can include one or more engagement points 301 to allow for engagement of one or more of frame 100, first dial display component 200 and/or one or more moveable mechanisms 300. This connection can be made by mechanical means including, but not limited to, screws, bolts, latches, rivets, nails, pins, snap-fits, and welding. These connection means can be physically controlled by the user or electronically controlled by a movement device in the apparatus.

As further depicted in FIG. 1, one or more moveable mechanisms 300 may also have yardage line 302 for the alignment arrangements described above.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective diagram of the frame 100, first dial display 200 and moveable mechanism component 300 capable of movement to align with the various markings in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The interior of the apparatus may have an opening to allow for connection between all of the various components of the apparatus with a screw or other known fastening means.

FIG. 3 is a front diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a top diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective diagram of a potential frame arrangement of an apparatus for monitoring the status of the field of play of a football field in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

As depicted in the various FIGS. 1-6, the first dial display component 200 may be rotatable in the watch apparatus to allow for alignment with parts of the frame 100 to allow for tracking of the line of scrimmage and/or line to gain for a first down. The exterior of the first dial display component 200 may be adorned with markings for yardages from goal line to 50 yard line and then back from 50 yard line to opposite goal line for purposes of tracking the entire field. Additionally, the exterior of the first dial display component 200 may be made of easily grabbed materials to allow for easier rotation of the desired component.

As depicted in the various FIGS. 1-6, the interior of the moveable mechanism component 300 may have an opening 301 to allow for connection between all of the various components of the apparatus with a screw or other known fastening means. The moveable mechanism component may be rotatable in the watch apparatus to allow for alignment with parts of the frame and/or first dial display component to allow for tracking of the line of scrimmage and/or line to gain for a first down.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus components are composed of materials such as plastic, metal, composite, wood, ceramic, synthetic blends such as teflon, nylon, velcro, a combination thereof, or any other suitable conventional material suitable for providing similar aesthetic benefits and physical functionality to the apparatus.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, apparatus further contains other designations relevant to the game of football including, but not limited to, possession to the home or away team, down-and-distance, hash mark placement of the football location, time of play remaining, actual time, quarter number, score, amount of players on the field, distance traveled, number of reported eligible receivers and other information relevant to a football officials management of the game of football.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, some or all of the apparatus may be electronic components to allow for the digital display of information outlined above. In exemplary embodiments, it would be possible to wirelessly connect the watch to an information center either at the football field or at a centralized location for automatic delivery of updated information to the device including updated information about yardage, possession to the home or away team, down-and-distance, hash mark placement of the football location, time of play remaining, actual time, quarter number, score, amount of players on the field, distance traveled, number of reported eligible receivers and other information relevant to a football officials management of the game of football.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of possible implementations. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.