and anyone sort out what this means?
http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...6,688,978.PN.&OS=PN/6,688,978&RS=PN/6,688,978
I claim:
1. A method for conducting a contest for a plurality of participants, the outcome of said contest determined by a set of competition events in which a finite set of competitors compete head to head, each competitor's performance, including those competitors that do not win the competition event, generating at least one statistic during said competition events, comprising: each participant selecting a subset of predetermined size from among said finite set of competitors, the subset including at least two competitors, said participants excluded from selecting competitors competing head to head; at a predetermined point during said sporting event, computing an index for each participant by summing the statistics associated with each competitor in each participant's subset without regard to the relationship of the competitors in the participant's subset; ordering participants according to said index; and resolving ties among participants by comparing competitors in the tied participants' subsets and, if a selection differentiates the tied participants, ordering the tied participants according to the statistics of the differentiating selection.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: each participant ranking the competitors in the participant's subset whereby in resolving ties, competitors in the tied participants' subsets are serially compared by ranking and, if a selection differentiates the tied participants, ordering the tied participants according to the statistics of the differentiating selection.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: each participant placing a wager; and issuing a reward to a predetermined number of participants by order.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising pooling said wagers whereby said reward is a predetermined portion of said pool.
5. A method for conducting a contest for a plurality of participants, the outcome of said contest determined by the result of a set of competition events in which a finite set of competitors compete head to head, each competitor's performance, including those competitors that do not win the competition event, generating a statistic at the completion of said competition events, comprising: each participant placing a wager; each participant selecting a subset of predetermined size from among said competitors, the subset including at least two competitors, said participants excluded from selecting competitors competing head to head; each participant ranking the competitors in the participant's subset; upon completion of said sporting event, computing an index for each participant according to the formula ##EQU2##
where I is said index, s is said statistic for each competitor in a participant's subset, and n is said predetermined number of competitors in a subset; ordering participants according to said index; resolving ties among participants by serially comparing competitors in the tied participants' subsets by ranking and, if a selection differentiates the tied participants, ordering the tied participants according to the statistics of the differentiating selection; and rewarding a predetermined number of participants by order.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising pooling said wagers whereby said reward is a predetermined portion of said pool.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to event contest methods. Specifically, the present invention is a method for conducting a contest, the outcome of which is determined by an event or set of events, such as sporting events, where a participant selects a subset of competitors and contest winners are decided by the aggregate performance of the competitors within the participant's subset.
http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...6,688,978.PN.&OS=PN/6,688,978&RS=PN/6,688,978
I claim:
1. A method for conducting a contest for a plurality of participants, the outcome of said contest determined by a set of competition events in which a finite set of competitors compete head to head, each competitor's performance, including those competitors that do not win the competition event, generating at least one statistic during said competition events, comprising: each participant selecting a subset of predetermined size from among said finite set of competitors, the subset including at least two competitors, said participants excluded from selecting competitors competing head to head; at a predetermined point during said sporting event, computing an index for each participant by summing the statistics associated with each competitor in each participant's subset without regard to the relationship of the competitors in the participant's subset; ordering participants according to said index; and resolving ties among participants by comparing competitors in the tied participants' subsets and, if a selection differentiates the tied participants, ordering the tied participants according to the statistics of the differentiating selection.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: each participant ranking the competitors in the participant's subset whereby in resolving ties, competitors in the tied participants' subsets are serially compared by ranking and, if a selection differentiates the tied participants, ordering the tied participants according to the statistics of the differentiating selection.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: each participant placing a wager; and issuing a reward to a predetermined number of participants by order.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising pooling said wagers whereby said reward is a predetermined portion of said pool.
5. A method for conducting a contest for a plurality of participants, the outcome of said contest determined by the result of a set of competition events in which a finite set of competitors compete head to head, each competitor's performance, including those competitors that do not win the competition event, generating a statistic at the completion of said competition events, comprising: each participant placing a wager; each participant selecting a subset of predetermined size from among said competitors, the subset including at least two competitors, said participants excluded from selecting competitors competing head to head; each participant ranking the competitors in the participant's subset; upon completion of said sporting event, computing an index for each participant according to the formula ##EQU2##
where I is said index, s is said statistic for each competitor in a participant's subset, and n is said predetermined number of competitors in a subset; ordering participants according to said index; resolving ties among participants by serially comparing competitors in the tied participants' subsets by ranking and, if a selection differentiates the tied participants, ordering the tied participants according to the statistics of the differentiating selection; and rewarding a predetermined number of participants by order.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising pooling said wagers whereby said reward is a predetermined portion of said pool.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to event contest methods. Specifically, the present invention is a method for conducting a contest, the outcome of which is determined by an event or set of events, such as sporting events, where a participant selects a subset of competitors and contest winners are decided by the aggregate performance of the competitors within the participant's subset.
