DEVICE AND METHOD SUITABLE FOR PLAYING POLE SOCCER

A traditionally very popular game among young people both on the street and in the gym is so-called pole soccer. The game is generally played with wooden skittles (substantially pole-like or poles) which can be placed by means of a flat bottom on a ground surface. The skittle of an opponent has to be knocked over by means of a ball, and the player whose pole is left standing at the end wins the game. Another known variant is also referred to as bottle soccer and is played with bottles filled with water. The bottles serve here as poles. The filled bottles have to be knocked over by means of a football, after which the player whose pole has been knocked over must recover the ball before he or she can place the bottle upright again. In this variant the winner is the last player still to have water in his or her bottle.

A drawback in pole soccer is that poles, if struck hard, shoot away and may be lost. The poles can also fall over accidentally in the case of slight contact. This latter problem is made even worse when the ground surface on which the game is being played is not wholly flat. Nor does the traditional game offer any gradations of difficulty, the same force always being necessary to knock over the pole.

The international patent applications WO 2010/117104 and WO 2005/032668 describe tees for use when teeing off in a game of golf. Such tees are wholly unsuitable for playing pole soccer.

International patent application WO 2012/087368 A1 discloses an exercise device for training soccer which has a resilient support that is removably coupled with a base provided to resist movement relative to the ground surface when a force is delivered to the contact target

The object of the present invention is to resolve at least one of the above stated problems or to provide a suitable alternative.

The above stated objective is achieved according to the invention by means of a device for playing pole soccer, comprising a skittle, such as a substantially pole-like skittle, a support for supporting the skittle on a ground surface and a connection between the skittle and the support, wherein the support has a cross-section of more than 30 cm, and in particular between 50 cm and 100 cm, and wherein the connection is a releasable connection between the support and the skittle wherein the connection provides at least one stable position in which the skittle extends substantially perpendicularly to the support and wherein the connection is adjustable for the purpose of determining, subject to the setting, a moment, force or torque with which the skittle can be forced out of the at least one stable position.

In an embodiment of the present invention the support is also releasable as well as the skittle, so that it does not have to be permanently fixed to the ground surface. The area in which pole soccer can be played is in this way increased. The releasability of the skittle has the purpose that skittles, when not in use, can be removed and are not in anyone's way. The invention therefore also relates to a skittle releasably connectable to an area where pole soccer can be played, in particular to a skittle with a connection for connecting the skittle to a ground surface. The ground surface can be the surface according to the invention or a ground surface such as a square, a (sports) field, a gymnasium or sports hall adapted for attachment of one or more skittles.

In another embodiment of the invention the support comprises a tile, plate and/or a multipod such as a tripod. A tile is suitable for a ground surface consisting substantially of tiles, such as a pavement or playground, in which the device according to invention can be accommodated. A plate is suitable for a substantially flat surface such as a gymnasium or sports hall, and a tripod is for instance suitable for placing on a less firm and flat ground surface such as grass. There is in this way a support option for diverse ground surfaces which provides the possibility of playing pole soccer. In an embodiment the support is exchangeable, and one or more types of support are supplied together with one skittle.

In an advantageous embodiment the support has a cross-section of between 40 and 75 cm, for instance a square embodiment with dimensions of 50 x 50 cm and a round variant with a diameter of 50 cm.

The support preferably has a weight of more than 2 kg, and more preferably more than 4 kg, and in particular even more than 5.5 kg.

In an embodiment of the present invention the support is equipped with anchoring means which can for instance be screwed to the support by means of a screw thread attachment. In the case of the above stated tripod spikes can for instance be attached to the tripod for inserting into the grass in order to ensure a firm anchoring of the tripod in the grass.

In an embodiment of the invention the skittle is connected to the support via an elastic cord, wherein the skittle is pulled against the support by the elasticity of the cord.

Such an embodiment is particularly suitable - as are other embodiments wherein the skittle is provided with means for exerting a force relative to a ground surface or connecting the skittle under a pre-tension to the ground surface - for applications on a (sports) field, square or sports hall used for various purposes.

In a further embodiment the length and/or pre-tensioning of the elastic cord is adjustable and the force required to knock over the skittle depends on the stretch and tension of the cord. By selecting a large initial stretch, and thereby pre-tensioning, of the cord a relatively great force is exerted by the cord causing the skittle to remain standing in place. If the cord is not stretched or tensioned, it will make no or little contribution toward the stability. Slight nudges against the skittle, caused for instance by a player accidentally bumping slightly against his/her own skittle, can in this way be absorbed in that the skittle is pulled downward by the cord and a greater moment is necessary to move the skittle out of a stable position. This also provides players with the option of playing with a handicap. Players who are good at the game can play with less assistance from the cord, while beginners will perhaps be helped with additional support.

In an embodiment of the present invention the cord is connected to the skittle via a loop hook or snap hook which is attached to a fixing eye mounted in the skittle, and the cord is connected to the support by means of a snap hook. A loop hook is a way of connecting a cord in easily repeatable manner to the same cord via a fastening, so forming a loop, and a snap hook is a fastening option which can easily be coupled to for instance a fixing eye without much difficulty.

In another embodiment of the invention the skittle is at least partially hollow. This has the advantage that the above stated fastening means can be located inside the skittle, out of sight and without the possibility of their causing injury to players. Situated on the top side of the pole is a plastic cap, which cap can easily be pressed by hand onto the pole. The skittle will hereby become a good deal lighter and easier to displace. Such a cap also provides the advantage that the interior of the skittle is easily accessible, for instance for arranging or adjusting the fastening means. The skittle can also be provided with a liquid container which debouches on a top side of the skittle such that, in the stable situation of the skittle relative to the support, liquid can be kept in the skittle and in an unstable situation flows out of the liquid container. The device according to the invention can in this way also be used to play bottle soccer.

In another embodiment the cord is also situated in the skittle.

An agreement may be made that a user of the device according to the invention may not be allowed in a so-called no-stand zone, i.e. in the vicinity of the support, so as to prevent the user trying to reduce the chance of the skittle being knocked over.

In order to determine whether such an agreement or rule of play has been broken the support - particularly when it is anticipated that a referee will not be present - can be provided with one or more sensors which detect the presence on the support, for instance by recording a pressure exerted on the support. In a further embodiment a signal is transmitted therefrom to a detection device, after which a signal is generated.

The support can comprise communication means for transmitting the detected information to an information system, consisting of a processor and software, and an actuator part which controls the behaviour on the basis of the decisions taken by the information-processing part.

The present invention is further elucidated with reference to the following non-limitative figures.

• Figure 1 shows a skittle (b) in stable situation supporting on a support (a) optionally equipped with a recess and equipped with spikes (c). The support (a) is equipped with an eye (d) to which an elastic cord (e) is fastened by means of a snap hook (g). The elastic cord (e) is also secured by means of a loop hook (h) to a fastening point (f) of the skittle (b). Figure 1 shows on the left a stable position of the skittle, in upright form, in which the skittle extends substantially perpendicularly of the support, and on the right an unstable position in which the skittle extends substantially parallel to the support.
• Figure 2 shows a tile floor consisting of tiles (i) and supports (a) for the skittles. Skittles (b) are placed on the supports (a).
• Figure 3 shows two possible settings for the elastic cord. In the situation on the left the cord (e) is pre-tensioned, and the cord (e) extends under tension between the two fastening points (f) and (d). In the situation on the right the upper fastening point (f) is in a lower position and the elastic cord (e) is not tensioned.
• Figure 4 shows the stability which can be imparted by the elastic cord (e). The figure shows a skittle (b) in a first stable position. A ball (j) strikes the skittle (b) and exerts sufficient moment on the skittle (b) to move the skittle (b) out of the first stable upright position. The cord (e) is in this case not pre-tensioned but is however arranged taut between fastening points (f) and (d). At the moment the skittle (b) tilts over, tension is applied to the cord (e) and, due to the elasticity of the cord (e) a moment is applied in a direction opposite to the original moment, whereby skittle (b) moves back again in the direction of its first stable position. Because of the elasticity of the cord an extra-large moment is in this way required to move the skittle definitively out of its stable position.

In addition to the shown embodiments, many variants can be envisaged which are all deemed to fall within the scope of protection of the following claims.