Abstract:
A baseball swing training aid includes a housing and a lid for retaining a batting tee in a first or storage configuration and in a second or use configuration. In the first configuration, the batting tee is stowable on an underside of the lid such that the tee does not interfere with the lid&#39;s attachment to the housing. In the second configuration, the batting tee base attaches to a slot formed in the lid to extend the tee upwardly for baseball swing training. Accordingly, the tee is easily changeable between the first and second configurations for fast setup, storage or transportation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention generally relates to a baseball swing training aid. More particularly, the present invention relates to a baseball swing training aid having a collapsible tee for storage within the lid of the corresponding container.  
         [0002]     Baseball tees designed to aid in the training of a batting swing are generally known in art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,838 to Griffin discloses a baseball batting tee having a self-righting, semi-spherical weighted bottom portion with an axially upstanding post removably fixed thereto. An inverted conical helical spring attached at the top of the post is configured for reception of a ball thereon. The semi-spherical weighted bottom portion helps maintain the post in a substantially upright position as a batter swings through the ball. The weighted bottom portion helps offset any force against the post in the event that the tee is struck during the course of a swing. But, the tee disclosed in the &#39;838 patent is not collapsible for easy portability or storage.  
         [0003]     In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,124 to Pecoraro discloses an automatic batting tee apparatus having a housing capable of gravity feeding a plurality of balls onto an associated tee. Reloading the top of the tee is accomplished by actuating a lever mechanism that dispenses a ball from the housing and onto the tee. The balls are fed through this housing during operation, but the tee itself is not able to store balls within its housing during transportation.  
         [0004]     Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,175 to Mooney discloses a batting tee having a ball mount position lower relative to the other batting tee components. The batting tee includes a base, an upright support, and a swing arm wherein the mount for the ball is integral to the end of the swing arm opposite the end mounted to the upright support. The swing arm is pivotally and telescopically movable relative to the upright so that the vertical height of the ball position may be varied. Most notably, this batting tee is bulky and incapable of storing balls.  
         [0005]     Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,445 to Tanner discloses a durable batting tee having an elongated split washer to provide friction between telescoping parts in the stem without requiring tightening adjustments by a user. While the disclosed batting tee is collapsible, the tee is not capable of storing a number of balls therein for portability.  
         [0006]     Accordingly, there is a need for a baseball swing training aid that is collapsible and capable of storing a plurality of balls therein to increase portability. Such a baseball swing training aid should also be compact to ease transportation and storage. There is an additional need for a baseball swing training aid that is easily movable between storage and use configurations and that relies on minimal support for maintaining the tee in an upright configuration. Accordingly, such a baseball swing training aid should include a collapsible tee storable within the container lid to prevent interference with the balls stored within the container during storage. There is a further need for a baseball swing training aid that is economical and easy to manufacturer. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     A baseball swing training aid is herein provided that includes a housing and corresponding lid capable of storing a batting tee. The lid effectively encases the housing and any balls stored therein. The batting tee comprises a base, a ball holder, and an elongated member extending from the base to the ball holder. This tee is used in conjunction with the lid for storage and use. In a preferred embodiment, the batting tee is stowable on an underside of the lid in a first configuration such that the batting tee does not interfere with attachment of the lid to the housing. In a second configuration, the batting tee attaches to the lid such that the elongated member extends upwardly from the base to position the ball holder at a desired height for baseball swing training.  
         [0008]     Furthermore, in the first configuration, the batting tee removably attaches to the lid via a snap-fit or friction-fit configuration. In this embodiment, the batting tee slips into or otherwise snappingly engages a channel or other depression formed within the underside of the lid. The opening of the channel may be slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the baseball tee. Accordingly, the location blocks that encase the batting tee within the lid may be slightly deformable to enable insertion of the batting tee. This ensures that the tee remains substantially affixed within the channel during transportation or use.  
         [0009]     A channel or other threaded member formed in the lid engages a corresponding rim formed at the top of the housing, for removable attachment thereto. The rim and channel may engage one another via a screw-type, snap-fit or friction-fit coupling. This coupling is preferably durable and able to sufficiently retain the lid relative to the housing during transportation. The coupling is preferably designed to enable easy and quick attachment or detachment.  
         [0010]     In the second configuration, the base of the batting tee removably engages a slot formed in the underside of the lid. This ensures that the elongated member is retained in a substantially upright position when used as a baseball swing training aid. The lid further includes a lock that secures the base within the slot prior to use thereof. The lock prevents the batting tee from rotating or otherwise disconnecting from the lid during use. Without the lock, the tee and corresponding base may easily rotate out of the slot formed within the lid.  
         [0011]     The elongated member portion of the batting tee is selectively telescopingly movable between an extended position and a retracted position. The desired batting tee height between the extended position and the retracted position is adjustably retained via a fastener or other comparable device. The height of the elongated member ultimately depends upon the size and preference of the person using the baseball swing training aid. Preferably, the fastener has a screw-tight, snap-fit, friction-fit or mechanical coupling that substantially retains the elongated member at the desired height during use. The coupling should otherwise be easily disengageable after use so that the user may quickly and efficiently restow the batting tee back within the lid.  
         [0012]     In an alternative embodiment, and to further ease in the storage of the batting tee within the lid, the elongated member includes a top portion selectively separable from a bottom portion. Accordingly, the separated top and bottom portions reside within a pair of channels formed in the lid bottom. This ensures that the baseball swing training aid is able to accommodate a full range of users as the elongated member contains two extendable portions thereof. A flexible cord interconnects the interiors of the separated top and bottom portions such that each portion may be offset within the lid. Hence, the lid can be compact for storage and transportation. A conical ball holder may also be used to retain the batting tee within one of the aforementioned channels. The conical ball holder is ideal for placement of a baseball, softball, wiffle ball or any other comparable ball that could be used with the baseball swing training aid of the present invention.  
         [0013]     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a baseball swing training aid ready for storage;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a partially exploded view of the baseball training aid, of  FIG. 1 , illustrating a tee stored within a container lid;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the lid shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the bottom of the lid shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of  FIG. 4 , showing the batting tee removed from the lid;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the lid and batting tee, prior to assembly into a second configuration for use;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is a further exploded perspective view similar to  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the tee placed on the lid;  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 8 , illustrating rotational engagement of the tee within the lid;  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  is a top view of the lid and tee assembly of  FIGS. 8 and 9 , further illustrating rotational engagement of the batting tee within the lid;  
         [0025]      FIG. 11  is a sectional view of the lid taken generally along the line  11 - 11  in  FIG. 9 , illustrating engagement of the tee to the lid prior to locking; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 12  is a sectional view similar to of  FIG. 11 , illustrating the tee locked to the lid to resist rotation therein.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the baseball swing training aid of the present invention is referred to generally by the reference number  20 .  FIG. 1  illustrates the baseball swing training aid  20  having a lid  22  and a housing  24 . The housing  24  includes an attachment member  26  for rotatably coupling a handle  28  to the housing  24 . The handle  28  is capable of rotating relative to the housing  24  and relative to the attachment member  26  by means of an aperture  30  located within the attachment member  26 . The handle  28  is symmetrically attached to the exterior of the housing  24  via a similar attachment member and corresponding aperture as hidden in  FIG. 1 . Moreover, the handle  28  pivots relative to the housing  24  over the lid  22 , and is preferably formed from a wire similar to, if not identical to, a wire handle commonly used with conventional paint cans. Such a handle  28  is of simple construction, lightweight and compact, which are all desirable features of the present invention. It is merely preferable that the handle  28  rotate relative to the housing  24  and corresponding lid  22  via the attachment member  26  and corresponding aperture  30 . A person of ordinary skill in art will readily recognize that a substantially rigid handle  28  is also compatible with the present invention. Such a rigid handle must allow the lid  22  to release from the housing  24  as described herein. Essentially, any variety of handle known in the art may be used with the present invention pending the lid  22  is releasable from the housing  24 .  
         [0028]     In a preferred embodiment, the lid  22  attaches to the housing  24  via a snap-fit, screw-tight, friction-fit or other comparable attachment or coupling known in the art.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing removal of the lid  22  from the housing  24 . A rim  32  of the housing  24  is configured to receive a channel  34  for effectively retaining the lid  22  relative to the housing  24 . This may entail that the lid  22  be slightly flexible so that the channel  34  fits snuggly to the rim  32  such that lid  22  remains substantially affixed to the housing  24  before removal therefrom. Alternatively, the channel  34  and corresponding rim  32  may include additional engagement slots (not shown) that enable the lid  22  to snap into the housing  24 . Alternatively, the channel  34  and corresponding rim  32  may be replaced by a pair of matching threads to enable the lid  22  to screw into the housing  24  to form a screw-tight seal.  
         [0029]     The housing  24  has an interior chamber  36  for storing a plurality of balls  38  therein. The balls  38  stored within the interior chamber  36  could encompass baseballs, softballs, basketballs, soccer balls, footballs, tennis balls, or virtually any other type of ball known in the art. Round balls  38 , as shown, are merely preferable. Likewise, the interior chamber  36  of the housing  24  is preferably used to store multiple baseballs or softballs for use with a batting tee  40  integral to the baseball swing training aid  20 . The interior chamber  36  does not need to leave room for the batting tee  40 . Instead, the batting tee  40  is stored completely within the lid  22  such that the batting tee  40  does not interfere with volume formed by the interior chamber  36  when the lid  22  is secured to the housing  24 . This advantageously frees space within the interior chamber  36  for storage of the balls  38 . This also allows the lid  22  to sufficiently fit or snap onto the corresponding housing  24  without interference of the items carried within the interior chamber  36 .  
         [0030]     As generally shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the batting tee  40  is stored integral to the lid  22 . As best shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the batting tee  40  snaps into a retainment channel  42 . The retainment channel  42  is a semi-spherical channel formed between a pair of location blocks  44 . A pair of upper edges  46  of the location blocks  44  are slightly deformable to allow the main body  48  of the batting tee  40  to snap into the retainment channel  42 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the width of the main body  48  is wider than the gap formed between the pair of upper edges  46  formed as part of the location blocks  44 . This ensures that when the lid  22  is affixed to the housing  24 , as previously described, the batting tee  40  stays retained between the location blocks  44 . Placing the batting tee  40  within the retainment channel  42  further facilitates the compact nature of the present invention. In essence, the batting tee  40  is non-obstructive to the contents of the interior chamber  36  of the housing  24 . In a preferred embodiment, the batting tee  40  remains substantially flush within the interior of the lid  22  as between the location blocks  44 .  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the batting tee  40  itself comprises a base  50  that engages the main body  48  via a coupler  52 . The coupler  52  may encompass a screw-type, snap-fit, or other coupling known in the art for securely attaching the base  50  to the main body  48 . The base  50  may be removably attached or fixedly attached to the main body  48 . As best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the batting tee  40  further includes an upper body  54  interconnected to the main body  48  via a cord  56 . The cord  56  allows the upper body  54  to remain attached to the main body  48  even after disconnecting the upper body  54  from the main body  48  via the connector  58 . The cord  56  enables the upper body  54  to bend at an angle relative to the main body  48  of the batting tee  40 . This design enables the batting tee  40  to further collapse for storage within the lid  22 , as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 . The batting tee  40  could also be designed wherein the upper body  54  is completely telescopingly received within the interior of the main body  48  such that the cord  56  and angular configuration of the lid  22  ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ) is not required. But, in the preferred embodiment, the upper body  54  has a diameter as large as, if not greater than, the main body  48 . This is important as the upper body  54  must be able to withstand direct contact with a baseball bat or other substantially rigid object used to strike the ball  38  ( FIG. 9 ).  
         [0032]     The assembled batting tee  40  is shown in  FIG. 7 . In this embodiment, the upper body  54  is snapped into or otherwise interconnected with the main body  48  via a connector  58 . This is accomplished by bending the upper body  54  about the substantially flexible elastomeric cord  56  for placement of the connector  58  into an upper portion  60  of the main body  48 . The connector  58  may encompass a variety of designs that include a snap-fit arrangement or other frictional or slide-fit mechanisms. The connector  58  is designed to allow the main body  48  to retain the upper body  54  in a substantially upright and rigid configuration as generally shown in  FIG. 7 . The important aspect is that the upper body  54  remains substantially retained in an upright position concentric with the main body  48 . Furthermore, the connector  58  is incorporated into the present invention to allow the batting tee  40  to be collapsed and retained within the retainment channel  42  formed between the location blocks  44  of the lid  22 . The batting tee  40  as shown in  FIGS. 3-5  provides a compact design that is easily portable.  
         [0033]     The upper body  54  of the batting tee  40  further includes a ball holder  62  integral thereto. The ball  38  is shown in phantom in  FIG. 9  as residing within the concave portion of the ball holder  62 . The ball holder  62  is preferably a cylindrical tube having an inverted frusto-conical end capable of receiving a variety of balls, as previously listed. Of course, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the ball holder  62  may be formed from any one of a variety of different configurations, shapes, or materials. Preferably, the ball holder  62  is made from rubber or plastic. Accordingly, the ball holder  62  slightly deforms to fit snugly within an upper body retainment chamber  64  when the batting tee  40  is placed within the retainment channel  42  of the lid  22 . The upper body retainment chamber  64  in combination with the retainment channel  42  ensures that the batting tee  40  remains within the lid  22  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , especially when the lid is turned upside down and connected to the housing  24 . This ensures that the batting tee  40  does not dislodge from either the retainment channel  42  or the upper body retainment chamber  64 . Thus, the batting tee  40  remains unobstructive to the volume formed by the interior chamber  36 . Accordingly, there is more room within the interior chamber  36  for storage of a plurality of balls  38  as generally shown in phantom in  FIG. 2 . Of course, the balls are individually removable from the interior chamber  36  of the housing  24  after the lid  22  is removed therefrom.  
         [0034]     The batting tee  40 , once fully assembled as shown in  FIG. 7 , is selectively movable between a retracted position and an extended position. Specifically, the main body  48  includes a selectably extendable extension  66  that may be telescopingly extracted from within the interior of the main body  48 . The telescoping extension  66  allows the batting tee  40  to be selectively movable to any one of a plurality of intermediate positions between the fully retracted position ( FIG. 6 ) and fully extended position ( FIG. 7 ). Accordingly, extracting the extension  66  from within the main body  48  enables a user to adjust the height of the ball holder  62  according to the size and needs of the user. The upper body  54  is held relative to the main body  48  by press-fit engagement or other mechanical means of retaining the upper body  54  relative to the main body  48 , such as by friction fit.  
         [0035]     As shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , the fully assembled batting tee  40  engages the lid  22  via the location blocks  44  for use. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the lid  22  includes a locking button  68  residing within the retainment channel  42 . The shaft of the batting tee  40  is concentrically located over the locking button  68  as generally shown in  FIG. 7 . The locking button  68  is depressable to enable the base  50  to slide into a pair of block channels  70  formed in the location blocks  44 . Absent depressing the locking button  68 , a pair of flanges  72  formed perpendicular to the base  50  would not otherwise fit into the block channels  70 .  
         [0036]     Once the base  50  depresses the locking button  68 , the entire batting tee  40  may be rotated counterclockwise as generally shown by the directional arrows in  FIG. 9 . In doing so, the base  50  and corresponding flanges  72  enter the block channels  70  for retention of the entire batting tee  40  therein. Of course, the lid  22  and corresponding block channels  70  may be configured such that clockwise rotation would engage the base  50  within the location blocks  44 .  FIG. 10  further illustrates the rotation of the base  50  from an initial position in the retainment channel  42  (identified in phantom) to the locked position wherein the base  50  is retained within each of the location blocks  44 . To lock the base  50  in the lid  22 , the base  50  is rotated to a pair of termination points  74  within the block channels  70 . Release of the depressed tee allows the locking button  68  to pop back up as shown generally between  FIGS. 11 and 12 . The base  50  and corresponding batting tee  40  is thereafter retained within the location blocks  44  for use of the batting tee  40 . The base  50  can only be disengaged by depressing the locking button  68 . Only then may the base  50  and corresponding flanges  72  rotate out from within the block channels  70 .  
         [0037]     The width of the lid  22  should be sufficient to prevent the attached batting tee  40  from tipping over during use. For example, the moment generated through contact of a bat or other apparatus against the ball holder  62  should not generate enough force to tip the batting tee  40  when attached to the lid  22 . The lid  22  could also be weighted, although not preferred, to counteract such a moment.  
         [0038]      FIG. 9  shows the ball holder  62  with a ball  38  thereupon. Placement of the ball  38  on the ball holder  62  allows the baseball swing training aid  20  to provide an easy and convenient way to practice batting. The ball holder  62  is preferably formed from a flexible material such as rubber, plastic, or the like so any bat contact with the ball holder  62  during a swing does not actually break the material comprising the ball holder  62 .  
         [0039]     The baseball swing training aid  20  of the present invention provides an easy and convenient way of storing a plurality of balls within a container without interference of the corresponding tee. The interlocking assembly of the lid  22  and the batting tee  40  shown in  FIG. 9  is easily and quickly disassembled by depressing the base  50  into the locking button  68  and rotating the batting tee  40  clockwise until the base  50  and corresponding flanges  72  exit the block channels  70 . The extension  66  is then telescopingly retracted back into the interior of the main body  48 . The upper body  54  is disengaged from the main body  48  via the connector  58 . The cord  56  allows the upper body  54  to bend relative to the main body  48  for angled placement back within the retainment channel  42  and corresponding upper body retainment chamber  64 . Once the batting tee  40  is re-engaged into the lid  22 , the lid  22  may be reconnected to the housing  24  for easy portability and storage for later use.  
         [0040]     While the baseball swing training aid  20  has been described in the context of a baseball or softball, the training aid  20  is equally applicable with other types of balls, including wiffle balls or the like.  
         [0041]     Although several embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited, except as by the appended claims.