SPORT STICK TRAINING WEIGHT

Abstract

A training weight for a sport stick is provided. The sport stick includes a housing having a sidewall, a proximal end wall and a distal end wall. The sidewall and proximal end wall include an opening and slot which are sized to accept a sport stick's handle and knob. Preferably, the training weight includes a cup which is biased by a spring to force the sport stick's knob to engage and lock to the training weight's proximal end wall. The training weight may include a cam mechanism to permit the retraction and extension of the spring and cup.

Claims

1. A training weight for a sport stick having handle portion terminating in a radially extending knob, the training weight comprising: a circumferential sidewall forming a central conduit and having a proximal end and a distal end; a distal end wall engaging and closing said sidewall's distal end; a proximal end wall engaging said sidewall's proximal end, said sidewall, distal end wall, and proximal end wall forming a central cavity; said sidewall having an opening adjacent said proximal end wall, said opening extending circumferentially to define said opening's width; and a slot formed in said proximal end wall, said slot extending from said sidewall's opening radially inward to beyond the center of said proximal end wall.

2. The sport stick and training weight combination of claim 1 further comprising a spring located within said central cavity, said spring having a first end positioned at said distal end and a second end positioned to be axially movable within said cavity so as to bias a sport stick's knob in the proximal direction

3. The sport stick and training weight combination of claim 2 further comprising a cup engaging said spring's second end, said cup having a depression sized for receipt of a sport stick knob.

4. The sport stick training weight of claim 2 further comprising: a cam mechanism that will lock the cup in a retracted condition or permit the cup to extend to an extended condition; a recess formed in said distal end wall; and wherein said spring's first end and cam mechanism are positioned in said recess.

5. A sport stick and training weight combination comprising: a sport stick having an elongate substantially cylindrical shaft having first and second ends, said sport stick having a circular knob affixed to said shaft's first end and said shaft having a handle portion adjacent to said knob, said knob's diameter being greater than said handle portion's diameter; a training weight having, a circumferential sidewall forming a central conduit and having a proximal end and a distal end; a distal end wall engaging and closing said sidewall's distal end; a proximal end wall engaging said sidewall's proximal end, said sidewall, distal end wall, and proximal end wall forming a central cavity; said sidewall having an opening adjacent said proximal end wall, said opening extending circumferentially to define said opening's width; and a slot formed in said proximal end wall, said slot extending from said sidewall's opening radially inward to beyond the center of said proximal end wall, said proximal end's slot having a width greater than said sport stick's handle's diameter but said slot's width smaller than said sport stick's knob's diameter, and said sidewall's opening's width being greater than said proximal end's slot's width and greater than said sport stick's knob's diameter.

6. The sport stick and training weight combination of claim 5 further comprising a spring located within said central cavity, said spring having a first end positioned at said distal end and a second end positioned to be axially movable within said cavity, and said sport stick's knob positioned within said cavity with said spring's second end biasing said sport stick's knob in the proximal direction

7. The sport stick and training weight combination of claim 6 further comprising a cup engaging said spring's second end, said cup having a depression sized for receipt of a sport stick knob.

8. The sport stick training weight of claim 6 further comprising: a cam mechanism that will lock the cup in a retracted condition or permit the cup to extend to an extended condition; a recess formed in said distal end wall; and wherein said spring's first end and cam mechanism are positioned in said recess.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a handle portion of a sport stick and the training weight of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a sport stick and training weight after the sport stick's knob has been inserted into the training weight's central cavity;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sport stick and training weight combination of FIG. 2 wherein the training weight's cup has been extended;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a side view of a sport stick and training weight combination illustrated in FIG. 3;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a side cutaway view of the sport stick and training weight combination wherein the training weight's cup has been retracted to a retracted condition;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a side cutaway view of the sport stick and training weight combination wherein the training weight's cup has been extended to an extended condition;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a perspective exploded view illustrating the various components of the training weight of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a perspective cutaway exploded view of the training weight illustrated in FIG. 7;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a perspective cutaway partially exploded view of the training weight; and

[0025] FIG. 10 is a perspective cutaway view of the training weight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, as shown in the drawings, hereinafter will be described the presently preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and it is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

[0027] With reference to FIGS. 1-10, the present invention is a training weight 1 for use with a sport stick 61. The sport stick may be any type of club having a shaft 63, with first end 65 and a second end. At the shaft's first end 65, the sport stick 61 has a handle portion 67 and a radially projecting knob 69. The sport stick's shaft 63 is preferably substantially cylindrical, at least at the handle portion 67 where the sport stick 61 is gripped by a user. The shaft's handle portion 67 has a diameter sized for being held by a person's hand. Meanwhile, the sport stick's knob 69 has a diameter greater than the diameter of the sport stick's handle portion so that the knob projects radially beyond the handle portion 67. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, this sport stick construction including an elongate substantially cylindrical shaft and a radially projecting knob is employed in a wide variety of sport sticks including baseball bats, softball bats, golf clubs, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, cricket bats, and tennis racquets. For purposes herein, the sport stick will be described and illustrated as a baseball bat, but the invention is not intended to be so limited.

[0028] With reference to FIGS. 1-10, the training weight 1 is constructed to affix to the sport stick's knob 69. To this end, the training weight 1 includes a housing 3 having a sidewall 5, a distal end wall 7, and a proximal end wall 9. The training weight's sidewall 5 extends circumferentially to form a central conduit 6 which is closed at each of its ends by the distal end wall 7 and proximal end wall 9, respectively, to form a central cavity 10. The sidewall 5 may be constructed in various shapes and sizes including cubic, spheroid or ellipsoid. However, in the preferred embodiments illustrated in the figures, the training weight's sidewall 5 has a substantially cylindrical tubular shape.

[0029] To allow the training weight 1 to grasp a sport stick's first end 65, the training weight sidewall 5 has an opening 11 which is located adjacent to the training weight's proximal end wall 9. The sidewall's opening 11 is sized to accept the sport stick's knob 69. More specifically, the opening 11 extends circumferentially to have a width which is greater than the sport stick knob's diameter. In addition, the training weight 1 possesses a slot 13 formed in the proximal end wall 9. The slot extends from the sidewall's opening 11, at the proximal end wall's periphery, radially inward to beyond the center of the proximal end wall. Preferably, the slot 13 extends half the diameter of the sport stick's handle beyond the center of the proximal end wall 9 so that when mated together, the sport stick 61 extends axially from approximately the middle of the training weight's proximal end wall 9. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the proximal end wall slot 13 has a width greater than the diameter of the sport stick's handle diameter so as to allow entry of the sport stick's handle 67 into the slot 13, but the slot's width is smaller than the diameter of the sport stick's knob 69 so that once the sport stick's knob 69 is located within the training weight's central cavity 10, the sport stick and its knob 69 cannot be moved axially relative to the training weight 1 because the knob 69 will engage the proximal end wall 9 at the slot's edges 15.

[0030] As illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, the training weight 1 includes a spring 19. The spring 19 may be any resilient or elastomeric construction that can be pressed or pulled, but returns to its former shape when released. Acceptable springs include helical springs, leaf springs, or even simple elastic materials such as rubber. However, the preferred spring for use with the training weight 1 is a traditional helical compression spring 19. As illustrated in the figures, the spring 19 includes a first end 21 which engages the housing's distal end wall 7. The spring's second end 23 is positioned within the training weight's central cavity 10 so as to be axially movable so as to force a sport stick's knob 69 axially in the proximal direction. In a preferred embodiment, the training weight 1 further includes a conical cup 27. The conical cup 27 is affixed to the spring's second end 23 and includes a depression 29 sized and positioned so as to receive a sport stick's knob 69.

[0031] To affix the training weight 1 to a sport stick's knob 69, the conical cup 27 and spring's second end 23 are depressed axially so as to allow a sport stick's knob 69 to slide through the sidewall's opening 11 with the sport stick's shaft sliding through the proximal end wall's slot 13. The compression of the spring 19 is released thereby forcing the bat's knob 69 against the proximal end wall 9 so as to lock to the training weight 1 to the sport stick's first end 65.

[0032] In preferred embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5-10, the training weight 1 includes a cam mechanism 39 which allows the conical cup 27 to be locked in a retracted condition to permit the knob to be inserted into the training weight's cavity 10. Alternatively, the cam mechanism 39 allows the cup 27 to be released to an extended condition wherein the conical cup 27 is extended proximally so as to force a bat's knob 69 against the proximal end wall 9. The cam mechanism may be constructed in any manner as can be determined by those skilled in the art and may take any of innumerable forms and structures that would allow the cup 27 and spring's second end 23 to be locked in a retracted condition, but selectively released to an extended condition.

[0033] In an embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7-10, the cam mechanism includes a cylindrical tube 31, a tubular outer sleeve 41 and an inner cap 49. The cylindrical tube 31 extends axially and distally from the cup's bottom surface, and includes a cylindrical chamber. In addition, the cylindrical tube 31 has a serrated distal edge 55 forming a plurality of cam surfaces as well as a plurality of teeth 57 which project radially outward from the cylindrical tube's sidewall.

[0034] Meanwhile, the cam mechanism's tubular outer sleeve 41 has a central chamber 43 and longitudinally extending guide channels 45 formed into the interior sidewall of the tubular outer sleeve 41. The tubular outer sleeve 41 may be affixed to the training weight's distal end wall 7 by numerous fasteners known to those skilled in the art. However, in a preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the training weight's distal end wall 7 includes a recess 35 sized to concentrically receive the tubular outer sleeve 41, and the distal end wall 7 and tubular outer sleeve 41 are affixed together utilizing a male and female threaded fastener engagement. The cam mechanism's inner cap 49 is also cylindrical and includes angular cam surfaces 53 which extend radially outward from the inner cap's sidewall.

[0035] The cam mechanism's tubular outer sleeve 41, inner cap 49 and cylindrical tube 31 are arranged telescopically with the tubular outer sleeve 41 forming the outermost member, the cup's cylindrical tube 31 forming the telescopic structure's intermediate member, and the inner cap 49 forming the telescopic structure's interior member. The cup's cylindrical tube 31 is positioned within the tubular outer sleeve 41 with the cup's teeth 57 slidably positioned within the outer sleeve's guide channels 55. The cup's teeth 57 are positioned within the guide channels 55 so as to permit the cup 27 to move longitudinally relative to the tubular outer sleeve 41, but not move rotationally relative to each other. Meanwhile, the cam mechanism's inner cap 49 is positioned within the cylindrical tube 31 in a manner whereby the inner cap's angular cam surfaces 53 engage, and are axially and rotationally slideable upon the cylindrical tube's serrated edge-cam surface 55.

[0036] In operation, the spring's second end 23 engages the inner cap 49 so as to force the cylindrical tube 31 and cup 27 axially in the proximal direction. However, the various teeth 57, cam surface 55 and angular cam surfaces 53 allow the cup 27 to be depressed in the distal direction and locked in a retracted condition. This retracted condition can then be released by further depression of the cup 27.

[0037] Various modifications of the training weight can be made to affix to various sport sticks. In addition, the various components of the training weight 1 may be made from various materials as can be determined by those skilled in the art. For example, preferably the training weight's housing 3 is made of a heavy material such as steel, cast iron, or aluminum. In addition, the housing may be coated with a softer more compliant material such as rubber or plastic since it is anticipated that the training weight will be utilized by athletes in an aggressive manner. Meanwhile, it is preferred that the training weight's cup 27 and cam mechanism components be made of durable plastics, and that the spring 19 be made of a traditional spring steel. Of course, those skilled in the art may select other materials without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0038] The training weight 1 may be constructed to weigh anything as can be selected to improve an athlete's swing. However, a preferred training weight 1 for use with a baseball or softball bat has a weight of 5-40 oz. Additionally, the training weight 1 may be constructed so as to allow persons to selectively add or subtract weight such as by introducing additional components to the training weight's interior, or affixing additional weights to the training weight's exterior. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited except by the following claims. I claim: