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Training bat 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 BatTraining bat and method description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070173358, Training bat and method. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATION [0001] Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. .sctn. 1.78, this is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 11/000,278, filed Nov. 30, 2004, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/1080,805, filed Feb. 18, 2004, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/817,863, filed Mar. 26, 2001, now abandoned, which is a continuation of, claims the benefit of and priority to prior filed Provisional Application No. 60/192,287, filed Mar. 27, 2000, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention is directed to a training bat and method for baseball/softball, especially a training bat having a reduced diameter barrel section yet still retaining the length, weight, swing weight, ball compression and vibration dampening characteristics of a conventional bat. The training bat and method of this invention are intended to break performance barriers and enhance the performance of baseball/softball players at all levels, from experienced pros down to beginners, including children. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In the field of athletic performance enhancement, raw strength and explosive power may be sufficient to succeed in some sports. Baseball, however, is a sport which requires explosive power coupled with pinpoint accuracy. An explosive swing, poorly timed, may result in a mis-hit in the wrong direction or a failed attempt to make contact. [0004] A batter's swing is basically comprised of three components: power/velocity, accuracy, and timing. A deficiency in any of these components diminishes the effectiveness of the batter's swing. One approach to improving the batter's swing entails focusing on one component of the swing at a time. For example, a batter may train with a bat which is heavier than a conventional bat. The use of the heavier bat focuses on improving the power/velocity component of the batter's swing. That is, the heavier bat does little to enhance the accuracy and timing of a batter's swing. In contrast, bats which are lighter than conventional bats focus the batter's attention only on swing accuracy and not timing. In essence, training bats that change the weight of the conventional bat focus on only one component of the batter's swing. What is needed, therefore, is a training bat that is configured to enhance at least two of the swing components simultaneously. [0005] Another important feature of the batter's swing is the batter's entire visual system, including the eyes, brain, and body. In sports, the purpose of the visual system is to gather information about what is going on around the athlete and guide the appropriate movement pattern. A batter can improve the effectiveness of his swing if he also trains his visual system to move the bat at the proper time and location. [0006] By way of background, the following description relates to the visual aspects of athletics in general and baseball in particular. Many so-called physical mistakes may be attributed to visual deficits. Some academic weaknesses may also be a function of poor visual skills or undue fatigue. According to Dr. Paul Planer, an optometrist and on the board of The International Academy of Sports Vision, too often the only concern of coaches, trainers, and some athletes with the visual system is with static visual ability (SVA). This statistical measurement is the ability of the athlete to resolve (identify) a certain sized letter/number on the highest contrast target available (black letters on a white background) on your standard eye chart (i.e., 20/20, etc.). The ability to discern detail in an object is called visual acuity. There are many factors that affect visual discrimination including contrast, lighting, motion, time, color, age, attention ability. [0007] There are a variety of visual abilities utilized by athletes and non-athletes alike whenever there is a decision to be made involving the coordinated efforts of hand and eye. The following is a synopsis of some of these visual abilities, a couple of easy to administer assessments, visual enhancement exercises to train the athlete's eyes, and how the training bat and method of the present invention address some of these particular visual abilities. [0008] Static Visual Acuity--the ability to resolve various sizes of letters/numbers from a standard distance. Although the importance of this stationary ability is minimal in other sports, for baseball it is desirable that the athlete have at least 20/15 to 20/10 acuity for resolving the size of the baseball from a standard distance (length of bat), and determining spatial relationships. [0009] Dynamic Visual Acuity--the ability to maintain clarity of an object while either the object or the athlete, or both, are in motion (as in a pitched baseball). Deficits in this ability can cause perceptions of the viewed object to vary. Deficits in clearness can affect timing during a swing. [0010] Contrast sensitivity--this is the ability of the visual system to discriminate variations in color of the object looked at in comparison with the color of the background the object may be against. In baseball, a white baseball against a dark outfield wall such as when the baseball is pitched provides for a sharp contrast and allows the batter to more readily see the pitched baseball. As the brightness and color of background merge closer (as in tracking a baseball against a light colored outfield wall), the contrast of the baseball becomes less. In baseball, the ability to track the baseball in flight or on the ground is of significant value as the player attempts to intercept the baseball. This sensitivity is the smallest amount of distinction between object and background that can exist while still being distinguishable by the athlete. It may be possible to enhance the ability to see a pitched white baseball by taking batting practice in front of a light colored background. [0011] Eye Movement (Ocular Motility)--this is the ability of the athlete to physically shift his eyes from place to place in space rapidly, and accurately without hesitation or fatigue. Athletes keen in this ability can quickly make decisions such as whether to swing at a particular pitch. An athlete deficient in this ability may commit to swinging at a bad pitch without time to change the decision. Thus, eye movement is a key element in baseball. [0012] Fusion--the eyes send information to the brain where the information is integrated and interpreted as a three-dimension (3-D) phenomenon. The integration of visual information from both eyes into a 3-D image is called fusion. The integration of visual information is termed fixation. Typically, a person's focusing ability is limited to 3 degrees. To get an idea of the size of this visual field, one can extend his arm straight and forward with his thumb pointing vertically. The width of the thumb in this position is an approximation of the size and focus of your visual field. [0013] Focus Flexibility (Accommodation)--the ability that allows the athlete to change focus from one point in space to another and to maintain precise clarity such as shifting from home plate to the pitching mound during a pitch. [0014] Fusion Flexibility (Binocularity)--this is the ability to accurately "team" the two eyes together so they perform as one as the athlete glances around, shifts focus, and follows the ball. [0015] Depth Perception--the ability of the athlete to rapidly and accurately utilize fused images from the eyes to judge distance from the ball. Obviously this is closely related to the former three abilities. [0016] Visual Reaction Time--the time required to perceive and respond to visual stimulation. Involved in this ability is the effectiveness of the athlete to utilize auditory (sound) information to assist in any visual stimulation. [0017] Central Peripheral Awareness--sometimes referred to as side vision. This is the ability of the athlete to maintain a "hard focus" on the central task such as striking the ball while screening out the activity to the side such as movement in the surrounding stands. Other sports rely on the athlete's ability to maintain an awareness or soft focus on "side" activity, baseball demands that this activity is eliminated from the only task at hand--focusing on the ball. [0018] Eye-Hand-Body Coordination--this ability is related to proprioception, or the ability to have a sense of where limbs are in space without looking at them. This ability is key when swinging at a pitched baseball. The batter must "feel" where the hands and feet are without looking. Eye-hand-body then is an integration of the eyes, the hands, and the body as a unit. While the eyes must lead and guide the motor (movement) system, sense of limb awareness is paramount. [0019] Visual Adjustability--this relates to the athlete's ability to have a visual system flexible enough to rapidly adjust and guide the body's motor responses quickly and accurately as the surrounding environment changes. A lack of being "tuned into" the body's responses is exemplified in an inability to adjust to unfamiliar ballparks, surfaces, brightness, time zones, etc. A batter plays at opponents' fields for nominally half of the season, which is why batting practice before an "away" game is so important. [0020] Visualization--familiar to many coaches, the ability to mentally imagine and rehearse situations, actions, and responses that can occur during play, and modify them to be more efficient and correct. As anything, the exercise gets better with practice, and therefore should be done year-round, during games and practices, and away from games and practices. If an athlete cannot visualize, they may be deficient in the ability to learn from mistakes. [0021] Eye (Sighting) Dominance--everyone has a dominant eye that sends information to the brain slightly faster than the other. This dominant eye directs the movement and fixation of the other eye. Therefore it is prudent for the batter to stand in the batter's box so his head has an unobstructed and aligned view of the baseball with the dominant eye. In order to test which eye is dominant, one may extend his arms straight and forward and form about a 1'' diameter triangular hole by connecting both thumbs and index fingers. That person should pick a distant object on a wall, and center it between the triangle. Without moving head or hands, the person should close one eye, then the other. The eye that has the object lined up closest to the hole is the dominant eye. Continue reading about Training bat and method... Full patent description for Training bat and method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Training bat 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 Training bat and method or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Adjustable length training bat Next Patent Application: Performance arrow vane Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Training bat and method patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.16047 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Novartis , Pfizer , Philips , Polaroid , Procter & Gamble , 174 |
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