BALL RAKE

Abstract

A ball rake and method of manufacture are disclosed herein. The ball rake is a hand-held device for collecting objects such as baseballs and softballs (ball rake) to provide an effective and time-saving device for ball collection both on a field and in a batting cage. The ball rake addresses the need for a ball collection tool that is particularly suitable for baseballs, softballs, and the like. The ball rake includes a handle and a rake head. The rake head may have a solid horizontal blade or a set of blades. The rake head is high enough to prevent balls from escaping over a top edge of the rake or through any spaces or openings between the blade(s). The arms of the rake head are angled towards the front of the blade to prevent the collected balls from escaping from the left or right side of the rake head.

Claims

1. A ball rake for gathering balls on a level ground floor, the ball rake comprising: a rake head having a blade with two forward angled arms, the rake head having a wingspan of 38-90 inches and a height of 4-6 inches to prevent the gathered balls from escaping over a top edge of the rake head and out a side of the rake head; and a handle connected to the rake head; wherein the rake head and handle are made of metal.

2. The ball rake of claim 1, wherein the rake head is a single horizontal blade.

3. The ball rake of claim 1, wherein the rake head has at least two horizontal blades with an opening between the at least two horizontal blades.

4. The ball rake of claim 3, wherein the opening between the at least two horizontal blades is small enough to prevent the ball from escaping through the openings at a back of the rake head.

5. The ball rake of claim 3, wherein the rake head further comprises two horizontal and interconnected cylinders.

6. The ball rake of claim 1, wherein the rake head and handle are made of steel.

7. The ball rake of claim 1, wherein the rake head and handle are made of aluminum.

8. The ball rake of claim 1, wherein a bottom edge of the rake head is curved backwards to allow the rake head to move easily over a surface.

9. A method for manufacturing a ball rake, the method comprising: forming a horizontal rake head, wherein the rake head has a wingspan of 38-90 inches and a height of 4-6 inches to prevent the gathered balls from escaping over a top edge of the rake head and out a side of the rake head; and bending the rake head to have two forward angled arms; connecting the horizontal rake head to a handle for pushing the rake head over a flat surface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the rake head and handle are made of steel.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the rake head and handle are made of aluminum.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising adding wheels to a back of the rake head to allow the rake head to move easily over the flat surface.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising curving a bottom edge of the rake head backwards to allow the rake head to move easily over the flat surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a first example of a ball rake;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a ball rake head showing sizes of the parts of the rake head;

[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates a side-perspective of a ball rake, specifically the two-blade structure;

[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a computer-rendered model of the ball rake head;

[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates the size of the ball rake handle;

[0012] FIG. 6A illustrate another example of sizing options for the ball rake head;

[0013] FIG. 6B illustrates another example of sizing options for the ball rake head;

[0014] FIG. 6C illustrates another example of sizing options for the ball rake head;

[0015] FIG. 7 illustrates three different embodiments of a ball rake;

[0016] FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom edge of the rake head curved backwards; and

[0017] FIG. 9 is an example ball rake in a working position on a turf floor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] This invention is described in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. While this invention is described in terms of modes for achieving this invention's objectives, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The embodiments and variations of the invention described herein, and/or shown in the drawings, are presented by way of example only and are not limiting as to the scope of the invention.

[0019] Unless otherwise specifically stated, individual aspects and components of the invention may be omitted or modified, or may have substituted one or more known equivalents, or as yet unknown substitutes such as may be developed in the future or such as may be found to be acceptable substitutes in the future. The invention may also be modified for a variety of applications while remaining within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, since the range of potential applications is great, and since it is intended that the present invention be adaptable to many such variations.

[0020] A ball rake is described herein. The ball rake may include a broad horizontal rake head having a blade with two forward angled arms capable of preventing the collected items from escaping sideway. The blade may be sufficiently high enough to prevent the collected items from escaping over the top of the rake head. The ball rake may include a handle connected to the rake head suitable for pushing the rake over the surface area wherein the ball collection is conducted. The ball rake and handle may be manufactured from a robust material such as steel or aluminum in order to withstand conditions in a batting cage or similar environment.

[0021] The different structure of the premises, in particular the flat terrain, in softball and baseball and similar sports calls for the use of collection tool design that may be unsuitable in sports such as golf and that are closer to ground rakes, without taking up any of their properties that would be disadvantageous for the purpose of collecting balls. Most ground rakes are adapted to go through the ground and structure the ground itself. In order to do so, they have a large head that is horizontal to the ground. In contrast, collection tools for ball games were specified for picking up balls and therefore developed closer, if not even into a grappler, thereby generally giving up on advantages associated with classic rake designs such as in particular covering a wider area at once with a large heard and instead focusing on intelligent designs that catch the balls. The ball rake, described herein, may resolve these disadvantages by providing for a rake for gathering balls and similar items on a level ground floor.

[0022] To facilitate the movement of the rake over the ground, the rake may have a short backwards curve on its surface-facing bottom that minimizes scraping of the surface.

[0023] In another embodiment, the rake head may be connected to one or more wheel(s) on which the rake moves when the rake is being pushed, the wheels preventing the rake blade from touching the ground when being pushed, the rake blade(s) remaining close enough to the surface to prevent balls or similar collected items from escaping through any gaps between the rake blade(s) and the ground surface when the rake is being pushed using the wheel(s).

[0024] In another embodiment, the rake head may consist of a double or multiple-blade structure, the blades being connected and having with two forward looking arms on the left and right side of the structure, the structure being sufficiently high enough and openings in the structure being sized small enough in order to prevent balls from escaping through any openings towards the back of the rake head. The blades may be connected at their ends, thereby forming a rectangle or may be connected in the form of a mesh. The blade structure may consist of two horizontal and interconnected cylinders, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 below. The mesh or multiple blade structure may lead to a reduction in weight and required blade material and can also provide the rake with additional flexibility when being handled.

[0025] In a further embodiment, the ball rake may have a collapsible upper handle section and rotatable rake arms. When collecting items, the rake arms may face outward and when not in use, the rake arms may be collapsed into a folded position by means of a hand-operated sliding body linked to the rake arms by struts. The sliding body may house a latching means to hold the rake arms in either of the two aforementioned positions. Collapsible arms allow rendering the device more compact, which can be useful when carrying or storing the device when it is not needed. In addition, the device may have a collapsible upper handle section, which allows rendering it even more compact.

[0026] A method for manufacturing the ball rakes, described above, is disclosed herein. The method may include forming a horizontal rake head from one or more materials. The material(s) may be suitable for a batting cage or similar environments. The ball rake head may be made of metal, for example, steel, iron or aluminum, or compound materials, for example, Kevlar or specific ultra-thick and ultra-sturdy plastics. These materials may prevent the ball rake from breaking when hit by baseballs, softballs or the like within the use case environments. Additionally, the ball rake head may be made sufficiently high to prevent collected items from escaping over the top of the rake head. The rake head may also be shaped to have two forward angled arms capable of preventing collected items from escaping sideways. The method of manufacturing may also include adding a handle. The handle may be made from the same material as the rake head or may be made from another material that is equally suitable for a batting cage or similar environments. The handle and rake head may be created as one item and from one material or created separately and later combined by using joints, bolts, a screwing mechanism or similar known connection methods. Additionally, the handle and rake head may be welded together.

[0027] In one embodiment of the method described herein, wheels may be added to the rake head. In another embodiment, the bottom part of the rake head may be curved backwards to simplify movement of the rake head over the surface.

[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a first example of a ball rake. The ball rake 100 may include a rake head 101 and a handle 102. The rake head 101 may be high enough to prevent the collection of balls from escaping over a top edge 101a of the rake head 101. The rake head 101 may also be curved to prevent the collection of balls from escaping out a side 101b of the rake head 101. The curved part of the rake head may form two arms 103 that are angled. The handle 102 may be connected to the rake head 101 at the center. The rake head 101 and handle 102 may be two separate pieces or may be made as one solid piece.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a ball rake head showing sizes of the parts of the rake head. The rake head 201 may be 20-42 inches wide at the base with a preferred length of 36 inches. The rake arms 203 may have a wingspan 38-90 inches from end to end with a preferred span of 50 inches. The rake arms 203 may be 9-24 inches long with a preferred length of 12 inches. The handle 202 may be at least 5 feet long.

[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates a double blade ball rake. The rake head 301 may include a double (or multiple, not shown) blade structure. The blades 304a and 304b may be connected. The double blade structure may have a handle and two arms 303 on the left and right side, similar to the one blade ball rake. The double blade structure may be high enough to prevent the balls from escaping over the top of the ball rake. The openings in the double blade structure may be small enough in to prevent balls from escaping between the blades at a back of the rake head 301.

[0031] The blades 304a and 304b may be connected at their ends, forming a rectangle. The blade 304a and 304b may also be connected with a mesh. The double blade structure may consist of two horizontal and interconnected cylinders. The use mesh and/or multiple blades structure may lead to a reduction in weight of the ball rake.

[0032] FIG. 4 illustrates a computer-rendered model of the ball rake head. The ball rake head 401 may be at least 36 inches wide at the base with two angled rake arms 403.

[0033] FIG. 5 illustrates the size of the ball rake handle. The ball rake handle 502 may be 60 inches or 5 feet long.

[0034] FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate other examples of sizing options for the ball rake head. The ball rake head 601 may be may span a total of 20, 36, or 42 inches at the base. The rake arms 603 may span 38, 50, or 90 inches from end to end. The rake arms 603 may be either 9, 12, or 24 includes long. The rake head 601 may be either 4 or 6 inches high. The bottom curved portion of the rake 604 may be 1.386 inches wide.

[0035] FIG. 7 illustrates three different embodiments of a ball rake. As shown in FIG. 7, the ball rake may vary in sizing 701 and 703 (as described in FIGS. 6A-6C). Additionally, the ball rake may consist of a single panel rake head 701 and 703 or a double blade rake head 702. Additionally, the rake head may be attached to the handle using bolts, or the like 704 or using a welding method 705.

[0036] FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom edge of the rake head curved backwards. The ball rake 800 includes a rake head 801. The bottom edge 801a of the rake head 801 may be curved backwards. This curvature of the bottom edge 801a of the rake head 801 allows the rake head 801 to move easily over the surface. This curved bottom edge 801a may be used when the rake head 801 is a solid metal piece. The bottom edge 801a of the rake head 801 may be bent backwards during manufacture to provide a smooth edge.

[0037] FIG. 9 is an example of the ball rake in a working position on a turf floor. The ball rake 900 moves over the turf to easily collect scattered balls 901.

[0038] In one embodiment of the method described herein, wheels may be added to the rake head. In another embodiment, the bottom part of the rake head may be curved backwards to simplify movement of the rake head over the surface.

[0039] Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many modifications and variations of the above may be implemented without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims. Thus, it is intended that the following claims cover the modifications and variations provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.