A hybrid fiber composite baseball bat

Abstract

This invention discloses a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat, comprising a grip portion for holding the bat, a striking portion for hitting the ball, and a connecting portion connecting the grip portion and the striking portion. The grip portion, connecting portion, and striking portion are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an inner stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. These two layers are combined through a laminated structure, with the surface strength layer completely encasing the inner stiffness layer. Furthermore, the striking portion incorporates a foam core within the inner stiffness layer to reduce weight and vibration, and a high-toughness fiber outer layer covers the surface strength layer, enhancing the bat's toughness and strength.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a multi-layer composite baseball bat with different fiber arrangements, and more particularly to a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, when a traditional baseball bat is struck, the reaction force from the ball acts on the tip of the bat, generating a strong vibration that is transmitted along the striking point to the grip area at the butt end of the bat. This causes a strong vibration in the palm of the hand, which can easily lead to fatigue and soreness.

[0003] Composite material baseball bats combine the advantages of traditional wooden and aluminum bats, offering superior elasticity and resistance to breakage. Carbon fiber, a high-strength, high-modulus specialty fiber, possesses excellent mechanical properties such as high strength and high modulus, and also boasts advantages like light weight, stable chemical composition, and good high-temperature resistance. Therefore, it has been applied in current baseball manufacturing. For example, patent CN 201920001701.5 discloses a composite carbon fiber baseball bat with high elasticity and shock absorption; patent CN201510423819.3 discloses a composite shock-absorbing baseball bat and its manufacturing process; and patent WO2000035540A1 discloses a composite baseball bat with a core in which continuous fibers are wound at different angles and impregnated with resin such as epoxy resin. However, some of the composite carbon fiber baseball bats disclosed in these patents are still relatively heavy, some have poor resistance to damage, and some have poor impact resistance. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problems existing in current baseball bat technology, this invention proposes a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat. The composite material structure of this invention can improve the strength and deformation resistance of the bat, while also possessing advantages such as lightweight and stable durability.

[0005] The technical solution adopted in this invention is as follows:

[0006] A hybrid fiber composite baseball bat includes a grip, a hitting part, and a connecting part that connects the grip and the hitting part.

[0007] The gripping part, connecting part, and striking part are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. The internal stiffness layer and the surface strength layer are combined by stacking, and the surface strength layer completely encloses the internal stiffness layer. The internal stiffness layer corresponding to the striking part is hollow, and a foam core is placed in the hollow part. The surface strength layer of the striking part is covered with a layer of high-toughness fiber as its surface layer.

[0008] As a further technical solution, the foam core is made of any one of polystyrene foam, phenolic foam, polypropylene foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, or PET foam.

[0009] As a further technical solution, the internal stiffness layer is made of a high-modulus carbon fiber two-dimensional woven structure combined with a thermosetting resin matrix and molded.

[0010] As a further technical solution, the two-dimensional planar weaving structure can be any one of plain weave, twill weave, or satin weave structures.

[0011] As a further technical solution, the high-modulus carbon fiber can be any one of M40, M55, M60, M40J, M55J, and M60J.

[0012] As a further technical solution, the thermosetting resin may be any one of epoxy resin, phenolic resin, unsaturated polyester resin, urea-formaldehyde resin, etc.

[0013] As a further technical solution, the surface strength layer is made by combining a high-strength carbon fiber multidimensional woven structure with a thermoplastic resin matrix and then molding it.

[0014] As a further technical solution, the high-strength carbon fiber can be any one of T300, T700, T800, and T1000.

[0015] As a further technical solution, the multi-dimensional braided structure can be selected from three-dimensional four-way, three-dimensional five-way, three-dimensional six-way, three-dimensional seven-way or more combined braided structures;

[0016] The thermoplastic resin may be selected from any one of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyphenylene sulfide, ABS resin, polyamide, polyetheretherketone, etc.

[0017] As a further technical solution, the surface high-toughness fiber layer is composited with multiple layers and thermoplastic resin, and then molded.

[0018] As a further technical solution, the high-toughness fiber can be any one or more of glass fiber, aramid fiber, PBO fiber, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, nylon fiber, etc.; the multilayer layup angle can be 0° / 90° alternating layup, 0° / ±45° / 90° alternating layup, or 0° / ±30 / ±45° / 90° alternating layup.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following superior effects:

[0020] 1. The grip and connection parts of the baseball bat adopt an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer, while the hitting part adopts a multi-layer structure design combination of foam core, internal stiffness layer, surface strength layer and high toughness fiber surface layer. This effectively improves the overall strength, impact resistance and shock resistance of the baseball bat body, while reducing the weight of the bat body, achieving a significant effect of lightweight and high strength.

[0021] 2. Resin-based foam cores, especially thermoplastic resin-based foam cores, are used. They have stable chemical properties, good impact resistance, and excellent shock absorption performance. They can achieve excellent matching with the outer composite materials, improving the overall structural rigidity while reducing weight.

[0022] 3. The outer surface strength layer uses high-toughness hybrid fibers with multiple layup angles for flexible design, which greatly improves the toughness of the baseball bat body, overcomes the shortcomings of traditional bats that are easy to break and fracture, and improves the bat body's resistance to damage; at the same time, it improves the impact resistance when hitting, and gives the baseball bat a micro-elastic deformation, which can increase the ball speed. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat according to the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the batting section of a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat according to the present invention.

[0025] In the diagram: 1. Foam core, 2. Internal stiffness layer, 3. Surface strength layer, 4. Surface high-toughness fiber layer. Specific Implementation

[0026] It should be noted that the following detailed description is illustrative and intended to provide further explanation of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used in this invention have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0027] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of exemplary embodiments according to the invention. As used herein, unless otherwise expressly indicated by the invention, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] To leverage the advantages of composite properties of multiple fibers and effectively utilize their rigidity, toughness, and impact resistance, this embodiment optimizes and innovates ordinary carbon fiber composite baseball bats. It invents a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat using carbon fibers with different weave structures, combined with different types of resins, and manufactured through compression molding and prepreg lamination compression molding. This baseball bat employs a flexible multi-layered structure design, effectively improving the bat's rigidity, impact resistance, shock resistance, and abrasion resistance.

[0029] Specifically, the hybrid fiber composite baseball bat consists of a grip section for holding the bat, a striking section for hitting the ball, and a connecting section between the grip and the striking section. The grip, connecting section, and striking section are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties combined with different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. These two layers are combined through a laminated structure, with the surface strength layer completely encasing the internal stiffness layer. Furthermore, the striking section has a foam core inside the internal stiffness layer to reduce weight and dampen shock, and a high-toughness fiber outer layer covers the surface strength layer, enhancing the bat's toughness and strength.

[0030] The foam core can be any one of, but not limited to, polystyrene foam, phenolic foam, polypropylene foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, PET foam, etc.

[0031] The internal stiffness layer is composed of a high-modulus carbon fiber two-dimensional braided structure and a thermosetting resin matrix. The high-modulus carbon fiber can be any one of M40, M55, M60, M40J, M55J, or M60J. The two-dimensional planar braided structure of the internal stiffness layer can be any one of plain weave, twill weave, or satin weave. The internal stiffness layer of the two-dimensional braided structure is composite with thermosetting resin, which can be any one of epoxy resin, phenolic resin, unsaturated polyester resin, urea-formaldehyde resin, etc., and is not limited to these types. Compression molding is used as the molding method.

[0032] The surface strength layer is composed of a high-strength carbon fiber multi-dimensional woven structure and a thermoplastic resin matrix, cured and formed using a specific mold through a molding process. The high-strength carbon fiber can be any of T300, T700, T800, or T1000. The multi-dimensional woven structure of the surface strength layer can be a combination of three-dimensional four-way, three-dimensional five-way, three-dimensional six-way, three-dimensional seven-way, or more. The surface strength layer is a composite of high-strength carbon fiber and thermoplastic resin. The thermoplastic resin can be any of, but not limited to, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyphenylene sulfide, ABS resin, polyamide, polyetheretherketone, etc. The molding method is compression molding.

[0033] Compression molding is a method of molding prepreg by adding it into a metal mold and then curing it under heat and pressure. The compression molding process is as follows: First, the carbon fiber molding material is cut according to the product dimensions. The mold with a specific structure is cleaned, then a release agent is applied, the fibrous molding material is laid out, and the mold is closed. When tightening the screws, lubricant is applied to the screws to ensure smooth mold opening. The completed carbon fiber product mold is placed on a preheated hot press and subjected to 3-4 depressurization cycles with intervals of 10-20 seconds. The press temperature is set to 130-180℃, the pressure to 2-10 MPa, and the pressing time to 30-90 minutes. Heating is then stopped and maintained for 40-60 minutes. After the mold cools, demolding is performed.

[0034] The high-toughness surface fiber can be selected from one or more of the following, including glass fiber, aramid fiber (K29, K49, K129), PBO fiber, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, and nylon fiber, and is not limited to these types. The resin used for the hybrid fiber composite can be any of the above-mentioned thermoplastic resins. The arrangement can employ various layup angle designs, such as 0° / 90° alternating layup, 0° / ±45° / 90° alternating layup, and 0° / ±30 / ±45° / 90° alternating layup, and is not limited to these layup angle designs. The number of layup layers can be flexibly adjusted according to design requirements, and compression molding is used for the molding process.

[0035] The above-mentioned parts adopt a multilayer coating combination design, and the overall resin matrix content is controlled within the range of 20% to 60%.

[0036] The baseball bat is flexibly designed with a length between 65 and 90 cm, a striking diameter between 3 and 6 cm, and a grip diameter between 2 and 4 cm. The weight of the bat is flexibly adjusted according to its length and diameter, with the overall weight of the baseball bat between 400 and 700 g.

[0037] Example 1

[0038] This embodiment discloses a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat, including a grip portion for holding the bat, a striking portion for hitting the ball, and a connecting portion connecting the grip portion and the striking portion. The grip portion, connecting portion, and striking portion are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. The two layers are stacked together, that is, after processing the internal stiffness layer, the surface strength layer is directly processed on it, forming a stack, and the surface strength layer completely covers the internal stiffness layer. The striking portion has a foam core placed inside the internal stiffness layer to reduce weight and shock. The surface strength layer of the striking portion is covered with a high-toughness fiber as a surface layer, which can enhance the toughness and strength of the bat.

[0039] In this embodiment, the internal foam core is made of polypropylene foam with a thickness of 2cm. The internal stiffness layer is made of M60 high-modulus carbon fiber with a two-dimensional twill weave and urea-formaldehyde resin composite, with a thickness of 0.5cm. The surface strength layer is made of T800 high-strength carbon fiber with a three-dimensional five-directional weave structure and impregnated with polypropylene resin composite, with a thickness of 0.6cm. The molding process is set with a press temperature of 180℃, a pressure of 6MPa, a pressing time of 50min, followed by a 40min heat preservation period. The surface high-toughness fiber is a composite of aramid fiber and ABS resin, with alternating 0° / ±45° / 90° layups, 5 layers in total, and a thickness of 0.7cm.

[0040] The total resin matrix content of the above-mentioned parts is 40%. The baseball bat is 72cm long, the diameter of the striking part is 5.6cm, the diameter of the grip part is 3cm, and the total weight of the baseball bat is approximately 500g. This structure constitutes Specific Embodiment 1.

[0041] Example 2

[0042] This embodiment discloses a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat, including a grip portion for holding the bat, a striking portion for hitting the ball, and a connecting portion connecting the grip portion and the striking portion. The grip portion, connecting portion, and striking portion are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. The two layers are combined through a laminated structure, with the surface strength layer completely enclosing the internal stiffness layer. The striking portion has a foam core placed inside the internal stiffness layer to reduce weight and vibration. The surface strength layer of the striking portion is covered with a high-toughness fiber as a surface layer, which can enhance the toughness and strength of the bat.

[0043] The internal foam core is made of polystyrene foam, with a thickness of 2cm. The internal stiffness layer is made of M60J high-modulus carbon fiber with a two-dimensional satin weave and unsaturated polyester resin, with a thickness of 0.6cm. The surface strength layer is made of T1000 high-strength carbon fiber with a three-dimensional seven-directional weave structure and impregnated with polyethylene resin, with a thickness of 0.6cm. The compression molding process is set with a press temperature of 150℃, a pressure of 6MPa, a pressing time of 70min, followed by a 35min heating stop. The surface high-toughness fiber is a glass fiber composite polyetheretherketone resin laminate, with alternating 0° / 90° layups, 3 layers in total, and a thickness of 0.7cm.

[0044] The total resin matrix content of the above-mentioned parts is 45%. The baseball bat is 78cm long, the diameter of the striking part is 5.8cm, and the diameter of the grip part is 3cm. The total weight of the baseball bat is approximately 520g. This structure constitutes Specific Embodiment 2.

[0045] Example 3

[0046] This embodiment discloses a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat, including a grip portion for holding the bat, a striking portion for hitting the ball, and a connecting portion connecting the grip portion and the striking portion. The grip portion, connecting portion, and striking portion are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. The two layers are combined through a laminated structure, with the surface strength layer completely enclosing the internal stiffness layer. The striking portion has a foam core placed inside the internal stiffness layer to reduce weight and vibration. The surface strength layer of the striking portion is covered with a high-toughness fiber as a surface layer, which can enhance the toughness and strength of the bat.

[0047] The internal foam core is made of PET foam, with a thickness of 1.8cm. The internal stiffness layer is made of M55J high-modulus carbon fiber with a two-dimensional twill weave and unsaturated polyester resin composite, with a thickness of 0.5cm. The surface strength layer is made of T1000 high-strength carbon fiber with a three-dimensional seven-way woven structure and impregnated with polyethylene resin, with a thickness of 0.6cm. The compression molding is set with a press temperature of 150℃, a pressure of 5MPa, a pressing time of 60min, followed by a 40min heating stop. The surface high-toughness fiber is a nylon fiber composite polyamide resin laminate, with alternating 0° / 90° layups, two layers in total, and a thickness of 0.5cm.

[0048] The total resin matrix content of the above-mentioned parts is 45%. The baseball bat is 75cm long, the diameter of the striking part is 5cm, and the diameter of the grip part is 3cm. The total weight of the baseball bat is approximately 520g. This structure constitutes Specific Embodiment 3.

[0049] Example 4

[0050] This embodiment discloses a hybrid fiber composite baseball bat, including a grip portion for holding the bat, a striking portion for hitting the ball, and a connecting portion connecting the grip portion and the striking portion. The grip portion, connecting portion, and striking portion are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. The two layers are combined through a laminated structure, with the surface strength layer completely enclosing the internal stiffness layer. The striking portion has a foam core placed inside the internal stiffness layer to reduce weight and vibration. The surface strength layer of the striking portion is covered with a high-toughness fiber as a surface layer, which can enhance the toughness and strength of the bat.

[0051] The internal foam core is made of phenolic foam, with a thickness of 1cm. The internal stiffness layer is made of M60 high-modulus carbon fiber with a two-dimensional twill weave and urea-formaldehyde resin composite, with a thickness of 0.5cm. The surface strength layer is made of T700 high-strength carbon fiber with a three-dimensional four-way woven structure and impregnated with polypropylene resin, with a thickness of 0.5cm. The molding process is set with a press temperature of 180℃, a pressure of 6MPa, a pressing time of 50min, followed by a 40min heat preservation period. The surface high-toughness fiber is a composite of aramid fiber and polyethylene resin, with alternating layers of 0° / ±30 / ±45° / 90°, 5 layers in total, and a thickness of 1cm.

[0052] The total resin matrix content of the above-mentioned parts is 40%. The baseball bat is 70cm long, the diameter of the striking part is 5cm, the diameter of the grip part is 2cm, and the total weight of the baseball bat is approximately 480g. This structure constitutes specific embodiment 4.

[0053] The grip and connection parts of the baseball bat disclosed in the above four embodiments adopt an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer, while the striking part adopts a multi-layer structure design combination of a foam core, an internal stiffness layer, a surface strength layer, and a high-toughness fiber surface layer. This effectively improves the overall strength, impact resistance, and shock resistance of the baseball bat body, while reducing the weight of the bat body, achieving a significant effect of being lightweight and high-strength.

[0054] The above four embodiments use resin-type foam cores, especially thermoplastic resin-type foam cores, which have stable chemical properties, good impact resistance, and excellent shock absorption performance. They can achieve excellent matching with the outer composite material, improve the overall structural rigidity, and reduce weight.

[0055] The surface strength layer of the above four embodiments uses high-toughness hybrid fibers with multiple layup angles for flexible design, which greatly improves the toughness of the baseball bat body, overcomes the shortcomings of traditional bats that are easy to break and fracture, and improves the bat body's resistance to damage; at the same time, it improves the impact resistance when hitting, and gives the baseball bat micro-elastic deformation, which can increase the ball speed.

[0056] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A hybrid fiber composite baseball bat, comprising a grip portion, a hitting portion, and a connecting portion connecting the grip portion and the hitting portion; characterized in that: The gripping part, connecting part, and striking part are all composed of carbon fibers with different properties and different resins, forming an internal stiffness layer and a surface strength layer. The internal stiffness layer and the surface strength layer are combined by stacking, and the surface strength layer completely encloses the internal stiffness layer. The internal stiffness layer corresponding to the striking part is hollow, and a foam core is placed in the hollow part. The surface strength layer of the striking part is covered with a layer of high-toughness fiber as its surface layer. The internal stiffness layer is made of a high-modulus carbon fiber two-dimensional woven structure combined with a thermosetting resin matrix and then molded; the surface strength layer is made of a high-strength carbon fiber multi-dimensional woven structure combined with a thermoplastic resin matrix and then molded.

2. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The foam core is made of any one of polystyrene foam, phenolic foam, polypropylene foam, polyvinyl chloride foam, or PET foam.

3. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The two-dimensional weave structure can be any one of plain weave, twill weave, or satin weave.

4. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The high-modulus carbon fiber is selected from any one of M40, M55, M60, M40J, M55J, and M60J.

5. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The thermosetting resin is selected from any one of epoxy resin, phenolic resin, unsaturated polyester resin, and urea-formaldehyde resin.

6. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The high-strength carbon fiber mentioned is selected from any one of T300, T700, T800, and T1000.

7. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multidimensional braided structure mentioned above uses a combination of three-dimensional four-way, three-dimensional five-way, three-dimensional six-way, three-dimensional seven-way or more braided structures; The thermoplastic resin is selected from any one of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyphenylene sulfide, ABS resin, polyamide, and polyetheretherketone.

8. The hybrid fiber composite baseball bat as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The high-toughness fibers on the surface are composited with thermoplastic resin through multi-layered stacking angles and molded. The high-toughness fiber is selected from any one or more of glass fiber, aramid fiber, PBO fiber, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, and nylon fiber; The aforementioned multilayer layup angles employ alternating layup angles of 0° / 90°, 0° / ±45° / 90°, or 0° / ±30° / ±45° / 90°.

Images