Patent Application
20250065204
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The disclosure relates to pitch training devices and more particularly pertains to a new pitch training device for teaching proper finger placement for pitches.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
The prior art relates to pitch training devices. Different pitches require different finger placements along an outer surface of a pitching ball, such as a softball, a hardball, or a baseball. Learning the proper finger placement can be difficult, particularly for breaking pitches, which are pitches that do not travel straight as they approach the batter. The prior art has disclosed various devices and methods for teaching proper finger placement for the different types of pitches. Some references disclose baseballs or pitching balls with finger position indicia, such as various colored zones and finger placement markings. Other references disclose pitching balls with additional stitching layers used as finger rests. Other references disclose baseballs with moving parts, such as shiftable weighted material within the baseball or pegs protruding from the baseball, which are intended to provide tactile and audible feedback about the pitch. However, the prior art lacks disclosure of a pitch training device that can be added to any baseball or pitching ball the user already owns. The prior art also lacks disclosure of a pitch training device that can be used to teach proper finger placement for multiple different pitches.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a finger grip having a top side, a bottom side, and a peripheral wall. The peripheral wall is attached to and extends between the top side and the bottom side. The bottom side is curved, such that the bottom side is complementary to the curvature of the outer surface of a pitching ball. The finger grip is configured to provide a raised structure on the outer surface. The raised structure is configured to position a finger of a user on the pitching ball for a pitch. The finger grip is positioned on the pitching ball such that the finger grip is configured to properly align the finger for the pitch, wherein the finger is positioned alongside the raised structure. The raised structure is configured to facilitate the finger of the user in spinning the pitching ball. An adhesive covers at least a portion of the bottom side, affixing the finger grip onto the outer surface.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter, and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The peripheral wall 18 has a first side 24 and a second side 26. Each of the first side 24 and the second side 26 is concavely arcuate from the top side 14 to the bottom side 16. In some embodiments, the top side 14 is convexly arcuate from the first side 24 to the second side 26.
The finger grip 12 extends from the outer surface 22 of the pitching ball 20. The finger grip 12 thereby provides a raised structure on the outer surface 22, such that the finger grip 12 is configured to position a finger 42 of a user 40 on the pitching ball 20 for a particular pitch. In other words, the finger grip 12 is configured to position the finger 42 on the pitching ball 20 relative to the lace 34 of the pitching ball 20. The finger grip 12 is configured to be placed along-side the finger 42, to facilitate the transfer of pressure from the finger 42 on the finger grip 12 into rotation of the pitching ball 20. For example, when the pitching ball 20 is thrown without the finger grip 12, the frictional engagement between the finger 42 and the pitching ball 20 is responsible for how spin or rotation will be transferred to the pitching ball 20. This is why positioning the finger 42 along particular portions of the pitching ball 20, and particularly relative to the lace 34, is such a determinative factor for the trajectory of the pitching ball 20 through the air. With the addition of the finger grip 12, the user 40 can apply pressure to the finger grip 12 and to the pitching ball 20, which can teach the user 40 how to position the finger 42 and also can improve the transfer of pressure from the finger 42 to the pitching ball 20 so that it is easier to throw breaking pitches or other types of pitches. As shown in
The placement of the finger grip 12 on the outer surface 22 of the pitching ball 20 can be determined based on the proper finger placement for a particular pitch. For example, the finger grip 12 may be placed on the outer surface 22 to guide the placement of a finger 42 for a breaking pitch, a fastball, or a changeup. In embodiments, a plurality of finger grips 12 may be positioned on the pitching ball 20 to guide a user's finger placement for the particular pitch the user is trying to learn. In some embodiments, a first finger grip 28 may be positioned adjacent to a thumb 44 of the user 40 and a second finger grip 30 may be positioned adjacent to a middle finger 46 of the user 40. The first finger grip 28 is spaced apart from the second finger grip 30. As shown in
An adhesive 32 may be included on the bottom side 16 of the finger grip 12. For example, the adhesive 32 may cover at least a portion of the bottom side 16. The adhesive 32 affixes the finger grip 12 onto the outer surface 22. The user 40 can affix the finger grip 12 to any baseball or pitching ball the user 40 already owns, thereby creating training balls for numerous types of pitches.
The finger grip 12 may be formed of a lightweight material, such as rubber or plastic. With the lightweight material, the finger grip 12 will have minimal effect on the trajectory and velocity of the pitching ball 20 as it travels through the air once pitched. The user can accurately position their fingers 42 relative to the laces of the pitching ball 20 so that rotation of the hand of the user as the user throws the pitching ball 20 causes the laces to rotate, allowing the pitching ball 20 to spin as needed for the pitch the user 40 is learning.
In use, the user 40 can position the finger grip 12, or a plurality of finger grips 12, on the pitching ball 20 based on the type of pitch the user 40 wants to learn. The user 40 can then position their finger 42 against the peripheral wall 18 of the finger grip 12. The user can thereby learn proper finger placement for that type of pitch using the raised structure formed by the finger grip 12 on the outer surface 22 of the pitching ball 20.
This disclosure references a pitching ball 20, which is a ball being pitched for a game. Examples of pitching balls 20 include softballs, hardballs, and baseballs. Typically, a pitching ball 20 will have a plurality of stitches, or lace 34, on the outer surface. The rotation of the stitches as the pitching ball 20 travels through the air affects the trajectory of the pitching ball 20. The finger grip 12 can be positioned relative to the lace 34 such that rotation of the pitching ball 20 held according to the positioning of the finger grip 12 can cause the lace 34 to rotate as the pitching ball 20 travels through the air.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
