Grips for ball-bat handle and knob having multiple degrees of hardness

Abstract

A grip for a sporting-good implement, such as a ball bat, includes a knob portion configured to be positioned around a knob and a handle portion adjacent to the knob portion. The knob portion may have a first thickness and the handle portion may have a second thickness different from the first thickness. The knob portion may have a first degree of hardness and the handle portion may have a second degree of hardness. In some embodiments, a sporting-good implement may include a handle with a recessed region. The recessed region may be formed between the knob and an edge on the handle. The recessed region may be configured to receive a handle portion of a grip element such that the grip element and the handle are generally flush near the edge.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sporting-good implement, comprising:
 a body including a handle region;   a knob at an end of the handle region; and   a grip including:
 a knob portion positioned over the knob; and 
 a handle portion positioned over at least a portion of the handle region; 
   wherein the handle portion has a first end having a first thickness, a second end having a second thickness different from the first thickness, and the handle portion tapers between the second thickness and the first thickness.   
     
     
         2 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 1  wherein the knob portion and the handle portion are formed from the same material. 
     
     
         3 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 1  wherein the knob portion and the handle portion are separate. 
     
     
         4 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 1  further comprising a recessed region configured to receive the grip, the recessed region having an edge that allows the first end of the handle portion of the grip to be generally flush with the handle region of the sporting-good implement. 
     
     
         5 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 4  wherein the handle portion tapers to cause the first end of the handle portion to be generally flush with the handle region of the sporting-good implement. 
     
     
         6 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 1  wherein the grip is formed from materials comprising one or more of silicone, urethane, rubber, and polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         7 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 1  wherein the sporting-good implement is a ball bat including a barrel region attached to or integral with the handle region. 
     
     
         8 . A grip for a sporting-good implement, comprising:
 a knob portion configured to be positioned around a knob; and   a handle portion adjacent to the knob portion;   wherein the knob portion has a first thickness, and the handle portion has a second thickness different from the first thickness.   
     
     
         9 . The grip of  claim 8  wherein the knob portion comprises a first material having a first degree of hardness and the handle portion comprises a second material having a second degree of hardness. 
     
     
         10 . The grip of  claim 8  wherein the handle portion has a varying thickness along its length such that the handle portion tapers toward an end of the grip. 
     
     
         11 . The grip of  claim 8  wherein the grip comprises one or more of silicone, urethane, rubber, and polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         12 . The grip of  claim 8  wherein the knob portion is integral with the handle portion. 
     
     
         13 . The grip of  claim 8  wherein the grip is configured to fit over a knob and handle region of a ball bat. 
     
     
         14 . A sporting-good implement comprising:
 a handle having a first thickness and a knob attached to the handle, the knob having a second thickness greater than the first thickness; wherein   the handle comprises a recessed region having a third thickness less than the first thickness, the recessed region being formed between the knob and an edge on the handle.   
     
     
         15 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 14  wherein the recessed region is configured to receive a handle portion of a grip element such that the grip element and the handle are generally flush near the edge. 
     
     
         16 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 15  wherein the sporting-good implement is a ball-bat and the handle is attached to a bat barrel. 
     
     
         17 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 14 , further comprising a grip element positioned around the knob and around at least part of the handle region. 
     
     
         18 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 17  wherein the grip element comprises a knob portion positioned around the knob, a handle portion positioned around the at least part of the handle region, and wherein the handle portion has a tapering thickness along a length of the handle portion between the knob portion and the edge. 
     
     
         19 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 18  wherein the grip is formed from materials comprising one or more of silicone, urethane, rubber, and polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         20 . The sporting-good implement of  claim 18  wherein the knob portion has a first thickness, a first end of the handle portion has a second thickness, and wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness.