Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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HOCKEY STICK RACK
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a device for holding and storing hockey sticks and other
sporting
equipment which have long handles.
Devices for holding and storing hockey sticks and other sporting equipment are
available.
Those devices have generally provided for methods of holding the sticks
horizontally but
not vertically or have not been portable or have not had a method of ensuring
that the
hockey sticks do not fall out of the storage device or rack that does not
involve opening and
closing the stick holder. Although there are various holding and storage
devices, there is
need for a device which will hold the hockey sticks or other sporting
equipment in a vertical
position, ensure that they do not fall over or out of the device, even when
hit and which is
easily transported and portable.
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DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
The prior art has generally consisted of devices for storing and holding
hockey sticks. These are
devices which generally have an opening only in one direction or hold them at
one end of the
hockey stick or have no method of keeping the hockey sticks from falling over
except those devices
which have had methods which require the mechanism to be open and closed prior
to insertion and
removal. There is no device which allows the hockey stick to be placed
vertically into the rack and
effectively locking it in place and preventing it from falling over by nothing
more than inserting the
stick in the rack and which allows removal on the same basis without having to
clamp, unclamp or
otherwise deal with the hockey stick and which is portable.
Canadian Patent No. 1193229 issued to Erickson is a rack providing for the
horizontal storage of
hockey sticks. This device is for the horizontal storage, not the vertical
storage and provides for
the storage of only one hockey stick at a time. There is no method for holding
the hockey stick in
place so that if bumped, it will jump out of the rack and fall to the floor.
This device is not portable.
Canadian Patent No. 2230003 issued to McMonagle is a device for holding hockey
sticks
consisting of two racks which form part of a rectangular support structure
with a number of
clamping devices mounted on the front of the structure. This device has the
openings for the
insertion of a hockey stick in only one direction unlike the subject
invention. It must use clamps
to hold the hockey sticks in place, to prevent them from falling out of or
being banged out of the
device when contact is made, which clamps must be opened and closed. It is
also a rectangular
structure which is not self-supporting and not portable unlike the subject
invention.
Canadian Patent No. 2278063 issued to Boulet is also a device which has the
racks at the top and
the bottom and openings both facing in the same direction and not in opposite
directions which
means that the hockey stick is not locked into place unlike the subject
invention. The invention also
has a large base interfering with and taking up significant space where the
invention is placed
unlike the subject invention.
Similarly, Canadian Patent No. 2334053 issued to Belisle has similar
differences in that the
openings for the hockey stick both face in the same direction, the base is
significantly larger than
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the subject invention and occupies significant space in the dressing room. The
only method of
locking the sticks in place is to put a bar or strap over the sticks holding
it in place, which must
opened and closed each time a stick is inserted or removed, unlike the subject
invention.
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BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a device for holding and storing hockey sticks and other
sporting equipment with
long handles. The base of the invention is composed of a member to which two
members are
joined at right angles at the middle of the first member. The base rests on
the surface upon which
the device rests. At the joining point of the three members, a further member
is attached which
extends vertically from the base. In the preferred embodiment, over this
vertical member would
be inserted another member also rising vertically whose inside diameter is
equal to the outside
diameter of the first vertical member. This second vertical member slides over
the first vertical
member to lock it into place. To this second vertical member is attached at or
near the top of the
member two further members on opposite sides of such second vertical member.
These extend
out parallel to the surface on which the device rests. To each of these
members is attached a
further member at right angles. These two members are therefore parallel to
each other. To each
of these members on the side furthest from the second vertical member are
attached a plurality of
further members at right angles to such member. To the second vertical member
are attached two
more members closer to the surface upon which the invention rests than the
members attached
near the top of the second vertical member. These are on opposite sides of the
second vertical
member and on the same sides as the second vertical member as the two members
attached near
the top of the second vertical member. They are also longer than the two
members attached near
the top of the second vertical member. They are also parallel to the surface
and therefore parallel
also to the top two members. To these attached at right angles are two further
members. These
two further members are parallel to each other. To these members are attached
on the side
closest to the second vertical member a plurality of members at right angles.
The members may be hollow or solid. The members may be round, square or in
another shape
and may be made of various materials, including wood, steel and plastic.
A hockey stick is loaded into the subject device by inserting the hockey stick
between two of the
plurality of members on the lower attachment to the second vertical member and
resting the top
of the hockey stick between two of the plurality of members attached to the
upper end of the
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second vertical member. The members on either side of the hockey stick,
prevent movement from
side to side and the opposed nature of the top and bottom members of the
attachment prevents
the hockey stick from moving forward or backwards.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the front of the device.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device from the top looking straight down
at the device.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view from the side of the device.
Fig. 4 is an isometric view looking down at the device from the side but
standing slightly to the front
of the device allowing the device to be viewed in a three dimensional aspect.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4, a member
(40) is attached to two
members (30) which are attached to the mid-point of the first member (40) on
opposite sides and
extend at right angles from the first member (40) to form the base of the
device. In the preferred
embodiment, there is attached a vertical member (50) as illustrated in Fig. 1
which is attached to
the first member (40) at the centre and extends vertically from the point of
attachment. The
member (50) has an outside diameter which is equal to or slightly less than
the inside diameter of
the vertical member (60) which is attached to it and slides over it (60) in
the preferred embodiment
as illustrated in Fig. 1, which member (60) is the outside vertical member.
Attached to the outside
vertical member at or near the top of the outside vertical member (60) are two
members (12)
attached at right angles and parallel to the base member (40). These are
attached on the opposite
sides to the outside vertical member (60). To these members (12) are each
attached at right
angles a further member (10). These two members (10) are horizontal to the
surface upon which
the device rests including the base member (40). The two members (10) are
parallel to each other.
To each of these parallel members (10) are attached a plurality of further
members (70). These
plurality of further members are attached to the surface of the two horizontal
members (10) which
is farthest from the outside vertical member (60) and extend away from the
outside vertical member
(60). They are attached at right angles and parallel to the surface on which
the device rests.
Attached to the outside vertical member (60) between the base and the upper
attached members
(12) are two further members (22) attached on opposite sides of the outside
vertical member (60)
and parallel to the surface upon which the device rests. These two further
members (22) are also
parallel to and attached to the same sides of the outside vertical member (60)
as the two members
(12) attached near the top of the outside vertical member. To these members
(22) are attached
at right angles two further members (20) which members are also parallel to
the surface on which
the invention rests. These horizontally attached members (20) are parallel to
each other. Attached
to each of these horizontal members (20) are a plurality of further members
(70) attached to the
side of the horizontal members (20) which are closest to the outside vertical
member (60) and
extending inwards towards the outside vertical member (60). These members (20)
are attached
at right angles to the two horizontal members (20) and parallel to the surface
on which the invention
rests.
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In the most advantageous application, the outside vertical member (60) is
inserted over the inside
vertical member (50) locking the device into place. However, for transport,
the outside vertical
member is raised vertically and removed breaking the device into two pieces
allowing for ease of
transport and storage. In other applications, the outside vertical member (60)
and the inside
vertical member (50) can be made into one piece locking the device permanently
in place, or the
outside vertical member can be split into two or three pieces with the splits
occurring between the
upper and lower attachments to the outside vertical member (60).
The lower horizontal and parallel members (20) are further in distance from
the outside vertical
member (60) than the upper horizontal and parallel members (10) allowing for
the insertion of the
hockey sticks in a vertical position, but still locked in place.
It will be apparent that various changes and modifications can be made without
departing from the
scope of the invention as defined in the claims. For example, the members may
be square or
round. The members may also be hollow or solid. The members may also be other
shapes. The
members may be made of various materials including metal, plastic and wood.
The plurality of
members can be increased or decreased allowing the device to hold a greater or
lesser number
of sticks. As well, the position of the horizontal members which are parallel
to each other, one
near the top and the other near the bottom of the device, may be moved up or
down or varied in
height and distance apart. In addition, the base can be in other shapes such
as a single square
piece on a flat plane resting on the surface on which the invention rests and
to which is attached
the vertical member.
