Ball toss machine

Abstract

A ball pitching device features an inlet for sequentially receiving balls, a feed chute, and a linearly movable pusher within the chute. An elbow tube, including perpendicular sections, extends coaxially from the feed chute and is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. The device includes a wheel assembly with opposingly spinning wheels aligned coplanarly, positioned to engage balls directed by the pusher and the elbow tube. The assembly is adjustable between top and bottom angular positions around a horizontal axis, enabling various launch angles. In the top position, ranging between 82° and 87°, it mimics a toss or dink or close-range hand-feed toss based on the shooting wheels' speed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A ball pitching device comprising:
 (a) an inlet for receiving balls therethrough one at a time;   (b) a feed chute for receiving the balls dropped from the inlet;   (c) a pusher disposed within the feed chute such that, the pusher is linearly movable between retracted and extended positions;   (d) an elbow tube disposed in spatial communication with the feed chute, the elbow tube comprising mutually perpendicular first and last sections, the first section extending coaxially from the feed chute, the elbow tube rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the first section; and   (e) a wheel assembly comprising a pair of coplanarly-aligned, opposingly-spinning shooting wheels positioned with respect to the last section such that, a ball, upon receiving directional stimulus from the pusher coupled with an angle of last section with respect to the first section, engages the spinning wheels resulting in the ball being pitched, the wheel assembly adapted to be angularly movable between top and bottom angular positions about a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the wheels; the elbow tube adapted to rotate along therewith;   wherein, the top angular position ranging between 82° and 87°, which mimics a serve toss or a close-range hand-feed toss depending on a rotational speed of the shooting wheels.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a control module disposed in operation communication with motors that control the rotation of the wheels and the rotation of the wheel assembly; the control module for, upon user input, controlling ball launch settings. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a substantially horizontal feed chute disposed in spatial communication with the inlet and the elbow tube. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3  further comprising a pusher disposed at one end of the feed chute; the pusher for pushing the balls received within the feed chute towards the elbow tube. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the wheel assembly further comprises a pair of planar, vertical, parallel support frames between which, the wheels are rotably secured, a free end of the elbow tube disposed between the pair of support frames. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each wheel is adapted to be powered by a separate motor thereby enabling each individual wheel to spin at a different speed. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a detachable hopper detachably attached atop thereof, the bottom of the hopper removable upon the attachment resulting in balls therein being rendered receivable through the inlet. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 7 , wherein the bottom is slidably removable. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein a surface of the pusher is conical; an oblique surface of the pusher coupled with a thrust force thereof causes the ball at an extremity of the first section to deflect into the last section and proceed to engage with the spinning wheels. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein further comprising
 (a) a hopper subsection disposed atop the feeding section, the inlet correspondingly disposed at the bottom of the hopper subsection; and   (b) a rotating, circular singulator comprising a plurality of ball holes, each of which sized to match the inlet;   wherein as the singulator rotates, the ball holes sequentially align with the inlet at which point, the ball sitting within the aligned ball holes drops through the inlet.   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the pusher is disposed at one end of the feed chute for pushing the balls at the angular position ranging between 60° and 87°. 
     
     
         12 . A coaching system disposed in radio communication with a ball pitching device that pitches balls, each pitch being timestamped, the system comprising:
 (a) an input unit;   (b) a memory unit; and   (c) a processor for executing program instructions stored in the memory unit to:
 (i) via the input unit, regulate ball launch settings of the pitching device; and 
 (ii) via the input unit, define a user pitch preset, which comprises a combination of user-defined launch settings, which when communicated to the pitching device, results in a corresponding unique pitch delivered from the pitching device. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  further comprising a camera unit for capturing a video of a player practicing with the pitching device wherein the processor is, by executing the programming instructions stored within the memory, adapted to incorporate timestamped marks at specific time points within the video based on the timestamped pitches from pitching machine. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is, by executing the programming instructions stored within the memory, adapted to modify a video to exclude a predetermined length of content between two consecutive player strokes within the video. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein, the processor, by executing the programming instructions stored within the memory, is adapted to, within the video, track a player's posture and superimpose thereon a simultaneously moving reference figure for feedback; the reference figure indicative of an ideal posture a player needs to assume for a shot being played by the player within the video. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the input unit comprises a smartphone. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the memory unit comprises a drill database listing a plurality of drills, a drill comprising a proprietary preset. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein a drill includes a graphical representation of a recommended placement positions of player and the ball pitching machine on a court. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein a drill includes audio instructions. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-implemented coaching method using a ball pitching device that pitches balls with each pitch being timestamped, the method comprising:
 (a) regulating ball launch settings of the pitching device via an input unit; and   (b) defining a user pitch preset via the input unit, wherein the user preset comprises a combination of user-defined launch settings which, when communicated to the pitching device, result in a corresponding unique pitch being delivered from the pitching device.