Patents Assigned to Mizuno Corporation
  • Patent number: 11931636
    Abstract: An evaluation method for evaluating a swing characteristic of a subject with respect to a flying and thus coming object, includes: calculating swing information corresponding to a motion characteristic of the object based on sensor data detected by at least one of a first sensor attached to a ball hitting tool or a back of a hand of the subject and a second sensor attached to a waist of the subject when the subject swings the ball hitting tool with respect to the object; classifying a plurality of pieces of such swing information into a plurality of groups based on the motion characteristic of the object; for each of the plurality of groups, extracting representative swing information in the group based on one or more pieces of swing information belonging to the group; and evaluating a swing characteristic of the subject based on the representative swing information of each group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Noriyuki Tabuchi, Kohei Mimura
  • Bat
    Patent number: 11878222
    Abstract: A bat includes a handle having a proximate end and a distal end, a barrel having a hollow portion that accommodates the distal end, and a first damping section at least partially sandwiched between the handle and the barrel in the interior of the hollow portion. The material of the first damping section has a D hardness of 60 or more, a loss coefficient tan ? of 0.11 or more as determined under conditions of a temperature of 20° C., a frequency of 150 Hz, and the amount of strain 3000 ?ST, and a loss coefficient tan ? of 0.09 or more as determined under conditions of a temperature of 20° C., a frequency of 500 Hz, and the amount of strain 3000 ?ST.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Yohei Yamashita, Katsuhisa Hirano
  • Patent number: 11794082
    Abstract: A golf club head can comprise a hollow body comprising a shell defining at least some of an exterior surface of the golf club head, and the hollow body can include a ball-striking face, a crown, a hosel, a sole, and a rear end opposite the ball-striking face. A recess can be located on the sole and can extend toward an interior of the hollow body. An opening can be located within the recess and can be defined by one or more sidewalls. A weighted insert can insert into the recess and the opening and can comprise a first end, a second end, and a middle portion disposed therebetween. The first end can extend outwardly from the middle portion in a toe-to-heel direction and the second end can extend outwardly from the middle portion in a heel-to-toe direction. A weight can be disposed within the weighted insert.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Kei Tsuji, David Gregory Llewellyn
  • Patent number: 11768141
    Abstract: An object hardness measuring device includes a first side portion, a second side portion, a pedestal unit, a load unit, a measuring unit, and a holding unit. The load unit applies a load to the measurement object. The measuring unit is able to measure, in a state where the load acts on the measurement object, at least one of a movement distance of the second side portion with respect to the first side portion and a change amount of the load when the second side portion is moved either at a predetermined speed or to a predetermined position. The holding unit is able to hold the measurement object, and is movable between the first side portion and the second side portion by the slide rail unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignees: National University Corporation Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetuya Mouri, Tomoe Ozeki, Yuki Yamada, Kazuhiro Kume, Akihiro Kanda, Kazuyuki Takita
  • Patent number: 11758977
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a sole of a baseball spike shoe that improves a ball speed in a pitching motion. A sole includes a plurality of first protrusions arranged in a forefoot region of a sole body. Each of the first protrusions is formed such that its longitudinal direction extends along a foot width direction in a bottom view. When the plurality of first protrusions are projected on a virtual projection plane as viewed from a front side of the sole body, the sum of projection lengths of the plurality of first protrusions in the foot width direction is 85% or more and 100% or less of a distance of a straight line connecting in the foot width direction a side of the most medial first protrusion to a side of the most lateral first protrusion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shingo Sudo, Shogo Matsui, Kohei Mimura
  • Patent number: 11744323
    Abstract: A sole of a sole structure includes an upper wall portion disposed on an upper side, a lower wall portion disposed on a lower side and spaced away from the upper wall portion, and a pair of sidewall portions that extend substantially in a vertical direction between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion, that have a vertical zigzag shape, that are coupled to the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion, and that extend in a longitudinal direction along the outer peripheries of the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion. The upper wall portion and the lower wall portion and a pair of sidewall portions are resin-made wall members with a predetermined thickness and form an interior space. Each of the sidewall portions has concave parts recessed inwardly and convex parts protruding outwardly and it is compressible in the vertical direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenjiro Kita, Takao Oda, Yo Kajiwara
  • Patent number: 11738242
    Abstract: A golf club head of the wood-type, including a body having a ball-striking face and a sole, is disclosed. The sole can include a wave slot for adding additional weight to the golf club head and for providing improved performance. The wave slot can include a front sidewall, a rear sidewall, and at least two waves. The waves can be positioned between the front and rear sidewalls and can each include a valley portion at the lowest point of the wave such that the valley portion does not protrude below the sole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: David Llewellyn, Kei Tsuji, Arata Kamo
  • Patent number: 11653717
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a shoe including an upper, the upper including an instep cover that covers the instep of a foot. The instep cover includes an instep cover body and a tongue. Two or more protrusions that are configured to extend in use from the instep cover body toward the foot are located at least in a region between the MP joint and the talus in a side portion of the instep cover body. The protrusions are made of embroidery. The protrusions have a height of 0.5 mm or more, a width of 2 mm or more, and a length of 2 mm or more. A distance between each pair of the adjacent protrusions is 2 mm or more in part of the region. The shoe of the present invention includes the upper that improves the heat dissipation properties without impairing the contact between the foot and the shoe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yo Kajiwara, Kazuya Tajima
  • Patent number: 11628338
    Abstract: An object is to provide an iron golf club head that has high drainage performance and facilitates application of backspin also in a wet state. In an iron golf club head including a plurality of scorelines in a face surface, a microgroove including at least an inclined groove is included between the scorelines, the microgroove extending in a heel leading edge-toe top edge direction to be connected to an upper scoreline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Doi, Kensuke Maenaka
  • Patent number: 11621584
    Abstract: A wireless power-feeding apparatus that enables efficient wireless feeding to a power-receiving coil embedded at the center of a spherical power-receiving device. The apparatus includes: a holding member for holding the power-receiving device; a power-transmitting coil; a driver circuit for supplying the power-transmitting coil with high-frequency current to generate a magnetic flux for wireless power-feeding to the power-receiving coil; and a wireless data receiver for receiving data transmitted regularly from a wireless data transmitter, the power-transmitting coil being positioned relative to the holding member in such a manner that the axes of the power-receiving coil and the power-transmitting coil are parallel to each other when the power-receiving device is held by the holding member in such a manner that a mark provided on the surface of the power-receiving device faces a predetermined direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignees: MAXELL, LTD., MIZUNO CORPORATION, AICHI STEEL CORPORATION, SUNWISE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keiichi Tanii, Takeshi Naruo, Shohei Shibata, Masaki Mori, Michiharu Yamamoto, Yasushi Senda
  • Patent number: 11553755
    Abstract: A sole structure for a shoe that can secure cushioning properties and obtain a ground surface information is disclosed. The sole structure includes a first midsole having a plurality of first protrusions on a foot-sole-contact side, an outsole having a plurality of second protrusions on a ground surface side, and a second midsole disposed at a part of a region between the first midsole and the outsole and having a lower compressive rigidity than the first midsole. At least a part of the plurality of first protrusions of the first midsole is located at a position corresponding vertically to at least a part of the plurality of second protrusions of the outsole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kentaro Yahata, Hiroshi Inohara, Shogo Matsui, Shin Hirai
  • Patent number: 11524215
    Abstract: A bat, which has a hollow barrel and an internal assembly configured to resist deformation of the hollow barrel, is disclosed. The internal assembly includes multiple rods disposed longitudinally within the hollow barrel. The internal assembly can include a deformable ring having a substantially circular outer wall having a diameter less than an inner diameter of the hollow barrel and multiple holes, with each hole configured to at least partially receive a rod of the multiple rods. The bat can have an end cap including end cap holes extending partially through the end cap, with each end cap hole configured to at least partially receive a rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Kikuchi, Yohei Yamashita, David Llewellyn, Thu Van Nguyen, Chi-Hung Lee, Renqin Zhang
  • Bat
    Patent number: 11389703
    Abstract: A bat includes a ball hitting portion. The ball hitting portion includes a plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers stacked in a radial direction relative to a center axis of the ball hitting portion. The plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers include a first fiber-reinforced resin layer disposed at an outermost circumference in the radial direction among the plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers. The first fiber-reinforced resin layer has a plurality of first fiber bundles and a plurality of second fiber bundles. The plurality of first fiber bundles are disposed side by side in a short side direction of each of the plurality of first fiber bundles. The plurality of second fiber bundles are disposed side by side in a short side direction of each of the plurality of second fiber bundles. The plurality of first fiber bundles and the plurality of second fiber bundles are woven across one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Yohei Yamashita, Katsuhisa Hirano
  • Patent number: 11363853
    Abstract: A sole structure 1 includes: a first sole portion including a first sole body and a first connecting portion provided behind the first sole body; a second sole portion disposed behind the first sole portion and including a second sole body and a second connecting portion provided in front of the second sole body; and a connecting shaft provided along a vertical direction to connect the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion together. Either one of the first sole portion or the second sole portion is turnable around the connecting shaft relative to the other one of the first sole portion or the second sole portion in a foot width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventor: Takao Oda
  • Patent number: 11308599
    Abstract: Provided is processing of allowing an information processor to output characteristic information on at least either sports equipment or a method for using the sports equipment by a user, the information processor executing: image acquisition processing acquiring an image of the sports equipment after use, of the sports equipment with a mark attached, or of an installed tool installed, during use of the sports equipment, on the sports equipment; position identification processing identifying a position likely to be damaged of the sports equipment by performing detection of a color change place, a shape change place, or the mark on the image acquired in the image acquisition processing; and information outputting processing outputting the characteristic information based on the position identified in the position identification processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Noriyuki Tabuchi, Kouji Ito, Shin Hirai, Yuki Yamada
  • Patent number: 11291885
    Abstract: A swing analysis device for analyzing a swing of a user of a golf club accepts input of acceleration information, angular rate information, and strain information of a shaft of the golf club, detected by a sensor attached to the shaft, calculates attitude information of the golf club in a swing period, based on the acceleration information and the angular rate information, corrects the attitude information of the golf club at impact, based on the strain information of the shaft, and displays the corrected attitude information of the golf club on a display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Ohta, Tetsuya Kanayama, Kensuke Maenaka
  • Patent number: 11284670
    Abstract: A midsole structure of a shoe includes an upper midsole, a lower midsole disposed below the upper midsole, and a wavy sheet interposed between the upper midsole and the lower midsole. The wavy sheet has a wavy shape at its medial and lateral side edge portions and a planar area at its central portion. The lower surface of the upper midsole and the upper surface of the lower midsole have wavy shapes that correspond to the wavy shape of the wavy sheet at their medial and lateral side edge portions and have a planar area that corresponds to the planar area of the wavy sheet at their central portions. The lower surface of the upper midsole and the upper surface of the lower midsole have a plurality of recesses that are disposed in the longitudinal direction at their central portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunori Iuchi, Shin Hirai, Takao Oda
  • Patent number: 11235213
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a main body and a weight attached to and detached from the main body. The main body includes a face having a ball striking face, and a sole having a sole surface brought into contact with the ground when striking a ball. The sole has formed thereon a first guide track recessed with respect to the sole surface and having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction in a plan view. The weight is fixed inside the first guide track. The first guide track includes an attachment/detachment region in which the weight is attached/detached, and a first fixing region and a second fixing region in which the weight is moved in the longitudinal direction and fixed. The first fixing region and the second fixing region are disposed to be contiguous to the attachment/detachment region in the longitudinal direction and sandwich the attachment/detachment region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: MIZUNO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kei Tsuji
  • Patent number: 11202485
    Abstract: A stud of an outsole structure includes: a tubular body having a ground contact portion that comes into contact with ground, and a hole passing through the stud upward from the ground contact portion; a core disposed inside the hole and extending vertically; and a plurality of partition walls disposed above the ground contact portion and extending radially from the core toward an inner wall surface of the tubular body. An outsole body has a plurality of locking portions disposed below the partition walls. Each of the locking portions is locked to an associated one of the partition walls in a state in which an upper end portion of the locking portion is in contact with a lower end portion of the associated partition wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Yuichi Shimizu, Tsuyoshi Ieta, Takuto Masuda
  • Patent number: 11135481
    Abstract: A golf ball includes: a land portion; and a plurality of dimples each provided to be recessed with respect to the land portion. Each of the dimples has a dimple edge and a dimple plane surrounded by the dimple edge. The dimples include a plurality of eccentric dimples each having a deepest portion that is not located on a line connecting a center point of the dimple plane of a corresponding one of the eccentric dimples and a center point of the golf ball. The eccentric dimples have respective dimple axes that are oriented randomly in the golf ball, and each of the dimple axes is obtained in a plan view of the corresponding one of the eccentric dimples by connecting the center point of the dimple plane and the deepest portion of the corresponding one of the eccentric dimples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Yudai Washida, Hiroaki Kawabata