Adjustably Weightable Bat Assembly

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to bat assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new bat assembly for practicing and improving a swing of a hitter.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a rod that is substantially baseball bat shaped and substantially transparent. Each of a plurality of billets is selectively couplable to a first end of the rod and has a respective mass so that the plurality of billets comprises billets that have a variety of masses. A respective billet is selectively couplable to the rod to provide an associated weighting to the rod. A ball is positioned in a channel that is axially positioned in the rod. The ball is positioned to travel through the channel toward the first end of the rod as the rod is swung by a user. The ball is configured to attract attention of the user, drawing the eyes of the user to the rod to train the user to follow a pitched baseball to a baseball bat.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric perspective view of an adjustably weightable bat assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a detail view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new bat assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the adjustably weightable bat assembly 10 generally comprises a rod 12 that is substantially baseball bat shaped and substantially transparent. The rod 12 comprises thermoplastic, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) or the like. The rod 12 has a first end 14 that is externally threaded. The rod 12 comprises a handle section 16, a tapered section 18, and a barrel section 20. The handle section 16 is circumferentially smaller than the barrel section 20. A grip 22 is coupled to the handle section 16 and is configured to enhance a grasp of hands that are positioned upon the handle section 16. The tapered section 18 is positioned between the handle section 16 and the barrel section 20.

Each of a plurality of billets 24 is selectively couplable to the first end 14 of the rod 12 and has a respective mass so that the plurality of billets 24 comprises billets 24 that have a variety of masses. The billets 24 are rubberized. The billets 24 comprise rubber or the like. Each billet 24 has a first terminus 26 that is rounded to resemble a tip of a baseball bat. A respective billet 24 is selectively couplable to the rod 12 to provide an associated weighting to the rod 12. The rod 12, being weighted, provides resistance to a swing of a user as an exercise for the muscles of the user, and helps in training the user to maintain a level swing of a baseball bat.

Each of a plurality of recesses 28 extends into a second terminus 30 of a respective billet 24. The recess 28 is threaded so that the recess 28 is positioned to threadedly insert the first end 14 of the rod 12 to couple the respective billet 24 to the rod 12.

A channel 32 is axially positioned in the rod 12, as shown in FIG. 2. The channel 32 extends from the first end 14 of the rod 12 to proximate to a midpoint 34 of the tapered section 18. A ball 36 that is positioned in the channel 32 is positioned to travel through the channel 32 toward the first end 14 of the rod 12 as the rod 12 is swung by the user. The ball 36 comprises metal, such as steel or the like. The ball 36 mimics the appearance of a baseball. The ball 36 is configured to attract attention of the user by drawing the eyes of the user to the rod 12 to train the user to follow a pitched baseball to a baseball bat.

A cavity 38 is positioned in the rod 12 proximate to the first end 14, as shown in FIG. 5. A plate 40 is coupled to the rod 12 so that the plate 40 separates the channel 32 from the cavity 38. The ball 36 is positioned to impact the plate 40 as the rod 12 is swung by the user so that a sound is generated. The plate 40 comprises wood so that the sound generated by the ball 36 impacting the plate 40 mimics the sound of a baseball bat striking a baseball. The sound generated by the ball 36 impacting the plate 40 also attracts the attention of the user to the rod 12 and helps in training the user to follow a pitched baseball to a baseball bat.

A battery 42 is positioned in the cavity 38. A touch switch 44 that is coupled to the plate 40 is operationally coupled to the battery 42. A bulb 46, which comprises a light emitting diode 48, is coupled to the rod 12 and is positioned in the cavity 38. The bulb 46 is operationally coupled to the battery 42. The ball 36 is positioned to actuate the touch switch 44 upon the ball 36 impacting the plate 40 so that the bulb 46 is transiently coupled to the battery 42. The flash of light generated by the bulb 46, concurrently with the ball 36 impacting the plate 40, attracts the attention of the user to the rod 12 and helps in training the user to follow a pitched baseball to a baseball bat.

In use, the respective billet 24 is coupled to the rod 12 to provide the associated weighting and to provide resistance to the swing of the user. As the rod 12 is swung by the user, the ball 36 travels through the channel 32 to strike the plate 40, generating the sound and actuating the touch switch 44 so that the bulb 46 flashes.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.