The present disclosure relates to bowling and, more particularly, to an insert for a bowling ball.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
During bowling, it is desirable to have the best feel of the ball when delivering it down the lane. In order to do this, finger inserts have been devised to provide the bowler with maximum feel of the ball in their hand. This is accomplished by providing inserts in the finger as well as in the thumb holes. During bowling, it is not uncommon for a bowler's thumb to swell during play. Thus, it is desirable to have an interchangeable thumb insert which would enable the bowler to adjust the thumb insert for varying conditions during bowling. Also, it is possible to change the thumb insert to accommodate a different bowler with the same ball.
Various types of removable inserts exist in the art. While it appears that the inserts are satisfactory for their intended purpose, those skilled in the art are always striving to improve the state of the art. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a bowling ball thumb insert which includes an inner and outer sleeve. The outer sleeve is secured into a bowling ball. The inner sleeve is easily positioned into and locked in position on the outer sleeve. The present invention provides mating wings as well as a circumferential locking tab. Also, the disclosure illustrates partial threads on the inner and outer member to mate them with one another.
According to a first aspect of the disclosure, a bowling ball thumb insert comprises a first sleeve with a cylindrical wall. The cylindrical wall has an outer surface and an inner surface. The sleeve is adapted to fit into a bowling ball where the outer surface is adjacent to and secured with the bowling ball. An inner wall surface receives a second sleeve. The first sleeve has a distal end adapted to be positioned adjacent the bottom of a bore in the bowling ball. Two circumferential ledges extend radially inward from the inner wall surface. The two ledges oppose one another and define at least two gaps. The gaps have unequal circumferential sizes of at least 60° around the circumference of the inner surface. A second sleeve is positioned within the first sleeve. The second sleeve includes a cylindrical wall with an inner and outer surface. The outer surface is adjacent the inner surface of the first sleeve. The second sleeve includes at least two locking wings at a distal end of the second sleeve. The two locking wings extend radially outward from the outer surface. The two locking wings extend circumferentially about the outer surface to position through the gaps so that when the second sleeve is rotated, it mates with the ledges. The wings have different circumferential lengths. The lengths vary circumferentially from 60° to 90°. A stop extends radially inward from the first sleeve inner surface. The stop includes a detent on a circumferential surface. A projecting tab is adjacent each wing to contact the detent to lock the first and second sleeves together. Each of the two ledges has first and second surfaces on planes which are transverse to the longitudinal axis of the outer sleeve.
According to a second aspect of the disclosure, a bowling ball thumb insert comprises a first sleeve with a cylindrical wall. The cylindrical wall has an inner and outer surface. The outer surface is adapted to fit adjacent to and be secured to a bowling ball. The inner wall surface receives a second sleeve. The first sleeve has a distal end adapted to be positioned adjacent a terminus of a bowling ball bore. A ledge extends from the inner wall surface. A stop includes a circumferential detent on the inner wall surface. A second sleeve is positioned within the first sleeve. The second sleeve includes a cylindrical wall with an inner and outer surface. The outer surface is adjacent the inner surface of the first sleeve. The second sleeve includes a ledge at a distal end of the second sleeve. The second ledge mates with the first ledge. A projecting member is adjacent the second ledge to mate with a detent on the first sleeve to lock the first and second sleeves together. The outer sleeve ledge is positioned a desired distance from the distal end. The projecting member on the second sleeve outer surface is adjacent the distal end. The stop, which includes the detent, extends radially inward from the distal end of the first sleeve.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Turning to the figures, a bowling ball 10 is illustrated with a thumb insert, which is designated with the reference numeral 12. The thumb insert 12 includes an outer sleeve 14 and an inner sleeve 16, as illustrated in
The outer sleeve 14 includes a proximal end 18 and a distal end 20. A coupling device 22 is positioned adjacent the distal end 20. The outer sleeve 14 defines a cylindrical wall 24 with an outer surface 26 and an inner surface 28. The outer surface 26 is sized to be positioned adjacent to and secured with the bowling ball 10. The proximal end 18 is positioned substantially flush with the surface of the bowling ball after it is inserted into the bowling ball 10. The distal end 20 is positioned at the terminus or end of the bore in the bowling ball.
Turning to
The ledges 30 and 32 include a chamfered starting portion 38 which extends circumferentially towards the center of the cylindrical wall. The ledges 30 and 32 are positioned a desired distance from the distal end of the sleeve 14. The ledges 30 and 32 include first and second surfaces 40 and 42 which are substantially planar. The planes of the surfaces 40 and 42 are parallel with one another. Also, the first and second surfaces 40 and 42 of each ledge 30 and 32 are substantially co-planar with one another, respectively.
Blocks 44 and 46 are positioned at the end of the ledges 30 and 32. The blocks 44 and 46 are substantially identical and project radially inward from the inner surface 28 of the cylindrical wall 24. The blocks 44, 46 include a circumferential detent 48 which is recessed radially outward from the center of the outer sleeve 14. The detent 48 receives a member to lock the first and second sleeves 14, 16 together. The blocks 44, 46 extend to the distal end of the sleeve 14. Also, the detents 48 are offset with respect to the surface 40 of the ledges 30 and 32.
The second inner sleeve 16 includes a distal end 50 and a proximal end 52. Also, the second sleeve 16 defines a cylindrical wall 54 which includes outer surface 56 and inner surface 58. The second inner sleeve 16 includes a coupling mechanism 60. The wall 54 is sized to be positioned adjacent the inner surface 28 of the outer sleeve 14. The inner surface 58 of the second sleeve is adapted to receive a thumb of a bowler.
Turning to
A circumferential surface 66 is spaced from the wings 62 and 64. The circumferential surface 66 extends radially inward from the inner sleeve wall 54 to provide a channel 68 between the surface 66 and a surface of the wings 62 and 64. The channel 68 receives the ledges 30 and 32 to couple the second sleeve 18 with the first sleeve 14. The wings 62 and 64, other than having a different circumferential length, are substantially identical. The wings 62 and 64 have a substantially constant thickness with their upper and lower surfaces being in planes parallel to one another. Also, the upper and lower surfaces of the wings 62, 64 are coplanar with one another, respectively. A projecting member 70 extends radially outwardly from a cylindrical wall 72. The wall 72 extends along the axis of the sleeve 18 from the circumferential surface 66 forming a step between the two. The projecting member 70 couples with the detent 48 to lock the first and second sleeves together when they are positioned together and rotated with respect to one another.
Turnings to
The outer sleeve 14 is substantially the same as that previously discussed; however, the coupling mechanism is different. The coupling mechanism 80 includes a ledge 82 which is inclined to provide a partial thread portion. The ledge 82 has a substantially constant thickness and is along a helical path about the periphery of the inner surface. The ledge 82 has a circumferential length of between 280° to 290°. Preferably, the length is 285°. The ends of the ledge 84 and 86 are spaced by a stop portion 88. The stop portion 88 is continuous with the distal portion of the sleeve 14. The stop 86 includes a detent 89 which enhances locking of the two sleeves with one another.
The second inner sleeve 16 is the same as that previously described except for the coupling mechanism 90. The coupling mechanism 90 includes a ledge 92 which has a substantially constant thickness. The ledge 92 is along a helical path about the outer surface of the wall 70. The ledge 92 has a circumferential length of between 275° to 285°. Preferably, the length is 280°. A gap is formed between the ends 94 and 96 of the ledge 92. The gap 98 has a circumferential length of about 40° to 50° and preferably about 45°. The gap 98 enables positioning of the inner sleeve into the outer sleeve so that the gap mates with the stop portion 86 as seen in
The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
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