Abstract:
A slidable seating apparatus may be described. The slidable seating apparatus can include a mounting rail, a first support coupled to the mounting rail; a second support coupled to the mounting rail; and a seat mounted on a carrier, wherein the arm slidably couples to the mounting rail.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/709,516 filed Oct. 4, 2012 and entitled A TRAINING AID THAT RELIEVES THE STRESS ON THE KNEES OF A BASEBALL/SOFTBALL CATCHER/COACH, BUT NOT LIMITED TO USE ON THE BALL FIELD, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Many people involved in athletics and training programs are often in a crouching position for long periods of time. However, crouching creates soreness in the back, legs, knees, ankles, feet, calves, and other related body parts as a result of prolonged stresses from maintaining the crouching position. At times, an overturned bucket or small crate is used by coaches and others to provide support, but these structures are limited as they only provide a single height for crouching and they are stationary. A worker may commonly crouch to complete a task, but then to move on to another related task only a few feet away, the worker must either get up, move over, and crouch again or awkwardly slide/crawl over to begin the next task, both of which are poor options which only increase the strain on the worker&#39;s body. 
         [0003]    Thus, current equipment does not provide support to people of different heights while in the crouching position and also does not provide for movement of the user. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    A slidable seating apparatus may be described. The slidable seating apparatus can include a mounting rail, a first support coupled to the mounting rail; a second support coupled to the mounting rail; and a seat mounted on a carrier, wherein the arm slidably couples to the mounting rail. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0005]    Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which: 
           [0006]    Exemplary  FIG. 1   a  shows a side profile of an embodiment of a linearly sliding seat. 
           [0007]    Exemplary  FIG. 1   b  shows a top view of an embodiment of a linearly sliding seat. 
           [0008]    Exemplary  FIG. 2   a  shows a side profile of a carrier portion of a linearly sliding seat. 
           [0009]    Exemplary  FIG. 2   b  shows a front-view of a carrier portion of a linearly sliding seat. 
           [0010]    Exemplary  FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a rail of a linearly sliding seat. 
           [0011]    Exemplary  FIG. 4  shows a front-view of carrier fitting around a rail of a linearly sliding seat. 
           [0012]    Exemplary  FIG. 5  shows an end support of a linearly sliding seat. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows. 
         [0014]    As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. 
         [0015]    According to at least one exemplary embodiment, and generally referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , a linearly sliding seat may be described and shown. The linearly sliding seat can include a sliding portion and a base portion. The sliding portion may further include a carrier and a seat. The base portion may include a rail and end supports. The sliding portion may be configured to easily move linearly along the rail. 
         [0016]    Referring generally to exemplary  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b , a linearly sliding seat  100  may include a sliding portion  102  and a base portion  104 . The sliding portion  102  may further include a carrier  110  and a seat  120 . The base portion  104  may include a rail  130  and end supports  140 . 
         [0017]    Carrier  110  may be coupled to rail  130  such that carrier  110  can move freely in a substantially linear fashion along rail  130 . Seat  120  may be coupled to carrier  110  by way of bolts, screws, adhesive, or any other technique, as desired. Further, seat  120  may be coupled to carrier  110  in a rigid fashion or in a fashion which allows seat  120  to swivel in relation to carrier  110 , as desired. Seat  120  may be a foam padded seat, a metal or plastic bucket seat, or any other suitable seating device, as desired. Further, seat  120  may be coupled to an accessory plate  122 . Accessory plate  122  may be coupled to seat  120  by way of simple fasteners, such as snap-together, clamp-on, screw-on, or pin-on, or as desired. Accessory plate  122  may provide a platform to which to attach any of a variety of accessories, for example a ball bucket attachment, a radar gun attachment, an umbrella attachment, a video camera attachment, a safety screen attachment, or any other manner, as desired. Carrier,  110 , rail  130 , and end supports  140  may be constructed of metal, heavy-duty plastic, or any other strong and durable material, as desired. In some embodiments, carrier  110 , rail  130 , and end supports  140  can be constructed of a lightweight material to facilitate ease of transport and maneuverability. For example, carrier  110 , rail  130 , and end supports  140  may be constructed of aluminum. 
         [0018]    Referring now to exemplary  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b , carrier  110  may include a substantially rectangular sleeve with a top side  112  and a bottom side  114 , and at least two wheel assemblies  116  coupled to sleeve bottom side  114 . Top side  112  may include means to couple to seat, as described above. Each wheel assembly  116  may include a wheel support  117  and at least two wheels  118 . Wheel support  117  may couple to sleeve bottom  114  and provide an axis around which wheels  118  may rotate. Wheels  118  may be constructed of a strong and durable material, for example heavy-duty plastic. Wheel assemblies  116  may be located substantially at the midpoint between the two sides of carrier  110 , and oriented such that the rotation of wheels  118  allow carrier to move in a substantially linear direction along rail  130  as described below. 
         [0019]    Referring to exemplary  FIGS. 3 and 4 , rail  130  may be a long, substantially rectangular portion and may include a curtain  132 . Curtain  132  may be made of a single piece of material, or multiple pieces welded or otherwise coupled together, as desired. Curtain  132  may be shaped substantially like a hollow three-dimensional rectangle with one primary long axis. Rail  130  and curtain  132  may be of any length. Located along the middle of the bottom of curtain  132  there may be an opening  134 . Opening  134  may be sized to snugly fit wheel support  117 . On either side of opening  134  the bottom portion of curtain  132  may include supports  136 . Supports  136  may provide linear tracks along which wheels  118  may roll. 
         [0020]    Referring now to exemplary  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 1   a , end support  140  may include two or more legs  142 , a pole sleeve  144 , a pole  146 , and an end mount  148 . Legs  142  may stick out at an angle from pole sleeve  144  to provide stability to the structure. Legs  142  may be tubular or rectangular in shape, or as desired. Further, the bottoms of legs  142  may be sealed to prevent filing with foreign materials such as dirt, mud, or grass. Additionally, legs  142 , or any other aspect of sliding seat  100  may be formed or coated so as to be weatherproof or substantially durable regardless of the conditions of use. Pole sleeve  144  may be oriented in a substantially vertical orientation, or as desired. Legs  142  and pole sleeve  144  may be bolted or welded together, or coupled in any secure and rigid fashion, as desired. Pole  146  may be received by pole sleeve  144  and may be inserted or extracted farther into or out of pole sleeve  144  to adjust the height of the whole apparatus. To maintain a desired height, pin  147  may be inserted into one of multiple holes located along the length of pole  146  such that when pressure is applied to the top of pole  146 , pin  147  protrudes sufficiently to rest on top of pole sleeve  144  and thereby arrest any further downward motion of pole  146 . End mount  148  may be located on top of pole  146 . End mount  148  may include recess  149 . Recess  149  may be sized and shaped to securely receive rail  130  (not shown). When end support  140  is assembled together with rail  130  and carrier  110 , end mount  148  may arrest the linear motion of carrier  110  along rail  130 . Preferably, for satisfactory stability, end mount  148  may be oriented such that when rail  130  is received in recess  149 , the primary axis of rail  130  may have a perpendicular component relative to the orientations of at least two legs  142 . Pole  146  and end mount  148  may be bolted or welded together, or coupled in any secure and rigid fashion, as desired. 
         [0021]    Referring generally to exemplary  FIGS. 1-5 , the fully assembled linearly sliding seat  100  may include seat  120  coupled to carrier  110 ; carrier  110  may fit around rail  130  such that wheels  118  may rest on supports  136 , allowing carrier  110  to move in a substantially horizontal linear direction along rail  130 ; both ends of rail  130  may be received in recesses  149  located proximately at the top of end supports  140 . The height of the fully assembled apparatus may adjusted utilizing pole sleeve  144 , pole  146 , and pin  147  by changing which hole pin  147  of pole  146  is inserted. For example, the bottom of rail  130  may be adjusted from six inches to 18 inches. This adjustment can allow users of different heights to sit on seat  120  and remain comfortably supported in a crouched position. Further, a user may set the heights of the two ends of rail  130  to different heights, for example for use as exercise equipment. 
         [0022]    In usage, a user may sit upon seat  120  while in a crouching position. The feet of a user may rest on the ground, allowing the user to propel him or herself upon seat  120  along rail  130 . User may optionally make use of an accessory plate  122  to assist with the task user is performing. Because carrier  110  slides along rail  130 , linearly sliding seat  100  may be utilized to allow user to move seat  120  along rail  130  regardless of the condition of the ground. For example, unlike on a rolling chair, a user may utilize linearly sliding seat  100  to easily move on seat  120  even if the ground is muddy. 
         [0023]    According to another embodiment, ball bearings may be used to replace wheels  118 . Further, other sliding components known in the art may be used, as desired. 
         [0024]    According to yet another embodiment, rail  130  may be oriented substantially vertically. End support  140  may be modified to support the vertical orientation, for example in a quad-leg or flat-base design, or as desired. 
         [0025]    The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
         [0026]    Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.