Claims
- 1. Apparatus to add weight to an athletic ball striking bat, having a taper along the bat length, comprising in combination:
a) a sleeve sized to extend about the bat at the taper location, b) the sleeve having associated retention means to engage the bat at a zone along said taper to resist lengthwise removal of the sleeve off the bat during bat swinging, c) a weight or weights carried by the sleeve.
- 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the weight or weights are carried at a location or locations spaced from said zone.
- 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said retention means has an arcuate interior surface to engage said zone at arcuately spaced location.
- 4. The combination of claim 1 including said bat projecting through the sleeve.
- 5. The combination of claim 2 wherein said bat has a handle portion that projects from the sleeve, said zone located between said handle portion and said weight or weights.
- 6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is generally cylindrical.
- 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said associated means includes an annular retainer at the inner side of the sleeve, and which has an inner surface to engage the bat taper, said inner surface having a configuration defined by one of the following:
i) generally cylindrical ii) tapered, lengthwise of the sleeve.
- 8. The combination of claim 7 including a pocket or pockets carried by the sleeve and receiving said weight or weights.
- 9. The combination of claim 6 including a first device on the sleeve for pulling the sleeve along the bat during assembly of the sleeve to the bat.
- 10. The combination of claim 9 including a second device on the sleeve for pulling the sleeve along the bat during disassembly of the sleeve off the bat.
- 11. The combination of claim 9 wherein said device is a first loop at a location near the sleeve end that faces in the direction of sleeve assembly onto the bat.
- 12. The combination of claim 10 wherein said second device is a loop at a location near the sleeve end that faces in the direction of sleeve disassembly off the bat.
- 13. The combination of claim 1 wherein said weight or weights comprises a deformable mass or masses of material.
- 14. The combination of claim 13 wherein said material is metallic and granular.
- 15. The combination of claim 8 wherein said pockets are spaced about an axis defined by the sleeve.
- 16. The combination of claim 15 wherein said weight or weights comprises a deformable mass or masses of material.
- 17. The combination of claim 7 wherein said retainer inner surface is characterized by one of the following:
i) conical shape ii) tapered iii) cylindrical iv) consisting of metal v) consisting of non-metal vi) consisting of plastic material.
- 18. The combination of claim 8 wherein said pocket or pockets are sewn to the sleeve, the sleeve comprising flexible material.
- 19. The combination of claim 1 wherein the sleeve has a resiliently expansible section to allow sleeve fit to a bat of larger diameter.
- 20. The combination of claim 1 including an annular insert in the sleeve, at an end of the sleeve, to block inward bunching of the sleeve end, toward a bat zone.
- 21. The combination of claim 1 wherein the insert is proximate the retainer, and consists of lightweight material.
- 22. The method of the sleeve as defined in claim 1 that includes
i) relatively advancing the sleeve in a first direction onto said bat to position said associated means at said zone along the bat taper, ii) practice swinging the bat, iii) and subsequently relatively retracting the sleeve off the bat in second direction opposite the first direction.
- 23. The method of claim 22 wherein said weight or weights are deformable, and including allowing said weight or weights to deform during bat swinging.
- 24. The combination of claim 1 wherein the sleeve includes inner and outer sleeves, the inner sleeve having a wall that acts as a protector, for the bat.
- 25. The combination of claim 1 wherein the retention means includes a retainer carried by one of the following:
i) the sleeve ii) a pocket on the sleeve
- 26. The combination of claim 1 including a frame carried by the sleeve, the weight or weights carried by the frame.
- 27. The combination of claim 1 wherein the sleeve has end portion defined by flaps which are edge connected to form a reduced diameter sleeve section to closely fit about a bat narrowed sections.
- 28. The combination of claim 1 wherein the sleeve has two sections, one of larger diameter or diameters than the other.
- 29. The combination of claim 1 including additional means associated with the weight or weights to enable selective weight removal or detachment from the sleeve.
- 30. The combination of claim 1 wherein the sleeve has inner and outer sections, the sleeve inner section being semi-rigid.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 10/262,734 filed Oct. 1, 2002.
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10262734 |
Oct 2002 |
US |
Child |
10393697 |
Mar 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09262734 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
10393697 |
Mar 2003 |
US |