Abstract:
A ball sports practice device is disclosed having a forward facing ball capture enclosure and a rear facing rebound structure. The angle between the ball capture enclosure and the rebound structure may be adjusted to support the device to a plurality of use positions on a support surface. An optional support arm may be included to maintain or limit the angle between the capture enclosure and the rebound structure.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to sports goals and ball return devices for sports and, more particularly, to a combination multi-sports net and rebounder. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various types of netted enclosures for use as sports goals or capture devices are known in the art. Such devices typically include a loose fitting net which is draped about a frame to create an enclosure which is open to the front. Balls are directed into the enclosure during game play or practice drills. Other devices for rebounding balls are also known in the art. These devices typically include an elastic net which is stretched taut about a frame, creating a rebound or “pitchback” effect when balls are directed into the net. 
     An improved system which functions as both a ball capture device and a rebounder is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect, the present disclosure includes a ball sports practice device comprising a forward facing ball capture enclosure and a rear facing ball rebound structure. The capture enclosure comprises a first frame having a substantially rectangular front opening to an interior capture area. The interior capture area is defined by a substantially vertical rear capture surface and two vertical side capture surfaces extending outward on opposing sides of said rear capture surface. The rebound structure is arranged on the device on the side opposite the capture area of said first frame and comprises a second frame attached to the first frame and a rebound net stretched across the second frame. The capture enclosure and the rebound structure define an angle between them which may be adjusted to support the device at a plurality of use positions on a support surface. 
     Preferably the ball sports practice device can be used as a soccer or other ball sport goal or as a ball rebound device. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide an improved sports ball capture and rebound device. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent from the detailed drawings and descriptions provided herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 . is a front right-side perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front left-side perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a front left-side perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with targets. 
         FIG. 4  is a rear perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in an upright position. 
         FIG. 5  is a rear perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in a lowered position. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in an upright position. 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged view of the front wheel portion of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in the upright position. 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in the transport position. 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged view of the front wheel portion of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in the transport position. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations, modifications, and further applications of the principles being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
       FIGS. 1-9  depict an example embodiment of a ball sports practice device, denoted generally by the numeral  100 , comprising a front ball capture enclosure  110  and a rear rebound structure  204 . The enclosure  110  and rebound structure  204  are supported by a front frame  114  and a rear frame  206 , respectively. The front frame  114  and rear frame  206  are adjustable, for example via a pivotal connection using upper hinges  118  and  120 . The hinges  118  and  120  allow the angle θ between the axis  211  of rebound structure  204  and axis  213  of enclosure  110  (see  FIG. 6 ) to be adjusted. 
     In some embodiments, support arms  240  and  242  extend downward from the approximate vertical midpoints of sidemembers  212  and  214  of the rear frame  206  as shown. Adjustable locking hinges  244  and  246  connect the support arms  240  and  242  to the sidemembers  212  and  214 . The angle of the support arms  240  and  242  maintains or limits the angle θ when the device  100  is in a use position as shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . The front and rear frames  114  and  206  may be constructed from metal, plastic, composite, or any other suitably rigid material. 
     The term “surface” as used herein with respect to components of the device  100  shall be understood to mean any continuous or non-continuous boundary material, including, but not limited to, fabric, mesh, netting, chain link, or the like. It shall be understood that the terms “front,” “forward,” and “rear” as used herein are for convenient reference only and do not define an overall placement or orientation of the device  100  with respect to a user. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the front frame  114  includes sidemembers  140 ,  142 ,  144 ,  146 ,  148  and  150 . Sidemembers  140  and  142  are generally vertical and orthogonally connected to the front ends  141  and  143  of horizontal sidemembers  148  and  150 , respectively. Sidemember  144  is connected at an angle between sidemembers  140  and  148  as shown, thereby creating a generally triangular side area  160 . Likewise, sidemember  146  is connected at an angle between sidemembers  142  and  150  as shown, to create a generally triangular side area  162 . Upper and lower horizontal crossmembers  152  and  154  are orthogonally connected between the upper and lower ends of sidemembers  140  and  142 , respectively, as shown. The individual members  140 ,  142 ,  144 ,  146 ,  148  and  150  may be permanently attached together (e.g., by welding or forming as a unitary piece) or attached together using appropriate fasteners for easier packaging and storage. 
     Netted portions  180  and  182  are wrapped around the generally triangular side areas  160  and  162 , respectively to create side capture surfaces  184  and  186  respectively. In addition, fabric portion  188  extends between the sidemembers  144  and  146  to create a rear capture surface  190 . Together, the capture surfaces  184 ,  186  and  190  define an interior capture area  191 . In a preferred embodiment, the side capture surfaces  184  and  186  comprise an open net material and the rear capture surface  190  comprises a heavier tarp material which is loosely fitted to allow captured balls to drop down instead of forcefully rebounding. However, the capture surfaces  184 ,  186  and  190  may also be constructed of other materials including netting, fabric, plastic, wood, metal and the like. As the incoming balls drop down after striking the rear capture surface  190 , they will be directed outward toward the user due to the downward and outward angle of the rear capture surface  190  and the sidemembers  144  and  146 . 
     In certain embodiments, the capture side capture surfaces  184  and  186  and rear capture surface  190  are sewn or otherwise attached together as a single unit. This allows the front edges of the side capture surfaces  184  and  186  to be attached to the sidemembers  140  and  142 , respectively, thereby eliminating the need to attach the rear capture surface  190  directly to the sidemembers  144  and  146 . In other embodiments, the capture surfaces  184 ,  186  and  190  may be provided as separate pieces and attached to the front frame  114  individually. 
     The side capture surfaces  184  and  186  are preferably attached to the sidemembers  140  and  142  using sleeves  181  and  183 . In one embodiment, the sleeves  181  and  183  include hook-and-loop fasteners, buttons, ties, or other appropriate securing devices which enable the sleeves  181  and  183  to be wrapped around the sidemembers  140  and  142  and secured as shown. In other embodiments, where the sidemembers  140  and  142  are separable from the front frame  114 , the sleeves  181  and  183  may be slid onto the sidemembers  140  and  142  prior to installation. 
     A slack curtain  194  may be optionally included to further dampen the force of incoming balls as they enter the capture area  110 . The slack curtain  194  is preferably attached to the upper cross member  152  using sleeve  197  and hangs freely as shown  FIG. 2 . When not in use, the slack curtain  194  may be lifted up and laid over the top of rebound structure  204  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 . This also has the effect of creating a top capture surface  198  to assist in capturing incoming balls. The slack curtain  194  is preferably constructed from a heavy fabric or tarp material to increase the damping effect, although other lighter or heavier materials may be utilized depending on the degree of damping desired. It shall be understood that the slack curtain  194  may be constructed as a continuous piece or as a mesh or net. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , one or more targets  195  may be optionally included to provide further guidance for the user when kicking or throwing balls into the capture enclosure  110 . In one embodiment, the targets  195  are suspended from the upper crossmember  152 . In other embodiments, the targets  195  may be attached to the slack curtain  194  or to the rear capture surface  190 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the rebound structure  204  comprises a rebound surface  205  stretched about the rear frame  206 . The rebound surface  205  preferably comprises netting, although other types of materials may be used, such as woven fabric. Rear frame  206  comprises sidemembers  212  and  214 , and upper and lower crossmembers  216  and  218 . The upper ends  220  and  222  of sidemembers  212  and  214  are connected to the rear ends  149  and  151  of sidemembers  148  and  150  by hinges  118  and  120  respectively. 
     The rebound surface  205  is preferably attached to rear frame  206  using hooks  230  inserted into holes  231 . The rebound surface  205  is sized such that when attached to the frame  206 , it will become rigid or taut to create a forceful rebound effect on incoming balls. In the illustrated embodiment, elastic cording  232  is woven taut between the outer edges of the rebound surface  205  and the hooks  230  as shown to increase the rebound effect. 
     As mentioned above, support arms  240  and  242  extend downward from the approximate vertical midpoints of sidemembers  212  and  214 , respectively, with lower crossmember  243  connecting the support arms  240  and  242  for stability as shown. In a preferred embodiment, hinges  244  and  246  connect the support arms  240  and  242  to the sidemembers  212  and  214 . The hinges  244  and  246  may also be configured to lock at one more selected angles, for example using locking pins. It shall be understood that other types of adjustable locking hinges or angle locking mechanisms may also be used to adjust, maintain or limit the angle of support arms  240  and  242  relative to rear frame  206 . 
     Wheels  260  and  262  are preferably attached to the lower ends of the sidemembers  212  and  214  to allow the bottom of the rear frame  206  to move freely as the angle of the rebound structure  204  is transitioned between use positions, for example from an upright use position (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) to a more horizontal use position (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) and vice versa. Due to the action of hinges  118  and  120 , gravitational force will tend to spread the bottom of rear frame  206  and the bottom of front frame  114  laterally further apart (thereby increasing the angle θ between axis  213  and axis  211  as shown in  FIG. 6 ). The support arms  240  and  242 , when angularly fixed relative to the rear frame  214 , will only allow the spreading to occur until a point at which the bottom of the support arms  240  and  242  make contact with the support surface  10 , such as the ground or floor. 
     It shall be understood that other mechanisms may be used to control or limit the spreading action. For example, instead of contacting the ground, the lower ends of the support arms  240  and  242  may be attached directly to the sidemembers  140  and  142 , respectively. In other embodiments, adjustable chains, straps, or bars may be connected between the front frame  114  and the rear frame  206 . 
     Wheels  141  and  143  may be optionally provided near the lower ends of the sidemembers  140  and  142  of the front frame  114 . However, unlike wheels  260  and  262 , wheels  141  and  143  are preferably positioned such that there is a vertical gap  12  (as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 ) between the bottom edge  149  of the front frame  114  and the wheels  141  and  143  when the device  100  is in a use position. Therefore, the bottom edge  149  of the front frame  114  will be in contact with the support surface  10  to provide stability and help prevent the device  100  from laterally sliding during use. When installed on a natural grass or dirt support surface, the lower edge  149  may sink slightly into the support surface  10 , allowing the wheels  141  and  143  to contact the support surface  10 , however the bottom edge  149  of the front frame  114  will still provide stability and prevent the wheels  141  and  143  from rolling. 
     To transport the device  100 , the user pulls forward on the upper portion of the front frame  114  until the wheels  141  and  143  make contact with the support surface  10  as shown in  FIG. 8 . As the front frame  114  tilts forward, the rear frame  206  will collapse into the front frame  114 , further reducing the amount of force required for the user to tilt the device  100  into the transport position. Due to the location of the wheels  141  and  143  relative to the lower edge  149  of the front frame  114 , the lower edge  149  will raise off the ground  10  as wheels  141  and  143  make contact with the support surface  10  as shown in  FIG. 8 . Once supported by the wheels  141  and  143 , the device  100  can be safely rolled along the support surface  10  for transport. 
     In certain embodiments, the lower end of the sidemembers  140  and  142  may include knee portions  145  and  147  which are angled downward and rearward from the sidemembers  140  and connect to the bottom ends of the sidemembers  144  and  146  as shown. The angle of the knee portions provides clearance and allows the wheels  141  and  143  to be raised above the support surface when the device  100  is in use. Yet the knee portions provide the effect of decreasing the degree to which the user must tilt the front frame  114  in order for the wheels  141  and  143  to be lowered into contact with the support surface  10  for transport. The use of the knee portions  145  and  147  also allows for the lower portions of the side capture surfaces  184  and  186  to be increased, providing a more effective capture effect for balls directed to the lower portions of the enclosure  110 . 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.