U.S. patent application number 14/184635 was filed with the patent office on 2015-08-20 for batting tee for baseball and softball.
The applicant listed for this patent is David Kanner. Invention is credited to David Kanner.
Application Number | 20150231470 14/184635 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53797201 |
Filed Date | 2015-08-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150231470 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kanner; David |
August 20, 2015 |
BATTING TEE FOR BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
Abstract
A batting tee. A plurality of legs is pivotally connected to a
base. A bottom support tube is rigidly connected to the base. A
height adjustment tube is inserted into the bottom support tube.
The height of the height adjustment tube is controlled by a height
adjustment controller. A replaceable ball placement cone is
connected to the height adjustment tube. For usage the legs are
pivoted so that they are horizontal, the height of the height
adjustment tube is selected and a baseball or softball is placed on
the ball placement cone. For easy transport and storage, the legs
are pivoted upwards so that they are all parallel with the bottom
support tube and height adjustment tube.
Inventors: |
Kanner; David; (Oceanside,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kanner; David |
Oceanside |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53797201 |
Appl. No.: |
14/184635 |
Filed: |
February 19, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/417 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 69/0075 20130101;
A63B 2102/182 20151001; A63B 2210/50 20130101; A63B 2225/093
20130101; A63B 69/0002 20130101; A63B 2069/0008 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63B 69/00 20060101
A63B069/00 |
Claims
1) A batting tee, comprising: A) a base, B) a plurality of legs
pivotally connected to said base, C) a bottom support tube rigidly
connected to said base, D) a height adjustment tube insertable into
said bottom support tube, E) a height adjustment controller
connected to said bottom support tube and said height adjustment
tube, said height adjustment controller for adjusting the height of
said height adjustment tube, and F) a replaceable ball placement
cone connected to said height adjustment, said ball placement cone
for receiving a baseball or softball, wherein said batting tee is
adjustable in height between a lower use position and an upper use
position.
2) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said batting tee is
foldable for easy carrying and storage by pivoting said plurality
of legs so that they are parallel with said bottom support tube and
said height adjustment tube.
3) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said height adjustment
controller is a height adjustment sleeve bolted to said bottom
support tube and threaded knob for loosening and tightening against
said height adjustment tube.
4) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said base comprises a
lockable horizontal pivot location for horizontal placement of said
plurality of legs and wherein said base comprises a lockable
vertical pivot location for vertical placement of said legs for
easy transport and storage.
5) The batting tee as in claim 4, wherein each leg of said
plurality of legs comprises at least one spring loaded pin for
locking each said leg into said lockable horizontal pivot location
and said for locking each said leg into said vertical pivot
location.
6) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said ball placement cone
is fabricated from flexible rubber.
7) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said height adjustment
tube is fabricated from flexible plastic.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to baseball and softball
training devices, and in particular to batting tees.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Baseball is an extremely popular sport in the United States
and as so it is often referred to as America's Pastime. It begins
as a youth sport with children as young as 5 or 6 years old playing
the game. The kids who really like baseball will hopefully continue
to play throughout their childhood. Those kids who have the best
skills and interest will play for their high school team. Then only
the most highly skilled will play at the college level. Only the
very few elite players can then play on a professional level.
[0003] Although, most kids stop playing organized baseball prior to
high school there is a very strong fan interest in the game.
Parents and kids and young adults are very interested in following
baseball games at the local, college and professional levels. The
sport moves at a very good pace so that it is easy to follow the
strategy of the game and appreciate the skill level of the
players.
[0004] Baseball holds the interest of America. There is tremendous
money spent on developing players starting at the youth level and
all the way through the professional level. The hitter plays an
extremely important role on a team. A great hitter can find his way
onto a baseball team much easier than an average or below average
hitter. Hence, there are many hitting training devices on the
market designed to improve baseball hitting skills
[0005] Batting tees have long been in existence and long used by
baseball players and softball players to improve their batting
skills The batting tee is still considered by many to be the best
swing training device available. There are many types of batting
tees available to public. However, many of these are expensive,
flimsy and need to be frequently replaced. Some tees are not as
expensive, but they do not last very long and also need to be
frequently replaced. Also, many prior art batting tees require
extra weight (such as a heavy bag or an additional lead weight)
added to the base of the tee to keep the tee steady and to prevent
it from falling over as the tee is being used.
[0006] What is needed is a better batting tee for baseball and
softball.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention provides a batting tee. A plurality of
legs is pivotally connected to a base. A bottom support tube is
rigidly connected to the base. A height adjustment tube is inserted
into the bottom support tube. The height of the height adjustment
tube is controlled by a height adjustment controller. A replaceable
ball placement cone is connected to the height adjustment tube. For
usage the legs are pivoted so that they are horizontal, the height
of the height adjustment tube is selected and a baseball or
softball is placed on the ball placement cone. For easy transport
and storage, the legs are pivoted upwards so that they are all
parallel with the bottom support tube and height adjustment
tube.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 shows a preferred base.
[0010] FIGS. 3 and 4 show a preferred height adjustment sleeve.
[0011] FIG. 5 shows a preferred batting tee ready for storage or
transport.
[0012] FIG. 6 shows the support legs in a horizontal position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Components of a Preferred Embodiment
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present
invention. Base 1 provides support for batting tee 2. In the
preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, three legs 4 are pivotally
connected to base 1 as shown. Legs 4 pivot about bolt axis 5 which
is attached through hole 6 (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, spring
loaded pull pins 7 are connected to legs 4 and engage slots 8 (FIG.
2) to hold legs 4 in a horizontal position.
[0014] Bottom support tube 9 is rigidly bolted to base 1. Height
adjustment sleeve 10 is bolted to bottom support tube 9 via set
screw 11. Height adjustment tube 12 is inserted into bottom support
tube 9 through height adjustment sleeve 10. In a preferred
embodiment, height adjustment tube 12 includes a height-stop
mechanism that functions to prevent the separation of height
adjustment tube from height adjustment sleeve 10 if the user raises
height adjustment tube to its maximum height. For example, in one
preferred embodiment height adjustment tubes 12 includes two button
head screws attached to its lower end. The heads of the button head
screws are just large enough to prevent the whole top part of the
unit from being adjusted too much and separating. The button head
screws are stopped by the smaller diameter of height adjustment
sleeve 10.
[0015] The vertical position of height adjustment tube 12 can be
adjusted by the user as desired by loosening and then tightening a
height adjustment controller. For example in the preferred
embodiment shown the height adjustment controller is threaded knob
13 and the height of height adjustment tube 12 is adjusted by
loosening and then tightening threaded knob 13.
Preferred Height Adjustment Sleeve
[0016] FIGS. 3 and 4 show details of preferred height adjustment
sleeve 10. In FIG. 3, set screw 11 has been turned so that pressure
pad 68 is pressed tightly against bottom support tube 9. Threaded
knob 13 has been loosened. Height adjustment tube 12 can now be
moved up or down to its desired location. To secure height
adjustment tube 12 at its desired position the user will turn
threaded knob 13 so that pressure pad 67 presses tightly against
height adjustment tube 12.
Ball Placement Cone
[0017] Ball placement cone 37 (FIG. 6) is connected to the top of
height adjustment tube 12 and is fabricated to easily hold a
baseball or softball. After cone 37 is inserted in to height
adjustment tube 12, it is held in place by tightening of set screw
38.
Stowage, Transport and Set Up
[0018] FIG. 5 shows batting tee 2 as it has been folded for storage
or transport. In the position shown in FIG. 5, batting tee 2 is
approximately 28.5 inches in height and approximately 8 inches in
width at its base. In a preferred embodiment batting tee 2 weights
approximately 8.5 pounds. Also, in a preferred embodiment batting
tee 2 may be adjusted between a lower use position of 28.5 inches
and an upper use position of 43.5 inches in height. It can easily
be stowed into a carrying bag and carried by an 8 year old child of
ordinary strength.
[0019] In FIG. 6 the user has batting tee 2 upright so that it is
resting on base 1.
[0020] In FIGS. 6 and 1 the user has disengaged pull pins 7 from
upper slots and has pivoted legs 4 downward to their horizontal
position. Pull pins 7 are engaged in lower slots 8 (FIG. 2) to lock
legs 4 into the horizontal position. As shown in FIG. 1, height
adjustment tube has been extended so that the top of ball placement
cone 37 is now approximately 43.5 inches off the ground in its
upper use position. A baseball or softball may now be placed on top
of cone 37. Batting tee 2 is now ready for use. It should be noted
that the utilization of horizontal legs 4 allow for outstanding
stability of batting tee 2 while also insuring that batting tee 2
is extremely light in weight at only approximately 8.5 pounds. No
additional weight is needed around base 1 to increase stability
while the batting tee is being used.
[0021] When the user is finished using batting tee 2, he can put
batting tee 2 back into the position shown in FIG. 5 by reversing
the above described steps.
Preferred Materials
[0022] In a preferred embodiment base 1, bottom support tube 9, and
height adjustment sleeve 10 are fabricated from aluminum. Aluminum
provides high strength and is light weight. Height adjustment tube
12 is preferably fabricated from strong, flexible plastic and cone
37 is preferably fabricated from strong flexible rubber.
Durability
[0023] Batting tee 2 is extremely durable and it is expected to
last for many years of use without sustaining significant damage.
Cone 37 is fabricated from a flexible rubbery material and will
take the most contact from a baseball bat as it is swung at the
batting tee. It is estimated that currently the user will be able
to easily replace cone 37 with a new cone for under approximately
seven U.S. dollars. In most cases it will only be necessary to
replace cone 37 every other year, even under heavy usage. Height
adjustment tube 12 may also occasionally receive contact from a
bat. Usually it should not require replacement. However, if
replacement is ever needed, it is estimated that the user can
replace height adjustment tube 12 for under seventeen dollars. All
other materials of batting tee two are very strong and durable and
should not require replacement.
Prototype
[0024] Applicant has successfully built and tested a prototype of
batting tee 2. He has had very positive feedback from adults and
children. Expert baseball players as well as beginners have found
great benefit from batting tee 2.
[0025] Although the above-preferred embodiments have been described
with specificity, persons skilled in this art will recognize that
many changes to the specific embodiments disclosed above could be
made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For
example, although the above preferred embodiments disclosed batting
tee 2 having specific dimensions it should be understood that
batting tee 2 can be fabricated so that it is shorter or taller,
depending on the height or needs of the user. For example a very
tall batter may prefer a taller batting tee. Likewise a very small
child (or a batter who wishes to work on low pitched balls) may
prefer a shorter batting tee. For example, in another preferred
embodiment bottom support tube 9 and height adjustment tube 12 are
shortened so that batting tee 2 is height adjustable from a range
of 20 inches to 28.5 inches. Therefore, the attached claims and
their legal equivalents should determine the scope of the
invention.
* * * * *