Baseball bat with reinforcement through a portion thereof and method for making same

Abstract

A baseball bat discourages breakage by using a reinforcement made from steel, plastic, epoxy, or other suitable filler material. To construct the bat, a blind hole is bored through the handle portion of the bat (or the wooden die from which the bat will be formed) towards but not extending to the tip. Next, the hole is filled with the reinforcement. The resulting product is a wooden bat reinforced at its narrowest points: in and near the handle extending towards the barrel of the bat.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/721,503 filed Sep. 29, 2005, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The field of the invention is baseball bats.

BACKGROUND

Perhaps one of the most essential pieces of equipment in baseball, besides the ball, is the bat. Two types of bats are commonly used: the sturdy and lightweight aluminum bat and the hefty but classic wooden one. There are advantages and disadvantages of each type of bat. Aluminum bats tend to be more affordable in the long run because they last longer. Further, they are also light and hard, and thus can drive a baseball further on contact.

Baseball purists, however, prefer wooden bats for a number of reasons. As many professionals and enthusiasts attest, when hitting, wood feels better upon contact with the ball. In addition, wooden bats allow pitchers to work the inside part of the plate without fear of a weakly hit ball jumping to the outfield for a hit, which could only happen with the power of an aluminum bat. Some coaches also stipulate that aluminum bats allow inferior hitters the chance to become more equal to those who have the ability to hit with either type of bat, and that aluminum bats also cause pitchers to throw more off-speed pitches to by to combat the power of its quicker swing. Finally, Major League Baseball requires wooden bats, which inspires others who want to emulate their baseball heroes to use the same. For these reasons, wooden bats are still widely used.

Unfortunately, there is still one considerable disadvantage in playing with these kinds of bats. A significantly hard impact can break the bat in two, not only resulting in the need to replace the bat but also increasing the risk of injury. On breaking a bat, large knife-like shards often stick into the ground 50 feet from the break. It is only a matter of time before one of these sharpened shards seriously hurts a person.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,648 to Cheng offers one solution to this problem. It uses a steel or plastic reinforcement that extends through the entire bat in conjunction with an outer plastic sleeve to discourage bat breakage. This solution has two problems. First, boring through the entire bat and replacing the bore with a steel or plastic reinforcement dramatically changes the balance of the bat. Second, the outer plastic sleeve would make the bat unusable in wooden-bat-only leagues like Major League Baseball.

SUMMARY

The inventive baseball bat discourages breakage by using a reinforcement made from steel, plastic, epoxy, or other suitable filler material. To construct the inventive bat, a blind hole is bored through the weakest part of the bat—the handle portion (or the wooden die from which the bat will be formed). The blind hole extends towards, but does not reach, the tip. Next, the hole is filled with the reinforcement. The resulting product is a wooden bat reinforced at its narrowest points: in and near the handle extending towards the barrel of the bat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view through the inventive bat with no reinforcement within the bore.

FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view through the inventive bat with reinforcement within the bore.

FIG. 3 shows an alternate embodiment of the bat of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

FIG. 1 shows a wooden baseball bat 10 with its different portions: the barrel 18, which is the thicker part that is meant to hit the ball; the tip 20, which is the end of the barrel 18; the handle 14, which is thin and allows for a comfortable grip on the bat; and the know 12 at the end of the bat below the handle, which keeps the bat 10 from sliding out of the batter's hands during a swing.

Of course, a wooden baseball bat 10 is solid wood. In forming the inventive baseball bat 10, a blind (or closed) bore 22 extends through the know 12, handle 14, and as shown, into the tapered portion 16 of the bat 10. It is preferred that the bore 22 extend into the tapered portion 16 to add reinforcement to this portion, although it should be understood that what is critical is that the bore 22 extend through the handle 14.

Once the blind bore 22 is formed, any manner of reinforcement 30 can fill the bore. The reinforcement 30 just needs to help prevent the bat 10 from shattering. To that end, the following reinforcements are presently preferred: metal, epoxy, an epoxy and wood-shaving mixture, and plastic. As shown in FIG. 3, a combination of any of the above materials can be used, and such materials may be mixed together or located adjacent one another 30, 32 within the bore 22.

It would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the bore 22 could be drilled and filled with the reinforcement 30 before forming the bat 10 from its wooden blank. Thus, at an interim step of bat-forming, a wooden blank would have a reinforced bore. This reinforced blank would be mounted on a lathe for forming the baseball bat 10.

Claims

1. A wooden baseball bat comprising:

a handle and a barrel thicker than the handle;

a tapered portion between the handle and the barrel;

a blind bore extending through the handle;

reinforcement that fills the blind bore; and

a longitudinal axis extending through the handle, barrel, blind bore, and tapered portion.

2. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement is metal.

3. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement is epoxy.

4. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement is an epoxy and wood-shaving mixture.

5. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement is plastic.

6. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement comprises more than of the group consisting of: metal, epoxy, wood shavings, wood, and plastic.

7. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement comprises at least two materials adjacent one another.

8. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the blind bore extends into the tapered portion.

9. The baseball bat of claim 1, wherein the blind bore extends through the tapered portion and into the barrel.

10. A method for making a wooden baseball bat comprising the following steps:

providing a baseball bat comprising a handle, a barrel thicker than the handle, and a tapered portion between the handle and the barrel;

boring a blind bore extending through the handle; and

reinforcing the baseball bat by filling the blind bore.

11. A method for making a baseball bat comprising the following steps:

providing a wooden blank;

boring a blind bore extending through a portion of the blank;

reinforcing the wooden blank by filling the blind bore;

turning the wooden blank to form a baseball bat comprising a handle, a barrel thicker than the handle, a tapered portion between the handle and the barrel; and a reinforcement extending at least through the handle.