Ball suspending apparatus and method
OwnerHarold L. Eustice, William T. Fosterinventors
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Abstract
Disclosed is an improved ball suspending apparatus which utilizes a dual directional component air stream to support the ball for striking. The dual directional component air stream allows the ball to be spun according to the desire of the operator. For example, a baseball may be supported to simulate the certain spins associated with fastball or curveball pitches thrown by either left or right handed pitchers, thereby allowing the batter to experience the manner in which a certain type of pitch will react when struck with a bat.
Claims34
An improved ball suspending apparatus for suspending and spinning a sport ball in one position comprising:
- blower means operably connected to a power source for creating a stream of forced air;
- tubular means having a straight portion and a bent end portion coupled to said blower means for directing said stream of forced air onto said sport ball to both suspend and rotate said sport ball in one position at an angle different than the vertical and in general axial alignment with said end portion;
- and
- a plurality of interchangeable tubular means, each of said plurality of interchangeable tubular means having said uppermost portion held at a different angle from the remaining plurality of tubular means.
A method for suspending and spinning a sport ball in one position comprising the steps of:
- providing blower means operably connected to a power source for creating a stream of forced air;
- providing tubular means having a straight portion and a bent end portion coupled to said blower means for directing said stream of forced air onto said sport ball to both suspend and rotate said sport ball in one position at an angle different than vertical and in general axial alignment with said end portion;
- and thereafter
- placing a sport ball in said stream of forced air;
- and
- providing a plurality of interchangeable tubular means, each of said plurality of interchangeable tubular means having said uppermost portion held at a different angle from the remaining plurality of tubular means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.