Patent Application
20250058193
This application claims the benefit of priority to: Korea Patent Application No. 10-2023-0107639, titled “STRUCTURE OF HORIZONTAL POLE AND WEIGHT FOR A TENNIS TRAINING DEVICE,” filed Aug. 16, 2023. Further, this application No. 10-2023-0107639 and each of the following above applications are herein, incorporated by reference in entirety: Korea Patent Application No. 20-2020-0003046, titled “TENNIS TRAINING DEVICE,” filed Aug. 19, 2020, which is now Korea Patent No. 20-0495480; and Korea Patent Application No. 20-2020-0003154, titled “TENNIS TRAINING DEVICE.” filed Aug. 26, 2020; and KR Patent Application No. 20-2021-0002370, titled “Installing Structure of Ball-connecting String using Tennis Training Device,” filed Jul. 27, 2021.
The present invention relates to a tennis practice device, wherein a horizontal pole or support is affixed in a vertical direction at a certain point on a vertical part of a building or structure to form a basic frame of a tennis practice device, and a string is hung toward the ground from an end (point) of the horizontal pole of the basic frame, and a tennis ball is attached to an end of the string (e.g., a front-end connection cord), and then the ball thus suspended in air is struck or hit with a racket for tennis practice.
The present Applicant filed the following three applications for patent (utility-model) registration at Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), to solve the problems raised above in implementing a highly useful tennis practice device.
1. Tennis Training Device (KR Patent No. 20-0495480; Kang, Chan; Issued 2022.05.30.)
2. Tennis Training Device (KR Patent Application No. 20-2020-0003154; Kang, Chan; 2020.08.26. in Reexamination)
3. Installing Structure of Ball-connecting String using Tennis Training Device (KR Patent Application No. 20-2021-0002370; Kang, Chan; 2021.07.27. in Re-examination)
As a result of implementing the above three inventions, and for a fact, the Applicant has received receiving positive responses from tennis players, who have said that it is fun and easy to practice, and greatly helpful in improving skills. The video of practicing at the tennis device(s) is at URL-https://youtu.be/GqdZt17bn7E, and the search term on YouTube Home is “Tennis practice stand” with a reference “definitive edition of the tennis practice stand.”
Although the tennis practice devices according to the above three inventions have great effectiveness, there are some problems: first, complexity of using the pulling string for the front-end connection cord (hereinafter referred to as pulling string) and the auxiliary string for the pulling string; second, the limitations of the weights in terms of their function; and third, the safety of the weights. These three problems have emerged as important, and technological progress or techniques are needed to better overcome them.
Using the tennis practice device(s), when a trainee hits the ball with a racket, the ball flies to a certain point in the air, above and ahead of the trainee, along an upward circumferential curve with the end of the horizontal pole as a central point, then falls along a downward circumferential curve due to gravity. The ball is then hit again using the racket, as the tennis practice device uses the principle of repeating the hitting movement to allow the trainee to practice tennis strokes.
In such tennis practice device, the height of the horizontal pole above the ground is very important. In other words, if it is too low, the flight path of the ball is minimal, so there is no practical benefit to practicing, and if it is at least 6.5 m or higher, the trainee can master the most essential hitting posture and hitting techniques in tennis sports or exercise in easy, fun, and realistic ways.
However, in order to realize the above ideal flight trajectory of the ball, material and weight of the ball string that the ball is hung from is also an important factor. Even if the material is elastic like a rubber band, or is too thick, inflexible, or heavy, the ball will bounce around in the air, making effective stroke practice impossible.
Therefore, the ball string should not be elastic and thick, and should be light and flexible. However, when the ball string is torn unexpectedly due to aging of the ball string made of this material due to exposure to sunlight or long-term use, and this, during stroke practice and at a very high position near the end of the horizontal pole, there are problems such as difficulty in having to secure a special equipment in each, such situation to re-attach the ball string to the end of the horizontal pole.
Also, as another case-situation, when the tennis practice device is installed in a place such as a waterfront area along a city river and is used for public use, the user (any person) who brings a racket and a ball should be able to easily and properly attach the ball string to the end of the horizontal pole, and also be able to retrieve the ball string and the ball to clean up the tennis practice device after finishing with practice, but this will not be a simple task either.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide solution to the above problems, as well as the three important problems presented above.
First, solutions to the problem of complexity in the use of pulling string and auxiliary strings is sought.
The above “3. Installing Structure of Ball-connecting String using Tennis Training Device” (hereafter referred to as “Invention 3”) discloses: first, a step of releasing the roller and auxiliary string; a step of a trainee pulling the pulling string toward the ground, where the end of the front-end connection cord is coupled with or bound to the O-ring of the pulling string; a step of connecting the ball string to the O-ring of the pull string; a step of turning or winding the roller so that the O-ring of the pulling string is in close contact with the O-ring (or guide ring) at the end of the horizontal pole; and a step of the trainee pulling the auxiliary string to move the upper portion of the pulling string horizontally toward the lower portion of the horizontal pole. Proceeding sequentially with the above steps, the disclosed technique involves moving the ball horizontally to the bottom of the horizontal pole, and then having the trainee hit the ball hanging on ball string thus moved.
This technique is indeed much more complicated than the technique used in the described “1. Tennis Practice Device” and “2. Tennis Practice Device” (hereafter, “Invention 1” and “Invention 2,” respectively), which uses only rollers and weights to adjust the raising and lowering of the end of the front-end connection cord from the end of the horizontal bar toward the ground.
In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a technique and structure that excludes the auxiliary string in the “Invention 3.”
First, an O-ring (121) at an end of a horizontal pole (120) is made of a magnetic material, and at least one row of magnets (122) are arranged continuously and densely on a bottom (lower portion or surface) of the horizontal pole (120) from an adjacent portion of the O-ring (121) of the horizontal pole (120). In this tennis practice device, when the trainee winds a roller (112), an O-ring (132) of a pulling string (131) comes into close contact with the O-ring (121) of the horizontal pole (120). At this instance, the technique is utilized where the O-ring (132) and an upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) automatically attach to the O-ring (121) of the horizontal pole (120) and the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120) along the at least one row (in series) by magnetic force of the O-ring (121) and the magnets (122).
Second, solutions to the problem as to the limitations of the weights in terms of their function are sought.
The “Invention 1” and “Invention 2” disclose a technique that includes a step of the weight tied to the end of the front-end connection string being lowered toward the ground by the load of the weight, when the roller is released or unwound, the step of connecting the ball string to the weight, and a step of winding the roller so that the weight comes in close contact with the O-ring at the end of the horizontal pole, and a step of a trainee hitting a ball hanging on the ball string.
This technique is actually much simpler than the that in the “Invention 3,” which uses rollers, pulling strings, and auxiliary strings to adjust the raising and lowering of the end of the front-end connection cord.
However, an unexpected situation occasionally occurs in which the raising and lowering of the front-end connection cord cannot be resolved by relying solely on the load of the weight. A steel wire is typically used for the front-end connection cord, and when this wire is bent or wound for a long period of time at the curved point or roller of the tennis practice device and then is subject to a lot of resistance while passing through the inside of (the pipe of) the practice device or the O-ring of the horizontal pole, or in cases such as the ball string attached to a very strongly hit ball being caught on the horizontal pole, an unexpected situation occurs in which the weight cannot descend or be lowered toward the ground only with its own load.
In order to solve the problems in this unexpected situation, the present invention uses the pulling string (130). To explain more specifically, first, the end of the front-end connection cord (140) sequentially penetrates and passes through the O-ring (121) of the horizontal pole (120) and the O-ring (132) and then is tied to an O-ring (141), or a new O-ring, of the front-end connection cord (140), and the O-ring (141) is coupled with or bound to the weight (200).
Also, in a state where the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) is attached in a row to the magnets (122) installed continuously on the O-ring (121) of the horizontal pole (120) and a middle portion and lower portion of the pulling string (130) is adjacent to a vertical surface (110) of the practice device and facing the ground (100), the problems of the unexpected situation may be resolved by the pulling string (130) being pulled more strongly.
As such, the technique of using the pulling string (130) to prepare for such unexpected situation, and the technique of adjusting the raising and lowering of the front-end connection cord (140) using the weight (200) in the “Invention 1” and “Invention 2” may be used in combination in the present invention.
Third, solutions to the problem as to safety of the weight are sought.
In the “Invention 1” and “Invention 2,” when the binding portion where the end of the front-end connection cord is coupled with and bound to the O-ring of the pulling string is weakened and the weight is separated and falls off and hits the trainee's head or face, this may lead to a serious accident if the material of the weight made entirely of metal or stone.
To prepare for this situation, in regard to the material of the weight (200) in the present invention, a technique and structure is provided where an outer peripheral surface (203, 204, 205) of the weight (200) is made of a soft material such as rubber or silicon rather than steel or stone, or adding metal or stone material to an inner center (206) of the weight (200) having an outer peripheral surface made of soft material—to thereby increase the heaviness of the weight while decreasing the volume of the weight.
First, with regard to the problem of complexity in the use of the pulling string and the auxiliary string, by providing a technique in which the magnets (122) replace the function of the auxiliary string—which is much more convenient and effective than using the auxiliary strings in the Invention 3—the complicated problem of using the auxiliary string is solved.
Second, with regard to the problem as to the limitations of the weights in terms of their function, in ordinary use, the upper portion (131) of the pull string (130) remains attached to the magnets (122) installed on the lower portion or surface of the horizontal pole (120), and the raising and lowering of the front-end connection cord (140) is adjusted only by the roller (112) and the weight (200).
However, even in the case where the unexpected situations described above occur, when the trainee first pulls (on) the pulling string and separates the pulling string (131) and the O-ring (132) of the pulling string (131) from the magnets (122), and then continuously pulls the pulling string (131) toward the ground (100) with a force strong enough to disconnect the ball string (151), which may be made of cotton yarn or fabric material of the likes, the O-ring (141) that hangs at the O-ring (132) of the pulling string (131) as a stopper drags the front-end connection cord (140) and is lowered toward the ground (100). After the obstacles of this unexpected situation are so removed, a technique is provided to enable tennis practice by (the trainee) winding the roller (112) and returning the tennis practice device to a normal state where the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) is attached to the lower portion or surface of the horizontal pole—and the problem as to the limitations of the weight in terms of its function is solved.
Third, with regard to the safety problem as to the weight (200), even in the worst case where the weight is disconnected at the front-end connection cord (140) and falls on the trainee's head, the safety problem will be resolved—the trainee would merely be startled by the situation.
Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described.
Particular embodiments are exemplified herein and are used to describe and convey to a person skilled in the art, particular structural, configurational and/or functional, operational aspects of the invention. The present invention may be altered/modified and embodied in various other forms, and thus, is not limited to any of the embodiments set forth.
The present invention should be interpreted to include all alterations/modifications, substitutes, and equivalents that are within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.
Terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. herein may be used to describe various elements and/or parts but the elements and/or parts should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element and/or part from another. For instance, a first element may be termed a second element and vice versa, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
When one element is described as being “joined” or “connected” etc. to another element, the one element may be interpreted as “joined” or “connected” to that another element directly or indirectly via a third element, unless the language clearly specifies. Likewise, such language as “between,” “immediately between,” “neighboring,” “directly neighboring” etc. should be interpreted as such.
Terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, singular forms (e.g., “a,” “an”) include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The language “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” “having,” etc. are intended to indicate the presence of described features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and should not be interpreted as precluding the presence or addition of one or more of other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and/or grouping thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have same meaning as those commonly understood by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Hereafter, various embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Same reference numerals are used for the same elements in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions are omitted for the same elements or features.
To achieve the object of the present invention, a basic frame for the tennis practice device is first configured.
Referencing
The vertical portion (110) may be a steel structure such as a wall of a building or a street lamp, and the floor is generally assumed to be the ground (100). According to one embodiment of the present invention, a bracket (111) is installed at a certain point 6.5 m above the ground on the vertical portion (110), and a pipe-type horizontal pole (120) made of duralumin, with an outer diameter of 7 cm and a length of 2.3 m, is slightly curved and placed in the horizontal direction.
A roller (112, for example, a small winch) is installed at the height of a person's chest in the vertical portion (110), and a horizontal pole O-ring (121) is installed at an end of the horizontal pole (120). The O-ring (121) may be a steel magnetic material with an inner diameter of 3.5 cm and an outer diameter of 5 cm. The repulsive force portion is affixed to an inner side of the end of the horizontal pole (120), and the attractive force portion is exposed outwardly to an outer side of the end of the horizontal pole (120). This is to ensure that the pulling string O-ring (132) sticks well to each other when it is in close contact with the horizontal pole O-ring (121).
Neodymium magnets (122) measuring 2 cm×3 cm wide and 7 mm thick are tightly arranged in a row within an installation frame at a lower, inner portion of the horizontal pole (120) from a point adjacent to the horizontal pole O-ring (121) to a point where the horizontal pole (120) meets the vertical portion (110). (Drawing is omitted.)
Then, one of the two methods below is selected to install the front-end connection string (140) to the basic frame.
First, the two methods have in common in that an outer end of the front-end connection cord (140) starts from the roller (112) at the height of the person's chest and connects to the wall of the vertical portion (110) of the tennis practice device or the inside of the pipe-type structure and the bracket (111), and after passing through the bracket (111), comes out through the horizontal pole O-ring (121). In one embodiment, the front-end connection cord (140) is implemented with 20 m of stainless steel wire with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The constituent materials and specifications of the front-end connection string 140 are the same below.
1. In the first method described above, the end of the front-end connection cord (140) passing through the horizontal pole O-ring (121) is coupled with or bound to the pulling string O-ring (132) at the end of the pulling string (130). At the same time, the ball string (151) hanging the ball (150) is tied to the pulling string O-ring (132). When the roller (112) is wound in this state, the pulling string O-ring (132) and the upper portion (131) of the pull string (130) become attached to the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120) starting from the horizontal pole O-ring (121), and the lower portion of the pulling string (130) and the pulling string handle (133) come in close proximity to the vertical portion (110) and head towards the ground (100). And the trainee practices by hitting the ball hanging below the pull string O-ring (132).
2. When retrieving the ball string (151) and ball (150) after practice, first the roller (112) is switched to a released (unwound) state, then a pulling string handle (133) is pulled toward the ground (100) and the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) is dropped from the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120), and then the pull string (130) is continued to be pulled toward the ground (100) to separate the ball string (151) from the pull string O-ring (132). Also, when the trainee leaves the practice device area, it would be desirable to turn or wind the roller (112) so that the upper portion (131) of the pull string (130) sticks to the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120) to keep the practice device and the premise neatly organized.
3. According to an embodiment, the pulling string O-ring (132) is made of steel with an inner diameter of 3.5 cm and an outer diameter of 5 cm, and the pulling string (130) is made of 10 m thick with a thickness of 1.5 mm, with 2.3 m of the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (131) made of steel wire and 7.7 m there below is made of stainless steel. The material of the ball string (151) is 1.5 mm thick cotton yarn. The materials and specifications of the pulling string, pulling string O-ring, and ball string are the same below.
4. In the second method described above, the end of the front-end connection cord (140) that passes through the horizontal pole O-ring (121) passes through the pulling string O-ring (132) and then couples with or binds to the front-end connection cord O-ring (141). At the same time, the ball string (151) holding the ball (150) is connected to the front-end connection cord O-ring (141). When the roller (112) is wound in this state, the upper portion (131) of the pull string (130) is attached to the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120), and the middle and lower portions of the pulling string (130) comes adjacent to the vertical portion (110) of the basic frame and is directed toward the ground (100). At the same time, the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) come in close contact with the pulling string O-ring (132), and the trainee practices by hitting the ball hanging below the front-end connection string O-ring (141).
5. To retrieve the ball string and ball after practice, with the pulling string O-ring (132) and the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) attached to the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120), loosening the roller (112) to allow the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) and the weight (200) to descend, and then lowering the ball string (151) and ball (150), it will be easy to recover the ball string and the ball, and it would be desirable to keep the practice area neatly organized by winding the roller (112) and bringing the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) and the weight (200) into close contact with the pulling string O-ring (132).
5. Meanwhile, both of the above two methods are carried out on a regular basis (i.e., during ordinary use of the practice device). However, as described above, in an unexpected situation such as where the ball string (151) of a very strongly hit ball being is tangled on the horizontal pole (120), with regard to the pulling string (130) toward the ground, unexpected problems may be solved by pulling with slight force enough to detach the fabric-based ball string, as described above.
6. According to an embodiment, the standard/spec. of the front-end connecting cord O-ring (141) is the same as the that of the horizontal pole O-ring (121) and the pulling string O-ring (132), with an inner diameter of 3.5 cm and an outer diameter of 5 cm, and the material is stainless steel. The specifications and materials of the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) are the same below.
Next, the weight (200) is installed on the basic frame.
Among the methods of installing the front-end connection cord (140) on the basic frame, the method of coupling or binding the end of the front-end connection cord (140) that exits the horizontal pole O-ring (121) after passing through the pulling string O-ring (132) with the front-end connection string O-ring (141), the weight (200) may be combined with or bound to the front-end connection string O-ring (141).
When practicing by hanging a ball string (151) on the front-end connecting cord O-ring (141), which is combined with the weight (200), or on the ring on the lower portion of the weight (200),
In ordinary use, in a state where the roller (112) is wound so that the pulling string O-ring (132) is in close contact with the horizontal pole O-ring (121), and at the same time, the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) is attached to the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120), practicing is made possible by hitting the ball attached below the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) and the weight (200). In addition, the states where the pulling string O-ring (132) is attached on the horizontal pole O-ring (121), and the upper portion (131) is attached on the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120), may be continuously maintained, and the load of the roller (112) and the weight (200) alone may be used to adjust raising and lowering of the weight (200), which is coupled with or bound to the front-end connection cord (140)
When an unexpected situation occurs, that is, as explained above in the Advantageous Effects section, by pulling the pulling string (130) strongly toward the ground to resolve the unexpected situation, and then pulling the string (130), as above as usual, the trainee is able to continue with practice by hanging the ball string (151) again on the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) on the lower portion of the weight (200).
After practice, with the pulling string O-ring (132) and the upper portion (131) of the pulling string (130) attached to the lower portion of the horizontal pole (120), loosening the roller (112) to allow the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) and the weight (200) to descend, and then lowering the ball string (151) and ball (150), it will be easy to recover the ball string and the ball, and it would be desirable to keep the practice area neatly organized by winding the roller (112) and bringing the front-end connection cord O-ring (141) and the weight (200) into close contact with the pulling string O-ring (132).
Lastly, the safety of the weight (200) is minimized.
The weight (200) is not concerned with shape, material, or quantity, but must be able to provide a load to the front-end connection cord (140) to lower the front-end connection cord toward the ground (100). However, in the present invention, in consideration of the safety risk to trainees caused by the weight (200), a sphere with an inner diameter of 8.5 cm to 10 cm is used, and a center (206) is an air layer or a steel ball, and the outer peripheral surface is all soft material, comprising three multi-layer structures in the order of soft silicone (205), rubber (204), and semi-hard plastic (203) toward the outer periphery, making the weight 250 g. In another embodiment, the center (206) is made of a hard material such as iron or stone, and the outer peripheral surface (203, 204, 205) is made of a one-layer or multi-layer soft material.
A sunblock is coated onto the outer peripheral surface (202). The front-end connecting cord O-ring (141) on an upper side is coupled or fastened with a nut (201), and a round ring (207) is installed on a lower side to bind the ball string (151). When the weight created in this way falls naturally from a height of 7 m above the ground and lands on a person's head, the impact will not cause injury.
Embodiments of the structure for the horizontal pole and the weight for the tennis practice or training frame, stand, or device have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to tennis, but may be applied to other sports including table tennis and badminton. Further, the present invention is not limited to the materials or dimensions (length, height, etc.) described above.
Exemplary embodiments have been described in detail with references to the accompanying drawings, for illustrative purposes (and) to solve technical problems. Although the description above contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the exemplary embodiments. The exemplary embodiments may be modified and implemented in various forms and should not be interpreted as thus limited. A person skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the description and that such modifications and alterations are within the scope of the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0107639 | Aug 2023 | KR | national |
