Portable batting device and method
First Claim
1. A portable batting device, comprising:
- a housing having a top side, a bottom side, four side walls interconnecting the top and bottom sides, and an interior compartment;
a pneumatically operated ball launching assembly partially disposed within the interior compartment of the housing, the launching assembly capable of launching a first ball upward into a hitting zone so that a batter may attempt to hit the first ball with a bat, the hitting zone being at a predetermined and adjustable vertical height; and
a funnel-shaped ball capturing assembly positioned on the top side of the housing, the ball capturing assembly capable of both receiving the first ball should the batter swing the bat and not hit the first ball and thereafter funneling the first ball into position for a subsequent launch by the launching assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable batting device that includes a housing, a pneumatically operated ball launching assembly partially disposed within the housing, and a funnel-shaped ball capturing assembly positioned on the top side of the housing. The launching assembly launching a first ball upward into a hitting zone so that a batter may attempt to hit the first ball with a bat. The hitting zone is at a predetermined and adjustable vertical height. The ball capturing assembly receives the first ball should the batter swing the bat and not hit the ball and funnels the first ball into position for a subsequent launch by the launching assembly. The batting device may have a ball feeding assembly operatively associated with the ball capturing assembly.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A portable batting device, comprising:
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a housing having a top side, a bottom side, four side walls interconnecting the top and bottom sides, and an interior compartment; a pneumatically operated ball launching assembly partially disposed within the interior compartment of the housing, the launching assembly capable of launching a first ball upward into a hitting zone so that a batter may attempt to hit the first ball with a bat, the hitting zone being at a predetermined and adjustable vertical height; and a funnel-shaped ball capturing assembly positioned on the top side of the housing, the ball capturing assembly capable of both receiving the first ball should the batter swing the bat and not hit the first ball and thereafter funneling the first ball into position for a subsequent launch by the launching assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A portable batting device, comprising:
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a housing having a top side, a bottom side, four side walls interconnecting the top and bottom sides, and an interior compartment; a pneumatically operated ball launching assembly partially disposed within the interior compartment of the housing, the launching assembly capable of launching a first ball upward from a launching position into a hitting zone so that a batter may attempt to hit the first ball with a bat, the hitting zone being at a predetermined and adjustable vertical height; a funnel-shaped ball capturing assembly positioned on the top side of the housing, the ball capturing assembly capable of both receiving the first ball should the batter swing the bat and not hit the first ball and thereafter funneling the first ball into position for a subsequent launch by the launching assembly, the ball capturing assembly comprising;
an upper circular frame, a lower circular frame, a plurality of support bars interconnecting the upper and lower circular frames, and a ball funneling member extending between the upper and lower circular frames; anda ball feeding assembly operatively associated with the ball capturing assembly, the ball feeding assembly selectively delivering a second ball into the ball capturing assembly when the first ball has been hit by the batter, the ball funneling member of the ball capturing assembly funneling the second ball into the launching position for launching by the ball launching assembly. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of vertically launching balls for batting comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a portable batting device, said portable batting device comprising;
a housing having a top side, a bottom side, four side walls interconnecting the top and bottom sides, and an interior compartment;
a pneumatically operated ball launching assembly partially disposed within the interior compartment of the housing; and
a funnel-shaped ball capturing assembly positioned on the top side of the housing;(b) activating the ball launching assembly; (c) launching a first ball upward from a launching position of the ball launching assembly into a hitting zone so that a batter may attempt to hit the first ball with a bat, the hitting zone being at a predetermined and adjustable vertical height; (d) capturing the first ball in the ball capturing assembly should the batter swing the bat and not hit the first ball; and (e) funneling the first ball into the launching position with the ball capturing assembly for a subsequent launch by the ball launching assembly. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification