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A net for sport practice is provided having one or more apertures therein, the apertures being advantageously sized and shaped for passage of a ball or other object thrown or launched therethrough, in order to promote conditioning of the player's aim at a goal, and delivery into a court plane. A specially adapted frame may be employed for supporting the net; however, the net is preferably strung between existing standards, to minimize weight and maximize portability and ease of use. A backstop having inside rebound surfaces may be attached to the frame, for returning the object to the player.
This invention relates to an apparatus providing for practicing one or more player's aim in sports in which a sporting object is thrown or launched.
Many attempts have been made to provide an apparatus functioning as a target for pitching a baseball, for use in the practice of baseball throwing aim. Some of these devices catch the baseball, such as Maye, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,607 (“Maye”); Yalvac, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,774 (“Yalvac”); some return the baseball to the player, such as Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,427; White et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,562 (“White”); Larson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,551; and some register a hit within a “strike zone” by electromechanical means, such as Hanabusa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,731; Yancey, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,729.
Some of these apparatuses, being adapted for the pitching of baseballs, require a certain sturdiness and therefore substantial weight for receiving, without damage or excessive recoil, a fast-pitched baseball, such as the apparatuses of White and Yalvac. Others of these apparatuses employ multiple components which detract from portability and ease of set-up, such as the apparatus of Maye. And, in other ways, apparatuses adapted to the pitching of baseballs are not ideal for pitching or throwing of other objects thrown or launched in other sports.
For example, many sports, such as volleyball, tennis and frisbee involve the passing of a thrown or launched object between two players. None of the prior devices for aiming practice in the pitching of baseballs readily permit practice by more than one player at a time. A particular disadvantage of failing to permit two-way practice is that it is not only necessary in such sports to practice aiming the projectile so that it impacts a vertical plane (“goal plane”), e.g., a batter's box, at a specific location, it is also necessary to practice delivering the object beyond the goal plane a particular distance. In sports such as tennis, the player desires not only to clear the net but also to control where the ball will land in the opposite court by controlling velocity, delivery location and launch angle. A device adapted to register the location of a thrown object in a single, goal plane is not suitable for practicing sports in which it is desired to, first, pass a thrown or launched object through a specific location (“goal”) in the goal plane and, second, deliver the object to a specific location in a horizontal plane (“court plane”) therebeyond.
Moreover, in baseball, the goal in the goal plane never changes—it is the strike zone. In many sports, particularly sports in which an object is thrown or launched over a net, target locations in both the goal and court planes change constantly throughout the game, depending on where the players are located, how the players are moving, and the initial conditions of the location and the velocity the object as it is received by the player desiring to deliver or return it. Devices which register strikes or hits only in a particular location don't allow practice of aiming at a moving target.
Further, prior art devices adapted for the pitching of baseballs presume a goal size and shape that is predetermined by the rules of baseball. Other sports do not necessarily have a predetermined goal size and shape such as a strike zone. It may be advantageous in other sports to have a goal size or shape that is tailored in some other way.
Accordingly, there is a need for a novel net for sport practice which provides for practice by one or more players aiming at varying goals on a goal and delivering to varying locations on a court plane, the goals having sizes and shapes tailored to the needs of the sport, the apparatus minimizing weight and thereby maximizing portability, and maximizing ease of set-up and use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA net for sport practice of the present invention solves the aforementioned problems and meets the aforementioned needs by employing a net having one or more apertures therein, the apertures being advantageously sized and shaped for passage of a ball or other object thrown or launched therethrough, in order to promote conditioning of the player's aim at a goal, and delivery into a court plane. A specially adapted frame may be employed for supporting the net; however, the net is preferably strung between existing standards, to minimize weight and maximize portability and ease of use. A backstop having inside rebound surfaces may be attached to the frame, for returning the object to the player.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel net for sport practice.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a net that facilitates practice of both aiming, at a goal plane, and delivering, into a court plane.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a net that accommodates a plurality of players.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such a net that employs a goal size and shape tailored to a particular sport.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a net having a plurality of goals, for practicing aim at and delivery to multiple locations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a net that minimizes weight and maximizes portability, and maximizes ease of set-up and use.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
Material other than net material 12 may be employed for the goal surface; however, net material has particular advantages. For example, net material is generally stretchable, so that impact forces to the apparatus are minimized when a player misses the goal apertures. A lesser impact force allows lighter material to be employed, the lesser impact force and the lighter weight material allow a lighter structure (described below) for supporting the net. Another advantage of the net material 12 is that it presents relatively little wind resistance.
Referring to
The net material 12 also has edges 66 at side portions 29 thereof, however, preferably, the net material 12 is provided with a pre-existing hem material 68 capturing the edges 18 at the side portions 29. If the net material 12 is not provided with a pre-existing hem material 68, hem material 68 may be applied to the net material by folding over the edges 18 and capturing the edges 66 between adjacent complementary surfaces, as has been described for the hem material 22 and the goal apertures 14.
The location of the goal apertures 14 is selected so that a player has a selected, minimal chance of passing an object through one of the goal apertures 14 while aiming for another, and so that goal apertures 14 are disposed at a variety of locations on the goal surface to permit the player or players to practice delivery to varying locations within a court plane. While a pattern of goal apertures 14 is shown as being regular, the invention also contemplates that the goal apertures need not form a regular pattern.
The goal surface is preferably attached to existing standards, preferably the net 12 being strung across existing upright poles 33 for use with existing nets employed in the sport of choice. Alternatively, the goal surface may be attached to a suitable frame 26, such as that shown in
The net material 12 is attached to the frame at, preferably, each frame member 28. The hem material 68 which secures the edges 66 of the net material 12 may then be clamped, tied, clasped, or bonded to the frame 26 in any of a number of ways that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill. An exemplary attachment is shown in
Referring to
Returning to
Referring to
Alternatively, hangers 48 may be attached to the frame 26, preferably by the use of threaded fasteners 50 through holes 52 in the hangers 48 and in the frame 26. Curved ends 54 of the hangers may then loop over the existing structure, as shown in
Referring to
Referring particularly to
However, a preferred number of rebounds is two. A preferred method for achieving two rebounds provides a first rebound inside surface 66 oriented at substantially about 45 degrees declination, shown as line “L1”, for directing a ball thrown inwardly along the horizontal downwardly toward the second rebound inside surface 72 substantially about 90 degrees, the second rebound surface 72 being oriented at substantially about 45 degrees inclination, shown as line “L2”, for directing the ball received from the first surface 66 substantially about 90 degrees outwardly toward the player. Angles “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”, therefore, will each be substantially about 45 degrees. It will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill that a two-rebound backstop 56 may also be obtained from the configurations shown in
It is to be recognized that, while a specific net for sport practice has been shown as the preferred embodiment of the invention, other configurations could be utilized, in addition to configurations already mentioned, without departing from the principles of the invention. In particular, it will be readily appreciated, other components and other means of attaching the components may be employed for the frame 26, the stand member 36, the hangers 48 and the backstop 56, as is commonly known in the art.
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention of the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.
Claims
1. An apparatus for practicing a sport in which it is desired to condition a player's aim in throwing or launching a sporting object at a goal plane, the apparatus comprising:
- a goal surface lying substantially in the goal plane; and
- a plurality of goal apertures formed in and through said goal surface, said apertures being spaced-apart so that the player, in throwing or launching the object toward one of said goal apertures has a predetermined, minimal chance of passing the object through another of said goal apertures.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said goal apertures are sized and shaped according to the size and shape of the object.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a frame member for supporting said net.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a stand member for supporting said frame.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said stand member supports said frame in a substantially upright position.
6. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising one or more hangers for hanging the frame on an existing structure.
7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said frame is mounted to an existing structure.
8. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a backstop for returning an object passed through one of said goal apertures to substantially the opposite direction from whence the object came.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said backstop is formed to permit at least two rebounds of the object at two inside surfaces thereof.
10. An apparatus for practicing a sport in which it is desired to condition a player's aim in throwing or launching a sporting object at a goal plane, the apparatus comprising:
- a net forming said goal plane, said net having one or more spaced-apart goal apertures formed in said net for permitting passage of the object through said net.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said goal apertures are sized and shaped according to the size and shape of the object.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said goal apertures are spaced-apart so that a player aiming at one of said goal apertures has a predetermined, minimal chance of passing the object through another of said goal apertures.
13. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a frame member for supporting said net.
14. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a stand member for supporting said frame.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said stand member supports said frame in a substantially upright position.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising one or more hangers for hanging the frame on an existing structure.
17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said frame is mounted to an existing structure.
18. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a backstop for returning an object passed through one of said goal apertures to substantially the opposite direction from whence the object came.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said backstop includes a first inside surface having a substantially 45 degree declination and a second, spaced-apart inside surface having a substantially 45 degree inclination to permit two rebounds of the object, a first rebound being at said first inside surface and a second rebound being at said second inside surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 27, 2004
Publication Date: Feb 8, 2007
Inventor: Robert Wroten (Portland, OR)
Application Number: 10/801,890
International Classification: A47F 5/00 (20060101);