US20090312123A1

US20090312123A1 - Ball Hitting Practice Device

Info

Publication number: US20090312123A1
Application number: US12/141,063
Authority: US
Inventors: Grace Liao
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-06-17
Filing date: 2008-06-17
Publication date: 2009-12-17

Abstract

A ball hitting practice device includes a base member having a reception portion on a top thereof and a spherical recess is defined in an underside of the reception portion. A passage is defined through the reception portion and communicates with the spherical recess. A post can be a single post or composed of multiple sections. The post has a base part at a lower end thereof and a cup is connected to a top of the post. The base part is matched with the spherical recess and a diameter of the post is smaller than an inner diameter of the passage. The post extends through the passage and a top of the base part is in contact with an inner surface of the spherical recess. A positioning cap is fixed to the underside of the base member so as to position the base part. A ball is put on the cup and the user hits the ball to practice hitting skills.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a ball hitting practice device which includes a post on a base member and a ball is supported on the post which can be adjusted its angle relative to the base member
2. The Prior Arts
A baseball or softball hitting practice device in the market includes a base member with a post on the base member and a ball can be held on the top of the post so that the user hits the ball to practice hitting skill. The post is perpendicular to the base member so that the user can only hit the ball at the fixed position. However, the ball comes from different heights and angles in real games so that the conventional ball hitting practice device cannot meet requirements of the users. Besides, the length of the post cannot be adjusted and needs to be improved.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,554 discloses a ball hitting practice device which is disclosed in FIG. 5 and includes a base member 10 with a frame 11 located thereon and a semi-spherical recess 111 is defined in the frame 11. A post includes a first section 23 and a second section 24 which is flexible and a connection tube 22 is connected to the flexible second section 24. A sphere 21 is o connected to the first section 23. The connection tube 22 further is connected with an extension rod 40 which has a cup 41 on a top thereof. A foam tube 30 is mounted to the first and second sections 23, 24 and the sphere 21 is pivotably engaged with the semi-spherical recess 111. The sphere 21 is pivotable in the semi-spherical recess 111 and the second section 24 can be bent and the extension rod 40 can be optionally connected to the second section 24 so that the post can be hit to pivot toward different directions. The length of the post can be adjusted by using the extension rod 40. However, the sphere 21 is not well positioned in the semi-spherical recess 111 and can be disengaged from the semi-spherical recess 111. Furthermore, the extension rod 40 and the connection tube 22 are always perpendicular to the ground and this restricts the position of the ball can be set relative to the user so that the user cannot practice hitting regarding different angles. The user can only choose to connect or not connect the extension rod 40 to adjust the length of the post and this adjustment range is too narrow and cannot fit to different users' needs.
Another ball hitting practice device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,769 which includes a base member 12 with an opening 28 and a frame 25 extends through the opening 28 from the underside of the base member 12. The frame 25 is fixed to the base member 12 by extending screws 29 through the flange 33 on the frame 25 and connected to the base member 21. A locking nut 35 is located to contact the underside of the frame 25 which includes ridges 27. A post includes a top section 22 and a bottom section 24, wherein the top section 22 includes a flexible section 48 and a plurality of grooves defined in the top section 22. The bottom section 24 is connected to a cover 26 and a plurality of ridges formed on the bottom section 24. The top section 22 is mounted to the bottom section 24 and the ridges are engaged with the grooves so that the top and bottom sections 22, 24 can be adjusted their relative positions to obtain different heights for the post. The cover 26 is connected to the frame 25 so as to set the post and engaged with the ridges on the frame 25. A bolt 34 extends through the locking nut 35 and the frame 25 so as to be connected to the cover 26. A cup 16 is connected to the top of the flexible section 48 and the top section 22 includes a separation layer 46, a flexible cable 42 is connected between the cup 16 and the separation layer 46. The post can be set to inclined positions relative to the base member 12. Thanks to the flexible cable 42, the cup 16 can be pulled to desired position and then connected to the top of the post by bosses extending from an underside of the cup 16. Besides, the bottom section 24 is retractable relative to the top section 22 to adjust the length of the post. By the adjustable post and the cup 16, the ball hitting practice device provides much more different molds for the user to practice hitting. Nevertheless, the ball hitting practice device includes too many parts and spends a lot of time to assemble or manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a ball hitting practice device which improves the drawbacks of the conventional ball hitting practice devices by providing adjustable post and cup.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a ball hitting practice device which is composed of less number of parts and can be assembled and manufactured within a short period of time.
According to the present invention, a ball hitting practice device is provided and comprises a base member having a reception portion extending from a top thereof and a spherical recess is defined in an underside of the reception portion. A passage is defined through the reception portion and communicates with the spherical recess. A post has a base part at a lower end thereof and a cup is connected to a top of the post. The base part has an outer periphery that is matched with the spherical recess and a diameter of the post is smaller than an inner diameter of the passage. The post extends through the passage from an underside of the base member and a top of the base part is in contact with an inner surface of the spherical recess. A positioning cap has a convex top which is shaped to match with the underside of the base part so that when the positioning cap is fixed to the underside of the base member, the base part is clamped between the positioning cap and the base member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a ball hitting practice device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the ball hitting practice device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2A shows an underside of a base member of the ball hitting practice device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the connection of the base member, a first section and a positioning cap of the base member of the ball hitting practice device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows that a post of the ball hitting practice device is pivotably moved;

FIG. 5 shows a conventional ball hitting practice device; and

FIG. 6 shows another conventional ball hitting practice device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the ball hitting practice device in accordance with the present invention comprises a base member 5, a post 7 on the base member 5, a positioning cap 6 connected to the underside of the base member 5 so as to be connect the base member 5 and the post 7.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the base member 5 has a reception portion 50 extending from a top thereof and a spherical recess 51 is defined in an underside of the reception portion 50. A passage 52 is defined through the reception portion 50 and communicates with the spherical recess 51. The base member 5 is made to have a shape the same as a base plate in a baseball or softball game. As shown in FIG. 2A, a stepped recess 53 is defined around the spherical recess 51 in the base member 5 and a plurality of fixing holes 54 are defined in a surface of the stepped recess 53. The inner diameter of the stepped recess 53 is larger than the inner diameter of the passage 52.
The post 7 includes a first section 71, a second section 72 and a third section 73. The number of the sections is not limited or the post 7 can be a single post which provides a fixed height of hitting point. The connection between the three sections can be any known method such as force-fitting, threaded connection, retractable mounting or bolts connecting. The sections can be solid sections or hollow sections. The diameter of each of the sections can be varied. The sections can also have a threaded rod on one end and a threaded hole in the other end such that the sections can be connected to each other by threading.
The first section 71 has a base part 711 at a lower end thereof and a cup 74 is connected to a top of the post 7. A plurality of rods 742 extend from a top of the cup 74 and arranged to define a concavity in the center thereof, so that a ball can be positioned in the cup 74. A threaded rod 741 extends from an underside thereof and the threaded rod 742 is threadedly connected with a threaded hole 731 in the top of the third section 73. The threaded rod 741 can be replaced with a rod and the threaded hole can be replaced with a hole in which the rod is inserted. The cup 74 can also be integrally connected with the third section 73.
The base part 711 has an outer periphery that is matched with the spherical recess 51 and a diameter of the post 7 is smaller than an inner diameter of the passage 52 so that the post 7 is allowed to be pivotable. The post 7 extends through the passage 52 from an underside of the base member 5 and a top of the base part 711 is in contact with an inner surface of the spherical recess 51. The first and second sections 71, 72 can be made by stiff material such as plastic so as to be firmly connected with the base member 5, and the third section 73 and the cup 74 can be made by softer material such as rubber.
The positioning cap 6 has a convex top 61 which is shaped to match with the underside of the base part 711. The positioning cap 6 includes a flange 62 and through holes 63 are defined through the flange 62, the flange 62 is engaged with the stepped recess 63 and screws extend through the aligned through holes 63 and the fixing holes 54. When the positioning cap 6 is fixed to the underside of the base member 5, the base part 711 is clamped between the positioning cap 6 and the base member 5.
When adjusting the post 7 relative to the base member 5, the screws on the positioning cap 6 are first loosened and the base part 711 can be moved within the spherical recess 51 of the reception portion 51, such that the post can be pivoted as shown in FIG. 4. The screws are then tightened to set the post 7 so that the user can practice hitting in different angular positions.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A ball hitting practice device, comprising

a base member having a reception portion extending from a top thereof and a spherical recess defined in an underside of the reception portion, a passage defined through the reception portion and communicating with the spherical recess;

a post having a base part at a lower end thereof and a cup connected to a top of the post, the base part having an outer periphery that is matched with the spherical recess and a diameter of the post being smaller than an inner diameter of the passage, the post extending through the passage from an underside of the base member and a top of the base part being in contact with an inner surface of the spherical recess; and

a positioning cap having a convex top which is shaped to match with the underside of the base part so that when the positioning cap is fixed to the underside of the base member, the base part is clamped between the positioning cap and the base member.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the post includes a first section, a second section and a third section, the base part is connected to a lower end of the first section and the cup is connected to a top of the third section.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cup has a threaded rod extending from an underside thereof and a plurality of rods extending from a top of the cup, the threaded rod is threadedly connected with a threaded hole in the top of the third section.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a stepped recess is defined around the spherical recess in the base member and a plurality of fixing holes are defined in a surface of the stepped recess, the positioning cap includes a flange and through holes are defined through the flange, the flange is engaged with the stepped recess and screws extend through the aligned through holes and the fixing holes.