BASKETBALL TRAINING APPARATUS FOR CONNECTION TO RESISTANCE DEVICE
A basketball rebound training system includes a ball device having an outer surface having thereon basketball indicia including one or more basketball seams and a surface texture of a basketball, and being of an official basketball size. The ball device includes an inner cavity and an anchor system disposed at least partially within the inner cavity of the ball device. An attachment ring is affixed to the anchor system and is further adapted for attachment to a resistance machine to provide rebound training to an athlete when the ball device is pushed or pulled downward. The outer surface may be made of leather or of a synthetic material such as rubber, and has a pebbled texture thereon. The inner cavity may be filled with pressurized air, ambient air, or a solid material.
This invention relates to athletic training devices and relates more particularly to a system for providing realistic resistance training for basketball rebound tasks and the like.
BACKGROUNDThe human body responds to stress by adapting and becoming more resistant or resilient to the type of stress experienced. For example, exposure to a certain bacteria or virus will often cause the human body to develop resistance or immunity to the agent in question. Similarly, repeated muscular stress can cause the affected muscles to adapt and become stronger, faster or more resilient depending upon the type of stress applied, assuming that the stress applied does not overtax the muscle's structural integrity.
In practice, the inventor has found that certain burst activities require significant speed and/or strength, but that the exposure to adaptive stress during the activity can be insufficient in duration to efficiently train and adapt the muscles in question. An example of this is the activity of basketball rebounding, wherein the participant leaps and attempts to “pull down” a ball that they or another participant have attempted unsuccessfully to throw into the basketball hoop. The pull down portion of the maneuver would benefit from increased strength and speed, and yet the activity is too short in duration and frequency to efficiently provide significant adaptive stress.
At the same time, there are aspects of the process that are difficult to imitate if the athlete engages in a characteristically different muscle stimulation, e.g., with a weight training set. This is because the strength and speed aspects of the maneuver must be coupled, in the inventor's observation, with the same ball feel that the athlete experiences during the actual maneuver. To date, there has been no system available that provides all aspects needed, in the inventor's observation, for more efficient training.
In closing this section, it should be noted if not otherwise apparent that the invention as protected is defined by the attached claims, regardless of whether the invention as claimed solves one or more of the noted deficiencies. Moreover, it is expressly noted, and should be fully appreciated by the reader, that the foregoing is not intended to be a survey or description of the prior art. Rather, it is a statement of background ideas set forth by the inventors intended to help the reader understand the following detailed description. As such, this background section provides just that—helpful conceptual information, not prior art information.
SUMMARYIn an embodiment, a system is provided for basketball rebound training. The system includes a ball device having an outer surface having thereon basketball indicia including one or more basketball seams and a surface texture of a basketball, and being of an official basketball size. The ball device includes an inner cavity and an anchor system disposed at least partially within the inner cavity of the ball device. An attachment ring is affixed to the anchor system and is further adapted for attachment to a resistance machine to provide rebound training to an athlete when the ball device is pushed or pulled downward.
In an embodiment, the outer surface is made of leather, and may alternatively be made of a synthetic material such as rubber. In any case, the outer surface has a pebbled texture thereon. The inner cavity may be filled with pressurized air, ambient air, or a solid material. Suitable solid materials include, for example, wood, foam, plastic, and fiberglass. The anchor system may extend through the inner cavity to be visible beneath the ball, and may include a bezel or washer under the ball to secure the anchor system.
In another embodiment of the invention, a ball training device is provided including an air-filled ball having an official basketball size. Within this embodiment, an attachment ring is attached to the air-filled ball and the ball includes a basketball-textured outer layer, the basketball-textured outer layer including one or more basketball seams and a basketball surface grain.
In this embodiment, the basketball-textured outer layer may be made of leather or a synthetic material such as rubber. The basketball-textured outer layer grain has a pebbled texture. The ball is filled with either pressurized air or ambient pressure air, although with respect to the latter option, the ball itself will need to be rigid enough in and of itself to withstand the pressure of training.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated from reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the included drawing figures of which:
The described system pertains to an exercise apparatus for allowing enhanced resistance training for ball rebounding tasks while maintaining the ball handling feel of a basketball. In various embodiments, systems are presented for whole-ball and half-ball devices having various means of attachment and various other structural and configurational aspects. It will be appreciated that these exemplary embodiments of the invention are meant to be explanatory but not limiting.
As will be discussed in reference to later drawings, the ring 103 may be affixed to the ball 100 in one of any number of ways. However, whatever the attachment mechanism chosen, the structural integrity of the ball 100, the ring 103, and the associated internal and external hardware should be such as to ensure that the entire device remains stable, rigid, and intact when used for resistance training.
The attachment ring 203 is attached to the ball 200 via a threaded bezel 204, a threaded coupler 205, a threaded rod 206, and a threaded lower bezel or platform 207. In this embodiment, the compressive strength of the inner body 202 ensures the integrity of the device 200 during use. It will be appreciated that the illustrated design has elements such as the coupler 205 that are included for convenience, but that are not required for the success of the concept. Indeed, the internal details of the device may be adapted to fulfill any desired requirement with respect to strength and stability.
As with the embodiment shown in
An alternative means of attachment is shown in the cross-sectional view of
The structural integrity of the ball according to this embodiment of the invention is provided by the external shell, which may be of rubber, leather etc., and may be reinforced, e.g., by a fiberglass shell or fiberglass cladding, in conjunction with the internal body, which may be either a solid body such as foam, wood, etc., a matrix, or air or other gas. The embodiment shown in
In particular
It will be appreciated that a new invention has been described above; however, the scope of patent protection is governed by the attached claims. The terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Any recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
Claims
1. A system for basketball rebound training comprising:
- a ball device having an outer surface having thereon basketball indicia including one or more basketball seams and a surface texture of a basketball, and being of an official basketball size;
- an inner cavity of the ball device;
- an anchor system disposed at least partially within the inner cavity of the ball device; and
- an attachment ring affixed to the anchor system and being further adapted for attachment to a resistance machine to provide rebound training to an athlete when the ball device is pushed or pulled downward.
2. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface is made of leather.
3. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface is made of a synthetic material.
4. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic material is rubber.
5. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface has a pebbled texture thereon.
6. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the inner cavity comprises pressurized air.
7. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the inner cavity comprises ambient air.
8. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the inner cavity is filled with a solid material.
9. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 8, wherein the solid material is selected from the group consisting of wood, foam, plastic, and fiberglass.
10. The system for basketball rebound training according to claim 1, wherein the anchor system extends through the inner cavity and is visible beneath the ball, and includes a bezel or washer under the ball to anchor the anchor system.
11. A ball training device including:
- an air-filled ball, wherein the air-filled ball is of an official basketball size;
- an attachment ring attached to the air-filled ball; and
- a basketball-textured outer layer on the air-filled ball, the basketball-textured outer layer including one or more basketball seams and a basketball surface grain.
12. The ball training device according to claim 11, wherein the basketball-textured outer layer is made of leather.
13. The ball training device according to claim 11, wherein the basketball-textured outer layer is made of a synthetic material.
14. The ball training device according to claim 11, wherein the synthetic material is rubber.
15. The ball training device according to claim 11, wherein the basketball-textured outer layer grain has a pebbled texture.
16. The ball training device according to claim 11, wherein the air-filled ball is filled with pressurized air.
17. The ball training device according to claim 11, wherein the air-filled ball is filled ambient pressure air.
18. A system for basketball rebound training comprising:
- a hemispherical ball device having an outer surface having thereon basketball indicia including one or more basketball seams and a surface texture of a basketball, and being of an official basketball size; and
- an attachment ring affixed to the hemispherical ball device and being adapted for attachment to a resistance machine to provide rebound training to an athlete when the hemispherical ball device is pushed or pulled downward.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 6, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 6, 2012
Inventor: James Gibadlo (Bartlett, IL)
Application Number: 13/041,399
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101);