U.S. patent application number 12/492120 was filed with the patent office on 2009-12-31 for baseball bat.
Invention is credited to Mark K. Pryor.
Application Number | 20090325738 12/492120 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41448150 |
Filed Date | 2009-12-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090325738 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pryor; Mark K. |
December 31, 2009 |
Baseball Bat
Abstract
A baseball bat having a sleeve surrounding a portion of the
narrow exterior surface of the bat for prevention of scattering of
splinters and wood projectiles should the bat shatter during use.
The sleeve is formed of wound fabric and secured mechanically at
both ends to the exterior surface of the bat. The securement using
a groove or ridge and traverse fibers engaged with the sleeve
allows the sleeve to stretch and absorb energy and prevents a total
separation of the heavy end of the bat from the handle from
becoming airborne where it could cause serious injury.
Inventors: |
Pryor; Mark K.; (San Diego,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DONN K. HARMS;PATENT & TRADEMARK LAW CENTER
SUITE 100, 12702 VIA CORTINA
DEL MAR
CA
92014
US
|
Family ID: |
41448150 |
Appl. No.: |
12/492120 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61075704 |
Jun 25, 2008 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/568 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 60/54 20151001;
A63B 59/52 20151001; A63B 2102/18 20151001; A63B 59/50 20151001;
A63B 2209/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/568 |
International
Class: |
A63B 59/00 20060101
A63B059/00 |
Claims
1. A baseball bat comprising: a baseball bat having a center axis
therethrough and having a length extending from a knob on a first
end to a distal end, said baseball bat having a central portion
in-between said first and second ends and having an exterior
surface; a sleeve circumferentially engaged upon said exterior
surface, said sleeve extending for a sleeve length between a first
end adjacent to said knob, to a second end extending to said
central portion; and means to mechanically engage said second end
with said exterior surface, whereby said distal end after a
separation of from said first end of said baseball bat occurring in
said central portion, is restrained by said sleeve.
2. The baseball bat of claim 1 additionally comprising: means to
mechanically engage said first end with said exterior surface of
said bat at a position adjacent to said knob.
3. The baseball bat of claim 1 wherein said means to mechanically
engage said second end with said exterior surface comprises one of
a ridge rising above said exterior surface or a recess formed into
said exterior surface and having said first end constrictively
engaged over said ridge or within said recess.
4. The baseball bat of claim 2 wherein said means to mechanically
engage said first end with said exterior surface comprises one of a
ridge rising above said exterior surface or a recess formed into
said exterior surface and having said second end constrictively
engaged over said ridge or within said recess.
5. The baseball bat of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is formed of
fibers wound around said exterior surface of said baseball bat.
6. The baseball bat of claim 2 wherein said sleeve is formed of
fibers wound around said exterior surface of said baseball bat.
7. The baseball bat of claim 3 wherein said sleeve is formed of
fibers wound around said exterior surface of said baseball bat.
8. The baseball bat of claim 4 wherein said sleeve is formed of
fibers wound around said exterior surface of said baseball bat.
9. The baseball bat of claim 3 wherein said means to mechanically
engage said first end additionally comprises secondary fibers
engaged with said first end and running traverse to said center
axis.
10. The baseball bat of claim 4 wherein said means to mechanically
engage said first end and said means to mechanically engage said
second end, both comprise secondary fibers engaged with said first
end and second end respectively, and running traverse to said
center axis.
11. The baseball bat of claim 8 wherein said means to mechanically
engage said first end and said means to mechanically engage said
second end, both comprise secondary fibers engaged with said first
end and second end respectively, and running traverse to said
center axis.
12. The baseball bat of claim 1 wherein said sleeve length is
between 45 to 65 percent of said length of said bat.
13. The baseball bat of claim 7 wherein said sleeve length is
between 45 to 65 percent of said length of said bat.
14. The baseball bat of claim 8 wherein said sleeve length is
between 45 to 65 percent of said length of said bat.
15. The baseball bat of claim 5 wherein a portion of said fibers
are wrapped at an angle to said center axis between 40 and 60
degrees.
16. The baseball bat of claim 8 wherein a portion of said fibers
are wrapped at an angle to said center axis between 40 and 60
degrees.
17. The baseball bat of claim 11 wherein a portion of said fibers
are wrapped at an angle to said center axis between 40 and 60
degrees.
18. The baseball bat of claim 16 additionally comprising a
secondary layer of said fibers underneath said fibers wrapped at
said angle, said secondary layer of fibers being substantially
parallel to said center axis.
19. The baseball bat of claim 17 additionally comprising a
secondary layer of said fibers underneath said fibers wrapped at
said angle, said secondary layer of fibers being substantially
parallel to said center axis.
20. A method for constructing the bat of claim 10, comprising the
steps of: forming one of a ridge or a groove at positions to be
occupied by said first end and said second of said sleeve; winding
said fibers around said bat to form said sleeve circumferentially
upon said exterior surface of said bat; and winding said secondary
fibers around said bat and engaging said first end and said second
end to said ridge or said groove.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 61/075,704 filed Jun. 25, 2008, and which is
incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This disclosed device and method relate to the field of
baseball bats. More particularly, the device and method herein
provide for wooden baseball bats which are reinforced with fiber
wrapped exteriors and a mechanical engagement of the fibers to the
wooden bat, to thereby yield a bat which will prevent the
separation of large and small pieces of wood from a shattered bat
which otherwise would become dangerous projectiles. So reinforced,
the bats help ensure the safety of players and spectators during
such an occurrence.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The game of baseball has long employed the use of wooden
bats to strike handballs thrown by the pitcher. While college
leagues and many little leagues have changed to metal bats, players
at the professional level, in the minor leagues, and in other
leagues continue to prefer hardwood bats for striking the ball.
[0004] In years past, most major league teams employed bats made of
ash wood which occasionally break when striking a ball. More
recently, the major league players have moved to employ maple bats
instead of ash due to a perceived performance enhancement using
bats made from this wood. However, maple has an inherent proclivity
to fracture in a manner where little energy is absorbed by the bat
yielding clean fractures. Such clean fractures and lack of energy
absorption produce projectiles which travel further and at
velocities which can cause severe injury should they strike a
player, umpire, or a fan.
[0005] Whether maple or another wood, the projectiles formed by
pieces of a shattered bat, tend to have sharp jagged fracture
surfaces which are extremely dangerous to players, fans and crew
members. Frequently, a separation of the wood forming the bat,
caused by the force of the bat striking a ball, can send shreds of
wood in many directions at high velocities. Players adjacent to the
breaking bat, such as the batter and catcher, and the umpire, are
at extreme risk of injury from the flying debris. However, even
people many yards away, such as the pitcher, or spectators in the
stands have been injured from the projectiles formed by flying
wooden pieces of a shattered bat. Many have suffered injuries from
penetration of the skin by wooden slivers, to broken jaws caused by
the impact of large pieces of the broken bat flying at high
velocities.
[0006] A bat will typically initiate failure in the thinner region
of the handle and in the transition region from the handle to the
barrel. When the ball strikes the bat near the end of the barrel or
in the transition region, the forces of the impact cause an intense
shock load that excites the fundamental bending mode of the bat.
Bending of the bat in this manner puts high stresses on the
exterior of the bat. If there is a flaw such as a crack near the
surface, the crack can quickly propagate through the entire
bat.
[0007] Maple wood has a generally uniform structure where seasonal
layers are hard to distinguish. Ash on the other hand, has easily
discernable distinct growth layers. These layers consist of early
wood which is a soft and porous layer which grows during the warmer
seasons, and late wood which is hard and dense and grows during the
cooler seasons.
[0008] Because ash wood has a non uniform layering structure, when
a bat made from ash wood fractures, the layers tend to separate
creating a leaf spring structure. Cracks in an ash wood bat tend
not to propagate through the hard and soft layers.
[0009] For maple bats, because maple has a uniform hard layer
structure, cracks propagate readily through the bat section with
little energy loss. Recent efforts by Major League Baseball to
minimize the failure rates of maple wood bats include increasing
the diameter of the handle and tapered region, and specifying a
grain slope less than one inch over a twenty-inch bat length.
Additionally, players must strike the ball with the face of the
grain on the bat opposite what players would normally do with an
ash bat.
[0010] Additionally, nine new rules were recommended in an effort
to minimize maple bat failures. However, some of these rules will
most certainly discourage players from using maple bats and
manufacturers of bats will have a hard time surviving under the new
rules if they continue the manufacture of maple bats. Further,
maple wood inherently has a hard uniform structure so cracks can
propagate through the wood regardless of the new rules and despite
such rules, it can't be guaranteed that a player will in fact keep
the bat rotated correctly.
[0011] Because maple bats do have the perceived advantage for being
very hard and imparting more energy to the ball, they will continue
to be more favored for use. This hardness is one reason players
like them since a pitched ball will bounce or rebound off a harder
bat with more velocity. Ash bats being softer, tend to absorb
energy in the soft pores. Another reason maple bats are favored is
that they tend not to dent or splinter at the barrel from prolonged
use. Maple bats, even with their tendency to yield high velocity
shards upon shattering, because of their perceived benefits, will
be a popular choice of players in the foreseeable future.
Consequently, it is important that they be made safer to ensure the
safety of both players and spectators.
[0012] Attempts have been made in the past to strengthen bats by
employing wrappings of synthetic materials and resins. While such
wrappings generally contain smaller pieces of wood from a shattered
bat, large pieces of shattered bats have sufficient mass to develop
sufficient force to separate from conventional fabric and resin
reinforcements which are simply adhered to the exterior surface of
the wood bat.
[0013] As such, there exists an unmet need for a device and method
yielding reinforced wooden baseball bats to protect players and
spectators from flying debris. Such a device should be sufficiently
light weight not to affect the bat balance, weight or natural
frequency. Such a device should have sufficient mechanical
engagement of the fiber wrapping employed to strengthen the bat, to
also insure that large pieces of a shattered bat moving at higher
forces, do not separate from the fiber engagement providing the
restraint.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The disclosed device and method herein is directed to a
method of bat reinforcement which yields a safer wooden bat and
which does not alter its strength or performance. Using a method of
fiber-wrapped reinforcement, the method herein yields a bat which
has wrapped fibers in a mechanical engagement with small grooves
formed in the exterior bat surface. The method provides a means to
prevent large and small pieces of the bat formed, from becoming
projectiles due to their high force during a bat fracture
associated with a ball and bat impact.
[0015] It is desired in most baseball leagues where statistics on
players and historical data as to performance are essential to the
legacy of the sport, that the equipment that players employ over
time will not change significantly. Such consistency allows for
player records and statistics to be accurately compared over many
decades.
[0016] With this in mind, the disclosed method and device provided
thereby yields the reinforcement and containment necessary to
prevent shards and projectiles from becoming airborne, while still
maintaining the bat itself sufficiently similar in performance to
non-reinforced bats. If a bat and ball impact would cause a
non-reinforced bat to break, then that same interaction is desired
for the reinforced bat in order to maintain the continuity of the
equipment used by the players in accordance with previous
equipment. However, after the break, a bat formed by the method
herein will cause a containment of the larger shards and
projectiles which would conventionally separate from the bat.
[0017] In the current preferred mode of the device, this similar
behavior is accomplished by one or a combination of:
1) Minimizing the amount of reinforcement to less than 1% the mass
of the bat. 2) Minimizing the modulus of the fiber employed for
reinforcement. 3) Employing high strength fiber so as to absorb
energy on a shatter of the bat. 4) Employing a fiber matrix
interface allows the fiber to absorb energy efficiently during a
bat failure. 5) Employing some type of mechanical engagement of
traverse fibers to engage them mechanically to the wood of the bat
in at least two positions thereby providing a capture component,
and to maintain the fiber matrix in position around the thinner
portions of the bat which are most liable to shatter and to prevent
larger sections from separating.
[0018] The disclosed device employs fibers which are wrapped around
the exterior of the bat. Where safety is of the sole focus of the
reinforcement, then the fibers selected should have a low modulus
of elasticity and high strength. The lower modulus will minimize
its effect on the bat's fundamental frequency or strength to
maintain consistency of performance with bats of prior years. With
a higher modulus, the fiber will increase its participation in a
ball strike by absorbing more load.
[0019] The fiber tows are wound by hand or by CNC filament winder.
The fibers are preferably wound along an axial direction between
0.degree.+/-30.degree. (low angle fibers) relative to the long axis
of the bat, and traverse to the long angle fibers from
+/-30.degree. to +/-50.degree. (off-axis fibers). The low angle
fibers are wound first and this step may employ jigs or pegs or
other means to temporarily maintain the fibers in place until the
off-axis fibers are engaged. The traverse off-axis fibers are
subsequently wound and employed to hold the low angle fibers snug
against the exterior bat surface thereby forming a containment
component for shards or pieces of the bat which might separate
during impact with the ball.
[0020] The wrapping of fibers extends in the favored mode,
substantially from the knob end of the bat, to about 12 inches from
the distal end of the barrel of the bat. The distance of the
wrapping between both ends thereof is substantially between 55-65
percent of the bat total length with 62% of the bat length having
been tested to be especially effective and therefor being an
especially preferred length for the wrapping.
[0021] The fibers forming the wrapping to yield the containment
component, may be any fiber suited to the task and goal with two
favored fibers being Kevlar or Spectra. Of course those skilled in
the art will realize that other fibers may be very well suited to
the task of forming a containment component mechanically engaged to
a bat at both ends, and all such fibers as would occur to those
skilled in the art are anticipated within the scope of this
application.
[0022] Once wound on the bat, a thin epoxy layer or polyurethane or
varnish or other coating appropriate to the task is applied to the
bat and to the wound fibers to lock the fibers in place to form the
containment component for flying shards and debris in the event of
a break, and to provide the bat with a durable finish.
[0023] To maintain the bat within the scope of bats employed in
previous seasons, preferably the mass of the reinforcement is
typically less than 1% the mass of the bat to which it is engaged.
The effect of the reinforcement on strength and stiffness of the
bat should be minimal however. Rather than yield a stronger,
stiffer bat which as noted would inhibit comparison of player
statistics with those of the past, the ultimate objective of the
formed reinforcement is to retain shattered pieces of the bat from
becoming airborn. This is accomplished by the fiber wrap forming a
containment component mechanically engaged at two ends to the bat
and restraining separating bat pieces from becoming airborne.
[0024] The following table summarizes the properties of several
different fiber types. The fiber with the highest specific tensile
strength is the Spectra 900 fiber which is a high-strength,
lightweight fiber, formed of polyethylene. A polyethylene fiber
with these performance characteristics is preferred because it is
very lightweight, has a high strength, and is durable and
translucent when coated with a clear matrix.
[0025] Another good trait of polyethylene fiber such as Spectra 900
is that the surface finish of the fiber is smooth and it thus does
not adhere well to resins. This slippage or non adherence is
important in that it allows the fibers to slip through their matrix
during a bat failure allowing the fiber forming the containment
component to absorb more energy.
[0026] Another preferred fabric for wrapping the bat is formed of
aromatic polyamide such as Kevlar-29 fiber. This type of fiber also
has very high tensile strength and is lightweight. It has a modulus
lower than the polyethylene fabric such as the Spectra 900 which
makes it a good candidate for the device herein. Aromatic polyamide
however, is generally not translucent when coated with an epoxy and
it also yields a fiber matrix strength higher than the polyethylene
fiber. A table below provides examples of fibers and their
respective characteristics.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Fiber Property Comparison (SI Units) Density
Modulus Tensile Specific TS Fiber Description (g/cm{circumflex over
( )}3) (GPa) Strength (GPa) (Gpa * cm{circumflex over ( )}3/g)
Spectra 900 HS Polyethylene 0.97 75.0 2.5 2.6 Kevlar-29 Aromatic
Polyamide 1.44 54.0 2.4 1.7 E-Glass Silica Glass 2.55 72.4 3.4 1.4
T300 Carbon 1.76 231.0 3.7 2.1 Steel Wire Steel 7.76 200.0 2.0 0.3
(US Customary Units) Density Modulus Tensile Specific TS Fiber
Description (in/lb{circumflex over ( )}3) (Msi) Strength (Ksi) (Ksi
* in{circumflex over ( )}3/lb) Spectra 900 HS Polyethylene 0.035
10.9 363 10352 Kevlar-29 Aromatic Polyamide 0.052 7.8 348 6694
E-Glass Silica Glass 0.092 10.5 500 5435 T300 Carbon 0.064 33.5 531
8353 Steel Wire Steel 0.280 29.0 285 1018
[0027] As noted, while the device and method herein is intended to
form a containment component on a bat to act as a safety net to
retain wood projectiles on failure of the bat, this type of fiber
reinforcement can also be used to increase strength or performance
if desired and allowed. By simply selecting a fiber with higher
modulus and better a stiffer, stronger, fiber-matrix interface
strength such as a carbon fiber T300, and by increasing the mass
percentage of the reinforcement primarily in the low angle
direction, a significant increase in the fundamental bending mode
and strength can be attained. However, such enhancements would
obviously have to be league-approved to be employed as they would
form a bat with strength characteristics inconsistent with bats of
the past.
[0028] With respect to the above description then, it is to be
realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts
of the formed bat device, and methods herein forming the device,
shall include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function
and manner of operation, assembly and use, which would be readily
apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art. Consequently all
equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and
described in the specification which would occur to those skilled
in the art are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing summary and
following detailed description are to be considered as illustrative
only of the principles of the invention.
[0029] Further, since numerous modifications and changes will
readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to
limit the invention to the exact construction and method of
formation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable
modifications and equivalents which may be resorted to, shall be
considered as falling within the scope of the invention.
[0030] Still further, it is to be understood that the phraseology
and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description
of the principals of the device and method herein, and should not
be regarded as limiting in any fashion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a bat having the formed
containment component thereon covering a portion of the bat and in
an engagement with the bat at two formed recesses or surface level
changes.
[0032] FIG. 2 depicts a slightly raised exterior surface providing
one manner of physical engagement of an end of the attached
containment component.
[0033] FIG. 3 depicts a groove formed in the bat exterior surface
adjacent to the knob end and providing another mode of engagement
the end of the containment component formed by the fibers.
[0034] FIG. 4 shows a side view of a preferred mode of a baseball
bat showing the containment component formed of wrapped fibers
axially disposed in the range at substantially 0.degree. and with
fibers traverse to the axis at an angle of +/-45.degree. with end
portions of fibers anchored in grooves.
[0035] FIG. 5 depicts another mode of the device herein showing the
fiber wrap formed of planar fibers in a double spiral and two ends
engaged in grooves.
[0036] FIG. 6 depicts a single spiral wrap of planar fibers in a
spiral terminating within the opposing grooves on the surface of
the bat.
[0037] FIG. 7 shows a preferred mode of the device having the fiber
wrap formed of both axially disposed fibers encompassed by a single
spiral wrap holding the axial fibers and place and with fibers
anchored in the grooves of the surface.
[0038] FIG. 8 depicts a mode of the device wherein the fibers are
wound at +/-10.degree. in the low angle and +/-50.degree. in the
high angle.
[0039] FIG. 9 depicts a mode of the device wherein the mesh net
forming the containment component is knitted or woven in a circular
tube and then heated or otherwise shrunk onto the bat and into the
grooves.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0040] Referring now to the drawings in FIGS. 1-9, wherein similar
parts are identified by like reference numerals, there can be seen
in the various figures, depictions of favored modes of the device
10 yielded by the method herein.
[0041] All of the embodiments of the device 10 yielded by the
method herein, employ fibers 14 to form a capture component 16
around the narrower portions of a baseball bat 12. As shown in FIG.
1, in a bat 12 having a conventional length "L" the capture
component 16 in the preferred mode has a length L1 covering more
than half the length L of the bat 12. Currently the capture
component is formed to have a length L1 which surrounds between
45-65 percent of the length L, of the bat 12. A particularly
preferred capture component 16 length L1, is substantially 62
percent of the bat length L.
[0042] The formed capture component 16 additionally employs
traverse windings of the fibers 14 at both ends to mechanically
engage the capture component 16 to the bat 12. This engagement
allows broken parts of the bat to slip but provides a means to
maintain larger broken sections of the bat 12 proximate to each
other should a severe break occur as the fibers 14 forming the
capture component 16 will stretch but hold. This engagement of the
two ends of the capture component 16 overcomes the shortcomings of
prior art which can allow larger portions of a broken bat 12 to
shear from their engagement with the fibers 14 which are simply
wound onto the bat and adhered without any mechanical connection to
prevent such an occurrence.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, the capture component 16 extends from a
first end 18 adjacent to the knob 20 portion of the bat 12 to a
second end 22 and encircles the mid section of the bat 12. At the
first end 18 of the bat 12 as shown in FIG. 3, a recess 25 is
formed on the exterior surface of the bat 12 by either cutting a
groove into the surface or forming a small ridge 17 as shown in
FIG. 2. These formed recesses 25 at both ends of the capture
component 16, provide a mechanical engagement of both ends of the
capture component 16 to the bat 12 at the recess 25 positions
through the winding of fibers 14 traverse to the axis 28 and into
the recesses 25.
[0044] In FIG. 4, there is shown a capture component 16 in a
preferred mode of a baseball bat 12 wherein the mesh net forming
the capture component 16 is formed by the axially disposed and
traverse wound fibers 14. As depicted, the axially disposed fibers
14 are positioned at substantially 0.degree. with the traverse
wound fibers 14 being wound spirally at angles substantially of
+/-45.degree.. Fibers 14 at the first and second ends of the
capture component 16 are substantially perpendicular to the axis 28
and engaged within the recess 25 formed by a groove 23 or raised
portion 17 of the bat 12. Thus, the recesses 25 provide an
anchoring means of both ends of the capture component 16 to the
portions of the bat 12 where they are engaged.
[0045] As is well known in the art, bats 12 tend to break at the
thinner sections of the bat 12 which would be completely covered by
the capture component 16 and thereby prevented from becoming
airborn projectiles upon a break. In a serious break of the bat 12,
larger sections can dislodge and due to their larger mass, can
become airborn for substantial distances. This is especially true
of sections on the distal end 19 of the bat 12 where the second end
22 of the capture component 16 is engaged in the recess 25. The
traverse fibers 14 engaged within the recesses 25 provide a means
to restrain such larger portions of the bat 12 which heretofore
would shear from the engagement of the fibers 14 and glue, epoxy,
or other resinous coating holding the fibers 14 to the bat 12.
[0046] The capture component 16 between its two ends, serves as a
net to capture wood pieces which might become airborne on a break
and also to protect the user from the sharp points that can develop
on a complete break of the bat 12 in the thinner section surrounded
by the capture component 16.
[0047] There are many configurations of the capture component 16
that can be wound and woven and those skilled in the art will no
doubt realize such upon review of this specification. Any
combination of axial and traverse fibers 14 to form the capture
component as would occur to those skilled in the art are
anticipated within the scope of this application. The overriding
factor is that at least the second end 22 of the capture component
16 should be engaged by fibers 14 traverse to the axis 28 and
engaged with a recess 25 formed by either a grove 23 as in FIG. 3,
or ridge 17 as in FIG. 2, formed on the bat 12 surface.
Additionally, the fibers 14 may be of any dimensional
characteristics, be it planar or round or oval, so long as they are
engaged to form the capture component 16 and engaged with at least
one, and preferably both recesses 25.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 4, the configuration features axially
disposed fibers 14 encircled by traverse fibers 14 in a double
spiral to form the capture component 16. The ends 18 and 22 are
engaged in the recesses 25 which would be formed on the bat 12
surface.
[0049] Another preferred configuration is that of FIG. 5 wherein
the capture component 16 is formed of another mode of the device
herein showing the fiber net formed of planar fibers 14 in a double
spiral wind and without the axially disposed fibers 14. At the
first end 18 and second end 22 of the formed capture component 16
the fibers 14 are engaged with the recesses 25. The spirals run at
+/-45 degree angles to the axis 28 in a preferred mode.
[0050] In a third preferred configuration of the capture component
16 in FIG. 6, the capture component 16 is formed in a single spiral
wrap of planar fiber 14 and terminating at both ends 18 and 22 in a
traverse engagement of the fibers 14 in the formed recesses 25.
[0051] Yet another preferred mode of the device of FIG. 7 depicts
the capture component 16 formed of fibers 14 positioned axially
which are encompassed by a single spiral wrap of fiber 14 holding
the axial fibers 14 in place. Both ends 18 and 22 as in all modes
of the device 10 are anchored to the bat 12 by fibers 14 engaged
traverse to the axis 28 and engaged with the recesses 25 properly
positioned at the ends and formed by groves or ridges or other
means.
[0052] Finally, in another mode of the device 10 in FIG. 8, the
capture component 16 is formed of axially positioned fibers at
substantially a +/-10.degree. angle to the axis 28 and traverse
fibers 14 wound to hold the axial fibers 14 in place at
+/-50.degree. from the axis 28. Both ends 18 and 22 of the formed
capture component 16 have fibers 14 are engaged in the recesses 25
formed preferably perpendicular and traversing the axis 28.
[0053] All fibers 14 engaged in the recesses 25 of the embodiments
herein may be one or a combination of the axial and traverse fibers
14 or at a position wherein an axial fiber 14 may transition to a
traverse fiber 14 if wound in that fashion, with the overriding
factor being a secure engagement of both ends 18 and 22 of the
formed capture component 16 into recesses 25 in the bat surface
formed by cutting grooves or forming ridges and engaging the fibers
14 on the opposite side of the ridge from where the end 18 or 22 of
the capture component 16 abuts it.
[0054] There is shown in FIG. 9 another mode of the device 10
wherein the capture component 16 may be preformed or woven slightly
larger than the bat 12 circumference and slid over one end. Once
thereon, the capture component formed of the fibers 14 in the
desired configuration may be shrunk by heating the fibers 14
wherein the ends 18 and 22 will engage with the recesses 25.
[0055] It is to be understood that elements of different
construction and configuration and different steps and process
procedures and other arrangements thereof, other than those
illustrated and described, may be employed for providing the
baseball bat with fabric formed safety net and reinforcement and
any method herein within the spirit of this invention.
[0056] As such, while the present invention has been described
herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude
of modifications, various changes and substitutions are intended in
the foregoing disclosure, and it will be appreciated that in some
instance some features of the invention could be employed without a
corresponding use of other features without departing from the
scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. All
such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to
those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of
this invention as broadly defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *