IMPACT DETECTION LABEL FOR SPORTS TRAINING

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001]The presently disclosed invention is generally related to sports training aids.

BACKGROUND

[0002]A variety of sports involve the act of striking an object such as a ball with a hand-held object such as a bat, stick, or club. In general, knowledge of the location of contact between the objects is helpful for evaluation of athletic technique for training purposes. For example, a baseball bat transfers maximum energy into a baseball when contact is at the “sweet spot” of the baseball bat, so baseball athletes train to hit the ball with the sweet spot of the bat. Impact detectors based on temperature and pressure sensitive materials are known. Temperature sensitive impact detection tape, for example, can be adhered to the flat face of a golf club to record the location of impact by changing color in response to friction-induced temperature changes resulting from contact between the golf ball and the impact tape. One drawback of temperature sensitive impact detection tape is that it functions poorly when the contact surfaces are smooth and rounded, particularly when the plane of swing coincides with the plane of travel of the ball. Those conditions are generally not encountered in the sport of golf because the club face is relatively flat, lofted, and has lateral grooves, and the surface of the golf ball is densely dimpled. However, a well-executed hit of a baseball with a baseball bat may leave little or no visual evidence on temperature sensitive impact tape if the contact location does not include the seam of the ball and the plane of swing bisects the sphere of the ball. Another type of sports training aid includes a relatively thick, pressure sensitive layer that is permanently compressed at the area of contact due to the force of impact. Such training aids are not reliant on frictional heat and angled contact to generate visual evidence of the location of contact, but the thickness of the pressure sensitive layer required to yield clearly visible evidence of contact inhibits flexibility and changes the physical interaction between the club or bat and the ball. For example, a rigid foam layer that permanently compresses at the location of contact cannot be molded to the rounded shape of a baseball bat, and the thickness of the rigid foam would result in an undesirable mushy or spongy feeling when the bat contacts the ball.

SUMMARY

[0003]In accordance with some implementations, an impact detection apparatus comprises: a non-resilient deformable outer layer; and an inner layer to which the outer layer is affixed, the inner layer characterized by an array of projections and the apparatus adapted to be affixed to sports equipment such that areas of the outer layer between the projections and within an area of contact between the sports equipment and a sports object are adapted to deform in response to contact, thereby creating a deformation that is indicative of the area of contact.

[0004]In accordance with some implementations, an impact detection apparatus comprises: a non-resilient deformable outer layer; and an inner layer to which the outer layer is affixed, the inner layer characterized by an array of voids and the apparatus adapted to be affixed to sports equipment such that areas of the outer layer adjacent to the voids and within an area of contact between the sports equipment and a sports object are adapted to deform in response to contact, thereby creating a deformation that is indicative of the area of contact.

[0005]This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims or the disclosure. Other aspects, features, and implementations will become apparent in view of the detailed description and figures. Moreover, all the examples, aspects, implementations, and features can be combined in any technically possible way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0006]FIG. 1A illustrates an impact detection label affixed to a baseball bat.

[0007]FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the label and bat taken along A-A.

[0008]FIG. 2A illustrates an impact detection label affixed to a racket.

[0009]FIG. 2B illustrates an impact detection label affixed to a hockey stick.

[0010]FIG. 3A is a top view of an implementation of the impact label characterized by inner layer projections.

[0011]FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the impact label of FIG. 3A taken along B-B.

[0012]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inner layer of the impact label of FIG. 2A.

[0013]FIG. 5A is a top view of an implementation of the impact label characterized by inner layer voids.

[0014]FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the impact label of FIG. 4A taken along C-C.

[0015]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inner layer of the impact label of FIG. 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016]FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an impact detection label 50 affixed to a baseball bat 52. The label 50 is normally flat when unaffixed to another object but conforms to the curvature of the barrel of the bat 52 when affixed thereto. As will be explained in greater detail below, the impact detection label 50 is adapted to provide a visual indication of the location of contact 30 between the bat and a ball that is hit by the bat. Although the impact label will be described in the context of detecting the location of contact between a baseball and bat, the invention is not limited to that context and may be used with a wide variety of objects, including, but not limited to, other sports objects such as golf clubs, golf balls, rackets, racket sports balls, softball bats, cricket bats, and hockey sticks.

[0017]FIG. 2A illustrates an impact detection label 50 affixed to a racket 152. The impact detection label may be formed in a wide variety of shapes to suit different sporting equipment. For example, the illustrated impact detection label has an oval shape adapted to fit the racket. The area of contact 30 may also be oval. FIG. 2B illustrates an impact detection label 50 affixed to the face of a hockey stick 252. The label conforms to the curvature of the stick. The area of contact 30 may be roughly rectangular.

[0018]FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4 illustrate an implementation of the impact detection label 50 characterized by inner layer projections 114. As shown in cross-section, the impact detection label includes an outer layer 10 disposed on an inner layer 12. Outer layer 10 includes a thin, flexible, malleable, non-resilient material that may be in the form of a sheet, film, or foil. For example, the outer layer may include a metallic foil such as aluminum foil characterized by a thickness dimension 27 of 0.006-0.200 mm (0.236-7.87 mils). Inner layer 12 includes a thin, flexible, material that may be in the form of a sheet, film, or foil and that may be either resilient and compressible or uncompressible. In some embodiments the inner layer may be formed from solid silicone, paper, rubber, polycarbonate, acrylic, ABS, metal, or other material characterized by a thickness dimension 15 equal to or greater than 0.10 mm (3.94 mils). For example, the inner layer may be characterized by a thickness in a range of 0.02-1.20 mm (0.79-47.24 mils), inclusive. Contact between the baseball and the bat where the impact detection label is affixed to the bat causes deformation of part of the outer layer 10 between projections. Deformation of the outer layer provides a visual indication of the area of contact 30 between the ball and the bat.

[0019]Inner layer projections 114 extend from a base 116. The base and projections may be molded or otherwise formed as a single piece of material. Projections 114 and base 116 may have any of a wide variety of shapes, but in the illustrated example the projections 114 are cylindrical, and the base is a rectangular prism. The projections may be characterized by a cross-sectional dimension 6 equal to or greater than 0.10 mm, and in some implementations within a range of 1.0 mm-10 mm. Continuous free space 118 between projections 114 may contain air or any other compressible substance. Projections 114 may be distributed in a regular or irregular geometric pattern across base 116. In the illustrated embodiment the projections are distributed in linearly aligned rows and columns. In some embodiments the projections of adjacent rows and columns are offset such that the rows and columns are non-linear. The distance between adjacent projections may be varied depending on intended use, e.g., based on the diameter of a typical baseball bat and baseball for a baseball training aid. In some implementations the projections are distributed with sufficient density that the outer layer does not tear due to deformation 132 in area of contact 30. In some implementations the projections are distributed with sufficient density such that the circular, elliptical, or other shape of the area of contact can be visually identified from the single deformation created by contact. The pattern of projections may also or alternatively present a target, such as a bullseye of concentric circles.

[0020]As shown in the figures, the embodiment provides a visual indication of the area of contact 30 between the ball and bat (or other sports equipment) by formation of a single visible deformation 132 in the outer layer 10. More specifically, the force of contact between the ball and the bat to which the label is affixed causes localized deformation of the outer layer 10 at the area of contact 30 proximate to the interconnected free space 118 between projections 114. Portions of the outer layer at the area of contact that are directly supported by the projections are not visibly deformed. Portions of the outer layer at the area of contact that are not directly supported by the projections are visibly deformed. Deformation 132, which is preferably visible by the naked eye, may be characterized by a depth that varies as a function of force of contact. Thus, the depth of the deformation may provide visual evidence of the force with which the ball was hit by the bat.

[0021]The outer layer 10 may be reversibly affixed to the inner layer 12 using an adhesive that enables replacement of an outer layer that has been deformed by use. For example, the outer layer may be used repeatedly until it is no longer practical to identify the most recently created area of contact. Outer layer replacement may be accomplished by pulling the existing outer layer away from the inner layer by hand and subsequently pressing a new replacement outer layer against the inner layer. An adhesive layer 17 facilitates affixation of the impact detection label to the bat. The adhesives may be water soluble to facilitate cleaning of the inner layer for long-term use.

[0022]FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6 illustrate an implementation of the impact detection label 50 characterized by an array of voids 13 in the inner layer 12. The voids 13 may, but do not necessarily, traverse the entirety of the thickness dimension 15 of the inner layer 12. For example, the voids may only partly traverse the thickness dimensions of the inner layer and have an open distal end where the inner layer 12 is disposed against the outer layer 10. The voids may have any of a wide variety of shapes, but in the illustrated example the voids are cylindrical and traverse the thickness dimension of the inner layer such as would result from drilling through the inner layer with a typical drill bit, i.e., with circular openings at the inner and outer surfaces of the inner layer. However, the voids are not necessarily formed by drilling and may be formed with a hole press, press punch, or a mold. The voids may be characterized by a cross-sectional dimension 28 equal to or greater than 0.10 mm, and in some implementations are within a range of 1.0 mm-10 mm. The voids may contain air or any other compressible substance. The outer layer 10 and the base layer 14 are monolithic and lack voids, at least in some implementations.

[0023]The illustrated embodiment of the impact detection label provides a visual indication of the area of contact 30 between the ball and bat (or other sports equipment) by formation of multiple visible deformations 32 in the outer layer 10. More specifically, the force of contact between the ball and the bat to which the apparatus is affixed causes localized deformation of the outer layer 10 at the area of contact 30 adjacent to the voids 13 of the inner layer. Portions of the outer layer at the area of contact that are directly supported by the inner layer are not visibly deformed. Portions of the outer layer at the area of contact that are directly supported by the inner layer are visibly deformed. The deformations, which are preferably visible by the naked eye, may be characterized by a depth that varies as a function of force of contact. Thus, the depth of the deformations may provide visual evidence of the force with which the ball was hit by the bat.

[0024]The voids 13 may be distributed in a regular geometric pattern across the inner layer 12. In the illustrated embodiment the voids are distributed in linearly aligned rows and columns. In some embodiments the voids of adjacent rows and columns are offset such that rows and columns are non-linear. The distance between adjacent voids may be varied depending on intended use, e.g., based on the diameter of a typical baseball bat and baseball for a baseball training aid. In general, the voids should be formed with sufficient density that multiple deformations 32 are created in an area of contact with the ball. In some implementations the voids are arranged with sufficient density such that the circular, elliptical, or other shape of the area of contact can be visually identified from the deformations. The outer layer may be configured to facilitate viewability of the deformations, e.g., with a selected reflectivity, e.g., measured in Gloss Units, and with material polarization or orientation that causes reflectivity to be directionally variable. The pattern may also or alternatively have an irregular pattern or present a target, such as a bullseye of concentric circles.

[0025]Although it should not be considered limiting, an embodiment including an inner layer with raised projections and interconnected free space between those projections may provide a more easily visually perceptible indication of the area of contact. Such an inner layer, when formed of silicone for example, easily conforms to the shape of the barrel of a bat. An adhesive or backing material can be applied to the silicone to facilitate temporary attachment to the bat. The outer layer may be peeled away from the inner layer to be replaced. The inner layer is washable, and the adhesives may be removed by washing. A fresh outer layer can be applied to the inner layer when desired.

[0026]Although advantages should not be considered to be limitations of the inventive concepts, at least some implementations are suited for use with baseball training aids because the area of contact and relative force of contact are indicated with evidence that is visible to the naked eye and reliably generated regardless of the part of the ball that contacts the bat, the plane of swing relative to travel of the ball, or the angle or offset of the point of contact relative to the leading edge of the bat during the swing. Further, because the apparatus is relatively thin and incompressible, it does not interfere with bat-ball contact or create undesirable, unnatural feedback to the hitter. However, the invention is not limited to use with baseball training aids or even sports training aids.

[0027]Several features, aspects, embodiments, and implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that a wide variety of modifications and combinations may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein. Accordingly, those modifications and combinations are within the scope of the following claims.