Batting tee

Apparatus and method for a batting tee which provides an effective and useful device for improving a user's baseball swing. The present invention comprises a portable regulation size home plate which has a swinging arm member rotatably attached thereto which member has a first and second upright-standing batting tee thereon which are each adjustable in height. The rotatable member is attached to the home plate by means of a fastener which allows the member to swing 360 degrees around the home plate in the horizontal plane. The particular placement of the batting tees about the home plate allows the device to be used to teach a user batter how to hit balls thrown in each position about the home plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to batting tees and, more particularly, is concerned with a batting tee having multiple tees and positions.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Batting tees have been described in the prior art. However, none of the prior art discloses the unique features of the present invention.

While these batting tees may be suitable for the purposes in which they were designed, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as hereinafter described.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention discloses a batting tee which provides an effective and useful device for improving a user's baseball swing. The present invention comprises a portable regulation size home plate which has a swinging arm member rotatably attached thereto which member has a first and second upright-standing batting tee thereon which are each adjustable in height. The rotatable member is attached to the home plate by means of a fastener which allows the member to swing 360 degrees around the home plate in the horizontal plane. The particular placement of the batting tees about the home plate allows the device to be used to teach a user batter how to hit balls thrown in each position about the home plate.

An object of the present invention is to provide a user player an easy-to-use device which can be used to teach the user to hit a ball thrown in the three basic pitch locations which are the inside, outside and middle of the plate. A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which is easy to use. A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which can be easily and cheaply manufactured.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following discussion describes in detail at least one embodiment of the present invention. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments since practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For a definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to the appended claims.FIGS. 1-3illustrate the present invention wherein a batting tee is disclosed.

Turning toFIG. 1, shown therein is the present invention10having a standard size plate12which rests on a supporting surface wherein a user14is holding a bat16in the hand18of the user's arm. The present invention10has a swinging arm20which is rotatably attached at a pivot point22to the plate12so that the swinging arm can be rotated 360 degrees around the plate in the horizontal plane. The front50of the plate has the swinging arm20attached near it. The rear52of the plate is also shown. Attached to the distal end of the swinging arm20is a support foot24which rests on the supporting surface. A first batting tee26and a second batting tee28, each tee26,28having upper and lower ends, are attached to the upper surface of swinging arm20. Batting tees26and28are each hollow being adjustable in height using adjustment members30so that a baseball32can be placed on the upper end of the batting tee which forms a ball support48on the upper end of each batting tee26or28. The pivot member22may be a fastener or like member such as a bolt. Because of the design of this tee, a right or left handed batter14can use this device with ease. Direction arrow54indicates the swing direction. Putting a ball on tee26, with tee28in a lower position, will allow the hitter14to practice hitting balls32that are thrown down the middle of the plate12.

Turning toFIG. 2, shown therein is the present invention10with the home plate12having a swinging arm20rotatably attached at pivot member22along with the support foot24and the first26and second28batting tees thereon showing the support foot24being moved around the plate12360 degrees in the horizontal plane. The support foot24can be moved around the home plate12so that it is disposed at position34,3638,39,40and42which correspond to the 6 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 12 o'clock, 10 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions, respectively. By placing a ball on tee28, with arm20at the 4:00 o'clock position, a right handed hitter will be able to practice hitting inside pitches in the correct hitting zone. By placing a ball on tee28, with arm20at the 10:00 o'clock position, a right handed hitter will be able to practice hitting outside pitches in the correct hitting zone. By placing a ball on tee26, with arm20at the 6:00 o'clock position, a right handed hitter will be able to practice hitting middle pitches in the correct hitting zone. By placing a ball on tee28, with arm20at the 8:00 o'clock position a left handed hitter will be able to practice hitting inside pitches in the correct hitting zone. By placing a ball on tee28, with arm20at the 2:00 o'clock position, a left handed hitter will be able to practice hitting outside pitches in the correct hitting zone. By placing a ball on tee26, with arm20at the 6:00 o'clock position, a left handed hitter will be able to practice hitting middle pitches in the correct hitting zone. By placing a ball on tee26only, with arm20at the 12 o'clock position, either a left or right handed hitter can practice hitting down on the ball by raising tee28to a higher position than the ball on tee26. By placing a ball on both tee26and28, with arm20at either the 8 o'clock or 4 o'clock position, a left or right handed batter will be able to practice getting their hands through the ball at contact by hitting both of the balls on a level plane so as to cause the ball on tee26to go straight and the ball on tee28to go either to the left or the right side of the infield depending on whether the hitter is left or right handed.

Turning toFIG. 3, shown therein is the present invention10showing home plate12, the swinging arm20rotatably attached at pivot member22to the home plate having the support foot24thereon showing a first batting tee26and a second batting tee28both having adjustable members30thereon and having a ball32disposed on batting tee28. It can be seen that the batting tee26and28each contain an outer member along with a telescoping inner member44,46which are each slidably adjustable in the outer members of the batting tee26,28so as to be telescopic in nature with each batting tee having a ball support48thereon at the upper end. It is expected that the present invention10will be made of molded rubber or plastic materials varying in size and thickness. Tee26is expected to be disposed about two inches from the edge of the plate12and centered and tee28will be about eighteen inches away on swinging arm20.