Bowling Delivery Reminder

In bowling, it is very difficult, even for professional bowlers, to deliver the ball on the lane correctly each time it is to be delivered. The reason, normally, is that the hand of the bowler holding the ball is not correctly positioned on the moment of release of the ball onto the lane.

It was to help the bowler and remind him of such proper hand positioning at the time of delivery of the ball onto the lane that the present invention was conceived.

A device removably secured to the index finger, with a forward narrow elongated portion to be positioned on a portion of the top of the index finger and an integrally formed rearward angular portion having a flat bottom side for positioning on the back of the hand with an area at the juncture of the forward and rearward portions covering the index finger knuckle at the back of the hand.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom side view of the same;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the device attached to the index finger of the hand and showing a portion of a bowling ball;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 7--7 of FIG. 6, a portion of the securing tape being broken away; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken on the lines 8--8 of FIG. 6.

The device of the present invention is preferably made of a rigid plastic and comprises elongated portion 10 having an arcuately shaped cross-section that is designed to lie on the top of the index finger and fit the upper side thereof.

Integrally formed on the rear portion 12 is a flat area which extends at about a 140.degree. angle from the axis of the elongated portion 10 to seat on the index finger knuckle at the back of the hand and overlie the back of the hand to bear thereagainst. The knuckle of the index finger at the back of the hand seats in the portion 14 shown in FIG. 2. A strip 16 of Velcro looped material is secured to the upper side 11 of the elongated portion 10, as shown in the drawings, and a longer strip of Velcro hooked material 18 is secured thereto whereby the strip 18 may be wrapped securely around the rearward portion or proximal phalanx of the index finger as indicated by FIG. 5.

The bottom side of the flat area of the rear end portion 12 is provided with a soft resilient pad 20 to prevent the end of the rear portion 12 from digging into the skin when the unit is in place and in use on a bowler's hand.

A modified construction is shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 wherein the forward portion 22 is flat and lays on the top of the index finger of the bowler's hand and the rearward portion 24 is also flat and integral with the forward portion but bent at an angle of about 140.degree.. The portion 24 lies against the rear of the hand and over the knuckle of the index finger at the back of the hand and the under side of the portion 24 is provided with a resilient pad 30.

A pair of spaced elongated straps or tapes 26 are anchored by one end to the upper surface of the forward portion 22. The opposed ends of these straps are provided with a tacky substance 28 which will adhere to the upper surface of the straps when the straps are wrapped around the index finger to retain the unit on the finger.

In bowling, no matter how the bowler holds the ball with both hands at the beginning of the approach, his thumb, ring finger and middle finger are generally seated up to the middle knuckle in the holes already properly drilled in the bowling ball. Some bowlers hold the ball in front of their chest, others to the side of their chest, while still others may hold the ball adjacent their hip. As the bowler begins his approach to the foul line, the ball is carried by the right hand of a right handed bowler, or the left hand of a left handed bowler, and as he nears the foul line, the bowler turns his wrist and hand carrying the ball and then delivers it to the bowling lanes just over the foul line. Since the movement of the legs and feet from the starting position and the movement of the arm, hand and wrist must be synchronized, it is normally not possible to deliver the ball to the lanes in the correct manner each time the ball is delivered. However, by applying the device of the present invention to the index finger, the knuckle and the back of the hand, as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the bowler, upon seeing the device on the index finger as the ball crosses the foul line, immediately knows this is the correct time to release the bowling ball and be consistent in delivering the ball to the lanes.

The angled rear portion of the herein described bowling ball delivery reminder is a very important feature in purpose of preventing breaking of the wrist near the end of the backswing, which could not only spoil timing but also seriously injure the bowler's wrist. This often happens to amateur bowlers and sometimes to very experienced bowlers because of the relatively heavy weight of the ball which has considerable inertia at the end of the backswing which requires careful attention to control. The angled rear portion of the device of the present invention acts as a positive reminder to keep firm control of backswing action.

It is to be understood that details of the construction of this invention as shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.