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Bat with an identification deviceRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Player Held And Powered, Nonmechanical Projector, Per Se, For Projecting Aerial Projectile By Striking; Part Thereof Or Accessory Therefor, Bat (e.g., Baseball Bat, Etc.)Bat with an identification device description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070042844, Bat with an identification device. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/708,396, filed on Aug. 16, 2005, entitled "Bat with an Identification Device," the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a system and method of positively identifying an item to ensure the item has not been tampered or otherwise altered. More particularly, it relates to a sports bat that can be used in baseball and softball games having an identification device to facilitate detection as to whether the bat has been tampered with or modified after manufacture to defeat certified performance standards. The identification device may also be used to track and maintain production, inventory, shipping, and sales control. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] With today's technology and materials available, bat manufacturers are able to produce bats capable of hitting a ball faster than the reaction time of a fielder. As baseball and softball leagues strive to address the increasing number of injuries sustained attributable to high-performance bats, many organizations have mandated performance-regulated bats. The modification of certified performance-regulated bats has become a major problem as even in these amateur leagues, some hitters attempt to gain a competitive advantage by modifying the regulated bats. Many of the certified bats manufactured are easily modified to "out perform" their performance certification. These modifications include changing the weight of a bat, reducing the wall thickness of a bat, and camouflaging non-approved bats. To date, no device has been offered to easily detect counterfeited, altered, or modified bats. [0004] Bats come in various widths, lengths and materials. Physics dictates that a heavier bat will give more momentum to the ball: p=mv; where p is momentum imparted, m=mass of the bat, and v=velocity of the bat. However, a heavier bat means less bat speed in the swing. A lighter bat will give the batter more control but less momentum. The restitution of a bat, that is, the relationship with the "bounciness" of an object, also determines how far a ball will travel when struck with a bat. Bats made out of aluminum or graphite or composite materials, including wood composite and polymer composites, hit balls farther than bats made of solid wood. [0005] Although a stick to hit a ball with is not a difficult concept, a modern bat is a complex object. It is carved or constructed very carefully to allow for a quick balanced swing, while providing power. The bat is divided into several regions. The "barrel" is the thick part of the bat, having a target area of intended contact with a baseball that is often referred to as the "sweet spot." In physics terminology, this is the "center of percussion" of the bat. [0006] The end of the barrel is not part of the sweet spot, and is simply called the tip or end of the bat. At the opposite end of the tip of the bat, toward the middle section of the bat, the barrel tapers down, and becomes the "handle." The handle is very thin, so that batters may comfortably grip the bat in their hands. Sometimes, especially on metal and composite bats, the handle is wrapped with a rubber or cloth "grip." Finally, at the end of the handle is the "knob" of the bat, a wider piece that keeps the bat from sliding out of a batter's hands. [0007] In professional baseball, only wooden bats are permitted, and they are not allowed to be corked--that is, filled with a light substance such as cork or rubber that reduces the weight of the bat without noticeably sacrificing hitting power. In amateur baseball, normally wood, composite, and metal alloy bats are generally permitted, and many professional and amateur leagues dictate that the bats approved for use in the specific league meet specific performance specifications. Some of these specifications are based upon safety concerns, since the lighter composite or metal bats allow greater swing velocity and thereby allow greater distance to be achieved with less batter strength. Bats permitted in one league or in one association's tournament may not be permitted in a different league or in a different association's tournament. [0008] Within the standards set by the various leagues, there is ample latitude for individual variation, and many batters settle on an individual bat profile, or occasionally adopt a profile used by another batter. Formerly, wooden bats were hand-carved to a template obtained from a fixed number of calibration points. Today, bats are machine-turned to a precise metal template. These templates are kept in the bat manufacturers' vaults. Once the basic bat has been turned, it is then branded with the manufacturer's name, the serial number, and often the league or association or individual player's name to whose specifications the bat was manufactured. The head of the bat is then machined or finished. Bats are more often given a rounded head, but bats incorporate a "cup-balanced" head, in which a cup-shaped recess is made in the head. This lightens the bat and moves its center of gravity toward the handle. Finally, the bat is stained or finished in a color approved by the league or association or player for whom it was manufactured. Similarly, composite bats are manufactured in layers on a mandrel, so as the bats are manufactured, they have open ends to remove the mandrel. After the bat has been finished, the ends are sealed with a knob at the handle end and an end plug at the barrel tip. [0009] In baseball, a corked bat is an illegally modified baseball bat that has been filled with cork or similar light, less dense substances to make the bat lighter without losing much power. A lighter bat gives a hitter a quicker swing (increased velocity) and may improve the hitter's timing. However, since the bat is lighter, the ball does not necessarily travel quite as far as with a heavier bat, but usually only by a few feet at most. More importantly, in a modified bat the location of the center-of-mass of the bat shifts towards the handle end of the bat. This results in a decreased moment of inertia, and the bat is easier to swing. [0010] Similarly, with composite or metal or other non-wood bats, hitters may attempt to modify the manufactured bat by sanding or filing the wall of the bat. As mentioned above, once the composite bats are manufactured they have open ends to remove the mandrel. After the bat has been finished, the ends are sealed with a knob and an end plug. Hitters may modify composite or metal bats by removing the end plug and removing material from the inside of the bat by sanding or filing or by other means. When the end plug is replaced, the illegal modification is extremely difficult to detect. The end effect of altering a composite or metal bat is the same as corking a wooden bat--the center of mass shifts toward the handle end of the bat and the bat now exceeds the performance standards to which it was certified. Some leagues dictate that the wall of the bat be a specified thickness or composition. Similarly, other leagues may specify dimensions and weights for their bats. Other leagues employ a bat performance standards based on collision efficiency, restitution characteristics, or batted ball speed measurements. Leagues enact these rules to attempt to minimize the possibility of injury and to impart uniformity to the equipment used by competing teams, thereby ensuring the higher skilled team prevails in a game rather than the team with the equipment advantage. When hitters modify otherwise approved bats or camouflage non-approved bats to pass them off as approved bats, the hitters acquire an advantage and placed opposing fielders in jeopardy. [0011] The closer the center-of-mass is to the handle of the bat, the easier it is to swing the bat. For example, the balance points of three 30'' wood bats with weights of 26 ounces, 23 ounces, and 20 ounces are located at the same place. Since the profile shapes of the bats are the same and they are all made from the same solid wood, the balance point is the same regardless of the total weight. Similarly with composite or metal bats, the same profile and construction will result in the same balance point regardless of the total weight. In contrast, a corked bat that is actually heavier, but has its balance point more than an inch closer to the handle, will be easier to swing. Likewise, a composite bat that has had the wall of the barrel thinned will also be easier to swing because its balance point is now closer to the handle as well. This is directly related to the swing weight of a bat. This is the reason that not all 28 ounce softball bats swing the same. Similarly, an end-loaded bat can have the same weight as a normal bat, but will feel heavier because more of the mass is distributed towards the barrel end of the bat. [0012] Less mass, and a lower moment of inertia means faster swing speed. A bat that has less mass, and especially that has a lower moment of inertia, may be swung faster. The reduction in mass of approximately 1.5 ounces may permit a batter to watch the ball travel an additional 5-6 feet from the pitcher before the batter has to commit to a swing. Research has shown that faster bat swing speed results in faster batted-ball speed. [0013] Less mass, however, also means a less effective collision. Lowering the mass and the moment-of-inertia may increase the bat swing speed, but the lower mass means that the collision between bat and ball is less effective. If the swing speed is kept constant, a heavier bat will always propel the ball faster and farther. So removing mass from the bat will actually reduce the batted-ball speed. [0014] However, a corked wood bat or a thinner walled composite or metal bat also may impart energy to a pitched ball by a trampoline effect. That is, the bat and ball act as two springs that mutually compress each other, and potential energy in the ball is restored by the spring action of the bat. When a ball hits a solid wood bat, the ball compresses to nearly half its original diameter, losing up to 75% of its initial energy to internal friction forces during this compression. In a hollow bat, or a corked bat, however, the bat barrel compresses somewhat like a spring when the ball impacts it. This means that the ball is not compressed as much and therefore loses less energy to internal friction forces. Thinner-walled composite or metal bats have more of a trampoline effect than their thicker-walled counterparts. Therefore, the ball loses less energy to frictional forces as well. In both cases, more of the energy temporarily stored in the bat barrel is returned to the ball, and the energy that is lost in the bat compression is a small fraction of what would have been lost in the ball if it had impacted a solid wood bat or a thick-walled composite bat instead. [0015] With altered bats, there is also an advantage to making contact with a pitched ball. Because the bat is lighter and can be swung faster, a hitter can wait longer before committing to a swing. This means the player can watch the pitched ball travel about 5 or 6 feet further before deciding to swing, thereby resulting in better contact and therefore better performance. [0016] To modify a wooden bat to a corked bat, a hole approximately 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter is drilled down through the thick end (barrel) of the bat roughly six to eight inches deep. Cork, rubber, sawdust, or other similar material is compacted into the hole and the end is typically patched and repaired with glue and sawdust or a wooden dowel plug. The repaired end is sanded to cover the modification. If the hole were left unfilled, the sound produced by the bat striking a ball is noticeably different. Placing cork beyond roughly six inches into the bat threatens the bat's structural integrity and makes it more susceptible to breakage. Corked bats breaking while in play during games is the most typical way that their use is discovered. [0017] Similarly, composite and other non-wood bats are often modified by shaving the barrel of the bat to thin the wall of the bat, thereby reducing the weight of the bat and moving the center of mass toward the handle, as described above. Likewise, players may take bats prohibited by their league or association and modify their appearance to pass the bat off as approved for use. Re-finishing, re-painting, and otherwise camouflaging the appearance of non-approved bats is also commonplace. [0018] In Major League Baseball, and in many minor leagues, baseball and softball associations, and the like, modifying a bat as described above and using it in play is illegal and subject to ejection and further punishment. For example, using an altered or modified bat in Major League Baseball is in violation of Rule 6.06 (d), which reads: [0019] A batter is out for illegal action when: [0020] (d) He uses or attempts to use a bat that, in the umpire's judgment, has been altered or tampered with in such a way to improve the distance factor or cause an unusual reaction on the baseball. This includes, bats that are filled, flat surfaced, nailed, hollowed, grooved or covered with a substance such as paraffin, wax, etc. No advancement on the bases will be allowed and any out or outs made during a play shall stand. In addition to being called out, the player shall be ejected from the game and may be subject to additional penalties as determined by his League President. [0021] To date, no efficient manner of verifying the integrity of a bat has been easily implemented. That is, there has been no efficient manner of ensuring that the bat to be used by a player meets the performance standards set forth by the league, association, or other governing body for the sport. Continue reading about Bat with an identification device... Full patent description for Bat with an identification device Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Bat with an identification device patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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