Batting pad for protecting a batter's hand
First Claim
1. A batting pad device for aiding a batter in properly gripping and controlling a bat and for protecting a web area between a thumb and an index finger of a batter'"'"'s hand, including a proximal joint of the thumb and a proximal joint of the index finger, from injury, the device comprising:
- a body made from a cushioning material and having a ring portion adapted to fit over the thumb and an appendage to cushion the web area;
wherein the appendage has a thickness sufficient to move a first and a second contact point between the bat and the hand such that the first contact point is adjacent to or distal to a proximal interphalangeal joint of the index finger and the second contact point is adjacent to or distal to an interphalangeal joint of the thumb; and
further wherein the appendage has an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface contacting the web area of the batter'"'"'s hand when in use, and the lower surface contacting the bat when the batter grips the bat, wherein the upper surface has a radius of curvature of approximately 0.7 to 0.85 inches.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A batting pad comprising a body made from a cushioning material and having a ring portion adapted to fit over a batter'"'"'s thumb and an appendage to cushion the palm area between a batter'"'"'s thumb and index finger. The appendage has a thickness T at its thickest point located between the first end and the distant end, and the thickness T of the appendage is selected to optimize an angle of a bat in the batter'"'"'s hand relative to a line parallel to the batter'"'"'s forearm, the angle being determined by the thickness T of the appendage displacing the bat toward the tip of the batter'"'"'s index finger and causing the bat to contact the palm of the batter'"'"'s hand near the batter'"'"'s little finger.
37 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A batting pad device for aiding a batter in properly gripping and controlling a bat and for protecting a web area between a thumb and an index finger of a batter'"'"'s hand, including a proximal joint of the thumb and a proximal joint of the index finger, from injury, the device comprising:
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a body made from a cushioning material and having a ring portion adapted to fit over the thumb and an appendage to cushion the web area;
wherein the appendage has a thickness sufficient to move a first and a second contact point between the bat and the hand such that the first contact point is adjacent to or distal to a proximal interphalangeal joint of the index finger and the second contact point is adjacent to or distal to an interphalangeal joint of the thumb; and
further wherein the appendage has an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface contacting the web area of the batter'"'"'s hand when in use, and the lower surface contacting the bat when the batter grips the bat, wherein the upper surface has a radius of curvature of approximately 0.7 to 0.85 inches. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A batting pad device for aiding a batter in properly gripping and controlling a bat and for protecting a web area between a thumb and an index finger of a batter'"'"'s hand, including a proximal joint of the thumb and a proximal joint of the index finger, from injury, the device comprising:
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a body made from a cushioning material and having a ring portion adapted to fit over the thumb and an appendage to cushion the web area;
wherein the appendage has a thickness sufficient to move a first and a second contact point between the bat and the hand such that the first contact point is adjacent to or distal to a proximal interphalangeal joint of the index finger and the second contact point is adjacent to or distal to an interphalangeal joint of the thumb. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A batting pad device for aiding a batter in properly gripping and controlling a bat and for protecting a web area between a thumb and an index finger of a batter'"'"'s hand, including a proximal joint of the thumb and a proximal joint of the index finger, from injury, the device comprising:
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a body made from a cushioning material and having a ring portion adapted to fit over the thumb and an appendage to cushion the web area;
wherein the appendage has an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface adapted to contact the web area, and the lower surface adapted to contact the bat, wherein the upper surface has a radius of curvature of approximately 0.7 to 0.85 inches, such that when the batter grips the bat the upper surface generally conforms to the web area of the hand. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of aiding a batter in properly gripping and controlling a bat and for protecting a web area between a thumb and an index finger of a batter'"'"'s hand from injury, the method comprising:
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providing a batting pad made from a cushioning material and having a ring portion adapted to fit over the thumb and an appendage to cushion the web area, wherein the appendage has a thickness sufficient to move a first and a second contact point between the bat and the hand such that the first contact point is adjacent to or distal to a proximal interphalangeal joint of the index finger and the second contact point is adjacent to or distal to an interphalangeal joint of the thumb;
placing the ring portion over the thumb, such that the appendage is disposed over the web area; and
gripping the bat in the hand such that the bat rests in the web area and is held between the index finger, the thumb and the appendage, such that the first contact point is adjacent to or distal to the proximal interphalangeal joint and the second contact point is adjacent to or distal to the interphalangeal joint of the thumb. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification