JP2021065399A - Bat with foam core insert - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a composite ball bat comprising a handle, a tapered portion extending from an attachment end of the handle, and a barrel portion extending from the tapered portion to an end-cap end.SOLUTION: The barrel portion includes an inner surface and an outer surface. A foam core insert is preferably located within the barrel portion so that it is friction-fit within the inner surface of the bat. The specific strength of the foam core insert may be 40 kNm/kg or more, and the specific modulus of the foam core insert may be at least 1,000 kNm/kg. The foam core insert is preferably less than 0.5 g/cc and preferably has a compressive strength greater than 16,500 kPa.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

(Cross-reference of related applications)
This application claims the interests of US Provisional Application No. 62 / 732,539 filed on September 17, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention generally relates to ball bats used in diamond sports such as baseball and softball. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vat having a foam core insert within its barrel portion. The foam core in the barrel of the bat allows the bat to be solid and lightweight.

Numerous attempts have been made to improve the performance of bats used in diamond sports such as baseball and softball. Bat performance is generally based on the weight of the bat, the length of the bat, and the impact response of the bat during and during impact with the ball. Typically, a lighter bat allows the batter to produce a faster bat speed, which in turn allows a faster hitting speed when the player hits the ball. As a result, much emphasis has been placed on reducing the weight of the bat when it comes to improvements in bat technology.

Bat manufacturers often attempt to reduce bat weight by utilizing lightweight metal structures. Since these bats are made of metal, they do not dramatically affect the overall weight of the bats.

The sweet spot of the bat can be several inches long, depending on the structure of the bat. Sweet spots generally include maximum performance points. At maximum performance, the ball leaves the bat at the fastest exit velocity compared to the rest of the bat's sweet spot. Maximum performance points are often about 4-8 inches (10.16-20.32 cm), usually 5-7 inches (12.7-17.78 cm) from the end cap end of the butt barrel. It is in.

Prior art bats are increasing performance in this area, so many sports regulators impose performance and / or configuration restrictions on bats. For example, a bat is "breaks in" in use, but many regulators set the maximum performance level of the bat when the ball impacts the maximum performance point of the bat. Typically, this impact performance level is measured by the exit velocity of the ball leaving the bat immediately after impact.

To create bats that meet this reduced performance level requirement, many bat manufacturers are adding more robust material inside the bat barrel. Generally, a metal ring is inserted into the barrel to help offset some of the trampoline effect of the bat's barrel while hitting the ball. Foam may also be inserted into the barrel to facilitate the positioning of such metal rings within the barrel. There are also attempts to use foam material instead of metal rings inside the barrel of the bat to reduce the weight of the bat. However, to provide additional strength, these foam materials are often dense and relatively heavy, which contributes too much to the weight of the vat. Such foam materials used in the prior art are typically installed in the sweet spot of the bat. Low density foams are low in weight but not useful due to insufficient strength.

The present specification discloses a bat for hitting a ball. The bat includes a handle at the base and a barrel at the tip, with a taper between them. The sweet spot of the butt is preferably positioned along the barrel and the end cap is preferably located at the end of the barrel on the distal end side thereof.

The barrel portion preferably comprises a high strength foam core insert having a high strength-to-weight ratio and is positioned at or near the sweet spot of the bat. The foam core insert can be substantially circular in shape and can be glued to the inner circumference of the barrel of the bat or press fit into place by friction fitting. Similarly, in a preferred embodiment, the foam insert may be pushed towards the base end of the bat through the tip of the bat until it reaches the sweet spot. The foam inserts, when fixed, are preferably approximately perpendicular to the wall of the barrel of the bat.

This high-strength foam core material is preferably used in composite or aluminum butt barrels that allow thinner butt walls to produce overall lightweight bats that can pass regulatory standards such as the rolling test described above. Give the structure.

The specific strength of the foamed core material under the compression test can be 40 kNm / kg or more. The specific elastic modulus of the same foam core material under the compression test can be at least 1,000 kNm / kg. The density of the foam core material is preferably less than 0.5 g / cc and has a compressive strength greater than about 16,500 kPa or about 2400 psi. In a preferred embodiment, the foam can be polyurethane-based or a polymethacrylicimide (PMI) foam. Other high-strength but low-weight other foam compositions are also considered.

The accompanying drawings may be referred to for better understanding of the various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a bat in which the foam core insert has been disassembled. It is sectional drawing of the bat of FIG. 1 which has a foam core insert in the barrel part.

Although the present disclosure allows for various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are illustrated in the drawings and are described in detail herein. However, the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not limited to that particular embodiment disclosed in the present disclosure, as the present invention conversely provides in the appended claims. It should be understood that it includes all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, similar reference numerals indicate similar parts throughout. For the purpose of clarity in showing the features of the present invention, the ratio relationship of each element is not necessarily maintained in the drawings.

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the ball bat 1 whose parts and structure are described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the bat 1 has a tapered portion 5 and a barrel portion 10 like other prior art bats known and understood in the art used in diamond sports such as baseball and softball. And include. Preferably, the tapered portion 5 is in the vicinity of the handle portion 15 of the butt 1, and the barrel portion 10 of the butt 1 extends from the tapered portion 5 to the end cap 20 of the butt 1. Like the prior art bat, the barrel portion 10 is intended to be the portion of the bat 1 that hits the ball when using the bat 1.

The barrel portion 10 of the bat 1 may include a foam core insert 25 housed inside the barrel portion 10 of the bat 1. More specifically, the foam core insert 25 is positioned near the sweet spot 30 of the barrel portion 10, which is generally regarded as the position of the bat 1 where the exit speed of the hit ball is the fastest. Although the sweet spot 30 is shown as about 6 inches (15.24 cm) from the tip 20 of the bat 1, it may be positioned closer to the tip or base than in the illustrated embodiment. In a preferred embodiment, the sweet spot 30 is located 5 to 7 inches (12.7 to 17.78 centimeters) from the tip 20.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, when the foam core insert 25 is inserted into the barrel portion 10, the outer circumference 35 of the foam core insert 25 substantially abuts on the inner wall 40 of the barrel portion 10. The contact of the outer circumference 35 with the inner wall 40 preferably creates a frictional fit so that the foam core insert 25 is firm and stable within the sweet spot 30. When the foam core insert 25 is inserted into the bat 1, frictionally fitted and positioned as shown in FIG. 1, it becomes substantially perpendicular to the barrel portion 10 of the bat 1. In some embodiments, the foam core insert 25 may be glued to the inner wall 40 by glue, epoxy or other suitable adhesive or other structural engagement.

In a preferred embodiment, the foam core insert 25 is made of polyurethane foam, but in alternative embodiments it may be made of polymethacrylicimide (PMI) foam. Other high-strength but low-weight foam compositions are also considered that provide the barrel portion 10 with structure and allow a thinner butt inner wall 40 for making an overall lighter bat.

The specific strength of the foam core insert 25 under the compression test can be 40 kNm / kg or more. The specific elastic modulus of the same foam core insert 25 under the compression test can be at least 1,000 kNm / kg. The density of the foam core insert 25 is preferably less than 0.5 g / cc and preferably has a compressive strength greater than about 16,500 kPa or about 2400 psi. In the illustrated embodiment, the foam core insert 25 has a thickness of about 1.5 inches (3.81 centimeters), but in alternative embodiments it even maintains its high strength and low weight properties. If so, it can be made thinner or thicker.

In an alternative embodiment, the foam core insert, such as the foam core insert 25, can vary in amount, position, composition and / or thickness. Such embodiments can be tailored to fit the particular size, performance and / or requirements of any given bat.

From the above, it will be seen that various embodiments of the present invention can be adapted to obtain all of the above-mentioned objectives and advantages, as well as other advantages inherent in the structure, which are self-evident. It will be appreciated that certain features and subcombinations of this embodiment are of utility and can be adopted without reference to other features and subcombinations. All disclosures described herein or shown in the accompanying drawings are merely exemplary, as many possible embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It will also be understood that it is interpreted as a thing and not a limitation. The various configurations described above and shown in the drawings are presented merely as examples and are not intended to limit the concepts, principles and scope of the present invention.

As evidenced by the above description, certain aspects of the invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples presented herein, and thus other modifications and applications or equivalents thereof are skilled in the art. Will come to mind. As used herein, the terms "having" and "inclusion" as well as similar terms mean "optional" and "may include". It is used in, and is not used as "required".

However, many modifications, modifications, changes and other uses and uses of this configuration will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and accompanying drawings. All such modifications, alterations, changes and other uses and uses that do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be incorporated by the invention limited solely by the claims.

Claims (15)

A handle with a knob end and a mounting end,
A tapered portion extending from the mounting end of the handle and
A barrel portion extending from the tapered portion to the end cap end is provided.
The barrel part
Inside and
On the outside,
Including a foam core insert fixed inside the inner surface of the barrel portion
A ball bat in which the foam core insert has a specific strength of 40 kNm / kg or more. The ball bat according to claim 1, wherein the foam core insert has a specific elastic modulus of at least 1,000 kNm / kg. The ball bat according to claim 1, wherein the density of the foam core insert is less than 0.5 g / cc. The ball bat according to claim 1, wherein the foam core insert is made of at least one of a polyurethane foam and a polymethacrylicimide foam. The ball bat according to claim 1, wherein the foam core insert is fixed in the barrel portion by an adhesive. A handle with a knob end and a mounting end,
A tapered portion extending from the mounting end of the handle and
A barrel portion extending from the tapered portion to the end cap end is provided.
The barrel part
Inside and
On the outside,
Including a foam core insert fixed inside the inner surface of the barrel portion
A ball bat in which the foam core insert has a specific elastic modulus of at least 1,000 kNm / kg. The ball bat according to claim 6, wherein the foam core insert has a specific strength of 40 kNm / kg or more. The ball bat according to claim 6, wherein the foam core insert has a density of less than 0.5 g / cc. The ball bat according to claim 6, wherein the foam core insert is made of at least one of a polyurethane foam and a polymethacrylicimide foam. The ball bat according to claim 7, wherein the foam core insert is fixed in the barrel portion by an adhesive. A handle with a knob end and a mounting end,
A tapered portion extending from the mounting end of the handle and
A barrel portion extending from the tapered portion to the end cap end is provided.
The barrel part
Inside and
On the outside,
Including a foam core insert fixed inside the inner surface of the barrel portion
A ball bat having a density of the foam core insert of less than 0.5 g / cc. The ball bat according to claim 11, wherein the foam core insert has a specific strength of 40 kNm / kg or more. The ball bat according to claim 11, wherein the foam core insert has a specific elastic modulus of at least 1,000 kNm / kg. The ball bat according to claim 11, wherein the foam core insert is made of at least one of a polyurethane foam and a polymethacrylicimide foam. The ball bat according to claim 14, wherein the foam core insert is fixed in the barrel portion by an adhesive.

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