Patent Application
20080200286
This invention is in the field of sport and more specifically a way to practice basketball.
Whereas all sports require constant practice to reach proficiency, there are those that require a team or at least two people to practice the sport and there are those that can be practiced by the lone sportsman. Basketball is one of those sports where the player can practice throwing the ball into the basket by himself. One of the disadvantages of such lone play is the time wasted retrieving the ball after it has been thrown into the basket and it drops down to the ground. This time wasting can also apply when more than one person is practicing.
There have been a number of previous attempts to assist the basketball player as he practices alone. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,954 issued to Kerslaw which shows an attempt to return the ball to the player. Apart from technical difficulties involved with the apparatus it has a practical disadvantage that it requires special equipment to assemble and disassemble. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,074,313 and 6,595,877 issued to Pearson uses a large netting that reaches to the ground, to catch and return the ball. Also the clumsy net interrupts normal play at areas near the basket. U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,161 issued to Manix uses a panel to return the ball to the thrower. It has to be manually adjusted to change the direction of the rebound.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,403 issued to Courtright also uses a re-bound panel which would make it ineffective to practice with more than one person unless they both threw from the same position. Moreover a practicing player who throws from an angle at the basket will not have the ball returned to him. It will return to a different position.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments of the invention, and are intended to provide an overview, or framework, for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention.
The main object of this invention is, in a situation of practice and training, to cause the ball that has passed through the ring of a basketball hoop to return in the direction of the person who threw the ball.
Another object of this invention is for the kinetic energy in the basketball when it leaves the basket to be as close as possible to the kinetic energy when it enters the basket. This ensures that the ball will return to the player at a high velocity which in turn will increase the chances of it having enough energy to reach the player who threw the ball, without him having to chase it.
Another object of this invention is to have a device that can be easily assembled by a single person without special equipment and be likewise removable when a regular basket and net is needed for a regular game.
In another embodiment of this invention the apparatus of the invention could stay permanently on the basketball hoop without interfering with a regular game and could be brought into position when required for training purposes.
Another object of this invention is for the frustum to be made of plastic, metal or other suitable material whether such material is solid or in web form.
Another object of this invention is for the length of the sloping sides of the frustum and their angles to be adjustable. A wider angle could be used for longer range throwing and a narrower angle for nearer range.
Another object of this invention is for a fixed attachment to be attached to the hoop. This fixed attachment, that is part of the invention, will enable both a net to be attached to it and the frustum to be attached to it, alternately.
This fixed attachment will enable a quick and easy switch between “normal basketball play” and “practice play” and vice versa.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain, by way of example only, the principles of the invention:
FIG. A is a schematic depiction of a conventional basketball hoop, backboard and stand.
FIG. B1 is a schematic depiction of a frustum of this invention.
FIG. B2 is a schematic depiction of the lower portion of a frustum in sectional view.
FIG. C is a schematic depiction of a trajectory of a ball entering and leaving the frustum.
FIG. D is a schematic depiction of an optional removable attachment assembly of the original hoop.
FIG. E is a schematic depiction of an optional removable attachment assembly of the frustum.
As will be appreciated the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments than those discussed above and described in more detail below, and its several details are capable of modifications in various aspects, all without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Accordingly, the drawings and description of the embodiments set forth below are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
FIG. A shows a basketball stand 50 with its hoop 52. The hoop 52 is usually a standard size having an inside diameter of around 450 millimeters. The net 54 is designed to momentarily slow down the ball after it has passed through the hoop. It serves another purpose and that is to show visually and clearly to the players and/or referee that the ball passed through the hoop and not to the side or in front of the hoop. The backboard 56 is fixed upright and solidly to the stand structure 50. Its main purpose is to allow the ball to rebound off it into the hoop 52.
The net 54 is attached to the hoop. For the purposes of this invention the net 54 would need to be removable and re-attachable or otherwise kept out of the way when the frustum FIG. B1100 of this device is attached to the hoop 54. This could be done in various ways. The net is usually removably attached to the hoop 52 on hooks, in such a way that the hooks do not interfere with the ball entering the hoop 52.
Alternatively, the net 54 could be pushed around to one side of the hoop 52. In one embodiment of this invention, the hoop and net could be removed and replaced using a pole and hook specially designed for this purpose and the said frustum installed with the same pole. The reverse procedure would re-install the regular hoop and net.
FIG. B1 shows a conical frustum 100. A frustum is a conical or pyramidal shaped body with its apical portion removed, so that its top plane is parallel to its bottom plane. The narrow opening of the frustum 102 could have the same dimensions as a conventional basketball hoop. The basketball enters the top of the frustum 102 as it would the hoop, so that the device of this invention provides a true simulation of the real game. After the ball has entered the top ring of the frustum 102 its flight path will in most cases bring it in contact with the inner side wall of the frustum see FIG. C 154. If it drops in vertically it will not hit the frustum.
The material of the frustum 100 would be firm and strong with a relatively high coefficient of elasticity and a relatively high coefficient of friction. This will ensure the ball will hit the inner side of wall 106 and rebound therefrom with as close as possible to a perfect bounce. That is to say the ball will lose minimum energy as a result of its impact with the wall 106 and its angle of incidence at the point of impact is as close as possible to the angle of reflection. There will be a measure of effect of gravitational pull and “slip” effect of the ball as it hits the inner wall 106 but this is minimized as much as possible by the use of appropriate materials in the frustum.
The angle 108 of the wall 106 and the length of that wall are also factors in creating the best conditions for the ball to rebound out of the frustum and return with maximum kinetic and potential energy in the direction of the thrower.
The said length and angles could be adjustable. The longer the wall 106 and the narrower the angle, the more likely the ball will hit the other inside wall of the frustum after it bounces off the first wall. The smaller the wall 106 and the wider the angle, the greater the chance that the ball will pass through the frustum, missing the wall 106. The larger the angle 108 the greater the “slip” effect as the ball hits the wall 106 and the greater the chance that the ball will go through the frustum without hitting the wall 106.
The surface properties of the ball will also affect the angle of reflection of the ball.
There could be balls that enter the frustum 100 at such an angle that they move close to but parallel to the wall 106. To save this kind of ball from falling to the ground and bouncing in the opposite direction to the thrower, a ring 110 could be attached to the inside of the lower base of the frustum. This type of ball flight would cause the ball to hit the ring 110 and the ball's direction would be altered to the direction of the thrower. An alternative to this ring 110 could be a curved lip FIG. B2112 forming the bottom ridge of the frustum 100. Both the ring FIG. B1110 and the curved lip FIG. B2112 are intended to break the clean geometric form of the frustum wall 106.
FIG. C shows the trajectory of a ball 148 as it comes towards the frustum 100, enters, rebounds on its inside wall and returns in the direction of the thrower. The ball will usually bounce at least once on the ground before reaching the thrower. The angle of incidence 150 is shown here as being close to the angle of reflection 152 even though in reality the angle of incidence will probably be larger than the angle of reflection, the reasons for which are described above.
FIG. D shows one optional method of removably attaching the basketball hoop or the frustum of this invention to the basketball backboard. The metal rectangular sockets 202 could be permanently attached to the backboard 200. The hoop and net 204 could have metal pins 206 to fit snugly into the sockets 202. There would be a need for metal or similar solid material to be used for the sockets and pins as the hoop has to be firmly attached to prevent any free movement that may affect the ball if it hits the hoop 204.
FIG. E shows the removable apparatus 250 of the frustum attachment. The metal pins 252 would be the same dimensions as those of the hoop and net FIG. D 206 as their purpose is the same namely to hold the device as solidly as possible in place during play but nevertheless be removable. There could be support rods 256 joining the base of the frustum 254 to the framework to add stability, as the frustum would be heavier than netting.
