US20080185805A1

US20080185805A1 - Ball Storage Rack

Info

Publication number: US20080185805A1
Application number: US11/670,359
Authority: US
Inventors: Benjamin Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-02-01
Filing date: 2007-02-01
Publication date: 2008-08-07

Abstract

A ball storage rack comprises at least three support rods, two base members and a connecting member. When the ball storage rack stores balls, each base member can serves as a centre to be pivotally coupled to each support rod, as a result, the support rods can fold and unfold, in addition, the two base members are connected with each other by a connecting member. In such a manner, the whole structure strength can be improved; it is difficult to be damaged for the distortion caused by the weight of balls.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball storage rack, and more particularly to a ball storage rack with improved structure strength.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, balls are either put in a cabinet, or put in a wall corner. So not only it was inconvenient for taking, but also it seemed disorderly. Thereupon, a ball storage rack 10 was developed according to the requirement. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the ball rack 10 includes four support rods 11 and four sets of connecting bars 12. The adjacent support rods are connected to one another by the respective sets of connecting bars 12 to form a rectangle, and with the connecting bars 12, the storage rack 10 can be folded or unfolded.
Since each two adjacent 11 are connected by a set of connecting bars 12, accordingly, the formed rectangular structure is likely to deform by a force. After a long time of carrying balls, it is difficult to ensure that the ball storage rack will not be damaged by an unbearable external force and distortion. Consequently, it is necessary to improve the structure of the ball storage rack.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a ball storage rack.
The ball storage rack of the present invention comprises at least three support rods, two base members and a connecting member. The support rods are arranged in groups. The two base members are positioned between the support rods and are connected to the support rods by pivots, and the two base members are connected to one another by the connecting member. Consequently, as for the whole structure, each base member serves a centre to be connected with each support rod. Compare to a conventional ball storage rack, the present invention is not likely to distort and the structure strength of the present invention has been further improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional ball storage rack;

FIG. 2 shows that the conventional ball storage rack is in a folded state;

FIG. 3 a perspective view of a ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows that the ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention is provided with a basket;

FIG. 5 shows that the ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention is folded and put in a bag;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention whose connecting member is a cord;

FIG. 7 shows that the ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention whose connecting member is a cord is in a folded state;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention whose connecting member is a spring;

FIG. 9 shows that the ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention whose connecting member is a spring is in a folded state;

FIG. 10 shows that a sliding sleeve in accordance with the present invention disengages from a fixed spring piece;

FIG. 11 shows that support rods in accordance with the present invention are hexangular rods;

FIG. 12 shows that support rods in accordance with the present invention are eight-square rods.

FIG. 13 shows that assistant rods in accordance with the present invention are formed with grooves and

FIG. 14 is cross sectional view of the assistant rods in accordance with the present invention formed with grooves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 3-5, a ball storage rack of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention comprises four support rods 20, two base members 30 and a connecting member 40.
Each support rod 20 is a hollow column and comprises a main rod 21, an assistant rod 22, a roller 23, a lock ring 24 and two sliding sleeves 25. The roller 23 is disposed at one end of the assistant rod 22, the other end of the assistant rod 22 is inserted in the main rod 21, and the lock ring 24 is screwed on the main rod 21 and positioned on the end of the main rod 21 where the assistant rod is inserted. Moreover, the degree of tightness between the assistant rod 22 and the main rod 21 can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the lock ring 24 relative to the main rod 21, and the height of the support rod 20 can be adjusted by adjusting the length of the assistant rod 22 inserted in the main rod 21. Since it is a conventional structure, further explanations will be omitted. Each of the two sliding sleeves 25 is positioned on the main rod 21 by rivets or screws; it is also a conventional structure, so no further explanations will be necessary here. In addition, the four support rods 20 are arranged in groups.
The two base members 30 are respectively positioned between the four support rods 20 and are positioned in the axial direction of the respective support rod 20. Each of the base members 30 is formed with a threaded hole A and is pivotally coupled with four pivots 31, and the four pivots 31 are pivotally coupled to the corresponding sliding sleeves 20 respectively, so that the four support rods 20 can be folded and unfolded, with the two base members serving as a center.
The connecting member 40 is a rod, on each end of the connecting member 40 is formed a threaded end a, and the two threaded ends are screwed in the two threaded holes A of the base members 30 respectively. In such a manner, the structure strength of the two base members 30 is improved, and when the two base members 30 and the four support rods 20 are folded or unfolded, the two base members connected in an interactive manner will move in the same direction.
When the ball storage rack of the present invention is unfolded, a basket X can be positioned on it. When the four support rods 20 are folded, each support rod 20 pushes its corresponding pivot 31 to pivotally rotate. Then the pivots 31 will drive the corresponding base members 30 to move towards the axial direction of each support rod 20. The two base members 30 can move in the same direction by the linkage of the connecting member 40, so that the whole rack can be folded, and it can be put in a bag Y after being folded.
FIGS. 6-7 show a second embodiment of the present invention, each of the support rods 20 comprises a main rod 21, an assistant rod 22, a roller 23, two sliding sleeves 25 and a press retaining ring 26. One end of the assistant rod 22 is provided with the roller 23; the other end of the assistant rod 22 is inserted in the main rod 21. The two sliding sleeves 25 are positioned on each support 20 by a C-shaped buckle. The press retaining ring 26 is installed on one end of the main rod 21 where the assistant rod 22 is inserted. In such a manner, the degree of tightness between the assistant rod 22 and the main rod 21 can be adjusted by the press retaining ring 26, then the length of the assistant rod 22 inserted in the main rod 21 can be adjusted. It is a conventional structure, so further explanations will be omitted. Moreover, a connecting member 40 is a cord, and two base members 30 are formed with a step-shaped stopping portion B respectively, wherein each end of the connecting member 40 is tied a knot and positioned in the stopping potion B of the two base members 30, in such a way, the two base members 30 can still be connected in an interactive manner, when the four support rods 20 are folded.
FIGS. 8-10 show a third embodiment of the present invention. A main rod 21 of each support rod 20 is further provided with a plurality of fixed spring pieces 27 each sliding sleeve is positioned on the support rod 20 by engaging each sliding sleeve with a fixed spring piece 27. Two base members 30 are respectively formed a fixed portion C. A connecting member 40 is a spring. Further more, the two sliding sleeves 25 of each support rod 20 are engaged with two of the fixed spring pieces 27, and the two base members 30 move in the opposite directions, both ends of the connecting members 40 are respectively positioned in the fixed portions C of the two base members 30. In such a manner, when the four support rods 20 are folded, the two base members 30 will move in the opposite directions, and synchronously the connecting member 40 is stretched. Contrarily, the two base members 30 is pulled by the force of restitution of the connecting member 40, thus the four support rods 20 can automatically unfold. In addition, the sliding sleeve 25 can disengage from the fixed spring piece 27 by pushing the fixed spring piece 27, so that height where the base member 30 is positioned can be adjusted by engaging the sliding sleeve 25 with the different latitudinal spring pieces 27.
Further more, if the ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention has more than three support rods, it can achieve the advantage of the present invention. Moreover, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention generally has four support rods. So the quantity of the support rod 20 is not just four, otherwise, such as three, five, six, seven or eight, or even more than eight, it is still within the scope of claims in accordance with the present invention; the support rods 20 of the present invention are not only columns, but also can be hexangular rods (as shown in FIG. 11) or eight-square rods (as shown in FIG. 12) and so on.
In addition, if the sliding sleeves 25 are positioned on the main rod 21 by rivets or screws and so on. The assistant rod 22 is formed with a groove located correspondingly to a position where the sliding sleeves are positioned, as shown in the FIG. 13-14. In such a manner, when the assistant rod 22 is inserted in the main rod 21, the assistant rod 22 will not be intervened by the rivets or the screws which are used to position the sliding sleeves 25.
To summarize, the ball storage rack in accordance with the present invention comprises at least three support rods, two base members and a connecting member. When the present invention stores balls, the base members can serve as a centre, then each support rod can be pivotally coupled to the base, and the support rods can fold and unfold, further more, the two base members are connected to each other by the connecting member to improve the whole structure strength of the ball storage rack, thus preventing a distortion caused by the weight of the balls.
While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A storage ball rack comprising:

at least three support rods being arranged in groups, one end of each support rod adjacent to the ground being provided with a roller;

two base members being positioned between the support rods in an axial direction of the support rods, the quantity of pivots being pivotally coupled to each base member is the same as that of the support rods, and the pivots being pivotally coupled to each support rod respectively;

a connecting member, both ends of the connecting member being connected to the two base members respectively, in such a way, the two base members are connected in an interactive manner.

2. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting member is made of rigid material.

3. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connecting member is a rod, both ends of the connecting member are screwed in the two base members respectively, and the two base members move in the same direction.

4. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting member is made of flexible material.

5. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 4, wherein the connecting member is a spring with both ends fastened to the two base members, and the two base members move in opposite directions.

6. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 4, wherein the connecting member is a cord, and the two base members move in the same direction.

7. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1 further comprising two sliding sleeves disposed on each of the support rods, the pivots of the two base members are pivotally coupled to the two sliding sleeves respectively, and the sliding sleeves are positioned on the respective support rods.

8. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 7 further comprising a plurality of fixed spring pieces positioned on each support rod for engaging with the sliding sleeves.

9. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each support rod is hollow and comprises a main rod, an assistant rod, a roller and a lock ring, one end of the assistant rod is provided with the roller, the other end of the assistant rod is inserted in the main rod, the lock ring is screwed on the main rod and positioned on the end of the main rod where the assistant rod is inserted.

10. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each support rod is hollow and comprises a main rod, an assistant rod, a roller and a press retaining ring, one end of the assistant rod is provided with the roller, the other end of the assistant rod is inserted in the main rod, the press retaining ring is disposed on the main rod and positioned on the end of the main rod where the assistant rod is inserted.

11. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 7, wherein each support rod is hollow and comprises a main rod, an assistant rod, a roller and a lock ring, one end of the assistant rod is provided with the roller, the other end of the assistant rod is inserted in the main rod, the lock ring is screwed on the main rod and positioned on the end of the main rod where the assistant rod is inserted, and the sliding sleeves are positioned on the main rod, each assistant rod is formed with a groove located correspondingly to a position where the sliding sleeves are positioned.

12. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 7, wherein each support rod is hollow and comprises a main rod, an assistant rod, a roller and a press retaining ring, one end of the assistant rod is provided with the roller, the other end of the assistant rod is inserted in the main rod, the press retaining ring is disposed on the main rod and positioned on one end of the main rod where the assistant rod is inserted, and the sliding sleeves are positioned on the main rod, each assistant rod is formed with a groove located correspondingly to a position where the sliding sleeves are positioned.

13. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 7, wherein each sliding sleeve of each support rod is positioned on each support rod by rivets.

14. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 7, wherein each sliding sleeve is fastened on each support rod by a C-shaped buckle.

15. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support rods are columns.

16. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support rods are hexangular rods.

17. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support rods are eight-square rods.

18. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the quantity of the support rods is four, and each support rod is further disposed with two sliding sleeves, the pivots of the two base members are pivotally coupled to the sliding sleeves respectively, the sliding sleeves are positioned on each support rod.

19. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 18, wherein each support rod is hollow and comprises a main rod, an assistant rod, a roller and a lock ring, one end of the assistant rod is provided with the roller, the other end of the assistant rod is inserted in the main rod, the lock ring is screwed on the main rod and positioned on one end of the main rod where the assistant rod is inserted, and the sliding sleeves are positioned on the main rod, each assistant rod is formed with a groove located correspondingly to a position where the sliding sleeves are positioned.

20. The ball storage rack as claimed in claim 18, wherein each support rod is hollow and comprises a main rod, an assistant rod, a roller and a press retaining ring, one end of the assistant rod is provided with the roller, the other end of the assistant rod is inserted in the main rod, the press retaining ring is disposed on the main rod and positioned on one end of the main rod where the assistant rod is inserted, and the sliding sleeves are positioned on the main rod, each assistant rod with a groove located correspondingly to a position where the sliding sleeves are positioned.