Amusement devices: games – Aerial projectile game; game element or accessory therefor... – Target
Patent
1989-04-12
1991-04-30
Brown, Theatrice
Amusement devices: games
Aerial projectile game; game element or accessory therefor...
Target
A63B 6100
Patent
active
050111434
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to training devices for ball games such as tennis. For the sake of convenience, the invention will be described in relation to a training device for practising tennis serves but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.
BACKGROUND ART
Hitherto, the tennis serve has been practised by merely serving a large number of balls on a court. The drawback to such a training method is that the player is not encouraged to correct any defect in his serving action which should be to reach upward and outward to stike the ball. Furthermore, practising ball placement for the serve is made difficult because there is no reference point against which to gauge the height and position of the ball in the air in relation to where the player's feet are placed.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a device for practising a racquet shot and a ball placement comprising a first support member, a second support member extending from the first support member, hinge means connecting the second support member to the first support member and target means on the second support member, the arrangement being such that when the target means is struck by a racquet, the second support member will pivot about the hinge means and then return to its original position.
The target means in its stationary position will act as a reference point in space for which to aim the ball in order to establish the correct height and the correct location in relation to the player's front foot when standing on the foot mat which has been positioned correctly in relation to the target means.
When adapted for practising a tennis serve, the first support member is a height adjustable upright and the second support member extends substantially horizontally from the upright.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a training device according to one embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 inverted whilst a foot- mat is positioned,
FIG. 3 is a partly cutaway, partly sectioned plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a partly cutaway, partly sectioned front elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the hinge arrangement of the device shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a clamp for securing the device of FIG. 1 to a post,
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the clamp shown in FIG. 6, and,
FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the clamp shown in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The tennis serve training device shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 includes an upright 10 which, in this instance comprises a tubular post of rectangular cross-section the top end of which is closed by a cap 11 as shown in FIG. 1. The cap has been removed in FIG. 5. The upright 10 is secured to any convenient support 12, such as a post of a tennis court, by a pair of clamps 13 which are shown in detail in FIGS. 6 to 8 or attaching to a wooden post, or wall by appropriate means.
Adjacent the top of the upright 10 there is a channel bracket 14 that is secured to the upright 10 by belts 15. The channel of the bracket 14 receives one end of a hinge piece 16 make of an appropriate material such as polypropylene. The hinge piece 16 is secured to the mounting or bracket 14 by bolts 17.
The other end of the hinge piece 16 is secured to a second bracket 18 by bolts 19. The second mounting or bracket 18 is rigid with a support arm 20 that extends substantially horizontally from the upright 10. At an outer end of the support arm 20 there is a target means 21 mounted on a flexible nylon or similar material target support 22 that projects into the arm 20 (see FIG. 3) and is secured thereto by bolts 23.
The target means 21 may be of any convenient shape and may be made of any suitable material such as polyurethane foam. The
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