Collapsible batting practice apparatus, and connectable plastic tubing used in same

Abstract

According to the invention there is disclosed a collapsible batting practice apparatus which comprises an inclined ball delivery channel for delivering a ball to a hitting area under gravitational forces, a support stand for supporting the inclined ball delivery channel at an elevated position, the support stand including a base and an elongate column connecting the inclined ball delivery channel and the base, and the inclined ball delivery channel and the elongate column being selectively collapsible into sections storable within the base. The base preferable comprises a five to seven gallon bucket, the elongate column is formed from a plurality of rigid tubular sections formed of a rigid plastic such as polyvinyl chloride and compressible rigid connectors also formed of PVC or the like which fit within the sections of tubing so as to be completely concealed thereby. Additionally, the apparatus also preferably includes a batting practice net for restricting movements of batted balls, a collapsible support frame for supporting the net in a substantially vertical orientation, and a base which dually functions to support the collapsible frame in an operative position thereof and to store the components of the collapsible frame and the net when disassembled.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.