Claims
- 1. A bat comprising:
a hitting surface; a handle element attached to the hitting surface; a first sleeve positioned within the hitting surface; and a second sleeve positioned within the hitting surface, wherein the hitting surface.
- 2. The bat of claim 1 wherein the first sleeve and the second sleeve are comprised of composite materials.
- 3. The bat of claim 2 wherein the hitting surface has a first stiffness and one of the first sleeve and the second sleeve positioned within the hitting surface has a second stiffness different than the first stiffness.
- 4. The bat of claim 2 wherein the hitting surface is made from a first set of fibers and a first resin and wherein the first sleeve and second sleeve are made from a second set of fibers and a second resin, the second set of fibers and the second resin being different than the first set of fibers and first resin.
- 5. The bat of claim 4 wherein the second fiber and resin is impregnated in the second set of fibers.
- 6. The bat of claim 4 wherein the second set of fibers and resin is a sheet of material.
- 7. The bat of claim 1 wherein the second sleeve is formed on the first sleeve.
- 8. The bat of claim 1 wherein the first sleeve is separated from the first sleeve by a layer of material.
- 9. The bat of claim 2 wherein the first sleeve is separated from the second sleeve by a layer of a release material.
- 10. A bat comprising:
a hitting surface further including;
a first wall; a second wall; and a third wall; and a handle element attached to the hitting surface.
- 11. The bat of claim 10 wherein the hitting surface is in the shape of a barrel.
- 12. The bat of claim 10 wherein the first wall is made of a first material and the second wall is made of a second material.
- 13. The bat of claim 12 wherein the first material is metal.
- 14. The bat of claim 12 wherein the first material is a composite material.
- 15. The bat of claim 10 wherein the second wall and the third wall are made of the same materials.
- 16. The bat of claim 10 wherein the second wall and the third wall are made of different materials.
- 17. The bat of claim 10 wherein the bat has a flexibility of greater than 600.
- 18. A bat comprising:
a hitting surface having a flexibility within the range of 600 to 1300; and a handle attached to the hitting surface.
- 19. The bat of claim 18 wherein the flexibility is within the range of 800 to 1200.
- 20. The bat of claim 18 wherein the flexibility is within the range of 950 to 1150.
- 21. A method of forming a bat having a handle and a hitting surface, the method comprising:
forming a first sleeve; forming a second sleeve; and fitting the first sleeve and the second sleeve within the hitting surface.
- 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the first sleeve is formed of metal.
- 23. The method of claim 21 wherein the first sleeve and the second sleeve are formed of metal.
- 24. The method of claim 21 wherein the first sleeve is formed of a composite material.
- 25. The method of claim 21 wherein the first sleeve and the second sleeve are formed of a composite material.
- 26. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of forming a first sleeve and a forming a second sleeve further comprises:
laying up a first plurality of layers of material; covering the first plurality of layers of material with a release material; and laying up a second plurality of layers of material.
- 27. The method of claim 26 wherein covering the first plurality of layers with a release material includes covering the first plurality of layers with polypropylene.
- 28. The method of claim 25 wherein forming a first sleeve includes wrapping a plurality of layers about a mandrel and wherein, forming a second sleeve includes wrapping a plurality of layers about a mandrel.
- 29. The method of claim 21 further comprising:
loading a portion of the bat; and measuring the amount of deflection.
- 30. The method of claim 29 wherein loading a portion of the bat includes placing a force on the hitting surface of the bat.
- 31. The method of claim 29 wherein loading a portion of the bat includes placing a force on the surface of the bat having a first sleeve and a second sleeve.
- 32. The method of claim 29 wherein loading a portion of the bat includes placing a force on a plurality of areas associated with the hitting surface of the bat.
- 33. The method of claim 32 wherein measuring the amount of deflection includes measuring the deflection at the plurality of areas associated with the hitting surface of the bat.
- 34. The method of claim 32 wherein measuring the amount of deflection includes measuring the deflection at the plurality of areas associated with the hitting surface of the bat, the method further comprising averaging the amount of deflection for each of the measured areas.
- 35. The method of claim 34 wherein loading the hitting surface at the plurality of areas includes placing substantially the same load on each of the plurality of areas of the hitting surface.
- 36. The method of claim 32 further comprising dividing the load placed on the bat by the measured deflection to yield a number representing flexibility of the bat.
- 37. The method of claim 32 further comprising:
dividing the load placed on the bat by the measured deflection to yield a number representing flexibility of the bat; determining a number representing flexibility at a plurality of points on the bat; and averaging the determined flexibility numbers.
- 38. The method of claim 37 wherein the flexibility numbers are determined for a hitting surface of the bat.
- 39. The method of claim 37 wherein the load placed on the bat is substantially equal at the various portions of the bat.
- 40. A method of forming a bat having a handle and a hitting surface, the method comprising:
forming a hitting surface; and forming a plurality of sleeves adjacent the hitting surface.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/438,196 filed May 14, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/883,790 filed on Jun. 18, 2001, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/263,020 filed Jan. 19, 2001, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60263020 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10438196 |
May 2003 |
US |
Child |
10844476 |
May 2004 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09883790 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Child |
10438196 |
May 2003 |
US |