Compact Basketball Return Device Designed for Made Shots
A basketball return device that surrounds the net, restricting most made shots to fall beneath the front half of the rim. The back half of the cylinder interior is hard, while the interior of the front half is lined with a cushioning material. Suspended from the cylinder piece so that it is directly below the front half of the cylinder is a ricocheter, a half cone that deflects the basketball forward. In the normal position, the hard side faces the backboard and the device should be able to handle all normal shots except those from or near the sides. To better handle side shots, the movable part of the device should be rotated 90 degrees. The device can be raised and attached to the rim unit by using a rod-like instrument.
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to devices intended to return made basketball shots back to the shooter.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been many attempts to build a device that returns a basketball to the shooter if the shot is made, however all have some sort of limitation. Some simply drop the ball forward and therefore not directional. Regardless, this function does save time as the distance between the shooter and where the ball is retrieved is reduced. Other devices simply return the ball to the same spot, ideal for practicing the same shot but not a variety of shots. Another device requires an adjustment in order for the ball to return accurately. Many of the existing devices are non-portable, require the use of a latter to attach or both. A perfect device to solve this problem does not presently exist and may never will. One that returns made shots most of the time, is easy to install, and not too cumbersome would be ideal. Even a device which returns just two-thirds of made shots back to the shooter would be a tremendous time saver and enable more shots to be taken.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe goal is to design a product that works well for a variety of shots, somewhat portable and relatively easy to install. The advantage of this invention starts with restricting where the ball will land. All “good” shots, those that do not contact the backboard or have funny bounces on the rim, should fall below the front half of said rim. The surrounder basically creates a solid net, yet has no or minimal affect on the shot. The rim and the top of the net is still visible since many shooters use this as a reference point. Balls will either strike the back half of the rim, back half of the surrounder, or in some scenarios both. In any case, the ball is striking a hard surface and will bounce the opposite direction. In doing so, the ball will strike the cushioned side of the surrounder. By the time the ball reaches the cushion, the momentum of the ball is already reduced. The momentum will be furthered absorbed by the cushion, slowing down the ball even more. After striking the cushion, the horizontal movement should be slight. The ball will then land on the ricocheter, which is positioned below the front half of the rim. Upon contacting the ricocheter, the ball will bounce off and continue on a path towards the shooter. The design should work well to return all reasonable shots with the exception of those from or near the sides. Shots taken from this area are likely to strike the cushioned side or the transitional area where cushion and hard meet. To allow these side shots to be taken, the surrounder is designed to be rotatable so the ball will initially strike the hard side.
For what the device does, it is very portable. The device is slightly wider than the rim and should be no more than 50 inches in height when in use. The device can be designed so the connector and ricocheter can slide into the surrounder so that it is smaller during transport and storage. The device can also be designed with two wheels, so that it can be wheeled like luggage. The device does require the use of a long but narrow rod-like instrument for installation, however this eliminates the need for a latter. The device should be able to be attached and ready to use within three minutes. The accurately of the return is contingent on how clean the shot is. One of the great benefits of this device is that it is almost completely underneath the rim unit, therefore there is minimal negative offset (when a shot is missed, it is unlikely to ricochet off the device so that retrieving the miss requires more work than if the device was not present). It is also important to know that this device is intended only to aid in the practice of mid-range to long-range shots. The device should be removed for games and practicing layups and dunks. There is always the possibility that a part may fall, therefore no one should be near the rim during use, assembly or removal. The device is specifically designed so that the person installing or removing the unit is a safe distance away in the event of a mishap.
The ricocheter 15 illustrated is half of a right circular cone and therefore appears as a semicircle. A whole right circular cone would work as well, but unnecessary. The ball never has to move towards the backboard 18. The half cone is a circular sector of a dimensional geometric unit with a circular base that tapers upward toward the centre of the basketball rim for the basketball to bounce off the surface in the opposite direction that said basketball was shot from.
Although several embodiments of this invention have been described above for illustration purposes, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that many variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Claims
1. A basketball return device for returning the basketball in the general vicinity of the shooter if two criterions are met 1) the shot is successful 2) the ball's flight through the basket is straight (the ball stays within or near the line that is the center of the basket and the shooter), the device comprising
- a) a mount that attaches to the rim extender like a long hook with features to firmly secure a corresponding part
- b) a returner consisting of three main parts 1) a surrounder, a hard circular piece with an inner circumference approximately equal to that of the rim positioned below said rim to surround the net 2) a ricocheter, half of a right circular cone positioned below or mostly below the front half of the surrounder to bounce made shots forward 3) a connector, a connecting piece attached to the back interior of the surrounder and extends below said surrounder before bending or curving forward to support the ricocheter
- c) a rod-like instrument with a modified end and a rectangular end designed for lifting and securing the mount and returner to or near the rim unit
2. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the mount and surrounder will each have an upside-down rod holder so they can be lifted by the rod-like instrument
3. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the mount will have a locking mechanism for securing to the backboard
4. the basketball return device of claim 3 wherein the locking mechanism can be activated or deactivated with the rod-like instrument
5. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the interior shape of the surrounder structure from the top view is a circle
6. the basketball return device of claim 5 wherein a cushioning material lines approximately the front half of the surrounder cavity
7. the basketball return device of claim 6 wherein the cushioned side of the surrounder should face towards the shooter
8. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the surrounder will have two sets of four exterior attachers that correspond to the securing features of the mount
9. the basketball return device of claim 8 wherein the attachers will enable the surrounder to be attached in three positions
10. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein most made shots will bounce off the back side of the rim or surrounder cavity, strike the front side of the surrounder cavity, fall below, bounce off the ricocheter and continue on a path towards the shooter
11. the basketball return device of claim 10 wherein the height of the surrounder is adequate for the ball to strike the front interior after bouncing off the opposite side
12. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the height of the connector is adequate for the ball to bounce off the ricocheter without contacting the surrounder
13. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the top of the connector is designed to bounce forward balls falling through the back of the surrounder
14. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the apex of the ricocheter is in the center or central area of the rim when viewed from the top
15. the basketball return device of claim 10 wherein the size of the ricocheter is adequate to bounce balls that contact the front interior of the surrounder
16. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the angle of the ricocheter is most optimal for returning mid-range shots
17. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the base of the ricocheter is level to the rim
18. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the mount, surrounder structure, connector, ricocheter and rod-like instrument are made of hard materials such as plastic, metal, hard rubber or a similar material
19. the basketball return device of claim 1 wherein the mount, surrounder structure, connector and ricocheter should be stationary or have very minimal movement during use
20. A basketball return device positioned below the basketball rim for returning made shots in the general vicinity of the shooter that is a dimensional geometric unit with a circular base (or circular sector of said dimensional geometric unit with a circular base) that tapers upward toward the central area of said basketball rim for the basketball to bounce off the surface in the opposite direction that said basketball was shot from
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 19, 2013
Publication Date: Oct 23, 2014
Inventor: Fu-Yuarn Wu (Bethesda, MD)
Application Number: 13/866,292
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101); A63B 63/00 (20060101);