Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates generally to hockey sticks,
and has particularly to do with a hockey stick construction
which is adapted to provide greater strength to the hockey
stick, especially in the region of the handle which is
5 adjacent the blade.
- BACKGROUND OF THIS INVENTION
Hockey sticks are subject to fracture and breakage
from a number of causes. Because of the considerable
forces to which the blade of a hockey stick is exposed,
10 particularly during slapshots or when the hockey stick is
banged against the ice, the part of the handle which is
subject to the greatest bending moments, and thus the
greatest likelihood of fracture, is the lower part of the
handle just adjacent the blade. In most hockey sticks,
15 the handle narrows to some extent as it approaches the
blade so as to define a smooth transition to the narrower
width of the blade, and this adds a further complication
in that the handle is weaker at the location where its
section is diminishing.
20 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object
of an aspect of this invention to provide a hockey stick
construction in which the strength at the lower portion of
the handle is increased.
To summarize the invention, tne increased strength
at the lower portion or the handle is brought about by
providing a composite handle having a centre core of weak
material such as softwood and two outside strips of
considerably higher strength, such as laminated birch, and
30 by arranging for the high-strength laminations to continue
all the way down to the bottom of the blade, i.e. the heel
of the hockey stick, so that the high-strength laminations
actually contact and are bonded to the material of the blade.
More specifically, this invention provides a hockey
35 stick comprising a handle and a blade, the handle being
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substantially rectangular in section. The handle has a
first pair of sides parallel with the plane of the blade
and a second pair of sides perpendicular to the plane of
the blade. The handle includes two high-strength strips
5 of material along the first pair of sides, which strips
are bonded to a lower strength core between and spacing
apart the strips of material. The blade has a tongue portion
bonded within a longitudinal groove at the bottom of the handle,
and the core diminishes in width adjacent to and in the
10 direction of the bottom of the handle. The high-strength
strips converge along the diminishing portion of the core
and come into direct contact with the tongue portion of the
blade, to which they are bonded.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in
the accompanying drawings in which like numerals denote
like parts throughout the several views, and in which;
Figure 1 is a back view of a composite intended
to provide the handle of:a hockey stick, at a first stage
20 in the manufacture of the stick;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the composite
of Figure 1 at a subsequent stage in the manufacture;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken at the line
3-3 in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the bottom
portion of a hockey stick in a completed form; and
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken at the line
5-5 in Figure 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Attention is first directed to Figure 1, in which
a composite elongated member 10 is seen to include a core
12 and two side strips 13 and 14 which are bonded to the
core. As can be seen in Figure 2 the elongated member
10 is substantially rectangular in section, and has a first
35 pair of sides 16 (only one seen in Figure 2) which are
intended to be parallel with the plane of the blade in the
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final form of the hockey stick, and a second pair of sides
18 (only one seen in Figure 2) which are perpendicular to
the plane of the ultimate blade of the hockey stick.
The strips 13 and 14 are of high-strength material,
5 and in a preferred embodiment are made of 10-ply laminations
of hardwood such as birch. The core 12 lies between the
strips 13 and 14 and spaces them apart, the core being of
a lower strength material such as basswood or poplar.
Alternatively, the core could be of a laminated construction,
10 and could even include certain hollow portions due to the
fact that the core 12 is not called upon to provide any
appreciable strength component for the hockey stick, but
merely spaces the strips 13 and 14 apart.
As can be seen in Figure 1, toward the leftward end
15 of the elongated member 10 (in the direction of the blade
of the ultimate hockey stick) the core 12 diminishes in width
in a progressive manner, i.e. converges in the direction
at the bottom of the handle (the leftward end). This
allows the high-strength strips 13 and 14 to converge
20 together along the diminishi~ng portion 12a of the core 12.
In the stage illustrated in Figure 1, the strips 13 and 14
come practically together at the lower end 20 of the
elongated component 10. Two wedges of filler material 22
are glued or otherwise bonded outside the diminishing region
25 of the strips 13 and 14, so that the elongated member 10
retains its basic width tnroughout its length. This is
necessary for the manufacturing procedure but the wedges
22 are ultimately removed during the finishing process.
In Figure 1, a broken line 24 defines the outline
30 of a groove 25 which is cut through the elongated member 10
parallel to the sides 16, after a filler block 27 has been
glued adjacent the lower or leftward end of the elongated
member 10 in the manner shown in Figure 2. As can be seen
in Figure 2, the slot 25 extends through both the elongated
35 member 10 and the filler block 27. As can be further seen
in Figures 1 and 2, the groove 25 (outlined by the broken
line 24) is wider at its leftward (bottom) end than at its
rightward (upper) end. As can be further seen in Figure 1,
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the groove 25 is such as to cut through the lower portion
of the strips 13 and 14. This will mean that when the
blade is secured within the groove 25, it will be directly
contacted by the strips 13 and 14 so that the latter can
be bonded to the blade.
More specifically, the blade of the hockey stick
is provided with a tongue portion which snugly fits within
the groove 25,the top of the tongue portion being as shown in
broken line at 27a in Figure 4. Thus, both the elongated
member 10 and the filler block 27 surround the tongue 28
of the blade 30.
After the blade has been glued in place with its
tongue in the groove 25, the final finishing operations on
the hockey stick are undertaken. These have the effect
of shaping the blade itself into its final configuration,
of removing the wedge portions 22, and of tapering and
smoothing the strips 13 and 14 against the blade 30. This
may entail removing some of the outer laminations of the
strips 13 and 14 in the region of the blade, but the
manufacturing procedure leaves a direct contact between the
tongue 28 of the blade 30 and at least some of the laminations
of the strips 13 and 14. Thus, the high-strength and
resistance to bending moments which is attributed to the
stick by the strips 13 and 14 continue all the way to the -
blade 30, and particularly through the narrowing portion at
the bottom of the har.dle.
While a particular embodiment has been described
and shown in this specification, it will be apparent to those
skilled in the art that modifications and changes may be
made therein without departing from the scope of this
invention as set forth in the appended claims.
