Methods and apparatuses for sports training
OwnerGarrett Florainventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for holding in place a ball. The apparatus includes a vacuum generating device connected to one end of a flexible tubing, a hollow rod of adjustable length containing part of the flexible tubing, and a vacuum cup connected to an opposite end of the flexible tubing, such that vacuum applied to the vacuum cup holds in place a ball when a surface of the ball is contacted to the vacuum cup. A method of holding a ball in place includes generating a vacuum using a vacuum generating equipment, inserting a flexible tubing through a hollow rod, connecting one end of the flexible tubing to the vacuum generating equipment, connecting an opposite end of the flexible tubing to a vacuum cup, and placing a surface of a ball in contact with the vacuum cup, thereby holding the ball in place.
Claims20
An apparatus for holding in place a ball, the apparatus comprising:
- a flexible tubing;
- a vacuum generating device comprising a compressor and a vacuum ejector connected to a first end of the flexible tubing;
- a hollow rod of adjustable length containing part of the flexible tubing, and
- a vacuum cup connected to a second end of the flexible tubing,
- such that when a vacuum is applied by the compressor and the vacuum ejector to the vacuum cup through the flexible tubing, the ball is held in place by contacting a surface of the ball to the vacuum cup so as to present the ball to a player, wherein the combination of the rod of adjustable length and the flexible tubing is capable of a plurality of configurations that adjust the position and height of the ball relative to the player to allow 5-axis degrees of freedom for contact striking the ball.
(canceled)
A method of presenting a ball to a player, the method comprising:
- inserting a flexible tubing through a hollow rod of adjustable length;
- connecting a first end of the flexible tubing to vacuum generating equipment comprising a compressor and a vacuum ejector;
- connecting a second end of the flexible tubing to a vacuum cup;
- generating a vacuum with the compressor and the vacuum ejector;
- adjusting length and position of the hollow rod and position of the flexible tubing to position the vacuum cup at a desired location;
- and
- placing a surface of a ball in contact with the vacuum cup such that the vacuum holds the ball in place and the position and height of the ball are adjusted relative to the player to allow 5-axis degrees of freedom for contact striking the ball.
(canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.