Abstract:
A basketball rebound training system includes a ball device having an outer surface having thereon basketball indicia including one or more basketball seams and a surface texture of a basketball, and being of an official basketball size. The ball device includes an inner cavity and an anchor system disposed at least partially within the inner cavity of the ball device. An attachment ring is affixed to the anchor system and is further adapted for attachment to a resistance machine to provide rebound training to an athlete when the ball device is pushed or pulled downward. The outer surface may be made of leather or of a synthetic material such as rubber, and has a pebbled texture thereon. The inner cavity may be filled with pressurized air, ambient air, or a solid material.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This invention relates to athletic training devices and relates more particularly to a system for providing realistic resistance training for basketball rebound tasks and the like. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The human body responds to stress by adapting and becoming more resistant or resilient to the type of stress experienced. For example, exposure to a certain bacteria or virus will often cause the human body to develop resistance or immunity to the agent in question. Similarly, repeated muscular stress can cause the affected muscles to adapt and become stronger, faster or more resilient depending upon the type of stress applied, assuming that the stress applied does not overtax the muscle&#39;s structural integrity. 
         [0003]    In practice, the inventor has found that certain burst activities require significant speed and/or strength, but that the exposure to adaptive stress during the activity can be insufficient in duration to efficiently train and adapt the muscles in question. An example of this is the activity of basketball rebounding, wherein the participant leaps and attempts to “pull down” a ball that they or another participant have attempted unsuccessfully to throw into the basketball hoop. The pull down portion of the maneuver would benefit from increased strength and speed, and yet the activity is too short in duration and frequency to efficiently provide significant adaptive stress. 
         [0004]    At the same time, there are aspects of the process that are difficult to imitate if the athlete engages in a characteristically different muscle stimulation, e.g., with a weight training set. This is because the strength and speed aspects of the maneuver must be coupled, in the inventor&#39;s observation, with the same ball feel that the athlete experiences during the actual maneuver. To date, there has been no system available that provides all aspects needed, in the inventor&#39;s observation, for more efficient training. 
         [0005]    In closing this section, it should be noted if not otherwise apparent that the invention as protected is defined by the attached claims, regardless of whether the invention as claimed solves one or more of the noted deficiencies. Moreover, it is expressly noted, and should be fully appreciated by the reader, that the foregoing is not intended to be a survey or description of the prior art. Rather, it is a statement of background ideas set forth by the inventors intended to help the reader understand the following detailed description. As such, this background section provides just that—helpful conceptual information, not prior art information. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    In an embodiment, a system is provided for basketball rebound training. The system includes a ball device having an outer surface having thereon basketball indicia including one or more basketball seams and a surface texture of a basketball, and being of an official basketball size. The ball device includes an inner cavity and an anchor system disposed at least partially within the inner cavity of the ball device. An attachment ring is affixed to the anchor system and is further adapted for attachment to a resistance machine to provide rebound training to an athlete when the ball device is pushed or pulled downward. 
         [0007]    In an embodiment, the outer surface is made of leather, and may alternatively be made of a synthetic material such as rubber. In any case, the outer surface has a pebbled texture thereon. The inner cavity may be filled with pressurized air, ambient air, or a solid material. Suitable solid materials include, for example, wood, foam, plastic, and fiberglass. The anchor system may extend through the inner cavity to be visible beneath the ball, and may include a bezel or washer under the ball to secure the anchor system. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment of the invention, a ball training device is provided including an air-filled ball having an official basketball size. Within this embodiment, an attachment ring is attached to the air-filled ball and the ball includes a basketball-textured outer layer, the basketball-textured outer layer including one or more basketball seams and a basketball surface grain. 
         [0009]    In this embodiment, the basketball-textured outer layer may be made of leather or a synthetic material such as rubber. The basketball-textured outer layer grain has a pebbled texture. The ball is filled with either pressurized air or ambient pressure air, although with respect to the latter option, the ball itself will need to be rigid enough in and of itself to withstand the pressure of training. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Other features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated from reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the included drawing figures of which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a resistance device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a detailed cross-section side view of a training ball system according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a ball according to an embodiment of the invention wherein the attachment ring attaches to the ball by threading into one or more internal anchors; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of a hollow ball device according to an alternative embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a schematic showing an example deployment and use of the devices shown herein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    The described system pertains to an exercise apparatus for allowing enhanced resistance training for ball rebounding tasks while maintaining the ball handling feel of a basketball. In various embodiments, systems are presented for whole-ball and half-ball devices having various means of attachment and various other structural and configurational aspects. It will be appreciated that these exemplary embodiments of the invention are meant to be explanatory but not limiting. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a resistance device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As can be seen, the device  100  includes a basketball  100  having the features traditionally associated with a basketball for play use, including seams  101  and a dimpled or otherwise textured synthetic (e.g., rubber) or leather surface  102 . In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the ball  100  includes an attachment ring  103  for attaching the device to a cable of a resistance machine. For example, the device  100  could be attached via the ring  103  to a tricep or lat pull-down cable of a weight and pulley exercise system, not shown. 
         [0019]    As will be discussed in reference to later drawings, the ring  103  may be affixed to the ball  100  in one of any number of ways. However, whatever the attachment mechanism chosen, the structural integrity of the ball  100 , the ring  103 , and the associated internal and external hardware should be such as to ensure that the entire device remains stable, rigid, and intact when used for resistance training. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a detailed cross-section side view of a training ball system  200  according to an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the ball  200  includes an outer shell  201  and an inner body  202 . The outer shell may be a natural or synthetic basketball outer, and may be associated with a bladder or other inner layer if desired. The inner body  202  may be of any suitably rigid and stable material including plastic, hardened foam, such as polyurethane or other foam, wood, honeycomb matrix, fiberglass, etc. 
         [0021]    The attachment ring  203  is attached to the ball  200  via a threaded bezel  204 , a threaded coupler  205 , a threaded rod  206 , and a threaded lower bezel or platform  207 . In this embodiment, the compressive strength of the inner body  202  ensures the integrity of the device  200  during use. It will be appreciated that the illustrated design has elements such as the coupler  205  that are included for convenience, but that are not required for the success of the concept. Indeed, the internal details of the device may be adapted to fulfill any desired requirement with respect to strength and stability. 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the design contemplates that the user will train by pulling down, hands atop the ball  300 . In this context, the bottom of the ball may be omitted as being unnecessary. In addition, providing the device  300  with a flat bottom  301  also ensures that the device may be placed on the floor or other surface without rolling over. The omission of the ball bottom, rendering the device hemispherical, also lessens the amount of space need to store the device. This may be important in clubs, schools, and other environments wherein a large number of devices may be used. 
         [0023]    As with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the device shown in  FIG. 3  includes an attachment ring  302 . Although alternative designs may be used, the illustrated embodiment connects the attachment ring  302  securely to the ball  300  via a threaded bezel  303  to stabilize the upper portion of the ball for secure attachment, while a threaded rod extends through the hemisphere and threads into a lower platform or bezel  304 . 
         [0024]    An alternative means of attachment is shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4 . In particular,  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a ball according to an embodiment of the invention wherein the attachment ring  401  attaches to the ball  400  by threading into one or more internal anchors  402 . it will be appreciated that the suitability of this attachment system will depend upon the strength of the material of the inner body  403 . For example, a solid inner body material will provide greater rigidity and strength than a foam inner body. The weight of various materials may be taken into account as well in selecting a desired internal material. 
         [0025]    The structural integrity of the ball according to this embodiment of the invention is provided by the external shell, which may be of rubber, leather etc., and may be reinforced, e.g., by a fiberglass shell or fiberglass cladding, in conjunction with the internal body, which may be either a solid body such as foam, wood, etc., a matrix, or air or other gas. The embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  employs a hollow ball which is self-supporting in an embodiment, but which in another embodiment of the invention is supported by internal compressed air. 
         [0026]    In particular  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of a hollow ball device  500  according to an alternative embodiment of the invention. The shell  501  may be a flexible cover as in a traditional ball, or may be a rigid sphere, in either case being externally formed to have the indicia of an ordinary basketball as shown in  FIG. 1 , i.e., having a grippable texture and a plurality of seams, as in all embodiments. The shell  501  has an empty interior space  502  except for the air therein. The shell  501  is of sufficient strength and rigidity to accept and support a plurality of bezels and/or washers  503 . These in turn accept an attachment ring  504 , for attachment to a resistance machine. There exist numerous different sizes of basketballs in use today, and the invention encompasses balls of any size matching that of an actual basketball, whether junior, full-size or otherwise. 
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a schematic showing an example deployment and use of the devices shown herein. In particular, the ball device  600  is attached via its attachment ring  601  to a carabineer  602  or other attachment point, and hence to a cable  603 . The cable  603  tracks over a pulley  604  and is redirected to a weight stack  605 . The weight stack  605  may be adjustable to adjust the amount of force needed to push the ball device  600  downward. The weight stack  605  may alternatively be a series of selectable flex rods or other resistance mechanism. 
         [0028]    It will be appreciated that a new invention has been described above; however, the scope of patent protection is governed by the attached claims. The terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Any recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention. 
         [0029]    Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.