SKATEBOARD SIMULATOR

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLI CATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U S C §1 19(e) to provisional U S

Patent Application No. 60/759.020. filed on January 17, 2 006, the disclosure of expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed generallly to a providing a simulated boarding and more particularlly to a simulated skateboard

2 Related Art

It requires a large amount of space and/or specia liz ed facilities. In some urban areas, it may be difficult to find the necessary space to participate in the sport Moreover, specialized facilities may be expensive to build and maintain.

Additionally skateboarding is subject to the weather, daylight and direct participation in the sport may be dangerous and cause injuries [0004 ] Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative to traditional skateboarding that is not subject to the drawbacks noted above.

[ SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The invention meets the above needs and avoids the disadvantages end drawbacks of the prior art by proving a simulated skateboard system The invention may be Implemented ;n a number of ways According to one aspect of the invention a skateboard simulator includes a base, at least one support a skateboard deck moveabiy mounted on the base by the at least one sopped, and a display mot presents an image, The image presented or _* the display Is responsive to movement oi the skateboard deck [0006] Accordingly, so one aspect el ^' the invention a skateboard simulator include a base at least one support a skateboard deck moveabiy mounted on the at least one auppod anct a drspiay thai presents an image where the image presented on me display is responsive to movemens of the skateboard deck. [0007] According to another aspect of the invention, a board sport simulator

includes a base, at least one support, a board deck moveabiy mounted on the at least one support and a display that presents an image, where the image presented on tna display is msoons^e to movement of the board deci< [0008 ] Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims Moreover, it is to be understood mat both me forgoing summary of the invention and the followin _. detailed descnption are exemplary ano imended to provide further explanation Without limiting the scope of the

invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompagnying drawings which are included to provide a further understanding of t he invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of thi specificati ion, illustrate embodiment of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. No attempt is

made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention and the various ways in which a may be practiced In the drawings..

[0010] Figure 1 illustrate a side view of a skateboard simulator constructed according to principle of the invention;

[0011 ] Figure 2 i s an end view of the skateboard simulator of Figure 1. [0012] Figure 3 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the skateboard simulator constructed according to the principles of a invention [0013] Figure 4 is a side view of tde skateboard simulator according to Figure 3: and

[0014] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the invention, useable with the embodiment of Figures 1 and 3 _: including a monitor constructe d according to the

principle of the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] T he embodiments of the invention and the various features and ieoos detail thereof am expiamod more fuHy with referenoe to the nor n-sόod-moiits and o^ampias that are described and/or -iiu^ated in the

accompanying drawings and detailed ui the following description is ^' should be noted mat tha features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and features of ono embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein Descriptions of well-knwon components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the Invenhon The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understandin of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice ϊhe embodiments of the invention, Accordingiy. lhe examples and embodiment herein should not he construed as limiting the scope of t he invention, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law Moreover it is noted that simila reference numerals represent similar parts throughout me several views of the drawings.

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a skateboard sirnuialor designed according to principles of lhe invention, and Figure 2 is an and view of a skateboard simulator of ^' Figure 1 - The stationary skateboard simulator includes a stalionsry skateboard deck 100 rnounted to a shaft mount 1 10 of a base 120 by one shaft 140 m the center of the skateboard deck 100 The shaft 140 allow the deck 100 to rotate (Side to Side) along the axis of the shaft 140, mimicking the

way a norma skateboard flexes

[0017] The hoard has a serses of springs 130 on either side on ^' be skateboard deck 100 attache to the bottom of the skateboard deck 100 to the stationary base 120 The spring 130 provide resistance Io keep the skateboard deck 100

centered as the user turns on me skateboard deck 100 The shall 140 may have an optical senso* . acceleromets-r, or any other type of sensor that measures the rotationn of the shaft or the like The sensor outputs an eieothcal signal transmitted through a cable or the like that may run down thrown the base 120 to a mscrooonlroHer mounted Inside ihe stationary base

[0018] Additionally me stationary skateboard may also oplionaily include rotating wheels 150 on either sk.te o; both of the board The wheals 160 may bo spun by b)o use? pushing with their fooL Sirγn.iiaUor.| the way one v^ould pusb off the ground to propel a skateboard forward This optional arrangement is shown in F igure 2 only, out may also bo applied Io tbo F igure 3 embodiment [,0019] In particular. Figures 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the invention m particalar, the skateboard deck 100 as shown In Figures 3 and 4 may be mounted to a first support plate 304 and a second support plate 306 The first suppon piate 304 and the second support plate 306 may in turn be attached to a main support plate 302. Attachment of !he plates 302, 304. 306 may be through adhesive, rneohanioai fasteners, and so on. The main support plate 302 may in turn ha attached to a support 308 again through any known attachment , The support 308 is rotationaly connected to the shaft 140 allowing the sκateboard deck 100 to rotate side to side freely The shall is held by a shaft support 322 [0020 The support 308 may also contact a series of roller 312 that are mounted on roller shafis 316 mounted in roller holders 314, The rollers 312 provide a smooth contacting forca between she roller side of the support 308 and the base 120 In this regard , the roller 312 and roller holder 314 are spring loaded on the

shaft 1 to biased by spring 130. I t should be noted mat although an exemplary structure of roireis and spnngs and shafts are shown with regard to Figures 1 through 4, any type of structure that provides a smooth realistic side, Io side motion with respect Io me skateboard dock KiO is contemplated with respect Ia the invention. The skateboard deck 100 is fubher supported on a base 120 The base ^ 20 may no attached Io the floor or other rvpe of sopport structure through for example. a bolt 320 and a secanng nut 31 θ The bolt 320 may be for example, a iag bolt that is embedded into the floor below the skateboard deck 100.

[0021] Operation of the skateboard simulator may be provided througn various sensor controls sucn as for example. an encoder hub disc 402 that may be mounted on the shaft 140 or the shaft support 322 The shaft support 322 may also support an encoder reader 404 that may Po attached thereto with mechanical fasteners such as screws as well known in the art. The various sensor devices that are arranged in and about the skateboard deck 100 may initially send thei signals to a circuit board 324 that may be arranged in or about

the skateboard deck The circuit board may be for example, attached to a circuit board support 322 as shown in Figures 3 and 4 and may include a microcontroller

[0022] The microcontroller may send a signal as a simulated moose position representing the direction Lefft = Negative or Right = Positive followed by a number representing an integer value of tne number of degrees the board is tilted

from its centered state, through a USB cable or the like leading out the front of the stationary base to a PC or the like.

[0023 This particular configuration allows me entire skateboard assembly to be powered through a single cable, in this case a USB cable The microcontroller connects to the PC as a Human Interface Device (HID) which Is- a standard protocol used Io send key strokes and mouse positions to an operating sysiem The microcontroller may send the lift of ihe skateboard deck encoded as a mouse position at a regular interval The PC runs a game based on the Torque game engine which captures system evenis. including mouse and keyboard events. The game may use the mouse events to control the turning of the character in the game.

[0024] Figure 5 shows exemplary arrangements of the skateboard simulator including skateboard deck 100 The skateboard deck 100 and supporting structure may Oe mounted ;n aod about a set of bellows 506 ϊn particular, the skaleboard 100 may be mounted aoovβ ihe belows 508 white the remaining structures shown in Figures 1 to 4 may be mounted inside me bellows structure S06. The bellows structure 506 provides a safe operating environnment for the user of the skatePoam ¹ simulator that is standing on top of the skateboard deck 100. in particular the bellows 506 prevent hands, fingers and me like from being injured with respect to thai internal structure.

[0025 Figure o fudher shows ihe arrangement of a monitor 504 which may be arranged .n front of the skateboard simulator including skateboard deck 100 in padicular. ihe monitor 504 inay inciude. a housing of 508 The housing 608 may

contain the alorementioned Pc compute r or may hold additional structure or less

structure

[0026] T he PC has an update system that allow the operator to easiilly change the content on the PC so it may be used as a dynamic media delivery device The operator may ion onto a website on a separate computer, select new and upcoming corner and download it to a storage dewoe (for example io a USB stick or the like) as a single file. When the operator meens tha USB stick into the PC the computer may automatically insytal the new content without any user intervention. The update system allows an operator to instal upcoming updates thai may only become active at a iater date, This way an operator may instal the same update on multiple machines and have me updates all activate at the same time at a future date, Multiple updates may be instated at once so that eontent can change from time to time w-thout any further user intervention [0027] Although the examples of the invention have been directed to a skateooam. other sports based devsoes may tse utilized using the same configuration as described above in particular, the skateboard arrangement noted ahove may be replaced with a snowboard type of arrangement with the same simulation as a skateboard feeing reptaced with a snow ski scene; or surfboard type of arrangement with the simulation being thai of surf and waves Similarly the skateboard auangement no led above may be repiaeed with a ski type of arrangement including; snow skiing or water skiing and again t he image being replaced with that of down-hil skiing or a water-based environment

[0028 ] While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims, These examples given above are merely illustrati ve and not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possibl e designs embodiments, applications or modifications of the invention