JP3529966B2 - Shock damping bat - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball bat generally used for sports. In particular, the present invention relates to bat shapes that soften shocks or "stings" that are imparted to a player's arm, for example, caused by off-center strikes.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Baseball games depend on the age range and skills of the player. There are different types or classes of play, such as hardballs, softballs (fast and slow) and little league balls, and there are some examples of known types and levels of players. Common to all levels, one key element of the game, batting ability, requires a minimum level of repetitive practice, drilling, eye / hand coordination development, and confidence during batting. For many batters, a key factor in extending self-confidence during batting involves managing the shock and vibration (sting) transmitted to the arm when the ball impacts the bat's torso.

The problem of impact or "sting" imparted to the batter's arm by the impact produced by hitting a baseball with a bat is well known. This problem is most likely to occur when the ball impacts the body at a location along the length of the bat that is outside the center of impact of the bat, ie, the area defined by the "sweet spot". This is known as an "off center" blow.

The position where the ball impacts the bat is
It occurs either inside the sweet spot (closer to the batter) or outside the sweet spot (farther away). As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in each case the possible shock, ie the energy transferred to the batter's arm, is the dynamic balance of speed and weight (momentum).
It is the result of impacting a position away from the position associated with the center and the distribution of longitudinal stiffness of the bat at the time of ball impact. In impact, the imbalance of forces acting on the bat when the momentum is being transmitted to the ball causes an unfavorable pattern of bat deflection from the resting centerline, as a traveling shock wave through the bat, and / or Alternatively, it is characterized as a translational or rotational force applied to the grip of the bat that feels as a sting on the batter's arm.

Therefore, for one of these reasons, which would be combined with other factors, the impact of the sweet spot ball is felt as a "solid hit" against an off-center impact. Especially for impact points ahead of the sweet spot, it is true that even if all the components of energy are transmitted to the ball, it does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the hard feel of impact according to the intuition of the batter. . As is well known, depending on how much energy is converted to bat rotation and bending, some of the kinetic energy from the bat swing is transmitted to the ball, which in turn depends on the rotation of the impact associated with the sweet spot. However, other factors such as the bat's speed and the angle of the ball's trajectory at impact (eg, a similar or identical bat was used) depended on the bat's orientation, depending on how much energy was applied to the ball. It will be influenced more depending on whether it is transmitted. The impact, or sting, imparted to the batter's arm by an off-center strike has been recognized as a loss of batter's self-confidence and has always been recognized as affecting the bottom-line level of batter's self-confidence. It was recognized by the prior art relating to these that the relief of pleasure and the loss of self-confidence are desirable. Therefore, in an attempt to reduce the off-center hit discomfort, players and tool manufacturers have adopted the following measures. That is, the adoption of a bat structure including a multi-part structure having a padded glove, a cushion grip, and a separating member within the structure of the bat for cushioning shock.

[0006]

Those relating to the prior art were believed to have drawbacks with conventional bats which combine these features. For example, a large number of parts and complex structures, as compared to conventional hollow bats, reduce reliability by, for example, increasing cost and increasing the potential for defects due to materials and manufacturing. Therefore, what is needed is a simpler, more reliable, and more cost effective design that is effective in mitigating off-center hit discomfort.
It does so by reducing the sudden distortion of the bat's handle and by reducing the energy transferred to the batter's arm due to forces acting through the handle's grip during batting.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a shock-absorbing hollow bat structure suitable for reducing the shock imparted to the user's arm caused by off-center strikes. This bat has a body portion having a base portion and an opening provided at an end portion. The body has an inner surface. Similarly, the separate handle has a base portion, an end portion, and a large-diameter interference portion adjacent to the end portion. The large diameter interference part
It is shaped to prevent movement of the handle through an opening in the base of the barrel. Further, the elastic separation coupling portion is provided between the inner surface of the body portion and the outer surface of the handle in the large diameter interference portion. The elastic separation coupling part allows relative movement between the body and the handle in order to reduce the impact transmitted from the handle to the user's arm when the ball is hit with a bat. It is for This is especially true when hitting off-center.

In a more detailed aspect, such a bat has a body taper adjacent to the base of the body having a tapered inner surface. The tapered portion of the barrel has a base portion and an end portion, and the barrel portion has a first inner diameter portion at an end portion of the tapered portion of the body portion and the first inner diameter portion at the base portion. It has a smaller second inner diameter. In this case, the handle has a large-diameter interference portion adjacent to the end portion thereof, and has a tapered outer surface formed to fit inside the tapered inner surface of the tapered portion of the body. It has a tapered portion. The tapered portion of the handle similarly has a base portion and an end portion, and has a first outer diameter portion at the end portion of the tapered portion of the handle and a second outer diameter portion smaller than the first outer diameter portion at the base portion. Has an outer diameter portion of. The tapered portion of this handle is located within the tapered portion of the barrel. In this case,
A large-diameter interference portion is provided between the inner surface of the tapered portion of the body portion and the outer surface of the tapered portion of the handle.

In a more detailed aspect, the inner surface adhesively joins the handle and the body and joins these two parts of the bat together. Due to possible but resistant relative movements between the torso and the handle (especially relative flexure), the handle's separation from the torso, the deviation of the handle from its central axis when stationary, etc. The shock and vibration energy transferred to the is reduced.

In another detailed aspect, the spaced apart connection is disposed between the handle and the barrel and is initially in a fluid plastic state and has a tacky nature of its own when cured. , Permanently bond the torso and handle when fully cured. By using such a fluent material to form the inner surface, the material can be applied to one or both parts (handle and barrel) and then while the fluent material cures. Placed relative to. As an even more detailed aspect, the possible relative movement between the torso and handle and the degree of isolation of the two parts can be selected. This is done by choosing the thickness of the material from which the remote bond is made and the nature of that material. At the time of manufacture, the relative distribution selected
Place the uncured adhesive material with elasticity on at least one tapered surface, place the tapered portion of the handle inside the tapered portion of the barrel, and taper the outer surface of the tapered portion of the handle and the tapered portion of the barrel. It is easily achieved by adjusting the space between the inner surface and the inner surface. This adjustment is performed by moving the case and the handle in opposite directions. The elastic adhesive material is cured by squeezing the elastic adhesive material between them, thereby extending the material between the remote connection and the faces to ensure a binding action. Hold the handle and torso in proper position when done.

As will be appreciated, the bat of the present invention mitigates the impact or sting associated with the impact of impacts, particularly off-center impacts. Furthermore, it has been found that such a bat construction allows these improvements to be made without significantly affecting the performance of the bat as compared to other comparable conventional bats.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings. With reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings, this is by way of example and not by way of limitation, a bat 10 of the present invention has a base 14 and an end 16 closed by a cap 18. , A body 12 made of a metal such as an aluminum alloy.
As can be appreciated, closing can also be done in other ways, such as rollover, as known to those skilled in the art. The barrel has a tapered portion 20 of the barrel having an end 22 where the barrel changes from a frustoconical shape to a normal cylindrical shape,
And the base (in the case of the illustrated embodiment, the base 14 of the body)
Is equivalent to). As will be appreciated, the cylindrical shape of the illustrated barrel may be more tapered and integral. The bat also
It also has a handle 24 formed of metal, and this handle 24 has a base portion 25 and a displacement portion 26 to complete the taper of the body portion, and integrate the handle and the body portion into a continuous and smooth shape. The body is made into a single integral bat shape with a smooth appearance. Knob 28
Is formed of a suitable metal, such as an aluminum alloy, and is fixed to the handle so that it cannot be removed from the handle at the base.

The body 12 and handle 24 as elements of the bat can also be made of other materials known to those skilled in the art. For example, synthetic materials including fibrous materials and elastic resins known to those skilled in the art may be used. Similarly, depending on the size of the knob, the knob 28 can also be made integral with the handle, as will be apparent from the description below.

Referring to FIG. 2, the large diameter interfering portion of the handle comprising the tapered portion 30 is fitted within the handle 24 adjacent its end 32. The large diameter interferor may have other shapes, such as one or more radially extending protrusions or flanges (not shown) such that the handle does not fall from the barrel to the base. Well, and different compatible inner surface shapes for the inner surface of the barrel can be used. The guiding principle of providing the large-diameter interference portion of the body is to prevent the body from sliding away from the end of the handle due to one or more of the handle, the body or the inner surface being separated from each other, and It has the desired clearance and flexure characteristics of the inner surface to provide optimal bonding of the barrel, handle and clearance connection.

Returning to the illustrated embodiment, the handle taper has a base 34 on which the handle material apparently begins to rise to form the handle taper. The knob 28 is welded to the base 25 or, for example,
It is attached by other connecting means such as stitching or pin connection. The cap 18 may be attached by gluing or, for example, slightly bending the ends of the metal barrel, or attached by stitching, pins or other known methods.

The separation coupling portion 36 is composed of the handle 24 and the body portion 1.
The two are adhesively joined to keep them properly aligned and to keep them separated from each other. The spacing connection fills between the inner surface 38 of the tapered portion of the barrel and the outer surface 40 of the tapered portion of the handle. The spaced apart connection is formed of a castable urethane material, but, as will be appreciated, it may be formed of a more pliable material than the material from which the barrel and handle are formed. As will be further understood, the location of the taper portion of the bat and handle, or in other words the overlapping portion, and the separation connection is
It can vary between the limits of the handle grip and the center of the bat's impact (sweet spot). As will be further appreciated, the spaced apart connection 36 may comprise separate pieces that are themselves bonded to both the outer surface 40 of the handle taper portion 30 and the inner surface 38 of the barrel taper portion 20.

The elastic coefficient of the separating connection portion is considerably smaller than that of the body portion 12 and the handle 24, and the separating connection portion 3 is
6 achieves the function of allowing relative movement between the parts and the adhesive function of permanently joining the parts into an integral bat. The characteristics of the spacing material are:
You can choose to achieve special working standards.

Relative between body 12 and handle 24
The spacing connection 36 is deformed to allow for the desired movement, thereby converting the kinetic energy that would otherwise be transmitted to the batter's arm into heat, which subsequently escapes to the surroundings. The bat 10 is, in fact, more prone to bending at one point in the distant joint and where the moment force acting due to the application or reaction of an unbalanced force to the bat traverses the distant joint, where it acts as a hinge. The handle has a tendency to warp or rotate slightly so that it cannot be conveyed all the way up. Similarly, in some circumstances, at least a portion of the energy transferred to the remote bond may be passed through the body 12 by a repulsion of a resilient synthetic material, such as a polymeric compound, forming the remote bond (not shown). Be told). Furthermore, the separating coupling portion acts to soften the vibration due to the repulsion of the bat, converts the kinetic energy due to the vibration into heat energy, and subsequently releases it to the surroundings. When hit, for one or a combination of these reasons, the disclosed geometry acts to reduce the impact / sting on the batter's arm with the bat of the present invention. Further, it is particularly effective in the case of off-center striking, and the action of softening the impact is unfavorable, for example, by further reducing the deviation of the handle from the central axis of the bat, so that solid (center of impact) striking is associated. Reduce pleasure.

In a sense, this form of separation coupling 36.
Acts as a replacement for soft tissue and batter's arm bones. That is, the resistance acting on the bat further distorts the batter's arm by a slight amount in the polymer-synthesized bond. However, overall, the amount of energy used other than to impact the ball is
It turned out to be no different from what was associated with a common bat of the same type in general. Therefore, the performance of the bat from the point of the distance at which the flight distance of the ball is achieved does not decrease so much. This result is of great importance to the player, softening the shock / sting and otherwise not affecting the batter's game.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the bat 10 of the present invention is made by the illustrated preferred method of providing the polymeric adhesive material that comprises the separation bond 36 on the outer surface 40 of the tapered portion 30 of the handle 24. . The handle is then inserted through the end 16 of the barrel 12 towards the base 14 of the barrel. The handle passes through the torso, the base of the torso 1
When projecting from 4, it is pulled out and aligned with the body, so that the handle and body parts are now aligned on a common axis. The polymeric adhesive material forming the spaced apart bond is within the part such that the space between the outer surface 40 of the tapered portion 30 and the inner surface 38 of the tapered portion 20 of the barrel portion pulls both surfaces downwardly from each other. It is compressed and expanded. The relative movement of the body and handle ceases when the two surfaces are a desired distance apart.

As can be seen, the body 12 and the handle 2
The amount of the force used to pull 4 and 4 in the opposite direction depends on the amount of the force that pushes out the polymeric adhesive material having fluidity and elasticity that forms the separation coupling portion 36 from the base portion 14 of the body 12, and the separation coupling. Part thickness (distance between inner surface 38 and outer surface 40)
Thicken or thin. Varying the thickness of the standoff joint is one way to alter the finished characteristics of the bat, which can moderate the impacts imparted to the handle caused by off-center strikes. As can be seen, the difference in the amount of energy absorption desired is the difference in thickness and / or
Alternatively, it may be caused by the difference in the materials used to form the remote connection. The properties of the spacing material can be selected to provide a wide range of finished features and comfort (shock and vibration isolation). Properties (eg modulus, bond strength, tear strength, elastic energy and damping efficiency) determine the required thickness. In one preferred embodiment shown here, in which the body and handle are made of aluminum alloy, the spacing connection is about 0.125 inches thick,
The urethane material from which the bond is made is approximately 40 Shore A
The hardness.

Adhesive material of extra elastic material extruded from the base 14 of the barrel 12 is leveled to form the displacement portion 26 of the standoff joint, and the tapered portion 20 of the barrel portion.
The taper of is made continuous and perfect, and smoothly matches in the handle 24. This provides a pleasing appearance and workmanship, and it is not critical to treat the surface with a colored pattern and / or a varying appearance of the bat structure.

In another exemplary embodiment, the handle 24 and barrel 12 are held in place and uncured polymeric material is injected between them to form a separation bond. . In yet another exemplary embodiment, a preformed spacing bond is placed on the handle, which is then pulled or pushed through the hole toward the base 14 of the barrel. By doing so, the displacement portion 26 of the separation coupling portion is elastically deformed until it appears from the body portion to the base portion and is set in a predetermined position.

After the handle 24 and barrel 12 are joined as described above, the cap 18 is inserted to permanently close the barrel end 16. Then, similarly, knob 2
8 is attached to the base 25 of the handle 24.

[0025]

It can be seen that the manufacturing costs and quality assurance associated with the bat of the present invention are superior to the conventional shock absorbing bat designs which have many parts and more complex structures. Will.

Those skilled in the art will likewise find various modifications.
Within the spirit of the invention, it can be readily understood that the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed herein can be made and the scope of protection is defined only by the appended claims. Will.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ball bat according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ball bat shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the body and handle of the bat of the present invention are assembled into the bat.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the assembly is further advanced in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Bat; 12 ... Body; 14, 25, 34 ...
Base: 16, 22, 32 ... End: 20 ... Body taper: 24 ... Handle: 30 ... Taper: 36 ...
Separation coupling part; 38 ... inner surface; 40 ... outer surface

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Doway Jay Chowbin, California, USA 93063, Simi Valley, Hemway Coat 3963 (56) References JP-A-6-170016 (JP, A) Special Features Kaihei 6-182009 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 6-31772 (JP, U) US Patent 5303917 (US, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63B 49/02 A63B 59/00 A63B 59/06 A63B 59/18

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A ball bat comprising: a handle having a base portion , a tapered portion, and an end portion having a first diameter; a base portion having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, and a tapered portion. And a hollow barrel having an end, the base of the handle extending from the barrel, and the end of the handle disposed inside the barrel, thereby The tapered portions overlap each other and the end portion of the handle passing through the base portion of the body portion is
To limit the movement; comprise a polymeric adhesive material between the tapered portion and the handle of the tapered portion of the barrel, the polymeric adhesive material is the only connection between the barrel and the handle , Further above
The polymeric adhesive material is smaller than the body and handle.
Has a sex coefficient, and the relative
Features that allow movement and form an integral bat
To permanently combine them in order to achieve
What is; Bat. 2. The bat according to claim 1, wherein the polymer adhesive material is compressed between the tapered portion of the body and the tapered portion of the handle. 3. The bat according to claim 1, wherein the polymer adhesive material is filled in a space between the tapered portion of the body and the tapered portion of the handle. 4. The bat according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric adhesive material has a uniform thickness between the overlapping members of the body and the handle. 5. The bat according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric adhesive material forms a smooth transition between the outer surface of the bat and the handle at the base of the body. 6. The bat according to claim 1, further comprising a cap that closes the end of the body. 7. The bat according to claim 1, wherein the handle is hollow and further comprises a knob integrally attached to a base portion of the handle. 8. A method of making a ball bat, comprising: a base and a taper terminating in an end having a first diameter.
A handle having a part, and inserting into the end having an opening of a hollow barrel having a tapered portion; so that the tapered portions are spaced apart from each other, the C
The base of the handle has a second straight diameter smaller than the first diameter.
Until it protrudes through the open base of the body having a diameter
To move the handle past the body.
An adhesive, for adhesively connecting the handle and the body,
Disposing a polymeric adhesive material between the tapered portions , the polymeric adhesive material comprising a body and a handle.
It has a smaller elastic coefficient than the handle and the body
Features that allow relative movement between, and an integral bat
A machine that permanently joins them together to form a
To achieve Noh ; method. 9. The polymeric adhesive material is placed in a flowable state on at least one of the tapered portions, and the handle and the body portion are brought into a predetermined relative position while the polymeric adhesive material is solidified. The method of claim 8, further comprising retaining. 10. Adjusting the space between the taper of the body and the taper of the handle to provide a selected thickness of polymeric adhesive material between the body and the handle. 10. The method of claim 8 or 9, further comprising: 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising forming the polymeric adhesive material to provide a smooth transition between the body and the handle. 12. The method of claim 8 further comprising providing a cap on the end of the barrel. 13. The method according to claim 8, further comprising providing a knob on the base of the handle.