Games using tangible projectile – Bowling – Ball
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2001-05-29
Pierce, William M. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Bowling
Ball
C473S130000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238297
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of athletic equipment, and more particularly to a novel sleeve for placement on the thumb of a player when a bowling ball is tossed or delivered by the player towards a set of bowling pins to gain better control of the ball.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It has been a conventional practice to control the throw or toss of a bowling ball by a player through the use of soft, pliable inserts which are placed into selected finger holes in a bowling ball. The inserts are not worn by the player. By the employment of pads or wedge-shaped portions within the insert, the frictional engagement is increased between the fingertip of the player and the ball at certain times during the bowler's swing whereby the ultimate path of travel of the ball is controlled. In the use of such inserts, the pads or wedge-shaped portions must not interfere with the release of the bowling ball at the end of the player's toss or throw.
Some attempts have been made to employ pads and wedge-shaped portions which are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,585,230; 5,123,644; 5,007,640 and 4,890,836. Although the disclosure of inserts for finger holes in bowling balls exists in prior patents, difficulties and problems have been encountered which stem largely from the fact that the player's choice of insert must be selected from a plurality of inserts having different pad locations or pad thicknesses. Also, there is more to ball control than the placement or use of pads, such as the shape of the entrance leading into the insert. Those disclosed are limited to round entrances leading into the pad or wedge-shaped thickened portions and round holes are not necessarily effective when the player is attempting to achieve power lifting, requirement for extra rotation or desires to maintain fingers within the insert for extended rotation. Also, the conventional insert grips are employed as single-side or ended inserts or grips without the option to employ the opposite side or end of the grip for a different feel or control purpose. Therefore, a multiplicity of individual inserts is required to be at the disposal of the bowler so that he may select a particular insert. This requires the bowler to procure and maintain the multiplicity of inserts and the loss of the inserts is quite common. Comfort is also important to the bowler and being limited to one shape is restrictive and not comfortable to all bowlers.
Prior finger inserts are not used for the player's thumb and there in particular as there is no known thumb insert on the market that is two-sided offering the player with a choice of different bores. Prior finger inserts are used on selected fingers of the player while the same inserts are not used on the player's thumb. For thumb usage, a sleeve is envisaged rather than an insert.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a novel sleeve for a bowler's thumb which permits the bowler to select either end of the sleeve for thumb insertion and which provides more than one entrance shape to the sleeve bore that may be selected for comfort and ball control. Such a sleeve should take into account ball control purposes such as power lift shape and grip extension for longer or extended ball rotation purposes. To eliminate the necessity of having a multiplicity of different available sleeves to choose from, the various end openings and pad options may be combined into a single sleeve. The player can alter the sleeve by removing undesired portions of the sleeve in order to suit himself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the improved bowling ball thumb sleeve of the present invention provides an elongated sleeve having a cylindrical wall thickness composed of a semi-rigid material that defines an open-ended passageway adapted to insertably receive the thumb of the bowler via either end of the sleeve as opposed to the sole opening of a finger insert. Each open end of the passageway is defined by a geometric shape different from the shape at its opposite end so that the bowler has a selection of either geometric shape or configuration at the time of sleeve usage in the bowling ball hole. A characteristic of the inventive sleeve provides for at least one pad or wedge-shaped thickened portion at an entrance to the passageway and it is contemplated that such a pad or wedge-shaped thickened portion may be present at both entrances to the interior of the passageway. An example of an entrance shape may be oval, round or elliptical and the improved sleeve provides for a combination of these geometric shapes at the opposite end entrances connected by the passageway. The inventive thumb sleeve is elongated and of a length greater than the length of a bowling ball hole. Thereby, the player may select the insert entrance opening shape and ramp thickness followed by severing and removing the opposite end which then may be discarded. The selected or remaining portion is inserted into the bowling ball hole and will be of the proper length and expose the desired opening entrance shape.
At least one score line is provided on the exterior surface of the sleeve serving as a guide for cutting or severing the sleeve into two parts so that the undesirable part may be discarded.
Therefore, it is among the primary objects of the present invention to provide a dual-ended thumb sleeve having one or more finger pads or wedge-shaped thickness portions as well as being combined with different entrance shapes to opposite ends of the sleeve.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dual-ended thumb sleeve which includes entrances to a common passageway from opposite ends of the sleeve body which combine arrangements of thickened pads as well as entrance shapes so as to improve ball control as the ball is delivered to a set of pins during the course of playing the game of bowling.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bowling ball thumb sleeve having an elongated passageway with open ends wherein one end is oval shaped so as to be designed for comfort and better rotation and which provides a better feel for comfort while allowing the thumb to stay in the ball for a more definite period of time.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a single bowling ball thumb sleeve with an oval shape at one end for comfort purposes permitting the thumb to remain longer in the ball and which provides a power lift shape for extending the grip length in the passageway by providing extra material taking the form of a pad located adjacent to the opposite entrances to the passageway and wherein the extra material permits extra rotation of the ball during delivery because of pitch or degree of angle designed in the sleeve grip.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a single combination bowling ball thumb sleeve having an internal passageway with opposite ends defining entrances into the passageway of different shapes and sizes so that the player has a choice of thumb insertion through one end or the other depending on type of ball delivery desired.
Furthermore, an object resides in providing an oversized sleeve, in length, having different shaped entrances leading into opposite ends of a passageway and having visible score lines on the exterior surface indicating severance locations for removal of an undesired or non-selected end of the sleeve.
Also, a thumb sleeve is provided presenting a bowler with options to remove either end of the sleeve so as to discard a non-selected end leaving only a selected end for thumb insertion.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5007640 (1991-04-01), Bernhardt
patent: 5176378 (1993-01-01), Bernhardt
patent: 5308061 (1994-05-01), Bernhardt
Marrs Roger A.
Pierce William M.
LandOfFree
Bowling ball thumb sleeve does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Bowling ball thumb sleeve, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bowling ball thumb sleeve will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2486238