Mechanical baseball tee

Abstract

A hitting training aid is provided, such as a mechanical tee for batting practice. The mechanical tee may present a ball to a batter at various heights, positions, speeds, and angles to simulate real game conditions. The mechanical tee may include a vertical stand with a variable position, retractable post that supports flexible tubing with a suction cup at the end to hold a ball in a suspended manlier for striking. The mechanical tee may have a motor and vacuum pump configuration to provide suction, and may automatically feed balls to a batter. The vertical stand may additionally have an air compressor and an attachment for pneumatically tossing or propelling a ball upward for striking. The mechanical tee may move, or toss, a ball to variable and / or random placements within a three dimensional strike zone. A portable stand may have several telescopic pistons for lifting a ball at various placements.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present application relates to hitting and balling teaching aids. In particular, the present application relates to devices that improve a player's coordination and skill.BACKGROUND[0002]Conventional hitting aids may suspend a ball vertically, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,683 to Beimel; U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,132 to Lopatto; U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,582 to Minniear; U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,270 to Daugherty; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,679 to Tell et al. A number of conventional devices may employ pneumatic methods of lifting a ball, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,131 to Leon; U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,878 to Nickerson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,876 to Sejnowski.[0003]However, in general, conventional hitting aids may suffer from various deficiencies. For instance, some conventional hitting aids may hold a ball at a stationary position. Other conventional hitting aids may hold or deliver a ball to the same height. As a result, batters ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to a hitting training aid that includes a mechanical tee for batting practice. The mechanical tee can present a ball to the batter at various heights, positions, speeds, and angles to simulate real game conditions. The mechanical tee can be used with different types of balls and can automatically feed the balls to the batter. The vertical stand of the mechanical tee has a variable position and can suspend and / or toss a ball at random placements. The invention also includes an electronic controller enclosed within the vertical stand that can move the retractable post in different directions to create a three-dimensional strike zone where the ball can be hit at various locations and angles. The invention helps to train the hand-eye movement of the batter to hit the ball at varying and random locations within the three-dimensional strike zone.

Problems solved by technology

However, in general, conventional hitting aids may suffer from various deficiencies.

It is believed that this may hinder batter development.

Another nuisance of conventional tees may be that they require manually replacing the ball after each swing.

Conventional hitting aids may be structurally lacking or ineffective in other respects as well.

If the bat meets the top of the ball, chances are the contact will result in grounders.

Alternatively, if the bat meets the lower portion of the ball, the contact usually will result in a pop fly.

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