Patent Publication Number: US-6340188-B1

Title: Tennis butler

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to a tennis ball retriever, and more particularly to a multi-purpose tennis ball hopper and caddy that holds all of the tennis equipment used during play and practice. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     It is well known to provide devices for carrying and/or picking up tennis balls. Such devices are widely used by instructors as well as by players. Examples of such devices are hoppers made of wire construction which are hand carried and lifted to a desired place on the tennis court. These hoppers carry as many as 30 to 100 balls and can be used to pick stray balls by positioning them over the balls and pressing the ball or balls against the wire construction. Another transport device is a cart that can hold twice as many balls and is pushed around the court. Alternatively, a ball retaining device may be worn by the player. 
     Various devices have in the past been developed as tennis ball retrievers. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,504 to Perez et al which discloses a container having a bottom wall with slotted apertures having thin parallel side edge members through which tennis balls can be squeezed. At least one edge member of each aperture includes a roller to reduce the frictional resistance to the entry of the ball through the aperture. A support is provided for supporting the container with the bottom wall spaced above the supporting surface to prevent wear on the bottom wall. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,948 to Slusarz discloses a tennis ball pack dispensing and retrieving apparatus while positioned on a player&#39;s back and retrieving balls in another mode of operation upon removal from the back. U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,297 to Hanks discloses a tennis ball retriever comprising a tube having an inlet through which a ball may pass, and a set of arcuate arms pivotally mounted to the tube adjacent the inlet for movement between positions of greater and lesser proximity to the interior walls of the tube. The arms are spring biased towards their position of lesser proximity where stop means are located. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,836 to Seewagen et al discloses a tennis ball retriever device comprising a receptacle having an open top and a substantially open bottom for holding a plurality of tennis balls. An access arrangement normally in substantially horizontal planar position is provided in the bottom of the receptacle for admitting tennis balls into the receptacle and for preventing balls from falling out. The access arrangement comprises an access device yieldable under the pressure of a tennis ball in a direction into the receptacle to permit the entry of a tennis ball and instantly returnable to prevent the egress of a tennis ball from the receptacle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,697 to Verde discloses a tennis ball retrieving storage container having a pair of handles hingedly fixed thereto which may be folded to a downwardly extending position supporting the container on a playing surface. The retrieving device includes a plurality of parallel rods extending across the bottom of the container. When folded upwardly, the handles of the container enable an operator to both carry and retrieve balls from a playing surface without bending or stooping. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,449 to Falitz discloses a tennis ball retriever having a handle in the form of a yoke and a pair of second engaging rings interconnected by spaced bars, one of which is removable to provide for access of tennis balls picked up through the spaced bars after rolling the rings along the ground. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,351 to Cuti discloses a tennis ball retriever and multi-purpose tennis ball hopper and caddy that holds all of the tennis equipment used during play and practice. 
     Conventional ball storage devices with handles provided on containers are limited to the single function of carrying the container around. It is generally desirable for the container to be adapted for retrieving the balls from the court surface without an undue amount of bending and stooping. While retrieving tennis balls containers are available, They possess certain inherent disadvantages which the present invention overcomes. 
     The present invention improves on the prior art by providing a multi-purpose tennis ball hopper, retriever and caddy contained within a convenient case which serves additional functions as a seat, a storage chamber, a secret container for valuables and is of molded construction. The present invention is cheaper and easier to manufacture and is more cosmetically appealing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an improved tennis ball retrieval and storage apparatus. In addition, the invention provides a multi-purpose tennis ball hopper, personal handy butler, (or caddy) that holds all of the tennis equipment used during play and practice. Some of the uses for the present invention include: 
     a small storage unit (including a secret compartment for valuables) designed as a holder for new and practice tennis balls and other related tennis play equipment, e.g., towel, sweat bands, etc.; 
     a convenient location for storage and attachment of soft bag containers suitable for personal items; 
     a lightweight practice serving caddy; 
     a tennis ball hopper that will pick up and hold up to 40 tennis balls; 
     a place to keep all of the tennis equipment handy together and organized during game play; 
     a space saver piece of sports equipment, that when the handle is retracted, will take up much less space than any other conventional tennis hoppers in use today; 
     a unisex and juniors product, designed for ease of use by men and women and juniors. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tennis ball retriever that is light in weight and simple of construction, capable of being manufactured out of readily available materials and which is efficient in use. 
     These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this tennis butler, a preferred embodiment of which has been shown in the accompanying drawings by way of example. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the tennis butler in its expanded position with the ball hopper open and storage bag attached. 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the tennis butler invention in its carrying mode. 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the invention in its inverted “ball retrieval” mode. 
     FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the ball retrieval “finger” device of the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view of the working components which comprise the handle locking and unlocking mechanism. 
     FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the underside of the leg pin locking gear. 
     FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the gear rack and leg pin locking gear. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout various views, reference numeral  10  generally designates the tennis butler constructed in accordance with the concept of the present invention. 
     The tennis butler  10  comprises several major parts including the outer case  11 , side closures  14  and  14 ′, base support  12 , fingers  13 , top  15  and sliding support tubes  17 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, the tennis butler is inverted in its normal stand-by position for use during play. Pouch  20  attached to face  21  is accessible, and sides  14  and  14 ′ are open giving access to storage space  22 . Legs  17  are in their extended position from within tubes  19  and are attached to top cap  15  at joints  18 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, the tennis butler is closed. Catch  23  is seen as side closure  14  is in its storage position. In this configuration, the tennis butler can be used as a seat and can be conveniently stored. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, the tennis butler is in its ball retrieval mode. Handle  15   a  in top  15  is attached to the tennis butler by extended legs  17 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, fingers  13  are arranged over space  22  to permit tennis balls to pass into space  22 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, the component parts for extending and locking legs  17  in either their open or stored positions are shown. Storage tubes  36  attached to mount  37  attach to cover  32  and cover  32  in turn attaches to base  31  creating a housing with internal space  40 . Gear rack  38  locates within space  40  and its rack  33  engages teeth  34  of gear  35 . It will be evident to one skilled in the art that by rotating gear  35 , gear rack  38  can be made to reciprocate within chamber  41  in the direction of arrows  38   a . Holes  30  and  30   a  provide positive stops for pins  42  (FIG. 7) and as gear  35  is turned, pins  42  are pushed into or out of holes  30 ,  30   a . This creates a locking mode for tubes  17  either in the stored position (holes  30   a ) or an extended position (holes  30 ). The mechanism described can be more clearly seen with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 which show the dynamic relationship between gear rack  38 , teeth  34  and gear  35 . 
     While the present tennis butler is generally designed as a better, more compact hopper, it has achieved a multi-function product. Most tennis ball hoppers are constructed of a heavy steel substance using a rubberized coating. The present invention has reduced the weight, which is approximately one half that of a normal hopper in weight and it has the added advantage of being constructed of molded plastic or other suitable material. The present invention is less cumbersome when stored or used than any other prior art hoppers. The present invention was designed with the idea that men, women or juniors may have ease of use. The preferred embodiment is constructed from lightweight molded plastic components which are designed for added strength by adding compound curves and radii to form a uni-body shell upon which adjustable features can be attached and stored. The use of a gear/rack and pin arrangement to lock and unlock the telescoping legs makes one hand activation and deployment possible. This feature is especially useful at the end of a practice session when the user can simply close up the body, invert the unit and, carrying it by the handle, pick up balls without bending. The product was designed for multi-purpose use, i.e. for practice and for playing tennis. The major difference is in the appearance, construction, function, weight, size, portability and completeness with multi-purpose use in mind.