US 4,841,945 AGranted

Automatic tennis ball feeding and serving apparatus

OwnerVictor K. Bradeninventor

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An automatic tennis ball feeding and serving apparatus comprises a ball hopper, wheel-type tennis ball projector and conveyor for transporting tennis balls from the hopper to the ball projector. A frame is provided to which the hopper, ball projector and conveyor are fixed, with the ball projector elevated above the hopper. The conveyor includes an endless loop, motor driven conveyor chain which is inclined at a small angle from the vertical. A ball delivering chute is positioned between the conveyor and the ball projector to gravity feed balls from the conveyor to the ball projector. Connected to the conveyor chain are a plurality of spaced apart, tennis ball transporters, each having a shallow ball receiving recess. Associated with each ball transporter is a ball anti-stacking element which prevents the stacking of two or more tennis balls on the same ball transporter. Each anti-stacking element projects outwardly from the conveyor belt about 11/2 tennis ball diameters above each ball transporters. A ball agitator, comprising a plurality of rotatably driven fingers which alternatively project upwardly through openings in the bottom of the hopper, continually tumble tennis balls in the hopper to prevent bridging of the balls and to thereby insure reliable ball loading onto the ball transporters.

Claims17

Dependent claims

Automatic tennis ball feeding and throwing apparatus which comprises:

(a) a hopper for holding a number of tennis balls, the hopper having substantially closed sides and a bottom;
(b) tennis ball projecting means having a ball infeed region and a ball ejection region;
(c) an elongate ball conveyor including an endless loop conveyor belt having connected thereto at least one tennis ball receiving and transporting member, said conveyor having a ball discharge region;
(d) an apparatus frame;
(e) means for mounting the hopper and ball projecting means to the frame in a mutually spaced apart relationship with the ball projecting means elevated above the hopper, and for mounting the conveyor to the frame intermediate the hopper and the ball projecting means, and with a lower region thereof in a ball loading relationship with the hopper;
(f) ball transferring means for transferring balls from the ball discharge region of the conveyor into the ball infeed region of the ball projector;
(g) means for driving the conveyor belt in a direction transporting a ball loaded from the hopper onto said at least one ball receiving and transporting member to the ball transferring means;
(h) means configured for mechanically agitating tennis balls in the hopper so as to substantially prevent the bridging of tennis balls in the hopper and the consequent forming of ball voids, the reliable loading of a tennis ball from the hopper onto said at least one ball receiving and transporting member connected to the conveyor being thereby enabled;
and
(i) non-stacking means connected to the conveyor for preventing more than one ball at a time from being transported on said at least one ball receiving and transporting member from the hopper to the ball transferring means.

7 more elements

Automatic tennis ball feeding and throwing apparatus which comprises:

(a) a hopper for holding a number of tennis balls, the hopper having substantially closed sides and a bottom;
(b) tennis ball projecting means having a ball infeed region and a ball ejection region;
(c) an elongate ball conveyor including an endless loop conveyor belt having connected thereto a plurality of tennis ball receiving and transporting members, said conveyor having a ball discharge region;
(d) an apparatus frame;
(e) means for mounting the hopper and ball projecting means to the frame in a mutually spaced apart relationship with the ball projecting means elevated above the hopper, and for mounting the conveyor to the frame intermediate the hopper and the ball projecting means, and with a lower region thereof in a ball loading relationship with the hopper;
(f) ball transferring means for transferring balls from the ball discharge region of the conveyor into the ball infeed region of the ball projector;
(g) means for driving the conveyor belt in a direction transporting tennis balls loaded from the hopper onto the ball receiving and transporting members to the ball transferring means;
(h) non-stacking means connected to the conveyor for preventing more than one ball at a time from being transported on any of the ball receiving and transporting members from the hopper to the ball transferring means.

5 more elements

Automatic tennis ball feeding and throwing apparatus which comprises:

(a) a hopper for holding a number of tennis balls, said hopper having substantially closed sides and a bottom;
(b) tennis ball projecting means having a ball infeed region and a ball ejection region;
(c) a ball chute having a ball inlet end and a ball discharge end;
(d) an elongate tennis ball conveyor including an endless loop conveyor belt having connected thereto a plurality of tennis ball receiving and transporting members;
(e) an apparatus frame;
(f) means for mounting the hopper and ball projecting means to the frame in a mutually spaced apart relationship with the ball ejecting means elevated above the hopper, for mounting the ball chute to the frame with the ball discharge end in communication with the ball infeed region of the ball projecting means and for mounting the conveyor to the frame in a ball loading relationship with the hopper and in a ball feeding relationship with the inlet end of the ball chute;
(g) means for driving the conveyor belt in a direction transporting balls loaded from the hopper onto the ball receiving and transporting members to the ball inlet end of the ball chute;
(h) means for mechanically agitating tennis balls contained in the hopper so as to substantially prevent the bridging of balls in the hopper and the consequent forming of ball voids, the reliable loading of tennis balls from the hopper onto the ball receiving and transporting members connected to the conveyor being thereby enabled;
and
(i) means connected to the conveyor belt for assuring that tennis balls loaded from the hopper onto the ball receiving and transporting members do not stack above one another on the ball receiving and transporting members.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/047,617Filed 7 May 1987
Granted: 27 Jun 1989
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

B65G 47/1471
By means of movement of the bottom or a part of the wall of the container: movement in one direction, substantially outwards
A63B 69/406
Stationarily-arranged devices for projecting balls or other bodies: with rotating discs, wheels or pulleys gripping and propelling the balls or…
A63B 2047/004
Devices for dispensing balls, e.g. from a reservoir: having means preventing bridge formation during dispensing
B65G
Transport or storage devices