Retriever

Abstract

A receptacle for picking up and storing tennis balls that are forced up between elongated, generally parallel, rodlike members on the bottom of the receptacle. One or more of these bottom members are upwardly displaceable to facilitate the entry of the balls up into the receptacle, and then they drop back down to retain the balls in the receptacle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,950 to J. Stap discloses a tennis ball retriever and storage unit in the form of a basket-like receptacle having relatively unyielding, fixedly positioned, parallel wire bats across the bottom. The successive bars are spaced apart by slightly less than the width of a tennis ball. When the receptacle is pushed down onto a ball, the ball is squeezed up between a neighboring pair of the bars into the receptable. The sqeezing of the ball tends to depressurize it inside thus deadening the bouncing qualities of the ball. Devices with resilient bars have been proposed, but are unsatisfactory for tennis balls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a novel and improved tennis ball pickup and storage unit which is similar to that of the aforementioned patent in providing a basket-like receptacle that may be applied down onto tennis balls to pick them up, but differs from it by providing one or more rigid members on the bottom that are displaceable upwardly to facilitate the entry of tennis balls into the receptable. Preferably, each of these upwardly displaceable members is spaced from a substantially parallel, unyielding rod-like member on the receptable bottom to provide a ball entry passageway into the receptable when the receptable is pushed down onto one or more tennis balls.

In the preferred embodiment, each upwardly displaceable member on the container bottom comprises an elongated, horizontal, rod-like inner body carrying cylindrical ball engaging ferrules on the outside that can revolve off-center on the rod-like inner body. The rod-like inner body is slidable upward a limited extent on the receptacle, and springs oppose this upward movement and return the rod-like body to its lowermost position on the receptacle after the ball has moved up past it into the receptacle.

In another embodiment, each upwardly displaceable member on the container bottom comprises an elongated, horizontal, rod-like inner body carrying hollow outer triangular bodies that are displaced upward and laterally on the inner body when the latter is displaced upward on the receptacle. The combined movements of the different parts of the upwardly displaceable member increase the spacing between it and a neighboring unyielding rod-like member in the receptacle bottom to facilitate the entry of a ball up into the receptacle when the receptacle is pushed down onto the ball.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a novel and improved device for picking up and storing tennis balls.

Another object of this invention to provide such a device having one or more upwardly displaceable members in the receptacle bottom that are displaceable upward when the receptacle bottom that are displaceable upward when the receptacle bottom is forced down onto a tennis ball and by such upward displacement increases the spacing between it and a neighboring part of the receptacle bottom to facilitate the entry of the ball up into the receptacle.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of certain presently preferred embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view taken from the left end of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 3--3 in FIG. 1, looking down on the bottom of the tennis ball pickup and storage device;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing a rotatable ferrule on one of the upwardly displaceable members in the bottom of the FIG. 1 device;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section taken from the line 5--5 in FIG. 1 and showing the bottom of the receptacle when it is first pushed down onto a tennis ball;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 and showing the upward displacement of one elongated member in the bottom of the receptacle as it is pushed further down onto the ball;

FIG. 7 is a similar view showing in full lines the position of the parts as the ball enters the receptacle and showing in phantom lines the position of the parts after the upwardly displaced elongated member in the bottom of the receptacle has dropped back down to its normal, lowermost position;

FIG. 8 is a similar view showing additional tennis balls forced up into the receptacle on either side of the ball shown in FIGS. 5-7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view showing an alternative embodiment of one of the upwardly displaceable members in the bottom of the receptacle;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary and elevational view showing the bottom of the receptacle, provided with such alternative upwardly displaceable members, as it is first pushed down onto a tennis ball; and

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 and showing this portion of the alternative receptacle bottom as the ball enters the receptacle.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring first to FIG. 1, in the presently-preferred embodiment the present tennis ball pickup and storage device comprises in broad outline a receptacle having a grate-like bottom 20 of rectangular outline, four grate-like sides 21, 22, 23 and 24 extending up from the bottom and each inclined slightly outward, a rectangular top frame 25 joined to the upper ends of these four sides, and an upstanding inverted U-shaped handle 26 having its opposite lower ends rigidly joined to the top frame 25 and to the narrower pair of opposite sides 21 and 23 of the receptacle. A flexible flap 27 of leather, vinyl or other suitable material is hinged to the top frame 25 at one side by straps 28. At the opposite side the flap 27 has straps 29 provided with snap fasteners that enable these straps to be attached to or detached from this side of the top frame.

As best seen in FIG. 2, on its narrower opposite sides 21 and 23 the receptacle is wide enough to accommodate three tennis balls, and on its wider sides 22 and 24 it is wider than four tennis balls. The height of the sides 21-24 from the bottom 20 to the top frame 25 is more than enough to accommodate four layers of tennis balls.

Normally when the device is being used to pick up and store tennis balls the flap 27 is closed across the top frame 25. When the receptacle becomes full of tennis balls or the user wants to remove them, he may unfasten the snap fasteners on the straps 29 and tip the receptacle over so that the balls can fall out through the now open top frame 25.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the narrow side 21 of the receptacle has five laterally spaced, rod-like elongated, upstanding members 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 that are rigidly attached at their lower and upper ends, respectively, to the bottom 20 and the top frame 25. The opposite narrow side 23 of the receptacle has similar upstanding members designated by the same reference numerals, with an a suffix added as best seen in FIG. 3.

The bottom 20 of the receptacle has a rectangular peripheral frame with opposite longer sides 35 and 35a and opposite shorter sides 36 and 36a, all of elongated, rod-like configuration and lying in the same horizontal plane. The upstanding rod-like members 30, 32 and 34 of the narrow side 21 and the corresponding members 30a, 32a and 34a of the opposite narrow side 23 are attached repsectively to the outside of the respective sides 36 and 36a of this bottom frame, while the remaining upstanding members 31, 33, 31a and 33a are attached to the inside of the bottom frame at the latter's sides 36 and 36a respectively.

The remaining wider upstanding sides 22 and 24 of the receptacle are of grate like construction each having five spaced, upstanding, elongatad, rod-like members 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 37a, 38a, 39a, 40a, 41a, respectively, which have their lower ends attached to the outside of the bottom frame at the latter's longer sides 35 and 35a, respectively.

In addition to its rectangular peripheral frame 35, 36, 35a, 36a, the bottom 20 of the receptacle has an elongated, horizontal, rod-like intermediate member 42 extending parallel to the lower sides 35, 35a and having its opposite ends attached to the shorter sides 36, 36a of the bottom frame. Member 42 is positioned substantially closer to the side 35 than to the opposite side 35a, and it is spaced laterally from the closer side 35 by just slightly more than the width of a tennis ball. Both of the longer sides 35 and 35a and the intermediate member 42 in the bottom of the receptacle are substantially rigid and unyelding when forced down onto a tennis ball.

In accordance with the present invention, the bottom of the receptacle also has a pair of substantially rigid, but upwardly displaceable, elongated members 43 and 44 which extend horizontally parallel to the sides 35, 35a and the intermediate member 42 and are disposed on opposite sides of the latter. The displaceable member 43 is spaced laterally from the neighboring side 35 of the bottom frame by less than the width of a tennis ball, and it is spaced laterally from the other displaceable member 44 by less than the width of a tennis ball. The other displaceable member 44 is spaced from the nearby side 35a of the bottom frame and from the intermediate member 42 by less than the width of a tennis ball.

The upwardly displaceable member 43 (FIG. 3) comprises an elongated, horizontal, rod-like inner body 45 having integral, opposite end rings 46 and 46a which respectively encircle slidably the upstanding members 33 and 33a of the opposite narrow upstanding sides 21 and 23 of the receptacle. Member 43 also comprises a plurality of cylindrical ferrules 47 loosely mounted on the rod-like body 45 between its opposite end rings 46 and 46a. As best seen in FIG. 4, the inside diameter of these ferrules is substantially larger than the outside diameter of the rod-like inner body 45, so that the ferrules can revolve off-center with respect to the inner body 45.

Compression coil spring 48 and 48a loosely encircle the lower ends of the respective upstanding side members 33 and 33a of the receptacle above the end rings 46 and 46a on the upwardly displaceable member 43. Flat washers 49 are engaged between the lower ends of these springs and the end rings 46 and 46a. In the unstressed condition of these springs, their respective upper ends are spaced downward from respective horizontal cross pieces 50 and 50a that are attached rigidly to the upstanding members 31, 32, 33 and 31a, 32a, 33a in the respective opposite sides 21 and 23 of the receptacle.

With this arrangement, the upwardly displaceable member 43 can slide up freely along the upstanding members 33 and 33a until the upper ends of the springs 48 and 48a engage the cross piece 50. Continued upward movement is resiliently opposed by these springs.

The other upwardly displaceable member 44 is identical in its construction and mode of operation, and corresponding elements of this member and the parts associated with it are given the same reference numerals, plus 100.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the device is used by forcing its bottom down onto a tennis ball B, which may pass up into the receptacle between the upwardly displaceable bottom member 44 and the substantially unyielding intermediate bottom member 42. The space between these two members is less than the width of the ball so that initially, as the receptacle is pushed down over the ball, the upwardly displaceable member 44 moves upward, compressing the springs 148 and 148a somewhat (FIG. 5), until the space between the displaceable member 44 and the unyielding member 42 is large enough to permit the ball to pass up between them (FIG. 6). The ball moves relatively freely up between members 44 and 42, thus minimizing compression of the ball. The ball acts directly against the ferrules 147 in the upwardly displaceable member 144, forcing them against the side of the inner rod-like body 145 that is closest to the ball, and it causes these ferrules to revolve counter-clockwise in FIGS. 5-7 off-center with respect to the inner body 145. Rotatable ferrules may also be provided on member 145. As the ball moves past members 44 and 42, this revolving of the ferrules makes it easy for the balll to enter the receptacle and imparts an additional thrust to the ball to insure its continued movement up into the receptacle. A plurality of independent ferrules on a given rod is preferred.

Shortly after more than half the ball has moved above a line passing between members 44 and 42, the compressed springs 148 and 148a force the upwardly displaced member 44 back down to its original position, as shown in phantom in FIG. 7, and the ball now can roll over to the phantom line position in which it rests on both the displaceable member 44 and the unyielding intermediate member 42.

As shown in FIG. 8, an essentially similar action takes place if the ball is engaged from above by the unyielding side member 35a and the upwardly displaceable member 44 and is forced up between them into the receptacle, or between the unyielding side member 35 and the other upwardly displaceable member 43.

Several balls can be picked up simultaneously because the upward displacement of members 43 and 44 will permit as many as three balls at a time to move up side by side across the narrower horizontal width of the receptacle, and as many as four balls can move up at one time between any pair of the bottom members 35a and 44, 44 and 42, or 43 and 35.

It is to be understood that, if desired, the springs may be omitted from the just-described embodiment of the present invention, in which case gravity will be relied on to move the upwardly displaced members 43 and 44 down after they have been displaced upward during ball entry. Also, if desired, the ferrules may be omitted from the upwardly displaceable members.

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 show an alternative embodiment of the upwardly displaceable members in the present device. As best seen in FIG. 9, one of the upwardly yieldable members comprises an elongated, rod-like inner body 60 of triangular cross-section and a series of hollow outer bodies 61, also of triangular cross-section. The triangular interior of each outer body 61 is substantially larger than the triangular exterior of the inner body 60, and therefore the outer body 61 can be displaced both laterally and upwardly on the inner body 60 from the normal position, shown in FIG. 9, in which the apex of the triangular interior of the outer body 61 rests directly on the apex of the inner body 60.

The inner body 60 has integral end rings 62 on its opposite ends which slidably encircle corresponding members 33 and 33a in the opposite upstanding sides 21 and 23 of the receptacle. Coil springs like those shown in the first embodiment may be provided, if desired.

The device has a second upwardly yieldable member 160, 161, 162 (FIG. 10) which is identical to that just described and slidable up along the upstanding side members 31 and 31a, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

In the use of this alternative embodiment, if the ball is engaged beneath members 42 and 161, as shown in FIG. 10, when the receptacle is forced down onto the ball two actions take place:

1. the complete upwardly displaceable member 160, 161 is displaced upward by the ball; and

2. the outer bodies 161 in this upwardly displaceable member are displaced upward and laterally with respect to the inner body 160, from the centered position shown in FIG. 10 to the upwardly and laterally offset position shown in FIG. 11.

As a consequence of these actions, the spacing between the unyielding member 42 in the receptacle bottom and the nearest corner of the upwardly displaced bottom member 160, 161 is increased until the ball can pass between them up into the receptacle. Then, the upwardly displaced bottom member 160, 161 can drop back down to its original (FIG. 10) position in which the outer bodies 161 are centered on the inner body 160 and occupy the lowermost possible position on the latter.

It is to be understood that the configuration of the outer and inner bodies in the upwardly yieldable members may differ from the triangular configuration shown. Also, if desired, the outer body or bodies may be displaceable on the inner body only upwardly, or only laterally, instead of both upwardly and laterally, in order to increase the space through which the ball may pass up into the receptacle.

Also, if desired, the inner body of the upwardly displaceable member may be fixedly positioned vertically, and the only displaceable part is the outer body which by virture of its upward and lateral displacement on the inner body provides the clearance that enables the ball to pass up into the receptacle.

The device may be used to pick up objects other than tennis balls.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a tennis ball pickup and storage device having a receptacle for holding a plurality of balls at one time, said receptacle having a grate-like bottom with substantially parallel, generally horizontal, substantially rigid, elongated members extending across it and spaced apart from each other by substantially less than the width of a tennis ball, the improvement wherein:

one or more of said members in the receptacle bottom is displaceable upwardly with respect to a neighboring member, when applied down against a tennis ball that is engaged between them, so as to increase its spacing from said neighboring member enough to permit said tennis ball to pass up between them into the receptacle; said upwardly displaceable member, after the passage of the tennis ball up into the receptacle, moving down to a position spaced from the neighboring member less than the width of a tennis ball so as to prevent the tennis balls in the receptacle from dropping between them out through the bottom of the receptacle,

said receptacle having opposite upstanding sides with spaced elongated members extending up from the receptacle bottom, and said one or more upwardly displaceable members being slidable upward along respective upstanding members on opposite sides of the receptacle when applied down against a tennis ball.

2. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 1, wherein said one or more upwardly displaceable members comprise inner rod-like bodies and rotatable, ball-engaging ferrules on the outside.

3. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 2, wherein said ferrules are revolvable off-center on said inner bodies.

4. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 1, and further comprising spring means on the respective upstanding members for urging downward the respective upwardly displaced members.

5. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 4, wherein said one or more upwardly displaceable members have rotatable, ball engaging ferrules on the outside.

6. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 1 wherein:

said receptacle bottom has a pair of substantially unyielding, enlongated, substantially parallel, horizontal members at the opposite sides of the receptacle;

said one or more upwardly displaceable members comprise two members located between said pair of unyielding members and extending substantially parallel to the latter, each of said upwardly displaceable members in its lowermost position being spaced from the nearer one of said unyielding members by substantially less than the width of a tennis ball and being displaceable upward with respect to said nearer unyielding member to permit a tennis ball to pass up between them into the receptacle;

and said receptacle bottom has a third substantially unyielding, elongated, horizontal member located between and extending substantially parallel to said two upwardly displaceable members, said third unyielding member being spaced from one of said upwardly displaceable members substantially farther than from the other, said one upwardly displaceable member being displaceable upward with respect to said third unyielding member to permit a tennis ball to pass up between them into the receptacle.

7. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 6, wherein each of said upwardly displaceable members has an inner, elongated, rod-like body and ball-engaging ferrules thereon which are revolvable off-center on said inner body.

8. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 6, and further comprising spring means resiliently opposing the upward displacement of said upwardly displaceable members.

9. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 6, wherein said receptacle has opposite sides with spaced, upstanding, elongated rod-like members at the opposite ends of said upwardly displaceable members, and said upwardly displaceable members are slidable upward along said upstanding members.

10. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 9, wherein each of said upwardly displaceable members has an inner, elongated, rod-like body and rotatable ball-engaging ferrules thereon, and further comprising springs at said upstanding members opposing the upward movement of said upwardly displaceable members.

11. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 9, wherein each of said upwardly displaceable members comprises an elongated inner body and one or more hollow outer bodies overlying said inner body and laterally displaceable thereon to pass a tennis ball up into the receptacle.

12. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 11, wherein each outer body has substantially triangular hollow interior and is loosely received on said inner body for lateral and vertical displacement thereon.

13. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 1, wherein each of said one or more upwardly displaceable members comprises an elongated, horizontal rod-like inner body and one or more hollow outer bodies overlying said inner body and displaceable upwardly thereon.

14. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 13, wherein said inner body is displaceable upwardly on the receptacle.

15. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 14, wherein each outer body is displaceable both laterally and upwardly on the respective inner body.

16. A tennis ball pickup and storage device according to claim 15, wherein each outer body is of hollow triangular configuration with an interior cross-section substantially larger than the exterior cross-section of said inner body.