Abstract:
A pitching machine includes a pedestal, a hopper, a guide channel connecting the hopper with a ball rack for guiding a ball in the hopper to the ball rack, and a ball hitting mechanism which includes a striking rod pivotally coupling with the pedestal, a resilient element for applying a pulling force against the striking rod to drive a lower end thereof towards the ball rack, and a striking rod drive mechanism. The striking rod drive mechanism drives the lower end of the striking rod backward, wherein when the striking rod is pivotally and backwardly moved at an utmost limit, the lower end of the striking rod is released, such that the lower end of the striking rod rapidly swings towards the ball rack for hitting the ball thereat. Therefore, the pitching machine is safe and easy to operate and brings convenience for batters.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the sporting equipment, and more particularly to a baseball or softball pitching machine. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Arts 
         [0004]    Baseball game is a sport requiring the cooperation of hands, head and legs. It not only improves player&#39;s health condition but also develop player&#39;s agility and response ability. However, the batting practice often requires a pitcher for pitching the baseball or a pitching machine. However, most dedicated pitching machines are too expensive to be afforded by some little league teams or the like. If a batter practices alone, the batter has to cast the baseball with one hand, and to adjust his or her pose to get ready to bat before the ball falls. The time is always too limited, so such self-practice is ineffective for the batters. 
         [0005]    To solve this problem, the invention with the Patent No. of CN2604208Y provides a pitching machine that can be operated by any batter alone. When a batter triggers the pitching machine, it will shoot out a ball after a period of delay to leave sufficient time for the batter to adjust his or her pose and get ready for batting. 
         [0006]    But, this pitching machine still has the following defects: 
         [0007]    Before pitching, the batter has to press the lever to engage it with the trigger board and then step on the pedal to trigger the pitching machine. It is quite complicated and inconvenient for the batter to press the lever while holding a bat and a ball at the same time. 
         [0008]    If the lever is pressed but the pedal is not stamped to release the lever for some reasons, the pitching machine is just as dangerous as a loaded gun and can easily hurt people, especially the children. 
         [0009]    The lever has to be pressed before every pitching, so it cannot realize constant feeding or automatic pitching of balls. Besides, it is inconvenient to install a guide channel on it. Therefore, it brings inconvenience for batters. 
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is the main object of the present invention to provide an automatic pitching machine which is safe and easy to operate and to shoot the balls constantly. 
         [0011]    Accordingly, a pitching machine in accordance with the present invention, comprises a pedestal, a guide channel, a ball rack, a ball hitting mechanism and a hopper. The outlet opening at the bottom of the hopper connects to the guide channel while the outlet opening of the guide channel connects to the ball rack. The ball hitting mechanism comprises a striking rod, a resilient element and a striking rod drive mechanism. The upper end of the striking rod is hinged on the pedestal and the lower end of the striking rod swings around the hinge point thereof. The resilient element pulls the lower end of the striking rod towards the ball rack. Driven by a motor, the striking rod drive mechanism drives the striking rod to swing backward by overcoming the elasticity of the resilient element. When the striking rod swings to the utmost limit against the resilient element, it is released by the striking rod drive mechanism and then pulled back by the resilient element to its original position, thereby hitting the ball out of the ball rack. 
         [0012]    The pitching machine further comprises a striking rod drive mechanism which comprises a drive sprocket, a driven sprocket, a chain and a chain support plate. The drive sprocket is driven by a motor. The chain support plate is mounted between the drive sprocket and the driven sprocket to support the lower half perimeter of the chain outwards in an arc-shape. On the circumference of the chain, there is one or two protrusive drive latches, which engage the protrusion on the striking rod in position and drive the striking rod to swing backwards against the resilient element when the drive latches roll from the upper to lower half perimeter of the chain. After passing the lower half perimeter of the chain, the drive latches disengage the protrusion and the resilient element rapidly pulls the striking rod back to its original position and swings forwards to hit the ball out of the ball rack. 
         [0013]    The pitching machine further comprises a feeding mechanism with an ejection plate reciprocating up and down in the sliding channel of the pedestal. The ejection plate is mounted under the outlet opening at the bottom of the hopper and driven by a motor through a crank connecting link or a rack and sector gear, with the upper end of the ejection plate extends into the hopper reciprocating up and down to free one of the balls from the hopper. 
         [0014]    The pitching machine further comprises a controlling mechanism, which comprises a poke rod, a drive wire and a controlling member. The poke rod is mounted on the pedestal with its middle part fixed through a pin, its one end connected to one end of stay wire in said drive wire, and its other end swept by the drive latch. The sheath of the drive wire is fixed on the pedestal, and one end of stay wire in the drive wire connects with the controlling member. The controlling member comprises a wheel seat which is fixed on the pedestal just under the outlet opening of the guide channel, and a star wheel equipped with an overrunning clutch. The star wheel and the overrunning clutch are mounted on the wheel seat through star-wheel shaft. The other end of stay wire in the drive wire connects with the outer shell of the overrunning clutch. Through the overrunning clutch, the stay wire drives the star wheel to forwardly rotate and the star wheel pushes the ball at the very bottom of the outlet opening of the guide channel towards the ball rack. When the stay wire gets loose, the overrunning clutch will bounce back to its original position under the force of the retracting spring. 
         [0015]    In the pitching machine, an adjusting pin on said wheel seat restricts the reversing rotation of the star wheel when the stay wire in the drive wire gets loose and the overrunning clutch is bounced back by the retracting spring. 
         [0016]    In the pitching machine, the striking rod drive mechanism of striking rod is a crank with a roller mounted on one end driven by a motor. When rotating clockwise along the crank, the roller engages the protrusion on striking rod in corresponding position and drives the striking rod to swing backwards by overcoming the elasticity of the spring. When the crank moves on, the roller disengages the protrusion and the striking rod is pulled back by the spring to its original position and then moves forwards to hit the ball out of the ball rack. 
         [0017]    The pitching machine comprises a feeding mechanism which includes an L-shape ejection plate, an axis and an ejection rod. The axis goes through the bearing holes on the right side plate of pedestal, with one end mounted with the L-shape ejection plate and the other end with the ejection rod. As the crank rotates every circle, it presses the ejection rod downwards and levers the L-shape ejection plate on the other end of the axis upwards. The top end of the L-shape ejection plate extends into the hopper to free one of the balls from the hopper. 
         [0018]    The pitching machine comprises a controlling mechanism. The controlling mechanism comprises a stop plate that is mounted between the outlet opening of the guide channel and the ball rack, a sliding channel on pedestal, and a control rod sliding in the slide-way. The control rod connects with the stop plate. When the striking rod swings backwards, its lower end pushes the control rod backwards which makes the stop plate rotate or move, thus clearing the passage between the outlet opening and the ball rack. 
         [0019]    In the pitching machine, the bottom of the hopper is designed sloping with the outlet opening at the lowest point. 
         [0020]    The pitching machine comprises an angle control device that is mounted on the rear end of the pedestal. By rotating the adjusting screws, the batter can change the terracing clearance of base plate on the rear of pedestal and thus change the ball pitching angle. 
         [0021]    The pitching machine illustrated in the present invention constantly supplies balls from the hopper to the ball rack through a guide channel. Its ball hitting mechanism is driven by a motor and can pitch balls constantly. The pitching machine is safe and easy to operate, and brings convenience for batters. 
         [0022]    These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0023]    The present invention will be illustrated in detail through the following figures and embodiments. 
           [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pitching machine according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the pitching machine according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which a rod stays in the striking position. 
           [0026]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the pitching machine according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which a rod stays in ready-to-strike position. 
           [0027]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the pitching machine according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the feeding mechanism and controlling mechanism of the pitching machine according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a top sectional view of the pitching machine according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0030]      FIG. 7  is a side sectional view of the pitching machine according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the first position of the striking rod. 
           [0031]      FIG. 8  is a side sectional view of the pitching machine according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the second position of the striking rod. 
           [0032]      FIG. 9  is a side sectional view of the pitching machine according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the third position of the striking rod. 
           [0033]      FIG. 10  is a side sectional view of the pitching machine according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the ejection plate of the pitching machine. 
           [0034]      FIG. 11  is a side sectional view of the pitching machine according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which two drive latches of the striking rod are moving towards a deflector rod. 
           [0035]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0036]      FIG. 13  is a rear perspective view of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0037]      FIG. 14  is another rear perspective view of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0038]      FIG. 15  is a top view of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0039]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the controlling member of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0040]      FIG. 17  is an exploded view of the controlling member of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0041]      FIG. 18  is another exploded view of the controlling member of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0042]      FIG. 19  is a first schematic diagram of the controlling mechanism of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0043]      FIG. 20  is a second schematic diagram of the controlling mechanism of the pitching machine according to the above third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0044]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , a pitching machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the pitching machine comprises a pedestal, a guide channel  4 , a ball rack  20 , a hopper  5 , and a ball hitting mechanism. The pedestal includes a base plate  1 , a left side plate  2 , and a right side plate  3 . To ensure all the balls in the hopper  5  can flow along the guide channel  4  to the ball rack  20 , the bottom of the hopper  5  has a funnel shape that the bottom thereof is extended inclinedly and the outlet opening of the hopper  5  is formed at the lowest point of the bottom of the hopper  5 . The outlet opening of the hopper  5  is connected to the guide channel  4 , and the outlet opening of the guide channel  4  is connected to the ball rack  20 . When the hopper  5  is filled up with balls, it can constantly supply the balls to ball rack  20  to retain the ball at the ball rack  20 . The ball hitting mechanism comprises a striking rod  6 , a resilient element  7  such as a spring, and a striking rod drive mechanism. The upper end of the striking rod  6  is hinged on the left side plate  2  at a hinge point  6   a , and the lower end of the striking rod  6  swings around the hinge point  6   a . The resilient element  7  is mounted at the pedestal at a position in front of the striking rod  6  for applying a pulling force to pull the lower end of the striking rod  6  towards the ball rack  20 . Driven by a motor  8 , the striking rod drive mechanism drives the striking rod  6  to swing backwards by overcoming the elasticity of the resilient element  7 . When the striking rod  6  swings to the utmost limit against the resilient element  7 , it is released by the striking rod drive mechanism and then pulled back by the resilient element  7  to its original position, thereby hitting the ball  21  out of the ball rack  20 . 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the striking rod drive mechanism illustrated in a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a drive sprocket  12 , a driven sprocket  9 , an endless chain  10  continually moving in a loop manner and a chain support plate  11 . The drive sprocket  12  is driven by the motor  8  in cooperation with bevel gears  13  and  14 . The chain support plate  11  is mounted between the drive sprocket  12  and the driven sprocket  9 , wherein the lower half perimeter of the chain  10  is deformed to have an arc shape that the curvature thereof is formed with respect to the hinge point  6   a  as its center. On the circumference of the chain  10 , there are two (or one) protrusive drive latches  10   a  outwardly protruding from the chain  10 , which engage the protrusions  6   b  on the striking rod  6  in position and drive the striking rod  6  to swing backwards against the resilient element  7  when the drive latches  10   a  roll from the upper to lower half perimeter of the chain  10 . After passing the lower half perimeter of the chain  10 , the drive latches  10   a  are disengaged from the protrusion  6   b , i.e. the utmost limit of the striking rod  6 , and the resilient element  7  rapidly pulls the striking rod  6  back to its original position and swings forwards to hit the ball  21  out of the ball rack  21 . 
         [0046]    The pitching machine illustrated in a first embodiment of the present invention further comprises a feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism comprises a geared sector  15 , which is driven by the motor  8  through the bevel gears  13  and  14 , and an ejection plate  16  with rack. The ejection plate  16  is perpendicularly mounted under the outlet opening of the bottom of hopper  5 , and guided by two rollers  17  on the left side plate  2  of the pedestal. Two rollers  17  define the guide channel  4  in the straightaway of the ejection plate  16 . The geared sector  15  drives the ejection plate  16  to move up and down in the slide way formed by two rollers  17  once every circle it rotates. The upper end of the ejection plate  16  extends into the hopper  5  and reciprocates up and down to free one of the balls  21  from the hopper  5  to flow along the guide channel  4 . 
         [0047]    The pitching machine illustrated in a first embodiment of the present invention further comprises a controlling mechanism. The controlling mechanism comprises a stop plate  18  mounted between the outlet opening of the guide channel  4  and the ball rack  20 , a sliding channel  19  on pedestal, and a control rod  22  sliding in the sliding channel  19 . The control rod  22  connects with the stop plate  18  through a joint plate  23 . The middle part of the stop plate  18  engages the left side plate  2  on pedestal. When the striking rod  6  swings backwards, its lower end pushes the control rod  22  backwards which makes the stop plate  18  rotate, thus clearing the passage between the outlet opening and the ball rack  20  to let the ball in the guide channel  4  roll into the ball rack  20 . After the striking rod  6  disengages the control rod, the stop plate  18  will bounce back to its original position under the force of the resilient element  7 . Each time the striking rod  6  only hits one ball, and before it swings back for the next hitting the stop plate  18  is opened just once to let one ball in at a time, thereby preventing balls from getting stuck. 
         [0048]    The pitching machine illustrated in a first embodiment of the present invention further comprises an angle control device mounted on the rear end of the pedestal. The angle control device comprises a top beam  24  mounted underneath the base plate  1 , a bottom beam  25 , and an equilateral trapezoid formed by two side plates  26 . The top beam  24  is fixed on the base plate of pedestal, and the bottom beam  25  is mounted with ground attachments. Adjusting screws  27  are fastened on both ends of the bottom beam  25  and connect with the lower ends of side plates  26 . By rotating the adjusting screws  27 , the batter can adjust a level of the top beam  24  with respect to the bottom beam  25  and change the oblique angle of side plates  26  and thus change the ball pitching angle. 
         [0049]    The difference between the pitching machine illustrated in a second embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 7 to 10  and a first embodiment is as follows: The striking rod drive mechanism of the striking rod  6  is a crank  28  with a roller  28   a  mounted on one end driven by the motor  8 . When rotating clockwise along the crank  28 , the roller  28   a  engages the protrusion  6   b  on the striking rod  6  in the direction of the right side plate on pedestal and drives the striking rod  6  to swing backwards by overcoming the elasticity of the resilient element  7 . When the crank  28  moves on, the roller  28   a  disengages the protrusion  6   b  and the striking rod  6  is pulled back by the resilient element  7  to its original position and then moves forwards to hit the ball  21  out of the ball rack  20 . 
         [0050]    The pitching machine illustrated in a second embodiment of the present invention further comprises a feeding mechanism which comprises an L-shape ejection plate  29 , an axis and an ejection rod  30 . The axis goes through the bearing holes on the right side plate  2  of pedestal, with one end mounted with the L-shape ejection plate  29  and the other end with the ejection rod  30 . As the crank  28  rotates every cycle in a circular manner, the respective end of the crank  28  with the roller  28   a  presses the ejection rod  30  downwards and levers the L-shape ejection plate  29  on the other end of the axis upwards. The top end of the L-shape ejection plate  29  extends into the hopper to free one of the balls from the hopper. 
         [0051]      FIGS. 10 to 20  illustrate a third embodiment of the present invention. Identical with the structural principle of a first embodiment, the principal part in a third embodiment also comprises a pedestal, a guide channel  4 , a ball rack  20 , a hopper  5 , and a ball hitting mechanism. The pedestal includes a base plate  1 , a left side plate  2 , and a right side plate  3 . The ball hitting mechanism comprises a striking rod  6 , a resilient element  7  and a striking rod drive mechanism. The striking rod drive mechanism comprises a drive sprocket  12 , a driven sprocket  9 , a chain  10  and a chain support plate  11 . 
         [0052]    The major difference between the first and the third embodiments lies in the controlling mechanism, feeding mechanism and angle control section. 
         [0053]    The feeding mechanism in the third embodiment includes an ejection plate  16  that is mounted under the outlet opening of the bottom of the hopper  5  and driven by the motor  8  to reciprocate up and down in the sliding channel of pedestal. The momentum output by the motor  8  is faded first by the bevel gears  13  and  14  and then by a pair of cylindrical gears  31  and  32 . A crank  33  on the cylindrical gear  32  actuates a connecting rod  34  which then drives the ejection plate  16  to reciprocate up and down in the sliding channel of pedestal. The top end of the ejection plate  16  moves up and down in the hopper  5  to free one of the balls from the hopper  5  such that the ball is guided to flow along the guide channel  4  smoothly without getting stuck. 
         [0054]    The controlling mechanism illustrated in a third embodiment of the present invention comprises a poke rod  36 , a drive wire  37  and a controlling member. The poke rod  36  is mounted on the left side plate  2  of a support  39  with its middle part fixed through a pin  38  and its one end connected to the top end of stay wire in the drive wire  37 . The other end of the poke rod  36  goes through the left side plate  2  and is swept by the drive latch  10   a  on the chain  10 . The top end of the sheath of the drive wire  37  is fixed on the support  39 , and the lower end is connected to a support  40  behind a wheel seat. The lower end of the stay wire in the drive wire  37  connects with the controlling mechanism, which comprises a wheel seat  41  and a star wheel  42  equipped with an overrunning clutch  43  coaxially coupled with the star wheel  42 . The wheel seat  41  is fixed on the base plate  1  and located under the outlet opening of the guide channel  4 . The star wheel  42  and the overrunning clutch  43  are mounted on the wheel seat  41  through a star-wheel shaft  44 . The lower end of the stay wire in drive wire  37  is connected through screws with the outer shell of the overrunning clutch  43  on which the retracting spring  45  is hitched. As the chain  10  rotates, the drive latch  10   a  impels the back end of the poke rod  36  to drive the poke rod  36  start rotating, and meantime impels the front end of the poke rod  36  to pull out the stay wire in the drive wire  37 . When the stay wire in the lower end of the drive wire  37  retracts, it drives the star wheel  42  having four flutes to forwardly rotate  1 / 4  circle through the overrunning clutch  43  and to push a ball to roll from the guide channel to the ball rack  20 . Meantime, another ball in the guide channel  4  enters the star wheel  42  and waits in the guide channel for the next hitting. In other words, the subsequent ball is stopped by the star wheel  42  and is waiting for next rotation of the star wheel  42  to be pushed to the ball rack  20 . When the drive latch  10   a  passes the back end of the poke rod  36 , the stay wire in the drive wire  37  gets loose of the tension and the retracting spring  45  drives the outer shell of the overrunning clutch  43  to reversely rotate and return to its original position waiting for the next forward rotation of star wheel. At that time, an elastic adjusting pin  46  on the wheel seat  41  restrains the star wheel  42  from reversely rotating following the overrunning clutch  43 , so each time when the drive latch  10   a  pushes the poke rod  36 , the star wheel  42  supplies a ball to the ball rack  20 . 
         [0055]    As shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the angle control device in the pitching machine illustrated in a third embodiment of the present invention is much simpler. It is also mounted on the rear of the pedestal and comprises a base plate  1 , a bottom beam  25 , adjusting nuts  47  spacedly coupling between the base plate  1  and the bottom beam  25 , and bearing springs  48  spacedly supported between the base plate  1  and the bottom beam  25 . Ground attachments are fastened in the lower part of the bottom beam  25  and adjusting bolts are fastened in the upper part. By rotating the adjusting nuts  47 , the batter can selectively adjust a level of the base plate  1  with respect to the bottom beam  25  and change the terracing clearance of base plate  1  on the rear of pedestal and thus change the ball pitching angle. 
         [0056]    One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting. 
         [0057]    It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.