PRACTICE BASEBALL SWING MACHINE
A practice swing machine and practice method for baseball batters are provided. The practice swing machine provides simultaneous hitting and power development for a batter by employing an arced “training zone” formed from a pair of opposing armatures that define an arced swing target that can be adjusted to mimic the precise trajectory of the hitter's individual swing. In optional embodiments the swing machine may be collapsible to provide easy transportation of the device.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/910,279 filed Apr. 5, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe current invention is directed to a practice swing machine for baseball hitters; and more particularly to a practice swing machine that provides simultaneous hitting and power development for a batter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThere are two principal features of a good baseball hitter, the ability to make consistent contact with a ball thrown in the strike zone, and the ability to hit with power. First attempts to help players improve these hitting skills focused on training regimes, such as live batting practice in conjunction with weight training and physical exercise. More recently, a substantial amount of research has gone into developing practice machines that can be used in conjunction with these more traditional techniques to further improve a hitter's skills.
Conventional hitting machines come in many forms, but most of these machines only provide swing control training, i.e., that can teach a hitter how to make good contact with the ball, but not how to improve the power of their swing. Examples of these machines range from the simple ball holder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,882, to single point pivoting devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,550,938 and 5,601,286. The disclosures of each of these devices are incorporated herein by reference. A few machines do attempt to combine contact training with power training, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,451,036; 4,655,452; and 5,226,645, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference; however, to date these machines have not been able to successfully mimic the complex motion of a baseball swing.
Specifically, a baseball swing inherently describes an arc centered about the hitter. However, the power swing machines described in the above patents require the hitter to have an almost perfectly level swing, and the “power zone” described in each describes a simple straight line such that the bat head in going through its arc interacts with this “power zone” for only a brief span and unevenly at best. As such, most of these conventional swing machines effectively “train” only a small portion of the hitters overall swing within the hitting zone.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved practice swing machine that provides consistent power and contact swing training, and that can be tailored to a player's specific hitting zone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe current invention is directed to a practice swing machine that models the full arc of a batter's swing trajectory by providing a pair of opposing swing arms that define an arced swing target through which the hitter is directed to swing.
In one embodiment, the swing arms are supported by a frame that provides at least one degree of freedom in defining the geometry of the arced swing target in relation to its surroundings. In such an embodiment, any of the following characteristics of the swing target may be adjusted including, the height from the ground, the distance from the frame to the hitter, the angle of the swing trajectory arc relative to a horizontal plane, the width of the swing trajectory arc, and the angle of the swing trajectory arc relative to a vertical axis normal to the ground.
In another embodiment, a plurality of resistance elements may be disposed on the inner surfaces of the opposing swing arms within the swing target gap to provide a level of resistance to the hitter. In such an embodiment, the level of resistance can be adjusted. In one such embodiment, the level of resistance may be adjusted by altering the position of the resistance elements relative to each other. In another such embodiment, interchangeable resistance elements made of different materials may be provided to allow for a variable resistance.
In yet another embodiment, the outer portion of the swing arms at the entrance to the swing trajectory arc gap may be padded with a resilient material to protect the device from errant swings.
In still another embodiment, the frame of the machine may be collapsible and/or mounted on wheels to allow for the storage and transportation of the device.
In still yet another embodiment, the invention is directed to a method of batting practice utilizing a customizable swing target as disclosed herein.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood when considered with respect to the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, wherein:
The current invention is directed to a practice swing machine that models the full arc of a batter's swing trajectory, providing both power and swing training in a consistent and controlled manner through the entire hitting zone. Herein the terms “hitting zone”, “swing training”, and “power training” are defined as follows:
The term “hitting zone” refers to the portion of the arc of a hitter's swing that is within a zone over the plate where positive contact with the ball can be made.
The term “swing training” refers to a method of allowing a hitter to practice the accuracy of his swing, i.e., the location of the bat head within the hitting zone.
The term “power training” refers to a method of providing some resistance within the hitting zone such that the hitter is required to exert extra force to swing the bat head through the hitting zone.
These terms may be better understood with references to
In contrast, the current invention is directed to a practice swing machine that provides an arced “training zone” that can be adjusted to mimic the precise arc of the hitter's own swing. As shown in
One exemplary embodiment of the practice swing machine of the current invention is shown in detail in
Although many suitable combinations of elements may be used to create the arced swing target of the current invention, a front view of one embodiment of an arced swing target (20) in accordance with the current invention is provided in
As shown in
Although the swing armatures are shown only schematically in the figures of the current application, it should be understood that the arms could be provided with other elements to improve the function of the practice swing machine. For example, as shown in
Finally, although the diagram of
Although the above discussion has focused principally on the swing target of the current invention, another feature of the practice swing machine of the current invention is the high degree of customization it provides. In particular, the practice swing machine is designed to allow any hitter to optimize the power and accuracy of their swing regardless of the hitter's size, reach, stance, etc. Accordingly, it is important to provide a machine which allows the hitter to position the swing target into a geometry relative to the hitter that will correspond most closely with the trajectory of the hitter's swing.
Turning to the interconnection of the swing armatures with the support arms, although any suitable means of interconnecting the swing armatures with the support arms may be used, in the embodiment shown in
In addition, the frame may incorporate at least one independent horizontal adjustment mechanism to allow for the swing armatures (16 & 18) to be offset one from the other in the horizontal plane. Although any suitable mechanism could be employed, in the embodiment shown in
Although independent vertical adjustment mechanisms (24 & 30) for the swing armatures (16 & 18) have been previously described, the frame could also be provided with a mechanism for adjusting the vertical alignment of the upper and lower support arms (14a & 14b) relative to one another. In such an embodiment, the upper and lower arms (14a & 14b) could be slidingly interconnected along their vertical axis (34) such that the upper arm could be retract within the lower arm. Such a mechanism would provide a mechanism for adjusting the overall vertical height of the practice swing machine, and would also provide a second mechanism for adjusting the vertical position of the swing target (20).
Finally, although the above discussion has only described mechanisms for adjusting various portions of the swing machine along vertical and horizontal axes, the mechanism also contemplates adjustment mechanisms that would allow for the angular alignment of the components of the device. For example, in
In addition to the above described adjustment mechanisms, the practice swing machine may also be provided with a mechanism for adjusting the angle of the vertical axis of the frame (12). In one embodiment, as shown in
It should be understood that any of the above adjustment mechanisms could be provided with a locking mechanism, such as, for example, a spring loaded pin, screw, wire, frictional fitting, etc., such that once the adjustment mechanism is in a desired position the mechanism could be locked against further unwanted movement.
Finally, as shown schematically in
Alternatively, as shown in
The above discussion has focused on the interconnection and operation of the various components of the practice swing machine and not on the materials used in their construction. One of ordinary skill in the art should recognize that the device and its individual components can be made of any material that would provide sufficient strength and durability for the intended purpose of the device. Some exemplary materials include metals, such as aluminum or steel, plastics, wood, and composites. In addition, it should be understood that individual components may be made of different materials based on the material properties required to accomplish the intended use of those components.
Finally, although the above discussion has focused on the device, the current application is also directed to a method of simultaneously training a hitter to have better swing accuracy and power by providing a fully adjustable practice swing machine that incorporates a swing target that provides a consistent level of swing interaction along the trajectory of the hitter's swing within the desired hitting zone.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing examples and descriptions of various preferred embodiments of the present invention are merely illustrative of the invention as a whole, and that variations in the shape, size, and number of the various components of the present invention, as well as the training methods proposed, may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that other components may be included in the device, or other materials used in its construction that would not effect the improved properties of the practice swing machine of the current invention nor render the device unsuitable for its intended purpose.
Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein but, rather, is defined by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A practice swing machine comprising:
- a support frame;
- a pair of horizontally oriented curved armatures attached to said support frame and disposed in a parallel alignment relative to each other such that a curved gap is defined therebetween; and
- at least one resilient member disposed on an inner surface of at least one of said armatures within said curved gap such that the curved gap is at least partially occluded by said resilient member,
- wherein the curved gap and at least one resilient member form a swing target defining an arc corresponding to the arc of a batter's ideal swing.
2. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein at least one of the support frame and pair of armatures are adjustable such that the swing target may be moved relative to the batter in at least one dimension.
3. The practice swing machine of claim 2, wherein at least one adjustment to either the support frame or the pair of armatures may be made, said at least one adjustment being selected from the group consisting of the height of the swing target from the ground, the distance of the swing target from the support frame to the hitter, the angle of the swing target relative to a horizontal plane parallel to the ground, the angle of the swing target relative to a vertical axis normal to the ground, and the width of the swing target.
4. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the pair of armatures are interconnected to the support frame through a pair of independent support arms.
5. The practice swing machine of claim 4, wherein the armatures are each slidingly connected to one of the support arms, such that the height of the armatures relative to the ground may be independently adjusted.
6. The practice swing machine of claim 5, wherein the armatures may be locked into position to prevent said sliding movement.
7. The practice swing machine of claim 4, wherein the support arms are slidingly connected to the support frame, such that the horizontal position of the armatures relative to each other may be independently adjusted.
8. The practice swing machine of claim 7, wherein the support arms may be locked into position to prevent said sliding movement.
9. The practice swing machine of claim 4, wherein the armatures are each pivotally connected to one the support arms, such that the angle of the armatures relative to each other may be independently adjusted.
10. The practice swing machine of claim 9, wherein the armatures may be locked into position to prevent said pivotal movement.
11. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein each of the armatures comprises a deformable body such that the curvature of each of the armatures may be adjusted.
12. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the position of the at least one resilient member may be changed to increase or decrease the occlusion of the gap such that the force required to swing a bat through the swing target can be adjusted.
13. The practice swing machine of claim 1, further comprising at least two different interchangeable resilient elements having variable material properties such that the force required to swing a bat through the swing target can be adjusted by interchanging said at least two different resilient elements.
14. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the number of the resilient members positioned within the gap may be varied such that the force required to swing a bat through the swing target can be adjusted.
15. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the machine comprises at least two resilient elements oppositionally disposed on the facing surfaces of the pair of armatures.
16. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the at least one resilient member takes a form selected from the group consisting of spheres, pyramids, flaps, squares and rods.
17. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the at lest one resilient member is made from a material selected from the group consisting of rubber, plastics and fabrics.
18. The practice swing machine of claim 1, further comprising a pair of strike plates positioned on at least the end of each of the armatures nearest the entrance to the gap therebetween, and being angled such that a bat hitting said strike plates would be directed into the swing target.
19. The practice swing machine of claim 18, wherein the strike plates are covered with one of either a padded or resilient material.
20. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the support frame is collapsible.
21. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the support frame is mounted on at least one wheel.
22. The practice swing machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, wood, plastic, and composite materials.
23. A method of providing batting practice comprising:
- defining a curved volume in space, the curvature of said volume being designed to match the arc defined by a batter's ideal swing;
- confining the batter's swing within said curved volume; and
- at least partially filing said volume with a resistant material such that a desired level of force is required to swing a bat through said volume.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 20, 2007
Publication Date: Oct 9, 2008
Inventor: Gus Hernandez (South Gate, CA)
Application Number: 11/765,882
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101);