Claims for Patent: 8,187,124

Summary for Patent: 8,187,124

Title:	Batting swing trainer and method
Abstract:	A baseball batting swing trainer teaches proper bat swinging and ball hitting technique. The swing trainer includes a first handle attached to the first end of a shaft. The second end of the shaft includes a head having a diameter greater than the shaft diameter and less than the diameter of the head of a conventional baseball bat. A cylindrical second handle slidable between the first and second shaft ends. The second handle is sized to accommodate all five fingers on one of the user\'s hands in a batting grip. A process for teaching a person the proper technique for swinging a baseball bat using the swing trainer is also provided. When performed properly, the process produces an audible sound by striking the second handle against the stop while the head of the bat is passing through the user\'s strike zone and directly over the user\'s forward foot.
Inventor(s):	Ciesar; John G. (Justice, IL), Kendall; James W. (Mt. Prospect, IL), Massing; Scott (Chicago, IL)
Assignee:	Baseball Marketing Ideas, L.L.C. (Justice, IL)
Application Number:	10/407,284
Patent Claims:	1. A process for teaching a person the proper technique for swinging a baseball bat to improve the person's ability to contact a ball moving through a strikezone, the process comprising: using a batting swing trainer including a shaft having a first end and a second end and a constant diameter between the first and second ends, the first end including a first handle sized to accommodate both of the person's hands, the second end including a head for contacting a ball and being connected to the shaft such that the head is not movable relative to the shaft, the head being concentric with the shaft and having a diameter greater than the shaft and less than the head of a comparable baseball bat, a stop positioned on the shaft adjacent to the first handle, and a second handle movable between a first position and a second position and sized to accommodate all fingers on one of the person's hands in a batting grip; positioning the batting swing trainer in a first swing position, in which the first handle is gripped by one hand, the second handle is gripped by all fingers of the other hand, both elbows are bent and the second handle is positioned substantially over a rear shoulder of the person; and swinging the trainer from the first swing position to a second swing position, wherein in the second swing position the batting swing trainer is positioned above the person's knees and equal to or lower in elevation than the person's shoulders, while simultaneously moving the second handle from the first position where it is adjacent to the second end to the second position where the second handle is adjacent the stop. 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the person grips the first handle adjacent to the stop. 3. The process of claim 1, wherein the person swings the second end outwardly and away from the person's body. 4. The process of claim 1, wherein the person also performs the further steps of placing the second handle adjacent the stop, gripping the first handle with both hands similar to holding a conventional baseball bat, and swinging the bat in the same manner as a conventional bat, causing the second handle to move along the shaft until it strikes the second end and produces an audible sound, whereby the person can determine the force of the swing. 5. The process of claim 4, wherein during the swinging the trainer strikes a hard ball and causes it to fly about ten yards or more. 6. The process of claim 5, wherein the second end includes a sweet spot that is conspicuously marked and a photographic record is made of the trainer striking the hard ball and the user inspects the photographic record to determine where the hard ball touched the trainer with respect to the sweet spot. 7. The process of claim 1 in which the second handle in the second position is sufficiently spaced from the first handle to prevent the person's hands from overlapping. 8. The process of claim 1 further comprising producing an audible sound by striking the second handle against the stop. 9. The process of claim 8, wherein the second end includes a sweet spot and the audible sound is produced as the swing trainer passes over the person's forward foot with the sweet spot equal to or higher in elevation than the person's knees and equal to or lower in elevation than the person's shoulders. 10. The process of claim 8, wherein the person also performs the further steps of placing the second handle adjacent the stop, gripping the first handle with both hands similar to holding a conventional baseball bat, and swinging the bat in the same manner as a conventional bat, causing the second handle to move along the shaft until it strikes the second end and produces an audible sound, whereby the person can determine the force of the swing. 11. The process of claim 10 in which the audible sound of the second handle striking the stop is produced at substantially the same point of the swing as the sound of the second handle striking the second end. 12. A process for teaching a person the proper technique for swinging a baseball bat to improve the person's ability of contacting a ball moving through a strikezone, the process comprising: using a batting swing trainer including a shaft having a first end and a second end, the first end including a first handle sized to accommodate both of the person's hands, the second end including a head for contacting a ball and having a diameter greater the shaft, a stop positioned on the shaft adjacent to the first handle, and a second handle positioned on the shaft between the first handle and the head and movable between a first position and a second position, the second handle being sized to accommodate all fingers of one of the person's hands in a batting grip; gripping the trainer in a first configuration, in which the first handle is gripped by one hand, the second handle is gripped by all fingers of the other hand, both elbows are bent, and the second handle is positioned substantially over the person's rear shoulder; swinging the trainer after gripping the trainer in the first configuration while simultaneously moving the second handle from the first position, in which the second handle is adjacent to the head, to the second position, in which the second handle is adjacent the stop; gripping the trainer in a second configuration, in which the first handle is gripped by both hands, both elbows are bent, and the second handle is adjacent the stop; and swinging the trainer after gripping the trainer in the second configuration in a manner similar to a conventional baseball swing, thereby causing the second handle to move along the shaft toward and into contact with the head. 13. The process of claim 12, further comprising: producing an audible sound by striking the second handle against the stop; and producing an audible sound by striking the second handle against the head. 14. The process of claim 13, wherein the audible sound of the second handle striking the stop and the audible sound of the second handle striking the head are produced at similar points during swinging of the trainer.

Details for Patent 8,187,124

Applicant	Tradename	Biologic Ingredient	Dosage Form	BLA	Approval Date	Patent No.	Expiredate
Emergent Biosolutions Canada Inc.	BAT	botulism antitoxin heptavalent (a, b, c, d, e, f, g) - (equine)	Solution	125462	03/22/2013		2020-11-07