U.S. patent application number 14/994309 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-15 for safety bat for striking balls or the like.
The applicant listed for this patent is Jung-Shih Chang. Invention is credited to Jung-Shih Chang.
Application Number | 20170165545 14/994309 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59019458 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170165545 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang; Jung-Shih |
June 15, 2017 |
SAFETY BAT FOR STRIKING BALLS OR THE LIKE
Abstract
A safety bat for striking balls or the like comprises a tubular
body and a safety means. The tubular body extends along a
longitudinal axis and includes a plurality of layers made of
fiber-reinforced resin sheets. The safety means is disposed on the
tubular body to eliminate the danger of damage caused by
projectiles from the bat that breaks or shatters during use and
such a safety means does not alter the bat's strength or
performance.
Inventors: |
Chang; Jung-Shih; (Taichung
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Chang; Jung-Shih |
Taichung City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
59019458 |
Appl. No.: |
14/994309 |
Filed: |
January 13, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 59/54 20151001 |
International
Class: |
A63B 59/54 20060101
A63B059/54 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 9, 2015 |
CN |
201510900357.X |
Claims
1. A safety bat for striking balls or the like, comprising: a
tubular body extending along a longitudinal axis and including a
plurality of layers made of fiber-reinforced resin sheets, and a
safety means disposed on said tubular body for linking broken
portions of said bat together when it breaks during use.
2. The bat of claim 1, wherein said tubular body includes a front
section, a rear section, and a middle section connecting said front
section and said rear section; said safety means is disposed on
said middle section.
3. The bat of claim 1, wherein said safety means is disposed
between two adjacent layers of said tubular body.
4. The bat of claim 3, wherein said safety means comprises a first
separating member attached to one of said two adjacent layers, a
second separating member attached to the other one of said two
adjacent layers, and a safety member having a side portion and a
main portion, said side portion disposed between said two adjacent
layers, said main portion placed between said first and second
separating members, whereby the resin material of said layers of
said tubular body is prevented from seeping into said safety member
by said separating members so that said safety member will not be
hardened during curing process and can retain fragments from said
body that breaks during use.
5. The bat of claim 4, wherein each of said separating members
comprises a film made of high-temperature-resistant and
anti-resin-seep into materials.
6. The bat of claim 4, wherein said safety member includes a sheet
made of fabric materials.
7. The bat of claim 4, wherein said safety member includes a strip
made of fabric materials.
8. The bat of claim 4, wherein said safety member includes a bundle
of filaments.
9. The bat of claim 4, wherein said safety member includes a
plurality of bundles of filaments.
10. The bat of claim 9, wherein said bundles of filaments are
evenly spaced with each other.
11. The bat of claim 9, wherein said bundle of filaments extends
parallel with the longitudinal axis of said tubular body.
12. The bat of claim 1, wherein said safety means is disposed on
the inner wall of said tubular body.
13. The bat of claim 12, wherein said safety means comprises a
separating member attached to the inner wall of said tubular body,
a safety member having a side portion and a main portion, said side
portion disposed directly on the inner wall of said tubular body ,
said main portion disposed on said separating member, whereby the
resin material of the layers of said tubular body is prevented from
seeping into said safety member by said separating member so that
said safety member will not be hardened during curing process and
can link fragments from said body that breaks during use.
14. The bat of claim 13, wherein said separating member comprises a
film made of high-temperature-resistant and anti-resin-seep into
materials.
15. The bat of claim 13, wherein said safety member includes a
sheet made of fabric materials.
16. The bat of claim 13, wherein said safety member includes a
strip made of fabric materials.
17. The bat of claim 13, wherein said safety member includes a
bundle of filaments.
18. The bat of claim 13, wherein said safety member includes a
plurality of bundles of filaments.
19. The bat of claim 18, wherein each of said bundles of filaments
is evenly spaced with each other.
20. The bat of claim 18, wherein said bundle of filaments extends
parallel with the longitudinal axis of said tubular body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to bats for striking balls or
the like and more particularly to a bat with a safety means for
linking broken portions of the bat when it breaks during use which
otherwise would become dangerous projectiles.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] It was known that the conventional ball bats are generally
made of wood, metal, fiber-reinforced resin material, or a
combination of them. Yet for having good performance and
durability, the bat constructed entirely with fiber-reinforced
resin materials predominated over the other conventional ball bats.
However such bats usually has a tubular body including a plurality
of layers made of fiber-reinforced resin sheets and shaped with a
handle portion, a barrel portion, and a tapered transition portion
between the handle portion and the barrel portion. The result is
that the tapered transition portion is prone to break because the
stress producing during use will be concentrated thereon. In other
words, when the bat is broken or shattered during use, the barrel
portion constantly becomes a dangerous projectile to injure both
players and spectators.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is directed to a fiber-reinforced
resin bat which includes a safety means to eliminate the danger of
damage caused by projectiles from the bat that breaks or shatters
during use and such a safety means does not alter the bat's
strength or performance.
[0006] Thus, the present invention can be a bat which comprises a
tubular body and a safety means. The tubular body extends along a
longitudinal axis and includes a plurality of layers made of
fiber-reinforced resin sheets. The tubular body can be separated
into a front section, a rear section, and a middle section
connecting the front section and the rear section. The safety means
is disposed on the tubular body and preferably on the middle
section thereof in such a way that it can link broken portions
resulted from the bat that breaks or shatters during use.
[0007] A preferred embodiment according to the present invention
can be a bat which comprises a tubular body and a safety means
disposed on the tubular body. The tubular body extends along a
longitudinal axis and includes a plurality of layers made of
fiber-reinforced resin sheets, a front section, a rear section, and
a middle section connecting the front section and the rear section.
The safety means is disposed on the middle section of the tubular
body and between two adjacent layers of the tubular body.
[0008] A further preferred embodiment according to the present
invention can be a bat which comprises a tubular body and a safety
means disposed on the tubular body. The tubular body extends along
a longitudinal axis and includes a plurality of layers made of
fiber-reinforced resin sheets, a front section, a rear section, and
a middle section connecting the front section and the rear section.
The safety means is disposed on the middle section of the tubular
body and attached to the inner wall of the tubular body.
[0009] Another preferred embodiment according to the present
invention can be a bat which comprises a tubular body and a safety
means disposed on the tubular body. The tubular body extends along
a longitudinal axis and includes a plurality of layers made of
fiber-reinforced resin sheets, a front section, a rear section, and
a middle section connecting the front section and the rear section.
The safety means is disposed on the middle section of the tubular
body and between two adjacent layers of the tubular body. The
safety means comprises a first separating member, a second
separating member and a safety member. The first separating member
is attached to one of the two adjacent layers of the tubular body.
The second separating member is attached to the other one of said
two adjacent layers of the tubular body. The safety member has a
side portion disposed between the two adjacent layers of the
tubular body and a main portion placed between the first and second
separating members. For having such arrangement, the safety member
is firmly attached to the tubular body and the resin material of
the layers of the tubular body is prevented from seeping into the
safety member by the separating members so that the safety member
will not be hardened during curing process and can retain fragments
from the body that breaks or shatters during use.
[0010] Another preferred embodiment according to the present
invention can be a bat which comprises a tubular body and a safety
means disposed on the tubular body. The tubular body extends along
a longitudinal axis and includes a plurality of layers made of
fiber-reinforced resin sheets, a front section, a rear section, and
a middle section connecting the front section and the rear section.
The safety means is disposed on the middle section of the tubular
body and between two adjacent layers of said tubular body. The
safety means comprises a first separating member, a second
separating member and a safety member. The first separating member
is attached to one of the two adjacent layers of the tubular body.
The second separating member is attached to the other one of said
two adjacent layers of the tubular body. The safety member includes
a bundle of filaments with a side portion disposed between the two
adjacent layers of the tubular body and a main portion placed
between the first and second separating members.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the following detailed description with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a section view of a baseball bat according to a
first preferred embodiment of the present invention taken along the
longitudinal axis of the baseball bat;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a section view of the bat body and the safety
means of the bat of FIG. 1 taken along the longitudinal axis of the
bat body;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a portion of FIG. 2 drawn to an enlarged
scale;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view of the baseball bat
of FIG. 1 when it is broken into two portions during use;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of a baseball bat according
to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 shows a portion of the bat taken along line 6-6 of
FIG. 5;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a section view of a baseball bat according to a
third preferred embodiment of the present invention taken along the
longitudinal axis of the baseball bat; and
[0019] FIG. 8 is a portion of FIG. 7 drawn to an enlarged
scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0020] Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 to 4, reference numeral 10
generally designates a baseball bat according to a first preferred
embodiment of the present invention. The bat 10 includes a tubular
body 12, a barrel portion 14, a handle portion 16 and a tapered
portion 18. The barrel portion 14 is generally made of wooden
materials. The handle portion 16 and tapered portion 18 are made of
PU materials. The bat 10 further includes a safety means 20.
[0021] The tubular body 12 extends along a longitudinal axis X-X'
and includes a plurality of layers 22 made of fiber-reinforced
resin sheets. Here, the fiber-reinforced resin sheet means a sheet
made of a material of fiber reinforcement impregnated in a resin
matrix. The resin matrix can be a thermoplastic resin or a
thermosetting resin. Generally, the fibers of the fiber
reinforcement are long fibers selected from the group consisting of
glass fiber, boron fiber, carbon fiber and aramid fiber.
[0022] The tubular body 12 includes a front section 26
corresponding to the barrel portion 14, a rear section 28
corresponding to the handle portion 16, and a middle section 30
corresponding to tapered portion 18. The sections, as shown in FIG.
2, are separated by two break lines.
[0023] The safety means 20, in this embodiment, is disposed on an
inner wall 302 of the middle section 30 of the tubular body 12. In
other words, the safety means 20 is disposed on the outerface 222
of the innermost layer of the layers 22.
[0024] The safety means 20 comprises a separating member 32 and a
safety member 34. The work of the separating member 32 is to
prevent the resin material of the innermost layer 222 of the
tubular body 12 from seeping into the safety member 34 so that it
will not be hardened during curing process and can retain fragments
from the tubular body 12 that breaks during use. The separating
member 32 can be a film made of high-temperature-resistant and
anti-resin-seep into materials or release agents. In this
embodiment, the separating member 32 comprises a film made of
"ETFE". The separating member 32 has a first surface 322 and a
second surface 324. The first surface 322 is attached to the inner
wall 302 of the middle section 30 of the tubular body 12. The
safety member 34 is a sheet made of fabric materials which has an
upper side 342, a lower side 344 and a body portion 346. The upper
side 342 and lower side 344 are directly attached to the inner wall
302 of the middle section 30 of the tubular body 12. The body
portion 346 is attached to the second surface 324 of the separating
member 32 so that the resin material of the innermost layer 222 of
the tubular body 12 is prevented from seeping into the body portion
346 of the safety member 34. Of course, the safety member 34 also
can be a strip made of fabric materials or at least a bundle of
filaments.
[0025] For having such an arrangement mentioned above, as shown in
FIG. 4, when the bat 10 is broken at the tapered portion 18 during
use, the barrel portion 14 is linked to the handle portion 16 by
the body portion 346 of the safety member 34 so that the barrel
portion 14 will not be a dangerous projectile to injure both
players and spectators
[0026] Next, please referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, these drawings show
a baseball bat 40 embodied according to a second preferred
embodiment of the present invention. The bat 40 includes a tubular
body 50 and a safety means 60. The tubular body 50 is the same as
the tubular body 12 of the bat 10 but the safety means 60 is
different from the safety means 22 of the bat 10.
[0027] The safety means 60, in this embodiment, includes three
separating members 62 and three safety members 64. The separating
members 62, as shown in FIG. 5, are disposed on the inner wall 502
of the middle section of the tubular body 50 in a way that each of
the separating members 62 remains an equal distance apart. In other
words, the separating members 62 are evenly spaced with each other.
Each of the safety members 64 is attached respectively to each of
the separating members 62.
[0028] Speaking detailedly, in this embodiment, the separating
members 62 are the same as the separating member 32 of the safety
means 20 of the bat 10. However, the safety member 64 is different
from the safety member 34 of the bat 10. The safety member 64 is a
bundle of filaments which has an extending direction being parallel
with the longitudinal axis Y-Y' of the tubular body 50. The safety
member 64 has an upper side 642, a lower side 644, and a body
portion 646. The upper side 642 and the lower side 644 are adhered
directly to the inner wall 502 of the middle section of the tubular
body 50. And the body portion 646 is attached to the separating
members 62.
[0029] Lastly, please referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the drawings here
show a baseball bat 70 according to a third preferred embodiment of
the present invention. The bat 70 includes a tubular body 72, a top
cap 74, a butt 76 and a safety means 80. The inside of the tubular
body 72 can be filled with PU materials or the like to absorb the
vibration during use.
[0030] The tubular body 72 extends along a longitudinal axis Z-Z'
and includes a plurality of layers 82 made of fiber-reinforced
resin sheets. The tubular body 72 can be also divided into a front
section 722, a rear section 724 and a middle section 726. In this
embodiment, the safety means 80 is disposed between two adjacent
layers 82 of the middle section 726 of the tubular body 72.
[0031] The safety means 80 comprises a first separating member 84,
a second separating member 86, and a safety member 88.
[0032] The first separating member 84 has a first surface 842
attached to one of the two adjacent layers 82. The second
separating member 86 has a first surface 862 attached to the other
one of the two adjacent layers 82. The safety member 88 has a front
side 882, a rear side 884 and a main portion 886. The sides 882,
884 are disposed directly between the two adjacent layers 82 and
the main portion 886 is placed between the second surface 844 of
the first separating members 84 and the second surface 864 of the
separating members 86.
* * * * *