Games using tangible projectile – Player held and powered – nonmechanical projector – per se,... – Bat
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-09
2001-01-23
Graham, Mark S. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Player held and powered, nonmechanical projector, per se,...
Bat
C473S520000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176795
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hollow aluminum bats and more specifically to hollow aluminum softball bats and to an improved core insert placed within a portion of said hollow, aluminum softball bat. Still more specifically, this invention relates to a core insert that will enable the user to obtain greater impact and bat kinetic energy when striking a ball with the bat and will dampen the noise that can be associated therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aluminum softball bats are legion in number and design. Most aluminum softball bats are hollow and comprise a gripping handle portion and a barrel portion, with the barrel portion being larger in diameter than the gripping handle. This type of softball bat is conventionally manufactured by separately forming the gripping handle and barrel portion (the hitting portion) and then joining the handle to the barrel. It is desirable to hit the ball with the barrel portion of the bat and thus there have been a host of prior art devices that are can be added to the design and manufacture of these bats and that purport to improve the use thereof. These prior art elements are or can be added within the hollow core of the barrel portion element or, alternatively, they can be added somewhere else within or on the outside of the bat itself. These elements are said to conserve the kinetic energy during the swinging of the bat and transfer that energy to the ball as it is hit by the bat. Additionally, some of the prior art elements are said to aid in the rebounding of the ball off of the bat and thus are said to improve the distance which the ball will travel when hit by the bat. Foams and other fillers have also been used to fill up portions of the hollow aluminum bats and thus dampen the vibration and noise made when a hollow, aluminum bat strikes another object such as a softball. Still other elements, when added to the aluminum softball bat, are said to improve the elastic deflection of the bat and thus increase the power when the bat is used to hit a ball, for example. Some of these prior art elements are inserted within the hollow portion of the barrel and are either metal or plastic and are said to add some “spring” to the bat itself. Most of the prior art insert elements, however, suffer from great disadvantages and begin to lose the “spring” after considerable use. Thus, the ball will start to lose distance when the “spring” diminishes and there is a pressing need to provide an improved element that can be inserted within the hollow portion of the bat easily and will last longer and impart a greater amount of “spring” to the bat when used to strike a softball, for example.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of my invention to provide an element that can be inserted within a hollow, aluminum softball bat to provide damping and noise reduction and also to increase the kinetic energy that can be transmitted from the swinging bat to a ball. It is yet another object of my invention to provide a damping and noise reduction element and a kinetic energy transmitting element that has a longer life when used with an aluminum bat. These and yet other objects are achieved in an improved hollow aluminum softball bat insert element wherein said hollow aluminum softball bat comprises a gripping handle portion and a barrel softball hitting portion and wherein said improved bat insert element comprises a heat-treated metal tube element, said tube element having a cylindrical tube shape fitable within said barrel of said hollow bat after compression of said tube-shaped insert element, said tube-shaped insert element having a length, a top end and a bottom end, and a middle portion along the length thereof, said ends being insertable within said hollow bat in said barrel portion, said middle portion being larger than said hollow bat at said barrel portion, said tube-shaped insert element having a series of holes drilled around the top end and around the bottom end thereof and a series of slits longitudinally placed along the middle portion thereof connected to said holes, wherein said tube-shaped element is compressed so as to be insertable in the hollow barrel portion of said aluminum softball bat and provide dampening and spring characteristics thereto.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3861682 (1975-01-01), Fujii
patent: 3963239 (1976-06-01), Fujii
patent: 5511777 (1996-04-01), McNeely
patent: 5676610 (1997-10-01), Bhatt et al.
patent: 5899823 (1999-05-01), Eggiman
Graham Mark S.
White Stephen W.
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