Ball projection and cup connector assemblies

Abstract

The invention discloses ball projection cup connector assemblies for holding or carrying outdoor recreational equipment, especially gear such a traditional fishing nets, hiking sticks, water bottles or walking staff/fishing net combinations. The pieces of gear have a ball projection that is integral or attached as a separate piece. The cup connector can attach to a person outerwear via a standard clip or alternatively, the cup connector may be incorporated into the clothing of the outerwear.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cup connector for attaching outdoor recreational equipment to clothing comprised of:
 a cup capable of receiving and locking a spherical ball projection that is attached to a piece of outdoor recreational equipment and that is capable of supporting said piece of outdoor recreational equipment when attached to the clothing being worn by a person allowing their hands to be free, said cup being comprised of a top, front, a rear, and a bottom, said cup being Y-shaped, said cup further comprised of a top opening virtually spanning the entire tot) of said cup, said top opening is contiguous with a narrower slot opening centrally located on the front of said cup, the narrower slot opening spanning to near the bottom of said cup, attached to the rear of said cup is a centrally located solid clip and attached to the rear of said cup are fork clips located on either side of centrally located solid clip.   
     
     
         2 . The connector of  claim 1  wherein a width of the bottom of said cup is approximately ⅕ of a width of the top of said cup and a height of said cup is approximately ⅗ of the width of the top of said cup. 
     
     
         3 . The connector of  claim 1  wherein the fork clips are further comprised of grippers, 
     
     
         4 . The connector of  claim 1  wherein a bottom side of said cup is comprised of a central opening. 
     
     
         5 . The connector of  claim 1 , whereby the connector is used in conjunction with a dock, said dock comprised of sturdy yet flexible backing, a front of the barking comprised of two pockets capable of receiving snuggly the fork clips and a rear of the backing being flat, whereby the rear of backing can be attached to the clothing being worn by a person. 
     
     
         6 . The connector of  claim 1 , where the piece of outdoor recreational equipment is a combination fishing net/walking stick. 
     
     
         7 . A docking system:
 Said docking system enabling for a person to stow a piece of outdoor recreational equipment on themselves leaving their hands free; said docking system comprised of:   a piece of outdoor recreational equipment with a ball projection, as cup connector; said cup connector being comprised of a top, front, a rear, and a bottom, said cup being Y-shaped, said cup further comprised of a top opening virtually spanning the entire top of said cup, said top opening is contiguous with a narrower slot opening centrally located on the front of said cup; the narrower slot opening spanning to near the bottom of said cup; attached to the rear of said cup are a plurality of fork clips; and   a dock, said dock comprised of sturdy yet flexible backing, a front of the backing comprised of a plurality of pockets and said pockets being capable of receiving snuggly the fork clips, and a rear of the backing being flat; whereby the rear of the backing can be attached to clothing being worn by a person; whereby the fork clips of said cup can be inserted to said pockets attaching the cup connector to said clothing being worn by said person and whereby the ball projection on the piece of outdoor recreational equipment can be inserted into said cup via the top opening and can be pushed down through the slot opening to the bottom of said cup locking the hall projection into said cup.   
     
     
         8 . The docking system of  claim 7  where the ball projection is integral to the piece of outdoor recreational equipment. 
     
     
         9 . The docking system of  claim 7 , where the piece of outdoor recreational equipment is a combination fishing net/walking stick. 
     
     
         10 . The docking system of  claim 7 , wherein the cup is father comprised of a centrally located solid, clip attached to the rear of said cup. 
     
     
         11 . A method for enabling for person to stow a piece of outdoor recreational equipment on themselves leaving their hands free comprising:
 inserting a hall projection on a piece of outdoor recreational equipment into a cup via a top opening that virtually spans the entire op of said cup while being contiguous with a narrower slot opening centrally located on a front of said cup, pushing the all projection down through the slot opening, to the bottom of said cup locking the bail projection into said cup; and attaching said cup to a person's clothing via a dock previously attached to the person's clothing.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , whereby the cup is further comprised of a plurality of fork clips and the dock is further comprised of a plurality of pockets capable of snuggly receiving the fork clips, whereby the fork clips are inserted in to the pockets of the dock previously attached to the person's clothing. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , whereby the dock is previously attached to the person's clothing by the use of glue. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , whereby the dock previously attached to the person's clothing is attached on the back of said person at approximately the C7 vertebrate.