Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to laminated panels which
may be used, for example to reinforce handles and shafts used in
various sports. The present invention has particular application
to hockey stick handles.
At present, hockey stick manufacturers often bond
reinforcement panels to shaft cores made of a hardwood such as -~
poplar. The cores are conventionally rectangular in transverse
cross-section, and are constructed so that the wider surfaces are
more or less parallel to the hockey stick blade. The panels are
composed solely of epoxy and uni-directional fibreglass and are
secured to the wider surfaces of the core to assist in
strengthening the hockey stick against forces normal to these
surfaces (see e.g. Canadian Patent No. 1,150,331 of Koebel issued
July 19, 1983). The reinforcement panels must be sanded on one
surface to permit further bonding to the core using epoxy resin.
The problems with this are that, firstly, the epoxy resin is
expensive and, secondly, the sanding breaks a large percentage of
the glass fibres in the panel, causing a corresponding reduction in
the strength that the panel was designed to provide.
If a laminate made of wood and epoxy/fibreglass layers is
produced, because the epoxy resin permeates the wood layer, it is
very difficult to bond the wood layer of such a laminate panel to
a wooden core without using an expensive adhesive which is
compatible with epoxy resin.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an
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improved panel with a wood surface that can be bonded to shaft
cores with cheaper wood glues, and at the same time protect the
surface of the fibreglass laminate from the destructive effect of
sanding.
It is a further object of the present invention to
provide a laminated fibreglass reinforcement panel having at least
one exposed face of veneer with a wood glue compatible surface.
SUMMaRY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention there is
provided a fibreglass wood veneer laminated panel which comprises
a pair of adjacent layers of wood bonded together by a coating of
adhesive, the coating being non-permeable to epoxy resin, and a
layer of fibreglass and epoxy resin on the outer surface of one of
the layers of wood.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention,
the fibreglass-wood veneer panel comprises a pair of adjacent
layers of wood bonded together by a coating of adhesive which is
non-permeable to epoxy resin and are bonded to each surface by a
layer of fibreglass and epoxy resin.
As well, the invention relates to a shaft for a hockey
stick and the like which has a core of rectangular transverse
cross-section. Each of the opposite, wider faces of the core has
bonded to it a fibreglass wood veneer laminated panel. The panel
comprises a pair of adjacent layers of wood bonded together by a
coating of adhesive which is non-permeable to epoxy resin, and a
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layer of fibreglass and epoxy resin on the outer surface of one of
the layers of wood. The outer surface of the other of the layers
of wood is bonded to the corresponding surface of the core by a :
conventional wood glue. : -
The panel according to the present invention provides a
fibreglass and wood veneer reinforced panel for hockey stick
handles and the like, which provides excellent reinforcement
characteristics while at the same time permitting its bonding with ~: -
cheaper wood glues. -~ -
BRIBF DE8CRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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These and other objects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent upon reading the following detailed :~
description and upon referring to the drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective plan view of a fibreglass wood
veneer laminated panel in accordance with the present invention,
the layers shown in stepped section at one end;
FIGURE 2 is a section view of an alternative embodiment
of fibreglass wood veneer laminate panel in accordance with the
present invention; :
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20FIGURE 3 is a perspective, partial view of a hockey stick
shaft incorporating a laminated panel in accordance with the :;
present invention; and
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.~1 FIGURE 4 is a section view of a further alternative
embodiment of laminated panel in accordance with the present :-~
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While the invention will be described in conjunction with
example embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended
to limit the invention to such embodiments. On the contrary, it is
intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents
as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as
defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DE8CRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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In the drawings, similar features have been given similar
reference numerals.
Turning to FIGURE 1 there is shown a fibreglass wood
veneer laminated panel 2 in accordance with the present invention.
Panel 2 comprises a pair of adjacent layers 4 and 6, of a hardwood
such as birch, bonded together by a coating of adhesive 8 which is
non-permeable to epoxy resin. The bonding agent which is non-
permeable to epoxy resin is preferably urea formaldehyde plus its
catalyst. To layer 6 is bonded a layer 10 of uni-directional
fibreglass fibres 11 and epoxy resin.
Panel 2 may be manufactured using a standing press
capable of maintaining a constant temperature (e.g. 100 C to 135~C)
and pressure (e.g. 10 psi to 40 psi). Prior to introduction to
the press, the panel components are assembled by a layer of wood
veneer 4 (0.020" to 0.040"), a coating of the non-permeable bonding
agent 8, wood veneer layer 6 (again 0.020" to 0.040"), and a layer
10 of uni-directional fibreglass and epoxy (0.015" to 0.045").
An optional construction, as set out in FIGURE 2,
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includes additional wood veneer layers 12 and 14, similarly bonded
by a non-permeable bonding agent 8, bonded to the other side of
fibreglass and epoxy layer 10.
The fibreglass layer 10 may also contain uni-directional
fibres such as graphite, carbon, nylon, Kevlar (trade mark) or any
other fibre that might enhance that layer structurally or visually,
or it might instead be a layer of similar rigid thermoplastic or
thermoset materials.
The advantage of the panel in accordance with the present
invention is that it circumvents the requirement of sanding and use
of epoxy resin or other expensive adhesives for further bonding of
the panels to the core. This is achieved by having the two
adjacent wood veneer layers bonded by means of the adhesive which
is non-permeable to the epoxy resin used in the fibreglass laminate
layer yet which is compatible with it. This allows the finished
panel to have a wood veneer face that has not been permeated with
epoxy and hence can be bonded to the core by conventional wood
glues. The conventional wood glues in question may be aliphatic
resins, polyvinyls, urea formaldehyde and catalysts, or glue films
of either melamine or phenolic resins.
In FIGURE 3 there is illustrated a pair of panels 2,
similar to that of FIGURE 1, secured to the wider faces of the core
16 of a shaft for a hockey stick or the like. Core 16 is made, for
example of a hardwood such as poplar, or a high strength foamed
plastic and has a rectangular transverse cross-section. As can be
~-``i seen in phantom in FIGURE 3, fibreglass fibres 11 are uni-
directional in the direction of the longitudinal axis of core 16.
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The panel 2 made in accordance with the invention as
illustrated in FIGURE 1 is rectangular in cross-section and has a
fibreglass layer having a smooth surface. In the form of FIGURE 2,
a smooth wood surface is presented on both sides of the panel. To
manufacture shafts from these panels, panels of a particular size
are bonded to opposite surfaces of a core of corresponding size and
a number of appropriately sized shafts are then cut from the bonded
core and panels. This bonding may be achieved using any
appropriate conventional wood glue, as mentioned previously herein.
This is made possible by the fact that the epoxy resin of
the fibreglass layer is allowed to permeate the wood veneer of
layer 6 (FIGURES 1 and 2) or 12 (FIGURE 2) but not layer 4 or 14
during the pressing and curing process, through the use of the non-
permeable bonding agent 8 between the two adjacent wood veneer
layers 4 and 6 (FIGURES 1 and 2) and 12 and 14 (FIGURE 2). ~;
The shaft prepared according to the present invention
provides excellent stiffness and flexibility in the required
direction (normal to the wide surfaces of the core).
The panels may be of any desired construction, and, for
example as illustrated in FIGURE 4, a non-coextensive layer of
fibreglass and epoxy, layer 10, may be made coextensive with the
other layers of wood veneers, 4 and 6, by the addition of a wood
veneer strip 20 of such dimensions that it completes the continuity
of non-coextensive layer 18 and provides a continuous smooth face
on the exterior.
Where a panel of a construction illustrated in FIGURE 2
is bonded to the wider surfaces of core 16 in a hockey stick shaft
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or the like, the exterior wood veneer which is thus provided gives
an excellent surface for both appearance and printing (for example
the brand name of the hockey stick).
Thus it is apparent that there has been provided in
accordance with the invention a laminated reinforcement panel that
fully satisfies the objects, aims and advantages set forth above.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific
embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in
the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is
intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and
variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the
inve=tion.
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