US3552749A - Basketball practicing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

A DEVICE FOR USE BY BASEKETBALL PLAYERS IN PRACTICING THE SHOOTING OF BASKETS OVER A DEFENSIVE PLAYER AND FOR USE IN PRACTICING PASSING OF THE BALL BETWEEN OFFENSIVE PLAYERS, OVER OR ROUND A DEFENSIVE PLAYER. THE DEVICE INCLUDES A LIFE-SIZE FIGURE OF AN ADULT MALE AND ROTATABLY DRIVEN ARMS, ENCASED IN A CUSHIONING MATERIAL, WHICH PROJECT OUTWARDLY FROM THE FIGURE AND WHICH MAY BE ROTATED IN EITHER DIRECTION. THE APPARATUS IS CAPABLE OF USE BY A SINGLE PLAYER OR A GROUP OF PLAYERS.

Description

Jan. 5, 1971 J, PlGGOTTE I 3,552,749

BASKETBALL PRACTICING AID Filed July 30, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet l mvsmrbn JOE M. PIGGOTTE ATTORNEY Jan. 5, 1971 J. M. PIGGOTTE 3,552,749

BASKETBALL PRACTICING AID Filed July so. 1968 Y 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F- 3 INVENTOR l9, JOE M.PIGGOTTE fifm w ATTORNEY Jan. 5, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 30, 1968 R O T N E V N ATTORNEY Jan. 5, 1971 J, pl 3,552,749

BASKETBALL PRACTICING AID Filed July 30, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.5. I

INVENTOR I JOE MPIGGOTTE ATTORNEY XMW J. M; IPIGGOTTE 3,552,749

BASKETBALL PRACTICING AID Jan. 5, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 30, 1968 I /Anni lllmlmmmmmumwlllu 78 Q I qa f I g? I07 I06 84 La 78 III \T BI no 55' a'e ea JOE PIGGOTTE INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,552,749 BASKETBALL PRAC'IICING AID Joe M. Piggotte, 812 Patterson Drive,

South Daytona, Fla. 32019 Filed July 30, 1968, Ser. No. 748,751 Int. Cl.A63b 69/00 US. Cl. 273-15 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for use by basketball players in practicing the shooting of baskets over a defensive player and for use in practicing passing of the ball between offensive players, over or around a defensive player. The device includes a life-size figure of an adult male and rotatably driven arms, encased in a cushioning material, which project outwardly from the figure and which may be rotated in either direction. The apparatus is capable of use by a single player or a group of players.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a practice aid for use in the training of basketball players.

The prior art discloses backetball practice devices employed for training players in rebounding and for developing agility in players by the simultation movements of opposing players.

SUMMARY A primary object of the present invention is to provide a. novel apparatus for use by a single player or a group of players in practicing the shooting of baskets or the passing of a basketball between offensive players, over and around the apparatus, which realistically simulates a defensive player.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide a mobile device which may be conveniently positioned in any desired location on a basketball court, and which includes an upstanding wall member constituting a substantially life-size silhouette of the body and head of an adult male and which has arms projecting outwardly therefrom which are rotatably driven to simulate the movements of the arms of a defensive player attempting to block a basketball shot or to prevent the passing of a basketball between offensive players.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel control means whereby the arms may be rotated at different speeds and in either direction for varying the amount of skill required in shooting or passing over or around the device.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking toward the front or outer side of the practicing aid;

FIG. 2 is a perspective View partly broken away, looking in the opposite direction, toward the rear side of the device;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, partly in elevation, of a part of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective View,

3,552,749 Patented Jan. 5, 1971 partly in elevation and partly in section, of other portions of the practicing aid;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the electric motor of the device and the gear train thereof;

FIG. 6 is an enlraged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the control unit, and

FIG. 8 is a diagramatic view illustrating the electric circuit of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more specifically to the drawings, the basketball practicing aid in its entirety is designated generally 10 and includes a substantially fiat base or platform 11 which is supported oncaster wheels 12 which provide a mobile support for thedevice 10.

AWall member 13 extends upwardly from the base 11 adjacent one side edge thereof and is secured to said base byangle members 14 and fastenings 15, as seen in FIG. 2. Thewall 13 is disposed in an upright position and is of a size and shape to provide a life-size silhouette of the body and head of an adult male.

Across-shaped support 16 is secured to the inner or rear side of thewall 13 byfastenings 17. Astub shaft 18 is fixed to and extends outwardly from thesupport 16 to provide a journal for a'hub 19 having a centrally disposedbore 20 through which thestub shaft 18 extends, and which is enlarged at its ends, as seen at 21, to accommodateanti-friction bearings 22 and 23 on which thehub 19 revolves. Ashoulder 24 on thestub shaft 18 provides a stop for thebearing 22. The bearing 23 abuts against ashoulder washer 25 which is retained by anut 26 which engages the threadedouter end 27 of thestub shaft 18. Aspacer sleeve 28 is mounted on thestub shaft 18 and extends between the inner races of thebearings 22 and 23 for maintaining proper alignment therebetween. Thebore 20 is of sufiicient diameter to provide clearance for the hub around thesleeve 28.

Thehub 19 is provided with an annular outwardly openingslot 29 and has a plurality, preferably four, outwardly openingsockets 30 which intersect theslot 29 and which are equally spaced circumferentially about the hub. Eachsocket 30 accommodates an inner end of a spoke or stave 31.Headed screws 32 extend through thehub 19 across theslot 29 and engage threadedsockets 33 of the hub for drawing theperipheral hub portions 34 and 35, which are separated by theslot 29, toward one another for clamping thespokes 31 in thesockets 30. Thehub 19 has a restricted inner end portion disposed remote from thesupport 16 which is provided with anannularv groove 36 to form a V-belt pulley 37 I Thespokes 31 are formed of a tough, semi-rigid material, and the outer end of each spoke is secured in asocket 38 of a substantially flat oval-shaped disc 39 which simulates a human hand. Eachspoke 31 is encased in a thicktubular sheath 40, between thehub 19 andmember 39. Themembers 39 and 40 are formed of a soft cushioning material to prevent injury to the players in the event of contact therewith.

Anangle member 41, FIG. 4, is secured on the base 11 byfastenings 42. Ashelf 43 is connected byhinges 44 to the upturned wall orflange 45 of thebracket 41. The

hinges 44 are secured byfastenings 46 to the wall andshelf 43. Theshelf 43 is thus mounted for vertical swinging movement relative to thebracket 41.

Agear casing 47 is supported on and secured to theshelf 43 byfastenings 48 and is connected to and supports a small series woundelectric motor 49, the housing of which is formed integral with thegear casing 47, as best seen in FIG. 5.

Apinion 50 on the armature shaft of themotor 49 meshes with and drives agear 51 which is journaled on astub shaft 52 which is supported in an inwardly openingsocket 53 of thecasing 47. Thegear 51 has anintegral pinion 54 which meshes with agear 55 which is secured on aworm shaft 56 by akey 57 and set-screw 58. The ends of theshaft 56 are journaled insockets 59 and 60 of thecasing 47, and aball 61 andthrust plate 62 takes up thrust on the end of theshaft 56 which engages thesocket 59. End play on theshaft 56 is adjusted by ascrew 63 and aball 64 which is disposed between said screw and the other end of theshaft 56. Thescrew 63 is locked in different adjusted positions by anut 65. Aworm 66 on the shaft '56 meshes with aworm gear 67 which is secured on ashaft 68 by set-screw 68.

As seen in FIG. 4, theshaft 68 projects laterally from opposite sides of thecasing 47 and has a V-belt pulley 69 fixed to one end thereof. An endless V-belt 70 is trained over thepulleys 37 and 69 for driving thehub 19 from themotor 49. One end of apull spring 71 is secured to theshelf 43, remote from thehinges 44, and the other end of the spring is anchored to an eye fastening 72 which is secured in the base 11, for urging theshelf 43 to swing downwardly for maintaining a desired tension on thebelt 70.

As seen in FIG. 2, aweight 73 is secured on the base 11, remote from thewall 13, for counterbalancing the weight of said wall and of the parts supported thereby. Ahousing 74 is mounted on the base 11 and encloses theweight 73,bracket 41,shelf 43,brackets 14, and the parts supported by said shelf. Thehousing 74 is secured to the inner or rear side of thewall 13 by fastenings 75. Abelt guard 76 extends upwardly from a part of thehousing 74 for enclosing a part of thebelt 70, not enclosed by said housing, and for additionally enclosing thebelt pulley 37, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 6. The upper part of thebelt guard 76 is secured to thestub shaft 18 by anut 77.

Anelectrical control unit 78 is shown mounted on thebelt guard 76 and includes aspeed control knob 79 which controls acontact 80 of apotentiometer 81, FIG. 8. The electrical control also includes twosilicon rectifiers 82,tryac 83, andcondenser 84.

An electric cord leading from thecontrol unit 78 has a three prong electric plug for engagement in a 110 volt, 60 cycle alternating current outlet, not shown, from which current is supplied through theprong 87 of theplug 86 and through theconductor 88, which contains afuse 89, to and through thecontrol mechanism 78 to theconductor 90. Thecontact 80, controlled by theknob 79, provides a means for manually controlling the crest of the wave of the 60 cycle alternating current to change the speed of the reversible motor .49 which drives thebelt pulley 69. Current is supplied through the conductor to the terminal 91, and through a field winding 92 of themotor 49 to the terminal 93. A conductor 94 leads from the terminal 93 to a contact 95 of a double poledouble throw switch 96. Whenswitch 96 is thrown to connect the contacts 95 and 98 and the contatcs 99 and 100, current will flow from contact 95 through conductor 97 to the contact 98 and through aconductor 101 to a terminal 102. The current will flow from the terminal 102 through the armature winding 103 of themotor 49 to the terminal 104 and from said terminal through aconductor 105 to the contact 99. Current will flow from contact 99 through the conductor 97 to contact and then throughconductor 106 to asecond prong 107 of theplug 86 for causing themotor 49 to drive thepulley 69 in one direction for re- 4 volving thehub 19 and thearms 31, 39, 40 in one direction and at a speed as controlled by theknob 79.

When theswitch 96 is reversed so that the contact 95 is connected to contact 108 and contact 100 to contact 109, the current after passing through the field winding 92 and terminal 93 to contact 95 will pass through conductor 97 to contact 108 and then through a part of the conductor to the terminal 104. From terminal 104 current will flow in the opposite direction through the armature winding 103 toterminal 102 and then throughconductor 101 to contact 109. Current will flow fromcontact 109 through conductor 97 to contact 100 and then throughconductor 106 to theprong 107 for causing themotor 49 to be driven in the opposite direction for revolving the hub and arms in the other direction. Thethird prong 110 is suitably grounded at 111. Anelectricc'able 112, FIG. 7, connects thecontrol unit 78 to themotor 49. It will be understood that the control unit could be mounted at a point remote from the remainder of the practicing aid.10. Thearms 31, 40, 39 revolve between thewall 13 and the .belt guard, and behind said wall to realistically simulate arm movements of a defensive player so that a practicing player must shoot over said revolving arms or must pass over or around the arms to another player.

Theshelf 43 is urged to swing downwardly by the weight of themotor 49, thegear casing 47 and parts contained therein and by thespring 71 to maintain tension on thebelt 70 for driving thehub 19. However, if one of thearms 31, 39, 40 strikes a player or other obstruction, thebelt 70 will slip relative to thepulley 37 so that rotation of the hub and arms will immediately cease to prevent injury to the player or to any part of the practicingaid 10.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A basketball practicing aid comprising a base, a wall extending upwardly from said base and constituting a lifesize silhouette of the body and head of an adult, said wall having a front side and rear side, a hub, means journaling said hub on the rear side of the upper portion of the wall, arms fixed to and radiating from said hub to beyond the marginal portions of the wall, each of said arms including a semi-rigid spoke fixed in and projecting outwardly from the hub, a disc-shaped member fixed to the outer end of each spoke, a sleeve encasing each spoke between the discshape member and hub, said disc-shape members and sleeevs being formed of cushioning materials, areversible electric motor supported on said base, and means forming a driving connection between the motor and hub for rotating the hub and arms in either direction when the motor is energized.

2. A basketball practicingaid as in claim 1, a shelf on which said motor is secured, means supporting said shelf above the base for swinging movement about an horizontal axis, a shaft driven by said motor, said means forming a driving connection between the motor and hub including a belt and pulley drive, said shelf being urged to swing downwardly by the weight of the motor for maintaining the belt tensioned and to perimt slippage of the belt relative to the pulleys if rotation of the arms is obstruccted.

3. A basketball practicing aid as in claim 2, and spring means connetced to the shelf and base and urging the shelf downwardly for additionally tensioning the belt and pulley drive.

4. A basketball practicing aid as in claim' 1, an electrical control unit adapted to be connected to a source of electric current and to the motor for regulating the speed of the motor and the direction of rotation of the armature shaft of the motor. r

5. A basketball practicing aid as in claim 1, and caster wheels supporting said base and providing a mobile support for the practicing aid.

6. A basketball practicing aid as in claim 1, and a FOREIGN PATENTS weight mounted on the base remote from said wall for counter balancing the weight of the wall and the parts Great Bmam 273 1052 supported theretm 4,121,118 1909 France 273-1052 R f Cit d 5 RICHA'RD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS P. E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner 1,691,133 1/1916 Kleist et al 74242.13

1,925,036 8/1933 Gorton 74-24213 2,794,640 6/1957 Rutherford 273--105.2X 19 273 55 105 2 3,398,954 8/1968 Nedwick 273-55

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