Games using tangible projectile – Player held and powered – nonmechanical projector – per se,... – Bat
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-19
2001-05-29
Graham, Mark S. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Player held and powered, nonmechanical projector, per se,...
Bat
C473S567000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238309
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES
There are no applications related to this application filed in this or any foreign country.
BACKGROUND
The increase in the cost of the high-grade wood used for baseball and softball bats has resulted in an increase in the expense of breaking a ball bat. Also, an increase in the use of lower grade materials has resulted in bats breaking with greater frequency, and a corresponding greater cost.
As a result of the cost of high-grade materials and the quality problems associated with less expensive materials, several alternative baseball bat structures have been developed. A well-known alternative is to use metal in a ball bat's construction. This has several problems, including particularly the increasing costs of such metal bats and the prohibition against such bats by Major League Baseball.
A lesser-known alternative is to use a laminated wood construction. While this construction is advantageous for strength and other reasons, the problem of ball bat breakage has still not been solved.
The failure mode by which baseball bats break is not fully understood. However, it is clear that the point of impact with the ball, typically on the barrel of the bat, is not the likely location of the break. The most common location at which a baseball bat will break is in or near the handle portion, in a location where the bat is relatively small in diameter.
Upon impact with a ball, a baseball bat will vibrate. It is thought that, under typical strenuous conditions, the bat will momentarily assume a shape that is very slightly sinusoidal. Typically, there will be two nodes along the length of the bat, between which the bat will be deformed for a short period to a greater or lesser degree. Many factors may determine the amplitude and frequency of the vibration, including the structure of the bat, the grip strength and location by the player, the point of impact of the ball and the speed and direction of the ball and bat.
If the impact of the ball is sufficiently forceful, and various of the above factors combine unfavorably, the bat will break. Due to a combination of the forces involved and the strength characteristics of most bats, the location of the break is almost invariably at a location between the nodes, in the handle or in the area of transition between the handle and the barrel.
For the foregoing reasons, there is still a need for a baseball bat design that can reduce construction costs and at the same time reduce the frequency of broken bats. The improved bat design must include a reinforcing structure which reduces the incidence of breakage, particularly in the critical stress area where most breakage occurs.
SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to an apparatus that satisfies the above needs. A novel break resistant baseball bat is provided having an improved structure which overcomes the disadvantages of previous designs of baseball bats.
The break resistant baseball bat of the present invention provides some or all of the following structures.
(A) An elongated wood body, typically of conventional wood construction, but alternately of any innovative design, such as laminated wood. The elongated body includes handle, barrel and transition areas. Due to the nature of the collision between a ball and the wood body, a critical stress area contains the majority of locations statistically most likely to break. The critical stress area is roughly coextensive with the handle and a portion of the transition area adjacent to the handle.
(B) A fiber sleeve covers and reinforces the critical stress area in a manner which tends to reduce the incidence of deflection of this portion of the bat upon impact. A preferred sleeve includes many thousands of very slender filaments oriented along the lengthwise direction of the elongated wood body. Due to the lengthwise orientation of the filaments, the bat's deflection upon impact is reduced. The sleeve also includes a small number of typically elastic filaments woven among the lengthwise-oriented filaments for organizing the lengthwise filaments in a manner that prevents bunching and prevents thin spots, and which allows installation of the sleeve on the bat prior to the application of the matrix.
(C) A matrix of epoxy or resin encases the filaments. Due to their large numbers, the filaments collectively define a large surface area. As a result, before the curing of the matrix, the epoxy or resin is “worked into” the fiber sleeve with the result that the matrix has a large surface area of contact with the filaments collectively. In consequence, the bond between the matrix and the fiber sleeve is very strong. Additionally, due to the very small diameter of the individual filaments, and the characteristic that the matrix tends to provide a very thin coating on all sides of each filament, it is the case that the matrix is uniformly thick and homogeneous. In consequence, despite its approximately {fraction (1/16)}″ thickness, the matrix is very strong.
It is therefore a primary advantage of providing a novel break resistant baseball bat having a reinforced middle portion that spreads the stress of impact with a baseball over a greater length of the bat, and that reduces the stress in the critical stress area which is most likely to break.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a novel sleeve for a ball bat that is substantially oriented in the lengthwise direction, and which is made of a filament having sufficient strength to resist forces tending to deflect the bat and to reduce the stress of vibration thereby protecting the ball bat from breakage.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide a novel break resistant baseball bat having a reinforced middle portion that alters the frequency and amplitude of the vibration created by impact with a ball, and thereby minimizes the likelihood of breakage.
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Graham Mark S.
Thompson David S.
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