ANGLED FOOT POSITIONER

Description

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/664,319, filed on Jun. 26, 2024, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the positioning of the feet of players in sports based on the swing, and more particularly relates to adjusting the angles of feet positioning to increase performance.

Description of the Related Art

Athletes in a variety of sports struggle with their stance, positioning of their feet, and rotation of their body. The particular rotation of a body is dependent on the intended activity, and varies greatly between sport. Different rotations create different torque.

A product named the “Stance” was directed to baseball players and focused on the back foot by allowing the player to step on a plastic plate with the back foot, which prevents the back foot from stepping out of an intended position of the back foot and teaches the proper way to stride when swinging for a baseball.

The referenced shortcomings are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are among many that tend to impair the effectiveness of previously known techniques; however, those mentioned here are sufficient to demonstrate that the methodologies appearing in the art have not been satisfactory and that a significant need exists for the systems, apparatuses, and techniques described and claimed in this disclosure.

A need exists for an improved foot positioning product to focus on ground force and core body rotation. A need exists for a foot positioning device that increases the torque of a body for an intended activity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An angled foot positioning device to help sports players lock in their front and back foot in a predetermined position at a predetermined angle. Such a device help sports players decelerate their core body rotation within a swing to create increased torque. Increased torque produces higher impact and/or power for the player. The device include a rectangular frame in which a front and rear angled foot holder is coupled to front and back portions of the frame. Each angled foot holder may be securely positioned between a plurality of angles via one or more pins and a plurality of holes. A front and rear pin assembly may also be coupled to the frame such that an angle of the angled foot holders may be changed by varying the relative positions of the foot holder to the pin assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the angled foot positioning device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate various components from the device of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known starting materials, processing techniques, components, and equipment are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure. The following detailed description does not limit the invention.

Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Overview

Disclosed is an angled positioning device to help sports players angle their front and back feet in predetermined positions. The angles help players to lock in and/or secure their feet at certain predetermined angles to help players decelerate their core body rotation within the swing to create increased torque. Increased torque produces higher impact and/or power for the player. In one embodiment, the predetermined angles help players lock out their front side feet which allows the deceleration of the hips, which is then transferred to the hands. In one embodiment, locking the front foot and the back foot in a predetermined position is needed to create the intended torque. For example, increased torque for a baseball player in his swing produces greater impact and power for the ball upon contact with the bat. Repeated training on the disclosed positioning device helps train the player's swing and feet positioning for increased core body rotation. Once the player is trained to position their feet at certain distances and/or angles, the body is trained to replicate the swing and position without the positioning device. The feet positioning product can be used in baseball, golf, weight training, and any other sport that focuses on ground force and core rotation.

Design

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the disclosed foot positioning device 101. In one embodiment, the disclosed device 101 includes a rectangular frame 111, a front and rear pin assembly 121, and a front and rear foot holder 131. FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate various components from the device of FIG. 1. The foot holders may be adjusted along the length of frame 101 to accommodate for different stances or widths of a sports player's stance. The front foot of an individual is placed on one end of the frame on foot holder 131 and the back foot of the individual is placed at the other end of the frame on the other foot holder 131.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, the rectangular frame has a plurality of holes on each side of the frame, configured to receive a corresponding pin, such as pin 141. In one embodiment, the frame may comprise two sides 115 and two ends 113. On or near each end may be positioned a foot holder assembly 131, which may be attached to frame 111 via pin assembly 121. In one embodiment, the front pin assembly 121 may be moved at different positions along the length (e.g., side portion 115) of frame 111 to accommodate for different stances or widths of a sports player. The pin assemblies may be attached to the frame via pin 141 (see FIG. 1). As illustrated in FIG. 2B, each pin assembly 121 comprises two pin plates 123 connected by pin brace 125. As illustrated in FIG. 2C, each pin plate 123 comprises a plurality of holes 125 to be aligned with frame 111 (and pin 141), and one or more holes 127 and 129 to couple with foot holder 131, as illustrated in an assembled form in FIG. 1.

As detailed in FIG. 2D, each foot holder 131 comprises two angle plates 133 connected by foot plate 135. Each angle plate has a pivot hole 139 at a corner of the angle plate, which is configured to rotate around pin plate 123. At the other end of the angle plate comprises a plurality of angle holes 136, which allows the foot holder to be adjusted to a plurality of different angles, based on the sports player, intended foot positioning, and intended angle of the player. Each angle plate may have a notch 137 configured to position around a peg on which it rotates about. The foot holder 131 may be rotated in reference to the pin holder assembly 121 to change the angle on which the foot is positioned on the foot holder. In one embodiment, hole 127 of pin plate 123 is aligned with hole 139 of angle plate 133; hole 129 of pin plate 123 is aligned with the plurality of holes 136 of angle plate 133. For example, when the foot holder is in the correct position, pin 143 can be inserted into hole 129 of the pin plate and one of the holes 136 of the angle plate to secure the foot holder in a secure, predetermined position. In one embodiment, the angles of the foot holders are between 5-45 degrees, more preferably between 10-30 degrees, and more preferably between 15-30 degrees, and more preferably about 25 degrees. The angles can be adjusted based on the intended level of the sports player. The front and back angles of the foot holders may or may not be the same.

Many other variations in the overall configuration of a node and the components within the node are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, the foot holders may or may not be adjustable at different angles, and may just have a single angle. The front and back angles of the foot holders may or may not be the same. Instead of pins, other fastening mechanisms may be used, such as grips, latches, and clips. It is emphasized that the foregoing embodiments are only examples of the very many different structural and material configurations that are possible within the scope of the present invention.

Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operably coupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one or more operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or more operations.