JP2019528150A - Ball collection assembly and method for making and using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The ball collection assembly includes a housing, a discharge member, and a cup member. The housing includes a first end, a second end, and a passage extending between the first end and the second end. The discharge member is movably disposed in the passage of the housing. The cup member is operably connected with the housing and the discharge member, and the cup member is sized and dimensioned to receive the ball.

Description

  In general, collecting the ball during or after practice is a necessary part of various sports such as baseball, golf, basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, softball and the like. However, collecting the ball from the ground places an excessive burden on both the individual's back and knees.

  For this purpose, various devices are used for collecting balls, but a ball collecting assembly for picking up balls of various sizes is required, and in order to better use such a ball collecting assembly. Further improvements in the ball collection assembly are desired. The present invention is directed to such a ball retrieval assembly and methods for making and using the same.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a ball collection assembly configured in accordance with the present disclosure, which is used by an individual to pick up the ball at a baseball field.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the ball collection assembly of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional or exploded view of the ball collection assembly of FIG.

4 is a perspective view of the ball collection assembly of FIG. 1 in the ejected position.

FIG. 5 is another embodiment of a ball retrieval assembly configured in accordance with the present disclosure.

  Prior to describing at least one embodiment of the inventive concept in detail, the inventive concept disclosed herein may be applied in its application to the structures, experiments, and examples disclosed in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to specific data and details of component placement. The inventive concept is possible in other embodiments or can be practiced or carried out in various ways. It should also be understood that the expressions and terms used herein are for purposes of illustration and should not be considered limiting.

  In the following detailed description of embodiments of the inventive concept, numerous specific details are disclosed in order to better understand the inventive concept. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the inventive concepts within the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, some well-known features may not be described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily complicating the present disclosure.

  The terms “comprises, comprising, includes, including, has, having”, and other terms similar thereto, are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusions as used herein. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a series of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements, and may include other elements not explicitly listed or inherently present therein. Good.

  Unless otherwise specified, “or” refers to a generic “or” and not an exclusive “or”. For example, the condition A or B satisfies either of the following. A is true (or present), B is false (or absent), A is false (or absent), B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).

  As used herein, the term “and combinations thereof” refers to all permutations or combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, and combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and the order is important in a particular context In cases, it is also intended to include BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, explicitly includes combinations comprising one or more items or term repetitions such as BB, AAA, AAA, BBC, AAABCCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and the like. Those skilled in the art will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

  Further, the use of “a” or “an” is employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive concept. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

  The use of the terms “at least one” and “one or more” includes 1, as well as any amount greater than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, Including, but not limited to, each of the 100 will be understood to include all integers and fractions between them, where applicable. The terms “at least one” and “one or more” may range up to 100, 1000, or more, depending on the term to which it is attached, and the amount of 100 or / and 1000 is Higher limits are not considered limiting because they can produce good results.

  Furthermore, any reference used herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” is intended to describe the specific elements, features, or structures described in connection with the embodiment. , Or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment. The phrases “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

  As used herein, qualifiers such as “about”, “approximately”, and “substantially” are not intended to limit the item being limited to the exact value specified, but to It is intended to mean including slight variations or deviations, which are caused by, for example, measurement errors, manufacturing tolerances, stresses on various parts, wear, and combinations thereof.

  Referring now to the figures, and in particular, FIGS. 1-4, shown therein is a ball collection assembly 10 configured in accordance with the present disclosure, to an individual 11 to pick up a ball 13 from a baseball field 15. 1 is one embodiment of a ball collection assembly 10 used. The ball retrieval assembly 10 allows an individual to pick up the ball from the ground. It is contemplated that the ball collection assembly 10 is comprised of a plurality of pieces of material, but it should be understood that the ball collection assembly 10 may be comprised of various components or a single piece of solid material. . The ball collection assembly 10 is preferably made of a durable and rigid material that is strong enough to prevent movement and bending of the ball collection assembly 10. Suitable materials for constructing the ball collection assembly 10 and its components include polymeric materials, elastomeric materials, flexible materials, plastics, metals such as aluminum, steel, titanium, magnesium, or the like. Alloys including metals and composite materials that can provide the strength and durability desired for the ball retrieval assembly 10 are included. The ball retrieval assembly 10 enables the ball to be picked up faster, more efficiently, more interestingly and more happily, and reduces the damage that such activities cause to the human body.

  In general, in one embodiment, the ball collection assembly 10 includes a housing 12, a discharge member 14, and a cup member 16. The housing 12 includes a first end 18, a second end 20, and a passage 22 extending between the first end 18 and the second end 20 of the housing 12.

  The discharge member 14 includes a first end 24 and a second end 26. The first end 24 of the discharge member 14 is inserted into the second end 20 of the housing 12 such that the discharge member 14 is disposed within the passage 22 of the housing 12. A portion of the second end 26 of the discharge member 14 extends a distance from the second end 20 of the housing 12. The discharge member 14 is movable between a first position and a second position in the passage 20 of the housing 12. In the first position, the discharge member 14 is drawn into the passage 20 of the housing 12. In the second position, the discharge member 14 is movable toward the first end 18 of the housing 12. The discharge member 14 may be configured in various ways, such as a trigger mechanism, and so long as the ball collection assembly 10 functions to pick up a ball of any size and move it to the desired position. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that can be placed around or along the ball retrieval assembly 10 at various locations.

  In one embodiment, the discharge member 14 is comprised of two rods, a first rod 28 and a threaded second rod 30, with one end of the threaded second rod 30 inserted into one end of the first rod 28. Is done. In another embodiment, the threaded second rod 30 is not threaded. However, although the discharge member 14 is shown to be composed of two rods, as long as the discharge member 14 functions in accordance with the present invention as described herein, one rod as the discharge member 14. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they can be utilized.

  An end cap 32 may be inserted into the second end 26 of the discharge member 14 to facilitate its manipulation with the individual's thumb when pushing the discharge member 14 to operate the ball collection assembly 10. However, it should be understood that an individual may utilize any finger to operate the ball retrieval assembly 10. An opening 33 may be provided near the second end 26 so that the ball collection assembly 10 can be suspended for storage. The spring 34 is positioned over the first end 24 of the discharge member 14 such that the discharge member 14 is operably connected to the housing 12 of the ball collection assembly 10.

  The cup member 16 includes a threaded first end 40 and an open second end 42. The threaded first end 40 of the cup member 16 is connected to the housing 12. Opening second end 42 is sized and dimensioned to accept a ball of any size. The cup member 16 may be made of any suitable material that can frictionally grip the ball. In one embodiment, the cup member 16 may be made of a rubber or polymer material such as polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyvinyl chloride, a fabric, or any other suitable material or combination of materials. The cup member 16 is formed in a variety of different shapes, such as a frustoconical shape, a conical shape, a circular shape, etc., as long as it is configured to receive a ball.

  In one embodiment, one end of the threaded second rod 30 of the ejection member 14 is ejected so that the second end portion of the threaded second rod 30 is exposed when the components of the ball collection assembly 10 are assembled. It is inserted into one end of the first rod 28 of the member 14. The spring 34 is positioned so as to cover the exposed end portion of the second rod 30 of the discharge member 14. The discharge member 14 is inserted into the passage 22 of the housing 12. The first end 18 of the housing 12 is provided with an opening so that the threaded second rod 30 can pass therethrough. When a part of the second rod 30 of the discharge member 14 passes through the opening first end 18 of the housing 12, the cap nut 44 is placed on the end of the second rod 30. Finally, the cup member 16 is connected to the first end 18 of the housing 12 so that the ball collection assembly 10 is assembled.

  In use, in one embodiment, with the ball on the ground, an individual places the cup member 16 over the ball and pushes the cup member 16 so that the ball is lifted. The ball is discharged into a container selected by the individual by pressing the second end of the discharge member 14 with the thumb or palm. Pushing the second end of the discharge member 14 moves the discharge member 14 to the second position and moves a portion of the discharge member 14 into the cup member 16, thereby pushing the ball out of the cup member 16. The spring 34 returns the discharge member 14 to the first position. The ball retrieval assembly 10 may include multiple sized cup members for use with various sized balls.

  Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of a ball collection assembly 50 configured in accordance with the present disclosure is shown. The ball collection assembly 50 is similar to the ball collection assembly 10 except that the cup member 52 is sized to receive a smaller shaped ball and is configured to accept a smaller shaped ball. For those skilled in the art, the present invention is a size used for balls of various sizes (for example, baseball, basketball, softball, golf ball, soccer ball, volleyball, tennis, etc.). It will be appreciated that it may be configured for use with a ball. Further, it will be appreciated that changes may be made to the operation and settings of the embodiments as described herein.

  The configuration and arrangement of the ball retrieval assembly as shown in the various exemplary embodiments is exemplary only. Although only a few embodiments are described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will be able to make many changes without substantially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. It will be readily appreciated that (eg, variations in size, dimensions, structure, shapes and proportions of various elements, parameter values, mounting configuration, material usage, color, orientation, etc.) are possible. For example, an element shown as being integrally formed may be comprised of multiple parts or elements, and multiple elements shown as being multiple parts may be configured to be integrally formed. Well, the position of the elements may be reversed or there may be other changes, and the nature or number or position of individual elements may be changed or changed. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be changed or reordered according to alternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the various exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present embodiments.

  From this description, it is apparent that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and achieve the advantages described herein as well as those inherent in the present invention. While the presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described for purposes of this disclosure, many modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art and are accomplished within the spirit of the disclosed invention. It will be appreciated that many changes may be made.

Claims (20)

A housing comprising a first end, a second end, and a passage extending between the first end and the second end;
A discharge member movably disposed in the passage of the housing;
A cup member connected to the housing, the cup member being sized and dimensioned to receive a ball;
A ball retrieval assembly comprising:   2. The ball collection assembly according to claim 1, wherein the housing and the discharge member are made of a single material.   The ball collection assembly of claim 1, wherein the ejection member is movable between a first position and a second position.   4. The ball collection assembly of claim 3, wherein in the first position, the discharge member is retracted into the passage of the housing, and in the second position, the discharge member is at the first end of the housing. A ball retrieval assembly that is moveable toward.   2. The ball collection assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cup member is connected to the discharge member.   The ball recovery assembly of claim 1, wherein the cup member is frustoconical.   The ball collection assembly of claim 1, wherein the ejector member comprises an end cap for receiving an individual's thumb, finger, or palm.   The ball collection assembly of claim 1, wherein the first end of the housing is threaded to connect the cup member to the housing.   2. The ball collection assembly according to claim 1, wherein the discharge member is composed of at least one rod. A method of recovering a ball from the ground,
Positioning the cup member of the ball collection assembly on the ball on the ground;
Moving the cup member downward to engage the ball with the cup member to pick up the ball from the ground;
Discharging the ball from the cup member of the ball collection assembly.   11. The method of claim 10, further comprising positioning the cup member holding the ball on a container for receiving the ball. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein
Positioning the cup member of the ball collection assembly on another ball on the ground;
Moving the cup member downward to receive the other ball into the cup member to pick up the other ball from the ground;
Draining the other ball from the cup member of the ball collection assembly. The method of claim 10, wherein:
The ball collection assembly includes
A housing comprising a first end, a second end, and a passage extending between the first end and the second end, wherein the cup member is connected to the housing;
A discharge member movably disposed in the passage of the housing;
A method comprising:   14. The method of claim 13, wherein the ejection member is movable between a first position and a second position.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein in the first position, the discharge member is retracted into the passage of the housing, and in the second position, the discharge member is directed toward the first end of the housing. A method that is movable.   14. The method of claim 13, wherein the cup member is connected to the discharge member.   14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first end of the housing is threaded to connect the cup member to the housing.   The method of claim 10, wherein the cup member is frustoconical.   11. The method of claim 10, wherein the cup member is sized to receive any ball and is configured to receive any ball. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the cup member is composed of any material capable of frictionally grasping the ball.