Ball bat with reinforced handle

Claim 1

IN A ROUND BASEBALL BAT MADE OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MATERIAL, HAVING AN IMPACT PORTION AND AN ELONGATED HANDLE EXTENDING FROM THE IMPACT PORTION; A REENFORCEMENT LAYER SUPERPOSED AROUND THE HANDLE AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE IMPACT PORTION WHEREBY THE IMPACT PORTION IS FREE OF THE SAID LAYER, THE LAYER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CROSSED STRANDS OF RESISTINGLY ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, ALL OF WHICH CROSSED STRANDS EXTEND FROM END TO END OF THE HANDLE TO PROVIDE A LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY CONTINUOUS SEAMLESS SLEEVE, THE STRANDS BEING TAUT AND SNUGLY DISPOSED ABOUT THE HANDLE, AN ADHESIVE IMPREGNATING THE STRANDS, AND ALSO BONDING THE SLEEVE TO THE HANDLE THOUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE SLEEVE; THE IMPREGNATING ADHESIVE AND RESISTINGLY ELONGATABLE STRANDS BEING OF SUCH MATERIALS THAT THE BONDED SLEEVE HAS A MODULUS OF ELASTICITY AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY AS GREAT AS THAT OF THE BAT AND YET BELOW A VALUE THAT WOULD INTERFERE WITH THE NORMAL RESILIENCY OF THE BAT IN DRIVING A BALL, AND THE SLEEVE PROVIDING A LENGTHWISE, BONDED STRAND ARRANGEMENT EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY SUBSTANTIALLY FROM END TO END OF THE HANDLE IN SUCH WISE THAT THE STRANDS PROVIDE CONTINUOUS, UNBROKEN PATHS ALONG THE SURFACE OF THE HANDLE LENGTHWISE OF ITS AXIS, TO RECEIVE THE IMPACT AND BENDING FORCES THAT ARE PRODUCTED IN THE BAT WHEN AN OBJECT IS BATTED SO THAT THE STRANDS RESTRICT THE BENDING STRAINS IN THE BAT.