Abstract:
A system and method to pitch balls with a fine adjustment subsystem. The system and method allow an operator to make fine adjustments to the horizontal trajectory of a ball as it passes in front of the hitter. The system includes a throwing head with at least one wheel powered by a motor and a control panel with an adjustment for each motor so that speed and spin imparted to the ball can be changed. This invention further includes a method for pitching practice balls wherein the balls are delivered to a person in need of hitting practice. The fine adjustment subsystem permits an operator to quickly and easily change the horizontal positioning of the balls that are thrown to vary the pitches as a batter practices.

Description:
COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     Portions of this disclosure contain material in which copyright is claimed by the applicant. The applicant has no objection to the copying of this material in the course of making copies of the application file or any patents that may issue on the application, but all other rights whatsoever in the copyrighted material are reserved. 
     BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates to devices for practicing sports, and in particular, this invention relates to a system and method for simulating a pitched or thrown ball such as a baseball or softball. 
     Currently, there are many devices for throwing a ball, including the throwing of baseballs and softballs as well as cricket balls, lacrosse balls, tennis balls, etc. for players to practice with. Typically these devices have one or more wheels that engage the ball as it passes through the wheels and impart speed and spin to the ball. Two wheel devices have become the standard over the past several years while three wheel devices are also becoming more common. It should be understood that devices using two wheels are limited in orientation to one plane of motion and are strictly limited in the amount of spin they can impart to the ball as it passes through. The three wheel devices offer an improved experience because they can vary the pitch in two planes of motion providing a more realistic pitch compared to a person throwing the ball. 
     An advantage of any of the different configurations equipped with a single wheel, two wheels or three wheels is that they are very good at replicating a particular pitch with the same speed, trajectory and spin. The machine can be adjusted manually by an operator moving the entire machine from side to side or by raising or lowering the throwing head. A significant problem that exists is that it is difficult to quickly and easily apply a fine adjustment to the positioning of the device so that over a 60 foot, 6 inch trajectory (the equivalent of the distance between the pitcher&#39;s mound and home plate in a major league baseball diamond), a slight change in the side-to-side and/or up-down end position can be achieved. A fine adjustment mechanism is highly desirable to more realistically replicate the routine of an actual pitcher during an at-bat, who varies the location of the ball with each pitch so that during practice, a batter is seeing a full range of locations around the plate, including inside pitches, outside pitches, high pitches, low pitches and pitches throughout the different parts of the strike zone, just as s/he would in a real game. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides an apparatus and method for throwing practice balls that may be presented to a person in need of hitting practice by using an apparatus for pitching practice balls including a support for a ball propelling head, at least one variable speed motor powered wheel to propel a ball dropped into the ball propelling head attached to a pivotable frame; a control panel attached to the support providing access to a speed control for each motor driving a ball propelling head. This invention also provides a method for pitching practice balls wherein the balls are delivered to a person in need of hitting practice balls that pass through an aperture (or opening) formed between: (a) a single powered wheel and a fixed object; or (b) between two or more powered wheels. The motor driven ball propelling head is supported by a frame that is pivotable to aim the ball and includes a fine adjustment subsystem that allows the location of the ball as it passes over the plate to be quickly and easily changed by the operator for each pitch. 
     The invention is an apparatus for pitching practice balls comprising: a support for a holding ball propelling head some distance above the ground; a pivotable frame for the ball propelling head attached to the support; a mounting plate held by the pivotable frame; a wheel ball propelling head, the head having at least one wheel, the at least one wheel arranged to define an aperture; one motor for each ball propelling head, each motor attached to a wheel, and each motor mounted on a main casting; and a fine adjustment subsystem that allows for quick and easy adjustment of the pitch location between pitches in and around a strike zone of the batter. 
     Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus for pitching practice of stick-hittable balls comprising: a support for a stick-hittable ball propelling head; a pivotable frame for the stick-hittable ball propelling head attached to the support; a ball propelling head including at least one variable speed motor powered wheel, each wheel attached to a variable speed motor, the at least one wheel defining an aperture through which aperture the stick-hittable ball passes before the stick-hittable ball is launched, and the at least one speed motor attached to a main casting held within and attached to the pivotable frame; a control panel attached proximate the motor plate providing access to a speed control for each motor driving a stick-hittable ball propelling head; and a fine adjustment subsystem that allows for quick and easy adjustment of the pitch location between pitches in and around a strike zone of the batter. 
     Yet another aspect of the invention is a method for pitching practice balls comprising: delivering practice balls in a practice ball apparatus through an aperture to a person standing in front of the practice ball apparatus to a wheel motor driven ball propelling head supported by a frame that is pivotable to aim the ball; launching the ball to the person standing in front of the apparatus for practicing hitting the launched ball; and quickly and easily adjusting the ball propelling head to change the pitch location between pitches in and around a strike zone of the batter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it is configured and functions, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show embodiments of the present invention in which: 
         FIGS. 1A-C  show perspective views of front, rear and side views of a system to pitch balls; 
         FIG. 2  is front schematic view of a ball propelling head of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side schematic view of the ball propelling head of the system shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a detail of  FIG. 1  showing a fine adjustment subsystem; and 
         FIG. 5  is a detailed angled perspective view of the fine adjustment subsystem of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Throughout the  FIGS. 1-6 , like elements of the invention are referred to by the same reference numerals for consistency purposes. 
       FIGS. 1A-C  show three views of a ball pitching apparatus  10  from the front ( FIG. 1A ), rear ( FIG. 1B ) and side ( FIG. 1C ). In describing ball pitching apparatus  10 , reference to all three figures is made. Ball pitching apparatus  10  has a three-wheel ball propelling head  11  having three powered wheels  12 ,  14 , and  16 . These three wheels contact practice balls, launching them towards player for batting practice, who is usually positioned in front of the apparatus about sixty feet away. It should be understood that the device is adjustable for pitching at other distances, including for purposes of batting practice at the youth level, or for launching practice with fielding of ground balls, line drives or pop flies. 
     Practice balls are placed on the end of a chute  64  (see  FIGS. 2-3 ), down which the ball rolls. Chute  64  allows the practicing player to see the ball as it approaches an aperture  18  formed between the wheels before the ball contacts wheels  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and the ball is launched towards the player. This visibility of the ball allows the batter to get a sense of timing in anticipating the release of the ball, allowing him or her to stride forward or whatever that player may do to prepare to hit a pitched ball. In a three wheel configuration, all one needs to do is change the relative spin of any of the wheels thereby imparting a different spin to the ball and changing the trajectory. A main casting  80  to which powered wheels  12 ,  14 ,  16  and wheel motors  40 ,  42 ,  44  are affixed is integrated with guard members  22 ,  24 ,  25 . Guards  22 ,  24 ,  25  block access to a large portion of wheels  12 ,  14  and  16  to prevent pieces that may result from fragments of a disintegrating wheel from hitting anyone near the apparatus including an operator and a batter. Guards  22 ,  24 ,  25  also prevent the operator from accidentally touching a moving wheel while operating apparatus  10 . Such an occurrence might happen if the operator is watching the player during practice and not focusing on his operation of the apparatus. The wheels may rotate at speeds as fast as 3000 RPM with fourteen inch wheels propelling a ball as fast as 100 miles per hour or more. This is required in the operation of the apparatus since human pitchers are known to routinely pitch balls that fast. It should be understood that wheels of other sizes may also be used. 
     Wheel guards  22 ,  24 ,  25  are formed of metal (or another appropriate material such as plastic) that are shaped to cover all or significant portions of each of the wheels. The guards protect the rapidly spinning wheels from direct hits from balls successfully hit by the practicing person. This happens fairly regularly, and the wheel guards protect the wheels from such impact and from the damage such impact would cause. In particular, they prevent the ball from damaging the wheel to the extent that it might disintegrate, thereby preventing pieces or sections of the wheels from being launched at speed away from apparatus  10  that might endanger those standing nearby. 
     A support for ball propelling head  11  includes a tripod formed of legs  28 ,  30 , and  32  each having a rubber safety tip  34 . The support allows for stability on uneven ground and it may be adjustable to different heights. It may raise ball propelling head  11  high enough to approximate the height of a pitchers arm when he releases a pitched ball. A ball pitched from such a height will more accurately mimic a ball pitched by a human pitcher. The three wheels  12 ,  14 ,  16  in ball propelling head  11  form aperture  18  through which ball  20  to be thrown is visible just before it is launched by ball propelling head  11 . Propelling head  11  is supported by a frame  36  that is pivotable to aim the ball in a particular direction. Three motors  40 ,  42  and  44  positioned at each wheel  12 ,  14 ,  16  propels each of the wheels independently of the others. Varying the speed of one or more of the wheels allows a second person, the operator, who is not the batter, but, perhaps a coach or another player, to provide a series of unknown pitches to the player having different types of spin such as a curve ball, a slider, a fastball, etc. The speed can be varied by the operator using the control box  54  having independent control knobs for each motor  40 ,  42 , and  44  mounted on the support frame  36 . 
     Motors  40 ,  42 ,  44  are mounted on main casting  80  with each motor positioned proximate to each wheel  12 ,  14 ,  16 . Main casting  80  is attached to frame  36  by pinions  56  and  58 . An elevational control  60  allows the operator to adjust the angle of propelling head  11  relative to the ground at which ball  20  leaves propelling head  11 . This provides for pitch height adjustment in the up-down direction positioning the height of the ball trajectory as it passes in front of the batter. It also allows the machine to be adjusted for fielding practice. Aiming it low produces grounders, aiming it a mid-level produces line drives and aiming it high produces fly balls or pop-ups. The three variable speed motors  40 ,  42 ,  44  are each mounted on main casting  80 , which also forms a surface onto which the feed chute  64 , the wheel guards  22 ,  24 ,  25  and an elevation control  60  may be mounted. 
     Three tripod legs ( 28 ,  30 ,  32 ) along with head mounting frame  72  form a base  26  that allows a stable and transportable combination. Ball propelling head  11  is mounted atop base  26  by attaching it to head mounting frame  72 . A first transport wheel  68  positioned on one side of pitching apparatus  10  and a second transport wheel  70  positioned on the opposite side of pitching apparatus  10  are attached to the backside of head mounting plate  72 , and allow easy transportation of the pitching apparatus  10 . The two rear tripod legs  28  and  32  are preferably removable and when the apparatus is on its wheels it can be guided by using the front tripod leg  30  as a steering lever. 
     A fine adjustment subsystem  100  is shown below propelling head  11  and mounted to an arm or platform  102  extending from base  72  and to which the top of front leg  30  is attached. Fine adjustment subsystem  100  allows the variation of a pitch trajectory to be finely adjusted for in the horizontal direction as it crosses the plate or other area in front of the batter (i.e. moving the pitch location from an inside pitch to an outside pitch within or outside the strike zone). Fine adjustment subsystem  100  is shown in more detail in  FIGS. 4-5 . 
     The three powered wheels  12 ,  14 ,  16  preferably each include a concave ball engaging peripheral surface to allow the maximum surface of the wheel to contact the ball as it passes the three wheels. 
     A three-wheeled propelling head  11  is configured to eliminate vision and spin problems. The arrangement of the wheels, that is, two on top and one on the bottom forms aperture  18  that allows the practicing player to view of the oncoming balls as they come down chute  64  before they are launched. This is also a safety feature since batters are less likely to be inadvertently hit by a pitch since they can see if one is in the works. Aperture  18 , through which the ball must pass to get to the wheels, allows the practicing player to see ball  20  as it moves down chute  64  before it is launched towards him. The visibility of ball  20  allows the batter to get a sense of the timing of ball  20  coming so he can anticipate striding forward or whatever that player may do in preparation for hitting a ball pitched towards him or her. With three wheels (or two), all one needs to do is change the relative spin of any of the wheels and the ball will spin differently to emulate a different pitch or pitch type. 
     The invention has been described as being an apparatus for propelling balls, particularly stick-hittable balls. The preferred balls include, for example, baseballs, softballs, handballs, tennis balls, cricket balls, (baseballs, softballs, and cricket balls are specifically defined herein as the stick-hittable balls, and may be of slightly differing sizes and weights depending on the precise league and region of use) and the like can beneficially be used in the practice of this invention. The general key to the balls that would be beneficially used in this invention are those that are thrown to be struck or hit or the like by a player with a stick or glove or racket. The apparatus may also be used for practice with catching balls, including for fielding grounders, line drives, fly balls and pop-ups. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the use of a three wheel configuration allows less wear on the balls used for practice than a configuration where only two wheels or one wheel are used. When used in practice, this arrangement provides more speed and better accuracy, while providing a better gripping surface between the balls and the wheels. The surface is further improved by using a concave surface for the contact surface  74  of the wheels. This is important since the balls are being accelerated from zero to perhaps one hundred miles per hour in a fraction of a second. Aperture  18  is shown as being defined by interstitial space between the three wheels  12 ,  14 ,  16 . Ball  20  will always roll downwardly through chute  64 ; therefore, the player will always have a view of the ball immediately before it is launched towards him. Propelling head  11  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) is mounted on frame  36  which pivots. Ball  20  rolls down chute  64  to the area where the edges of three wheels  12 ,  14 ,  16  come together. 
     A chute handle  76  is affixed to the end of chute  64 . Chute handle  76  may be gripped by an operator of apparatus  10  to pivot throwing head  11  around pivot point  122  to adjust the horizontal trajectory of a ball pitched from throwing head  11 . This movement is useful for large scale pivotal movements of throwing head  11 . For micro-movements or fine, highly accurate small adjustments, the operator may use the fine adjustment subsystem  100  shown in detail in  FIGS. 4-5 . 
       FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a detail of  FIG. 1A  showing fine adjustment subsystem  100 , and  FIG. 5  is a detailed angled perspective view of fine adjustment subsystem  100  of  FIG. 4  showing the two positions of a locking mechanism for use in the subsystem. Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , subsystem  100  is configured to allow an operator to finely adjust the horizontal position of propelling head  11 . The fine adjustment varies a trajectory of a pitch in a horizontal plane as it crosses the plate or other area in front of the batter (i.e. moving the pitch location from an inside pitch to an outside pitch within or outside the strike zone). 
     Subsystem  100  is formed of platform or arm  102  which has two side frames  106 ,  108  and a gap  104  between them. A crank  110  with a threaded portion  112  is fitted between side frames  106  and  108  and is held in place by a nut  114  on the opposite side of platform  102  from crank  110 . An adjustment nut  116  on threaded portion  112  of crank  110  moves back and forth on threaded portion  112  between side frames  106  and  108  in gap  104  as crank  110  is turned. A locking mechanism formed of an extension rod  118  attached to adjustment nut  116  has a winged lock  120  mounted to the end of rod  118 . Loosening and tightening of winged lock  120  allows rod  118  to be adjusted during operation of the pitching apparatus  10 . A pivot point  122  on tongue  124  is located near the end of arm  102  through which an axis passes and about which propelling head  11  pivots on frame  36  in continuous fine adjustment increments as crank  110  is turned to move tongue  124  on which throwing head  11  and frame  36  are pivotally mounted. 
       FIG. 5  shows the operation of fine adjustment subsystem  100  and the disengagement of rod  118  for large scale adjustment. In a first position, extension rod  118  is positioned within a slot  126  in the end of tongue  124 . In this first position (Position  1 ), winged lock  120 , which is screwed onto extension rod  118  can be tightened down and locked onto tongue  124  to hold it in place at a desired position. Once fine adjustment  100  is locked, operation of pitching device  10  will pitch balls along a particular directory and each pitch will be on the same trajectory. To finely adjust the trajectory so that ball placement is more to the inside or outside relative to the batter, winged lock  120  is loosened but maintained in the first position inside of slot  126  on tongue  124 . In this position with lock  120  loosened, tongue  124  moves with rod  118  in either position about pivot point  122 . By turning crank  110  one way or the other, adjustment nut  116  is repositioned along threaded portion  112  of crank  110 . Using this operation, slight adjustments can be made by the operator after each pitch. If a single positioned is desired for practice, winged lock  120  is rotated to tighten it down against tongue  124  to hold it firmly in that desired position. That way, a player can practice a pitch with a particular trajectory over and over again. Tightening down wing lock  120  ensures that the recoil of the throwing head does not make any slight movements to the position between pitches. 
     It should be understood that the rotation of crank and the adjustment of extension rod  118  is in very small increments because it is moved along the threads of threaded portion  112  of crank  110 . This allows an operator to vary the horizontal pitch location very slightly across the strike zone of the batter standing at the plate 60 feet and 6 inches away. For the full range of the crank, the difference in horizontal pitch position for the batter may be, for example, approximately in the range of 12 to 18 inches. It could be made more or less depending what&#39;s desired. The ease and speed with which the horizontal pitch position may be adjusted using subsystem  100  means that an operator can vary pitch location between each pitch in minimal time. 
     For large changes in the horizontal position of the trajectory, particularly for fielding practice where it may be desirable to launch balls to players at different positions with each throw either for the practice of ground balls, line drives, fly balls and pop-ups for either infielders or outfielders, wing lock  120  is loosened and rotated down into position  2  between frame elements  106  and  108 . With rod  118  rotated down and out of slot  126  on tongue  124 , tongue  124  freely rotates around pivot point  122 . An operator of apparatus  10  uses handle  76  on the end of chute  64  to rotate throwing head  11  to any desired position. Throwing head  11  may be maintained in one position for multiple throws or rotated by the operator after each throw to generally aim the ball trajectory in the area of a player. Even though the recoil of the throwing head may slightly alter the position of a throw while winged lock  120  is in Position  2  and tongue  124  is free to rotate about pivot point  122 , any slight changes resulting from the recoil are not significant for fielding practice in the same way as batting practice where small adjustments and maintaining a particular position are more critical. 
     In an alternative embodiment, tongue  124  may include a hinged portion with a set of teeth at the end to engage a toothed gear attached to the top of arm  102  and with a handle for turning the toothed gear. Hinged portion has a first position where it engages toothed gear and a second position where it swings out of engagement with toothed gear. In that way, it operates in the same manner as the first embodiment with a first mode for small adjustments and a second mode for large adjustments. When in the first position, tongue  124  may be clamped against arm  102  to maintain tongue  124  and throwing head  11  in the same position for multiple throws. 
     While the invention has been described with respect to the  FIGS. 1-5 , it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Any variation and derivation from the above description and drawings are included in the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.