GB2499807A

GB2499807A - Elbow brace support for golf swing training

Info

Publication number: GB2499807A
Application number: GB1203489.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Royston James Richards; Mostyn James Richards
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-02-29
Filing date: 2012-02-29
Publication date: 2013-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 2032-02-29
Also published as: GB201203489D0; GB2499807B

Abstract

A movement control device to assist a player intending to strike a ball with a bat, club, stick or racquet, wherein the device restrains the players arm against bending from a straight position until the arm subjects the device to a bending force greater than a threshold level, whereafter the device flexes to allow unopposed and free bending movement of the elbow. The device may be formed of two elements joined by a hinge or a snap lock connection (fig 3), or may be formed of one element having a flexible portion between two halves (fig 5). The device may be included a pocket of a sleeve 10 for wrapping around a players arm or elbow. The device may help a golf player keep his or her leading arm straight and in a rigid position when swinging the club whilst allowing the player to bend his or her arm during the follow-through.

Description

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Training Aid Device for Ball Games

The present invention relates to a device for use as 5 a training aid for aspiring players of games where a ball is hit by a club or stick, for example by golfers. More particularly but not exclusively the invention relates to a device for training a player to keep his or her leading arm straight when swinging the club to strike the ball 10 but then allowing the player to bend his or her arm during the follow-through.

Any aspiring golfer is faced with the difficulty of trying to maintain a stiff, unbending leading arm during the backswing, without taking his or her eyes off the 15 ball to check the disposition of the arm. There is the added complication that, after the ball is struck, the leading arm must be free to bend at the elbow if the club is to complete a smooth, wide arc and the correct posture of the player is to be promoted, for optimum power and 20 accuracy of the shot. If the movement of the arm is not precise, then there are severe difficulties in accurately hitting a ball. There is also the risk that if a player does not have the correct posture when hitting the ball and following through that undue stress can be placed on 25 the hip and lumbar area of the back, which can result in straining of the back.

A number of devices have been made or proposed hitherto, for fitting to a golfer's leading arm for training him or her to keep that arm straight when 30 swinging the club to strike the ball. Some of these . devices are intended to hold the arm rigidly and prevent the arm from bending once the ball has been struck. Others are intended merely to provide a degree of resistance against the arm being bent and do not

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therefore prevent the player starting to bend his or her arm even before the ball is struck. Another hitherto-proposed device is intended to give a clicking noise when the arm is bent but gives no resistance against bending 5 the arm, making it difficult for the player to appreciate exactly when, during the swing, he or she did bend the arm. All of these devices have drawbacks. A device that keeps the arm rigid can lead to back problems because the arm is not allowed to bend at the follow through point. 10 For devices where a degree of resistance to bending occurs, there is no control of the bending of the arm after a shot is taken, which can lead to inaccurate hitting of the ball and also can compromise the posture of the player. For devices where an audible noise is 15 generated, this can cause irritation to the player and also to those within earshot of the device.

The current invention has been devised which seeks to alleviate the above-noted difficulties and also which provides for accurately hitting and following through 20 when striking a ball.

In accordance with a first aspect of present invention, there is provided a device to assist an individual that is, or intends to strike a ball with a striking device, the device having attachment means to 25 allow the device to be fitted to an individual's arm, said device also having a movement control member serving to restrain the arm against bending from a straight disposition until the arm subjects the movement control member to a bending force of greater than a predetermined 30 threshold level, where-after the device allows unopposed bending movement of the. arm.

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Preferably, the device is arranged to be attached to an arm of the individual that leads into a stroke when striking a ball.

It is envisaged according to one embodiment of the invention that the device includes a movement control member formed of two elements joined together by a hinge or other coupling means which locks the two elements in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of greater than said predetermined threshold level. At that point, the lock provided by the coupling means is overcome, preferably abruptly or as a snap-action, where-after the two elements are free to flex relative to each other, in a given direction. The given direction involves bending^of the arm to allow the arm to follow through the hitting of

However, according to an alternative embodiment, the device includes a movement control member formed of one element having a flexible portion between two halves of the element, said flexible portion being arranged to lock the two halves in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of greater than said predetermined threshold level. At that point, the lock provided by the flexible portion is overcome, preferably abruptly or as a snap-action, where-after the two halves are free to flex relative to each other, in a given direction.

In this arrangement, the flexible portion may be formed as a living hinge which is an integral part of the material making up the or both elements and which, due to its nature allows for flexing of one or both elements relative to one another.

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It is envisaged that the hinge, coupling or flexible portion is adjustable so that the tension on the hinge, coupling or flexible portion can be altered to allow for 5 different strengths of users. An example is that if the device is to be used by a child, the child is able to exert less force to cause the element to flex than an adult so the tension on the element allowing flexing would be have to be reduced. Typically the load on a 10 hinge that is used involves a maximum static load of 13 0 Newtons.

Preferably the attachment means is provided as a sleeve for fitting to the individual's arm. The sleeve contains a pocket into which the one or more elements of 15 the movement control member can be inserted or removed;: if the sleeve is for example to be washed.

It is envisaged that the sleeve comprises a wraparound sleeve provided with fastening means for securing it around the individual's arm.

20 In a preferred arrangement, the fastening means is provided by a hook and look material such as Velcro® which provides a quick and easily releasable fastening means to secure the device to an arm.

An alternative securing means or an additional 25 securing means may be provided by a belt and buckle arrangement.

It is preferred that the straps that extend around an individuals arm are of an elastic material thereby providing a degree of "give" when an individual is 30 extending and flexing the arm. A degree of elasticity also enables the device to be fitted to different individuals, which of course would have different thicknesses of the arm.

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Preferably the sleeve includes one or more support panels. It is envisaged the one or more support panels, which have the property of restraining the user's arm 5 against bending until the arm subjects the device to a force of greater than said predetermined threshold level. Further, the support panel or panels can provide a degree of protection against strains being caused by the repetitive action of swinging a ball striking device such 10 as a stick, club or bat. This avoids the need for an individual to use a separate support or protection device such a support-bandage, as the support is integral with the device of the current invention.

In a preferred arrangement, the sleeve has location 15 means to ensure that a user of the device has the device in the correct position on the arm. The hinge, coupling or flexible portion of the device should be in the crook of the elbow. The elbow is held in an extended locked position with the hinge or connection member being 20 positioned on the inside of the elbow where it bends. The location means may be provided as visual indicators on the sleeve of the device. However in a preferred arrangement, the location means is provided as an aperture in the sleeve into which the elbow bone may be 25 inserted.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a movement control member to assist individuals that are or intend to strike a ball with a ball striking device, the movement control member being 30 formed of one or more elements serving to restrain the arm against bending from a straight disposition until the arm subjects the movement control element to a bending force of greater than a predetermined threshold level,

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where-after the movement control member flexes to allow unopposed bending movement of the arm.

It is envisaged that the movement control member is formed of two elements joined together by a hinge or other coupling member which locks the two elements in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of greater than said predetermined threshold level at which point, the lock provided by the coupling means is overcome, where-after the two elements are free to flex relative to each other, in the given direction.

However, according to an alternative arrangement, the movement control member is formed of one element having a flexible portion between two halves of > the element, said flexible portion being arranged to lock the two halves in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of greater than said predetermined threshold level at which point the lock provided by the coupling means is overcome where-after the two halves are free to flex relative to each other, in the given direction.

Preferably, the hinge or coupling is a snap action coupling. The snap action allows for a precise and defined flexing action.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a sleeve for attachment to an individual's arm, said sleeve including attachment means to which a movement control member according to a second aspect of the invention can be attached.

It is envisaged that the movement control member of the second aspect of the invention is to be used as part of the device of the first aspect of the invention.

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The effectiveness of hitherto-proposed devices is further compromised by the difficulty in positioning the device accurately on the arm of the user. I have now 5 devised a training aid device for golfers, in which this problem is alleviated.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in 10 which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a golfer's training aid device from one side, being the side, which faces inwardly against the arm when fitted to an individual's leading arm;

15 FIGURE 2 is a view of the device from the opposite side, being the side, which faces outwardly when fitted to the individual's arm;

FIGURE 3 is a view of a hinged insert of the device,-

FIGURE 4 is a view of the device when fitted to a 20 individual's arm; and

FIGURE 5 shows an insert according to another embodiment of the invention where the hinge is a living hinge.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a device 25 for fitting to the leading arm of an individual such as a golfer, the device is generally shown as 1 in figure 1. The device as shown includes a wrap-around sleeve for positioning around the arm, over the elbow. The sleeve comprises a generally-rectangular panel 10 formed of for 30 example a fabric (preferably a flexible and washable fabric) and provided, on one side (the inner side) and adjacent one longitudinal edge 11, with an elongate pocket 12 which is open towards the opposite edge of the panel 10, to receive an insert 20. The opposite edge of

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the panel 10 is formed with, a series of three projections 13, 14, 15 which are provided with pieces 16 of hook-and-pile fastening material (the pieces 16 being of the hook-type) , for engaging a larger piece 17 of hook-and-pile 5 fastening material (of the complementary, pile-type) which is provided on the opposite side (the outer side) of the panel 10 adjacent its longitudinal edge 11. The portion of the panel 10 adjacent the piece of fastening material 17, and including the projections 13, 14, 15, is 10 elastically-stretchable in all directions. The device also includes and insert as shown in Figure 3 or Figure 5.

The panel 11 can be formed with a single pocket or several pockets shown as 11a, lib and 11c which provides 15 pockets for siting the insert according to the arm width of the user.

The insert as shown in Figure 3 is shown as 2 0 and comprises two rectangular plates 21, 22 which form the elements that make up the movement control member of the 20 invention of plastics material joined by a hinge 23 and each provided with a facing layer 21a, 22a of resiliently-deformable or cushioning material. The two plates 21, 22 have a slight concave-curvature across the width of the insert. The hinge 23 is arranged to lock 25 the two plates 21, 22 in a straight-line disposition, as shown, until a threshold level of bending force is applied to the insert in a given direction, at which point the "lock" provided by the hinge is overcome in a .snap-action, and the hinge permits unopposed bending of 30 the insert in that direction.

In use of the device, with the insert 20 disposed within the pocket 12 of the panel 10, the player wraps the device around his or her leading arm, over the elbow.

and fastens the device by pulling each of the. projections 13, 14, 15 in turn and engaging its fastening piece 13 a, 14a, 15a with the fastening piece 17 on the outer side of the panel 10. It will be noted that the outer side of the panel 10 is formed with an alignment marking 18: the player positions the device so that this marking is centred on the elbow, before fastening the device; with the device thus-aligned, the insert 20 will be correctly positioned on the inside of the arm, with its hinge 23 adjacent the elbow joint. As shown in figure 2, the device may be aligned on the arm by using an alignment marking 18, which in this case is shown as an aperture, with which the elbow may align. However, to provide adaptability for alignment, a series of apertures may; be used which will align with arms of people having varying arm widths. Also, rather than using apertures a raised surface could be used so the individual can feel when their elbow is in the correct position for using the device. The player such as a golfer, now addresses the ball with his or her leading arm in a straight disposition: the device will serve to keep this arm straight during the backswing and as the player swings the club down to strike the ball. During the follow-through, however, there will be a natural tendency for the player to bend his or her arm: this will apply a bending force to the device, sufficient to overcome the "lock" of the hinge 23 in a snap-action, enabling the arm to bend freely.

It will be appreciated that the device which has been described is straightforward to fit accurately, making use of the alignment marking 18. Once fitted, the device serves to keep the golfer's leading arm in the desired straight disposition during the backswing and

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whilst the player is swinging the club to strike the ball, but thereafter will respond to the natural tendency for the player to bend his or her arm, and allows unopposed bending of the arm during the follow-through.

As shown in Figure 5, the insert 20 may be formed as a one-piece item having two halves 21a and 21b, which are joined by an integral hinge 24. The hinge has an inherent resistance up to a certain point after which it can flex to allow movement of the arm.

Although the device, movement control member and the sleeve are particularly useful to the assistance and training of golfers, it is envisaged that the devices could be used to train individuals playing other games where a ball is hit with a bat, club or stick, for example cricket, hockey or even tennis.

The invention is intended to cover not only the individual embodiments discussed but also combinations of those embodiments. Further it is to be understood that the invention can cover equivalent arrangements that come within the scope of the invention as claimed.

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Claims

Claims

1. A device to assist an individual that is or, that 5 intends to strike a ball with a ball striking device, the device having attachment means to allow the device to be fitted to an individual's arm, said device having a movement control member serving to restrain the arm against bending from a straight disposition until the arm 10 subjects the movement control member of the device to a bending force of greater than a predetermined threshold level, where-after the device allows unopposed bending movement of the arm.

15 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the device1-., is arranged to be attached to the arm of the individual that leads into a stroke when striking a ball.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein 20 the movement control member is formed of two elements joined together by a hinge or other coupling member which locks the two elements in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of 25 greater than said predetermined threshold level after which point the lock provided by the hinge or coupling member is overcome, allowing the two elements to flex relative to each other, in the given direction.

30 4. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the movement control member is formed of one element having a flexible portion between two halves of the element, said flexible portion being arranged to lock the two halves in alignment and against pivoting relative to

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each other, in a given direction,. until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of greater than said predetermined threshold level, after which point the lock provided by the flexible portion is overcome, allowing the two halves are free to flex relative to each other, in the given direction.

5. A device according to claim 5, wherein the flexible portion is formed as a living hinge which is an integral part of the material making up the or both elements and which, due to its nature allows for flexing of one or both elements relative to one another.

6. A device according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the hinge, coupling or flexible portion is a snap lock connection, which upon reaching the predetermined threshold allows for movement of the device.

7. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the hinge, coupling or flexible portion is adjustable so that the tension on the hinge, coupling or flexible can be altered to allow for different strengths of users.

8. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the movement control member is has one or more areas of cushioning on its surface.

9. A device according to any preceding claim, when dependent on claim 1, wherein the attachment means is provided as a sleeve for fitting to the individual's arm.

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10. A device according to claim 9, wherein the sleeve contains a pocket into which the movement control member can be inserted or removed.

11. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the sleeve comprises a wrap-around sleeve provided with one or more fastening members for securing it around the individual's arm.

12. A device according to claim 11, wherein the one or more fastening members is provided as a hook and loop material.

13. A device according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the fastening members include one or more areas of an elastic material to allow the attachment member to be adjusted on an individuals arm.

14. A device according to any of claims 10 to 13, wherein the sleeve includes one or more support panels for the individuals arm.

15. A device according to any of claim 10 to 14, wherein the sleeve has location means to ensure that a user of the device has the device in the correct position on the arm.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the location means is provided as an aperture in the sleeve into which the elbow bone may be inserted.

17. A movement control member to assist individuals that are or intend to strike a ball with a ball striking

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device, the movement control member being formed of one or more elements serving to restrain the arm against bending from a straight disposition until the arm subjects the movement control member to a bending force 5 of greater than a predetermined threshold level, whereafter the movement control member flexes to allow unopposed bending movement of the arm.

18. A movement control member according to claim 17 10 wherein the movement control element is formed of two elements joined together by a hinge or other coupling member which locks the two elements in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in 15 that direction of greater than said predetermined threshold level at which point, the lock provided by the hinge or coupling member is overcome, where-after the two elements are free to flex relative to each other, in the given direction.

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19. A movement control member according to claim 17 wherein the movement control member is formed of one element having a flexible portion between two halves of the element, said flexible portion being arranged to lock

25 the two halves in alignment and against pivoting relative to each other, in a given direction, until subjected to a said bending force in that direction of greater than said predetermined, threshold level at which point the lock provided by the flexible portion is overcome where-after 30 the two halves are free to flex relative to each other, in the given direction.

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20. A movement control element according to any of claims 17 to 19, wherein the hinge, coupling or flexible portion is snap action coupling.

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21. A sleeve for attachment to an individual's arm, said sleeve including attachment means to which a movement control member according any of claims 17 to 2 0 can be attached.

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22. A sleeve according to claim 21 wherein the attachment means comprises a pocket into which the movement control member can be inserted.

15 23. A device to assist an to strike a ball with a club, stick or bat as substantially described herein, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures.

20 24. A movement control member as substantially described herein, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures.

25. A sleeve as substantially described herein, with 25 reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures.