A lighting system for a sports court
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-12
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-11
AI Technical Summary
Standard padel sports courts face low visibility issues due to floodlights directing light downwards, failing to illuminate balls in flight, especially those with high trajectories, leading to poor visibility for players and spectators.
A lighting system incorporating skyward units that emit light upwards, complementing main floodlights to illuminate playing balls in flight, while avoiding glare and ensuring visual comfort.
Enhances visibility of balls in flight, reduces glare, and maintains visual comfort for players and spectators, suitable for padel and other sports like tennis, badminton, and baseball.
Smart Images
Figure EP2025056816_18092025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] A lighting system for a sports court
[0002] This application claims priority from European patent application EP24382269.9, filed on March 13, 2024.
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a lighting system for a sports court, in particular for a padel sports court.
[0004] The present disclosure also relates to a padel sports court provided with said lighting system, and a method for illuminating a padel sports court.
[0005] BACKGROUND
[0006] Currently, standard padel sports courts comprise a sports court floor with a rectangular perimeter, four walls defined by two opposite lateral walls and two opposite back walls, the four walls being arranged on the perimeter, whereby the sports court floor is delimited by the four walls; a net parallel to both back walls and located in a central area dividing the sports court floor in two half parts; and a lighting system eguipped with floodlights, each floodlight mounted with an optical axis directed downwards to illuminate the sports court floor.
[0007] It is known that padel is a sport wherein the playing balls may fly with a higher trajectory than in other sports, such as tennis, in particular when the players make a typical stroke named “lob”, wherein the playing ball may achieve more than 3 meters high.
[0008] However, although the floodlights are arranged at an elevated height, typically at 6 meters from the sports court floor, the light beam provided from said floodlights are directed downwards and they are not able to illuminate playing balls in flight in an appropriate manner, in particular those playing balls that achieve a high trajectory, as explained above. It means that, in a high lob trajectory, very common in padel play, the ball may reach a height above the position of the spotlights, so that the ball is out of the lighting area, and thus it cannot receive a direct illumination. But even when the ball falls below the position of the spotlights, the ball is illuminated downwards, i.e. backlit, making it difficult for the player to see the ball correctly. Therefore, standard padel sports courts have the problem of a low visibility for the players and spectators to see playing balls in flight. Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved lighting system for a sports court, in particular for a padel sports courts, which is capable of providing a good visibility during play, for example improving the view of playing balls in flight, and also providing a simple configuration of the lighting system and with a low cost.
[0009] SUMMARY
[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a padel sports court with a lighting system according to claim 1 is provided.
[0011] The lighting system provides, on the one hand, a suitable illumination across the playing area of the sports court thanks to the main floodlights, and on the other hand, it further provides a good visibility of the playing balls in flight by virtue to the skyward units.
[0012] Therefore, the use of the skyward units of the present disclosure provides at least the following advantages:
[0013] - a suitable illumination from below to clearly observe playing balls in flight, in particular those playing balls that achieve a high trajectory;
[0014] - undesired glare to players is avoided:
[0015] - a satisfactory visual comfort of the spectators.
[0016] It is noted that the lighting system of the present disclosure is suitable for padel sports courts since the playing balls in padel reach a higher trajectory (e.g. when the players make a lob), more often than in other sports, such as tennis.
[0017] In the present disclosure, the term “lob” is understood as a padel stroke that makes a parabola from the position of the player making the lob to the back position of the opponent players, overcoming them from above.
[0018] The lighting system of the present disclosure may also be adequate for other kind of sports such as tennis, badminton, baseball, and the like.
[0019] The skyward units may also be installed on existing sport courts that are equipped with conventional main floodlights, thus optimising the illumination of the existing sport court as explained above. According to an example of the present disclosure, each skyward unit may generate a light beam, and wherein two skyward units are mounted with the axes of their corresponding light beams directed upwards and inclined towards each other.
[0020] In examples, the skyward units may have lower lumens than the main floodlights.
[0021] In the present disclosure, the term "lumen" (Im) is the unit of luminous flux in the International System of Units (SI). The luminous flux is understood as the measure of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source per unit of time in all directions.
[0022] According to an example, each skyward unit may be a lamp comprising a light source, e.g. a LED light, arranged inside a lamp support, wherein the light source is configured to generate a light beam in the direction of the optical axis of the skyward unit.
[0023] In an example, the lamp further may comprise a screen assembly attached to the lamp support of the lamp to direct the light beam, thus allowing to control the width and shape of the light beam.
[0024] In another example, the lamp further may comprise a light diffuser attached to the lamp support of the lamp to smoothen the light beam, thus allowing to reduce or eliminate unwanted glare.
[0025] According to an alternative example, each skyward unit may be a mirror configured to receive light generated by at least one of the floodlights and reflect said light upwards. In an example, two mirrors may be mounted with the axes of their corresponding reflected light beams directed upwards and inclined towards each other.
[0026] In an example, each two skyward units may be arranged opposite to each other.
[0027] In examples, the skyward units may be mounted on the perimeter of the sports court floor at a height of at least 3 meters from the sports court floor. Thus, a good visibility is obtained to illuminate playing balls in flight and avoid glare to the players.
[0028] According to another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method for illuminating a padel sports court as disclosed herein, comprising:
[0029] - providing main floodlights on the perimeter of the sports court floor, and mounted to generate a light beam in a downward direction to illuminate the sports court floor; and
[0030] - providing skyward units on the perimeter of the sports court floor, arranged at a height of at least 2 meters from the sports court floor, and mounted to generate a light beam in an upward direction to illuminate playing balls in flight above the sports court floor.
[0031] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure will be described in the following, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
[0033] - Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sports court, in particular a padel sports court, according to one example of the present disclosure;
[0034] - Figure 2 is a schematic top view of the sports court according to the example shown in figure 1 ;
[0035] - Figure 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the sports court with the lighting system in use, taken along the line Ill-Ill in Figure 2;
[0036] - Figures 4a to 4c show respectively different examples of installation of the lighting system arranged on the perimeter of the sports court floor;
[0037] - Figure 5 is a perspective view of a skyward unit configured as a lamp provided with a screen assembly, according to an example of the present disclosure;
[0038] - Figure 6 is an elevational lateral view of the lamp shown in Figure 5, connected to a support structure for its rotation, and illustrated with an operative angle when in use;
[0039] - Figure 7 is an elevational view of a skyward unit configured as a lamp provided with a light diffuser, according to another example of the present disclosure; and
[0040] - Figure 8 is an elevational frontal view of the light diffuser shown in figure 7.
[0041] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES
[0042] Figures 1 and 2 show a sports court 100, in particular a padel sports court 100, provided with a lighting system and according to an example of the present disclosure.
[0043] For clarity, herein, the sports court and the padel sports court are indicated using the same reference number 100.
[0044] Figure 1 illustrates a standard padel sports court 100 that comprises a sports court floor 101 with a rectangular perimeter P, delimited by four walls defined by two opposite lateral walls 102 and two opposite back walls 103; a net 104 parallel to both back walls 103 and located in a central area dividing the sports court floor 101 in two half parts. The padel sports court 100 further comprises a lighting system as explained below.
[0045] The dimensions of a standard padel sports court are 10 metres in width (back walls 103) by 20 metres in length (lateral walls 102). Both the lateral walls 102 and the back walls 103 are configured by a set of panels mounted on a metallic structure 105 made by vertical and horizontal posts. The lateral walls 102 comprise metallic mesh panels 3 meters high. The back walls 103 and the corner portions of the lateral walls 102 may be made of transparent glass panels 3 meters high with an additional metallic mesh panel 1 meter high mounted at the upper part thereof.
[0046] As can be seen in figures 1 to 3, an example lighting system of the present disclosure comprises main floodlights 1 (in this example, four main floodlights), each mounted with an optical axis X1 directed downwards to illuminate the sports court floor 101 ; and skyward units 2 (in this example, four skyward units), each mounted with an optical axis X2 directed upwards to illuminate playing balls in flight above the sports court floor 101.
[0047] In the present disclosure, a skyward unit is a lighting unit suitable to direct a light beam upwards, i.e. in a skyward direction.
[0048] Figure 3 shows a simplified cross-sectional view, taken along the line Ill-Ill in Figure 2, of the sports court 100 with the lighting system in use, showing schematically a pair of main floodlights 1 and a pair of skyward units 2, and also showing their respective optical axes X1 and X2. For clarity, in this figure the back wall 103 is not illustrated. Each skyward unit 2 generates a light beam, wherein each two skyward units 2 are mounted with the axes of their corresponding light beams directed upwards and inclined towards each other. In examples, the skyward units 2 have lower lumens than the main floodlights 1.
[0049] In the example shown in figures 1 to 3, each two main floodlights 1 are mounted respectively on opposite lateral walls 102, and also each two skyward units 2 are arranged respectively on opposite lateral walls 102, e.g. in positions close to the main floodlights 1 , but at a lower height.
[0050] Figures 4a to 4c show respectively different examples of installation of the lighting system arranged on respective opposite regions P1, P2, P3 of the rectangular perimeter P of the sports court 100, as disclosed in the following.
[0051] According to one example, schematically illustrated in figure 4a (see also figures 1 and 2), the sports court 100 comprises a lighting system provided with four main floodlight 1 and four skyward units 2. Each main floodlight 1 is arranged at a respective lateral region P1 of the rectangular perimeter P, and each skyward unit 2 is also arranged at a respective lateral region P1 of the rectangular perimeter P. Herein, the four lateral regions P1 are defined between each back wall 103 and the net 104 of the sports court 100.
[0052] According to another example, schematically illustrated in figure 4b, the sports court 100 comprises a lighting system provided with four main floodlight 1 and two skyward units 2. Each main floodlight 1 is arranged at a respective lateral region P1 of the rectangular perimeter P, and each skyward unit 2 is arranged at a respective central region P2 of the rectangular perimeter P. Herein, the two central regions P2 are defined in the area adjacent to each opposite end of the net 104 of the sports court 100.
[0053] According to a further example, schematically illustrated in figure 4c, the sports court 100 comprises a lighting system provided with four main floodlight 1 and two skyward units 2. Each main floodlight 1 is arranged at a respective lateral region P1 of the rectangular perimeter P, and each skyward unit 2 is arranged at a respective back region P3 of the rectangular perimeter P. Herein, the two back regions P3 are defined at each back wall 103 of the sports court 100.
[0054] In these examples, each skyward unit 2 is arranged at a height of at least 3 meters from the sports court floor 101. In particular, the skyward units 2 shown in figures 4a and 4b may be arranged at a height of 3 meters, in a position above the lateral walls 102 (see also figures 1 and 3); and the skyward units 2 shown in figure 4c may be arranged at height of 4 meters, in a position above the back walls 103.
[0055] In other examples (not shown), the main floodlights may be arranged at different positions. Furthermore, combinations at the above examples are possible, e.g. including skyward units both in regions P1 or P2 and in region P3.
[0056] In examples such as those illustrated in figure 3, the main floodlights 1 may be mounted at a height hi of 6 meters from the sports court floor 101 , and the skyward units 2 may be mounted at a height h2 of 3 meters from the sports court floor 101 .
[0057] The skyward units 2 may be attached to a fixture of the sports court 100, e.g. they may be attached to a post of the metallic structure 105 above the lateral walls 102 (see e.g. figure 3) and / or above the back walls. In another examples, the skyward units 2 may be attached to pillars (not shown) mounted on the ground in an adjacent area outside the rectangular perimeter P of the sports court 100.
[0058] The main floodlights 1 may be also attached to a post of the metallic structure 105 above the lateral walls 102 (see e.g. figure 1) and / or above the back walls. In other example, the main floodlights 1 may be attached to pillars 1a mounted on the ground in an adjacent area outside the rectangular perimeter P of the sports court 100 (see figure 3).
[0059] Other suitable configurations relating to the number and position of the main floodlights 1 and skyward units 2 arranged on the perimeter P may be considered.
[0060] According to an example, shown in figures 5 and 6, a skyward unit 2 is a lamp 2 comprising a light source 21 , in this example LED lights, arranged inside a lamp support 22. The light source 21 is configured to generate a light beam in the direction of the optical axis X2 of the skyward unit 2.
[0061] In other examples, the light source may comprise, for example, a halogen light, a fluorescent light, or others.
[0062] For clarity, herein, the skyward unit and the lamp are indicated using the same reference number 2.
[0063] In one example (see figures 5 and 6), the lamp 2 comprises a screen assembly 23 attached to the lamp support 22 of said lamp 2 to direct the light beam. In this example, the lamp support 22 has a rectangular perimeter, and the screen assembly 23 is provided with four screens, that is a top screen 23a, a bottom screen 23b, and two side screens 23c, 23d. Each screen 23a to 23d may be hinged to a respective side of the perimeter of the lamp support 22, such that each screen may be oriented with respect to the optical axis X2 of the lamp 2, thus allowing to control the width and shape of the light beam. In another example (see figures 7 and 8), the lamp 2 comprises a light diffuser 24 attached to the lamp support 22 of said lamp 2 to smoothen the light beam. The light diffuser 24 may be configured e.g. in the form of a honeycomb-shaped pattern with a plurality of cells 24a, as shown in figure 8. The dimensions of the light diffuser 24 (e.g. the width “a” of the cells and the depth “b” thereof) may be established to obtain a suitable smooth light beam, thus allowing to reduce or eliminate unwanted glare to the players.
[0064] According to an alternative example (not shown) of the present disclosure, the skyward unit 2 is a mirror configured to receive light generated by at least one of the floodlights 1 and reflect said light upwards. In an example, two mirrors may be mounted with the axes of their corresponding reflected light beams directed upwards and inclined towards each other.
[0065] The mirrors may be positioned and oriented such as to receive and reflect a high amount of light from the main floodlights, e.g. a mirror may be oriented with the optical axis of its mirror surface aligned with the optical axis of a main floodlight.
[0066] In examples, mirrors may have a planar (flat) reflective surface or a curved reflective surface, e.g. parabolic.
[0067] Furthermore, in the examples described herein, the skyward unit 2 may be connected to a support structure 30 (see e.g. figure 6). This support structure 30 is provided with a pivot axis for rotating the skyward unit 2 to selectively adjust the direction of its optical axis X2, according to an operative angle “a” with respect to a horizontal plane H parallel to the sports court floor 101 , in such a way that the light beam is directed upwards. In examples, the support structure 30 may comprise a motor (not shown) to automate the rotation of the skyward unit 2.
[0068] In the present disclosure, the “horizontal plane” is understood as a plane substantially parallel to the sports court floor 101.
[0069] In an example, the operative angle “a” of the skyward unit 2 is comprised between 0 and 90 degrees. According to an example, the operative angle “a” is comprised between 25 and 65 degrees, for example 35 degrees.
[0070] In an example, the skyward unit 2 is arranged to illuminate a space at a height of at least 2 metres, optionally at least 3 meters, above the sports court floor 101 . According to an example, the skyward unit 2 is arranged to illuminate at least a space at a height of between 3 and 8 metres above the sports court floor 101.
[0071] Also disclosed herein is a method for illuminating a sports court 100 comprising:
[0072] - providing main floodlights 1 on a perimeter P of a sports court floor 101 , and mounted to generate a light beam in a downward direction to illuminate the sports court floor 101 ; and
[0073] - providing skyward units 2 on a perimeter P of the sports court floor 101 , arranged at a height of at least 2 meters, optionally at least 3 meters, from the sports court floor 101 , and mounted to generate a light beam in an upward direction to illuminate playing balls in flight above the sports court floor 101.
[0074] Although only a number of examples have been disclosed herein, other alternatives, modifications, uses and / or equivalents thereof are possible. Furthermore, all possible combinations of the described examples are also covered. Thus, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by particular examples, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow. If reference signs related to drawings are placed in parentheses in a claim, they are solely for attempting to increase the intelligibility of the claim, and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claim.
Claims
CLAIMS1. A padel sports court (100) comprising:- a sports court floor (101) with a rectangular perimeter (P);- four walls defined by two opposite lateral walls (102) and two opposite back walls (103);- a net (104) parallel to both back walls (103) and located in a central area dividing the sports court floor (101) in two half parts; and a lighting system comprising- main floodlights (1), each mounted with an optical axis (X1) directed downwards to illuminate the sports court floor (101), and- at least two skyward units (2), each mounted with an optical axis (X2) directed upwards to illuminate playing balls in flight above the sports court floor (101),- each two skyward units (2) being mounted on respective opposite regions (P1 , P2, P3) of the rectangular perimeter (P) of the sports court floor (101), at a height of at least 2 meters from the sports court floor (101).
2. The padel sports court (100) according to claim 1 , wherein each skyward unit (2) generates a light beam, and wherein two skyward units (2) are mounted with the axes of their corresponding light beams directed upwards and inclined towards each other.
3. The padel sports court (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the skyward units (2) have lower lumens than the main floodlights (1).
4. The padel sports court (100) according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein each skyward unit (2) is a lamp (2) comprising a light source (21) arranged inside a lamp support (22), wherein the light source (21) is configured to generate a light beam in the direction of the optical axis (X2) of the skyward unit (2).
5. The padel sports court (100) according to claim 4, wherein the lamp (2) further comprises a screen assembly (23) attached to the lamp support (22) of the lamp (2) to direct the light beam.
6. The padel sports court (100) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the lamp (2) further comprises a light diffuser (24) attached to the lamp support (22) of the lamp (2) to smoothen the light beam.
7. The padel sports court (100) according to claim 1 , wherein each skyward unit (2) is a mirror configured to receive light generated by at least one of the floodlights (1) and reflect said light upwards.
8. The padel sports court (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each skyward unit (2) is connected to a support structure (30) provided with a pivot axis for rotating the skyward unit (2) to selectively adjust the direction of its optical axis (X2), according to an operative angle (a) with respect to a horizontal plane (H) parallel to the sports court floor (101), in such a way that the light beam is directed upwards.
9. The padel sports court (100) according to claim 8, wherein the operative angle (a) of the skyward unit (2) is comprised between 0 and 90 degrees.
10. The padel sports court (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the skyward unit (2) is arranged to illuminate a space at a height of at least 2 metres, optionally at least 3 meters, above the sports court floor (101).
11. The padel sports court (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each two skyward units (2) are arranged opposite to each other.
12. The padel sports court (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the skyward units (2) are mounted on the perimeter (P) of the sports court floor (101) at a height of at least 3 meters from the sports court floor (101).
13. The padel sports court (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the skyward unit (2) is releasably attached on a fixture of the padel sports court (100).
14. Method for illuminating a padel sports court (100) according to any of the preceding claims, comprising:- providing main floodlights (1) on the perimeter (P) of the sports court floor (101), and mounted to generate a light beam in a downward direction to illuminate the sports court floor (101); and- providing skyward units (2) on the perimeter (P) of the sports court floor (101), arranged at a height of at least 2 meters from the sports court floor (101), and mounted to generate a light beam in an upward direction to illuminate playing balls in flight above the sports court floor (101).