Patent ID: 7900618

Claim:
In a ball throwing device comprising: a support member, a wheel mounted on the support member above ground for rotation in a first plane about an axis perpendicular to said plane and wherein the wheel has a perimeter surface that is circular and is centered on said axis and faces outward away from said axis for engagement of a ball when placed on said surface, a motor for rotating the wheel on said axis for enabling the said surface of the wheel to throw said ball in a first direction in said first plane at a speed predetermined to project said ball from the surface of the wheel at a selected velocity; a bracket attached to said support member; a ball feed chute mounted to said bracket and radially spaced from said axis at a distance greater than the distance of said perimeter surface of the wheel from said axis; and a pad secured to said bracket and having a ball-engagable surface spaced radially outward from said perimeter surface of the wheel a distance slightly less than the diameter of a ball to be thrown, for compressing the ball against the wheel; the improvement comprising: attachment of the bracket to the support member so that the bracket is moveable relative to said support member around said axis; and a motor control switch coupled to said motor and responsive to sliding of said bracket relative to said support member to change the speed of said motor.