Field

The present invention relates to an angled handle for a bat for striking an object. In particular, the present invention relates to a handle for a cricket bat for use in the game of cricket.

Background Art

Bats of various shapes and sizes are used in many sporting activities to strike an object such as a ball. In the game of cricket for example, a cricket bat is used to strike a cricket ball on a cricket field. A typical cricket bat includes a handle and a blade. The blade is typically made of wood.

Cricket bats originally were of a "hockey stick" type shape. Recently, cricket bats have included scoops, removing material from the back of the bat and double sided bats which has a blade on the front and back of the bat. As a variation, the blade can be angled forward or backward relative to the grip instead of being in a straight alignment with the grip.

A typical cricket bat handle comprises a gripping portion in a cylindrical shaft and a wedge-shaped splice which is inserted into the blade. The components of this handle are typically made using Singapore cane. Handles used in various sports equipment, in particular cricket, have tended to be on a straight plane and supplementing the main component of the equipment.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle for an angled bat.

Summary of Invention

There is disclosed herein a handle for a bat having a blade with a cleft, the handle comprising:

an elongate gripping portion adapted to be gripped by a user, the gripping portion defining a first longitudinal axis and having a first end and a second end;

an elongate splice located at and extending away from the second end of the gripping portion, the splice having an end remote said the second end of the gripping portion, the splice defining a second longitudinal axis, wherein the splice is adapted, in use, to be joined to the cleft of the blade; and

an angling means for angularly displacing the second longitudinal axis relative to the first longitudinal axis,

wherein the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis are angled by the angling means by not more than 45 degrees.

Preferably, the angling means includes a bend in the handle between the gripping portion and the splice.

Preferably, the angling means includes an adjustable hinge disposed between the gripping portion and the splice, the hinge being operable to adjust the angle displacement between the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis.

Preferably, the blade has an elongate front face defining a third longitudinal axis, and the splice is adapted to be joined to the cleft such that the second longitudinal axis substantially coincides with, or is substantially parallel to, the third longitudinal axis.

Preferably, the blade includes a substantially flat front face, the splice being substantially wedge-shaped narrowing in thickness along the second longitudinal axis towards the end and adapted to be wedged into the cleft of the blade substantially perpendicular to said flat face of said blade.

There is further disclosed herein a bat comprising:

a handle; and

a blade,

wherein: the handle has:

an elongate gripping portion adapted to be gripped, the gripping portion defining a first longitudinal axis and having a first end and a second end;

an elongate splice located at the second end of the gripping portion and having an end remote said second end of the gripping portion, the splice defining a second longitudinal axis; and

an angling means for angularly displacing the second longitudinal axis relative to the first longitudinal axis,

the blade has: an elongate front face located in a forward direction of striking a ball in use; and a cleft for joining with the second end of the splice and handle, the blade having an elongate front face defining a third longitudinal axis,

wherein the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis are angled by the angling means by not more than 45 degrees and the second longitudinal axis substantially coincides with, or is substantially parallel to, the third longitudinal axis.

Preferably, the angling means of the handle includes a bend in the handle between the gripping portion and the splice.

Preferably, the angling means of the handle includes an adjustable hinge disposed between the gripping portion and the splice, the hinge being operable to adjust the angle displacement between the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis.

Brief Description of Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figs. l(a)-(c) are front, rear and side views of a bat;

Figs. 2(a)-(b) are front and side, exploded views of a bat according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figs. 3(a)-(e) are perspective, side, front, back and top views of a handle for a bat according to the first embodiment of the present invention; and Figs. 4(a)-(c) are front, side and back views of a bat according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Description of Embodiments

Figure 1 shows a front view (Fig. 1 A), a rear view (Fig. IB) and a side view (Fig.lC) of a cricket bat 100. The bat 100 has an elongate handle 10 and a blade 12 with a shoulder 5 and a toe at a free end 20 of the blade. The handle 10 is to be gripped by a batsman when in use, and defines a longitudinal axis 18 in relation to which the location of the blade 12 will be discussed below. The handle 10 can include gripping means 8 such as rubber or the like.

The blade 12 is substantially rectangular. The blade 12 is attached to and extends away from the handle 10. The blade 12 also has a free end 20 that is remote from the handle 10. The blade 12 has an elongate front face 14 and a back face 16. The direction "front" refers to a direction in which the bat 100 is generally swung to strike a ball which is away from the batsman or direction A. The back face 16 is on the side of the blade 12 that is to be located closer to the batsman than the front face 14 when in use.

The front face 14 has an attacking zone which extends from the free end 20 of the blade 12 towards the handlelO. In the bat 100 shown in Fig.l, the whole of the front face 14 forms the attacking zone. However, it should be understood that the attacking zone can vary in size. The attacking zone of the front face 14 defines a plane having a longitudinal axis 19. In this embodiment, the blade 12 is angularly displaced in a forward direction A.

Figures 2(a) and (b) show exploded views of the bat shown in Figure 1 in front and side views. Figures 3(a) to (e) are detailed views of the handle 10.

The bat 100 includes the handle 10 and the blade 12 which are joined together to form the bat 100. The blade 12 has a cleft 13, an approximately v-shaped indentation, at the end proximate to the handle 10.

The handle 10 has an elongate gripping portion 30, an elongate splice 32 and an angling means. The gripping portion 30 is designed to be gripped by a batsman using the bat 100. The elongate gripping portion 30 has a longitudinal axis 36. The gripping portion 30 has a top end 30a and a bottom end 30b. The splice 32 is located at the bottom end of the gripping portion 30 and extends away from the bottom end 30b of the gripping portion 30. The splice 32 is wedge-shaped to correspond with the cleft 13 of the blade 12, and narrows down along the longitudinal axis 38 of the splice 32 towards the end 32a remote from the bottom end of the gripping portion 30. The splice 32 is wedged into the cleft 13 of the blade 12 when assembling the bat 100. As shown in Figs. 2(a) and (b), the wedge-shape of the splice 32 is disposed to be substantially perpendicular to the plane 19, or the flat face of the blade 12 when the splice 32 is wedged into the cleft 13.

The splice 32 further has a longitudinal axis 38.

The handle 10 further has an angling means, which in this embodiment includes a bend 34 in the handle 10 between the gripping portion 30 and the splice 32. The handle 10 is bent at the bend 34 such that the longitudinal axis 38 of the splice 32 is angularly displaced forward from the longitudinal axis 36 of the gripping portion 30 by an angle shown as Θ in Fig. 3(b). The splice 32 is joined to the cleft 13 of the blade 12 such that the longitudinal axis 38 of the splice 32 and the axis 19 of the plane of the blade 12 are substantially parallel or coincidental. The plane 19 of the blade 12 will thus be angled by approximately Θ relative to the axis 36 of the handle 10.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the splice 32 is shown to be angularly displaced forward relative to the longitudinal axis 36 of the gripping portion 30 for a forward-angling bat. However, the splice 32 can alternatively be angularly displaced backward relative to the longitudinal axis 38 of the gripping portion 30 for a backward-angling bat.

In a preferred embodiment, the angular displacement Θ is less than 45 degrees, forward or backward.

Advantages of the angled handle include:

1) Introducing an angle into the cricket bat allows for an increase in the distance a ball can travel once impact with an angled cricket bat. This benefit will provide users of this bat a benefit in scoring runs. 2) The uniquely designed handle will allow for a stronger physical connection between the handle and the blade. This will reduce the stress point on the joint and allow for extended use in the cricket bats.

3) The angles handle also allows for a better weight distribution for the cricket bat, which allows for a beneficial "pick up" for the batsman, allowing for better use of a cricket bat and reducing the physical strain.

4) Having the angle in the handle allows for a greater angle to be introduced into the design of the bats. This allows for a greater advantage, maximum of 45 degrees to be obtained. The reason for the maximum angle is determined by basic projectile motion principles which dictate that a 45 degree angle of projections, which is determined by the angle of the ball impacting the bat to obtain the greatest range.

Still more preferably, for more desirable performance of the bat, the angular displacement 0 is selected to implement an angle a of more than 2 degrees and equal to or less than 20 degrees between the longitudinal axis 19 of the plane and the axis 18 is.

Compared to a traditional, straight bat or a backward-angled bat, the forward angle displacement of the blade 12 enables the batsman to give more loft to the ball at impact, so that the ball will carry further after the impact. Additional range can be gained with the above described bat 100 especially when a ball is hit with an upward, or obliquely upward, sweeping motion of the bat 100. This will create more runs which is desirable in cricket.

As is well known, the angle of elevation that allows a projectile the greatest distance to travel before landing is 45 degrees. If it is assumed that, at the time when the bat 100 strikes a horizontally traveling, non-spinning ball, the bat 100 is positioned such that the handle 10 of the bat 100 is perpendicular to the ground, a front face 14 angled at 45 degrees to the axis 18 of the handle 10 can provide the optimal loft to the ball. However, a smaller angle of 2 degrees and equal to or less than 20 degrees can reduce the stresses produced at the joint of the handle 10 and the blade 12, or the angling means 34 between the gripping portion 30 and splice 32 of the handle 10. Further, smaller angle a may be more preferable from the view point of maneuverability in various striking scenes. More specifically, a range of greater than 2 degrees and equal to or less than 8 degrees for the angle a between the axis 18 and the axis 19 of the plane is preferred.

Figures 4(a)-(c) show the bat 100 and its handle 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the angling means includes an adjustable hinge 44 disposed between the gripping portion 30 and the splice 32. The hinge 44 can be operated by the user to adjust the angle displacement of the longitudinal axis 38 of the splice 32 relative to the longitudinal axis 36 of the gripping portion 30. Figure 4(b) shows an example where the displacement angle can be selected from three pre-defined angles (α, α+β, α+β+γ) using a dial 46 at the hinge 44. The hinge 44 can also be configured to allow the user to select any desired angle between the minimum and maximum angles.

An adjustable hinge at the handle enables the user to select a desired blade angle by adjusting the angle of the hinge 44 between the gripping portion 30 and the splice 32 depending on the desired performance. The benefit of the adjustable handle is that the batsman can determine what type of projection they would want to execute during match conditions. This will increase the marketability of the product as it can be used for multiple purposes.

A handle for a bat described herein can be used for a bat with a traditional straight blade as well as other types of blades, such as a blade with a concave front face, a blade with variable thickness and/or weight distribution.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.