GB306516A - A ball-throwing appliance for ball games - Google Patents

Abstract

306,516. Loeb, O. Feb. 22, 1928, [Convention date]. Void [Published under Sect. 91 of the Acts]. Projecting appliances.-A ball-throwing appliance for games, more particularly for tennis, comprises an automatic feeding device which brings the balls singly from a hopper into the throwing position, in combination with a spring controlled striking device which, after release, suddenly delivers a blow to the ball presented in the throwing position. The balls, dropped into a hopper 17 are fed singly to a vertical channel 24 by the vanes 23 of a cone 18 rotated by a motor 20. A cam 30 actuated by the motor engages an arm 29 and thereby draws back a striker 27 against the resistance of a spring 31. Continued notation of the cam releases the striker which then projects the ball through a delivery tube 25. The appliance may be adjusted about pivots 6, 11 to change the vertical and horizontal directions of flight of the ball; the height of the delivery tube may be adjusted by raising or lowering a rod 2 in the tripod or other stand 1. A pair of spring-pressed flaps arranged in front of the ball, and a pin 33 behind, retain the ball in readiness for projection. A sleeve 38 carrying a spring-pressed flap 36 may be adjusted along and around the tube 25 so as to deflect to a variable extent the projected hall and to impart spin thereto. The device may be operated by hand instead of by motor. By using different cams 30 definite variations in the projection of the ball may be obtained. The striking device may be replaced by a motor-operated fan supplying a blast oi air to the delivery tube.