GB2253152A

GB2253152A - Sports equipment handle

Info

Publication number: GB2253152A
Application number: GB9204430A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Robert Keegan; Matyas Krompaszky
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-02-27
Filing date: 1992-02-27
Publication date: 1992-09-02
Also published as: NZ241747A; GB9204430D0

Abstract

A handle 3 for a racket, club or bat, said handle providing at least a first 4 and second 5 hand section, wherein said first section is displaced from said second section. The first and second sections may be displaced forwards 3 or rearwards from the racket, club or bat and also be at different angles from the plane of the bat. Both may be provided with a grip section. <IMAGE>

Description

HANDLE FOR SPORTSGOODS The present invention relates to ball sports in particular, to rackets, clubs and bats for use in those sports.

Whilst the present invention is applicable to each of these, the following description will specifically use the cricket bat as an example of the invention.

The cricket bat has had very little change over its one hundred and fifty year history. Apart from changes in the types of materials used to construct such cricket bats, no real change in design has taken place except for minor design changes to the back of the blade of the bat.

Conventional rackets, clubs and bats can be modified in order. to improve the control of the implement. Such control can be rendered by modification of the head, blade or other ball contacting surfaces. Another means of gaining added control, is to modify the handle portion. In each of the major sports, the handle portions are of a very simple construction, generally being of a substantially cylindrical nature and being substantially straight. such that if two hands are used to grip the handle, both hands are concentrically located upon the handle in line with the blade of the bat.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a racket, club or bat, which provides improved control timing and power over the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handle for a sporting implement which also provides improved control timing and power and the prior art.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a handle for a racket, club or bat, said handle providing at least a first and second hand section, wherein said first section is displaced from said second section and said second section is substantially in the same plane as the ball contact surface of said racket, bat or club.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a racket or club comprising a head and a handle, wherein a first portion of said handle is displaced from a plane in which lies a second portion of said handle, characterised in that said first portion is displaced rearwardly or forwardly of said first plane and has a grip section on said first portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a bat comprising at least two sections, a first section including a surface to engage a ball, and a second section including a handle, said handle comprising a first portion which is displaced from a plane in which lies a second portion of said handle, characterised in that said first portion is displaced rearwardly or forwardly of said plane and has a grip section on said first portion.

The handle portion furthest from the blade or head can be located in the same plane as the head or blade, or if preferred can be forward or rearward of the plane of the blade or head.

The "offset" handle portion is preferably located between the blade or head of the racket, club or bat and the other portion of the handle. The reason for this is that generally the power transmission to the ball occurs via the hand which is closest to the head or blade.

Preferably a swivel mechanism is provided on the interface between the blade and the handle, so that the offset portion can be forward or rearward of the blade.

In terms of cricket bats, the present invention provides greater power in stroke play whilst also providing a better control. The offset nature can provide a greater moment (or turning force) to the bat and also allows the ball to be hit earlier, even if by only a fraction of a second, as the handspeed is now greater as the power hand i.e. the bottom hand, is behind the blade. This gives the batsmen the "timing" because of handspeed to hit the ball harder and earlier. The technique of hitting straighter will also come into play. This due to bat pick up with handspeed timing and power allows a better sighting when these elements are in place.

In cricket, a general aim of all batsmen is to maintain the ball close to the ground in order to avoid being caught. The present invenfion increases the chances of the bat being so inclined as to drive the ball into the ground thereby keeping the ball on or close to the ground.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only, with respect to a cricket bat. However, it will be clearly understood that the present invention is applicable to many forms of rackets, clubs and other bats, such as baseball bats.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with respect to the following drawings, in which fig. 1 is a front view of a bat incorporating the present invention; fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of fig. 1; figs 3, 3a and 3b illustrates a further embodiment; and fig. 4 illustrates yet another embodiment in side view.

The cricket bat 1 comprises a blade portion 2, and a handle portion 3. The handle portion 3 comprises two sections, 4 and 5. The upper section 5, is in substantially the same plane as blade 2, whilst lower section 4, closest to the blade 2 is displaced from the general plane 7 of the blade 2 and the handle section 5, in a generally rearward direction.

However, the plane 6 is of a substantially parallel orientation with respect to plane 7.

The handle section 4, is of a size large enough to accommodate a hand, as is the handle section 5.

The blade portion 2, has been trimmed and shaped in order to provide maximum lightness and sufficient strength for normal cricket conditions.

The handle section 4, that is the displaced or offset section, is located closest to the blade 2, as it is generally the section through which the majority of the power of the bat is transferred.

For other changes in control characteristics, the displaced or offset portion can be the handle section 5, whilst handle section 4 is contained along plane 7 with the blade 2, (not illustrated).

Illustrated in fig. 3, is an arrangement whereby the handle section, 5, is not in the same plane as the blade portion 2.

Fig. 4 on the other hand, also illustrates the present invention whereby handle section 5 is located in rearward plane by comparison to that of blade portion 2. In figure 4, the handle portion furthest from the blade has a 'kink' or turned portion 5a for the purposes of better grip and control.

Each of the figs. 1 to 4 are illustrated such that the handle is non rotatable relative to the blade. In another form of the invention, there is provided a rotational lockable interconnection between the handle and the blade. This will allow the batsmen to change the offset from a rearward to a forward position relative to either the other portion of the handle or the blade, or vice versa. When the offset portion is rearward of either the blade or handle, this is the best orientation to improve power control and timing against conventional bowling. Whilst when the offset portion is forward of either the blade or handle, this is the better orientation for improving the batsmens response to spinbowling.

Whilst the bats illustrated in figs. 1 to 4 show handles having particular curved shapes, the present invention is not limited thereto and the scope of the invention is extended to handles exhibiting other angles and shapes which embody the principles of this invention.

The bat 1, can be constructed of any suitable material, with the overall length and width being the same as a normal cricket bat. The bat 1 can be utilised by both left and right handed batsmen.

The bats of the present invention are now balanced behind the blade as the "feel" through the hands will be lighter than its deadweight on the senses. The bat of the present invention is lighter through the hands and consequently, in stroke play, than its scale weight, as the handle is off centre, i.e. behind the blade in the appropriate embodiment, but the power remains because the lower hand is behind. There are provided for the bottom hand .index finger and thumb, indentations on the offset handle. This is unique when it comes to gripping the bat via the offset handle. The indentations are a proper guide to the strokemaker in holding the offset handle for all stroke play and is novel npt only to this handle, but to all past orthodox straight handled bats.

With the aid of the present invention, proper batting technique can now be improved upon by skilled or semi-skilled batsmen for the reason that the hands (one or both) are now behind the impact point on the blade. As a result all strokes - either square of the wicket, on either side of the wicket, or behind the wicket - now become more controllable by the batsman since the curvature of the handle (being any angle or any shape) tends to make all ball shots roll with the hands, "naturally", from the wrist, thus directing the ball towards the ground earlier and more powerfully than is possible with the conventional straight-handled bat.

The placement and direction of strokemaking is controlled normally by the upper hand. With the aid of bats according to the present invention, straight play - i.e. forward driving, driving either side of the wicket and/or backward defense - can now be more clearly sighted because the blade of the bat is in front of the hands with the bottom hand controlling the amount of power-stroke via controlled handspeed due to the design and curvature of the handle.

The above mentioned invention can be applied to other sporting implements such as tennis rackets, badminton rackets, squash rackets, baseball bats, golf clubs, and any other suitable ball contacting racket, club or bat.

Whilst only one embodiment of the present invention has been described, modifications by those skilled in the art can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A handle for a racket, club or bat, said handle providing at least a first and second hand section, wherein said first section is displaced from said second section and said second section is substantially in the same plane as the ball contact surface of said racket, bat or club.

2. A racket or club comprising a head and a handle, said handle requiring the use of both hands of a user, wherein a first portion of said handle is displaced from a plane in which lies a second portion of said handle, characterised in that said first portion is displaced rearwardly or forwardly of said first plane and has a grip section on said first portion.

3. A bat comprising at least two sections, a first section including a surface to engage a ball, and a second section including a handle, said handle comprising a first portion which is displaced from a plane in which lies a second portion of said handle, characterised in that said first portion is displaced rearwardly.

4. A bat comprising at least two sections, a first section including a surface to engage a ball, and a second section including a handle, said handle comprising a first portion which is displaced from a plane in which lies a second portion of said handle, characterised in that said first portion is displaced forwardly of said plane.

5. A bat as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein there is provided a grip section on said first portion.

6. A bat as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the handle portion furthest from the blade or head is located in the same plane as the head or blade.

7. A bat as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the handle portion furthest from the blade or head is located in a plane forward or rearward of the plane of the blade or head.

8. A bat as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein said first portion of said handle is located adjacent the blade or head of the bat.

9. A bat, racquet, club or handle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein indentations are provided to locate a user's fingers when gripping said bat, racquet, club or handle.

10. A bat, being substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to figs 2, 3, 3a, 3b. or 4 of the drawings.

11. A handle for a racket, club or bat, said handle providing at least first and second hand portions, wherein each portion is in a different plane.

12. A racket or club or bat comprising two sections, a first section including a surface to engage a ball, and a second section including a handle, said handle comprising a first portion which is displaced from a plane in which lies a second portion of said handle.