Portable court system for multiplayer paddle-and-ball gameplay with adjustable section boundaries
A reconfigurable paddle ball court system for a multiplayer paddle-and-ball game. The system includes a rigid outer frame defining an outer boundary of a playing court, an inner hub within the outer boundary, inner fasteners distributed about a perimeter region of the inner hub, and divider cords. Each divider cord has a first end removably coupleable to a selected inner fastener and a second end removably coupleable to the rigid outer frame at a selectable attachment location, such as by a snap clip. The divider cords can be elastically tensioned to remain taut and define visually determinable internal boundaries that form multiple playing sections. During gameplay, one or more divider cords can be detached and reattached to change the number and/or the size of the playing sections while the rigid outer frame remains assembled and deployed.
1 . A reconfigurable paddle ball court system configured to define a plurality of playing sections for a multiplayer paddle-and-ball game, the reconfigurable paddle ball court system comprising:
a rigid outer frame configured, when assembled, to define a closed-loop outer boundary of a playing court, the rigid outer frame comprising a tubular or rod perimeter member;
an inner hub disposed within the closed-loop outer boundary, the inner hub comprising a flexible sheet material configured to be placed on a playing surface;
a plurality of inner fasteners coupled to the inner hub and distributed about a perimeter region of the inner hub at discrete hub attachment locations; and
a plurality of divider cords, each divider cord comprising an elastic cord portion, a first end comprising a cord fastener removably coupleable to any selected one of the plurality of inner fasteners, and a second end comprising a cord clip configured to removably snap around an exterior surface of the tubular or rod perimeter member of the rigid outer frame at a selectable attachment location along the rigid outer frame;
a plurality of friction marker structures disposed on the rigid outer frame at discrete perimeter attachment locations, each of the plurality of friction marker structures comprising at least one of a tape segment, a textured coating, an elastomeric sleeve, an overmolded patch, or a knurled region;
wherein each cord clip is configured to seat on or against a selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures such that the selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures both (i) inhibits circumferential migration of the cord clip along the rigid outer frame under tension applied by a corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords and (ii) identifies an indexed perimeter attachment location for repeatable placement of the corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords;
wherein each divider cord is structurally relocatable between (i) a first attachment configuration in which the cord fastener is coupled to a first selected one of the plurality of inner fasteners and the cord clip is seated on or against a first selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures, and (ii) a second attachment configuration in which the cord fastener is coupled to a second selected one of the plurality of inner fasteners and the cord clip is seated on or against a second selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures;
wherein, in each of the first attachment configuration and the second attachment configuration, the elastic cord portion is stretched between the inner hub and the rigid outer frame so that the corresponding divider cord is maintained taut as a boundary segment of the plurality of playing sections; and
wherein relocation of at least one divider cord from the first attachment configuration to the second attachment configuration changes at least one of (a) a number of the plurality of playing sections and (b) a size of at least one playing section, while the rigid outer frame remains assembled and deployed.
2 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 1 , wherein the tubular or rod perimeter member comprises a plurality of frame segments removably coupled together to form the closed-loop outer boundary.
3 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of inner fasteners comprises at least eight inner fasteners distributed about the perimeter region of the inner hub at angularly spaced hub attachment locations, each of the at least eight inner fasteners being configured to removably couple to the cord fastener of a corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords.
4 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 1 , wherein the elastic cord portion is configured to maintain the divider cord taut when the cord clip is seated on or against different ones of the plurality of friction marker structures.
5 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 1 , wherein the cord clip comprises a resilient clip body having an open-sided frame-receiving channel sized to receive the tubular or rod perimeter member in snap-fit engagement.
6 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 1 , further comprising a kit that includes a carrying bag, a plurality of paddles, and at least one game ball, wherein the rigid outer frame comprises a plurality of removable frame segments, and wherein the carrying bag is configured to receive the plurality of removable frame segments, the inner hub, the plurality of divider cords, the plurality of paddles, and the at least one game ball for transport.
7 . A method of using the reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 1 , the method comprising:
coupling the plurality of divider cords between the inner hub and the rigid outer frame to define a first number of the playing sections;
maintaining the rigid outer frame in an assembled and deployed condition while the plurality of divider cords define the first number of the playing sections;
changing the first number of the playing sections to a second number of the playing sections by detaching at least one divider cord from a first selected one of the plurality of inner fasteners and from a first selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures, and reattaching the at least one divider cord to a second selected one of the plurality of inner fasteners and to a second selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures, wherein the second number of the playing sections is different than the first number of the playing sections; and
maintaining the rigid outer frame in the assembled and deployed condition while the plurality of divider cords define the second number of the playing sections.
8 . A reconfigurable paddle ball court system configured to define a plurality of playing sections for a multiplayer paddle-and-ball game, the reconfigurable paddle ball court system comprising:
a rigid outer frame defining an outer perimeter boundary of a playing court when assembled, the rigid outer frame comprising a tubular or rod perimeter member;
an inner hub positioned within the rigid outer frame;
a plurality of divider cords, each extending between the inner hub and the rigid outer frame;
a plurality of friction marker structures disposed on the tubular or rod perimeter member at discrete perimeter attachment locations, each of the plurality of friction marker structures comprising at least one of a tape segment, a textured coating, an elastomeric sleeve, an overmolded patch, or a knurled region;
wherein each of the plurality of divider cords comprises (i) an inner-end connector configured to removably couple to the inner hub at one of a plurality of discrete hub attachment locations, and (ii) an outer-end connector comprising a snap clip configured to removably engage the rigid outer frame at any of a plurality of selectable positions along the rigid outer frame by snap-fit engagement around the tubular or rod perimeter member, and
wherein each snap clip is configured to seat on or against a selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures such that the selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures both (i) inhibits sliding of the snap clip along the rigid outer frame under tension applied by a corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords and (ii) identifies an indexed perimeter attachment location for repeatable placement of the corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords; and
wherein each of the plurality of divider cords is elastically tensioned between the inner hub and the rigid outer frame to reduce distortion of boundary geometry while the plurality of divider cords define the plurality of playing sections and to facilitate determination of in-bounds and out-of-bounds conditions for the multiplayer paddle-and-ball game.
9 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 8 , wherein the snap clip comprises a resilient clip body having an open-sided frame-receiving channel sized to receive a tubular portion of the rigid outer frame to produce the snap-fit engagement.
10 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 8 , wherein each selected one of the plurality of friction marker structures comprises an elastomeric sleeve disposed around the tubular or rod perimeter member, wherein the snap clip compressively engages the elastomeric sleeve when the corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords is elastically tensioned, and wherein the elastomeric sleeve is visually distinguishable from an adjacent exposed portion of the tubular or rod perimeter member to identify the indexed perimeter attachment location.
11 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of discrete hub attachment locations comprises a plurality of inner fasteners coupled to the inner hub and disposed about a perimeter region of the inner hub, each of the plurality of inner fasteners being configured to removably couple to the inner-end connector of a corresponding one of the plurality of divider cords.
12 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of inner fasteners comprises at least twelve inner fasteners;
wherein twelve of the plurality of inner fasteners are spaced at thirty-degree arc increments around the perimeter region of the inner hub;
wherein thirty-six of the plurality of friction marker structures are spaced around the rigid outer frame at ten-degree arc increments; and
wherein, for each thirty-degree arc increment between adjacent ones of the twelve inner fasteners, the thirty-six friction marker structures include three of the indexed perimeter attachment locations.
13 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of divider cords is configured such that, when tensioned between the inner hub and the rigid outer frame, each of the plurality of divider cords defines a boundary segment that extends from the inner hub toward the rigid outer frame without crossing a center of the playing court, and wherein the plurality of divider cords define non-intersecting boundary segments between adjacent ones of the plurality of playing sections.
14 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 8 , further comprising a kit including a carrying bag configured to receive the rigid outer frame, the inner hub, the plurality of divider cords, a plurality of paddles, and at least one game ball for transport, wherein the rigid outer frame comprises a plurality of removable frame segments carrying the plurality of friction marker structures, and wherein the carrying bag comprises one or more internal compartments configured to separate the plurality of divider cords from the plurality of removable frame segments during transport.
15 . A method of using the reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 8 , the method comprising:
configuring the reconfigurable paddle ball court system with a first set of the plurality of divider cords to define a first arrangement of the playing sections 4 for a first number of players;
while the rigid outer frame remains assembled and deployed, reconfiguring the reconfigurable paddle ball court system from the first arrangement to a second arrangement by moving at least one of the plurality of divider cords to a different hub attachment location and moving the corresponding snap clip of the at least one of the plurality of divider cords to a different one of the plurality of friction marker structures disposed on the rigid outer frame to define the second arrangement of the playing sections for a second number of players; and
maintaining the plurality of divider cords elastically tensioned between the inner hub and the rigid outer frame in the second arrangement.
16 . A reconfigurable paddle ball court system configured to define a plurality of playing sections for a multiplayer paddle-and-ball game, the reconfigurable paddle ball court system comprising:
a rigid outer frame configured to define an outer boundary of a playing court when assembled, the rigid outer frame comprising a tubular or rod perimeter member;
an inner hub disposed within the outer boundary;
a plurality of inner fasteners disposed about a perimeter region of the inner hub;
a plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords, each of the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords having a first end removably coupleable to any selected inner fastener and a second end removably coupleable to the rigid outer frame at a selectable position along the rigid outer frame, the second end comprising a cord clip configured to removably snap around an exterior surface of the tubular or rod perimeter member; and
a plurality of friction marker structures disposed on the rigid outer frame at discrete perimeter attachment locations, each of the plurality of friction marker structures comprising at least one of a tape segment, a textured coating, an elastomeric sleeve, an overmolded patch, or a knurled region;
wherein the plurality of inner fasteners and the plurality of friction marker structures define a plurality of predefined attachment sets, each predefined attachment set identifying (i) selected ones of the plurality of inner fasteners and (ii) selected ones of the plurality of friction marker structures for coupling 23 a corresponding set of the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords to define a corresponding playing-section arrangement;
wherein the plurality of predefined attachment sets comprises a first predefined attachment set corresponding to a first playing-section arrangement having a first number of the plurality of playing sections and a second predefined attachment set corresponding to a second playing-section arrangement having a second number of the plurality of playing sections different from the first number;
wherein the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords are configured to define the plurality of playing sections arranged about the inner hub and to remain taut when coupled according to any selected one of the plurality of predefined attachment sets, and
wherein the system is configured to be reconfigured by relocating at least one of the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords from the first predefined attachment set to the second predefined attachment set to change at least one of (a) a number of the plurality of playing sections and (b) a relative size of the plurality of playing sections without disassembling the rigid outer frame.
17 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 16 , wherein the first predefined attachment set corresponds to a four-player playing-section arrangement, wherein the second predefined attachment set corresponds to a three-player playing-section arrangement, and wherein the plurality of friction marker structures comprises first visual indicia disposed on first ones of the plurality of friction marker structures identifying the first predefined attachment set and second visual indicia disposed on second ones of the plurality of friction marker structures identifying the second predefined attachment set.
18 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of predefined attachment sets further comprises a third predefined attachment set corresponding to a two-player playing-section arrangement, and third visual indicia disposed on third ones of the plurality of friction marker structures identifying the third predefined attachment set.
19 . The reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 16 , wherein at least one of the plurality of predefined attachment sets defines unequal playing sections having different areas, and wherein the at least one predefined attachment set includes unequal angular spacing between at least two adjacent divider cords.
20 . A method of using the reconfigurable paddle ball court system of claim 16 , the method comprising:
configuring the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords in the first playing-section arrangement that defines the first number of the plurality of playing sections;
selecting the second playing-section arrangement such that the second number of the plurality of playing sections is less than the first number of the plurality of playing sections;
after selecting the second playing-section arrangement, physically reconfiguring the playing court by detaching at least one of the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords from the rigid outer frame and from one of the plurality of inner fasteners;
reattaching the at least one of the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords to a different one of the plurality of inner fasteners and to a different selectable position along the rigid outer frame while the rigid outer frame remains assembled and deployed; and
maintaining the at least one of the plurality of elastically tensioned divider cords taut in the second playing-section arrangement.