US20240130450A1

US20240130450A1 - Batting pad

Info

Publication number: US20240130450A1
Application number: US18/122,233
Authority: US
Inventors: Dong Kuk Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-10-19
Filing date: 2023-03-15
Publication date: 2024-04-25
Also published as: US20240225147A9; KR102506481B1

Abstract

Proposed is a batting pad that aids a batter's batting. The batting pad is provided with a thumb ring fitted over a batter's thumb and a shock absorption portion seated on the web area of a batter's hand, as well as a curved protruding end convexly protrudes upward from the shock absorption portion extending from the thumb ring, a web contact end, and a palm cover end and a backhand cover end extended from the web contact end.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0135523, filed Oct. 20, 2022, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a batting pad and, more particularly, to a batting pad that is made from a shock-absorbing material, has a thumb ring adapted to fit over a batter's thumb and a shock absorption portion with a predetermined thickness covering the palm and backhand area between the thumb and a forefinger, which is called the web space, to adhere to the outer circumference of a bat held in the palm of a batter's hand, enabling the batter to grip the bat tightly, and absorbs a shock from hitting a baseball.

Description of the Related Art

In general, a batting pad is a piece of equipment for aiding a batter in properly gripping and controlling a baseball bat, and is used to prevent injuries by absorbing shock during batting practice and to produce a hard hit by transmitting strong force to the bat.
That is, a strong gripping force is maintained even if the index and middle fingers adhere to the outer circumference of a bat with little force while the bat rests in a shock absorption portion, and a shock to thumb joints and the web area, which is the space between the thumb and index finger, where a repulsive force is transmitted upon impact with a baseball, is mitigated.
As related art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,329 B2, filed Oct. 5, 2004, discloses “BATTING PAD FOR ADJUSTING LOCATION OF BAT IN BATTER'S HAND”.
As shown in FIG. 1 , a batting pad of the above related art is gear that helps a batter grip or control a bat and protects the web area between the thumb and index finger. The batting pad is made from a cushioning material and includes an opening for inserting the thumb and an appendage extending to the web area. The appendage has a first contact point and a second contact point between a bat and a hand such that the first contact point is adjacent to index finger joints and the second contact point is adjacent to the thumb joints. The appendage also has an upper surface to contact the web area of a batter's hand, and a lower surface to contact the bat, wherein the upper surface has a radius of curvature of between 0.7 to 0.85 inches.
Although the above related art has the effect of increasing the gripping force when a batter grips a bat, it is not suitable for Asians who have relatively short fingers compared to Westerners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present disclosure is intended to provide a batting pad that has a thumb ring including a fitting hole into which a thumb is inserted and a shock absorption portion covering the palm and backhand area between the thumb and a forefinger, which is called the web space, wherein a curved protruding end extending between the thumb ring and the shock absorption portion protrudes upward and a web contact end is provided in a curved surface at the front end of the center of the shock absorption portion, so that the batting pad may be used regardless of the size of a finger, and the feeling of grip is evenly conveyed by being configured with a predetermined, constant thickness.
In order to achieve the above objectives, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a batting pad including: a thumb ring having a fitting hole into which the thumb is inserted; and a shock absorption portion covering a palm and a backhand of the web area.
The shock absorption portion may include: a curved protruding end that protrudes and extends upward from an end of the thumb ring; a web contact end extending from an end of the curved protruding end in a concave curved surface; a palm cover end extending downward from a left end of the web contact end; and a backhand cover end extending downward from a right end of the web contact end.
A thickness of the palm cover end and the backhand cover end 24 may be 1 mm to 8 mm.
On each of inner surfaces of the palm cover end and the backhand cover end, a fitting portion formed with a thickness of 1 mm to 3 mm in a part in close contact with the web area W close to the index finger may be provided.
The fitting portion may be thinner and obliquely extended toward an outer end.
A side of an upper surface of the curved protruding end may protrude convexly when protruding upward so as to be in close contact with an outer circumferential surface of the bat upon gripping the bat.
The palm cover end and the backhand cover end may be provided to face each other, and may extend downward to a length of 3 cm to 5 cm.
The thumb ring may include a thumb contact end that is further extended in a vertical direction so as to stably fit over the thumb.
As described above, the batting pad of the present disclosure has the following effects.
First, by having a curved protruding end between a thumb ring fitted over a batter's thumb and a shock absorption portion covering the palm and backhand area, the part surrounding a bat is enlarged to increase a gripping force and a shock transmitted directly to the thumb is absorbed, preventing injury to thumb joints.
Second, by extending a web contact end of the shock absorption portion in a concave curved surface so as to adhere to the front end of the web area, the shock absorption portion is widely adhered to the outer circumference of the bat, enabling a batter to grip the bat tightly with little force. Third, by providing a fitting portion in the shock absorption portion that has an inclined thickness and is formed thinner than other parts of the shock absorption portion, the batting pad can be easily seated in the web area, and there is a free space between the bat and the palm to facilitate bat control.
Fourth, by having the shape of the thumb ring expands further in the vertical direction, the state of the thumb ring attached to the thumb can be maintained stably, enabling the batter to grip the bat firmly and durability to be enhanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objectives, features, and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a batting pad according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the overall shape of a batting pad according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which a bat is gripped with the batting pad according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the batting pad according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a deformed state of the batting pad when gripping the bat wearing the batting pad of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a view showing a shock absorption portion of the batting pad according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 , a batting pad according to the present disclosure is a batting pad that is seated on a web area W, which is the space between a thumb and forefinger, when a batter bats, and absorbs the shock transmitted from a bat.
FIG. 2 is a view showing the overall appearance of the batting pad according to the present disclosure. The batting pad according to the present disclosure is largely provided with a thumb ring 10 and a shock absorption portion 20. In addition, the upper and lower parts, the backhand, and the palm referred to throughout the specification will be described based on the right hand, as shown in FIG. 3 .
The thumb ring 10 has a fitting hole 11 into which a thumb is inserted, and the shock absorption portion 20 extending from one side of the thumb ring 10 is provided to cover the palm and the backhand in the web area W.
The shock absorption portion 20 includes: a curved protruding end 21 that protrudes and extends upward from one end of the thumb ring 10; a web contact end 22 extending from one end of the curved protruding end 21 in a concave curved surface; a palm cover end 23 extending downward from the left end of the web contact end 22; and a backhand cover end 24 extending downward from the right end of the web contact end 22.
The web contact end 22 is formed to be seated at the front end of the web area W, that is, in the section where the palm and the backhand come into contact with each other, and the palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24 extend to face each other with the web contact end 22 at the center.
At this time, the thickness T of the palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24 may be 1 mm to 8 mm, and on each of the inner surfaces of the palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24, a fitting portion 25 formed with a thickness of 1 mm to 3 mm in a part in close contact with the web area W close to the index finger is provided.
The fitting portion 25 is formed more inclined toward the outer end. As shown in FIG. 6 , the fitting portion 25 is bent in the direction of the outer circumferential surface of a bat and brought into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the bat when the palm is pressed into the fitting portion 25, and the remaining area of the palm cover end 23 except for the fitting portion 25 is maintained in direct contact with the bat and is pressed.
In addition, one side of the upper surface of the curved protruding end 21 protrudes convexly when protruding upward so as to be in close contact with the outer circumferential surface of the bat upon gripping the bat, so that the force transmitted from the second joint of the thumb is transmitted to the outer circumference of the bat.
Meanwhile, the palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24 are provided facing each other and extend downward to a length A of 3 cm to 5 cm so as to be in close contact with the bat over a larger area than in the case of the related art.
Moreover, the thumb ring 10 is provided with a thumb contact end 12 that is further extended in the vertical direction so as to stably fit over the thumb, so that the state in which the thumb is inserted into the thumb ring 10 is stably maintained.
The operation of the batting pad according to the present disclosure having the above configuration is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 3 , the batting pad according to the present disclosure buffers and absorbs the repulsive force from the impact with a baseball upon hitting, which is transmitted to a batter's hand through the bat, since the thumb ring 10 is fixed to the thumb of the right hand and the shock absorption portion 20 covers the web area W of the palm and the backhand when a batter grips a bat in order to absorb the shock.
In addition, the thumb contact end 12 of the thumb ring 10 and the fitting portions 25 of the palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24 provided in the batting pad of the present disclosure help the batter easily control the bat. That is, the thumb contact end 12 increases the contact surface with the thumb, so that the batting pad is not easily separated from the hand of the batter even by an external force transmitted to the shock absorption portion 20, and the worn state is maintained, while the fitting portion 25 is configured to be thinner, so that the batter may easily adjust the force transmitted to the bat.
The fitting portions 25 obliquely extend to the outer sides of the inner surfaces of the palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24 so as to be widely adhered to the outer circumferential surface of the bat with little force to transmit strong force when the batter grips the bat. That is, the fitting portions 25 prevent the palm cover end 23 from acting as an obstacle when the batter grips the bat.
In addition, the fitting portion 25 provided on the backhand cover end 24 performs the same function as in the right hand when fitted to the left hand.
Meanwhile, the curved protruding end 21 protrudes convexly when protruding upward so as to be in close contact with the outer circumferential surface of the bat when gripping the bat, so that the bat may be gripped firmly and securely with little force when the power of the second joint of the thumb is transmitted to the bat.
The palm cover end 23 and the backhand cover end 24 are provided facing each other and extend downward to a length of 3 cm to 5 cm, so that the area seated on the palm is formed widely, and even people with small hands may easily grip the bat.
As described so far, the batting pad according to the present disclosure makes it possible to easily grip a bat with little force and transmit strong force, and provides an environment in which even a person with small hands can completely grip the bat, so that a stronger force may be transmitted to a ball at the time of hitting, enabling a good hit to be produced.
The present disclosure is not limited to the specific preferred embodiment described above, and may be variously modified and implemented by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the gist of the present disclosure claimed in the claims, and such changes are within the scope of the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A batting pad that is seated on a web area (W), which is a space between a thumb and an index finger, when a batter bats, and absorbs a shock transmitted from a bat, the batting pad comprising:

a thumb ring (10) including a fitting hole (11) into which the thumb is inserted; and

a shock absorption portion (20) covering a palm and a backhand of the web area (W),

wherein the shock absorption portion (20) comprises:

a curved protruding end (21) that protrudes and extends upward from an end of the thumb ring (10);

a web contact end (22) extending from an end of the curved protruding end (21) in a concave curved surface;

a palm cover end (23) extending downward from a left end of the web contact end (22); and

a backhand cover end (24) extending downward from a right end of the web contact end (22),

wherein a thickness (T) of the palm cover end (23) and the backhand cover end (24) is 1 mm to 8 mm.

2. The batting pad of claim 1, wherein on each of inner surfaces of the palm cover end (23) and the backhand cover end (24), a fitting portion (25) formed to have a thickness of 1 mm to 3 mm in a part in close contact with the web area (W) close to the index finger is provided.

3. The batting pad of claim 2, wherein the fitting portion (25) is thinner and obliquely extended toward an outer end.

4. The batting pad of claim 1, wherein a side of an upper surface of the curved protruding end (21) protrudes convexly when protruding upward so as to be in close contact with an outer circumferential surface of the bat upon gripping the bat.

5. The batting pad of claim 1, wherein the palm cover end (23) and the backhand cover end (24) are provided to face each other, and extend downward to a length of 3 cm to 5 cm.

6. The batting pad of claim 1, wherein the thumb ring (10) includes a thumb contact end (12) that is further extended in a vertical direction so as to stably fit over the thumb.