| Batting swing trainer and method -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Batting swing trainer and methodRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Playing Field Or Court Game; Game Element Or Accessory Therefor Other Than Projector Or Projectile, Per Se, Practice Or Training Device, For Game In Which Play Involves Base Running (e.g., For Baseball, Cricket, Etc.), Practice BatBatting swing trainer and method description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080113832, Batting swing trainer and method. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The present application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/407,284, filed on Apr. 4, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/370,156, filed Apr. 5, 2002, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/882,627, filed on Jun. 15, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,949,036, issued on Sep. 27, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/246,465, filed on Nov. 7, 2000. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates to a device and system for teaching a person the proper way to swing a baseball bat and hit a baseball or the like. The invention also relates to a swing trainer for teaching a person the proper technique for swinging a bat in order to achieve maximum bat speed and power at impact with a ball. In particular, the swing trainer teaches the user proper body form for swinging a bat and how to use his or her body most effectively when executing a swing and hitting a ball. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Teaching a person the proper technique for swinging a bat can be a difficult task. It can require years of practice and training with an experienced batting coach to perfect the batter's swing. Proper swing technique encompasses proper hand placement and body movement, optimal bat acceleration, and ample power to hit the ball and is of the utmost importance in playing such sports as baseball or softball. Of course, proper swing technique ultimately includes making contact with the ball. [0004] Bat trainers and warm-up devices of various kinds have been previously proposed and used. One category of devices helps batters learn to "break" or "bend" their wrists prior to contacting the ball. The theory is that breaking a batter's wrist ahead of the arms prior to contacting the ball will cause the ball to travel a greater distance when contact with the bat is made. Early bat trainers utilized weighted rings that fit around the hitting end of a standard bat. As the batter swings a bat equipped with the weighted ring, the weighted end helps the batter to break his or her wrist, theoretically improving ball distance. U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,816 builds on this concept by altering the location and size of the weights. [0005] Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,111 discloses a practice bat that includes a weighted bat head connected to a flexing mid-section. At the beginning of the swing, momentum and the flexing section cause the weighted bat head to lag behind the grip handle. At the end of the swing, momentum and the flexing section cause the weighted end to move ahead of the grip handle. This teaches the batter the proper time to bend or break the hands and wrists during the swing. [0006] Other devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,894, describe a practice bat for visibly recognizing where and when the ball contacts the bat. While the previously described trainers may help batters determine when to move their hands and/or wrists during a swing or to recognize the optimal place a bat should contact the ball, none of the bat trainers or warm-up devices described above teaches the batter proper swing technique. [0007] Devices to help improve a batter's swing are available, but these devices typically help the batter to build shoulder and arm muscles used in swinging a bat and improve muscle coordination. Many of these trainers include weights mounted to the shaft of the bat. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,209 a batting trainer is disclosed that comprises a handle and a weighted shaft portion attached to a rod extending from the handle. The weighted shaft portion slides away from the grip handle as the batter accelerates the bat during the swing. This device trains the batter to better time acceleration of the bat during the swing by demonstrating the point at which the acceleration of the bat causes the weighted shaft to slide up the rod. [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,121 discloses a baseball bat swing trainer comprising a baseball bat with a weight that can be mounted at any one of multiple locations on the bat shaft. Changing the position of the weight with respect to the grip handle changes the center of gravity of the bat and alters the effort required by the batter to swing the bat. [0009] Another category of bat swing trainers is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,996, which shows a baseball bat with separate barrel and grip handle portions connected by a spring. The spring is positioned so that the batter's hands will grip the bat on opposite sides of the spring. This arrangement teaches the batter to appreciate and achieve a proper acceleration when the bat impacts the ball. [0010] Swing trainers are also available for use in other sports. For example, a golf swing trainer sold under the name Kallassy Swing Magic.TM. utilizes a conventional golf club with a shaft, a stationary hand grip and a slideable grip to teach a person how to properly swing a golf club. To practice his golf swing, the user places one hand on the stationary grip and the other hand on the slideable grip, while assuming a conventional golf stance. This posture, with the hands close together and the club perpendicular to the mid-line of the body, constitutes the resting position. At the beginning of the swing, the user swings the club backwards while moving the slideable grip along the club shaft toward the club head and thereby extending his leading arm. When the user's arm is fully extended, the user begins to swing the club forward, past the starting position, while moving the slideable grip toward the stationary grip. As the user completes the follow through of the swing, the user's hands are close together, similar to the resting position. Repeated use of this golf swing trainer teaches a golfer proper swing technique. Because a golf club swing is different from a baseball bat swing, the Kallassy Swing Magic.TM. device does not offer any benefit when teaching a person proper baseball bat swinging technique. [0011] The majority of the swing trainers described only help the batter to determine optimal bat acceleration or simply increase bat resistance by increasing the weight of the bat. A batter can increase muscle mass by increasing the weight of the bat he or she must swing, but still have poor swing technique. Further, obtaining optimal bat acceleration can be achieved even if the batter's swing technique is poor. Therefore, none of the training bats described above is capable of teaching a batter proper swing technique or the most accurate contact point for a bat to hit a ball. [0012] A need still exists for a new swing training tool that teaches a baseball batter proper swing technique and form. The new trainer should be adaptable to individual batters and allow for differences in body frame, height and strength. The new trainer should teach proper swing technique is taught regardless of the unique characteristics and experience of each batter. [0013] The new trainer should also teach a batter the location of his or her body in relation to the bat during a swing. The new trainer should teach a batter to swing the bat head outwardly and away from the body with the butt of the bat leading. Trainers that simply help a batter to break or bend his or her wrists ignore other parts of the body involved in the proper swing technique of a bat. Further, simply swinging weighted bats does not teach the batter the proper placement of the arms, hands, shoulders and torso throughout a swing of the bat. Outward swinging, while keeping the hands and forearms close to the body with both of the elbows bent, causes the batter to use more of his or her body when executing the swing, thereby achieving more bat speed and power. None of the available swing trainers enable the batter to practice and develop these skills. [0014] The new trainer should demonstrate intuitively to the batter the proper form and position of the body while swinging a bat. When the batter swings the new trainer, he or she should readily feel where the optimal placement of the hands, arms and body is during and after the swing. Repeated use of the new swing trainer should promote muscle memory for proper swing technique, thus allowing the batter to draw on those memories to utilize proper technique when swinging an actual, non-training bat. [0015] Desirably, the new swing trainer should also permit the user to check the results of his or her training. The new trainer should be a self-teaching training tool that a batter can use alone without the need for an experienced training coach. [0016] Also, baseball enthusiasts would welcome a new trainer that permits the user to determine the most accurate contact point when hitting a ball with a bat. The new trainer should enable the user to audibly determine such contact point or "sweet spot" when the bat head strikes a ball. The distinct sound and feel of contact will train the user to hit with force, strength and accuracy when using a regulation bat and ball. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0017] The invention is a swing trainer for use in batting sports to instruct a batter on proper swing technique and ball-hitting form. The swing trainer is constructed of aircraft grade aluminum or other suitable material and comprises an elongated shaft having a circular cross-section with a first or grip handle on one end of the shaft and a ball-hitting head on the other end. The head is smaller in diameter than a comparable baseball bat, in order to force the batter to concentrate. A "sweet spot" for hitting the ball is conspicuously marked on the head. [0018] The shaft is preferably solid and has a substantially uniform circumference throughout most of its length. The grip handle resembles that of a conventional baseball bat handle. A leather wrap, foam grip or other suitable material covers the handle to give the user a comfortable non-slip surface to hold. Although the swing trainer does not look exactly like a conventional baseball bat, it is constructed to provide a weight and balance similar to that of a conventional baseball bat. [0019] A graspable, generally cylindrical second handle or slide is mounted on the shaft for sliding movement along the shaft between the head and a stop, which is located on the shaft near or adjacent the handle. The curved, outer surface of the slide is covered with a leather wrap, foam grip or other suitable material to match the covering on the first handle. The stop can be a one-piece circular member that slides onto the shaft before the handle is attached, or two separate semi-circular portions that are fastened together around the shaft. The stop is made of aluminum or other suitable material. The stop must be mounted on the handle so that it will not move or come off during use. [0020] Two buffers are made of plastic, aluminum, nylon, polyethylene, or other suitable material that produces an attention-getting noise when the buffer strikes the stop or the head. A lower buffer is attached to the end of the slide closest to the handle to signal that the slide has reached the handle, to prevent pinching of the batter's hand and to provide additional protection against the slide inadvertently leaving the shaft. An upper buffer is preferably attached to the slide to signal that the slide has reached the head and to prevent a batter's hands from being pinched between the slide and the bat head. Preferably, the head includes a stop for rapidly decelerating the slide and, simultaneously, making an unmistakable sound upon contact with the upper buffer. [0021] The bat head is elongated and serves as a means to prevent the slide from separating from the shaft. The head is generally weighted and can be so constructed as to accommodate different sized weights for interchanging on a single trainer or to accommodate longer shafts. Preferably, the head is properly weighted to give the swing trainer the total weight and balance of a comparable length baseball bat. Continue reading about Batting swing trainer and method... Full patent description for Batting swing trainer and method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Batting swing trainer and method 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. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Batting swing trainer and method or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Training basketball Next Patent Application: Methods of playing soccer games Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Batting swing trainer and method patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.38881 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Novartis , Pfizer , Philips , Polaroid , Procter & Gamble , 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
