Pitching training tool

Abstract

To provide a pitching training tool capable of reducing a burden on a shoulder and an elbow, and enabling a user to take a pitching form for pitching a high-rotation ball.SOLUTION: A pair of attachment portions 14 are provided at a predetermined interval for protruding from the main body portion 12 in the same direction. A rotating ball 15 is arranged between the mounting parts 14, and is rotatably mounted on the mounting parts 14 with a prescribed diameter passing through the center as a rotating shaft. The rotating ball 15 is a baseball ball. A support leg 11 is detachably provided on the body part 12, and can support the body part 12 at a desired height. A measuring part 16 is provided to measure the number of rotations per unit time of the rotating ball 15 and obtain the converted number of rotations based on the number of rotations. A display part 17 is provided in the main body part 12 for displaying the converted number of rotations obtained by the measuring part 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pitching training device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the baseball world has seen a large increase in injuries to what are known as "baseball shoulders and baseball elbows" among growing children due to excessive pitching and pitching forms that are prone to injury, and this has become a major problem in the sports community from the perspective of healthy child development. For example, it is said that about 70% of players participating in the National Summer High School Baseball Championship have a history of shoulder or elbow injuries in the past or present. This problem has the effect of fundamentally destroying the dreams of children who aim to play at Koshien or become professional baseball players.

[0003] The main causes of this problem include excessive strain on the shoulders and elbows and pitching form instruction by coaches in response to children's desires to "throw the ball farther" and "throw the ball faster." For example, pitchers are constantly taught a pitching form that involves swinging the shoulders and elbows strongly, but this pitching form uses the "pushing force" of the shoulders and elbows, which tends to put a lot of strain on the shoulders and elbows. It is thought that excessive instruction of such a pitching form to growing children leads to baseball shoulders (sports injuries caused by the pitching motion), fatigue fractures of the bones, and inflammation of the elbow joint.

[0004] Conventionally, pitching training devices that have long rod-like wings attached to a plastic ball have been commercially available under the concept of "throwing the ball farther" (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). This pitching training device aims to teach a pitching form that is considered correct by holding the ball in the hand and performing a pitching motion in which the whole ball goes straight like an arrow, and this pitching form is intended to transmit the coordinated movement of the shoulder and elbow as the force to push the ball out.

[0005] Also, as a tool for training the up-and-down movement of the wrist, a so-called power ball is commercially available, which has an outer ball, an axis provided so as to be movable along a groove in the equatorial part inside the outer ball, and a rotor provided inside the outer ball so as to be rotatable around the axis (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). This power ball rotates the rotor by gripping the outer ball and repeatedly moving the wrist up and down, and the strength of the wrist can be increased by the load caused by the rotation of the rotor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 106776 [Patent Document 2] Design Registration No. 1674937 [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Free encyclopedia "Wikipedia", [online], [searched on November 9, 2023], Internet〈https: / / ja.wikipedia.org / wiki / %E3%83%91%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB〉 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The pitching training devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are tools used to learn a pitching form that coordinates the shoulders and elbows in order to increase the force pushing the ball out, and have the problem that they tend to put a lot of strain on the shoulders and elbows. Also, the power ball described in Non-Patent Document 1 is not intended for pitching training, and although it can increase the strength of the wrist, it cannot make the wrist flexible, and has the problem that it cannot throw a ball with a high rotation rate.

[0009] The present invention has been made with attention to such problems, and aims to provide a pitching training device that reduces the burden on the shoulders and elbows and enables players to acquire a pitching form that is suitable for throwing a ball with a high spin rate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] It is generally known that when a ball is thrown, if a counter-rotating motion is applied to the ball, it receives an upward force while being subjected to air resistance, and that by increasing the number of rotations of the counter-rotating ball, it can be thrown farther. Based on this knowledge, the inventors have discovered that the way the wrist is used when throwing the ball and the way the fingertips are hooked when the ball is released have a large influence on increasing the number of rotations when throwing, and have arrived at the present invention.

[0011] In other words, the pitching training device of the present invention is characterized by having a main body, a pair of mounting parts spaced a predetermined distance apart and protruding in the same direction from the main body, and a rotating ball disposed between the mounting parts and attached to each mounting part so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis having a predetermined diameter passing through the center.

[0012] The pitching training tool according to the present invention is used as follows. That is, first, the main body is set at a position and height desired by the user. At this time, it is preferable to set the main body so that the spinning ball is located at a position and height where the user will release the ball when pitching, for example. After setting the main body, the user grips the spinning ball in the way he would grip it when pitching, and while being conscious of his pitching form, spins the spinning ball with his fingertips while moving his wrist. At this time, by repeatedly moving his fingers and wrist while being conscious of increasing the number of rotations of the ball, the user can learn the finger and wrist movements required to throw a reverse-spinning ball with a high number of rotations.

[0013] In this way, the pitching training device of the present invention allows the user to acquire a pitching form for throwing a ball with a high spin rate by repeatedly performing finger and wrist movements. It also allows the user to acquire wrist flexibility and fingertip sensation at the time of release, and fosters an ideal release point. The acquired pitching form also allows the user to throw a ball with a high spin rate and a good extension. As a result, the pitching training device of the present invention reduces the burden on the shoulders and elbows, rather than a pitching form that utilizes the pushing force of the shoulders and elbows, and allows the user to acquire a healthy pitching form that is free of injury.

[0014] In the pitching training device according to the present invention, it is preferable that there is a gap between the main body and the spinning ball that allows the user to easily grip the spinning ball. Also, in the pitching training device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the spinning ball is attached to each attachment part so that the user can easily grip it. Also, it is preferable that the main body and each attachment part are arranged so as not to come into contact with the user's hand when the user grips the spinning ball and repeatedly moves his / her fingers and wrist.

[0015] The pitching training device according to the present invention may have support legs that are detachably attached to the main body and support the main body at a desired height. Alternatively, the main body of the pitching training device according to the present invention may be attached to a wall, a pillar, or the like. In these cases, for example, the main body can be attached to the support legs, a wall, a pillar, or the like according to the position or height at which the user releases the ball when pitching the ball. When attaching the main body, it is preferable to detachably attach it using, for example, screws, bolts, double-sided tape, or the like.

[0016] The pitching training device according to the present invention preferably comprises a measuring unit that measures the number of rotations per unit time of the spinning ball and calculates a converted number of rotations based on the number of rotations, and a display unit that is provided in the main body and displays the converted number of rotations calculated by the measuring unit. In this case, it is preferable that the converted number of rotations is calculated from the measured number of rotations by taking into account air resistance in a natural environment and friction of the spinning ball, but the measured number of rotations may be used as is.

[0017] With this display unit, the rotation number (converted rotation number) can be confirmed every time the finger or wrist movement is repeated, and the finger or wrist movement for throwing a ball with a high rotation number can be efficiently mastered. Also, the rotation number (converted rotation number) can be confirmed to increase, and the result of practice can be realized. Also, as shown below, the rotation numbers of the balls of famous Japanese pitchers and major league pitchers are published, so that a goal can be set with reference to these rotation numbers, and motivation for practice can be increased by comparing these rotation numbers with one's own rotation number (converted rotation number).

[0018] MLB average: 2,263 rotations Shohei Otani (Angels) 2,164 rotations Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri Giants) 2,513 rotations Kyuji Fujikawa (former Hanshin Tigers) 2,700 rotations Koji Uehara (former Red Sox) 2,400 RPM Yu Darvish (Padres) 2,700 RPM Chapman (MLB) 2,680 rotations

[0019] In the pitching training device according to the present invention, the spinning ball is preferably a baseball. In this case, it is effective to practice with a ball that is actually used. The spinning ball is preferably a hardball or softball having seams or ridges that imitate seams. In this case, it is preferable that the spinning ball is attached to each attachment part so that the attachment position of the spinning ball is between the semicircular parts that face outward and are opposed to each other among the seams or ridges that imitate seams. This allows the spinning ball to be gripped in accordance with the seams or ridges that imitate seams, and practice can be performed with an actual grip when pitching. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, a pitching training device can be provided which reduces the burden on the shoulders and elbows and enables a player to acquire a pitching form for throwing a ball with a high spin rate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a pitching training device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a right side view of the pitching training device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a plan view of a pitching training device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the pitching training device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 1 is a right side view showing a state in which the pitching training device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show a pitching training device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pitching training device 10 has support legs 11, a main body 12, a connecting portion 13, a pair of mounting portions 14, a rotating ball 15, a measuring portion 16, and a display portion 17.

[0023] The support leg 11 has two pillars 11a and two connecting members 11b. The pillars 11a of the support leg 11 are connected to each other at a predetermined interval by the connecting members 11b at the upper and lower parts of the pillars 11a. The supporting leg 11 keeps the pillars 11a parallel to each other at a fixed interval by the connecting members 11b.

[0024] The main body 12 has a thin box shape with four chamfered corners extending in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped. The main body 12 is mainly used such that the length direction of the surface is the up-down direction and the width direction of the surface is the left-right direction.

[0025] The connecting portion 13 is attached to the center of the back surface of the main body portion 12 by a screw 13a. The connecting portion 13 is provided so that each support 11a can be attached to the back surface of the main body portion 12 so that the surface of the main body portion 12 is parallel to each support 11a of the support leg 11. The connecting portion 13 has grooves on both sides for fitting each support 11a, and is fixed to the main body portion 12 together with each support 11a by tightening the screw 13a with each support 11a fitted in the groove, and is released from fixing to the main body portion 12 together with each support 11a by loosening the screw 13a. As a result, the connecting portion 13 can be fixed to each support 11a by loosening the screw 13a to slide the main body portion 12 along the length direction of each support 11a and tightening the screw 13a at a desired position. Furthermore, by loosening the screws 13a of the connecting portion 13, the main body portion 12 can be rotated relative to each of the supports 11a around an axis perpendicular to the surface of the main body portion 12.

[0026] The pair of mounting portions 14 are provided on the surface of the main body portion 12 along the width direction (left-right direction) of the main body portion 12 at a distance slightly larger than the diameter of the rotating ball 15. The mounting portions 14 are provided to protrude vertically from the surface of the main body portion 12 and face each other.

[0027] The rotating ball 15 is made of a hard baseball for baseball and is disposed between the mounting parts 14. The rotating ball 15 is attached to the mounting parts 14 via bearings 18 at both ends of the diameter so that the diameter passing through the center is rotatable about the rotation axis. The rotating ball 15 is made of a hard baseball with seams, but may be made of a soft baseball with ridges that imitate seams. In a specific example shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the rotating ball 15 is attached to each mounting part 14 so that the attachment position of the rotating ball 15 is the middle of the semicircular parts of the seams that face each other outward.

[0028] The measuring unit 16 is built into one of the mounting parts 14, and is provided to measure the number of rotations per unit time of the rotating ball 15 relative to the bearing 18, and to obtain a converted number of rotations based on the number of rotations. In a specific example shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the measuring unit 16 is configured to obtain a converted number of rotations in a natural environment by taking into account the air resistance coefficient in the natural environment and the friction coefficient of the bearing 18 for the measured number of rotations. Note that the measuring unit 16 may use the measured number of rotations as it is as the converted number of rotations.

[0029] The display unit 17 is provided on the upper part of the surface of the main body 12. The display unit 17 has a display 17a that displays the converted rotation number and the like obtained by the measurement unit 16, a switching button 17b for switching the display contents of the display 17a, and a reset button 17c for resetting the display of the display 17a. In a specific example shown in FIG. 1, the display unit 17 has a mode of "converted rotation number per minute" and each mode that displays the excess or deficiency of rotation number for the rotation number of "high school baseball middle class", "Koshien participating school class", "Koshien winning school class", "professional baseball individual class", and "major league individual class" as a display mode on the display 17a, and each of these modes can be switched by the switching button 17b. In addition, the display unit 17 can be switched to a state in which the measurement unit 16 measures a new rotation number by pressing the reset button 17c.

[0030] In the specific example shown in Figures 1 to 4, each support 11a has a length of about 2 m. When pitching training device 10 is used with each support 11a leaned against wall 1, as shown in Figure 5, main body 12 can be fixed at a desired height within a range of 30 cm to 2 m by adjusting screws 13a.

[0031] 1 to 4, the rotating ball 15 is attached to each attachment part 14 with a gap between it and the main body part 12 so that the user can easily grip the rotating ball 15. The main body part 12 and each attachment part 14 are arranged so as not to come into contact with the user's hand when the user grips the rotating ball 15 and repeatedly moves his / her fingers and wrist.

[0032] Next, the operation will be described. The pitching training tool 10 is used as follows. That is, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the support legs 11 are leaned against a wall 1 or the like, and the main body 12 is set at a position and height desired by the user. At this time, for example, the support legs 11 can be moved or the main body 12 can be slid relative to the posts 11a so that the spinning ball 15 is positioned at a position and height where the user will release the ball when pitching the ball, and adjustments can be made. In addition, the rotation direction of the spinning ball 15 can be adjusted by rotating the main body 12 relative to the support legs 11 in accordance with the pitching form of the user, such as overthrow (a throwing style in which the arm is swung vertically from top to bottom), three-quarter throw (a throwing style in which the arm is swung diagonally), side throw (sidearm throw), or under throw (underhand throw).

[0033] After the main body 12 is installed, the user grips the spinning ball 15 in a pitching grip that aligns with the seams of the spinning ball 15, and while being conscious of the pitching form, moves the wrist and spins the spinning ball 15 with the fingertips. At this time, the user repeatedly moves the fingers and wrist while being conscious of increasing the number of rotations of the ball. This allows the user to learn the finger and wrist movements required to throw a reverse-spinning ball with a large number of rotations. In addition, by practicing while checking the number of rotations (converted number of rotations) displayed on the display unit 17, the user can efficiently learn the finger and wrist movements and realize the results of the practice. In addition, the user can set a goal by referring to the number of rotations of the balls of famous Japanese pitchers and major league pitchers, and compare these number of rotations with his or her own number of rotations, which can increase the user's motivation to practice.

[0034] In this way, the pitching training device 10 allows the player to learn a pitching form for throwing a ball with a high spin rate by repeatedly performing finger and wrist movements. It also allows the player to learn wrist flexibility and the feeling of the fingertips at the time of release, and to develop an ideal release point. The pitching form that the player has learned also allows the player to throw a ball with a high spin rate and a good extension. As a result, the pitching training device 10 reduces the burden on the shoulders and elbows, rather than a pitching form that utilizes the pushing force of the shoulders and elbows, and allows the player to learn a healthy pitching form that is free of injury.

[0035] In addition, in pitching training device 10, main body 12 may be provided so as to be attachable to a wall, a pillar, or the like, for example, by using screws, double-sided tape, etc. In this case, main body 12 can be attached to a wall, a pillar, or the like in accordance with the position where the user releases the ball when pitching the ball, without using support legs 11. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10 Pitching training equipment 11 Support legs 11a Post 11b Connection member 12 Main body 13 Connecting part 13a Bis 14 Mounting part 15 Spinning Ball 16 Measuring part 17 Display section 17a Display 17b Switch button 17c Reset button 18 Bearings

Claims

1. A main body portion, A pair of mounting portions protruding in the same direction from the main body portion at a predetermined interval; A rotating ball is disposed between each of the mounting parts and attached to each of the mounting parts so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis having a predetermined diameter passing through the center. A pitching training device characterized by having:

2. 2. The pitching training device according to claim 1, further comprising support legs detachably attached to said main body for supporting said main body at a desired height.

3. a measurement unit that measures the number of rotations per unit time of the spinning ball and calculates a converted number of rotations based on the number of rotations; a display unit provided in the main body unit and displaying the converted rotation number obtained by the measurement unit; 2. The pitching training device according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. 4. The pitching training device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating ball is a baseball.

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