Patent Application
20240408456
The present invention pertains to a ball retrieving apparatus.
A ball retrieving apparatus can be used in sports such as golf or tennis and is often referred to as a ball “shagger.” The apparatus comprises a hollow tube structure wherein balls are collected at the bottom of the tube and stored in a linear fashion inside the tube until they are ready to be deployed. A common issue facing this design of a ball retrieving apparatus is that the bottom end of the tube is usually constructed out of a rubber-type material that is easily worn down, damaged, and loosens over time. It is typically difficult or impossible to fix or replace the bottom portion of the tube, thus rendering a damaged or worn-down ball shagger unusable and it must be discarded and replaced entirely. This feature is wasteful and contributes to the general environmental problem of excessive waste, particularly plastic waste, that is non-biodegradable.
The present invention is an adjustable device for a ball retrieving apparatus which can be adjusted to tighten the ball retrieving apparatus in order to significantly extend its life and eliminate the need to discard and replace the entire apparatus once an individual portion of it becomes damaged. The present invention is made adjustable via an adjustable hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device placed on the end of the ball retrieving apparatus, providing the ability to tighten the bottom rubber end of the apparatus to maintain its shape and prolong the durability of the overall apparatus.
In one embodiment, the present invention is an adjustable clamp type device that is designed to retrofit around the circumference of the bottom rubber end of the hollow tube of an existing ball retriever apparatus or other similar tool. In all embodiments, the present invention is constructed out of durable material such as metal or plastic and features an adjustment screw or other similar tightening device that allows the user to adjust the circumference of the clamp to fit snugly around the existing ball retriever apparatus. Other adjustable fastening constrictors can also be used in place of the adjustment screw design, including but not limited to adjustable clamps. Any type of adjustable fastening constrictor may be used to decrease the circumference of the bottom rubber end of the hollow tube to add additional pressure to ensure the balls are properly retained and collected into the apparatus. In this embodiment, the adjustable clamp will be manufactured as a separate attachment to an existing ball retriever apparatus or similar tool by use of any myriad of fasteners, clamps, straps, epoxies, or other fastening methods or devices.
In an alternative embodiment, an adjustable clamp is designed and manufactured as an integral part of the ball retriever apparatus or similar tool, in order to reduce the circumference of the bottom rubber end of the apparatus. In this alternative embodiment, the present invention may be located entirely on the outside of the bottom rubber end of a ball retrieving apparatus, or it may be located partially in the internal side of the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus.
In another alternative embodiment, the present invention is manufactured as a separate attachment to an existing ball retriever apparatus or similar tool designed to replace the entire bottom rubber portion of the existing ball retriever apparatus. In this embodiment, the present invention includes the hose clamp like device or other adjustable circumference reducing device containing an adjustment screw or other similar tightening device and an attachable and/or removeable bottom rubber end piece that may be attached and/or removed from an existing ball retrieving apparatus or similar tool.
The present invention, whether designed as an add-on attachment or built into the structure of the ball retrieving apparatus, prolongs the life of the ball retriever apparatus indefinitely in order to decrease the contribution of plastic waste to landfills as a result of discarded ball retrieving apparatuses. In this way, the present invention results in savings in terms of plastic waste, energy waste, consumer expense, time, and efficiency.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the present invention is an adjustable attachment whereby the end or collar has an adjustment screw or other similar tightening device so that as the bottom rubber end or end grommet wears out, a user can extend the life of the ball retriever apparatus by tightening the end with a hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device. A common ball retrieving apparatus consists of a hollow plastic tube with rubber on both ends of the tube. The plastic tube houses the collected balls after they are picked up and the rubber on the top end creates a barrier to prevent the balls from spilling out of the tube from the top. This top portion is usually removeable and usually acts as a lid or cap on the tube. The rubber bottom end has an opening through which the balls are picked up. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, on the bottom rubber end, there is a hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device attached to the rubber which decreases the circumference of the rubber bottom to maintain its original shape and prevents the rubber from loosening and thus losing its ability to pick up and contain the balls being retrieved. The hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device can be adjusted by the user by twisting the adjustment screw or other similar tightening device whenever needed in order to maintain the strength and shape of the rubber.
In one example, and not by way of limitation, when a user is playing tennis, the tennis balls will fall all over the court. A tennis player will typically wait until all the balls have been used before picking up any scattered balls. This is when a user may choose to use a ball retrieving apparatus to avoid repetitively bending down and picking up the balls on their own. The ball retrieving apparatus allows the user to pick up multiple balls at once without bending over repeatedly and provides convenient storage of the picked-up balls. To retrieve the scattered balls using the ball retrieving apparatus, the user places the open bottom portion of the apparatus on top of a ball and presses the apparatus down onto the ball. The rubber end of the bottom portion of the apparatus stretches around the ball, allowing the ball to be pushed inside the hollow tube of the apparatus. Once the ball is contained, the rubber returns to its original shape, preventing the collected ball or balls from spilling out of the bottom. As the balls are being retrieved, they stack vertically within the tube of the ball retrieving apparatus until the apparatus is full and no more balls can fit within the tube.
Once the ball is in the tube, the user moves to collect the next ball in the same fashion, until the apparatus is full at which point the user removes the top lid or cap of the tube and empties the collected balls from the apparatus. In some embodiments, the top portion of the apparatus is a removeable rubber lid which the user can remove in a screw-like fashion by twisting the rubber off of the hollow tube or by another removing method. To replace the top portion on the tube, The user simply snaps the top back on and screws it in to secure it.
Over time, the bottom rubber end of a ball retrieving apparatus loosens as it is repeatedly stretched around collected balls, and eventually it loses enough integrity that it can no longer pick up the balls properly or retain the collected balls within the tube. The present invention provides a novel hose-clamp solution that tightens the rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus as needed to extend the life of the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus. The present invention prevents the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus from becoming too loose to collect balls because a simple twist of an adjustment screw or similar tightening device tightens the rubber back to its original shape. This solution extends the life of the ball retrieving apparatus and prevents the user from needing to discard and replace the entire apparatus when the rubber portion becomes worn out.
The hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is attached around the center of the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus. The hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is circular in shape and contains an adjustment screw or other similar tightening device at one point along the metal circle which can increase or decrease the circumference of the clamp by tightening or loosening the adjustment screw or other similar tightening device.
In an alternative embodiment, the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is built into the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus. In this embodiment, the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device contained on the inside of the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus as opposed to the outside of the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus, however its general function remains the same because the adjustment screw or other similar tightening device portion of the present invention remains located on the outside of the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus for easy access.
In another alternative embodiment, the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is a removeable attachment that can be placed on the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus at a later time. In this embodiment, the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device of the present invention can be attached to any previously purchased ball retrieving apparatus and/or removed from any ball retrieving apparatus on which it was previously placed. To use the invention in this embodiment, the user places the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device around the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus. Once the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is on, the user will use the adjustment screw or other similar tightening device to tighten the clamp and thus tighten the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus to the desired shape. The user can easily disconnect the two ends of the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device and remove it from the ball retrieving apparatus at any time.
In another alternative embodiment, the present invention consists of a device combining the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device and the bottom rubber end of a ball retrieving apparatus. In this embodiment, the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is built into a removeable bottom rubber piece that can be fitted onto the hollow tube of a ball retrieving apparatus and removed from the same. In this embodiment, the function of the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device remains the same as the previous embodiments.
In another alternative embodiment, the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus may contain raised bumps or nodes which, when the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device is tightened, are pulled closer together as the circumference of the bottom rubber end is decreased. These nodes provide additional support for retaining the collected balls in the hollow tube of the ball retrieving apparatus. This alternative embodiment may be combined with any of the previous and following alternative embodiments. For example, and not by way of limitation, an alternative embodiment to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a removeable adjustable attachment containing nodes.
In another alternative embodiment, the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device may contain triangle cutouts or other missing material gaps along its length. When tightened, these cutouts are pulled closed thus decreasing the circumference of the hose clamp type device or other adjustable circumference reducing device and tightening the bottom rubber end of the ball retrieving apparatus. This alternative embodiment may be combined with any of the previous alternative embodiments. For example, and not by way of limitation, an alternative embodiment to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a removeable adjustable attachment containing triangular cut outs.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached hereto.
The various embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings. Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
In accordance with this embodiment, a user may take a previously owned ball retrieving apparatus and use the attachment to increase the lifetime of the retrieving apparatus. The user will wrap the attachment around the end of the tube. One end of the attachment has an adjustable mechanism, while the other side has a connector that connects the two sides together. The user then can use the hose type device clamp the same way, twisting the adjusting mechanism when the tube needs to be tightened in order to prolong longevity of the retrieving apparatus.
While various embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the disclosed technology, which is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that may be included in the disclosed technology. The disclosed technology is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the desired features may be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Indeed, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioning and configurations may be implemented to implement the desired features of the technology disclosed herein. Also, a multitude of different constituent module names other than those depicted herein may be applied to the various partitions. Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions and method claims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise.
Although the disclosed technology is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead may be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the disclosed technology, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the technology disclosed herein should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.
Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like; the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more” or the like; and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future. Lastly, as used in the specification, the term “rubber” may relate to any material with sufficient friction to assist in ball retention.
