IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,267,091
Granted Patent B2
US 12,267,091 · App. 17/781,352 · Granted Apr 1, 2025

Baseball pitch selection communication system

Inventors: John Andrew Hankins (Carlsbad, CA); Craig Anthony Filicetti (Scottsdale, AZ)
H04B1/0343A42B1/245A63B71/0622G06F3/165H04B1/086H04B1/707H04B1/713H04R1/1041H04R1/1075H04R3/12A63B2071/063A63B2071/0663A63B2071/0666A63B2102/18A63B2225/50H04R2201/023H04R2420/07H04R2460/13
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,267,091
App. No.
17/781,352
Granted
Apr 1, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system for communicating pitch selections wirelessly from a wireless transmitter has a coded signal generator that generates coded signals in accordance with selected pitch types. A receiver decodes the received coded signals, selects an audio file based on the received coded signal and generates an audio signal announcing the selected pitch type based on the transmitted selected pitch type in accordance with the received coded signal. The audio signal is transduced by a bone conductor transducer so that the player can hear the announced selected pitch type through bone conduction.

Claims (21)

1. A system for communicating pitch selections wirelessly, the system comprising:

a transmitter having a signal generator that generates a coded signal in accordance with a selected pitch type, and a wireless transmitter coupled to the signal generator and configured to transmit a coded wireless signal signifying the selected pitch type in accordance with the coded signal;

a wireless receiver that decodes the received coded wireless signal, selects a stored audio file corresponding to the selected pitch type based on the received coded signal and generates an audio signal from the stored audio file; and

at least one bone conductor that transduces the audio signal into a human-perceptible signal.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless transmitter is a spread spectrum wireless transmitter that transmits the coded wireless signal as a spread spectrum signal.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the spread spectrum signal is transmitted using a frequency-hopping spread spectrum transmission protocol.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the spread spectrum signal is transmitted using a direct-sequence spread spectrum transmission protocol.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the transmitter includes a plurality of human-actuatable elements that are actuated by a user to select the selected pitch type.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of human-actuatable elements are individual buttons.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the transmitter is a wrist-worn device.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the transmitter is a tablet device.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless receiver substantially fits within a sweatband of a baseball style cap.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the wireless receiver has a single bone conductor, the wireless receiver sized to fit within the sweatband on only one lateral side of the baseball style cap.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the wireless receiver has multiple bone conductors, the wireless receiver sized to fit within the sweatband around a back of and along both lateral sides of the baseball style cap.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the wireless receiver has an approximately semi-circular substrate that fits within the sweatband, and an electronics board on which electronic components of the wireless receiver are mounted to the substrate, wherein the multiple bone conductors are mounted on the substrate and coupled to the electronic components of the wireless receiver.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the electronic components of the wireless receiver include a battery, a microcontroller coupled to the battery, a receiving unit coupled to the microcontroller, and a memory coupled to the microcontroller.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the wireless receiver includes an antenna coupled to the receiving unit and extending along a periphery of the substrate.

15. A system for communicating a selected pitch type to a person wearing a baseball hat, comprising:

a transmitter having a signal generator that generates a coded signal in accordance with a selected pitch type, and a wireless transmitter coupled to the signal generator and configured to transmit a coded wireless signal signifying the selected pitch type in accordance with the coded signal;

a hat with a wireless receiver that decodes the received coded wireless signal, selects a stored audio file corresponding to the selected pitch type based on the received coded signal and generates an audio signal from the stored audio file; and

at least one bone conductor that transduces the audio signal into a human-perceptible signal.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 8, 2025
From: HANKINS, JOHN ANDREW; FILICETTI, CRAIG ANTHONY
To: PITCHCOM FUTURES, LLC; JHCF, LLC
Reel/Frame 070764/0493 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62974517 · Dec 3, 2019
Related Publication 20220416821A1 · Dec 29, 2022
References Cited (78)
US 4203595A · Thompson · 1980 [cited by applicant]
US 4536739A · Nobuta · 1985 [cited by applicant]
US 5461371A · Matsumoto et al. · 1995 [cited by applicant]
US 5984810A · Frye et al. · 1999 [cited by applicant]
US 6285757B1 · Carroll et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6301367B1 · Boyden et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6652284B2 · August et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 6728518B1 · Scrivens et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 7110552B1 · Saliterman · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 8126143B2 · Daniel et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8156571B2 · Barzilla · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8201274B2 · Ellis · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8279051B2 · Khan · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8666075B2 · Daniel et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8793321B2 · Williams · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8964980B2 · Daniel · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9071901B2 · Black · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9129541B2 · Weiler et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9485573B2 · Black · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9757068B2 · Cantrell · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 10080950B2 · Kelley · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10532266B2 · Genova · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10951747B2 · Black · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11266897B1 · Charalambides · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20010002928A1 · Cummins · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 20020132211A1 · August et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 20050049080A1 · Hovington · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050170870A1 · Goldenberg et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050212202A1 · Meyer · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050228866A1 · Endler et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20060025206A1 · Walker et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070290801A1 · Powell · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080153557A1 · Matveev · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080206723A1 · Hunter · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080268913A1 · Heikkinen · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20100080390A1 · Daniel · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100091995A1 · Chen · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20110190048A1 · Walthour · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110246579A1 · Williams · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20120122069A1 · Coleman · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20130052943A1 · Black · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140064511A1 · Desai · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140119554A1 · Chan · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20160158639A1 · Cantrell · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160322078A1 · Bose et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20170065872A1 · Kelley · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170070797A1 · Spector · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170144024A1 · Warners et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170372564A1 · Amelio et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180043229A1 · Stemle · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180234190A1 · Rauhala · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180294893A1 · Pedersen et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190258452A1 · Yamada · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190391254A1 · Asghar et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200188761A1 · Williams · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210141414A1 · Verma · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210225141A1 · Petrillo · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20220276826A1 · Hankins et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230009354A1 · DeCarlo · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230196770A1 · Anton et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230410507A1 · Hall et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240220189A1 · Hankins et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
JP 6030223A · 1985 [cited by applicant]
JP 2003198457A · 2003 [cited by examiner]
JP 2006229373A · 2006 [cited by applicant]
JP 2009159447A · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO 2015196246A1 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
WO 2021113073A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion issued Feb. 16, 2021 in corresponding PCT/US2020/060893. [cited by applicant]
International Preliminary Report on Patentability issued Jun. 16, 2022 in corresponding PCT/US2020/060893. [cited by applicant]
“Inception” by ProMystic, product release 2018, see https://promystic.com and https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/13973. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion issued Jun. 28, 2022 in PCT/US2021/065370. [cited by applicant]
Non-Final Office Action issued Nov. 16, 2023 in U.S. Appl. No. 17/562,626. [cited by applicant]
Notice of Allowance issued Dec. 14, 2023 in U.S. Appl. No. 17/562,626. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion issued Jan. 25, 2023 in PCT/US2022/047163. [cited by applicant]
Non-Final Office Action issued May 31, 2024 in U.S. Appl. No. 18/606,378. [cited by applicant]
Non-Final Office Action issued Jun. 3, 2024 in U.S. Appl. No. 18/606,804. [cited by applicant]
https://gamedaysignals.com/, Aug. 17, 2018. [cited by applicant]