A composite material baseball bat production process

Abstract

The present invention relates to a production process for a composite ball bat, wherein the composite ball bat comprises a hollow bat body and a composite tubular handle, wherein the surface of the bat body at one end facing the composite tubular handle has a hollow positioning hole, and the composite tubular handle at one end facing the bat body has a convex portion embedded in the positioning hole, and the composite tubular handle at one end facing the bat body extends into the lower part of the bat body, and the surface of the composite tubular handle has an annular recess that fits into the lower end of the bat body. The present invention utilizes the locating hole of the bat body to engage with the convex portion of the composite tubular material, thereby improving the overall strength of the connection and ensuring that the handle and the metal bat body will not separate during the ball hitting process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a production process of a composite material ball bat. Background Art

[0002] During the molding process of existing baseball bats, some ends need to be molded using composite materials. Before molding, the composite materials need to be pre-placed into the metal batting body of the baseball bat. In addition, since the composite materials are in a flexible state during the remolding process, they need to be supported by air pressure in the mold. Therefore, it is necessary to pre-place an inflatable bag during the pre-connection of the composite part and the metal batting body so that they can be inflated during the mold thermoforming process to ensure the internal shape of the composite materials.

[0003] In the existing manual operation method, if there is no auxiliary tool, the composite material is easily deformed and the position of the composite material after being placed in the end of the metal striking rod cannot be accurate, resulting in the subsequent molding failing to meet the design requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the problem that the end cap made of composite material and the ball bat made of metal material cannot be conveniently pre-assembled during the molding process of the existing composite material ball bat.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: a process for producing a composite baseball bat, the composite baseball bat comprising a hollow bat body and a composite tubular handle, the bat body having a hollow positioning hole on one end thereof facing the composite tubular handle, the composite tubular handle having a protrusion on the end thereof facing the bat body that fits into the positioning hole, the composite tubular handle extending into the lower portion thereof on the end thereof facing the bat body, and the composite tubular handle having an annular recess on its surface that fits into the lower end of the bat body;

[0006] The specific production steps are as follows:

[0007] (1) Prefabricated sheet composite material and formed striking rod body;

[0008] (2) preparing a core rod with a composite material forming profile, initially wrapping a layer of composite material on the surface of the core rod corresponding to the section where the composite material needs to be formed, and winding the composite material on the surface of the rod-shaped core rod, with the inner surface of the first layer of composite material close to the first layer of composite material and fixedly connected at both ends by tape;

[0009] (3) A sheet of composite material is then attached to the upper surface of the first layer of composite material, with the bottom surface of the sheet of composite material being a sticky surface, and the mandrel is rotated by an angle each time the sheet of composite material is attached;

[0010] (4) Repeating the process several times until the thickness of the formed composite tube reaches a preset requirement to form a composite material blank for forming a composite tube handle, placing the composite material blank into an inflatable bag, and placing the end of the composite material blank into the formed striking rod body;

[0011] (5) The edge of the composite blank must exceed the positioning hole of the striking rod, and then the assembled workpiece to be formed is placed in the mold, and the inflatable bag is connected to the air pump;

[0012] (6) The mold is heated while inflating the air bag to ensure internal support of the composite blank. After the molding is completed, the air pump is released and the air bag is removed to form the composite bat.

[0013] Preferably, the composite tubular handle extends toward one end of the striking rod body to the upper end of the positioning hole, and the striking rod body is made of metal.

[0014] Preferably, the positioning holes are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and the positioning holes are in the shape of a water drop that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom.

[0015] Preferably, the composite material is attached to the core rod using a material attaching machine, and the material attaching machine includes a frame and a movable tray slidingly fitted on the frame, the frame is provided with a shift drive device for driving the movable tray to move back and forth, a cover plate frame driven by a lifting drive device is provided above the movable tray, a skin is fixed inside the cover plate frame, and a negative pressure joint located inside the skin is also fixed on the cover plate frame, the negative pressure joint is connected to the vacuum generator via a pipeline, and the core rod is fixed to the upper surface of the movable tray.

[0016] Preferably, a pair of mandrel seats are fixed on the upper surface of the movable tray, and the inner side of the mandrel seat has a placement groove for placing the mandrel, and both ends of the mandrel are confined in the mandrel seat.

[0017] Preferably, guide rails are fixed on both sides of the middle of the frame, and both sides of the movable tray slide in cooperation with the guide rails. The shift drive device is a movable cylinder fixed on the frame, and the telescopic end of the movable cylinder is parallel to the guide rails and fixedly connected to the lower part of the movable tray.

[0018] Preferably, a vertical bracket is fixedly connected to the frame, a crossbeam is fixed to the top of the vertical bracket, the lifting drive device is a lifting cylinder fixed on the crossbeam, and the telescopic end of the lifting cylinder is connected to the cover plate frame via a connecting rod.

[0019] Preferably, the peripheral side of the skin is clamped to the peripheral side of the cover plate frame by clamps.

[0020] Preferably, the core rod seat is hingedly connected to a rotatable end cover facing the side with a larger cross-section of the core rod, the inner side of the end cover has a slot for inserting the core rod, the outer side of the end cover has an inward-concave positioning groove, the core rod seat is located at the outer end of the end cover and is connected via a spring to a ball that can be pushed into the positioning groove and contact the outer side of the end cover, and the upper surface of the core rod seat has a concave mounting groove for embedding the spring and the ball.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] (1) The present invention utilizes the positioning hole of the bat body to engage with the convex portion of the composite pipe to improve the overall strength of the connection; ensuring that the handle and the metal bat body will not separate during the ball hitting process;

[0023] (2) The composite material handle is exposed from the positioning hole to form an elastic layer, so that when the bat is hit by a ball, the elastic layer protects the connection between the bat body and the handle from cracking;

[0024] (3) The invention utilizes a reciprocating movable tray to meet the needs of double-station manufacturing of composite material blanks. The core rod is used as a basic model to meet the needs of producing local composite material shapes of the bat when multiple layers of composite materials are attached, thereby improving production efficiency and quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the matching structure of the composite tubular handle and the striking rod body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of the connection between the composite tubular handle and the striking rod body in a disassembled state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure below the mobile tray of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of a core rod holder with an end cover according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] In the figure: 101-striking rod body, 102-positioning hole, 103-composite pipe handle, 104-convex part, 105-annular recess, 10-frame, 110-guide rail, 120-vertical bracket, 130-crossbeam, 140-lifting cylinder, 20-moving pallet, 210-slider, 220-moving cylinder, 230-protective coating, 30-cover plate frame, 310-skin, 320-negative pressure joint, 40-core rod, 410-core rod seat, 420-end cover, 421-slot hole, 422-positioning groove, 423-ball, 424-spring, 430-bolt, 50-bushing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0032] See also Figure 1-4 A composite baseball bat production process, the composite baseball bat includes a hollow bat body 101 and a composite tubular handle 103, the bat body 101 has a hollow positioning hole 102 on the surface of one end facing the composite tubular handle, and the composite tubular handle has a protrusion 104 embedded in the positioning hole on the outer peripheral surface of one end facing the bat body.

[0033] In this embodiment, the composite tubular handle extends toward one end of the striking rod body and into the lower portion of the striking rod body. The surface of the composite tubular handle has an annular recess 105 that fits into the lower end of the striking rod body.

[0034] In this embodiment, the composite tube handle 103 extends toward one end of the hitting stick body to the upper end of the positioning hole. The annular recess 105 and the positioning hole 102 are arranged so that the composite tube handle 103 and the hitting stick body 101 can be alternately engaged at the connection, thereby improving the overall strength of the connection; ensuring that the handle and the metal hitting stick body will not separate during the ball hitting process.

[0035] Generally, the annular recess 105 can be realized by reducing the thickness of the composite pipe handle end, and the outer surface of the protrusion 104 smoothly transitions to the outer surface of the striking rod body 101 .

[0036] Since the composite material handle is exposed from the positioning hole 102 to form an elastic layer, when the bat is hit by a ball, the elastic layer protects the connection between the bat body and the handle from cracking.

[0037] In this embodiment, the striking rod body is made of metal, the positioning holes 102 are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction to ensure uniform connection, and the composite pipe is made of glass fiber composite material.

[0038] The specific production steps are as follows:

[0039] (1) Prefabricated sheet composite material and formed striking rod body;

[0040] (2) preparing a core rod with a composite material forming profile, initially wrapping a layer of composite material on the surface of the core rod corresponding to the section where the composite material needs to be formed, and winding the composite material on the surface of the rod-shaped core rod, with the inner surface of the first layer of composite material close to the first layer of composite material and fixedly connected at both ends by tape;

[0041] (3) A sheet of composite material is then attached to the upper surface of the first layer of composite material, with the bottom surface of the sheet of composite material being a sticky surface, and the mandrel is rotated by an angle each time the sheet of composite material is attached;

[0042] (4) Repeating the process several times until the thickness of the formed composite tube reaches a preset requirement to form a composite material blank for forming a composite tube handle, placing the composite material blank into an inflatable bag, and placing the end of the composite material blank into the formed striking rod body;

[0043] (5) The edge of the composite blank must exceed the positioning hole of the striking rod, and then the assembled workpiece to be formed is placed in the mold, and the inflatable bag is connected to the air pump;

[0044] (6) The mold is heated while inflating the air bag to ensure internal support of the composite blank. After the molding is completed, the air pump is released and the air bag is removed to form the composite bat.

[0045] In order to better reduce stress concentration at the joint, the positioning hole is designed to be in the shape of a teardrop with a larger top and a smaller bottom, which is consistent with the change in the overall outer diameter profile of the bat.

[0046] The composite material is attached to the core rod using a material attaching machine. The material attaching machine includes a frame 10 and a movable tray 20 that slides on the frame. The frame is provided with a shift drive device that drives the movable tray to move back and forth. A cover plate frame 30 driven by a lifting drive device is provided above the movable tray. A skin 310 is fixed inside the cover plate frame. A negative pressure joint 320 located inside the skin is also fixed on the cover plate frame. The negative pressure joint 320 is connected to a vacuum generator via a pipeline. Core rods 40 serving as shape templates are fixed on both sides of the upper surface of the movable tray.

[0047] In this embodiment, a pair of mandrel seats 410 are fixed on the upper surface of the movable tray. The inner side of the mandrel seats has a placement groove 411 for placing the mandrels. Both ends of the mandrel 40 are confined in the mandrel seats 410.

[0048] In this embodiment, the vacuum generator may be a pen-shaped vacuum generator, which is directly connected to the negative pressure connector 320 and arranged on the peripheral side of the cover plate frame.

[0049] During operation, the mandrel 40 is placed in the placement groove 411 of the mandrel seat 410. The outer contour of the shape of the mandrel 40 is consistent with the contour of the composite material to be formed. Initially, a layer of composite material is wrapped on the surface of the mandrel corresponding to the section where the composite material needs to be formed. The composite material is wound on the surface of the rod-shaped mandrel 40. The inner surface of the first layer of composite material is close to the ends of the first layer of composite material and is fixedly connected by tape. Then, a sheet of composite material is pasted on the upper surface of the first layer of composite material. The bottom surface of the sheet of composite material is a sticky surface. The width of the sheet of composite material can only cover a part of the mandrel and the sheet of composite material only needs to be aligned at both ends along the axial direction of the mandrel and pasted on the surface of the first layer of composite material to be wrapped on the surface of the mandrel without manual operation.

[0050] Afterwards, the movable tray 20 is driven by the shift drive device to move to the bottom of the cover plate frame 30, and the cover plate frame 30 is driven by the lifting drive device to move downward, and the skin 310 covers the surface of the sheet composite material. The vacuum generator works, and the negative pressure joint draws vacuum to the space between the skin and the movable tray 20. By utilizing the flexible characteristics of the skin 310, the sheet composite material is wrapped around the outer surface of the first layer of composite material according to the contour of the core rod 40. Then the negative pressure is released, and the cover plate frame 30 and the movable tray 20 are reset in turn under the drive of the shift drive device and the lifting drive device respectively, thus completing one attachment operation.

[0051] Each time an operation is completed, the mandrel is rotated at an angle to continue attaching the sheet-like composite material, and the above-mentioned movement of the tray and the cover frame is repeated until the predetermined uniform thickness requirement is reached. The completed composite material body is then pulled out of the mandrel to complete the funnel-shaped or cylindrical composite material form. After that, it is combined with other metal components of the bat and thermoformed to form the bat.

[0052] In this embodiment, there are two core rods on both sides of the upper surface of the movable tray 20, that is, two working areas of two composite materials are provided on each of the two operating stations, which can simultaneously meet the needs of two operators to alternately perform the attachment work of two composite materials.

[0053] In one embodiment of the present invention, guide rails 110 are fixed on both sides of the middle part of the frame, and a slider 210 cooperating with the guide rails is fixed at the bottom of the mobile pallet 20. The shift drive device is a mobile cylinder 220 fixed on the frame, and the telescopic end of the mobile cylinder is parallel to the guide rails and fixedly connected to the lower part of the mobile pallet 20.

[0054] In one embodiment of the present invention, a vertical bracket 120 is fixedly connected to the frame 10, a crossbeam 130 is fixed to the top of the vertical bracket, and the lifting drive device is a lifting cylinder 140 fixed on the crossbeam, and the telescopic end of the lifting cylinder is connected to the cover plate frame 30 via a connecting rod.

[0055] In this embodiment, the peripheral side of the skin is clamped to the peripheral side of the cover plate frame by clamps, and the skin material is leather or plastic.

[0056] In one embodiment of the present invention, to facilitate the operator's positioning of the mandrel 40 at each rotation angle, the mandrel seat 410 is hingedly connected to a rotatable end cap 420 facing the side with the larger cross-section of the mandrel. The inner side of the end cap 420 has a slot 421 for inserting the mandrel, and the outer side of the end cap has a concave positioning groove 422. The mandrel seat 410 is located at the outer end of the end cap and is connected to a ball 424 via a spring 423. The ball 424 is configured to push into the positioning groove and contact the outer side of the end cap. The upper surface of the mandrel seat has a concave mounting groove 425 for embedding the spring and ball.

[0057] When the end cap 420 is rotated, the core rod 40 can be driven to rotate synchronously with the inner wall of the end cap 420. A plurality of positioning grooves 422 are provided, and the plurality of positioning grooves 422 are located in a circular ring with the same radius. The ball 423 is continuously in contact with the surface of the end cap 420 under the action of the spring 424. When encountering the positioning groove 422, the ball 423 is pushed into the positioning groove 422 under the action of the spring 424, which can make a sound and generate resistance to the rotation of the end cap. During operation, the operator drives the core rod to rotate by rotating the end cap 420. When the ball 423 contacts the positioning groove 422, the operator can feel the resistance to ensure the accuracy of the rotation angle. When continuing to rotate, it is only necessary to increase the force to overcome the elastic force of the spring 424 to continue rotating until the ball 423 contacts the next positioning groove 422.

[0058] The use of the solution of this embodiment can improve the angle positioning of the operator and make the composite material more uniform.

[0059] The end cover 420 can be hingedly connected to the core rod seat 410 by bolts or bearings.

[0060] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention's description and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A composite material ball bat production process, characterized in that: The composite baseball bat includes a hollow bat body and a composite tubular handle. The bat body has a hollow positioning hole on one end thereof facing the composite tubular handle. The composite tubular handle has a protrusion on the end thereof facing the bat body that fits into the positioning hole. The composite tubular handle extends into the lower portion of the bat body on the end thereof facing the bat body. The composite tubular handle has an annular recess on its surface that fits into the lower end of the bat body. The specific production steps are as follows: (1) Prefabricated sheet composite material and formed striking rod body; (2) Prepare a core rod with a composite material forming profile, initially wrap a layer of composite material on the core rod surface corresponding to the section where the composite material needs to be formed, and the composite material is wound on the rod-shaped core rod surface. The inner surface of the first layer of composite material is close to the first layer of composite material, and the ends of the composite material are fixedly connected by tape; (3) Then, a sheet of composite material is attached to the upper surface of the first layer of composite material. The bottom surface of the sheet of composite material is a sticky surface. Each time the sheet of composite material is attached, the mandrel is rotated by one angle. (4) Repeat the process several times until the thickness of the composite tube reaches the preset requirement to form a composite material blank for forming a composite tube handle, place the composite material blank into an inflatable bag, and place the end of the composite material blank into the formed striking rod body; (5) The edge of the composite blank must exceed the positioning hole of the striking rod, and then the assembled workpiece to be formed is placed in the mold, and the inflatable bag is connected to the air pump; (6) The mold is heated while inflating the air bag to ensure internal support of the composite blank. After the molding is completed, the air pump is released and the air bag is removed to form a composite bat. The composite material is attached to the core rod by using a material attaching machine, which includes a frame and a movable tray slidably fitted on the frame, the frame having a shift drive device for driving the movable tray to move back and forth, a cover plate frame driven by a lifting drive device is provided above the movable tray, a skin is fixed inside the cover plate frame, and a negative pressure joint located inside the skin is also fixed on the cover plate frame, the negative pressure joint is connected to a vacuum generator via a pipeline, and the core rod is fixed to the upper surface of the movable tray; A pair of mandrel seats are fixed on the upper surface of the movable tray, and the inner side of the mandrel seat has a placement groove for placing the mandrel, and the two ends of the mandrel are limited to the mandrel seat; The core rod seat is hingedly connected to a rotatable end cover toward the side with a larger cross-section of the core rod, and the inner side of the end cover has a slot for inserting the core rod, and the outer side of the end cover has an inward-concave positioning groove. The core rod seat is located at the outer end of the end cover and is connected via a spring to a ball that can be pushed into the positioning groove and contact the outer side of the end cover. The upper surface of the core rod seat is concave with a mounting groove for embedding the spring and the ball.

2. A composite ball bat production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: The composite pipe handle extends toward one end of the striking rod body to the upper end of the positioning hole, and is characterized in that the striking rod body is made of metal.

3. The composite ball bat production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positioning holes are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and the positioning holes are in the shape of a water drop that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom.

4. The composite ball bat production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: Guide rails are fixed on both sides of the middle part of the frame, and both sides of the movable tray slide in cooperation with the guide rails. The shift drive device is a movable cylinder fixed on the frame, and the telescopic end of the movable cylinder is parallel to the guide rails and fixedly connected to the lower part of the movable tray.

5. The composite ball bat production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: A vertical bracket is fixedly connected to the frame, a crossbeam is fixed to the top of the vertical bracket, the lifting drive device is a lifting cylinder fixed on the crossbeam, and the telescopic end of the lifting cylinder is connected to the cover plate frame via a connecting rod.

6. The composite ball bat production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: The peripheral side of the skin is clamped to the peripheral side of the cover plate frame by clamps.

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