Patent Publication Number: US-2015087445-A1

Title: Ball Stopping Net

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a ball stopping net. More particularly, this invention relates to a propping device for ball stopping net, which can hold the net with a simple structure strongly. 
     Surely there may be a plenty of possible improvements in the conventional ball stopping net. 
     Accordingly, a need for a propping device for ball stopping net has been present for a long time considering the expansive demands in the everyday life. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention contrives to solve the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a ball stopping net. 
     An aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net comprising a loop, four fabric corner-holders, four fabric side-holders, two propping poles, two fold-butting poles, two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics, and a net. 
     The loop has a top portion, two side portions, and a bottom portion. 
     The four fabric corner-holders are provided at four corners of the loop and configured to hold and make a substantially rectangular shape when deployed. 
     The four fabric side-holders are provided at four sides on the loop and configured to hold the four sides on the loop. 
     Each of the two propping poles comprises an upper end and a lower end, and the upper end engages with a first queuing hole provided at an upper point of a corresponding fabric side-holder of the loop and the lower end is anchored on a ground point behind the loop. 
     Each of the two fold-butting poles comprises a first arm and a second arm engaging each other with a hinge, and the first arm engages with a second queuing hole provided at a lower point of a corresponding fabric side-holder of the loop and the second arm is connected to a lower point of a corresponding propping pole rotatably, such that the hinge is configured to be folded and straightened. 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics has three queuing sides and three plain sides alternatingly, and each of the three queuing sides is configured to hold one of the side portion of the loop, the propping poles, and the fold-butting pole that are queued through the queuing side of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric. 
     The net with edges is attached to the loop, the net being configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile therein. 
     The queuing sides holding the loop may be provided in fixed forms. 
     The queuing sides holding the propping pole and the fold-butting pole may be provided detachably. 
     Each of the queuing sides holding the propping pole and the fold-butting pole may comprise a queuing hole provided through an edge of the queuing side. 
     The hexagonal-shaped holding fabric may have length for each of the six sides so as to make the ball stopping net is stable when deployed and impacted by a ball with a predetermined force or less. 
     The ball stopping net may further comprise a connecting bar configured to connect the lower end of the two propping poles. 
     The loop may be collapsible. 
     Each one of the first and second queuing holes may further comprise a stopper connected to the fabric side-holder, and the stopper has a stopping hole where the end of the poles are received and held in place. 
     Each of the fold-butting poles may be folded upward only. 
     Alternatively, each of the fold-butting poles may be folded downward only. 
     Another aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net comprising a loop, propping poles, fold-butting poles, hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics, and a net. 
     The loop has a top portion and two side portion. 
     Each of the two propping poles comprises an upper end and a lower end, and the upper end is curved and engaged rotatably with a mid point of a corresponding side portion of the loop. 
     Each of the two fold-butting poles comprises a first arm and a second arm engaging each other with a hinge, and the first arm is connected to a lower point of the loop rotatably and the second arm is connected to a lower point of a corresponding propping pole rotatably, such that the hinge is configured to be folded and straightened. 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics has three queuing sides and three plain sides alternatively, and each of the three queuing sides is configured to hold one of the side portion of the loop, the propping poles, and the fold-butting pole that are queued through the queuing side of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric. 
     The net with edges is attached to the loop, and the net is configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile therein. 
     The queuing sides holding the loop and the propping pole may be provided in fixed forms. 
     The queuing side holding the fold-butting pole may be provided detachably. 
     The hexagonal-shaped holding fabric may have length for each of the six sides so as to make the loop and the propping poles form an angle smaller than 90 degrees when deployed. 
     The upper arm of the propping pole may meet the loop about with a right angle. 
     The ball stopping net may further comprise a connecting bar configured to connect the lower end of the two propping poles. 
     The loop may be collapsible. 
     The loop may further comprise a top-holding flap, and the top-holding flap comprises two corner pipe hook portions for fixing to two top corners of the loop. 
     Each of the fold-butting poles may be folded upward only. 
     Each of the fold-butting poles may be folded downward only. 
     Another aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net comprising a main frame, propping poles, fold-butting poles, hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics, and a net. 
     The main frame has a top portion and two side portion. 
     Each of the two propping poles comprises an upper end and a lower end, and the upper end is curved and engaged rotatably with a mid point of a corresponding side portion of the main frame. 
     Each of the two fold-butting poles comprises a first arm and a second arm engaging each other with a hinge, and the first arm is connected to a lower point of the main frame rotatably and the second arm is connected to a lower point of a corresponding propping pole rotatably, such that the hinge is configured to be folded and straightened. 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics has three queuing sides and three plain sides alternatingly, and each of the three queuing sides is configured to hold one of the side portion of the main frame, the propping poles, and the fold-butting pole that are queued through the queuing side of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric. 
     The net with edges is attached to the main frame, and configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile therein. 
     The queuing sides holding the main frame and the propping pole may be provided in fixed forms. 
     The queuing side holding the fold-butting pole may be provided detachably. 
     The hexagonal-shaped holding fabric may have length for each of the six sides so as to make the main frame and the propping poles form an angle smaller than 90 degrees when deployed. 
     The upper arm of the propping pole may meet the main frame about with a right angle. 
     The ball stopping net may further comprise a connecting bar configured to connect the lower end of the two propping poles. 
     Each of the fold-butting poles may be folded upward only. Alternatively, each of the fold-butting poles may be folded downward only. 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics may comprise an elastic fabric portion, and each of the three queuing sides comprises a pipe hook. 
     The net may comprises: two grounding hole through which a bottom end of one of the side portions is queued and fixed to a ground; and a plurality of hooks, each of which being configured to be detachably hooked around a corresponding one of a plurality of ring-shaped grooves provided around the main frame. 
     The advantages of the present invention are: (1) the ball stopping net provides a sturdy structure; and (2) the ball stopping net is easy to install and maintain. 
     Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a ball stopping net according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a connection between a lower end and a main frame; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a hook according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a pipe hook before engaging according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a pipe hook after engaging according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing fold-butting poles when extended and lock in place; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing fold-butting poles when folded downward; 
         FIG. 8  is a top view showing a hexagonal-shaped holding fabric according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a top view showing a hexagonal-shaped holding fabric with a detachable side according to another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a ball stopping net according to another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a hexagonal-shaped holding fabric in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing a stopper in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view showing a ball stopping net according to still another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view showing a hexagonal-shaped holding fabric installed in an upper position with fold-butting poles when extended and lock in place according to still another embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view showing a hexagonal-shaped holding fabric installed in a lower position with fold-butting poles when extended and lock in place according to still another embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a ball stopping net, which can be installed and maintained conveniently. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 10-13 , an aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net  200  comprising a loop  210 , four fabric corner-holders  220 , four fabric side-holders  230 , two propping poles  240 , two fold-butting poles  250 , two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  260 , and a net  270 . 
     The loop  210  has a top portion, two side portions, and a bottom portion. Even though they are not numbered in the figures, the top, side, and bottom portions are for indicating the locations of corresponding portions and evident from their names. 
     The four fabric corner-holders  220  are provided at four corners of the loop  210  and configured to hold and make a substantially rectangular shape when deployed as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     The four fabric side-holders  230  are provided at four sides on the loop  210  and configured to hold the four sides on the loop  210  as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     Each of the two propping poles  240  comprises an upper end and a lower end, and the upper end engages with a first queuing hole  232  provided at an upper point of a corresponding fabric side-holder  230  of the loop  210  and the lower end is anchored on a ground point behind the loop  210 . 
     Each of the two fold-butting poles  250  comprises a first arm and a second arm engaging each other with a hinge, and the first arm engages with a second queuing hole  234  provided at a lower point of a corresponding fabric side-holder  230  of the loop  210  and the second arm is connected to a lower point of a corresponding propping pole  240  rotatably, such that the hinge is configured to be folded and straightened as shown in  FIGS. 6 ,  7 , and  10 . 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  260  has three queuing sides and three plain sides alternatingly, and each of the three queuing sides is configured to hold or fixed to one of the side portion or fabric side-holder  230  enclosing the loop  210 , the propping poles  240 , and the fold-butting pole  250  that are queued through the queuing side of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric  260  as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     The net  270  with edges is attached to the loop  210  or the four fabric corner-holders  220  and the four fabric side-holders  230  enclosing the loop  210 , and the net  270  is configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile like a ball therein. 
     The queuing side  262  holding the fabric side-holder  230  enclosing the loop  210  may be provided in fixed forms, for example, by sewing. Of course, the fixing method is not limited to that. 
     The queuing sides  264 ,  266  holding the propping pole  240  and the fold-butting pole  250  may be provided detachably as in  FIG. 9 . 
     Each of the queuing sides  264 ,  266  holding the propping pole  240  and the fold-butting pole  250  may comprise a queuing hole  267  provided through an edge of the queuing side. 
     The hexagonal-shaped holding fabric  260  may have length for each of the six sides so as to make the ball stopping net  200  is stable when deployed and impacted by a ball with a predetermined force or less. 
     The ball stopping net  200  may further comprise a connecting bar  280  configured to connect the lower end of the two propping poles  240 . 
     The loop  210  may be collapsible or coilable. And, the looseness and fixing styles of the fabrics disposed around the loop  210  may be configured so as to make the ball stopping net  200  (with the poles taken out, of course) collapsible. 
     Each one of the first and second queuing holes  232 ,  234  may further comprise a stopper  282 ,  284  connected to the fabric side-holder  230 , and the stopper  282 ,  284  has a stopping hole  283  where the end tip of the poles  240 ,  250  are received and held in place as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     Each of the fold-butting poles  250  may be folded upward only (not shown). 
     Alternatively, each of the fold-butting poles  250  may be folded downward only as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Another aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net  300  as shown in  FIG. 13 , which is simplified because the details are very similar to  FIG. 10 . 
     The ball stopping net  300  a loop  310 , four fabric corner-holders (not shown but just like  220 ), four fabric side-holders (not shown but just like  230 ), two propping poles  340 , two base poles  350 , each of which comprising extending from a lower corner of the loop  310 , two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  360 , each of which having three queuing sides and three plain sides alternatingly, wherein each of the three queuing sides is configured to hold one of the side portion of the loop, the propping poles, and the base pole that are queued through the queuing side of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric, and a net with edges attached to the loop, the net being configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile therein. The two base poles  350  may be connected with another pole  380 . The base poles  350  and the pole  380  may form a portion of anther collapsible loop or coil like the loop  310 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-9 , still another aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net  100  comprising a loop  10 , propping poles  20 , fold-butting poles  30 , hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  40 , and a net  50  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The loop  10  has a top portion  12  and two side portion  14 . Of course, the loop  10  has a bottom portion forming a closed loop along with the top portion  12  and the two side portion  14 . 
     Each of the two propping poles  20  comprises an upper end  22  and a lower end  24 , and the upper end  22  is curved and engaged rotatably with a mid point of a corresponding side portion  14  of the loop  10 . 
     The exact location of the mid point of the side portion  14  may be determined appropriately so as to give a proper erecting angle of the tho loop  10  with respect to the ground and maximizes the stability of the ball stopping net  100 . In certain embodiments, the erecting angle may be from about 5 degrees to about 15 degrees, and the midpoint may be at the exact midpoint of the side portion  14  or upper than that. In an extreme case, the midpoint can be at a top end of the side portion  14 . 
     Each of the two fold-butting poles  30  comprises a first arm  32  and a second arm  34  engaging each other with a hinge  33 , and the first arm  32  is connected to a lower point of the loop  10  rotatably (with an hinge) and the second arm  34  is connected to a lower point of a corresponding propping pole  20  rotatably (with an hinge), such that the hinge  33  is configured to be folded and straightened as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  40  has three queuing sides  42  and three plain sides  44  alternatively, and each of the three queuing sides  42  is configured to hold one of the side portion of the loop  10 , the propping pole  20 , and the fold-butting pole  30  that are queued through the queuing side  42  of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric  40  as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     The net  50  with edges is attached to the loop, and the net  50  is configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile like a ball therein. 
     In each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  40 , the queuing sides  42  holding the loop  10  and the propping pole  20  may be provided in fixed forms such as a tube structure provided along the edge of the fabric as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     The queuing side  42  holding the fold-butting pole  30  may be provided detachably as shown in  FIG. 9 . The detachable queuing side  42  may comprise a loop and hook fastener such as a Velcro®. 
     In certain embodiments, the detachable queuing side  42  may be applied to the other queuing side  42 . 
     The hexagonal-shaped holding fabric  40  may have length for each of the six sides so as to make the loop  10  and the propping poles  20  form an angle smaller than 90 degrees when deployed. 
     The upper arm  22  of the propping pole  20  may meet the loop  10  about with a right angle. 
     The ball stopping net  100  may further comprise a connecting bar  60  configured to connect the lower end of the two propping poles  20  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The loop  10  may be collapsible. 
     The loop  10  may further comprise a top-holding flap  70 , and the top-holding flap  70  comprises two corner pipe hook portions  72  for fixing to two top corners of the loop  10  as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     Each of the fold-butting poles  30  may be folded upward only (not shown). 
     Each of the fold-butting poles  30  may be folded downward only as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     Another aspect of the invention provides a ball stopping net  100  comprising a main frame  10 , propping poles, fold-butting poles, hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics, and a net, which can be described using  FIGS. 1-9 . Actually,  FIGS. 1-9  are more for this second embodiment rather than the first embodiment in the above. The only difference between the first and second embodiments is the main frame  10  instead of the loop. The reference numeral  10  is shared by them. 
     The main frame  10  has a top portion and two side portion. 
     Each of the two propping poles  20  comprises an upper end and a lower end, and the upper end is curved and engaged rotatably with a mid point of a corresponding side portion of the main frame. 
     Each of the two fold-butting poles  30  comprises a first arm and a second arm engaging each other with a hinge, and the first arm is connected to a lower point of the main frame rotatably and the second arm is connected to a lower point of a corresponding propping pole rotatably, such that the hinge is configured to be folded and straightened. 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics  40  has three queuing sides and three plain sides alternatingly, and each of the three queuing sides is configured to hold one of the side portion of the main frame, the propping poles, and the fold-butting pole that are queued through the queuing side of the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric. 
     The net  50  with edges is attached to the main frame, and configured to receive, decelerate, stop, and hold a projectile therein. 
     The queuing sides holding the main frame and the propping pole may be provided in fixed forms. 
     The queuing side holding the fold-butting pole may be provided detachably. 
     The hexagonal-shaped holding fabric may have length for each of the six sides so as to make the main frame and the propping poles form an angle smaller than 90 degrees when deployed. 
     The upper arm of the propping pole may meet the main frame about with a right angle. 
     The ball stopping net may further comprise a connecting bar  60  configured to connect the lower end of the two propping poles. 
     Each of the fold-butting poles may be folded upward only. Alternatively, each of the fold-butting poles may be folded downward only. 
     Each of the two hexagonal-shaped holding fabrics may comprise an elastic fabric portion, and each of the three queuing sides comprises a pipe hook just like the pipe hook  72  for the top-holding flap  70 . 
     The net  50  may comprises: two grounding holes  52 , provided at an extended flap end of the net  50 , through which a bottom end of one of the side portions  14  is queued and fixed to a ground; and a plurality of hooks  54 , each of which being configured to be detachably hooked around a corresponding one of a plurality of ring-shaped grooves  16  provided around the main frame  10  as shown  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Each of the plurality of hooks  54 , may comprise at least two fastening holes  58  configured to be fixed to the net  50 , so that the hook  54  is not rotate. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the ball stopping net  100  further comprises two pipe sacs  80 ., which is provided around the lower part of the main frame  10  and hold it. 
     The ball stopping net  100  still further comprises a holding strap  90  for connecting and holding the lower part of the main frame  10  and hold it. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , in certain embodiments, a hexagonal-shaped holding fabric  40  may be installed in upper and lower positions with fold-butting poles  30 ,  250  when extended and lock in place according to still another embodiment of the invention. As illustrated, in the hexagonal-shaped holding fabric  40 , the sides thereof can be of any convenient length to accommodate the locations and directions. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to different embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations in form, detail, compositions and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.