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US 11,140,869 B2Granted
Roping practice apparatus and method
AssigneeSmart Roping, LLC
InventorAllen Bach
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention includes a mechanical roping apparatus and method for practicing animal roping, the apparatus comprising: an animal assembly that provides an up and down motion and simulates a hopping motion by the animal; a leg assembly mounted at the rear of the frame wherein the leg members are movable with respect to the frame and simulate a running motion; an actuation assembly to move the leg members from a forward position to a rear position; and one or more indicia that indicates to the user when the leg members are in an optimal position for roping, and then they are not accessible for roping and then the legs are accessible for roping.
Claims18
A mechanical roping apparatus for practicing animal roping, the apparatus comprising:
- an animal assembly having a front, a rear, a frame, a first pivot positioned on the frame between a front and a rear of the frame and around which the frame rotates, and a second pivot positioned on the frame at the front of the frame and around which the frame rotates, so that the rear of the animal assembly moves up and down as the frame rotates at least around the first pivot and the second pivot to simulate a hopping motion by an animal;
- a leg assembly mounted at the rear of the frame and including leg members that are movable with respect to the frame to simulate a running motion, wherein each leg member comprises a foot, an ankle, and a hock;
- one or more visual indicia that indicate to a user when the leg members are in an optimal position for roping, wherein the one or more visual indicia (1) are selected from a light, a colored light, an LED, and an OLED;
- (2) indicate a correct time to rope the leg members by dimming and intensifying;
- and (3) are positioned in a location on the leg members that permits the user to best determine the optimal position of the leg members during the stride for roping, on the foot of one or more of the leg members, on the ankle of one or more of the leg members, between the ankle and the hock of one or more of the leg members, on the hock of one or more of the leg members, between the ankle of one or more of the leg members and the rear of the animal assembly, between the hock of one or more of the leg members and the rear of the animal assembly, on the rear of the animal assembly, or combinations thereof;
- and
- an actuation assembly comprising:
- a wheel rotatably mounted on the frame in contact with the ground;
- a linkage connecting the wheel to the leg assembly such that rotation of the wheel by the ground when the animal assembly is moved over the ground surface is transferred to the leg assembly to pivot at least one of the leg members;
- and
- a switch connected to the one or more visual indicia and configured to operate the one or more visual indicia, wherein the switch is configured to operate as the wheel and the linkage pivot the at least one of the leg members;
- wherein the actuation assembly is configured to move the leg members from a forward position when the leg members touch the ground, during a stride such that the leg members are in contact with the ground until they reach a rear facing position and the leg members are raised from the ground and kick;
- and the leg members are off the ground from the rear facing position to the forward position.
10 more elements
A method for practicing animal roping comprising:
- providing an animal assembly, the animal assembly having:
- a front, a rear, a frame, a first pivot positioned on the frame between a front and a rear of the frame and around which the frame rotates, and a second pivot positioned on the frame at the front of the frame and around which the frame rotates, so that the rear of the animal assembly moves up and down as the frame rotates at least around the first pivot and the second pivot to simulate a hopping motion by an animal;
- a leg assembly mounted at the rear of the frame and including one or more leg members that are movable with respect to the frame to simulate a running motion, wherein each leg member comprises a foot, an ankle, and a hock;
- one or more visual indicia that indicate to a user when the leg members are in an optimal position for roping, and when the leg members are not accessible for roping and when the leg members are accessible for roping, wherein the one or more visual indicia (1) are selected from a light, a colored light, an LED, and an OLED;
- (2) indicate a correct time to rope the leg members by dimming and intensifying;
- and (3) are positioned in a location on the leg members that permits the user to best determine the optimal position of the leg members during the stride for roping, on the foot of one or more of the leg members, on the ankle of one or more of the leg members, between the ankle and the hock of one or more of the leg members, on the hock of one or more of the leg members, between the ankle of one or more of the leg members and the rear of the animal assembly, between the hock of one or more of the leg members and the rear of the animal assembly, on the rear of the animal assembly, or combinations thereof;
- and
- an actuation assembly comprising:
- a wheel rotatably mounted on the frame in contact with the ground;
- and
- a linkage connecting the wheel to the leg assembly such that rotation of the wheel by the ground when the animal assembly is moved over the ground surface is transferred to the leg assembly to pivot at least one of the leg members;
- and
- a switch connected to the one or more visual indicia and configured to operate the one or more visual indicia, wherein the switch is configured to operate as the wheel and the linkage pivot the at least one of the leg members;
- wherein the actuation assembly is configured to move the leg members from a forward position when the leg members touch the ground, during a stride such that the leg members are in contact with the ground until they reach a rear facing position and the leg members are raised from the ground and kick;
- and the leg members are off the ground from the rear facing position to the forward position;
- pulling the animal assembly to simulate the running motion of the animal;
- and
- providing the one or more visual indicia at the optimal position for roping the leg members.
15 more elements
A mechanical roping apparatus for practicing steer roping, the apparatus comprising:
- a steer assembly having a front, a rear, a frame, a first pivot positioned on the frame between a front and a rear of the frame and around which the frame rotates, and a second pivot positioned on the frame at the front of the frame and around which the frame rotates, so that the rear of the steer assembly moves up and down as the frame rotates at least around the first pivot and the second pivot to simulate a hopping motion by a steer;
- a leg assembly mounted at the rear of the frame and including leg members that are movable with respect to the frame to simulate a running motion, wherein each leg member comprises a foot, an ankle, and a hock;
- one or more visual indicia that indicate to a user when the leg members are in an optimal position for roping, wherein the one or more visual indicia (1) are selected from a light, a colored light, an LED, and an OLED;
- (2) indicate a correct time to rope the leg members by dimming and intensifying;
- and (3) are positioned in a location on the leg members that permits the user to best determine the optimal position of the leg members during the stride for roping, on the foot of one or more of the leg members, on the ankle of one or more of the leg members, between the ankle and the hock of one or more of the leg members, on the hock of one or more of the leg members, between the ankle of one or more of the leg members and the rear of the steer assembly, between the hock of one or more of the leg members and the rear of the steer assembly, on the rear of the steer assembly, or combinations thereof;
- a wheel assembly comprising a plurality of wheels positioned at the front of the steer assembly in contact with the ground, and two, three, or four wheels of the plurality of wheels are positioned co-axially along a single axis to the right, left, or both of a longitudinal centerline of the steer assembly;
- and
- an actuation assembly comprising:
- a wheel rotatably mounted on the frame in contact with the ground;
- a linkage connecting the wheel to the leg assembly such that rotation of the wheel by the ground when the steer assembly is moved over the ground surface is transferred to the leg assembly to pivot at least one of the leg members;
- and
- a switch connected to the one or more visual indicia and configured to operate the one of more visual indicia, wherein the switch is configured to operate as the wheel and the linkage pivot the at least one of the leg members;
- wherein the actuation assembly is configured to move the leg members from a forward position when the leg members touch the ground, during a stride such that the leg members are in contact with the ground until they reach a rear facing position and the leg members are raised from the ground and kick;
- and the leg members are off the ground from the rear facing position to the forward position.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.