Portable pitching mound
A portable pitching mound that includes three flat panels, sequentially attached to each other. The flat panels are pivotally attached to each other such that they fold in upon each other when not in use.
The present application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 61/001,002, filed Oct. 29, 2007 by Don Gensler and which is titled “Portable Pitching Mound”.
BACKGROUNDYouth athletics are generally conducted on limited budgets and at constantly varying venues. The sport of youth base-ball or softball is not an exception and is also confronted with these issues. Practice sessions and even league games can be conducted on a flat field which is devoid of a pitching mound. In response to this problem, several “portable” pitching mounds have been devised.
Prior to now, portable pitching mounds have been bulky and heavy. Typically, a portable pitching mound of prior art must be transported using a pickup truck and must be handled by at least two people because of its size and/or weight. These limitations run contrary to the typical way in which youth sports are conducted. Typically, a single coach administers practice sessions and may or may not have access to a larger vehicle that can be used to transport a portable pitching mound.
What is clearly needed is a portable pitching mound that can be transported using a small vehicle and that can be handled by one person.
The foregoing aspects are better understood from the following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
According to this example embodiment, a portable pitching mound further includes a second platform 40. This second platform 40 is attached to the first platform 10 at a first pivot point 30. Directly underneath the second platform 40, this example embodiment further includes a second cavity 50. This second cavity 50 is formed by two risers 52. In this example embodiment, the two risers 52 that form the second cavity 50 are tapered at an angle 120 so as to allow the second platform 40 to rest at a descending slope relative to the first platform 10. A third platform 70 is also included in this example embodiment and is attached to the second platform 40 at a second pivot 60. This third platform 70, according to this example embodiment is supported by risers 100, which are also tapered by a similar angle 110 so as to allow the third platform 70 to rest at substantially the same descending slope as the second platform 40. This descending slope allows the user 15 to step downward through a pitching motion.
While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, it is contemplated that alternatives, modifications, permutations, and equivalents thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and study of the drawings. It is therefore intended that the true spirit and scope of the present invention include all such alternatives, modifications, permutations, and equivalents. Some, but by no means all of the possible alternatives are described herein.
Claims
1. A portable pitching mound comprising:
- a first cavity;
- first platform disposed in opposition to the first cavity;
- second platform pivotally attached to the first platform at a first pivot point;
- second cavity disposed in opposition to the second platform;
- third platform pivotally attached, at a second pivot point, to the second platform on a side opposing the attachment of the second platform to the first platform wherein the third platform rotates about the second pivot point for storage in the second cavity and wherein the third platform and the second cavity rotate about the first pivot point for storage in the first cavity.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 28, 2008
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2009
Inventor: Don Eugene Gensler (Norco, CA)
Application Number: 12/290,237
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101); A63B 71/00 (20060101);