MULTI SPORT BALL ROLLING, LEVITATING, TOSSSING AND THROWING SYSTEM
A multi-sport ball machine is disclosed that is configured to selectively levitate, softly toss, rapidly pitch, roll, and bounce balls to a consistent or random location. The disclosed machine can also control the spin of a ball which affects its flight path and is self-contained and compact in size. Furthermore, the disclosed machine allows athletes of any age to practice safely in close quarters, indoors or out, with others or independent of others, and is easy to operate which enables athletes to train in a more efficient manner. Accordingly, the disclosed machine serves as a tool to help players transition from practice to utilizing the practiced skills in a competitive game play situation further engraining the skills they have been practicing and having fun.
This application claims priority to United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/980,976, filed on Apr. 17, 2014. The entirety of US 61/980,976 is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUNDAs long as baseball, softball, hockey, tennis, lacrosse and other sports have been played, players have tried to practice and advance their skills. Although some devices exist for such purposes, Improvements are desired.
SUMMARYA multi-sport ball handling machine that could levitate, softly toss, rapidly pitch, roll, bounce balls, to a consistent or random location, and could control the spin of a ball which affects its flight path, is self-contained and compact in size, such as the machine of this disclosure, would greatly advance an athlete's ability to train in numerous sports. Furthermore, a machine that allows athletes of any age to practice safely in close quarters, indoors or out, with others or independent of others, and is easy to operate, such as the machine of this disclosure, would enable athletes to train in a more efficient manner. Finally a machine should also serve as a tool to help players transition from practice to utilizing the practiced skills in a competitive game play situation further engraining the skills they have been practicing and having fun. The disclosed multisport ball rolling, levitating, tossing, and throwing system solves these problems.
A variety of additional aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. These aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein are based.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with reference to the following figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.
Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the appended claims.
Referring to
In one aspect, the machine 1 can be turned on with a switch 45 which activates a motor 18 which provides a constant air flow by rotating a blower fan blade 20. The motor 18 remains running as long as the switch is placed in an “on” position. The airflow generated by the fan 20 is drawn down through the top of the machine 1 through a feeder plate 77 and an air intake tower 76 (as shown in
In operation, the balls 5 that have dropped into the receiving areas 16 are individually moved toward a ball drop tube 14 by a ball loader motor 12 which rotates the ball feeder plate 77 to vertically align one of the loading areas 16 with the ball drop tube 14. In one example, the ball loader motor 12 is configured to rotate at a constant or varying rate when the switch 45 is activated. The bottom of each receiving area 16 is open, but is blocked by a structure 15 which has a single opening 15a aligned with drop tube 14. As such, a ball 5 will be held within a receiving area 16 until the receiving area 16 is aligned (by rotation of the plate 77) with the aperture 15a and the ball drop tube 14.
Once a receiving area 16 is aligned with the ball drop tube 14, a switch 26 will activate by a timing plate 89 attached to the bottom of the ball feeder plate 77. The timing plate 89 is provided with timing slots 58 that act on the air flow control switch 26 such that the air flow control switch 26 is activated when a loading area 16 is above the ball drop tube 14 and such that the air flow control switch 26 is deactivated when the loading area 16 is no longer above the drop tube 14 such that the timing plate 89 is covering the top of the drop tube 14. It is noted that the timing plate 89 is provided with apertures 59 that align with each of the loading areas 16 of the feeder plate 77. Once activated, the switch 26 will cause an air flow control system actuator 46 (e.g. a solenoid) connected to a linkage mechanism 22 to move a damper or door 50 to a closed position and to stretch a connected spring 54 into an extended position, as shown at
In the closed position, a passageway 48 located between the fan 20 and the drop tube 14 is blocked and the air generated by the fan 20 is directed through a vent 78. As shown, the vent 78 directs air towards motor 18 to cool the motor 18. As the closed position reduces airflow moving upwards through the drop tube 14, the closed position allows the ball 5 to drop down into the drop tube 14. It is noted that the door 50 can be provided with a small opening 56 to allow just enough air flow to work on the ball 5 that has dropped through the drop tube 14 to urge the ball 5 into a ball stager 28 connected to an outlet 19 of the machine 1 (or just out the open end of the “tee” tube 72).
As the ball load motor 12 continues to rotate the plates 77, 89, the switch 26 is deactivated which deactivates the actuator 46, thereby allowing the connected spring 54 to rapidly pull the door 50 into an open position, as shown at
In one aspect, the timing slots 58 are configured such that the timing plate 89 completely covers the top of the drop tube 14 (i.e. no overlap between aperture 59 and drop tube 14) before allowing the switch 26 to be deactivated such that it is ensured that air from the fan 20 is restricted from flowing out through the drop tube 14. In the open position of the door 50, the fan 20 is placed back in fluid communication with pathway 48 and outlet 19, which allows full air flow to act on the ball 5 and to launch or hover the ball 5 based on user tube configuration (discussed below).
With the above described configuration and operation, a user will be able to practice a skill without interruption until the ball hopper is empty. For instance, when hitting off a tee in baseball. The current process is to place the ball on the tee, hit the ball off the tee, chase the ball and pick it up, place it again on the tee, and hit the ball again restarting the entire process. With the machine, the hitter will be able to swing and hit a ball, wait for it to reload and repeat the process until ball hopper is empty and at that point go and pick the balls up. This is essentially the same process for all individual practice. Reference will now be made to the individual figures, and the specific features disclosed in each.
The ability to add speed or distance to a ball is created by connecting tubes end to end with a connecting collar 67, the more tubes the faster and farther the ball will travel. See
When using the tee tube 72, once a ball 5 automatically drops into the drop tube 14, the ball 5 will pass directly through the discharge arm 24 and up through the tee tube 72. As the ball 5 moves through tube 72, the ball 5 will contact the spin control device 68 which applies light friction to cause the ball 5 to spin, thus giving the ball gyroscopic stability as it leaves the end of the tube 72 and is then supported by an air flow column and levitates for a specified time (as shown in
Referring to
Even though the drawings show the air control system as a door, the effect of closing off the constant air flow can be achieved through a valve type mechanism or other restricting device. Also, the “opening and closing” of the air flow can be achieved using multidirectional actuators in place of or combination to tension springs.
The randomizer motor can may be changed to eliminate the gears and replaced with a simple wheel that utilizes a rubber surface and friction to turn the inner tube. Along with the randomizer the angle tube that allows for random directional launching could be a ball valve to give even more control of exit angle of launched balls.
The number of tube variations is almost unlimited. It would be possible to have tubes of any length, number, angle, arc, or opening type. Furthermore, tube end openings can affect the direction and spin on the ball.
PRODUCTION AND USEThe multi sports systems will be made primarily from plastic but is not limited to production of this material. Multiple types of gears, bearings, motors, springs, and levers may be used for the power and motion of the machine. Embodiments can be generated using cut, stamped, or molded parts. The connection of embodiments may use adhesives or fasteners. Container may be multiple shapes that include oval, square, rec. etc. . .
The machine will be used in training by athletes of all ages for multiple sports including but not limited to; baseball, softball, hockey, tennis, and lacrosse. Types of training uses would be for pitching, fly balls, ground balls for baseball and softball, hockey passes and goalie defense, tennis serve and volley, lacrosse passing, shooting and goal protection. Game play can be defend the wall, 500, mini baseball game and many more that users will create.
ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTSThe disclosed multi-purpose ball machine 1 can be configured in many different ways without departing from the concepts disclosed herein. For example, the following features may be incorporated: Remote Control of randomizer, launch pausing, and 360 degree directional arm; Lighting Indicators; Tube Lighting; Tripods or other system to elevate machine to different heights; Camera/Video Camera attachment/holder; Variable Rotation system for randomizer or ball feeding system; Multiple angular tubing to accommodate for various launching patterns; Various materials to be used in spin control and friction strips; Various sizes and shapes of “bucket” for containing inner workings of machine; Ball Rolling tube to simulate hockey puck or like; Variable Speed air flow motor for added burst of air flow; AC and AC or DC power capable; Capability of using multiple ball sizes, shapes, and materials; Vacuum attachment for ball retrieval; Digital Score board/ball launch counter; Air flow inducer or reducer to control height of hover; Eliminate ball loading system and air flow control actuator through a set of gears and lever; Sound reducing foam or insulation; Voice recognition for launch or hover control through mobile phone or other device; USB connections for information download; Switch that stops ball loader after each launch and is initiated by remote; Telescoping piece to control or dampen hovering height; Auto reversing motor for hopper motor; and a Swing Guide that force specific swing techniques in baseball and softball.
The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. A multi-sport ball machine comprising:
- a. a container for holding a plurality of balls;
- b. a blower having an inlet and an outlet;
- c. a plurality of tubes that can be assembled together and connected to the container such that the plurality of tubes are placed in airflow communication with the blower outlet;
- d. the machine being configured to sequentially launch the plurality of balls through the plurality of tubes via airflow generated by the blower;
- e. wherein, the plurality of tubes can be placed in at least two of the following ball launching configurations: i. a levitation configuration in which a ball is levitated above an outlet of the at least one tube; ii. a soft toss configuration in which a ball is launched at a relatively slow speed to allow the ball to travel to a consistent or random location at a relatively high arcing trajectory; iii. a rapid pitch configuration in which the ball is launched at a relatively high speed to allow the ball to travel to a consistent or random location at a relatively low arcing trajectory; iv. a bounce configuration in which the ball is launched such that the ball bounces to a consistent or random location; and v. a rolling configuration in which the ball is launched parallel to a surface.
2. The machine of claim 1, wherein:
- a. the blower is driven by a constant speed motor.
3. The machine of claim 1, wherein:
- a. the blower is driven by a variable speed motor.
4. The machine of claim 1, wherein:
- a. at least one of the plurality of tubes is provided with a spin control area that acts as a friction surface to impart a spinning motion onto a ball passing through the tube.
5. The machine of claim 1, wherein:
- a. the plurality of tubes includes a randomizer for automatically changing the orientation of the plurality of tubes between ball launches.
6. The machine of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tubes includes:
- a. a rotatable launch tube connected to the housing that can be rotated with respect to the housing;
- b. a ball staging tube connected to the rotatable launch tube;
- c. a tee tube connectable to the rotatable launch tube, the tee tube being for use with the levitation configuration;
- d. a first speed tube connectable to the ball staging tube, the first speed tube being for use in the rapid pitch, soft toss, and bounce configurations;
- e. a second speed tube connectable to the first speed tube, the second speed tube being for use in the rapid pitch configuration;
- f. a roller tube connectable to the rotatable launch tube, the roller tube being for use with the rolling configuration.
7. A multi-sport ball machine comprising:
- a. a container for holding a plurality of balls, the container having a ball discharge outlet;
- b. a blower having a fan inlet and a fan outlet;
- c. at least one tube configured to be attached to the ball discharge outlet;
- d. an airflow control mechanism located between the fan outlet and the ball discharge outlet, the airflow control mechanism being configured to selectively restrict airflow from the fan outlet to the ball discharge outlet, wherein the airflow control mechanism has a first position in which a first airflow is allowed to flow to the ball discharge outlet and has a second position in which a second airflow is allowed to flow to the ball discharge outlet, wherein the second airflow is greater than the first airflow; and
- e. an airflow switch configured to activate the airflow control mechanism between the first and second positions.
8. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 7, further comprising:
- a. a tee tube removable attached to the ball discharge outlet; and
- b. a ball spinning device located within the tee tube, the ball spinning device being configured to impart a rotation on a ball passing through the tee tube by force of airflow generated by the blower.
9. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 8, wherein:
- a. the machine automatically feeds a ball into the tee tube with the airflow control mechanism in the first position and moves the airflow control mechanism to the second position after the ball has been discharged from the tee tube to levitate the ball above the tee tube.
10. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 7, further comprising:
- a. a ball feed plate including a plurality of receiving areas, each receiving area being sized to receive only a single ball, the ball feed plate being rotated by a motor to align the receiving areas of a drop tube in communication with the ball discharge outlet.
11. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 7, wherein:
- a. the airflow switch is switched between open and closed positions by a rotating timing plate attached to the ball feed plate.
12. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 9, further comprising:
- a. a second tube; and
- b. a ball stop configured to provide sufficient frictional resistance to prevent the ball from passing through the tube when the airflow control mechanism is in the first position, and to allow the ball to pass through the tube and beyond the ball stop once the airflow control mechanism moves to the second position.
13. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 7, wherein:
- a. the airflow control mechanism includes a door disposed in a passageway between the fan outlet and the ball discharge outlet when the airflow control mechanism is in the first position.
14. The multi-sport ball machine of claim 13, wherein:
- a. the door defines an opening through which the first airflow in the passageway passes when the door is disposed in the passageway.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 17, 2015
Publication Date: Nov 19, 2015
Inventor: Marc Backowski (Anoka, MN)
Application Number: 14/689,755