SPORTS APPARATUS FOR PRACTICING FOOTBALL KICKING SKILLS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sports apparatus (100). The sports apparatus (100) comprises: a ball holder (102); and a motor (110) arranged to rotate said ball holder (102); wherein an axis of rotation of a drive of the motor (110) is offset from the axis of rotation of the ball holder (102). The sports apparatus (100) is used for practicing football kicking skills.

Claims

1. A sports apparatus comprising: a ball holder; and a motor arranged to rotate said ball holder; wherein an axis of rotation of a drive of the motor is offset from the axis of rotation of the ball holder.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor is arranged to drive rotation of the ball holder via a side engagement of the ball holder.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is arranged to contact a given supporting surface to position the ball holder for a user to strike a ball being held and rotated by the ball holder.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor is laterally offset with respect to the ball holder.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor is disposed adjacent said ball holder.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor and the ball holder are arranged in substantially the same plane.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the motor and the ball holder are arranged in substantially the same plane, and wherein that plane is substantially parallel to a given supporting surface on which the apparatus is mounted.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a control system for controlling the rotation of the ball holder; preferably wherein the control system comprises a printed circuit board and a control panel, and/or preferably wherein the control system controls the rotation of the ball holder by regulating power supplied to the motor.

9-10. (canceled)

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control system is arranged in substantially the same plane as the ball holder, preferably wherein the control system is arranged in substantially the same plane as the ball holder and wherein that plane is substantially parallel to a given supporting surface on which the apparatus is mounted.

12. (canceled)

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a power supply for powering the motor, preferably wherein the power supply is in the form of a battery pack.

14. (canceled)

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the power supply is arranged in substantially the same plane as the ball holder, preferably wherein that plane is substantially parallel to a given supporting surface on which the apparatus is mounted.

16. (canceled)

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ball holder is arranged to rotate on a bearing, preferably wherein the ball holder comprises a skirt depending from its underside, preferably wherein the bearing comprises an annular groove arranged to receive the skirt of the ball holder such that the skirt of the ball holder can rotate within the annular grove of the annular bearing.

18-19. (canceled)

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor is arranged to drive rotation of the ball holder via a coupling, preferably wherein the coupling is in the form of a gearing arrangement, preferably wherein the motor comprises a pinion gear, and/or preferably wherein the ball holder comprises an annular ring gear, preferably wherein the pinion gear of the motor is arranged to engage with the annular ring gear of the ball holder thereby to drive rotation of the ball holder.

21-24. (canceled)

25. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the ball holder comprises an annular ring, preferably wherein the annular ring gear is arranged on an underside of the annular ring.

26. (canceled)

27. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a housing and a base, wherein the housing and base are arranged to retain the ball holder, preferably wherein the base has a cut-out portion arranged to receive the motor, and/or preferably wherein the housing has an opening arranged to expose the ball holder, such that a ball can be held on the ball holder through said opening, and/or preferably wherein the ball holder and the housing have chamfered portions arranged such that the housing acts as a guard to retain the ball holder within the apparatus.

28-30. (canceled)

31. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the total height of the apparatus is less than 50 millimetres and preferably less than 25 millimetres.

32. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clearance between a ball, being held and rotated by the ball holder of the apparatus, and a given supporting surface on which the ball holder is mounted is less than 10 millimetres, preferably less than 5 millimetres and more preferably less than 1 millimetre.

33. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a damping mechanism to dampen wobbling of a ball being held and rotated by the ball holder preferably wherein the damping mechanism comprises a cushion of substantially elastic material, and/or preferably wherein the damping mechanism comprises one or more springs arranged to dampen the lateral component of ball wobble during rotation, preferably wherein the one or more springs are at least one of: helical coil compression springs; helical coil extension springs; leaf springs; conical springs; torsion springs; spring tabs; or constant force springs.

34-35. (canceled)

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the damping mechanism comprises one or more springs arranged to dampen the vertical component of ball wobble during rotation preferably wherein the one or more springs are at least one of: helical coil compression springs; helical coil extension springs; leaf springs; conical springs; torsion springs; spring tabs; or constant force springs.

37. (canceled)

38. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more sensors, wherein said one or more sensors are arranged to identify one or more characteristics of the motion of the ball which has been struck from the apparatus by a user, preferably wherein: a. the one or more sensors are at least one of: pressure sensors; force sensors; optical sensors; acoustic sensors; or motion sensors; and/or b. the one or more characteristics of the motion of the ball are at least one of: the speed; the direction of motion; the time of flight; the distance travelled; the height as a function of flight time or distance; the direction of motion as a function of flight time or distance; or a measure of curling of the ball; and/or c. the one or more sensors are directly attached to, or attached within, the apparatus; or d. the one or more sensors are located remotely from the apparatus.

39-42. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0051] FIGS. 1 and 2 show exploded views of a sports apparatus viewed from above and below;

[0052] FIG. 3 shows the sports apparatus from above;

[0053] FIG. 4 shows the sports apparatus from below;

[0054] FIG. 5 shows an exploded side profile view of the sports apparatus; and

[0055] FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of an example damping mechanism for the sports apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a sports apparatus 100. These figures show exploded views of the apparatus 100 as viewed from above and below respectively.

[0057] The apparatus 100 has a ball holder 102 upon which a ball can be placed. A motor 110 is arranged to rotate the ball holder 102 and thereby rotate a ball which has been placed on the ball holder 102. The ball holder 102 is positioned suitably so that a user can strike the ball, which is being held and rotated by the ball holder 102, with their foot.

[0058] It has been recognised that the height of the ball holder 102 with respect to the ground beneath, or other supporting surface upon which the apparatus 100 is placed, should be minimised so that any motor skills and muscle memory developed by the user when training using the sports apparatus 100 can be easily transferred to the situation where a football is placed on the same level as the user is standing on, for example the surface of a football pitch. The total height of a ball, being held by the apparatus 100, with respect to the given supporting surface is preferably less than 25 millimetres.

[0059] The ball holder 102 comprises an annular ring 104 and an annular ring gear 106. The annular ring gear 106 is arranged on the underside of the annular ring 104. The apparatus 100 also includes a motor sub-assembly 108 which comprises the motor 110 and a pinion gear 112. The motor sub-assembly 108 is disposed adjacent the ball holder 102 such that the pinion gear 112 of the motor sub-assembly 108 is arranged to engage with the annular ring gear 106 of the ball holder 102 thereby to rotate the ball holder 102.

[0060] Whilst FIG. 1 shows the ball holder 102 being driven by the motor 110 via an annular ring gear 106 and pinion gear 112 arrangement, it should be understood that any gearing arrangement which permits the motor 110 to drive the ball holder 102 while the motor sub-assembly 108 is adjacent the ball holder 102 could be employed. Examples of such gearing arrangements include bevel gears, mitre gears or hypoid gears. A further example of a gearing arrangement that might be employed is the use of a worm gear instead of a pinion gear. In this case, the motor sub-assembly 108 would be rotated 90 degrees in the horizontal plane, so that the axis of rotation of the worm gear is tangential to the annular ring gear 106 of the ball holder 102.

[0061] Furthermore, whilst FIGS. 1 and 2 show the annular ring gear 106 arranged on the underside of the annular ring 104, such that the annular ring gear 106 and the pinion gear 112 rotate about perpendicular axes, the annular ring gear 106 of the ball holder 102 could be arranged around the circumference of the ball holder 102, with its teeth pointed radially outwards. In this case the pinion gear 112 would have its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of rotation of the ball holder 102 so that the two gears mesh.

[0062] Furthermore, whilst FIGS. 1 and 2 show the annular ring gear 106 being driven by a pinion gear 112, where the axes of rotation of the two gears intersect, the motor 110 could drive the ball holder 102 via a gearing arrangement where the driving gear (the pinion gear 112 in FIGS. 1 and 2) engages with the ball holder 102 at an oblique angle, such that the axes of rotation of the driving gear and the ball holder 102 do not intersect. In this case, the driving gear may have a spiral-tooth arrangement rather than a straight-tooth arrangement.

[0063] Furthermore, whilst FIGS. 1 and 2 show the ball holder 102 being driven by a gearing arrangement, the ball holder 102 may also be driven by means of a belt or chain assembly. In this embodiment, a belt or chain is coupled to both the motor 110 and the ball holder 102 so that when the belt or chain is driven by the motor 110, the belt or chain acts to rotate the ball holder 102.

[0064] The apparatus 100 also includes a bearing 114 which has an annular shape designed to coincide with the annular shape of the ball holder 102, so that the ball holder 102 can rotate on the annular bearing 114. The ball holder 102 has a skirt 115 from its underside and the annular bearing 114 has an annular groove 116 between its inner radius and its outer radius. The annular groove 116 is arranged to receive the skirt 115 of the ball holder 102 such that the skirt 115 of the ball holder 102 can rotate in the annular groove 116 of the annular bearing 114. It should be understood that alternative bearing arrangements are also possible. An example of an alternative bearing arrangement would be where the underside of the ball holder 102 has a flat face, rather than a skirt 115, and the annular bearing 114 is a ball bearing, wherein the annular groove 116 of the annular bearing 114 contains ball bearings, and whereby the balls provide a surface upon which the flat face of the ball holder 102 can rest and rotate. The annular bearing 114 can be clamped, using upper 118 and lower 120 portions of a clamping arrangement, to secure the bearing 114 to the base of the apparatus 100.

[0065] The apparatus 100 also includes a housing 122 and a base 124. The base 124 is arranged to contact a given supporting surface which could be, for example, the ground of a playing field, and as such has one or more grooves 123 on its underside which engage the supporting surface to provide grip. The underside of the apparatus 100 can be clearly seen in FIG. 4. It should be understood that any alternative arrangement which allows the underside of the base 124 to sufficiently engage the supporting surface, such that it grips the supporting surface, would be suitable. Examples of alternative gripping arrangements include feet or spikes on the underside of the base which are designed to engage the supporting surface. Alternatively, the base 124 could be provided with a number of holes, through which the device could be secured to the ground using pegs.

[0066] The housing 122 is arranged to retain the ball holder 102 and the bearing 114. The housing 122 has further features, such as a handle 128, a cut-out portion on its topside 129 to receive a control panel 130 and cut-out portions on its underside 131, 133 and 135 to accommodate the motor sub-assembly 108, a printed circuit board (PCB) 137 and the batteries 139 respectively. The base 124 has a cut-out portion 132 in which the motor sub-assembly 108 is located. The base 124 also has cut-out portions 135 in which the batteries 139 are located. These cut-out portions are positioned offset from one another in substantially the same plane to minimise the height of a ball, being held by the apparatus 100 above a given supporting surface. The base 124 also includes a removable and/or detachable portion which forms a cover 140 for the batteries 139 when they are located in the cut-out portions 135 of the housing 122. This battery cover 140 is detachable and resealable so that the batteries 139 can be removed, for example when they have exhausted their power, through the gap in the base 124 which appears once the battery cover 140 is detached. The battery cover 140 includes cut-out grooves 142 which can accommodate the batteries 139. These cut-out grooves 142 mean that the height of a ball, being held by the apparatus 100, is further minimised.

[0067] The housing 122 has a circular opening 134 at one end revealing the ball holder 102. The base 124, too, has a circular opening 136 at one end. The circular opening 134 in the housing 122, the ball holder 102, the annular bearing 114 and the opening 136 in the base 124 are all aligned along a common vertical axis as can be seen in FIG. 3. This arrangement defines a space through the centre of, and just beneath, the ball holder 102 such that, when a ball is held by the ball holder 102, the portion of the ball which extends below to horizontal plane defined by the circular opening 134 of the housing 122 can occupy this space, meaning that components, such as the bearing 114, do not need to be positioned below the lower-most point of the ball which is being held. This arrangement allows the height of a ball, being held by the apparatus 100, above the supporting surface, to be minimised.

[0068] The annular shape of the ball holder 102 also provides a more secure grip on a ball, located within the ball holder 102, than is provided by a bowl shaped ball holder. When spinning a ball in a bowl shaped ball holder, the ball might rotate up the side of the bowl, and may fall off of the apparatus 100. The annular ball holder 102 of the apparatus provides a more secure grip on the ball. Furthermore, should the ball become perturbed during rotation, for example in the case of a football which is not perfectly spherical so that it generates a wobble when rotating at high frequencies, the annular shaped ball holder 102 is advantageous over a bowl shaped ball holder as it is better shaped to act against such a wobble.

[0069] The PCB 137 receives power from the batteries 139, and inputs from the control panel 130, and outputs a signal to the motor 110 in order to rotate the ball holder 102 at a rate determined by the user's input to the control panel 130. The PCB 137 may receive inputs from the control panel 130 via a cable, such as a ribbon cable, which can be threaded through a hole in the housing 138. Alternatively, the PCB 137 could receive inputs from the control panel 130 remotely, for example via WiFi™, Bluetooth™ or Zigbee™. While power to the motor 110 is preferably supplied by batteries 139, in order to maximise the portability of the apparatus 100, it should be understood that other forms of power supply would be possible with this device. An example of an alternative form of power supply may be a wired connection to a mains power supply.

[0070] The control panel 130 and the PCB 137 together comprise a control system for the motor 110. The control system enables the motor 110 to be controlled so that a user can select the speed and direction of rotation of the ball holder 102. The control system allows the user to select which direction, i.e. clockwise or anti clockwise, the ball holder 102 should rotate. The control system allows the user to select the rate of rotation of the ball holder 102. The control system includes further features such as a soft start mechanism, which will gradually bring the motor 110 to the desired speed. This soft start mechanism may slowly ramp up the power sent to the motor 110, until it is driving the ball holder 102 at the desired rate, so that the ball which rests on the ball holder 102 receives a stable acceleration rather than a sudden acceleration which could destabilise the ball on the ball holder 102. It should be understood that the control system could be replaced by any alternative circuitry which would allow inputs from a user to be output to the motor 110 in order to rotate the ball holder 102 in accordance with user's inputs. An example of an alternative control system is a simple electronic circuit, whereby a user can directly vary the power supplied to the motor 110 rather than using a control panel and a PCB. The control system may also include means for measurement and/or feedback system, whereby the rotation rate of the ball holder 102 is measured and/or fed back to the control system thereby allowing the control system to adjust the output to the motor 110 based on the measurement. In this way, the rotation speed of the ball holder 102 can be made more consistent.

[0071] Preferably, the control system is arranged so that the user can control the apparatus to rotate the ball holder 102 at any number of revolutions per minute (RPM) within the range 0 to 600 RPM, such as 150 or 333 RPM. Alternatively, the control system may be arranged so that the user can select the rate of rotation of the ball holder 102 from discrete incremented values of RPM, such as 100 RPM, 200 RPM, 300 RPM and so on.

[0072] FIG. 5 shows an exploded side profile view of the sports apparatus. The three components of the ball holder 102 can clearly be seen: the annular ring 104, the annular ring gear 106 and the skirt 115. The diameter of the annular ring gear 106 is slightly larger than the diameter of the annular ring 104 forming a chamfered rim around the ball holder 102. The circular portion of the housing 122 is also chamfered so that the housing 122 slopes from the circular opening 134 down to the base 124.

[0073] The diameter of the circular opening 134 is larger than the diameter of the annular ring 104 but smaller than the diameter of the annular ring gear 106. Therefore, when the housing 122 is attached to the base 124, the annular ring 104 will protrude through the circular opening 134 in the housing 122.

[0074] Furthermore, given that the skirt 115 of the ball holder 102 sits in the groove 116 of the bearing 114, the ball holder 102 is not necessarily secured to the apparatus by the bearing 114. Therefore, in order to ensure the ball holder 102 cannot escape the device while it is rotating, the diameter of the annular ring gear 106 is greater than the diameter of the circular opening 134. Furthermore, the shapes of the chamfered rim of the ball holder 102 and the inner side of the chamfered portion of the housing 122 are designed to complement one another so that they engage one another such that the inside surface of the chamfered circular portion of the housing 122 acts as a guard to retain the ball holder 102 in position.

[0075] Another reason for the shape of the chamfered circular portion of the housing 122 is so that the housing will advantageously direct the user's foot towards the ball in the situation where a user mistakenly strikes the housing 122 of the apparatus while attempting to strike the ball.

[0076] FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of an example damping mechanism for the sports apparatus. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the ball holder 102 is a cup shape, rather than an annular ring shape. The damping mechanism is provided to inhibit ball wobble or vibration which is generated when a non-spherical ball is rotated at a high frequency by the sports apparatus.

[0077] The ball holder 102 and the motor sub-assembly 108 are arranged to fit within a ball holder casing 602. The ball holder casing 602 has an annular shape with a cut-out portion 603 so as to accommodate the motor sub-assembly 108. The example damping mechanism also comprises a spring loaded casing 604. The spring loaded casing 604 has an annular shape with a cut-out portion 605 so as to accommodate the motor sub-assembly 108. The cut-out portions 603 and 605 both contribute to the aim of minimising the over height of a ball, being held by the apparatus 100, above the supporting surface.

[0078] The spring loaded casing 604 has a side wall 606 and a lower lip 607. A number of spring tabs 608 are provided on the side wall 606 in order to compensate for the lateral component of ball wobble. A number of spring tabs 609 are also provided on the lower lip 607 in order to compensate for the vertical component of ball wobble. The spring loaded casing 604 is arranged to retain the ball holder 102, the motor sub-assembly 108 and the ball holder casing 602 via a friction fit. Specifically, the ball holder casing 602 is supported and retained by the spring tabs 608 and 609 so as to dampen any ball wobble.

[0079] While the damping mechanism provides a means to inhibit ball wobble, it also provides a means to cushion the surrounding parts of the sports apparatus 100 from the impact of a user striking the ball from the ball holder 102. In the case where a user strikes the ball off centre, the impact might cause the ball to be driven downwards towards the sports apparatus 100. The spring tabs 608 and 609 would therefore act to cushion the sports apparatus 100 from that impact. Similarly, when striking a ball from the ball holder 102 the user might accidentally make contact with the ball holder 102 itself, thus causing the ball holder 102 to move suddenly. In this case the spring tabs 608 and 609 would act to dampen the motion of the ball holder 102 to minimise the force transmitted to the rest of the apparatus.

[0080] While FIG. 6 shows the damping mechanism comprising a side wall 606 and a lower lip 607, any configuration of springs and/or cushions which damp the motion of a wobbling ball held by the ball holder 102 would be suitable. For example, the spring loaded casing 604 could have only a side wall 606, including spring tabs 608 and, instead of having a lower lip 607, there could be further spring tabs attached to the bottom of the side wall 606 pointing radially inward thus taking the place of the lower lip 607 and the spring tabs 609.

[0081] Similarly, while FIG. 6 shows the use of spring tabs 608 and 609, these could be replaced by any other elastic mechanism. For example the spring tabs 608 and 609 could be replaced with an appropriate helical coil spring or, rather than using springs, the damping mechanism could use a rubber cushion. Similarly, while FIG. 6 shows the ball holder 102 and the ball holder casing 602 being supported by the spring tabs 609 from below, the ball holder 102 and/or ball holder casing 602 could be suspended by an elastic mechanism from above.

[0082] Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

[0083] Each feature disclosed in the description, and (where appropriate) the claims and drawings may be provided independently or in any appropriate combination.

[0084] Reference numerals appearing in the claims are by way of illustration only and shall have no limiting effect on the scope of the claims.