Pitching target with ball collector

Claim 1

A pitching target for collecting and storing pitched balls incident on strike and non-strike zones thereof, comprising: a front sheet of lightweight highly flexible material adapted to substantially deform and deflect at localized areas of impact when incident with a pitched ball while suspended vertically from its upper edge whereby the forward motion of said incident ball is arrested and said ball falls downwardly under the force of gravity along a vertical path proximate said front sheet; a rear sheet of lightweight highly flexible material adapted to substantially deform and deflect at localized areas of impact when incident with a pitched ball while suspended vertically from its upper edge whereby the forward motion of said incident ball is arrested and said ball falls downwardly under the force of gravity along a vertical path proximate said rear sheet; suspension means for vertically suspending said front and rear sheets in superimposed face to face relationship, including a rigid elongated, horizontal support and a plurality of flexible elements interconnecting said support and said upper edges of said sheets at horizontally spaced points; the length of said elements and horizontal spacing being sufficient to permit substantial deflection of said front and rear sheets in the region of impact with a pitched ball; said front sheet having a generally rectangular strike zone and at least one unapertured non-strike zone disposed horizontally, laterally on each side of said strike zone in juxtaposition therewith, said strike zone having at least one strike aperture therein, a pitched ball corresponding to a strike passing through said strike aperture to impact and locally deflect and deform said rear sheet in the region behind said strike aperture to horizontally space said sheets proximate said strike aperture and fall vertically downward between said sheets following arrest of said ball's forward motion by said rear sheet; a ball collection aperture in said front sheet having vertically spaced upper and lower edges, said ball collection aperture being located below and in substantial vertical alignment with at least one of said non-strike zones, a pitched ball impacting anywhere within one of said non-strike zones of said front sheet above said ball collection aperture locally deflecting and deforming said front and rear sheets in the region of said impact to horizontally space said upper edge of said collection aperture rearwardly relative to said lower edge to open said collection aperture below said impact region such that the ball enters between the upper and lower edges of the collection aperture in order to collect said ball between said sheets as it falls downwardly after its forward motion has been arrested, by said front sheet; and said front and rear sheets cooperating to define a ball storage zone underlying at least one of said strike and non-strike zones at a level below said ball collection aperture for storing balls collected by said strike and ball collection apertures which move downwardly between said sheets.