Ball collecting and returning installation
AssigneeCourt 16, Inc.
InventorAnthony Evrard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Ball collecting and returning installation for a court surface includes a back wall having a ball inlet opening and a ball outlet opening, a damping net spaced apart from and in front of the back wall and which has an opening at least partly aligning with the ball outlet opening, and a trough below the damping net and extending from the back wall to a location in front of the damping net. The trough guides balls landing therein to the ball inlet opening through which the balls pass into a ball collection receptacle behind the back wall. A ball propulsion device is also behind the back wall, elevated on a platform above the ball collection receptacle, and receives balls from the ball collection receptacle and propels them through the ball outlet opening onto the sports court surface.
Claims20
A ball collecting and returning installation, comprising:
- a back wall including a ball inlet opening and a ball outlet opening;
- a damping net spaced apart from and in front of said back wall, said damping net having an opening at least partly aligning with said ball outlet opening;
- a trough below said damping net and extending from said back wall to a location in front of said damping net, said trough including guide system for guiding balls landing in said trough to said ball inlet opening;
- and
- a ball propulsion device behind said back wall and configured to receive balls that passed through said ball inlet opening and propel the balls through said ball outlet opening.
A method for installing a ball collecting and returning installation on a sports court, comprising:
- providing a back wall including a ball inlet opening and a ball outlet opening at one end of a court surface of the court;
- arranging a damping net spaced apart from and in front of the back wall, the damping net having an opening at least partly aligning with the ball outlet opening;
- constructing a trough below a free lower edge of the damping net and extending from the back wall to a location in front of the damping net;
- providing the trough with guide structure to guide balls landing in the trough to the ball inlet opening of the back wall;
- positioning a ball propulsion device behind the back wall;
- and
- coupling an inlet of the ball propulsion device to a ball collection receptacle into which the balls pass from the trough such that balls falling from the damping net into the trough are conveyed to the ball propulsion device to be outlet onto the court.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.