Practice, exercise, and strengthening device for batting and similar swinging motions

Abstract

A device is disclosed for batting practice, by baseball players in batting practice; it can also be adapted for use by golfers, tennis players, etc., for practice and exercise in swinging other types of clubs, racquets, etc. It comprises a horizontal base, a vertical neck assembly that allows height adjustment, and a “head” component that encloses a set of “flaps” made of a stiff-but-yielding material, such as rubberized materials commonly used to make conveyor belts. Roughly a dozen to twenty rectangular segments of resistive material are mounted within the head in a generally vertical direction, from the top and bottom surfaces in the head, spaced apart from each other a suitable distance. As the end of a bat is swung through the head assembly, it encounters substantial resistance from the flaps, which generate a level of resistive force that provides good exercise.

1 . A device for improving strength and skill in swinging motions, comprising: 
 a. a plurality of flexible components, each flexible component having at least one fixed portion and at least one movable portion, said flexible components made of material that will yield but that will resist displacement when a solid movable object is swung, by a person using the device, in a manner that contacts and displaces said flexible components;    b. a frame assembly that supports said flexible components in a manner that holds said fixed portions of said flexible components in a secure and non-moving manner while allowing displacement of said movable portions of said flexible components; and,    c. means for positioning said frame assembly and said flexible components at a height and orientation that enables a person to swing a solid movable object through a swing pathway that causes displacement of said flexible components,    wherein the device has sufficient mass, weight, strength, and stiffness to minimize motion and travel of said frame assembly when a person using the device swings a solid movable object in a manner that contacts and displaces said movable portions of said flexible components.    
   
   
       2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said flexible components comprise flexible flaps.  
   
   
       3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein said flexible flaps are made of rubberized material.  
   
   
       4 . The device of  claim 4 , wherein the rubberized material is of a type normally used to make conveyor belts.  
   
   
       5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said frame assembly establishes an upper row of flaps and a lower row of flaps, and wherein said upper row extends downward from said frame assembly and said lower row extends upward from said frame assembly in a manner that causes portions of the flexible components in said upper row to closely approach portions of the flexible components in said lower row, thereby creating a pathway, between said upper row and said lower row, that will generate a desirable level of resistance when a person using the device swings a solid movable object through said pathway.  
   
   
       6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein said frame assembly allows (i) worn flexible components to be removed from the frame assembly, and (ii) unworn flexible components to be installed in the frame assembly.  
   
   
       7 . The device of  claim 1 , sized and designed for use by a person holding a baseball bat.  
   
   
       8 . The device of  claim 1 , sized and designed for use by a person practicing a tennis swing using a swingable device comprising (i) a handle portion with a size and shape used in a tennis racquet, and (ii) a striking component with a size and shape designed to pass through the device of  claim 1  with a desirable level of resistance.  
   
   
       9 . The device of  claim 1 , sized and designed for a person practicing a golf swing using a device comprising (i) handle and shaft components as used in a golf club, and (ii) a striking component having a size and shape that are designed to pass through the device with a desirable level of resistance.  
   
   
       10 . The device of  claim 9 , wherein said frame assembly is designed to be affixed directly to a ground surface.