Batter Training Device And Method

Abstract

Generally L-shaped batter training aid devices may be removeably but fixedly attached to a handle portion of a conventional baseball bat. Preferably, the baseball batter training aid device will include a spacer arm member and a training handle member. The spacer arm member has inner and outer ends and adapted for removable attachment at the inner end thereof to a handle portion of a baseball bat. The training handle member has upper and lower ends and is rigidly connected to the outer end of the spacer arm at substantially a perpendicular junction therebetween so that when the inner end is attached to the handle portion of the baseball bat the training handle member will be laterally spaced from and axially parallel thereto. A knob is preferably fixed to the lower end of the training handle member. The inner end of the spacer member may include a clamp system for clamping the device to the handle portion of the baseball bat.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to sport training aids, especially aids to assist the training of baseball batters in batting techniques.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Proper technique is required to allow baseball batters to consistently and effectively hit a pitched baseball. In this regard, it is important that the batter's top hand when gripping a bat handle (i.e., the right hand for a right-handed batter and the left hand for a left-handed batter) remain palm-up through the length of the swing (i.e., that portion of the swing when the bat is extended and advanced toward the incoming pitched baseball). Such a technique ensures that the batter will cerate better "bat whip" and thus greater bat efficacy when striking the pitched baseball.

[0003] It is also important for proper baseball hitting technique that the batter's elbows remain closer to the core of the batter's body so that the batter's hands in essence lead the bat through the swing and finish the swing in a relatively high position.

[0004] A number of training aids have been proposed in the art for a variety of sport implements as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 760,161, 2,938,728, 4,819,944, 5,762,572, 6,059,675 and 6,482,113 and Published U.S. Patent Application 200610079341 (the entire content of each being expressly incorporated hereinto by reference). However, none of the proposed training aids is believed to be capable of effectively and efficiently training a baseball batter in the batting techniques described above.

[0005] Therefore, it would be highly desirable if means were provided so as to assist baseball batters in batting techniques as described previously. It is towards providing such means and the methods of using the same that the present invention is directed.

[0006] Broadly, the present invention is embodied in a generally L-shaped batter training aid device which may be removeably but fixedly attached to a handle portion of a conventional baseball bat. In this regard, preferred embodiments of the baseball batter training aid device will include a spacer arm member and a training handle member. The spacer arm member has inner and outer ends and adapted for removable attachment at the inner end thereof to a handle portion of a baseball bat. The training handle member has upper and lower ends and is rigidly connected to the outer end of the spacer arm at substantially a perpendicular junction therebetween so that when the inner end is attached to the handle portion of the baseball bat, the training handle member will be laterally spaced from and axially parallel thereto. A knob is fixed to the lower end of the training handle member.

[0007] The inner end of the spacer member may include a clamp system for clamping the device to the handle portion of the baseball bat. In certain embodiments, the clamp system comprises a C-shaped receiver portion fixed to the inner end of the spacer member, and a C-shaped clamp portion oppositely positioned and removeably attached to the receiver portion. The receiver portion may include threaded apertures and the clamp portion may include through apertures. The clamp portion may thus be removeably attached to the receiver portion by securing bolts passing through the through apertures and being threadably connected to the threaded apertures.

[0008] A brace member rigidly connected to the outer end of the spacer arm member and the upper end of the training handle member at the substantially perpendicular junction therebetween may be provided so as to increase rigidity and immovability of the training handle member. Additionally (or alternatively) the spacer member and the training handle member may be formed as a one-piece (unitary) structure.

[0009] Certain other embodiments of the invention contemplate a combination comprised of a baseball bat and a generally L-shaped batter training device. The baseball bat may be conventional in that it will have a proximal handle portion, a distal barrel portion and a bat knob fixed to a terminal lower end of the proximal handle portion so as to be disposed in a primary plane perpendicular to an elongate axis of the bat. The L-shaped batter training aid device will preferably be embodied in a spacer arm having an inner end attached to the handle portion of the bat, a spacer arm member dependent from an outer end of the spacer arm so as to be substantially parallel to the elongate axis of the bat and a training handle knob attached to a terminal lower end of the training handle member so as to be in a secondary plane which is parallel to the primary plane of the bat knob but distally spaced therefrom by a distance corresponding substantially to a batter's bottom hand dimension when gripping the handle portion of the bat adjacent the bat knob. The inner end of the spacer member includes a clamp system for clamping the device to the handle portion of the baseball bat.

[0010] In certain embodiments, kits are provided which are comprised of an L-shaped baseball batter training aid device having a clamp system provided with securing bolts for attaching the device to a handle portion of a baseball bat, and a turning tool for engagement with the securing bolts to assist in the attachment of the clamp system to the handle portion of the baseball bat. Advantageously, the turning tool is an Allen wrench and may be provided with a T-shaped handle. The kit may include a suitable package (e.g., a transparent pouch) within which the training aid device, the turning tool are disposed and optionally a product description card may be placed.

[0011] These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

[0012] Reference will hereinafter be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals throughout the various FIGURES denote like structural elements, and wherein,

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an exemplary embodiment of a baseball batter training aid device attached to a baseball bat;

[0014] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the batter training aid device depicted in FIG. 1, but exploded somewhat to show the clamping collar thereof;

[0015] FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment of a kit for the baseball training aid device;

[0016] FIGS. 4a through 4c schematically depict a swing sequence for one exemplary method of using the batter training device; and

[0017] FIGS. 5a through 5c schematically depict a swing sequence for another exemplary method of using the batter training device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A presently preferred embodiment of a baseball batter training aid device 20 is shown in accompanying FIG. 1 as being removeably attached to the handle portion 10-1 of a baseball bat 10 proximally of a barrel portion 10-2. A lengthwise section of the handle portion 10-1 may be wrapped with a suitable natural or synthetic leather grip 10-1a. As is conventional, the distal barrel portion 10-2 has a greater diameter as compared to the proximal handle portion 10-1 and is thus structured to strike a baseball. The terminal lower end of handle portion 10-1 is provided with an enlarged knob 10-3 which assists the batter in maintaining a grip on the bat 10 when swung.

[0019] As is perhaps better depicted in the enlarged perspective view of FIG. 2, the baseball batter training aid device 10 is a generally L-shaped device which includes a spacer arm member 22 and a training handle member 24. Thus, it is presently preferred that the spacer arm member and training handle member 24 are substantially perpendicular, but some embodiments may include angles therebetween which are greater than or less than 90.degree. provided that the training methods described in greater detail below are not impeded.

[0020] Most preferably, the spacer arm member 22 and the training handle member 24 are formed as a one-piece (unitary) structure formed of a lightweight durable and rigid material (e.g., aluminum). The spacer arm member 22 includes at its outer end a rigidly fixed-position training handle member 24. In order to ensure a rigid inflexible union exists between the spacer arm member 22 and the training handle member 24, a triangularly shaped brace member 26 is fixed to each such member near their junction at the outer end of the spacer arm member 22 and the upper end of the training handle member 24.

[0021] In order to assist the batter in maintaining a grip on the training handle member 24 in use, the terminal lower end of training handle member 24 is provided with an enlarged knob 28. As will be described in greater detail below, in use as a batter training aid, the batter's bottom hand will grip the handle portion 10-1 of the bat 10 adjacent the knob 10-3 while the batter's top hand grips the training handle member 24 adjacent the knob 28.

[0022] The inner end of the spacer member includes a clamp system comprised of a rigidly fixed-position C-shaped receiver portion 22-1 (which is preferably formed as a one-piece (unitary) structure with the spacer arm member 22) and a removable C-shaped clamp portion 22-2 positioned oppositely to the receiver portion 22-1. The clamp portion 22-2 includes apertures 22-2a to allow securing bolts 30 to pass therethrough and be threadably engaged with threaded apertures 22-1a of the receiver portion 22-1.

[0023] A section of the handle portion 10-1 of the bat 10 may thus be positioned within the interior space defined by the opposed receiver and clamp portions 22-1, 22-2, respectively. The opposed receiver and clamp portions 22-1, 22-2, respectively, may then be drawn together by tightening of the securing bolts 30 so as to rigidly attach the training aid device 20 to the handle portion 10-1 of the bat. Upon loosening and removal of the securing bolts 30, of course, the clamp portion 22-2 may be separated from the receiver portion 22-1 to allow the device 20 to be removed from the bat handle 10-1 so the bat 10 may be used in its conventional manner with the batter's hands both on the handle 10-1.

[0024] It will also be observed in FIG. 1 that the spacer arm member 22 is of sufficient length to provide a lateral stand-off of the handle member 24 so that sufficient space is defined between it and the handle portion 10-1 of the bat. In such a manner, therefore, a batter may remove the top hand grip on the handle member 24 of the training device 20 and grip the handle portion 10-1 together with the batter's bottom hand without removing the device 20 from the bat. In such a manner, the training aid device 20 need not necessarily be removed from the bat 10 in order for a batter to use it in a usual manner by both top and bottom hands gripping the handle portion 10-1 (e.g., in the region of the grip 10-1a). As such, a batter can practice swinging the bat 10 by having his top hand grip the handle member 24 of the training aid device 10, but then relatively quickly switch the top hand so it grips the handle portion 10-1 of the bat 10 and thereby reinforce the batter's muscle memory provided by the training aid 20.

[0025] A kit 40 is depicted in FIG. 3 as including a baseball batter training aid device 20 as described above enclosed within a suitable package 42. In the embodiment depicted, the kit 40 is also provided with a turning tool 44 (e.g., an Allen-type wrench) having an upper T-handle 44-1 to which is attached a shaft 44-2 whose lower terminal end is adapted to mate with a correspondingly configured recess within the end of the securing bolts 30. Thus, the turning tool 44 is provided as a convenience to the user so as to ensure a tight immovable connection is achieved between the training aid device 20 and the bat handle 10-1 by means of the C-clamp structures associated with the spacer arm member 22 as described previously.

[0026] In the embodiment depicted, the package 42 is formed of a transparent pouch in which the training aid device 20 and the turning tool 44 are placed. The package 42 may also contain a product description card 46 containing a logo section 46-1 on which an appropriate logo 46-1a and instructions 46-1b may be imprinted.

[0027] A user will thus attach the training aid device 20 rigidly to the bat 10 by first removing it from the package 42 and separating the clamp portion 22-2 from the receiver portion 22-1 by removing the securing bolts 30 therefrom (which may be aided by the turning tool 44). The receiver 22-2 is therefore positioned against a section of the handle portion 10-1 of the bat so that the knob 28 of the training aid device 20 is axially displaced in a distal direction relative to the knob 10-3 of the bat handle 10-1. The amount of such distal displacement of the knob 28 relative to the knob 10-3 is generally commensurate with the dimension of the batter's bottom hand when gripping the handle portion of the bat 10 (i.e., the dimension of the batter's hand generally from the first to the fourth finger knuckles with the batter's bottom hand adjacent the knob 10-3). When positioning the training aid device 20, therefore, the relative axial locations of the baiter's top and bottom hands will be somewhat similar to their locations on the handle 10-1 of the bat 10, except of course that the batter's lower hand will be gripping the bat handle 10-1 and the batter's upper hand will be gripping the laterally offset handle member 24 of the training aid device 20.

[0028] Once the proper position of the training aid device 20 has been determined relative to the handle 10-3 of the bat 10, the clamp portion 22-2 is again joined to the receiver portion 22-1 by means of the securing bolts 30. Threaded tightening of the securing bolts 30 will thus ensure an immovable friction clamp exists between the training aid device 20 and the handle 10-1 of the bat 10.

[0029] The proper positioning of the training aid device 20 relative to the handle 10-1 of the bat 10 is depicted in FIG. 1. As shown, the spacer arm member 22 provides a stand-off for the handle member 24, the latter being thus axially off-set parallel to the elongate central axis of the bat 10. Moreover, as described above, the knob 28 of the training aid device 20 will be located in a secondary plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the bat 10 which is distally separated from the primary transverse plane in which the bat knob 10-3 is located by a distance generally corresponding to the dimension of the batter's bottom hand when gripping the handle portion 10-1.

[0030] FIGS. 4a through 4c schematically depict a swing sequence for one exemplary method of using the batter training device 20 as described previously. In this regard, it will be observed that the batter assumes a ready position as depicted in FIG. 4a in which the handle member 24 essentially faces the pitcher delivering the pitched baseball. During the swing, the batter's top hand (which in FIGS. 4a-4c is the batter's right hand since a right-handed batter is depicted) remains physically above the batter's bottom hand with the palm facing upwards as shown in FIGS. 4b and 4c. Such a position is helpful to train batter's hitting a pitched ball on the inside portion of the strike zone in addition to training switch hitters to place their non-dominant hand in front to reduce barrel drag and create a shorter swing route to the pitched baseball.

[0031] FIGS. 5a through 5c schematically depict a swing sequence for another exemplary method of using the batter training device 20 as described previously. It will be observed in this regard that the batter assumes a ready position as depicted in FIG. 5a in which the handle member 24 essentially is placed in a plane with the bat handle portion 10-1 which, for a right-handed batter is aligned with the first base line. During the swing, the batter's top hand (which in FIGS. 5a-5c is the batter's right hand since a right-handed batter is depicted) remains physically behind the batter's bottom hand and the handle portion 10-1 with the top hand palm facing upwards as shown in FIGS. 5b and 5c. Such a position is helpful to train batter's to emphasize the top hand staying in position through contact with the pitched baseball in addition to hitting the ball to a part of the field opposite to the batter's natural power (which for a right-handed batter would be generally towards right field and for a left-handed batter would be generally towards left field).

[0032] As can now be appreciated, the training device in accordance with the present invention can be used in a variety of ways to train batter's in a variety of hitting techniques.

[0033] Thus, while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A baseball batter training aid device comprising: a spacer arm member having inner and outer ends and adapted for removable attachment at the inner end thereof to a handle portion of a baseball bat; a training handle member having an upper and lower ends, the training handle member being rigidly connected to the outer end of the spacer arm at substantially a perpendicular junction therebetween so that when the inner end is attached to the handle portion of the baseball bat, the training handle member will be laterally spaced from and axially parallel thereto.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a knob fixed to the lower end of the training handle member.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the inner end of the spacer member includes a clamp system for clamping the device to the handle portion of the baseball bat.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the clamp system comprises a C-shaped receiver portion fixed to the inner end of the spacer member, and a C-shaped clamp portion oppositely positioned and removeably attached to the receiver portion.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the receiver portion includes threaded apertures and wherein the clamp portion include through apertures, and wherein the clamp portion is removeably attached to the receiver portion by securing bolts passing through the through apertures and being threadably connected to the threaded apertures.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a brace member rigidly connected to the outer end of the spacer arm member and the upper end of the training handle member at the substantially perpendicular junction therebetween.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the spacer member and the training handle member are formed as a one-piece structure.

8. The combination comprising: a baseball bat having a proximal handle portion, a distal barrel portion and a bat knob fixed to a terminal lower end of the proximal handle portion so as to be disposed in a primary plane perpendicular to an elongate axis of the bat, and an L-shaped batter training aid device which includes, (i) a spacer arm having an inner end attached to the handle portion of the bat, (ii) a spacer arm member dependent from an outer end of the spacer arm so as to be substantially parallel to the elongate axis of the bat, and (iii) a training handle knob attached to a terminal lower end of the training handle member so as to be in a secondary plane which is parallel to the primary plane of the bat knob but distally spaced therefrom by a distance corresponding substantially to a batter's bottom hand dimension when gripping the handle portion of the bat adjacent the bat knob.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein the inner end of the spacer member includes a clamp system for clamping the device to the handle portion of the baseball bat.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein the clamp system comprises a C-shaped receiver portion fixed to the inner end of the spacer member for receiving a section of the handle portion of the bat, and a C-shaped clamp portion oppositely positioned and removeably attached to the receiver portion for immovably clamping the training device to the handle portion of the bat.

11. The combination of claim 10, wherein the receiver portion includes threaded apertures and wherein the clamp portion include through apertures, and wherein the clamp portion is removeably attached to the receiver portion by securing bolts passing through the through apertures and being threadably connected to the threaded apertures.

12. The combination of claim 8, wherein the training aid device further brace a brace member rigidly connected to an outer end of the spacer arm member and an upper end of the training handle member at a substantially perpendicular junction therebetween.

13. The combination of claim 8, wherein the spacer member and the training handle member are formed as a one-piece structure.

14. A kit comprising: an L-shaped baseball batter training aid device having a clamp system provided with securing bolts for attaching the device to a handle portion of a baseball bat, and a turning tool for engagement with the securing bolts to assist in the attachment of the clamp system to the handle portion of the baseball bat.

15. The kit of claim 14, wherein the turning tool is an Allen wrench.

16. The kit of claim 14, wherein the turning tool has a T-shaped handle.

17. The kit of claim 14, further comprising a package within which the training aid device and the turning tool are disposed.

18. The kit of claim 17, wherein the package is transparent.

19. The kit of claim 14, further comprising a product description card.

20. The kit of claim 14, wherein the clamp system comprises, a C-shaped receiver portion fixed to the inner end of the spacer member for receiving a section of the handle portion of the bat, and a C-shaped clamp portion oppositely positioned and removeably attached to the receiver portion for immovably clamping the training device to the handle portion of the bat, wherein the receiver portion includes threaded apertures and wherein the clamp portion includes through apertures, and wherein the clamp portion is removeably attachable to the receiver portion by the securing bolts passing through the through apertures and being threadably connected to the threaded apertures.

21. The kit of claim 14, wherein the training device comprises: a spacer arm member having inner and outer ends and adapted for removable attachment at the inner end thereof to a handle portion of a baseball bat; a training handle member having an upper and lower ends, the training handle member being rigidly connected to the outer end of the spacer arm at substantially a perpendicular junction therebetween so that when the inner end is attached to the handle portion of the baseball bat, the training handle member will be laterally spaced from and axially parallel thereto.

22. The kit of claim 21, further comprising a knob fixed to the lower end of the training handle member.