Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
The invention of the TEQBALL® game table is recited in the US patent application, US2016271469A1, titled Multi-purpose sports apparatus. Interestingly, the invention is recited as a sports apparatus, intended to improve a soccer player’s technical skills. In particular, the invention aims at providing practice that involves intense player movement, excellent ball and kicking control, increased strength and concentration, quick evaluation and decision-making skills, without requiring an undue amount of outdoor space. As a result, the TEQBALL® apparatus actually offers soccer players, an opportunity to develop their skills, while playing with opponents in a singles or doubles game, somewhat consonant with futnet (soccer tennis in the USA), only in much smaller spaces. For this purpose, the sports apparatus offers a height-adjustable, curved tabletop playing surface, causing the ball to always bounce outwards from the apparatus. Thus, the persons using the apparatus can intercept the ball with foot or head, without the apparatus obstructing or inhibiting movement.
Below, a video showing the installation of a TEQBALL® table, coaching and demonstration at the Mahamasina National Palace of Culture and Sports in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
The abstract of the invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 1, depicting the TEQBALL® table with partial cross-sections for the height- and curvature-adjustment mechanisms (31 and 40 respectively). In particular, the patent Figure 1 shows the sports apparatus 1, comprising a tabletop (foundation body) 10, on top of a supporting structure 30, which has a smaller footprint. The tabletop 10 comprises an upper member 10a and a lower member 10b. The bendable upper member 10a, made of plywood, comprises a playing area 11 with a convex surface 15. The lower member 10b of the tabletop 10, made of rigid material, is designed for the purposes of connecting the tabletop 10 to the supporting structure 30. A rigid, plate-like obstacle 20, preferably transparent, divides the playing area 11, in two halves. A spacer 22 enables to adjust the height 21 of the obstacle 20. A curvature-adjustment mechanism 40, comprising connection pieces 41, and a tensioning mechanism 42, consisting of several threaded rods, enable to adjust the curvature of the table. A height-adjustment unit 30 is depicted below the tabletop, comprising connectors 31 a-b, and a manually-operated hydraulic actuator 31c, enabling to adjust the height of the tabletop, relative to the base 2.
The subject of the utility model is a multi-purpose sports apparatus particularly for improving footballers' technical skills, comprising a foundation body (10) containing a playing surface (11) and an obstacle element (20). The distinctive feature of the method is that the playing surface (11) of the foundation body (10) looking from the interior of the foundation body (10) has an at least partially convex top surface (15) and the foundation body (10) has a support structure (30) which separates the playing surface (11) from the base (2). [Abstract US 2016271469A1]
In 2018, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) officially recognized The International Federation of TEQBALL® (FITEQ), during its General Assembly Meeting, held in Jakarta, Indonesia. A major milestone, opening the doors for inclusion in the programs of OCA-sponsored games, and down the road, the Olympics.
International Federation of TEQBALL® (FITEQ - Fédération Internationale de TEQBALL®)
Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)
https://www.teqball.com/
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