Pickleball Warming Device

Abstract

A pickleball warming device generally includes a housing, a heating assembly, and a power source. The housing includes a chamber designed to temporarily hold a plurality of pickleballs therein and a cover assembly to open and close the chamber. The heating assembly is positioned in the housing and adjacent the chamber to heat pickleballs in the chamber to a temperature sufficient to minimize damage to pickleballs when playing in colder temperatures. The power source is positioned in the housing and operatively connected to the heating assembly to supply electricity to the heating assembly.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A pickleball warming device comprising:
 a housing comprising a chamber configured to temporarily hold a plurality of pickleballs therein and a cover assembly to open and close said chamber;   a heating assembly disposed in said housing and adjacent said chamber to heat pickleballs in said chamber to a temperature sufficient to minimize damage to pickleballs when playing in colder temperatures; and   a power source disposed in said housing and operatively connected to said heating assembly to supply electricity to said heating assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 1 , wherein said housing is elongated and comprises a side wall and two end walls. 
     
     
         3 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 2 , wherein said chamber is cylindrical and has a diameter substantially similar to a diameter of a standard pickleball. 
     
     
         4 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 2 , wherein said cover assembly comprises a cap removably attached to and forming one of said two end walls. 
     
     
         5 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 2 , wherein said cover assembly comprises a slidable door forming a portion of said side wall, wherein said slidable door is slidable in a telescoping manner into and out of an adjacent portion of said side wall. 
     
     
         6 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 2 , wherein said side wall comprises an outer side wall portion and an inner side wall portion disposed within and spaced apart from said outer side wall portion, wherein said heating assembly is disposed in the space between said outer side wall portion and said inner side wall portion. 
     
     
         7 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 6 , wherein said outer side wall portion comprises an insulating material to retain heat within said housing and said inner side wall portion comprises a thermally conductive material to transfer heat to pickleballs in said chamber. 
     
     
         8 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 1 , wherein said heating assembly comprises a plurality of radiant heating elements. 
     
     
         9 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 8 , wherein said heating elements comprise coils surrounding said chamber. 
     
     
         10 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 1 , wherein said power source comprises a rechargeable battery and a charging port. 
     
     
         11 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 1 , wherein said power source comprises a switch disposed on an exterior surface of said housing to turn said power source on and off. 
     
     
         12 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 1 , wherein further comprising a support ring pivotably attached to an outer surface of said housing. 
     
     
         13 . The pickleball warming device of  claim 2 , wherein said cover assembly comprises:
 a cap removably attached to and forming one of said two end walls; and   a slidable door forming a portion of said side wall, wherein said slidable door is slidable in a telescoping manner into and out of an adjacent portion of said side wall.   
     
     
         14 . A pickleball warming device comprising:
 a housing comprising a chamber configured to temporarily hold a plurality of pickleballs therein and a cover assembly to open and close said chamber, wherein:
 said housing is elongated and comprises a side wall and two end walls, 
 said chamber is cylindrical and has a diameter substantially similar to a diameter of a standard pickleball, 
 said cover assembly comprises a cap removably attached to and forming one of said two end walls, 
 said cover assembly comprises a slidable door forming a portion of said side wall, wherein said slidable door is slidable in a telescoping manner into and out of an adjacent portion of said side wall, 
 said side wall comprises an outer side wall portion and an inner side wall portion disposed within and spaced apart from said outer side wall portion, wherein said heating assembly is disposed in the space between said outer side wall portion and said inner side wall portion, and said outer side wall portion comprises an insulating material to retain heat within said housing and said inner side wall portion comprises a thermally conductive material to transfer heat to pickleballs in said chamber; 
   a heating assembly disposed in said housing and adjacent said chamber to heat pickleballs in said chamber to a temperature sufficient to minimize damage to pickleballs when playing in colder temperatures,
 wherein: 
 said heating assembly comprises a plurality of radiant heating elements, 
 said heating elements comprise coils surrounding said chamber; 
   a power source disposed in said housing and operatively connected to said heating assembly to supply electricity to said heating assembly,
 wherein: 
 said power source comprises a rechargeable battery and a charging port, 
 said power source comprises a switch disposed on an exterior surface of said housing to turn said power source on and off; and 
   a support ring pivotably attached to an outer surface of said housing.