Both professional and amateur basketball players enjoy practicing their shots, sometimes for many hours a session. Depending on whether a player is a professional or amateur, the player finds a gymnasium or playground, and often practices his shots alone. Much of the player's time is spent chasing balls, detracting from the player's practice session and his concentration on various shots and angles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,423 discloses a basketball training facility in which a backboard and goal are mounted on a vertical pole within an enclosed room. The pole is mounted on a ground engaging platform which is movable toward and away from the player. The pole may be rotated to pivot the backboard and the goal about a vertical axis. An inclined ramp provides for a ball return surface toward the player positioned within the room. The pole moves through a slot formed in the inclined ramp.
Although this proposal does allow a player to practice various shots from one position, the apparatus is limited because it does not provide for a preprogrammed sequence of backboard and goal movement which would provide for a more efficient practice routine. Additionally, the construction of the disclosed apparatus: 1) does not provide for efficient longitudinal movement and rotation of the goal and backboard because the platform is supported by ground engaging slider blocks set on parallel rails; 2) does not provide for a means to keep track of successful and unsuccessful shot attempts; 3) does not provide for efficient ball return directly to the player; and 4) is not mobile for movement of the apparatus from one location to another location.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds