Device for returning a ball at a user determinable speed

摘要

A ball return device that enables a user to quickly and easily adjust the force with which a ball thrown into the device is returned. The ball return device includes a frame constructed from sections of plastic tubing joined by 90 DEG elbows, forming a base and an elevatable portion. The elevatable portion of the frame is pivotally mounted to the base and adjustably positioned at a desired angle relative to the generally horizontal base by a pair of support members. The angle of the elevatable portion of the frame to the base determines the direction in which the ball is returned relative to a given incident path. The support members extend between the base and the elevatable portion of the frame, and each includes a smaller diameter tube slidably fitted into a larger diameter tube and selectively fixed at one a plurality of preset lengths by a pin that passes through orifices formed in the two tubes. In one preferred form of the invention, a net having hexagonal openings is suspended within the elevatable portion of the frame by lengths of an elastomeric cord that connect a periphery of the net to the frame. The hexagonal openings deform around a ball impacting the net in such a way as to ensure that the ball is consistently returned at a predictable angle relative to the angle at which the ball impacts the net. The elastomeric cord can be tightened or loosened to adjust the tension of the net, thereby determining the relative force with which a ball impacting the net is returned. A friction clip attached to the elastomeric cord retains the selected tension.