Mizuno Corporation

Mizuno USA, Inc.

Yohei Yamashita

Kohei Kikuchi

David Gregory Llewellyn

Renqin Zhang

Chi-Hung Lee

Katsuhisa Hirano

Toshiaki Kida

Michiharu Tsukamoto

Kazuhiko Shindome

Thu Van Nguyen

Brendan Troy Kays

Takashi Ono

Kazuhiro Kume

Yasuyuki Ohta

Yuki Yamada

A bat, which has a hollow barrel and an internal assembly configured to resist deformation of the hollow barrel, is disclosed. The internal assembly includes a rod disposed longitudinally in the hollow barrel, a ring attached to the rod, a deformable sleeve disposed around the ring and extending longitudinally in the hollow barrel. The sleeve can include an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the hollow barrel. The bat can include an end cap attached to an end of the hollow barrel and having a recess configured to receive an end of the rod. The rod can be configured to maintain the deformable sleeve in a predetermined suspended position within the hollow barrel such that, when the bat is at rest, the sleeve is disposed a predetermined gap distance from an inner surface of the hollow barrel.

Bat system with performance limiting structure and methods of making same

A bat includes a handle having a proximate end and a distal end, a barrel having a hollow portion that accommodates the distal end, and a first damping section at least partially sandwiched between the handle and the barrel in the interior of the hollow portion. The first damping section includes a first portion in contact with each of the handle and the barrel in the interior of the hollow portion, and a second portion disposed closer to the proximate end than the first portion, the second portion being in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the barrel and not being in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the handle. In a cross section along a center axis of the barrel, the barrel has a depression depressed relative to the inner peripheral surface in the cross section, the second portion has a protrusion fitted in the depression.

A bat includes a handle having a proximate end and a distal end, a barrel having a hollow portion that accommodates the distal end, and a first damping section at least partially sandwiched between the handle and the barrel in the interior of the hollow portion. The material of the first damping section has a D hardness of 60 or more, a loss coefficient tan δ of 0.11 or more as determined under conditions of a temperature of 20° C., a frequency of 150 Hz, and the amount of strain 3000 μST, and a loss coefficient tan δ of 0.09 or more as determined under conditions of a temperature of 20° C., a frequency of 500 Hz, and the amount of strain 3000 μST.

A bat, which has a hollow barrel and an internal assembly configured to resist deformation of the hollow barrel, is disclosed. The internal assembly includes multiple rods disposed longitudinally within the hollow barrel. The internal assembly can include a deformable ring having a substantially circular outer wall having a diameter less than an inner diameter of the hollow barrel and multiple holes, with each hole configured to at least partially receive a rod of the multiple rods. The bat can have an end cap including end cap holes extending partially through the end cap, with each end cap hole configured to at least partially receive a rod.

A bat includes a ball hitting portion. The ball hitting portion includes a plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers stacked in a radial direction relative to a center axis of the ball hitting portion. The plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers include a first fiber-reinforced resin layer disposed at an outermost circumference in the radial direction among the plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers. The first fiber-reinforced resin layer has a plurality of first fiber bundles and a plurality of second fiber bundles. The plurality of first fiber bundles are disposed side by side in a short side direction of each of the plurality of first fiber bundles. The plurality of second fiber bundles are disposed side by side in a short side direction of each of the plurality of second fiber bundles. The plurality of first fiber bundles and the plurality of second fiber bundles are woven across one another.

A softball or baseball bat with modified restitution characteristic is provided. The bat can comprise a substantially rigid core coupled with a single or multi-piece sleeve. The core can comprise a tip end, a barrel portion, a handle taper, and a handle. A sleeve assembly can be disposed over the barrel portion, and the sleeve assembly can comprise one or more materials capable of impact absorption. The sleeve assembly can include a ring portion positioned about a circumference of the barrel portion, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve disposed between the outer sleeve and the barrel portion.

Baseball or softball bat with modified restitution characteristics

A bat according to the present disclosure includes a ball hitting portion, a grip portion, a tapered portion that connects the ball hitting portion and the grip portion together, and a restriction member. The ball hitting portion is internally hollowed. The restriction member is disposed inside the ball hitting portion. The restriction member is in the form of a ring. The restriction member is disposed such that a radial direction thereof is transverse to a longitudinal direction of the ball hitting portion.

Baseball or softball bat

A softball or baseball bat is provided. The bat can comprise a handle that has a proximate end and a distal end and a barrel that has a hollow portion. The bat can comprise first damping section that comprises a first material, and the first damping section can be at least partially interposed between a portion of the handle and a portion of an inner wall of the barrel. The bat can comprise a second damping section that can comprise a second material, and the second damping section can be at least partially interposed between a portion of the handle and a portion of the inner wall of the barrel. At least a portion of the first damping section or the second damping section can prevent the handle from directly contacting the barrel when the bat is at rest.

Vibration damping bat and methods of making the same

A softball or baseball bat with modified restitution characteristic is provided. The bat can comprise a substantially rigid core coupled with a single or multi-piece sleeve. The core can comprise a tip end, a barrel taper, a handle taper, and a handle. The sleeve can slide over the handle portion and can be pressed, molded, or adhered to the barrel taper. The resilient sleeve can be sized and shaped such that the sleeve portion is substantially the same diameter as the tip end. The sleeve can comprise a material capable of impact absorption. The sleeve can have a composite structure with inner and outer sleeve components. The sleeve can further comprise a cone to taper the sleeve in the handle taper portion of the bat. The material and thickness of the sleeve and the core can be varied to meet applicable restitution requirements.

A bat selection device includes: a parameter input unit which receives an input of a swing parameter value relevant to swing of a batter, for each of at least two or more bats having moments of inertia different from one another swung by the batter at an object, of a plurality of bats; an estimation unit which estimates the swing parameter value corresponding to each of the plurality of bats based on each received swing parameter value; and a selection unit which calculates an index parameter value indicative of an index for selecting a bat suitable for the batter from the plurality of bats, for each of the plurality of bats, based on the estimated swing parameter value corresponding to the bat, and selects the bat suitable for the batter based on the index parameter values.

Bat selection device and bat selection method

There is provided a baseball including an inner core, and an outer core covering an outer circumferential surface of the inner core, the inner core being formed to have a dimension of 20% or more and 80% or less of an outer diameter of the inner core and the outer core of the baseball, and having a dynamic viscoelasticity loss coefficient (tan &#x3b4;) of 0.3 or less, the outer core being formed to have a thickness of 10% or more and 40% or less of the outer diameter of the inner core and the outer core of the baseball, and having an elastic modulus of 1.5 MPa or less. As a result, there can be obtained a baseball that achieves a high level of safety when the baseball hits against a human body and achieves a hit distance equal to and longer than that of a ball for hardball.

Baseball

A softball or baseball bat with modified restitution characteristics is provided. The bat can comprise a substantially rigid shell coupled with a single or multi-piece insert. The shell can comprise a tip end, a barrel, a handle taper, and a handle. The insert can be press-fit or adhered to the inside of the barrel of the shell. The insert can be a single or multi-piece design and can be single or multi-layered. The insert can comprise a material capable of impact absorption. Portions of the insert can be separated from the shell with a separation layer to improve restitution in certain areas of the bat. The insert can also comprise multiple layers that are separated from each other with a separation layer to improve restitution in certain areas of the bat. The material and thickness of the insert and the shell can be varied to meet applicable restitution requirements.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yohei Yamashita