Easton Diamond Sports, LLC

Easton Sports, Inc.

Easton Baseball/softball Inc.

Jas D. Easton, Inc.

Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc.

Ian Montgomery

Dewey Chauvin

Linda Hunt

Frederic St-Laurent

Hsing-Yen Chuang

William B Giannetti

Grant Douglas

Keenan Long

Stephen J Davis

Michael Lloyd Snow

Mick Kaplan

Gary W Filice

Jon Hebreo

Trevor Anderson

John Anderle

Peter Yan

Douglas Wade Heimer

Danny Tolentino

Michael Haas

Rebecca S O'hara

Frederic St-laurent

William B Gianetti

Hy Chuang

Representative embodiments of the present technology include a bat having a barrel shell and a frame structure. The barrel shell may include a barrel region of the bat and part of a tapered region of the bat. The frame structure may include a first portion positioned outside the barrel shell and a second portion positioned inside the barrel shell. In some embodiments, a distal end of the frame structure is in the barrel region but is longitudinally spaced from a distal end of the barrel shell. In some embodiments, the distal end of the frame structure is longitudinally spaced from an end cap of the bat. The barrel shell may flex or pivot relative to the second portion of the frame structure. In some embodiments, the only connection between the frame structure and the barrel shell within the barrel shell may be within the tapered region.

Ball bats with inner barrel structures

Representative embodiments of the present technology may include a ball bat with a handle, a barrel attached to or continuous with the handle along a longitudinal axis of the bat, and a reduced-durability region positioned in the barrel. The reduced-durability region may include two adjacent stacks of composite laminate plies, wherein the stacks are spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis to form a first gap therebetween. A separation ply may be positioned in the first gap between the stacks. The separation ply may include a non-woven mat material. At least one cap ply element may be positioned around an end of one of the stacks. In some embodiments, an axis of the first gap is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the bat.

Ball bats with reduced durability regions for deterring alteration

A ball bat includes a barrel wall with a composite laminate structure that includes an outwardly facing skin, an inwardly facing skin, a stack of composite laminate plies positioned between the outwardly facing skin and the inwardly facing skin, and a discontinuity in the stack forming a gap along a longitudinal axis of the bat. A rigid or semi-rigid appliance may be positioned in the gap. The appliance may be a ring element, which may have a cross-section that traverses the composite laminate plies in the stack in a direction that is perpendicular or oblique to the longitudinal axis of the bat. The cross-section of the ring element may be triangular. A second ring element may be positioned in the barrel wall. The second ring element may be connected to the other ring element with an adhesive bond or a connecting element.

A ball bat includes an outer shell and an insert positioned in a ball striking area of the outer shell. The insert may include a tube element and one or more spacer elements positioned to form a gap between the tube element and the outer shell along at least a portion of a length of the tube element. In some embodiments, the insert or the gap may extend along only the length of the ball striking area. The outer shell may provide some compliance during a hit to create a trampoline effect, while the insert may provide a backstop to limit radial deflection of the outer shell.

Double-barrel ball bats

A ball bat includes outer shell segments longitudinally spaced apart from each other to form a gap between them. A joint connects the segments. A first outer shell segment may include a barrel portion of the ball bat and at least part of a tapered portion of the ball bat. A second outer shell segment may include at least part of the tapered portion. The joint may include a tubular element having a first portion positioned within the first outer shell segment and at least partially overlapping an interior surface of the first outer shell segment, and a second portion positioned within the second outer shell segment and at least partially overlapping an interior surface of the second outer shell segment. The tubular element may include an elastomeric material. In some embodiments, the joint may be formed by an elastomeric material connecting the outer shell segments in the gap.

Ball bat with decoupled barrel

A method of making a ball bat may include forming a bat frame with a handle and an inner barrel structure, providing spacer elements extending radially outwardly from the inner barrel structure, and forming a barrel shell having a main barrel and a tapered section. An inner diameter in the tapered section may be equal to an outer diameter of a first one of the spacer elements. The method may include mechanically locking the barrel shell to the bat frame by passing the handle through the barrel shell and moving the barrel shell toward the inner barrel structure until the barrel shell contacts the first one of the spacer elements. A gap is maintained between an outer diameter of the inner barrel structure and the barrel shell. The barrel shell may deflect during a hit to create a trampoline effect, while the inner barrel structure limits the deflection.

An end-cap assembly is configured to be attached to a distal end of a barrel of a ball bat. In some embodiments, the end-cap assembly includes a sprung-mass portion, a base portion, and one or more flexible members connecting the sprung-mass portion to the base portion. The sprung-mass portion is movable relative to the base portion along one or more directions, such as one or more directions transverse to the longitudinal axis of the ball bat. A ball bat may include a handle, a barrel attached to the handle, and an end-cap assembly attached to the barrel. The end-cap assembly may include a sprung-mass portion, a base portion, and one or more flexible members connecting the sprung-mass portion to the base portion to allow the sprung-mass portion to move relative to the distal end of the ball bat.

Vibration-damping end caps for ball bats

An end-cap assembly for a ball bat or other sporting-good implement includes one or more removable weights, so that the weight of the end cap&#x2014;and of the ball bat&#x2014;may be adjusted. The one or more weights may reside in a receiving space or recess in an end-cap cup of the end-cap assembly. A fastener removably attaches the one or more weights to the end-cap cup. In some embodiments, the fastener may include threads that engage threads in a bore in the end-cap cup.

Ball bat with adjustable-weight end cap

A ball bat may include a barrel wall formed at least in part by a plurality of concentric first composite laminate layers and a plurality of second composite laminate layers oriented transverse to the first composite laminate layers. In some embodiments, a ball bat may include composite material with a plurality of fibers oriented along a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the bat.

Composite ball bats with transverse fibers

A barrel of a ball bat may include a composite laminate with a plurality of composite plies. One or more translaminar elements may pass through the composite plies and around a circumference of the barrel to reduce relative movement between the plies. The translaminar elements may include a first line of stitching, which may include aramid fiber. In some embodiments, the first line of stitching forms two or more coils around the barrel. Lines of stitching may be positioned on opposing sides of a center of percussion of the ball bat. In some embodiments, the translaminar elements may include a line of staples distributed around the circumference of the barrel. A method of making a ball bat may include arranging plies of composite material to form a cylinder, passing a first translaminar element through the plies, and curing the assembly of plies to form a barrel of the ball bat.

Growing community of inventors

Simi Valley, CA, United States of America

Ian Montgomery