Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6530844
-
Patent Number
6,530,844
-
Date Filed
Friday, August 10, 200122 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 11, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
- Marger Johnson & McCollom, P.C.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 473 197
- 473 172
- 473 195
- 473 196
- 473 478
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A ball barrier assembly includes a looped barrier frame, an upright rear leg rod, a support rod unit, and a barrier fabric net. The looped barrier frame has a lower base portion and an upper frame portion. The upright rear leg rod has an upper end connected to the upper frame portion of the barrier frame, and a lower end that cooperates with the lower base portion to the assembly on a ground surface. The support rod unit interconnects the rear leg rod and the barrier frame. The barrier fabric net has a peripheral portion connected to the barrier frame, and collects a ball that passes through the barrier frame and that impinges upon the net.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a ball barrier assembly use in sports training and for practicing, more particularly to a ball barrier assembly that can stand stably on a ground surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a first conventional ball barrier assembly
1
is shown to comprise a looped barrier frame
11
, a support frame
12
, and a barrier fabric net
13
. The barrier frame
11
and the support frame
12
are made from flexible materials, such as plastics and memory alloys. The barrier frame
11
has a periphery that forms a ball projectile opening
14
. The support frame
12
is connected to the barrier frame
11
, and is adapted to be disposed on a ground surface. The net
13
is connected to the barrier frame
11
, and is adapted to collect a ball that passes through the opening
14
of the barrier frame
11
and that impinges upon the net
13
.
For storage, the barrier frame
11
can be twisted at the same time, as shown in
FIG. 2
, to form a small disc with a size equal to one-third of the area of the opening
14
, as illustrated in FIG.
3
.
FIG. 4
illustrates a second conventional ball barrier assembly
3
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,527. The ball barrier assembly
3
includes two leg frames
31
, a curved barrier frame
32
, and a barrier fabric net
33
. The leg frames
31
are adapted to be disposed on a ground surface. The barrier frame
32
has opposite ends
321
connected respectively to upper ends
311
of the leg frames
31
, and cooperates with the leg frames
31
to form a ball projectile opening
34
. The net
33
is loosely draped on the barrier frame
32
, and is adapted to impinge a ball that passes through the opening
34
, such that the ball falls on the surrounding area of the leg frames
31
.
The construction of the aforementioned conventional ball barrier assemblies
1
,
3
attains the purpose of impinging a ball via a net. However, during actual usage, the support frame
12
and the leg frames
31
of the conventional ball barrier assemblies
1
,
3
cannot stably support the barrier frames
11
,
32
on the ground surface due to lack of support.
Referring to
FIG. 5
, a third conventional ball barrier assembly
2
is shown to be substantially similar to the ball barrier assembly
1
of FIG.
1
. The ball barrier assembly
2
includes a looped barrier frame
21
, a lower support frame
22
, a rear leg rod
25
, and a barrier fabric net
23
. The barrier frame
21
and the support frame
22
are made from flexible materials, such as plastics and memory alloys. The barrier frame
21
has a periphery that forms a ball projectile opening
24
. The support frame
22
is adapted to be disposed on a ground surface. The rear leg rod
25
is connected to the barrier frame
21
and the support frame
22
. The net
23
is connected to the barrier frame
21
, and is adapted to collect a ball that passes through the opening
24
of the barrier frame
21
and that impinges upon the net
23
.
While the second ball barrier assembly
2
has a rear leg rod
25
for supporting the barrier frame
21
, however, the rear leg rod
25
cooperates with the support frame
22
to form only two supporting points for the barrier frame
21
, which is still not enough to stably support the barrier frame
21
on the ground surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a ball barrier assembly capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
Accordingly, a ball barrier assembly of this invention comprises a looped barrier frame, an upright rear leg rod, a support rod unit, and a barrier fabric net. The looped barrier frame has a lower base portion and an upper frame portion. The lower base portion is adapted to be disposed on a ground surface, and is formed with at least two linear segments. The upper frame portion has a curved intermediate segment and two end segments. The two end segments extend downwardly from the curved intermediate segment, and are connected to the lower base portion. The upright rear leg rod has an upper end and a lower end. The upper end is connected to the curved intermediate segment of the upper frame portion of the barrier frame. The lower end is adapted to be disposed on the ground surface so as to cooperate with the linear segments of the lower base portion of the barrier frame to form at least three supporting points that are to be disposed in a triangular formation on the ground surface. The support rod unit interconnects the lower end of the rear leg rod and the lower base portion of the barrier frame. The barrier fabric net has a peripheral portion connected to the barrier frame, and is loosely draped on the barrier frame so as to form a lower section that extends to the ground surface, and that is adapted to collect a ball that passes through the barrier frame and that impinges upon the net.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a first conventional ball barrier assembly;
FIG. 2
is a perspective view illustrating how the ball barrier assembly of
FIG. 1
is stored;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view illustrating the ball barrier assembly of
FIG. 1
in a folded state;
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of a second conventional ball barrier assembly;
FIG. 5
is a perspective view of a third conventional ball barrier assembly;
FIG. 6
is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a ball barrier assembly according to the present invention;
FIG. 7
is an assembled perspective view of the ball barrier assembly of
FIG. 6
; and
FIG. 8
is a schematic side view of the second preferred embodiment of a ball barrier assembly according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
FIGS. 6 and 7
, the first preferred embodiment of a ball barrier assembly
4
according to the present invention is shown to comprise a looped barrier frame
6
, an upright rear leg rod
5
, a support rod unit
8
, and a barrier fabric net
7
. The looped barrier frame
6
has a lower base portion
61
and an upper frame portion
62
. The lower base portion
61
is adapted to be disposed on a ground surface, and includes a horizontal rod
612
and a pair of elbow connectors
611
that are respectively sleeved on opposite ends
6121
of the horizontal rod
612
. The elbow connectors
611
have tubular coupling ends
6111
that extend upwardly to connect with the upper frame portion
62
. The upper frame portion
62
is formed from a plurality of removably interconnected hollow flexible pole segments
63
, and has a curved intermediate segment
621
and two end segments
622
. A flexible cord
65
passes through one of the two end segments
622
, through the curved intermediate segment
621
, and out of the other one of the two end segments
622
, such that the pole segments
621
,
622
are strung together to form a flexible pole body. The barrier frame
6
is thus easy to store when disassembled. The curved intermediate segment
621
has opposite ends
6211
connected to a respective one of the two end segments
622
by means of couplers
64
. The two end segments
622
extend downwardly from the curved intermediate segment
621
, and have lower ends
6222
fitted removably and respectively into the coupling ends
6111
of the elbow connectors
611
, such that the upper frame portion
62
and the lower base portion
61
cooperate to form a ball projectile opening
66
.
The upright rear leg rod
5
has an upper end
51
and a lower end
52
. The upper end
51
is formed with a hook fastener
511
for engaging removably the curved intermediate segment
621
of the upper frame portion
62
of the barrier frame
6
. The lower end
52
is reduced in diameter to form a lower shoulder
512
, and is adapted to be buried in the ground surface. The lower end
52
cooperates with the elbow connectors
611
to form three supporting points that are to be disposed in a triangular formation on the ground surface.
The support rod unit
8
includes a pair of support rods
81
, each of which has a first end
811
sleeved on the lower end
52
of the rear leg rod
5
and a second end
812
sleeved on a respective one of the elbow connectors
611
of the lower base portion
61
.
The barrier fabric net
7
has a peripheral portion
71
connected to the barrier frame
6
, is loosely draped on the barrier frame
6
so as to form a lower section
73
that extends to the ground surface, and is adapted to collect a ball that passes through the barrier frame
6
and that impinges upon the net
7
, as best illustrated in FIG.
7
. The peripheral portion
71
is provided with a plurality of fasteners
713
spacedly disposed there along for engaging removably the lower base portion
61
and the upper frame portion
62
of the barrier frame
6
. In this embodiment, each of the fasteners is a hook-and-loop strap fastener
711
,
712
. The lower section
73
is provided with an upright fence
72
that is disposed adjacent to the lower base portion
61
of the barrier frame
6
and that prevents the ball (not shown) collected in the net
7
from rolling out of the net
7
via the barrier frame
6
.
To assemble for use, the pole segments
621
,
622
of the upper frame portion
62
are connected first. The rear leg rod
5
is then hooked on the upper frame portion
62
. The second ends
812
of the support rods
81
are sleeved respectively on the coupling ends of the elbow connectors
611
, and the upper frame portion
62
is brought to connect with the lower base portion
61
so as to form the barrier frame
6
. The lower end
52
of the rear leg rod
5
is then extended through the first ends
811
of the support rods
81
and into the ground surface. The barrier frame
6
is stably supported on the ground surface at this time. Finally, the net
7
is loosely draped on the barrier frame
6
. To disassemble the ball barrier assembly
4
, the assembling process is performed in a reverse order, and the parts are disconnected one after the other. The disconnected parts are subsequently tied together to facilitate storage.
Referring to
FIG. 8
, the second preferred embodiment of the ball barrier assembly
4
according to the present invention is shown to be substantially similar to the first preferred embodiment. However, in this embodiment, each of the upper and lower ends
51
,
52
of the rear leg rod
5
is reduced in diameter to form the rear leg rod
5
with upper and lower shoulders
513
,
514
. The peripheral portion of the net
7
is formed with an upper slip ring
715
that is sleeved on the upper end
51
of the rear leg rod
5
. The ball barrier assembly
4
further comprises an elastic strap
9
having an upper end
91
and a lower end
92
. The upper end
91
is connected to the peripheral portion of the net
7
. The lower end
92
is formed with a lower slip ring
921
that is sleeved on the lower end
52
of the rear leg rod
5
, thereby pulling the upper slip ring
715
to abut against the upper shoulder
513
of the rear leg rod
5
, and thereby pulling the lower slip ring
921
to push the first ends
811
of the support rods
81
against the lower shoulder
514
of the rear leg rod
5
. As such, the barrier frame
6
can be supported more firmly on the ground surface.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
- 1. A ball barrier assembly comprising:a looped barrier frame having a lower base portion adapted to be disposed on a ground surface and formed with at least two linear segments, and an upper frame portion with a curved intermediate segment and two end segments that extend downwardly from said curved intermediate segment and that are connected to said lower base portion, said lower base portion of said barrier frame including a horizontal rod and a pair of elbow connectors that are respectively disposed on opposite ends of said horizontal rod and said upper frame portion of said barrier frame being formed as a flexible pole; an upright rear leg rod having an upper end connected to said curved intermediate segment of said upper frame portion of said barrier frame, and a lower end adapted to be disposed on the ground surface so as to cooperate with said at least two linear segments of said lower base portion of said barrier frame to form at least three supporting points that are to be disposed in a triangular formation on the ground surface, each of said upper and lower ends of said rear leg rod being reduced in diameter to form said rear leg rod with upper and lower shoulders; a support rod unit interconnecting said lower end of said rear leg rod and said lower base portion of said barrier frame, said support rod unit including a pair of support rods, each of which has a first end connected to said lower end of said rear leg rod and a second end connected to a respective one of said elbow connectors, said first and second ends of said support rods being sleeved on the respective one of said lower end of said rear leg rod and said elbow connectors; and a barrier fabric net having a peripheral portion connected to said barrier frame, said net being loosely draped on said barrier frame so as to form a lower section that extends to the ground surface and that is adapted to collect a ball that passes through said barrier frame and that impinges upon said net and said peripheral portion of said net being formed with an upper slip ring that is sleeved on said upper end of said rear leg rod.
- 2. The ball barrier assembly of claim 1, further comprising an elastic strap having an upper end connected to said peripheral portion of said net, and a lower end formed with a lower slip ring that is sleeved on said lower end of said rear leg rod, thereby pulling said upper slip ring to abut against said upper shoulder, and thereby pulling said lower slip ring to push said first ends of said support rods against said lower shoulder.
US Referenced Citations (10)