not applicable
not applicable
not applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of sports equipment and more particularly, to apparatus for collecting, dispensing, and transporting tennis balls.
2. Description of the Related Art
Practice for the game of tennis is necessary to develop the skills required. However the game requires at least two players, and is often played by four players, and one or three practicing player(s) may not be available to join another player for practice. Practicing alone on a regulation court can be accomplished, but one must be able to have immediately available a desired number of tennis balls and be able to retrieve these balls or the practice primarily turns into an exercise in obtaining and retrieving tennis balls, rather than a practice session devoted to service and playing skills development.
As noted, retrieving tennis balls is an especially tedious, time consuming and unproductive task for a student or teacher or practicing player. One alternative is not to practice in a regulation tennis court, but rather, to practice against a wall with or without simulated net markings. This is not satisfactory to many players as it changes the character of the play in tennis ball practice service where placement strategy is of great importance, as well as tennis ball rebound characteristics that is completely unrelated to a tennis game played on a standard regulation court. Mechanical serving devices are also available, but again reloading the device and collection of balls is a time consuming process.
The primary objectives for a tennis ball collection and practice aid are (1) easily used collection device for quickly collecting tennis balls laying at random on the tennis court or other practice surface, that is (2) readily portable, (3) having a desired capacity for the storage of tennis balls collected by the device, and (4) includes a tennis ball collection hopper that is conveniently within reach for reaching the so-collected tennis balls. Moreover, the tennis ball collection and practice aid should be small so that it will not interfere with the practice and not overly obstruct the court. It should also be light weight, rugged in construction, pleasing in appearance and low in cost. When the practice aid is deployed in each of the three modes (collection, storage and dispensing), a minimum of effort to convert from one mode to another mode is also desirable.
Most of the current practice aids may do one of these objectives well, but others poorly or not at all. Ball hoppers conveniently provide access to dispense balls during practice, but many do not allow storage (covered) or transport. Others provide storage and access, but do not retrieve balls.
Ball storage devices also tends to be separate, typically in the can in which purchased. Transport to and from the storage location requires lifting. Larger storage devices accommodate many balls but are difficult to lift and transport.
Ball retrievers tend to be complex and cumbersome, limiting transport, access and use. Examples of ball collectors which do not function in the other modes and do not satisfy the other practice objectives include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,484,437; 4,318,654; and 3,717,371. All of these devices only collect balls and all require separate hinged/rotating and/or fixed fingers/projections to lift and/or remove balls for placement into a receptacle. Many of these devices also tend to get caught by nets and fencing. Since these locations are likely places for balls to come to rest, this can be a major problem.
Prior art which attempts to accomplish all three of the primary objectives tend to be even more complex and cumbersome to lift, transport and use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,490 uses a spring loaded trapping mechanism, a non-rotating ball engaging surface mounted to a jointed frame which allows multiple positions, wheels and a handle. The handle also serves as one of the supports when the device is used to dispense balls, but fold out legs are also required. The cage is also separate from the structure which supports these folding, multi-position elements. In addition, the spring mechanism must be periodically actuated, i.e: the process is a batch type for each ball or group of balls, rather than a continuous process.
In another approach to achieving a multi-mode practice aid, U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,533 uses a rotating drum, belt driven by traction wheels and axle, removable extension members to support the device in the dispensing position, a removable ball receptacle, a frame, a means to adjust the frame, an arcuate ball guide, and handle. The handle can be folded out of the way of the player during the dispensing mode and a ball guide with wheels can be used for partial support in the dispensing mode.
These prior multi-mode approaches have many limitations. These are primarily related to the multiplicity of elements required to accomplish the three operating modes, creating added cost, weight and space. This multiplicity of elements, weight and space particularly detract from the storage and dispensing modes. In addition, they also tend to get caught by nets and fencing located within the court in the collecting mode of operation.
None of the prior art cited incorporates positive collection (balls retained in a container with covered openings or openings smaller than the ball diameter) to allow immediate transport and storage without the use of additional movable elements in addition to traction wheels and an axle. None allows conversion to a dispensing mode without additional structure. Further, all also tend to get caught when in contact with nets or fences when in the collecting mode.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide tennis ball collection and practice aid that overcomes the shortcomings of the related art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tennis ball collection device for quickly collecting tennis balls laying at random on the tennis court or other practice surface
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a readily portable tennis ball collection device that is easily transportable while securing a plurality of tennis balls collected therein.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tennis ball collection device having a collection hopper that is conveniently within reach for reaching the so-collected tennis balls.
These and other objects are achieved, according to the present invention, with a ball collection hopper for collecting tennis balls deposited therein by a wheel-mounted sweeping apparatus supported by the rotatable axle to which a pair of forward apparatus wheels are mounted for rotation. The ball collection hopper includes a forward facing mouth or opening for receiving tennis balls collected by the sweeping apparatus, which directs tennis balls over a one-way deflection panel and into the interior of the ball collection hopper. The deflection panel prevents so-collected tennis balls from accessing the sweeping apparatus and jamming the collection device during use, as well as retaining collected tennis balls during transport on and off the tennis court. A hinged panel secures the upper portion of the collection hopper. During transport off the tennis court, the sweeping apparatus is rotated into a transport position and locked in place such that one of a plurality of sweeping vanes is locked adjacent the deflection panel, while the hinged panel is secured in a closed and locked position, together preventing unintended spillage of tennis balls even when the entire apparatus is upended as when the portable apparatus is carried about between practice sessions. The collection apparatus of the present invention is steered by a handle mounted to the collection apparatus which disassembles and in the disassembled form is housed in dedicated receptacles provided on the sides of the collection hopper. When the collector is intended for use in practice mode, the handles may be assembled to become supports for the collection hopper.
The above objects and description together with other objects and description of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a more complete understanding of the present invention, its performance, structural and operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference shall be made to the accompanying drawings and description in which there are presented exemplary preferred embodiments of the invention.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, and according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
Sweeper apparatus 16 includes a pair of opposing support wheels 22 having a traction rim 24 comprised of a non-marking, non-abrasive material approved for use on tennis courts and sports courts having an engineered playing surface. The wheels 22 are supported for rotation by a web 26 (with an optional axle-not shown) comprised of a plurality of angularly-offset ball sweeper collection vanes 28. The web 26 and wheels 22 assembly may be fabricated in an integrated unitary structure, or provided in separate components for subsequent assembly. Although
Again with referral to
During use, tennis balls 12 are collected by a sweeping and rolling motion by a biasing pressure against ball collection vanes 28 when the collector 10 is operated in a forward motion, thereby driving the collected balls up and over the front ramp of the one-way deflector plate 36 and into the ball receiving recess of the hopper 18. The hopper 18 is configured with sufficient height and width to accommodate a quantity of so-collected balls 12, and retained against loss out of the top side 42 by a hinged panel 43 rotatable about a hinge 45 that can be latched into the opened position during dispensing as would occur during a practice session, or into a closed and locked position as during transport. Also, in the fully secured position, the collector 10 may be gripped for transport by handle 60. According to another embodiment of the invention, one or more of the wall portions of the hopper may be replaced with a frame supporting a flexible material such as netting, cloth, or plastic sheeting each of which may be provided with expandable panels for supporting a larger quantity of collected game balls. The optimum angle and height of deflector plate 36 for a particular game ball application may be determined to meet particular needs, all intended to prevent rollback during collection operation yet not of such extreme dimension that relative slow operation of the collector prevents sufficient urging action of a collected ball over the deflector plate 36 into the hopper 18.
The collector 10 of the present invention is manipulated at least during ball sweeping/collection by a compound handle 20. Handle 20 is comprised of a lower portion 62 having rotational bearing units 64 for engaging with wheels 22. The lower portion 64 is removably engaged with and supports middle portion 66, which is removably engaged with and supports top handle portion 68. A spring-loaded engagement device 69 provided internal to the outer end of middle portion 66 is selectively engagable with recesses 70 provided along the length of top handle portion 68 to enable the user of the collector 10 to tailor the exact overall height of the handle assembly 62,66,68 to place the top handle portion 68 at the optimal height so selected. During transport, the handle assembly is readily disassembled into its constituent portions 62, 66, 68 to be received in comporting longitudinal cavities 72, 74 provided in side holster 76 supported by either or both side walls 46. Further, to secure the web 26 against rotation during periods of non-use and to securely contain the contents of the hopper 18, a removable pin 80 having shaft 81 is removably projected into recess 82 provided in wheel 22 and through overlapping recess 84 provided in a side wall 46 to lock the wheel 22 against unintended rotation. The pin 80 may be provided with a tether to secure it to the apparatus for reuse.
A tripod mount or other support structure may be used either in separate form or integrally formed with the underside of the collector to bring the hopper to a raised, and therefor more comfortable access height.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.