Goods & Services

Squash ball throwing machines.

Goods & Services

Squash ball practice machine, namely, a mechanical throwing arm for squash balls

Abstract

An automatic ball launcher includes a ball feed control system that includes a meter wheel with radially-spaced ribs or grooves to selectively block and pass balls to the flywheels of the launcher. The meter wheel rotates to selectively block and release a single ball to pass at a time. The controller of the launcher can be programmed to stop the meter wheel when a ball has been metered by monitoring the current at peak of the motor driving the meter wheel. A meter-event can be determined to have occurred when the current of the drive motor drops to a trough by a pre-set magnitude following a rise to a peak value. A remote control can be provided for the user to operate the launching machine and adjust a plurality of parameters.

IPC Classes  ?

• A63B 69/40 - Stationarily-arranged devices for projecting balls
• A63B 47/00 - Devices for handling or treating balls
• A63B 71/06 - Indicating or scoring devices for games or players
• A63B 102/06 - Squash
• A63B 47/02 - Devices for handling or treating balls for picking-up

Abstract

An automatic ball launcher (100) includes a ball feed control system that includes a meter wheel (150) with radially-spaced ribs (152) or grooves (153 to selectively block and pass balls to the flywheels (114) of the launcher. The meter wheel rotates to selectively block and release a single ball to pass at a time. The controller of the launcher can be programmed to stop the meter wheel when a ball has been metered by monitoring the current at peak of the motor driving the meter wheel. A meter-event can be determined to have occurred when the current of the drive motor drops to a trough by a pre-set magnitude following a rise to a peak value. A remote control can be provided for the user to operate the launching machine and adjust a plurality of parameters.

IPC Classes  ?

• A63B 69/40 - Stationarily-arranged devices for projecting balls
• A63B 47/00 - Devices for handling or treating balls
• A63B 47/02 - Devices for handling or treating balls for picking-up
• A63B 71/02 - Games or sports accessories not covered in groups for large-room or outdoor sporting games
• A63B 71/06 - Indicating or scoring devices for games or players
• A63B 102/06 - Squash

Abstract

An automatic ball launcher includes a base unit and a feed tube coupled to the base unit. The base unit includes an enclosure defining a forward opening where the balls eject and a top opening for receiving the feed tube. A pair of counter-rotating flywheels are disposed in a common plane and located inside of the enclosure. The feed tube includes an elongated tubular body with an open top end covered by a removable cap and an open bottom end configured to be securely inserted into the top opening of the enclosure. The feed tube can include a heating element to heat the balls to a desired temperature prior to launch. The feed tube can be used to collect balls from the ground without the user needing to bend over.

IPC Classes  ?

• A63B 69/40 - Stationarily-arranged devices for projecting balls
• A63B 47/00 - Devices for handling or treating balls
• A63B 47/02 - Devices for handling or treating balls for picking-up
• A63B 102/06 - Squash