System for picking up, tossing, and striking a ball

Abstract

A multi-purpose implement is provided, including a bat, having a handle portion and a barrel, and a ball basket attached to the bat and adapted to lift a ball directly from a generally horizontal surface. A method of using the implement, without contacting the ball with one's hands, includes holding the handle portion in one or both hands, maneuvering the ball basket into contact with a ball lying on a generally horizontal surface, lifting the ball directly from the generally horizontal surface with the ball basket, tossing the ball from the ball basket into the air, and while the ball is in the air, striking the ball with the barrel of the bat.

1 . A ball lifting, tossing and striking system by which a user can pick up, toss and strike a ball in such a way that the ball does not come in contact with the user's hands, comprising:
 (a) a ball; and   (b) a multi-purpose implement that may be carried by a user in one or both hands, including:
 (i) a bat, having a handle portion and a striking portion, and 
 (ii) a ball basket attached to the bat and adapted to lift the ball from a generally horizontal surface; 
   (c) wherein a user may grasp the handle portion of the bat, lift the ball from the generally horizontal surface with the ball basket, and without touching the ball with either of the user's hands, toss the ball from the ball basket into the air such that it may be struck by the striking portion of the bat.   
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the striking portion has a generally round cross-section. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the ball basket is a scoop adapted to be inserted underneath the ball to lift the ball from the ground and adapted to cradle the ball until the ball is tossed into the air. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the scoop is detachable from the bat. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the scoop is attachable to an end of the bat via one or more ring portions extending around at least some of the circumference thereof. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein one or more fasteners are provided around the ring portions to further facilitate the attachment of the scoop to the end of the bat. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the scoop is permanently attached to the bat. 
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the scoop is attached to the bat via a ring, integral with the rest of the scoop, around an end of the bat. 
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the handle portion of the bat is detachable from the striking portion of the bat. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the handle portion of the bat may be connected to the striking portion of the bat via a threaded fitting. 
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the striking portion of the bat is hollow, and the handle portion of the bat may be inserted into the striking portion of the bat for storage. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the handle portion of the bat may be telescoped from within the striking portion of the bat. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the ball basket includes a press-fit ball grabber adapted to be pressed onto the ball to lift the ball from the ground and adapted to cradle the ball until the ball is tossed into the air. 
   
   
       14 . A multi-purpose bat implement, that may be carried by a user in one or both hands, for lifting, tossing and striking a ball in such a way that the ball does not come in contact with the user's hands, comprising:
 (a) a striking portion having a proximal end and a distal end;   (b) a handle portion disposed at the proximal end of the striking portion; and   (c) a ball basket attached to the distal end of the striking portion and adapted to lift a ball from the ground;   (d) wherein a user may grasp the handle portion, lift the ball from the ground with the ball basket, and without touching the ball with either of the user's hands, toss the ball from the ball basket into the air such that it may be struck by the striking portion of the bat implement.   
   
   
       15 . A method of lifting, tossing and striking a ball, comprising:
 (a) providing a multi-purpose implement, including:
 (i) a bat, having a handle portion and a striking portion, and 
 (ii) a ball basket attached to the bat and adapted to lift a ball directly from a generally horizontal surface; and 
   (b) without contacting the ball with one's hands:
 (i) holding the handle portion in one or both hands, 
 (ii) maneuvering the ball basket into contact with a ball lying on a generally horizontal surface, 
 (iii) lifting the ball directly from the generally horizontal surface with the ball basket, 
 (iv) tossing the ball from the ball basket into the air, and 
 (v) while the ball is in the air, striking the ball with the striking portion of the bat. 
   
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the striking portion includes a bat barrel, and wherein striking the ball with the striking portion of the bat includes striking the ball with the barrel of the bat. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the maneuvering step includes maneuvering the ball basket beneath a ball lying on the generally horizontal surface, and wherein the lifting step includes lifting the ball directly from the generally horizontal surface with the ball basket. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the ball basket includes a scoop, and wherein the maneuvering step includes scooping the ball. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the maneuvering step includes maneuvering the ball basket over a ball lying on the ground, and wherein the lifting step includes lifting the ball directly from the ground with the ball basket. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the ball basket is a press-fit ball grabber, and wherein the maneuvering step includes pressing the press-fit ball grabber onto the ball. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the ball basket defines a ball inlet and a ball outlet, the ball outlet being separate from the ball inlet, wherein the maneuvering step includes maneuvering the ball through the ball inlet and into the ball basket, and wherein the tossing step includes tossing the ball from the ball basket into the air via the ball outlet. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step, after striking the ball with the barrel of the bat, detaching the ball basket from the bat. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the detaching step includes separating one or more ring portions of the ball basket from a distal end of the barrel of the bat. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the detaching step includes removing a wrapping from around the ball basket, thereby unclamping the ball basket from the bat. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step, before the maneuvering step, of attaching the ball basket to the bat. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step, after striking the ball with the barrel of the bat, detaching the handle portion from the barrel of the bat. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising the step, after detaching the handle portion from the barrel of the bat, of inserting the handle portion into a hollow portion of the barrel of the bat. 
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step, before the maneuvering step, of telescoping the handle portion from within a hollow portion of the barrel of the bat.