Patent Application
20150360104
Ball bats, particularly composite ball bats, have been designed with various stiffness properties to meet the preferences of various players. Many players, for example, prefer the feel and performance of ball bats having barrels that exhibit high compliance and low stiffness. There are challenges, however, in making an effective, durable ball bat having these properties.
A ball bat includes a handle and a main barrel. An external wall or sleeve is positioned around the main barrel and separated from the main barrel by a gap. The gap provides a bat barrel with relatively low stiffness and high radial compliance, resulting in performance advantages and improved feel. Other features and advantages will appear hereinafter.
In the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element throughout the views:
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments.
The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this detailed description section.
Where the context permits, singular or plural terms may also include the plural or singular term, respectively. Moreover, unless the word “or” is expressly limited to mean only a single item exclusive from the other items in a list of two or more items, then the use of “or” in such a list is to be interpreted as including (a) any single item in the list, (b) all of the items in the list, or (c) any combination of items in the list. Further, unless otherwise specified, terms such as “attached” or “connected” are intended to include integral connections, as well as connections between physically separate components.
Turning now in detail to the drawings, as shown in
The body of the ball bat 10 may be an integral construction or may include two or more separate attached pieces (e.g., a separate handle and barrel), as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,158, which is incorporated herein by reference. In a two-piece ball bat, for example, the handle 12 and the barrel 14 may each include a portion of the tapered section 16, and they may be in overlapping engagement with each other. As used herein, the “handle” and “barrel” may include portions of the tapered section.
The ball bat 10 is preferably constructed from one or more composite or metallic materials. Some examples of suitable composite materials include fiber-reinforced glass, graphite, boron, carbon, aramid, ceramic, Kevlar, or Astroquartz®. In some embodiments, aluminum or another suitable metallic material may be used to at least construct portions of the ball bat 10. For example, a ball bat having a metal barrel and a composite handle, or a composite barrel and a metal handle, may be used in the embodiments described herein.
The ball bat 10 may have any suitable dimensions. The ball bat 10 may have an overall length of 20 to 40 inches, or 26 to 34 inches. The overall barrel diameter may be 2.0 to 3.0 inches, or 2.25 to 2.75 inches. Typical ball bats have diameters of 2.25, 2.625, or 2.75 inches. Bats having various combinations of these overall lengths and barrel diameters, or any other suitable dimensions, are contemplated herein. The specific preferred combination of bat dimensions is generally dictated by the user of the bat 10, and may vary greatly between users.
As best shown in
The ball striking area of the bat 10 typically extends throughout the length of the outer sleeve 22, and may extend partially into the tapered section 16 of the bat 10. For ease of description, this striking area will generally be referred to as the “barrel” or “barrel region” throughout the remainder of the description. The barrel region generally includes a maximum performance location or “sweet spot,” which is the impact location where the transfer of energy from the bat 10 to a ball is maximal, while the transfer of energy to a player's hands is minimal. The sweet spot is generally located at the bat's center of percussion (COP). Another way to define the sweet spot's location is between the first node of the first bending mode and the second node of the second bending mode. This location, which is typically about four to eight inches from the free end of the bat 10, does not move when the bat is vibrating.
The external sleeve 22 is separated from the main barrel 14 by a gap 24, which facilitates deflection of the sleeve 22 upon contact with a ball. The gap 24 may extend radially any suitable distance, for example, 0.040 to 0.200 inches, thus allowing the sleeve 22 to deflect up to a corresponding distance upon contact. A gap of approximately 0.125 inches, for example, has been found to be effective. This deflection provides increased barrel compliance and lower bat stiffness, resulting in a better feel and improved performance.
The external sleeve 22 may be attached to the tapered section 16 or other region of the ball bat 10 via an elastomeric adhesive 26 or other suitable material. The elastomeric adhesive 26 may extend beyond the mating region of the sleeve 22 to provide a continuous, smooth outer surface 28 of the ball bat at a proximal end of the sleeve 22.
As shown in
In the embodiments illustrated in
In the embodiment shown in
Any of the spacing elements 32, 34, 36 described herein may be made of metal, plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic, foam, rubber, thermoplastic urethane, or any other material that provides desired feel and performance characteristics. In some embodiments, the gap 24 may be filled, or partially filled, with foam, rubber, thermoplastic urethane, or any other suitable, compliant material.
The sleeve 22 may be mechanically locked to the main barrel 14 or the tapered region 16 to prevent it from sliding off of the main barrel 14 during use. This may be accomplished via a snap-ring configuration, a tongue-and-groove configuration, a projection and a corresponding notch, or any other suitable locking configuration between the sleeve 22 and the main barrel 14. In some embodiments, a tapered end of the sleeve 22 may be in an overlapping, interference fit with the tapered region 16 of the ball bat 10.
Any of the above-described embodiments may be used alone or in combination with one another. Furthermore, the ball bat may include additional features not described herein. While several embodiments have been shown and described, various changes and substitutions may of course be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents.
