Device for use in practicing tennis strokes
United States Patent [1 1 Gold 1 DEVICE FOR USE IN PRACTICING TENNIS STROKES [76] Inventor: Philip Gold. 596 S. Main St..  
 Sharon. Mass. 02067 [22] Filed: Apr. 4. 1974 [21] Appl. N0.: 457,725  
 [52] US. Cl 273/29 A [51] Int. Cl A63!) 69/38 [58] Field of Search... 273/29 A, 26 R, 26 A 26 E. 273/33, 200 R, 200 B, 202, 204. 206. 184 R,  
 156] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 567.455 9/1896 Dalziel i. 273/202 2.0571494 10/1936 Harvey 273/202 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 413.781 7/1934 United Kingdom .7 273/200 B 1 Apr. 8, 1975 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Emminer-T. Brown [57] ABSTRACT A device for use in practicing tennis strokes has a base to which a support is connected to swing in any direction relative thereto from a normal position, A resilient ball holder is secured to the free end of the support and extends laterally relative to the base and lengthwise of the path of a practice stroke but is sufficiently flexible to collapse under the impact of the racket without significant resistance while transmitting force to the support to cause it to swing out of the path of the racket The device may be used in the practice of serves or return strokes and in the former case, it must be positioned with the support horizontal and at a sufficient height. The ball may be permanently secured to the holder or supported by a cup to be driven therefrom.  
 9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR USE IN PRACTICING TENNIS STROKES BACKGROUND REFERENCES U.S. Letters Pat. No. 2,272,765 US. Letters Pat. No. 2,976,041 U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,73l,926  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tennis requires that a player be able to properly meet a ball whether serving or returning it and, in the latter case, either with a fore or backhand stroke and regardless of the level required by the path of the ball relative to the player.  
  Devices have been proposed for use by a tennis player by himself in practicing strokes. Such devices consist, in general, of a support holding a ball in an appropriate position and yieldable by the impact of the racket when the ball is hit. The ball may either be secured to the support or free to be driven therefrom.  
  As far as I am aware, such devices do not sufficiently eliminate resistance to the racket as it meets the ball or interference with the follow through to make practice with such proposed devices suitably effective.  
 THE PRESENT INVENTION The general objective of the present invention is to provide a device for use in practicing various tennis strokes in which the ball support will not offer significant resistance to the racket when the ball is struck or interference with the follow through.  
  In accordance with the invention this objective is attained by providing such a device with a base to which the support is so connected that it may swing relative thereto in any direction. A ball holder is connected to the free end of the support and is disposed laterally to extend lengthwise of the path through which the racket is to be swung in practicing a particular stroke. The ball holder is resilient and sufficiently flexible to collapse so that it offers no appreciable resistance when the ball is struck and yet transmit sufficient force to the support to swing it out of the path of the racket as a stroke is completed Another objective of the invention is to provide a support adapted to ensure the desired above referredto functions, an objective attained by forming a support with a first section that has a universal type of connection with a base and a U-shaped section having a depending leg slidably connected to the first section with the upper arm of said upper section having the ball holder removably attached thereto.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and FIG. 1 is a side view of the device;  
 FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;  
  FIG. 3 is a perspective and partly sectioned view of the device on a substantial increase in scale;  
  FIG. 4 is a section, on the scale of FIG. 3, and taken approximately along the indicated line 4-4 of FIG. 1;  
  FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG.  
  FIG. 6 is a view of the device mounted on a vertical support and as seen from the position of a player when practicing it serve; and  
  FIG. 7 is a fragmentary and partly sectioned view on a substantial increase in scale of a ball attached to the flexible stem of the device.  
 THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The tennis stroke practice device illustrated by the drawings, consists of a base, generally indicated at 10, a support, generally indicated at 11, and a ball holder, generally indicated at 12 in FIGS. 1-5 and at 12A in FIG. 7.  
  The base 10 has a square box including ends 10A provided with handles 13 and which are downwardly inclined from their central portions to the level of the box sides 10B. A first member 14 having upwardly disposed ends 15 and a second member 16 have somewhat shorter, upwardly turned ends 17 are secured to the box bottom 10C at right angles to each other.  
  An upwardly disposed U-shaped holder 18 is secured to the member 14 and centrally of the box and a ring I9 is secured by pivots 20 to the holder I8 with the pivot axis lengthwise of the member 14. The ring 19 is held substantially parallel to the box bottom 10C by diametrically opposed springs 21, each secured to the ring 19 and to the appropriate one of the ends 17. A mount 22 is supported diametrically within the ring 19 by pivots 23 with the pivot axis defined thereby at right angles to that of the pivots 20. The mount 22 has the centrally located tubular post 24 of the support II secured thereto which post extends upwardly through a keeper 25 connected by springs 26 to the ends 15. In practice, the post 24 is rigid. A cover generally indicated at 27 is marginally secured to the box and is sufficiently full to provide a central crown 27A in the form of a tapered bellows through which the post 24 extends and to enable the post 24 to swing relative to the base 10 through an arc of 360. In practice, the cover material is Neoprene or other comparable elastomeric material.  
  The support 11 also includes a U-shaped section 28 with its lower arm 28A provided with a depending portion 28B disposed at right angles thereto in the plane of the section 28 and dimensioned for slidable entry within the post 24 and of sufficient length to permit the height of the section 28 relative to the base 10 to be varied through a substantial distance. The section 28 is locked in any selected vertical position by means of a set screw 29 and in practice is formed from metal rod stock.  
  The ball holder 12 includes a resilient, flexible section 30 and has a seat 31 either molded on or otherwise suitably secured to its free end. In practice, the margin of the seat 31 is very flexible having just enough rigidity to hold a ball 32 and its diameter is substantially less than that of the ball. The section 30 is sufficiently flexible to collapse readily when the ball 32 is hit while transmitting force to the relatively rigid support II to cause it to swing in whatever direction it is compelled to follow by the impact of the racket and to a sufficient extent to avoid interference with the follow through, a result assisted by the U-shape of the section 28. In practice, the section 30 is of polyurethane and may have and desirably does have close to the minimum resilience that will ensure the return of the seat 31 to its original position after the ball 32 has been struck. The section 30, if not tubular, has a socket formed to enable it to be a press fit on the free end of the upper arm 28C.  
  In practicing return strokes, the device is usually used with the base positioned on the floor or ground and the height of the section 28 is adjusted to support a ball 32 in a wanted position The players position is such that the path of the swing of his racket, in striking the ball 32 will include the axis of the section 30.  
  While there are advantages to having the ball 32 freely supported, indoor practice or wherever space is limited requires that the ball be held captive. Reference is made to FIG. 7 whenever the ball holder 12A is shown as including a tubular section 30A having a screw 33A threaded therein, the screw extending cen trally outwardly through one-half of the ball 32A and provided with a concavo-convex head 34 incorporated in and bonded in place in that ball half during the manufacture of the ball.  
  When the device is to be used in practicing serves, the ball holder must be disposed with its axis in the path of the racket at the considerable height a practice serve requires. The device may for that purpose be mounted overhead or, as illustrated by FIG. 6, attached to a vertical support. for example, a wall.  
 I claim:  
  I. A device for use with a tennis racket in improving tennis strokes, said device comprising a base, a support, means connecting said support to said base to enable said support to swing in any direction relative thereto from a normal position and including resilient means yieldably biasing said support into said normal position, a resilient ball holder secured to the free end ofthe support and extending laterally therefrom, said ball holder being sufficiently flexible to collapse under the impact of a racket without significant resistance or interference with the follow-through ofa practise stroke while transmitting force to the support to cause it to swing out ofthe path of said practise stroke, and said support including a substantially U-shaped section having upper and lower arms, said lower arm including a downwardly depending portion and said upper arm being connected to said ball holder.  
  2. The device of claim 1 and a ball secured to the holder with the support in alignment with a radius thereof.  
  3. The device of claim I in which the holder includes a ball supporting cup whose margins are sufficiently flexible to prevent any appreciable resistance to a racket when it engages and drives the ball therefrom.  
  4. The device of claim 3 in which the diameter of the cup is substantially less than that of a conventional lawn tennis ball.  
  5. The device of claim 1 in which the holder includes a ball support of substantially smaller cross sectional area than the circumference of a conventional lawn tennis ball.  
  6. The device of claim 1 in which the support also includes a post connected to said means, said portion and said post being interconnected to enable said ball holder to be vertically adjustable.  
  7. The device of claim 1 in which the ball holder has a tubular portion fitted on the free end of the upper arm of the U-shaped section.  
  8. A device for use with a tennis racket in improving tennis strokes, said device comprising a base, said base including a ring, a fixed holder pivotally supporting the ring at diametrically opposed points, opposing ringlevelling springs attached to the base and to the ring at diametrically opposed points spaced from the pivot axis of the ring, a mount within the ring pivotally connected thereto with the pivot axis at right angles to that of the ring, and opposing springs connected to the base and to the support in vertical alignment with the pivot axis of the ring, a support secured to said mount axially of said ring, and a resilient ball holder secured to the free end of the support and extending laterally therefrom, said ball holder being saufficiently flexible to collapse under the impact of a racket without significant resistance or interference with the follow-through of a practise stroke while transmitting force to the support to cause it to swing out of the path of said practise stroke.  
  9. The device of claim 8 in which the base also includes a box and a cover through which the support extends and by which the support is sealed, the cover having sufficient fullness to enable said support to swing in any direction.  
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