System for, and method of popping upwardly an element on a T-ball mechanism

In a combination for operation with an element having properties of being propelled,

• a housing,
• a bin disposed in the housing and defining a cavity for receiving the element, the cavity being defined by spaced side walls and a bottom wall to receive the element and being open at the top,
• a spring disposed in the bin and having constrained and unconstrained relationships,
• an actuating member disposed in the bin and having first and second ends and attached to the spring at the first end and being pivotable at the second end between a position displaced from the cavity and a position extending into the cavity,
• the element being positioned in the cavity in displaced relationship to the actuating member in the constrained relationship of the spring and being positioned in the cavity in the unconstrained relationship of the spring to provide for the movement of the element upwardly from the cavity by the actuating member when the constraint on the spring is released, and
• a mechanism in the bin for providing a constraint of the spring and a subsequent release of the constraint on the spring,
• a receiver for receiving signals to provide for the constraint of the spring and the subsequent release of the constraint on the spring, and
• a mechanism responsive to the received signals for constraining the spring and for subsequently releasing the constraint on the spring, wherein
• the bin is pivotably disposed on the housing to adjust the direction in which the element is popped upwardly when the constraint on the spring is released and wherein
• the bottom of the cavity is constructed to guide the element into the cavity to the position where the element is disposed above the actuating member when the spring becomes constrained and wherein
• the second end of the actuating member is constructed and disposed relative to the element to prevent the element from being disposed above the actuating member when the spring is unconstrained and wherein
• the actuating member is constructed to engage the element forcibly when the constraint on the spring is released.

In combination for operation with an element having properties of being propelled or caught,

• a hollow housing,
• a bin pivotably coupled to the housing and defining a cavity having an opening at the upper end of the cavity,
• an actuating member coupled to the bin at a first end and extending into the cavity to a position above the opening in the cavity at a second end, opposite to the first end with the actuating member in a rest position to prevent the element from being positioned in the opening, the actuating member being movable to a constraining position where the actuating member does not extend into the opening in the cavity,
• a constraining member operatively coupled to the actuating member for moving in response to the movement of the actuating member from the rest position to the constraining position and for releasing the actuating member from the constraining position for movement of the actuating member to the rest position, after the movement of the actuating member to the constraining position, to impact against the element in the opening, and
• a drive mechanism operatively coupled to the actuating member for operating the actuating member from the rest position to the constraining position and for releasing the actuating member from the constraining position for movement to the rest position, after the movement of the actuating member to the constraining position, to impact the actuating member against the element,
• the element being disposed in the cavity out of coupled relationship with the actuating member in the rest position of the actuating member and being movable into the opening in the cavity when the actuating member is moved to the constraining position.

In combination for operation with an element having properties of being popped upwardly and of being propelled or caught when it is popped upwardly,

• a circuit including a switch having first and second states of operation and normally disposed in the first state of operation and including a transmitter for transmitting signals upon a change in the operation of the switch from the first state to the second state,
• a pop-up apparatus including a hollow housing and a bin coupled to the housing and an actuating member coupled at one end to the bin and having first and second ends extending into the bin at a second end Opposite to the first end, the bin defining a cavity having an opening for receiving the element and the disposition of the actuating member in the cavity in the first operative position displacing the element from the opening in the cavity and the displacement of the actuating member from the first operative position providing for the disposition of the element in the opening of the cavity,
• a constraining member having constrained and unconstrained relationships and operatively coupled to the actuating member for providing a disposition of the actuating member in the first position in the constrained relationship of the constraining member and for providing a release of the actuating member from the first position to impact the element when the constraining member becomes unconstrained,
• the pop-up apparatus also including a cyclically movable control mechanism for disposing the second end of the actuating member in the bin in a constrained relationship at a position below the element in the housing cavity and for subsequently releasing the constraint on the actuating member to provide for an impacting movement of the actuating member against the element with a force to pop the element upwardly,
• the pop-up apparatus further including a receiver responsive to the signals from the transmitter for providing for the constraint on the actuating member and the subsequent release of the constraint on the actuating member.
• the actuating member being provided at the second end with a hammer configuration to accentuate the force imposed upon the element when the actuating member strikes the element and to prevent the element from moving in the cavity in the first operative position of the actuating member to the position where it is struck by the actuating member.

In combination for operation with an element having properties of being popped upwardly and of being propelled or caught when it is popped upwardly,

• a circuit including a switch having first and second states of operation and normally disposed in the first state of operation and including a transmitter for transmitting signals upon a change in the operation of the switch from the first state to the second state,
• pop-up apparatus including a hollow housing and a bin coupled to the housing and an actuating member coupled at one end to the bin and having first and second operative relationships and extending into the bin at a second end opposite to the first end, the bin defining a cavity for receiving the element and the disposition of the actuating member in the cavity in the first operative relationship preventing the element from being popped upwardly from the cavity and the displacement of the actuating member from the first operative position providing for the disposition of the element in the opening of the cavity,
• the pop-up apparatus also including a constrainable member for disposing the second end of the actuating member in the bin in a constrained relationship at a position below the element in the housing cavity and for subsequently releasing the constraint on the second end of the actuating member to provide for a movement of the actuating member against the element to pop the element upwardly,
• the pop-up apparatus further including a receiver responsive to the signals from the transmitter for providing for the constraint on the constrainable member and the subsequent release of the constraint on the constrainable member,
• the bin being coupled to the housing for pivotable movement relative to the housing to a first position to provide for a pop-up of the element upwardly in a substantially vertical direction and to a second position to provide for a pop-up of the element with a horizontal component,
• the actuating member being provided at the second end with a hammer configuration to accentuate the force imposed upon the element when the actuating member impinges against the element and to prevent the element from moving in the cavity, in the first operative relationship of the actuating member, to the position where it is struck by the actuating member,
• the cavity in the bin being defined by a pair of side walls and a bottom wall,
• a bridge extending between the side walls to maintain the disposition of the element in the cavity when the actuating member is in the first operative relationship, and
• guides disposed on the bottom wall of the cavity to direct the element toward the actuating member.

In a combination for popping an element upwardly for propulsion or catching by a player,

• a bin having a cavity defined by side walls and a bottom wall and having an opening in the cavity,
• a structure coupled to the bin for introducing the element into the cavity in the bin,
• an actuating member having one end normally disposed in the cavity in the bin at a first position to prevent the element from being disposed directly above the opening in the bin,
• a rotary member,
• the actuating member being coupled to the rotary member for movement of the one end of the actuating member on a cyclic basis to a first position providing for the movement of the element to a position above the opening and then to a second position providing for an impingement of the actuating member against the element for a popping upwardly of the element from the bin, and
• a constrainable member operatively coupled to the one end of the actuating member to become constrained during the movement of the one end of the actuating member to the first position and to provide for a release of the constraint on the constrainable member for an impingement of the actuating member against the element.