Applicator for grip-enhancing substances

#The invention described herein pertains generally to an applicator for use in transferring a tacky or grip-enhancing substance onto a piece of equipment, typically sporting equipment.

#The baseball bat is the offensive weapon by which the batter may impose his will upon the pitcher's delivery. According to Official Baseball Rule 3.02 "No player shall intentionally discolor or damage the ball by rubbing it with soil, rosin, paraffin, licorice, sand-paper, emery paper or other foreign substance." In baseball's inimitable quality of maintaining balance, similar restrictions are placed upon the batter and his weapon.

#Early baseball rules required only that the bat be round, wood, no more than 2.5 inches in diameter at the thickest part and "of any length to suit the striker." In 1872 and 1873, the rules provided that the "batter shall be privileged to use his own private bat exclusively. No player of the opposing club shall have any claim to the use of the bat except by consent of the owner." In 1874, the rules required that the bat be entirely of wood, so that any metal or "other material" on it would render it illegal. In 1885, the handle of the bat could be wound with twine not to exceed 18 inches from the end. In 1886, this rule was modified to allow the bat to have "a granulated substance" (presumably rosin) on the bat handle for the same 18 inches. The maximum diameter of the bat was increased to 2.75 inches in 1895 and the maximum length was fixed at 42 inches in 1893.

#The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the applicator;

#FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1; and

#Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting the same, the Figures show an applicator for use in transferring a tacky substance which resides on the interior of the essentially tubular applicator onto a piece of equipment, whether that equipment is related to sporting activities, e.g., baseball bats, hockey sticks, tennis racquets, racquetball racquets, golf clubs, polevaulting poles, etc., or the equipment is non-sport-related, e.g., handles on tools such as axes, hatchets, hammers, etc.

#As best seen in FIG. 1, applicator 10 is shown having a longitudinal slit 16 disposed therein. The applicator has a pliable outer member 2 and a pliable inner member 4, the outer and inner members being secured to each other by adhesive 12. A tacky substance 8 resides either on the exterior surface of inner member 4 or depending upon the material of construction of the inner member, can be partially or totally absorbed thereinto.

#In a preferred embodiment, the applicator is essentially tubular. The benefit of this tubular an angement is that subsequent to the use of the product, it can simply be tossed onto the ground, without the unwanted consequence of accumulating an undesirable amount of dust onto the tacky component of the applicator, which quickly decreases the effective lifetime of the product. No matter how the product is thrown, or upon what surface the product is tossed, the essentially tubular nature of the product will prevent the accumulation of tack-reducing materials, e.g., dirt, from diminishing the effectiveness of the product.