Abstract:
The invention is of a Shotgun hiker, a mechanical football hiker that propels the football five yards in a consistent direction and manner in order to allow football teams to practice the shotgun offense without the use of a trained team member to hike the football.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to apparatuses for simulating sporting ball handling.  
         [0003]     2. Background Information  
         [0004]     Football is a national passion, and where there are football games, there are football practices. Football practice seasons and football practice sessions are typically regulated by league rules in order to ensure consistency and fairness. These rules, for instance, may limit the amount of time a team can practice or limit the length of the practice season a team can require players to be present for practice.  
         [0005]     Working within these constraints, consistency is difficult to maintain when propelling or hiking a football to the quarterback during practice sessions. This is true because the job of hiking the ball during practice typically falls to an “expendable” member of the team or training staff because the official ball hiker is most likely performing his own training. It would be inefficient to utilize a valuable member of the team to perform such a monotonous, repetitive function as hiking the ball to the practicing quarterback, when that team member could be furthering his own skills, especially when practice time is limited. Another variation of this problem is encountered during off season practice sessions when attendance is not required and therefore the presence of a hiker is optional. This has led to the development of mechanical ball hikers.  
         [0006]     Currently, the mechanical ball hikers that are available merely “hand” the ball to the quarterback, and do not propel it in the manner required to simulate that required for the “shotgun” formation. Therefore, existing ball hikers may be adequate for teams using standard line-ups and plays, but are useless for those employing the “shotgun” offense, in which the quarterback typically stands back from the offensive line about five yards. This line-up is advantageous in certain situations because it gives the quarterback more time to throw the ball and is very hard to defend against. It is an advantageous offense to use with a light, quick front line and a quarterback who knows how to run as well as throw the ball. More and more high school and college teams are taking advantage of the unique plays that such a line-up favors.  
         [0007]     The shotgun hiker of the present invention solves the problem of how to train a quarterback in the shotgun offense by creating the force needed to mechanically propel a football over a distance, consistently and in a predictable direction. This allows football team members to maximize their practice time and football coaches to most efficiently and effectively train quarterbacks and other team members in the shotgun offense.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanical means to propel or hike a football during football practice.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a more convenient method of practicing the shotgun offense by providing a mechanical means to propel or hike a football over a distance, rather than merely “hand the ball” to the quarterback during football practice.  
         [0010]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a consistent means of propelling or hiking the football over a distance into the hands of a quarterback during football practice without the use of an experienced team member.  
         [0011]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for training quarterbacks in the initial reception of the football as in the shotgun offense, which method involves a novel football hiking simulator device which provides uniform practice parameters and obviates the need for a human center.  
         [0012]     In satisfaction of these and other related objectives, Applicant&#39;s present invention provides a convenient, consistent, mechanical means to propel a football over a distance into the hands of a practicing quarterback in order that the team may practice the shotgun offense without the use of an experienced team member to merely, repetitively hike the ball.  
         [0013]     Applicant&#39;s approach to the problem described above makes possible, for the first time, a mechanical means of propelling or hiking a football in the manner required for the shotgun offense, and which allows a football team to practice the shotgun offense without the use of an experienced team member to hike the football. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective rear view of the football hiker of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective front view of the football hiker of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective front view of the football hiker of the present invention with the outer, substantially aesthetic casing removed for viewing of internal components. In this view, the launching arm is in an intermediate position.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3B  is the same depiction as that of  FIG. 3A , except that the launching arm is moved through action of the machine&#39;s cam member to a position closer to the launch release point (to be described later).  
         [0018]      FIG. 3C  is the same depiction as that of  FIGS. 3A and 3B , except that the launching arm is moved through action of the machine&#39;s cam member to a position closer still to the launch release point (to be described later).  
         [0019]      FIG. 3D  is the same depiction as that of  FIGS. 3A, 3B  and  3 C, except that the launching arm is moved through action of the machine&#39;s cam member to a position immediately before reaching the launch release point (to be described later).  
         [0020]      FIG. 3E  is the same depiction as that of  FIGS. 3A, 3B ,  3 C and  3 D, except that the launching arm has now moved through action of the machine&#39;s cam member beyond the launch release point, and the ball is being launched.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a side-elevational view of the primary components of a football hiker according to the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the referenced cam member of the machine with associated rollers and mechanisms to be described later herein. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]     With reference to  FIG. 1-3E , the shotgun hiker of the present invention is identified generally by the reference number  10  (sometimes hereafter “machine  10 ”).  
         [0024]     Machine  10  includes a support frame  12 , which, in the preferred embodiment, doubles as a cart with wheels  14 . The operative heart of machine  10  includes a catapult-like structure which includes a launching arm assembly  16 . The distal, free end  17  of launching arm assembly  16  is configured as a football cradle structure for supporting a standard football X immediately prior to and during a ball launching or hiking operation. A stop  18  positioned medial of the launching arm assembly “catches” footballs X as they are delivered via a chute assembly  20  (to be described in more detail hereafter).  
         [0025]     Launching arm assembly  16  pivots about an axle  22 . Near the proximal end  24  of launching arm assembly  16  is attached, in the preferred embodiment, a cam roller assembly  26 . A tension bracket  28  is attached to proximal end  24  of launching arm assembly  16 , to either end of which are respectively attached the distal ends  30  of springs  32 .  
         [0026]     Proximal ends  34  of springs  32  are, in turn, attached to an anchor block assembly  36  which, it the preferred embodiment, provides for adjustment of the tension provided by springs  32 . This adjustment may be by various conventional means, including positional adjustment of the anchor block assembly  36  itself (see  FIG. 4 ), or though adjustment of the attaching points for springs  32  (such as by twisting eye bolts to which springs  32  may be attached and which would be threaded into anchor block assembly  36 ).  
         [0027]     As is clear from a review of the figures, springs  32  urge launch arm assembly  16  from its most retracted position (the “launch point”) such as is nearly shown in  FIG. 3D , toward its most extended, post-launch position, such as is shown in  FIG. 3E .  
         [0028]     A roller  27  of cam roller assembly  26  interacts with cam  40  whereby, as cam  40  rotates about its shaft  42  (see  FIG. 5 ) launch arm assembly  16  moves cyclically to and between the launch and post-launch positions. The configuration of cam  40  is such that, immediately after launch arm assembly  16  reaches its launch point orientation, the contract surface of cam  40  abruptly drops away, out of contact with roller  27 , such that launch arm assembly  16  is free to pivot under force of springs  32  to thereby launch a football X. Continued rotation of cam  40  repeats the cycle, with launch arm assembly  16  being eventually returned to the launch point orientation.  
         [0029]     Referring principally to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , Cam  40 , via its shaft  42 , rotates under power of an electric motor  46 , delivered via a transmission  48 . Transmission  48  provides gear reduction for both reducing power requirements for electric motor  46 , while maintaining sufficient torque to reliably actuate the launch arm assembly  16  as against the forces of springs  32 .  
         [0030]     Referring principally to  FIGS. 3A-3E , the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the use of a conventional car battery for power purposes. Such is included in the interest of portability. However, alternative power sources are certainly viable options, including the use of household 110V current, with accompanying use of extension cord(s) and appropriate changes to electric motor  46 .  
         [0031]     As mentioned earlier, football(s) X are delivered to distal end  17  of launching arm assembly  16  via a chute assembly  20 . Chute assembly  20  is configured for delivering footballs X, one at a time, to distal end  17  of launching arm assembly  16 . A gate assembly  50  is positioned adjacent interior end  42  of chute assembly  20 . Gate assembly includes, in the preferred embodiment, a solenoid-based actuation device which, upon charging, causes gate  52  to retract and allow one football X to roll into position on distal end  17  of launching arm assembly  16 .  
         [0032]     An alternative, and perhaps preferred, gate mechanism (not shown in the drawings) is one which utilizes a rocking barrier/cradle mechanism to control the “flow” of footballs X through machine  10 . Such is one in which a rocking tray-like member, with an upward-facing annular recess, is positioned as part of the floor surface  21  of chute assembly  20  over which footballs X roll to be delivered to the launching arm assembly  16 . This tray-like member is positioned near the delivery end of the chute assembly  20 . An actuator assembly cyclically rocks the tray-like member such that, in one limit of motion, a barrier is presented to on-coming footballs X (while allowing any football X resident in the annular recess to roll onto the distal end  17  of the launching arm assembly  16 ), while when at the other limit of motion, a football X rolls into the annular recess. So long as footballs X remain in chute assembly  20 , and the gate mechanism continues working on coordination with the cyclical motion of launching arm assembly  16 , footballs X will be hiked (or “snapped”) for practice. A still further variation of this type of gate apparatus is one in which the rocking member is on the upper, ceiling surface of the chute assembly  20 , and projections on either end of the rocking member control ingress and egress of footballs X relative to the intervening recess, somewhat analogous to the pallet fork of a mechanical clock.  
         [0033]     Coordination of any such type of gate mechanism with motion of launching arm  16  can be achieved through a variety of means, including electronic, or even mechanical means. The design of such is well within the skills of persons ordinarily skilled in the related arts.  
         [0034]     The coordination between operation of gate assembly  50  and the position of launching arm assembly  16  may be handled in a variety of ways. Most simply, perhaps, is by providing contact switches (not shown in the drawings) which are closed immediately before launch arm assembly  16  reaches the launch point and which, upon actuation, activate suitable timed circuits for retracting gate  52  for a prescribed duration for delivering a football X, but restraining the next successive football X in chute assembly  20 .  
         [0035]     Control of electrical motor  46 , and by it control of machine  10 , is by via a control box  60 . Control box  60  may be fixed to machine  10 , or may be removable for operation at a distance from machine  10 . While a hard wire-based control box  60  is shown in the drawings, a wireless remote control version is envisioned, and may be based on such technology as garage door opener controllers and suitable receivers for use therewith.  
         [0036]     An optional feature of a machine  10  according to the present invention is one which includes some means by which to reorient the support frame  12  (or the actual mechanical components of machine  10 ) such that footballs X are hiked (“snapped”) at a lower trajectory. This would be desirable for training for extra point place holders who receive a football while positioned on one knee. The simplest, though not only approach to this is by providing a “jack” structure which simply raises the rearward portion of support frame (or “cart”)  12 .  
         [0037]     Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limited sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the inventions will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.