| Curving ball -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Curving ballCurving ball description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070155549, Curving ball. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/756,176 filed on Jan. 13, 2006. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]The present invention relates generally to thrown balls, particularly to soft balls specifically designed for young children to easily curve when thrown. [0003]Baseball is a popular sport in the United States and people of all ages enjoy varying degrees of participation. Many children enjoy learning various elements of baseball, including throwing, pitching, hitting, and fielding. Of particular interest in pitching and hitting is experience in pitching and hitting a curveball. [0004]The curveball is a type of breaking ball in baseball thrown with a grip and hand motion that imparts forward spin to the ball. This causes it to "break," that is, to fly in a more exaggerated curve than would be expected. The pitch is slower than a fastball, and this difference in speed also tends to disrupt the hitter's timing. A good curveball drops sharply as it reaches the plate, causing the batter to swing above it. [0005]It is a common misconception that throwing a curveball requires a wrist snapping motion during the release of the ball. To properly throw a curveball, the pitcher cocks the wrist inward so that upon release the ball rolls forward over his index finger, creating the desired spin. The Magnus effect then produces a downward force on the ball; this combines with the force of gravity to make the ball curve down. [0006]Mastering the techniques and variations of throwing a proper curveball and its variations are hard, especially for young children. Without experience throwing curveballs, there is an often limited opportunity for children to learn to recognize and hit curveballs. [0007]Further, balls for very young children, particularly when throwing a curve, are harder to throw and field accurately. Having a ball made of soft material is important to reducing risk of injury and damage. Another way that children, particularly young children, are at risk when learning about a curveball is that they may apply torques to their arms, shoulders, and connecting tissue that is inappropriate and potentially damaging in an effort to throw a "bigger curve" particularly with many conventional balls. [0008]The Wiffle ball was invented by David N. Mullany of Shelton, Conn. in 1953 when he designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-year old son. It was named when his son and his friends would refer to a strikeout as a "wiff" (actually whiff). A classic Wiffle ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball and is hollow plastic no more than 1/8th of an inch thick. One hemisphere is perforated with eight 3/4'' inch oblong holes, with a solid second hemisphere. This construction allows pitchers to throw a tremendous variety and size of curveballs. Wiffle balls are typically packaged with a hollow, hard plastic, yellow bat that measures 30 inches in length and about 1.25 inches in diameter. The bat is manufactured for The Wiffle Ball, Inc., by another company. [0009]Also, Easton has a foam training baseball that uses a spiral pattern to create a curveball. It is not user-friendly, and particularly not user friendly for young children wanting to learn to throw, control, hit, and/or catch a curveball. The Easton devices include a ball having a hemisphere provided with a series of concentric circular slots. [0010]What is needed is a ball adapted for children wanting to learn to throw, control, hit, and/or catch a curveball. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011]Disclosed is an apparatus that is adapted for enhanced curving when thrown specifically designed to aid in throwing to produce a curve effect and a method for throwing that enhances a curved trajectory. The object includes a solid generally spherical structure having a diameter with a range of about two inches to about six inches, the structure including an outer surface defining a generally equatorial-circumferentially-extending groove dividing the structure into a first hemisphere and a second hemisphere, the outer surface including a plurality of slots in the first hemisphere extending from the groove to a pole of the first hemisphere. [0012]More specifically, the apparatus includes a ball, having a solid generally spherical structure having a diameter in a range of about two inches to about six inches, the structure including an outer surface defining a generally equatorial-circumferentially-extending groove, continuous around a great circle equator, dividing the structure into a first hemisphere and a second hemisphere, the outer surface including a plurality of longitudinally-extending slots in the first hemisphere extending from the groove to a pole of the first hemisphere; wherein the structure consists essentially of a low-density material; and wherein the groove has a depth in a range of about two millimeters to about two inches and a width in a range of about two millimeters to about two inches. [0013]A method includes a) throwing an object, the object including a solid generally spherical structure having a diameter with a range of about two inches to about six inches, the structure including an outer surface defining a generally equatorial-circumferentially-extending groove dividing the structure into a first hemisphere and a second hemisphere, the outer surface including a plurality of slots in the first hemisphere extending from the groove to a pole of the first hemisphere; and b) imparting a spin to the object while throwing to rotate the object about the pole wherein the groove does not significantly precess and appears to a thrower as a generally straight line perpendicular to an axis of rotation wherein the object curves generally in a direction of the first hemisphere. [0014]A preferred embodiment of the unique invention embodied here includes a combination of a center groove with a pattern of hemisphere grooves. A ball having hemisphere grooves only without the center groove generally curves, but only slightly. Similarly, embodiments of the present invention provide enhanced curve action by use of the longitudinally extending slots (and further enhanced by the center groove) offer improvements over concentric slots and waffle-type slots. The novel addition of the center groove, among other structures as disclosed herein, creates a performance increase, providing significant additional curve. Further, the use of the center groove to define and reinforce a (with the feedback system) more natural, less-stressful throwing action is safer for the user, particularly children and young children and is an advantage, particularly when compared to conventional systems lacking this feedback system (e.g., Easton and Wiffle). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015]FIG. 1 is a first hemisphere view of a curveball; [0016]FIG. 2 is a second hemisphere view of the curveball of FIG. 1 illustrating a plurality of slots; and [0017]FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the ball of FIG. 1 illustrating a center equatorial circumferential groove separating the first hemisphere from the second hemisphere. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0018]The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein. [0019]FIG. 1 is a first hemisphere view of a curveball 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Curveball 100 includes a first hemisphere 105 that optionally includes patterning 110, such as for example stitching (real or simulated). Curveball 100 is preferably adapted to be safely and efficiently thrown by all users, particularly adapted to children, and most particularly adapted for use by very young children. Curveball 100 is thus desirably not too large and made to be light-weight and soft. Preferably, curveball 100 is solid and generally spherical having a diameter about in the range of two inches to six inches though other sizes may be used for particular implementations. Curveball 100 is preferably made of low-density closed cell foams, such as polyurethane (PU), polyethylene (LDPE), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EV, VA, EM), polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene (EPS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polymethacrylimide (PMI), polymeric, viscoelastic, reconstituted chip (Recon), low-density closed cell polymer, and combinations and the like. Harder materials may optionally be used in some instances. Continue reading about Curving ball... Full patent description for Curving ball Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Curving ball 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 Curving ball or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Hockey stick Next Patent Application: Belt-driven conical-pulley transmission and vehicle with such a transmission Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Curving ball patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.14313 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Tyco , Unilever , Warner-lambert , 3m 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
