BALL CARRIER

The ball carrier has a case and a strap. The case has a chamber, a connecting seat, a locking seat and a frame. The chamber is spherical and formed in the case. The connecting seat is formed on the case and has a pivoting recess. The locking seat has a locking assembly corresponding to the pivoting recess of the connecting seat. The frame is mounted between and connecting the connecting seat and the locking seat and has two fencing boards and a door board. The two fencing boards and the door board are formed around and shaped the chamber of the case. The door board is connected pivotally on the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and connected detachably on the locking assembly of the locking seat. The strap is connected to the case and provides a carrying effect.

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Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a carrier, and more particularly to a ball carrier having a strong structure, and capable of being carried as a backpack or a shoulder bag.

2. Description of Related Art

With reference to FIG. 8, a conventional ball carrier (70) comprises a bag (71), a drawstring (72) and a fastening clamp (73).

The bag (71) is reticular and may correspond to a ball such as a basketball, football, volleyball or the like and has an opening and a rim formed around the opening. The drawstring (72) is threaded through the rim of the bag (71) and can be pulled to narrow the opening of the bag (71) to hold the ball inside the bag (71). The fastening clamp (73) is movably mounted on the drawstring (72) and is moved along the drawstring (72) to and automatically clamps the drawstring (72) to retain the bag (71) in an open or closed condition.

However, the bag (71) of the conventional ball carrier (70) is reticular and is easily torn or broken by pulling, or sharp or heavy objects, so the conventional ball carrier (70) is not strong enough. The conventional bag (71) also becomes dirty easily and is a design or a pattern cannot be easily formed thereon so does not maintain a pleasing aesthetic appearance.

Furthermore, the drawstring (72) of the conventional ball carrier (70) must also be carried in hand or hung over a shoulder, but is uncomfortable when the bag (71) is heavily laden.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a ball carrier to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the invention is to provide a ball carrier that has a strong structure and is capable of being carried as a backpack or a shoulder bag. The ball carrier has a case and a strap. The case has a chamber, a connecting seat, a locking seat and a frame. The chamber is formed spherically in the case. The connecting seat is formed on the case and has a pivoting recess. The locking seat is formed opposite the connecting seat of the case and has a locking assembly corresponding to the pivoting recess of the connecting seat. The frame is mounted between and connects the connecting seat and the locking seat and has two fencing boards and a door board. The two fencing boards and the door board are formed around and shaped the chamber of the case. The door board is connected pivotally on the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and connected detachably on the locking assembly of the locking seat. The strap is connected to the case and has a strap having two ends being respectively connected to the case facilitate carrying.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball carrier in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the case of the ball carrier in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows operational perspective views of the ball carrier in FIG. 1 being locked;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a ball carrier in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is operational perspective views of the ball carrier in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an operational perspective view of the ball carrier FIG. 1 shown worn as a shoulder bag;

FIG. 7 is an operational perspective view of the ball carrier FIG. 1 shown worn as a backpack; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional ball carrier in accordance with the prior art.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIG. 1, a ball carrier in accordance with the present invention has a case (A) and at least one strap (40).

With further reference to FIG. 2, the case (A) may be a hard material like plastic, acrylic fiber or metal, may contain a ball like a basketball, a football, a volleyball or the like, encloses a chamber and has a connecting seat (10), a locking seat (20) and a frame (30). The chamber of the case (A) may be spherical and is formed in the case (A).

The connecting seat (10) is convexo-concave and formed on the case (A) and has an inner surface, multiple sides, multiple corners, a pivoting recess (11) and two first connecting recesses (12). The connecting seat (10) and may have three sides, six sides, or eight sides. The multiple corners are respectively defined between two adjacent sides of the connecting seat (10), and the connecting seat (10) may have eight corners.

The pivoting recess (11) is formed in the connecting seat (10), and may be formed in one of the sides of the connecting seat (10) or may be formed at one of the corners of the connecting seat (10). The pivoting recess (11) has two sides and two pivoting grooves (110). The sides of the pivoting recess (11) are defined parallelly in the connecting seat (10). The pivoting grooves (110) are elongated and respectively formed obliquely in the sides of the pivoting recess (11). The first connecting recesses (12) are formed respectively in the inner surface and two of the sides of the connecting seat (10).

With further reference to FIG. 3, the locking seat (20) is formed on the case (A) and disposed opposite and corresponding to the connecting seat (10), is convexo-concave and has multiple sides, multiple corners, a locking assembly (21), an outer surface, an inner surface, two second connecting recesses (22) and an optional rim. The locking seat (20) and may have three sides, six sides or eight sides. The multiple corners are respectively defined between two adjacent sides of the locking seat (20), and the locking seat (20) may have eight corners.

The locking assembly (21) is mounted on the locking seat (20) corresponding to and aligned with the pivoting recess (11) of the connecting seat (10) and has a locking recess (210), a pivoting bar (211) and a catch (212). The locking recess (210) is formed in the locking seat (20), corresponds to and may align with the pivoting recess (11) and has two transverse sides, an inner side, an opening, two locking protrusions (2101), two pivoting holes (2102), two retaining tabs (2103), a supporting rib (2104) and a finger recess (2105).

The two transverse sides of the locking recess (210) are defined in the locking recess (210) parallel to each other and have an inner end and an outer end.

The inner side of the locking recess (210) is formed between the inner ends of the transverse sides of the locking recess (210).

The opening of the locking recess (210) is formed between the outer ends of the transverse sides and opposite to the inner side of the locking recess (210).

The locking protrusions (2101) protrude from the inner ends of the transverse sides of the locking recess (210).

The pivoting holes (2102) are formed in the transverse sides of the locking recess (210) between the inner ends and the outer ends.

The retaining tabs (2103) are respectively formed on and protrude from the outer ends of the transverse sides of the locking recess (210).

The supporting rib (2104) is elongated and formed on the inner side of the locking recess (210).

The finger recess (2105) is formed in the outer surface of the locking seat (20) adjacent to the inner side of the locking recess (210).

The pivoting bar (211) is mounted pivotally in the pivoting recess (210) and has two pivoting protrusions (2110) and two pivoting arms. The pivoting protrusions (2110) are respectively mounted rotatably in the pivoting holes (2102) of the pivoting recess (210). The catch (212) is mounted pivotally on the pivoting arms of the pivoting bar (211), and has two transverse rims, two locking holes (2121), an inner surface and a locking hook (2122). The transverse rims of the catch (212) are respectively formed on and protrude from the inner surface of the catch (212) and are respectively parallel with the transverse sides of the pivoting recess (210). The locking holes (2121) are respectively formed in the transverse rims of the catch (212) and correspond to the locking protrusions (2101) of the pivoting recess (210). The locking hook (2122) is elongated and formed on the inner surface of the catch (212). The second connecting recesses (22) are respectively formed in the inner surface and toe of the sides of the locking seat (20), and may be formed in the inner surface from the sides toward a center of the locking seat (20) and correspond to the first connecting recesses (12) of the connecting seat (10).

The frame (30) is mounted between and connects the connecting seat (10) and the locking seat (20) and has two fencing boards (31), a linking element (32) and a door board (33). The two fencing boards (31) and the door board (33) are connected between the connecting seat (10) and the locking seat (20) and mounted around and shape the spherical chamber of the case (A) to make the frame (30) have a diameter. When the fencing boards (31) are implemented on two ends of the diameter of the frame (30), the door board (33) is implemented between the fencing boards (31), and the linking element (32) is implemented at a position opposite to the door board (33) and is connected between the fencing boards (31). When the fencing boards (31) are not implemented on two ends of the diameter of the frame (30) and have a curved interval more than 180°, the door board (33) is implemented at the curved interval between the fencing boards (31), and the linking element (32) is optional, may be implemented at a position opposite to the door board (33) and is connected between the fencing boards (31).

The fencing boards (31) are curved and are mounted on and connected to the first connecting recesses (12) of the connecting seat (10) and the second connecting recesses (22) of the locking seat (20). Each fencing board (31) has a first connecting end, a second connecting end, a first connecting tab (310), a second connecting tab (311), a fixing hole (312), a linking side and two optional linking recesses (313). The first connecting tab (310) protrudes from the first connecting end of the fencing board (31) and is mounted on one of the first connecting recesses (12) of the connecting seat (10). The second connecting tab (311) protrudes from the second connecting end of the fencing board (31) and is mounted on a corresponding one of the second connecting recesses (22) of the locking seat (20). The fixing hole (312) is formed through the fencing board (31) adjacent to the second connecting end of the fencing board (31). The linking side is defined on the fencing board (31) facing the other fencing board (31). The linking recesses (313) are formed in the linking sides of the fencing board (31) With further reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, the linking element (32) may be an arc and elongated board made by hard material, may be an elastic (32B), is transversely mounted on and connected to the fencing boards (31) and has two ends and two pair of optional linking tabs (320). The two ends of the linking element (32) are respectively mounted on and connected to the inner sides of the fencing boards (31). Two pair of the linking tabs (320) are respectively formed on and protrude from the ends of the linking element (32), and are respectively mounted in the linking recesses (313) of the fencing boards (31).

The door board (33) is an arc and elongated board, and detachably and changeably connected pivotally on the pivoting recess (11) of the connecting seat (10) and connected detachably to the locking assembly (21) of the locking seat (20) to control case (A) being opened or closed, is located between the fencing boards (31), and has a pivoting end, a locking end, a patterning area (330), two pivoting rods (331), a locking tongue (332) and a hooking hole (333).

The patterning area (330) is defined on the medium of the door board (33) and may be a circle area, and provides an outer surface for a design or a pattern like a portrait of a basketball star, a logo of a basketball team or the like being formed thereon. The pivoting rods (331) are respectively protrudes oppositely from the pivoting end of the door board (33) and mounted rotatably in the pivoting grooves (110) and may be pushed out of the pivoting grooves (110) to provide the door board (33) a changeable effect. The locking tongue (332) is formed on and protrudes from the locking end of the door board (33) and may selectively abut the retaining tabs (2103) and detachably connected on the locking assembly (21) of the locking seat (20). The hooking hole (333) is formed through the locking tongue (332), may be an elongated hole and corresponds to and is hooked by the locking hook (2122).

With reference to FIGS. 1, 6 and 7, the at least one strap (42) is adjustably extensible, is connected to the case (A) for a easy carrying, and each one of the at least one strap (42) has two ends respectively connected to the case (A) and has two optional strap mounts (410) and two optional clasps (420). The strap mounts (410) are formed as loops and mounted respectively through the fixing holes (312), fixed on the inner surfaces of corresponding fencing boards (31) and may comprise a ring (41). The clasps (420) are respectively connected to the ends of the strap (42) and are detachably mounted respectively on the strap mounts (410), may be hanged by the rings (41) to connect the strap (42) to the case (A).

With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, in use, to open the case (A) by pivoting the door board (33) relative to the connecting seat (10), and put a ball in the case (A) to make the ball being surround by the fencing boards (31) and the linking element (32). The door board (33) is then pivoted backward to make the locking tongue (332) of the door board (33) abutting the retaining tabs (2103) and closing the case (A). The catch (212) is pivoted to make the locking hook (2122) engaging the hooking hole (333) of the door board (33). The catch (212) is then pressed to abut the supporting rib (2104) and to make the locking holes (2121) aligning and holding the locking protrusions (2101), such that the case (A) is closed.

To release the locking assembly (21), the catch (212) is turned up from the finger recess (2105) by a finger to disengage the locking hook (2122) and the locking hole (333) and the door board (33) will be opened.

The ball carrier provides a strong structure, a dirty prevention and an easy carrying effect to contain a ball therein and may be carried in shoulder hanging or backpacking. Furthermore, the ball carrier also has a changeable door board (33) to provide the user a selectivity, wherein the user may own multiple door boards (33) with different designs or colorful patterns on the patterning areas (330) and can pick liked one as the use like.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A ball carrier comprising:

a case having a chamber formed spherically in the case; a connecting seat formed on the case and having a pivoting recess formed in the connecting seat; and a locking seat formed on the case opposite and corresponding to the connecting seat and having a locking assembly mounted on the locking seat and corresponding to and aligned with the pivoting recess of the connecting seat; a frame mounted between and connecting the connecting seat and the locking seat and having two fencing boards connected between the connecting seat and the locking seat, and each fencing board having a first connecting end mounted on the connecting seat; and a second connecting end mounted on the locking seat; and a door board connected pivotally on the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and connected detachably on the locking assembly of the locking seat, and located between the fencing boards and shaping the chamber of the case in cooperation with the fencing boards and having a pivoting end mounted rotatably on the connecting seat; and a locking end detachably connected on the locking assembly of the locking seat; and at least one strap, each one of the at least one strap having two ends being respectively connected to the case.

2. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the connecting seat further has an inner surface; two first connecting recesses formed in the inner surface of the connecting seat; and
each fencing board further has a first connecting tab protruding from the first connecting end of the fencing board and mounted on one of the first connecting recesses of the connecting seat.

3. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the locking seat further has an inner surface; two connecting recesses formed in the inner surface of the locking seat; and
each fencing board further has a connecting tab protruding from the second connecting end of the fencing board and mounted on one of the connecting recesses of the locking seat.

4. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the locking seat further has an inner surface; two second connecting recesses formed in the inner surface of the locking seat; and
each fencing board further has a second connecting tab protruding from the second connecting end of the fencing board and mounted on one of the second connecting recesses of the locking seat.

5. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the locking assembly further has a locking recess formed in the locking seat, corresponding to and aligned with the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and having two transverse sides defined in the locking recess, being parallel to each other and each having an outer end; a locking protrusion protruding from the transverse side of the locking recess; a pivoting hole formed in the transverse side of the locking recess; and a retaining tab formed on and protruding from the outer end of the transverse side of the locking recess; and a pivoting bar mounted pivotally in the pivoting recess and having pivoting protrusions respectively mounted rotatably in the pivoting holes of the pivoting recess; and a catch mounted pivotally on the pivoting bar and having an inner surface; two transverse rims formed on and protruding from the inner surface of the catch and being parallel with the transverse sides of the pivoting recess; two locking holes respectively formed in the transverse rims of the catch and corresponding to the locking protrusions of the pivoting recess; and a locking hook formed on the inner surface of the catch; and
the door board further has a locking tongue formed on and protruding from the locking end and selectively abutting the retaining tabs; and a hooking hole formed through the locking tongue and corresponding to and hooked by the locking hook.

6. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 4, wherein

the locking assembly further has a locking recess formed in the locking seat, corresponding to and aligned with the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and having two transverse sides defined in the locking recess, being parallel to each other and each having an outer end; a locking protrusion protruding from the transverse side of the locking recess; a pivoting hole formed in the transverse side of the locking recess; and a retaining tab formed on and protruding from the outer end of the transverse side of the locking recess; and a pivoting bar mounted pivotally in the pivoting recess and having pivoting protrusions respectively mounted rotatably in the pivoting holes of the pivoting recess; and a catch mounted pivotally on the pivoting bar and having an inner surface; two transverse rims formed on and protruding from the inner surface of the catch and being parallel with the transverse sides of the pivoting recess; two locking holes respectively formed in the transverse rims of the catch and corresponding to the locking protrusions of the pivoting recess; and a locking hook formed on the inner surface of the catch; and
the door board further has a locking tongue formed on and protruding from the locking end and selectively abutting the retaining tabs; a hooking hole formed through the locking tongue and corresponding to and hooked by the locking hook.

7. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the pivoting recess of the connecting seat further has two parallel sides defined in the connecting seat; two pivoting grooves formed in the parallel sides of the pivoting recess; and
the door board is changeably connected pivotally on the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and further has two pivoting rods respectively protruding from the pivoting end of the door board and mounted rotatably respectively in the pivoting grooves.

8. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 6, wherein

the pivoting recess of the connecting seat further has two parallel sides defined in the connecting seat; two pivoting grooves formed in the parallel sides of the pivoting recess; and
the door board is changeably connected pivotally on the pivoting recess of the connecting seat and further has two pivoting rods respectively protruding from the pivoting end of the door board and mounted rotatably respectively in the pivoting grooves.

9. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the frame of the case further has a linking element transversely mounted on and linked between the fencing boards.

10. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein

the frame of the case further has a linking element transversely mounted on and linked between the fencing boards.

11. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 9, wherein

the linking element of the frame of the case is elastic.

12. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 10, wherein

the linking element of the frame of the case is elastic.

13. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the ball carrier has one strap.

14. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 10, wherein

the ball carrier has one strap.

15. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein

the ball carrier has one strap.

16. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the ball carrier has two straps.

17. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 10, wherein

the ball carrier has two straps.

18. The ball carrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein

the ball carrier has two straps.
Patent History
Publication number: 20100326854
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 29, 2009
Publication Date: Dec 30, 2010
Applicant: MEGA JOY ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. (Taichung City)
Inventor: Shih-Fu Ting (Taichung City)
Application Number: 12/493,635
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: For A Ball (206/315.9); Loop And Hook Fastener (224/620); Receiver Closing Means (224/654); Rigid Or Semirigid Container (224/629)
International Classification: A45F 3/00 (20060101); B65D 85/58 (20060101); A63B 47/00 (20060101);