Patent Application
20240269530
The present invention relates to projectile expelling apparatuses, and more particularly, to a projectile expelling apparatus having pivotal tilt adjustment and a rotational expelling housing for launching projectiles at various trajectories.
In many sporting events players participate by pitching, hitting, catching, kicking, and/or shooting a moving object. Many players purchase projectile expelling apparatuses to become better players. Some players use projectile expelling apparatuses for pitching baseballs, softballs, tennis balls, footballs, volleyballs, basketballs, and many other types of moving projectiles. In addition, hunters use skeet throwers for launching projectiles to improve their shooting skills.
Many projectile expelling apparatuses expel projectiles at various trajectories such as straight, rising, dropping, curving, sliding, and many other variable projectile directions. To adjust the projectile trajectory, some projectile apparatuses rotate the rotational expelling housing to change the spin direction of the projectile. Changing the projectile spin direction changes the trajectory of the projectile.
Frequently, projectile expelling apparatuses require a second person to feed projectiles into the apparatuses, however, some projectile expelling apparatuses include an automatic projectile dispensing mechanism. These projectile dispensing mechanisms automatically dispense projectiles into the projectile expelling apparatus allowing players to practice alone.
Some rotational projectile expelling apparatus designs vary projectile trajectory and include a projectile dispensing mechanism. Popular projectile expelling apparatus designs have various components configured to provide various features. Such components frequently include a stand (such as a tripod) for stabilizing the projectile expelling apparatus on a surface that may be level or not. Another popular component is an elevation adjustable mechanism connected to the stand enabling the adjustment of the projectile expelling housing for expelling the projectile upwardly, downwardly, or horizontally at increments. Yet another popular component is a rotatable housing mechanism such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,958,876 titled “Projectile Expelling Apparatus” issued Jun. 14, 2011, that facilitates rotational adjustment of the projectile expelling housing to introduce various spin angles to the projectiles for throwing various trajectory pitches (e.g., straight, rising, dropping, curving, sliding, and other various projectile trajectories). Additionally, as mentioned above, a projectile dispensing mechanism, automated or not, to facilitate dispensing projectiles into the projectile expelling apparatus also is a desirable feature.
Problems have been encountered with known designs. Designs with fixed projectile dispensing mechanisms and having projectile expelling housings that are rotated and tipped for changing projectile trajectory encounter dispensing issues caused by the rotation and tipping of the fixed projectile dispensing mechanisms. Tipping the projectile dispensing mechanism can cause dispensing failure because the angle required for gravity to move projectiles into the dispensing mechanism is insufficient for proper projectile advancement. Also, the rotation and tipping can cause projectiles to fall out of the dispensing mechanism, rendering it inoperable.
Another type of problem is the destabilization of the projectile expelling apparatus during use that may cause errant or erratic throws. Projectile expelling apparatuses can be heavy and balanced precariously on an adjustable pedestal. Rotation and tilting of the projectile expelling apparatus, or component parts thereof, redistributes the weight load with respect to the stand (frequently a tripod) supporting the projectile expelling apparatus which tends to compromise stability of the overall system. The weight now unevenly distributed may cause the overall system to buck, jerk, or even overturn, when the recoil force of throwing a projectile is applied at a wrong angle due to the rotation and tipping. In this instance, the throws may become dangerously erratic.
The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and particularly, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available projectile expelling apparatuses having a rotating expelling housing for expelling projectiles in various trajectories.
An exemplary projectile expelling apparatus of the present invention has a rotational expelling housing that includes a launch tube, a motor housing, a drive wheel housing, a feeder elbow, and a supporting stand. The launch tube has an ingress end, an exit end, and a drive wheel opening disposed proximate the ingress end. The feeder elbow has an entry end and an egress end. A rotational connector assembly connects the ingress end of the launch tube to the egress end of the feeder elbow in abutting rotational engagement, enabling a full 360° rotation of the launch tube about its longitudinal axis with respect to the feeder elbow. The motor housing houses the motor which is connected to a drive wheel that is housed within the drive wheel housing. The motor housing is connected to the drive wheel housing, and that combination is connected to the launch tube such that a portion of the drive wheel passes through the drive wheel opening into the interior of the launch tube to create a pinch region. When a projectile, such as a ball, is fed into the feeder elbow, the ball advances (via gravity and/or a propelling force) through the elbow feeder to the ingress end of the launch tube where it is grasped by the drive wheel to be carried through the pinch region and released to be expelled from the exit end of the launch tube. As the drive wheel releases the projectile from the pinch region, a pinching force and a driving force imparts spin to the projectile.
Of course, the spin imparting function may be provided by something other than a drive wheel. The drive wheel provides propulsion and imparts spin to projectiles that engage the rotating drive wheel. However, those skilled in the art recognize and understand that there are other ways to provide propulsion that may or may not impart spin to an expelled projectile. For example, there are projectile expelling devices that use moving air to provide propulsion that may or may not impart predictable spin to the expelled projectile. To impart spin to the projectile predictably with an air-propulsion projectile expelling device, a spin imparting structure may be provided. Examples of spin imparting structures may include the drive wheel that provides propulsion and imparts spin predictably for several of the embodiments disclosed herein, and for devices that do not use a drive wheel for propulsion such as an air-propulsion device the spin imparting structure may be a flap, a roller (biased or not), a ramp, or the like disposed within the launch tube or at or near the exit end of the launch tube. Embodiments using one or more spin imparting structures are contemplated by this disclosure and considered to be within the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention.
The spin imparted to the projectile determines the trajectory of the expelled/launched projectile. The type of spin imparted may be controlled by rotating the rotational expelling housing to position the exposed drive wheel to grasp the projectile at various differing locations along the surface of the projectile depending what type of spin and trajectory is desired. Rotation of the rotational expelling housing not only enables the full 360° rotation of the launch tube but also the exposed portion of the drive wheel. In an exemplary embodiment of the projectile expelling apparatus rotation of the launch tube is facilitated by a concentric mating assembly that allows unhindered advancement of projectiles to enter and exit the feeder elbow and to enter and exit the launch tube when the rotational expelling housing has been rotated to any position.
In some embodiments, the supporting stand is a tripod. The tripod comprises legs and a center column with a head. Connecting the tripod fixedly to the feeder elbow is a pivot adjustment assembly that facilitates tilt rotation about a pivot axis. For optimum stability, the pivot axis perpendicularly intersects the central longitudinal axis of a vertically disposed center column. Although optimum stability is not always necessary for the projectile expelling apparatus to operate acceptably, the closer the center column is disposed to vertical, the more stable the projectile expelling apparatus will be atop the supporting stand. The center column may be of a telescoping structure that enables height adjustment. However, that height adjustment feature is just an exemplary embodiment. Center column may be non-telescoping, non-height adjustable, or height adjustable without being telescoping.
Other exemplary projectile expelling apparatuses of the present invention may further comprise a projectile dispensing mechanism that may be fixed or adjustable and/or automatic or not. Projectile dispensing mechanisms may be attached to the feeder elbow in any suitable attachment to position the delivery of projectiles from the projectile dispensing mechanism into the entry end of the feeder elbow.
The features of the exemplary embodiments of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description with reference to the drawings.
For the above-recited and other features and advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are depicted or illustrated in the appended figures. Understanding that these depictions and drawings show only typical embodiments of the invention and should not be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with reference to the accompanying figures in which:
The presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, as represented in the Figure(s), is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of presently preferred embodiments of the invention.
The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.
Motor housing 16 houses the motor 36 (indicated as encased in the motor housing 16 by a phantom lead line) which is connected to a drive wheel 38 that is housed within the drive wheel housing 18. The motor housing 16 is connected to the drive wheel housing 18, and that combination is connected to the launch tube 14 such that a portion of the drive wheel 38 passes through the drive wheel opening 28 into the interior 40 of the launch tube 14 to create pinch region 42 (best shown in
Because various components of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 may be configured in different relationships to each other (non-base configurations), the expulsion direction may change as the configuration of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 changes as will be explained below. Any configuration of projectile expelling apparatus 10 that has the launch tube 14 rotated away from the base configuration and/or tilted away from the base configuration is a non-base configuration.
The supporting stand 22, depicted in
Furthermore, the stability of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 is also enhanced because the pivot axis 55 and pivot adjustment assembly 54 may be rearwardly disposed at the feeder elbow 20. All meaningful tilting adjustments may be accomplished by tilting upward or downward without tilting beyond the verticality of the supporting stand 22. This also enables legs 48 of tripod 46 to be positioned so that the pivot axis 55 is not required to be at the center of mass of projectile expelling apparatus 10 and the recoil of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 upon expulsion of a projectile is more easily absorbed.
A tilt-adjustable mounting hub 72 may be disposed at the entry end 30 of the feeder elbow 20. The tilt-adjustable mounting hub 72 comprises a tiltable neck 74 connected between a hub head 76 and a tightening/loosening pivot pin 78. The receiving cup 66 may receive the hub head 76 in a snug-fitting engagement. When loosened, the tiltable neck 74 pivots about the tightening/loosening pivot pin 78, and when tightened, the tiltable neck 74 is secured into a tilt angle, thereby imparting the tilt angle to the to the projectile dispensing mechanism 56 and altering the angle of the helical ramp 68.
Tipping, tilting, or reorienting the projectile dispensing mechanism 56 can cause dispensing failure because the angle of the helical ramp 68 required for gravity to advance projectiles may be insufficient. Also, the projectile expelling apparatus 10 with the projectile dispensing mechanism 56 affixed may cause projectiles to fall out of the projectile dispensing mechanism 56, rendering it inoperable to properly feed projectiles into feeder elbow 20. The tilting capability of the tilt-adjustable mounting hub 72 serves to compensate for the tilting movement of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 by counter-tilting the tilt-adjustable mounting hub 72 so that the mounted projectile dispensing mechanism 56 is properly positioned to feed projectiles into the feeder elbow 20 and maintains an angle sufficient for advancing projectiles along the helical ramp 68 and/or an orientation that constrains projectiles to travel the helical ramp 68 without falling out of the projectile dispensing mechanism 56.
User control of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 may be manual or remotely controlled via wireless communication like what is used to control remote-controlled vehicles such as toy cars, boats, and drones. By way of example and as depicted in
When a projectile 90 (shown in
As mentioned above, the spin imparting function may be provided by something other than drive wheel 38. Drive wheel 38 provides propulsion and imparts spin to projectiles 90 that engage the rotating drive wheel 38. However, those skilled in the art recognize and understand that there are other ways to provide propulsion that may or may not impart spin to an expelled projectile 90. For example, there are projectile expelling devices that use moving air to provide propulsion that may or may not impart predictable spin to the expelled projectile 90. To impart spin to the projectile 90 predictably with an air-propulsion projectile expelling device, a spin imparting structure (e.g., drive wheel 38 or some other structure) may be provided. Examples of spin imparting structures include the drive wheel 38 that provides propulsion and imparts spin predictably for several of the embodiments disclosed herein, and for devices that do not use a drive wheel for propulsion such as an air-propulsion device the spin imparting structure may be a flap, a roller (biased or not), a ramp, or the like disposed within the launch tube or at or near the exit end of the launch tube. Embodiments using one or more spin imparting structures are contemplated by this disclosure and considered to be within the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention. In the interest of brevity, non-drive wheel embodiments have not been depicted because drive wheel 38 (as depicted in
By rotating and/or tilting the various components of the projectile expelling apparatus 10, the projectile expelling apparatus 10 may be reconfigured into numerous non-base configurations while maintaining adequate stability, wherein each of these non-base configurations will affect the trajectory of the projectile 90 being expelled. One non-base configuration may expel the projectile 90 in a curveball trajectory, while a slightly different non-base configuration may expel the projectile 90 is a somewhat flat curveball trajectory, and by altering the speed of the drive wheel 38, a new trajectory may be a slow curve or a hard breaking curve. Exemplary configurations (base configuration and non-base configurations) of the projectile expelling apparatus 10, each expelling projectile 90 at various trajectories are disclosed and described below.
As configured in each of the
As depicted in
The circular clamp 96 comprises an anchor flange 100, a clamping flange 102, a threaded bolt 104 secured to the anchor flange 100 and in pass-through engagement with the clamping flange 102, and a hand knob 106 for tightening and loosening the circular clamp 96. By advancing threadedly the hand knob 106 against the clamping flange 102 to reduce the inner circumference of the circular clamp 96 to capture and secure the feeder elbow 20 to the launch tube 14 from movement relative to each other, the circular clamp 96 is tightened and secured (placing the projectile expelling apparatus 10 in the secured mode). By retracting threadedly the hand knob 106 from the clamping flange 102 the inner circumference of the circular clamp 96 expands releasing the feeder elbow 20 to the launch tube 14 from captured securement, permitting movement relative to each other (placing the projectile expelling apparatus 10 in the rotation mode). The circular clamp 96 loosened facilitates the rotation of the launch tube 14.
As mentioned above, the launch tube 14 is capable of a full 360° rotation. The circular clamp 96 makes it possible to capture and secure the launch tube 14 at any angle within those 360° of rotation. At each of those angles, the projectile 90 will encounter the drive wheel 38 differently than at every other angle, thereby imparting different spin to the projectile 90.
Pivot adjustment assembly 54 facilitates tilt rotation about a pivot axis 55 to move the launch tube 14 about that pivot axis 55 in a vertical plane upward and downward, constrained only by practical use of the projectile expelling apparatus 10 or physical contact with a portion of the supporting stand 22 or the ground. For example, it makes little sense to expel a projectile straight up or straight down or to tilt the device into the ground or a portion of the supporting stand 22. Pivot adjustment assembly 54 is capable of tilt rotation of the full range of angles between straight up and straight down. At each of those angles, the projectile 90 will encounter the force of gravity on the projectile 90 at a different angle and each different angle may change the spin (either adding or subtracting from the spin) or the overall trajectory of the projectile based on the angular pull of gravity against the projectile.
Pivot adjustment assembly 54, as depicted in
To enhance securement and prevent tilt slippage during operation between the receiving disk 108 and the anchoring transverse column 116, additional features may be employed. For example, the receiving disk 108 may have a first meshing teeth interface 122 and the anchoring transverse column 116 may have a second meshing teeth interface 124, the teeth interfaces mesh to prevent tilting rotation of the receiving disk 108 relative to the anchoring transverse column 116, and to reduce frictional wear on the teeth, a resilient compression pad 126 may be disposed between the meshing teeth interfaces 122, 124.
By retracting threadedly the rotatable handle 120 from head 52, the pivot adjustment assembly 54 may be loosened sufficiently to permit anchoring transverse column 116 to rotate relative to receiving disk 108 without releasing head 52 from within its nesting disposition with elongate recess 110. In this manner, the anchoring transverse column 116 may rotate to allow the rotational expelling housing 12 to freely tilt rotationally.
Tilt-adjustable mounting hub 72, shown without the optional projectile dispensing mechanism 56 attached, is best shown in
Turning now to
Of course, there are many other configurations and various speeds at which the projectile expelling apparatus 10 may operate, each of which may create a different trajectory for expelling projectiles 90. Consequently, the various embodiments and configurations of projectile expelling apparatus 10 make the invention disclosed herein extremely versatile, stable, and results repeatable.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present embodiments are exemplary and should not be limited to the embodiments shown and described. Also, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various configurations are exemplary and should not be limited to the configurations shown and described.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures, methods, or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter. The described embodiments and configurations are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/107,988, filed Feb. 9, 2023, and titled STABLE PIVOTAL TILT ADJUSTMENT FOR A PROJECTILE EXPELLING APPARATUS WITH A ROTATING LAUNCH TUBE. The related application referred to in this paragraph is hereby incorporated by this reference as if fully set forth herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18107988 | Feb 2023 | US |
| Child | 18125654 | US |
