Variable Resistance Swing Trainer

Abstract

An apparatus for training a swing has a hollow shaft with a proximal end and a distal end, a coupling member positioned inside the shaft adjacent the distal end of the shaft, and a sliding cartridge positioned inside the shaft and removably coupled to the coupling member, the sliding cartridge being slideable inside the shaft. An elastic band assembly is positioned on the sliding cartridge and has one end coupled to the sliding cartridge and another end configured to be removably couplable to the coupling member. When the elastic band assembly is coupled to the coupling member, the elastic band assembly resists movement of the sliding cartridge towards the proximal end of the shaft.

Claims

1. An apparatus for training a swing, comprising: a hollow shaft with a proximal end and a distal end; a coupling member positioned inside the shaft adjacent the distal end of the shaft; a sliding cartridge positioned inside the shaft and removably coupled to the coupling member, the sliding cartridge being slideable inside the shaft; and an elastic band assembly positioned on the sliding cartridge and having one end coupled to the sliding cartridge and another end configured to be removably couplable to the coupling member; wherein, when the elastic band assembly is coupled to the coupling member, the elastic band assembly resists movement of the sliding cartridge towards the proximal end of the shaft.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a stopper coupled to the proximal end of the shaft wherein the stopper is configured to stop movement of the sliding cartridge towards the proximal end of the shaft.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elastic band assembly comprises one or more elastic bands.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, whether the elastic band assembly comprises a plurality of elastic bands and wherein the coupling member comprises a plurality of receptacles corresponding to the plurality of the elastic bands.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of elastic bands is separately couplable to the coupling member.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each elastic band has a different elasticity.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each elastic band has the same elasticity.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sliding cartridge has a shape corresponding to an internal shape of the hollow shaft.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more heads coupled to the proximal end of the shaft.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more heads comprise one or more of a tennis head, a lacrosse head, a cricket head, a hockey head, a golf head, a baseball head, and a softball head.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one of a visual and an audible indicator configured to indicate a position of the sliding cartridge during the swing.

12. An apparatus for training a swing, comprising: a hollow shaft with a proximal end and a distal end; a coupling member positioned inside the shaft adjacent the distal end of the shaft; and a sliding cartridge positioned inside the shaft and removably coupled to the coupling member; wherein the sliding cartridge is configured to decouple from the coupling member during the swing and slide inside the shaft toward the proximal end of the shaft.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising an elastic band assembly positioned on the sliding cartridge and having one end coupled to the sliding cartridge and another end configured to be couplable to the coupling member, wherein, when the elastic band assembly is coupled to the coupling member, the elastic band assembly resists movement of the sliding cartridge towards the proximal end of the shaft.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the sliding cartridge further comprises a first anchor member positioned at one end of the elastic band assembly and a second member positioned at the opposite end of the elastic band assembly.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first anchor member and the second anchor member comprise one or more receptacles configured to removably accommodate one or more elastic bands of the elastic band assembly.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more elastic bands are configured to be removed from the one or more receptacles and coupled to the coupling member.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, when the one or more elastic bands are coupled to the first and second anchor members, the elastic assembly does not resist the movement of the sliding cartridge towards the proximal end of the shaft.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the elastic band assembly comprises six elastic bands.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sliding cartridge is configured to couple to the coupling member at the end of the swing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a swing training apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a diagram of internal components of the swing training apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

[0026] FIGS. 3A-3E are diagrams of the exemplary embodiment of the swing training apparatus of FIG. 1 showing a stepwise operation in accordance with the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a swing training apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a diagram of internal components of the swing training apparatus of FIG. 4 in accordance with the present invention.

[0029] FIGS. 6A-6B are diagrams of the exemplary embodiment of the swing training apparatus of FIG. 4 showing the internal components in accordance with the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary internal portion of an elastic band assembly in accordance with the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an exemplary anchor in accordance with the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 9 is a diagram of another exemplary anchor in accordance with the present invention,

[0033] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a shaft in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] It is noted that, as used in the specification and the claims, the singular form a, an, and the comprises plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise a plurality of components.

[0035] The term about is to be construed as modifying a term or value such that it is not an absolute. This term will be defined by the circumstances. This includes, at the very least, the degree of expected experimental error, technique error and instrument error for a given technique used to measure a value. In general, this term used in connection with a numerical value throughout the specification and the claims denotes an interval of accuracy, familiar and acceptable to a person skilled in the art. In general, such interval of accuracy is 10%. Thus, about ten means 9 to 11. All numbers in this description indicating amounts, ratios of materials, physical properties of materials, and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word about, except as otherwise explicitly indicated.

[0036] The term comprising is synonymous with including, having, containing, or characterized by. These terms are inclusive and open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0037] The present invention relates to an apparatus for training both mechanics and power for a swing-based sport. As will be described in detail herein, training of swing mechanics is accomplished by a sliding component positioned internally in a swing device shaft. The sliding component audibly and/or visually indicates whether a swing is proper, and training of swing power is accomplished by elastic components that resist movement of the sliding component. The present disclosure is applicable to any swing-based, stick-based sport and may be designed to fit inside off-the-shelf sports equipment.

[0038] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a baseball swing training apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention. The apparatus 10 includes a handle 12 and a shaft 14, which are coupled to each other. The apparatus 10 has a proximal end 13 at the end of the shaft 14, and a distal end 11 at the opposite end of the handle 12. The handle 12 and the shaft 14 are both hollow and may be made with any suitable materials, such as metal or plastic. The handle 12 and the shaft 14 may be coupled to each other in various ways. In some embodiments, the handle 12 and the shaft 14 may be coupled to each other by screw threads. For example, one end of the shaft 14 may be hollow and may receive the handle 12. The end of the handle 12 that fits into the shaft 14 may have screw threads (not shown) on the end portion of the handle 12 that is inserted into the shaft 14. The portion of the shaft 14 that receives the handle 12 may include complementary screw threads (not shown) on the inner surface such that the handle 12 may be screwed into and coupled with the shaft 14. The screw coupling is merely exemplary, and other types of removable or non-removable coupling are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the shaft 12 and the handle 14 may be non-removably coupled together using adhesives, welding, or other suitable methods. It is noted that the shaft 14 and the handle 12 may also be provided as a unitary piece.

[0039] The handle 12 has an end cap 16 positioned at the distal end 11. The end cap 16 has an opening at its end such that an internal assembly described below may be inserted into and removed from the hollow handle 12 and shaft 14. In some embodiments, the end cap 16 has a latch mechanism that couples and secures one end of the internal assembly to the handle 12, as described in more detail below. It is understood that other types of removable couplings may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3A-3E, the swing training apparatus also includes an internal assembly 20 configured to fit inside the hollow handle 12 and the hollow shaft 14. The internal assembly 20 has a proximal end 28 and a distal end 30 and includes a sliding cartridge 22 and a coupling member 36 removably coupled to the sliding cartridge 22. The sliding cartridge may include a rod 21 and an elastic band assembly 24 positioned over the rod 21. In some embodiments, the coupling member 36 may be a latch cylinder with an opening therein that removably receives a portion of the sliding cartridge 22. Preferably, an inner diameter of the opening is slightly larger than an outer diameter of the portion of the sliding cartridge received in the opening. The latch cylinder 36 retains the portion of the sliding cartridge 22 until a swinging action is performed, during which the sliding cartridge 22 decouples from the latch cylinder, allowing the sliding cartridge to travel inside the hollow handle 12 and shaft 14 towards the proximal end 13 of the assembly 10. The latch cylinder is merely exemplary, and other types of removable couplings are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0041] The internal assembly 20 may also include a weight member 26 positioned at the proximal end 28. The weight member 26 adds additional weight to the sliding cartridge making it easier for a user to swing the training device and requiring less power to perform the swing. The weight of the weight member 26 may be adjusted depending on the type of training device, abilities and skill level of the user, and other considerations. The weight member may be made with aluminum, steel or other suitable materials and may be secured to the rod 21 by any suitable means, such as adhesive, welding, etc.

[0042] The coupling member 36 is affixed to an end knob 32. When the internal assembly 20 is inserted into the hollow handle 12 and shaft 14, a portion of the end knob 32 may extend out from the distal end 11 of the handle 12, as seen e.g., in FIG. 3B. The end cap 16 of the handle and the end knob 32 are provided with mating coupling members configured to removably secure the end knob 32 to the end cap 16. In some embodiments, the end knob 32 may have one or more spring actuated protrusions 34 and the end cap 16 may have one or more mating openings 46, as seen in FIG. 3A. When the end knob 32 is inserted into the end cap 16, the protrusions 34 spring out into the openings 46 coupling the end knob 32 to the end cap 16. When a user desires to remove the internal assembly 20 out from the handle 12 and shaft 34, the protrusions 34 may be pushed inward out of the openings 46 allowing the end knob 32 to be removed from the end cap 16. It is understood that other coupling mechanisms known in the art may be used to couple the end knob to the end cap within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0043] As seen in FIGS. 3A-3E, the proximal end 13 of the shaft has a stopper 48, configured to halt the sliding of the sliding cartridge 22 inside the shaft 14. As shown, e.g., in FIG. 3B, the sliding cartridge 22 is shorter than the length of the handle 12 and the shaft 14 and is slidable inside the hollow handle 12 and the hollow shaft 14 between the coupling member 36 and the stopper 48. The stopper 48 may have various shapes. In some embodiments, the stopper 48 may include a flange and a bung-shaped stopper portion (not shown). Other shapes for the stopper 48 are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. The stopper 48 may be removably or non-removably secured to the shaft 14, e.g., by mating screws and threads, adhesives, or welding. In some embodiments, the stopper 48 may be formed as an integral part of the shaft 14, rather than coupled to the shaft 14. The coupling mechanisms described above are exemplary, and other coupling mechanisms are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] As mentioned above, the sliding cartridge 22 includes the elastic band assembly 24. The elastic band assembly 24 comprises one or more elastic bands 40 and a first and second anchor members 42 and 44 positioned on opposite ends of the elastic band assembly, as best seen in FIG. 2. The anchor members may be inserted over the rod 21 and may be removably or non-removably secured to the rod 21 by any suitable means, such as welding, adhesive, screws, etc. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the elastic band assembly 24 is positioned toward the end of the sliding cartridge 22 that is adjacent the coupling member 36. It is understood that the positioning of the elastic band assembly 24 may be varied along the length of the sliding cartridge 22, as desired.

[0045] One or more elastic bands 40 are secured at each end to the first anchor 42 and the second anchor 44. In some embodiments, one end of the one or more elastic bands 40 is removably secured to the second anchor 44 positioned adjacent the coupling member 36 and the other end of the one or more elastic bands is non-removably secured to the first anchor 42 positioned on the opposite end of the elastic band assembly 24. The elastic bands 40 may be secured to the anchors 42 and 44 in various ways. FIGS. 8 and 9 show various exemplary embodiments of the anchors 42, 44. The anchors include one or more receptacles 50 corresponding to the elastic bands 40. Each receptacle 50 may receive and secure one elastic band 40 of the elastic band assembly 24. In various embodiments, the anchors 42, 44 can include a different number of receptacles 50, such as one receptacle, two receptacles, four receptacles, eight receptacles, or another number. The receptacles may be arranged differently than as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In various embodiments, the receptacles can be evenly spaced apart, as illustrated. In additional embodiments, the receptacles need not be evenly spaced apart.

[0046] The anchors 42 and 44 also include a central opening 52 through which the rod 21 is inserted such that the anchors are retained on the rod 21. In some embodiments, the anchors are permanently secured to the rod in any suitable way, such as by adhesive or welding. In additional embodiments, the anchors may be removably secured to the rod 21 such as by friction or a screw. In some embodiments, the anchors may be repositionable at various locations along the rod 21, as desired, to accommodate various types of stick-sport equipment.

[0047] An outer surface of the anchors may have various desired shapes to accommodate positioning of the internal assembly 20 inside hollow shafts of various types of sport equipment. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, the outer surface 54 of the anchors has a generally circular shape, which may be particularly suitable for use with baseball or softball bats. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the outer surface 54 of the anchors has an elongated hexagonal shape, which may be suitable for use with tennis rackets. In various embodiments, the anchors can have another shape, such as hexagon, oval, etc. to correspond to the shaft shape of a particular stick-sport device. Various configurations of the anchors having receptacles are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, an outer diameter of the anchors is chosen such that can easily slide inside a hollow shaft of the sport device.

[0048] It is noted that the shaft 14 may be made to have a generally circular inner surface shape and a differently shaped outer surface shape to correspond to the shape of the outer surface of the shaft of a particular sports equipment. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the outer surface 110 of the shaft may have an octagonal shape to correspond to a lacrosse stick shaft, whereas the inner surface 100 of the shaft may be generally circular to accommodate the circular shaped anchors. This way, the same sliding component with anchors may be used with differently shaped sports equipment.

[0049] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of a portion of the rod 21 and the elastic band assembly 24. The elastic band assembly 24 includes the elastic band 40, the first anchor 42 and the second anchor 44 described above. In the illustrated embodiment, both ends of the elastic band 40 can be secured to the anchors 42, 44 in the same way. The elastic band 40 has two abutment members 62 and 64 positioned at the opposite end of the band 40. The abutment members may be secured to the band ends by any suitable method, such as adhesive, molding the abutment members onto the band ends, tying the band ends around the abutment members, etc. The abutment members 62, 64 abut and push against the ends of the anchors 42, 44 and are unable to enter the receptacles 50. In this manner, the elastic band 40 is secured to the first and second anchor 42, 44. The embodiment of FIG. 7 is exemplary, and other ways of securing an elastic band to the anchors are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the first anchor 42 can be molded and formed around an end of the elastic band 40 such that when the anchor 42 is solidly formed, one end of the elastic band 40 is within the anchor 42.

[0050] The end of the elastic band 40 adjacent the second anchor 44 may be grasped and pulled out of the anchor 44 to stretch the elastic band 40. In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the coupling member 36 includes one or more receptacles corresponding to the one or more elastic bands 40. The receptacles of the coupling member may be similar to the receptacles 50 of the first and second member shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The receptacles of the coupling member 36 receive one end of the one or more elastic bands 40 and secure the elastic band end to the coupling member 36 in a similar manner as described above.

[0051] When the elastic band end is not pulled, the end of the band 40 abuts the second anchor 44, as shown in FIG. 2. In this state, the elastic band assembly 24 does not operate to resist movement of the sliding cartridge 22. When the elastic band 40 is pulled and anchored to coupling member 36, the elastic band assembly 24 resists movement of the sliding cartridge 22 towards the stopper 48. Accordingly, the user needs to produce more power to move the sliding cartridge 22 during a swing. As shown in FIG. 2, the swing apparatus 10 can include multiple elastic bands within the elastic band assembly 24. Each elastic band 40 can be individually pulled, separately from any other elastic bands. FIGS. 3B-3E illustrate one elastic band 40 being pulled and secured to the coupling member 36, while other elastic bands are not pulled. In various embodiments, each elastic band can have the same elasticity. In various embodiments, different elastic bands can have different elasticities. The amount of resistance can be adjusted by anchoring different numbers of elastic bands to the coupling member, and/or by anchoring elastic bands having different elasticities. For example, anchoring three elastic bands to the coupling member provides more resistance than anchoring one elastic band.

[0052] Accordingly, described above is a baseball swing training apparatus 10 that includes the handle 12, the shaft 14, the internal sliding cartridge 22 with the elastic band assembly 24, first and second anchors 42, 44 and the coupling member 36. The training apparatus 10 can be used in live batting practice. When the batter holds the apparatus at the start of a swing, the sliding cartridge 22 is coupled to the coupling member 36, which is fixedly secured to the handle portion 12, as shown in FIG. 3B. In the motion of swinging the bat, the sliding cartridge 22 decouples from the coupling member 36 and slides inside the hollow handle 12 and the hollow shaft 14 towards the stopper 48, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D. One or more elastic bands 40 of the elastic band assembly 24 are coupled to the coupling member 36 and resist movement of the sliding cartridge 22 towards the stopper 48 as shown in FIG. 3D. A batter's swing mechanics can be determined by audibly and/or visually examining the movement of the sliding cartridge. For example, if the sliding cartridge 22 reaches the stopper 48 too early before contacting a ball or does not yet reach the stopper 48 when contacting the ball, the batter's swing mechanics may need to be improved. Towards the end of the swing, the sliding cartridge 22 slides away from the stopper 48 back towards the coupling member 36 and is in contact with the coupling member 36 at the end of the swing, as shown in FIG. 3E.

[0053] In some embodiments, a through-opening (not shown) may be made at an appropriate location in the elongated shaft 14. The opening may be made by any suitable means, such as drilling, machining, etc. The through-opening is made such that it is possible to see inside the shaft 14. The sliding cartridge 22 may be colored with a different color on the outside such that, as the sliding cartridge 22 slides within the shaft 14, it will pass the through-opening and the color of the outside of the cartridge will be visible through the opening to an outside observer. The outside color of the cartridge 22 is preferably contrasting to the color of the shaft 14 such that it can be easily seen through the opening. The through-opening is positioned at a particular location along the shaft such that the sliding cartridge will have to pass beyond the through-opening if the swing is performed properly. This way, the sliding carriage will either slide past the opening, causing the color within the opening to change, or there will be no change in color indicating that the sliding component did not slide far enough. This allows a batter or a coach to visually detect whether the swing has been performed properly.

[0054] In additional embodiments, an electronic component may be added to the end of the shaft 14. When the sliding cartridge 22 slides within the shaft during a swing, the electronics component may be contacted by the weight of the sliding cartridge, causing an LED or another suitable electronic mechanism to turn on and produce either an audible signal (beep, etc.) or a visual signal (light turns on) indicating that a proper swing has been achieved. If the electronics component does not turn on, it indicates that the sliding cartridge did not slide far enough and thus, a proper swing has not been achieved. In further embodiments, the physical contact between the sliding cartridge 22 and the stopper 48 may produce an audible sound, e.g., two materials clashing together, which may indicate when a contact between the sliding cartridge and the stopper is made.

[0055] FIGS. 4-6B illustrate another embodiment of the swing training apparatus in accordance with the present technology. This embodiment is particularly suitable for training in lacrosse. The training apparatus 100 includes a hollow shaft 112 with a distal end 116 and a proximal end 118, and a lacrosse head 114 coupled to the proximal end 118. The lacrosse head 114 may be attached to the hollow shaft 112 by any suitable method known to those skilled in the art, such as screws, friction fitting, adhesive, welding, etc. In some embodiments, the lacrosse head 114 is removably coupled to the shaft 112 such that it may be removed and another type of head typically used for swing sports may be attached to allow the apparatus 100 to be used for training in a different sport. In some embodiments, the head 114 is permanently attached to the shaft 112. It is understood that the training apparatus of the present invention may also be used with off-the-shelf lacrosse sticks or other stick-based sports equipment, which may be custom fitted with the training assembly described herein.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 5, the training apparatus 100 further includes an internal assembly 120. The internal assembly according to this exemplary embodiment is similar to the internal assembly 20 described above. The internal assembly includes a sliding cartridge 122, a coupling member 126 and an end knob 128. When the internal assembly is inserted inside the hollow shaft 112, a removable coupling device 140 provided on the end knob 128, such as a spring activated protrusion, interacts with a mating removable coupling device 142, such as an opening, provided at the distal end 116 of the shaft 112 to removably secure the end knob 128 and the attached coupling member 126 to the shaft 112, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

[0057] The sliding cartridge has a rod 130 and an elastic band assembly 124 positioned over the rod, as shown in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 5. The sliding cartridge 122 may also include a weight member 132 to add weight to the sliding cartridge 122 as desired.

[0058] The elastic band assembly 124 includes one or more elastic bands 150 positioned between a first anchor member 134 and a second anchor member 136. The structure of the first and second anchor members 134, 136 may be similar to that described above. One end of the elastic band 150 is removably or non-removably secured to the first anchor 134 and an opposite end of the elastic band 150 is removably secured to the second anchor 136. This may be accomplished by any of the methods described above. Due to the nature of lacrosse, the user would typically hold the stick with the two hands spaced apart from each other. This moves the fulcrum down towards the proximal end of the shaft. In order for the swing training device to function properly, the sliding weight has to move past the furthest hand positioned on the shaft. To accommodate for this, the length of the sliding cartridge may be adjusted as necessary.

[0059] The operation of the training apparatus 100 is generally similar to that described above. As shown in the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 6A-6B, when a user holds the apparatus at the start of a swing, the sliding cartridge 122 is coupled to the coupling member 126, which is fixedly secured to the shaft 112. In the motion of swinging the lacrosse stick, the sliding cartridge 122 decouples from the coupling member 126 and slides inside the hollow shaft 112 towards the distal end 118 of the shaft, as shown in FIG. 6B. The user's swing mechanics may be determined by audibly and/or visually examining the movement of the sliding cartridge via any methods described above. Towards the end of the swing, the sliding cartridge 122 slides away from the distal end 118 back towards the coupling member 126 and is in contact with the coupling member 126 at the end of the swing.

[0060] As described above, the one or more elastic bands 150 may be decoupled from the second anchor member 136, stretched and coupled to the coupling member 126 and operate to resist movement of the sliding cartridge. In this manner, the elastic bands 150 require a user to produce more power to move the sliding cartridge along the shaft. Each elastic band can be individually pulled, separately from any other elastic bands. The amount of resistance can be adjusted by anchoring different numbers of elastic bands to the coupling member, and/or by anchoring elastic bands having different elasticities. For example, anchoring three elastic bands to the coupling member provides more resistance than anchoring one elastic band.

[0061] Although the technology has been described and illustrated with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto, without parting from the spirit and scope of the present technology. It should also be understood that features described and illustrated in reference to one embodiment may be employed in other embodiments as appropriate.