Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
A SPORTING EQUIPMENT SHAFT AND BLADE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of sporting equipment and particularly, a
hockey
shaft and blade.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to improvements in sports shafts,
particularly a
hockey stick, and more particularly to an improved carbon fibre composite
hockey
stick construction that is extremely durable and light weight.
Conventional wood hockey stick has obvious disadvantages in that the wood has
a tendency to crack under the impact loads imposed upon the wood during usage
of the hockey stick, and therefore a wood hockey stick has a short life span.
There have been attempts to develop other sport implements such as baseball
bats and tennis rackets of a combination of wood, metal and carbon fibre.
However, these attempts have not been successful because the use of metal in
particular constructions increased the weight and made the cost prohibitive.
Additionally, other attempts at carbon fibre shafts have led to premature, and
at
times, catastrophic breakage.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved sporting shaft. Other objects of
the
invention will be apparent from the description that follows.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-23
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a sporting equipment
shaft
having first and second ends and an outer surface. The shaft may include a
.. plurality of shaft members each disposed lengthwise of the shaft from the
first to
the second end. A plurality of shaft connector members may be disposed
lengthwise of the shaft from the first to the second end and connecting
neighboring
shaft members to one-another. The shaft connector members may be configured
to create a central lengthwise space in the shaft. Additionally, a plurality
of shaft
.. fins may be disposed lengthwise of the shaft from the first to the second
end and
connected perpendicularly to said plurality of shaft connector members. The
shaft
fins may be configured to create interstitial spaces among the shaft fins that
run
the length of the shaft. Filler material may be disposed inside the central
and
interstitial spaces running lengthwise of the shaft from the first to the
second end.
The sporting equipment shaft may have rectangular or circular cross-section.
With
a rectangular cross section, there may be four shaft members with each of the
four
shaft members disposed in a corner of the rectangular shaft. With a circular
cross
section, the shaft members may be equidistantly disposed along a perimeter of
the
circular shaft.
The shaft members may have rounded edges along the outer surface of the shaft.
The plurality of shaft connector members may be configured to connect to the
plurality of shaft members so that the plurality of shaft fins extend away
from the
plurality of shaft connector members to the outer surface.
The filler material may include rigid foam.
The plurality of shaft members may taper from a midpoint of the shaft to each
end
of the shaft.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-23
A hockey blade may be included to attach to the shaft. The blade may include a
blade body having a front face, back face, heel portion, a top edge, a tip
edge and
a bottom edge, the heel portion configured to connect to the shaft. A blade
member may be embedded inside the blade body along substantially the top, tip
and bottom edges. A plurality of blade connector members may be embedded
inside said blade body from the front face to the back face. The plurality of
blade
connector members may be configured to provide blade body space within the
blade body. Filler material, such as rigid foam may also be disposed inside
the
blade body space.
Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the
detailed
description of the preferred embodiment and to the claims that follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiment of the invention will be described by reference to
the
drawings thereof in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sporting equipment shaft, particularly a
hockey
shaft connected to a hockey blade of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a top view of the hockey shaft of Fig. 1 in the hand of a player;
Fig. 3 is a top view of the hockey shaft of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a top view of another embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 5 is a side view of an embodiment of a shaft member of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5b is a side view of another embodiment of a shaft member of Fig. 1;
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Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-23
Fig. 5c is a side view of yet another embodiment of a shaft member of Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is a isometric view of the hockey shaft of Fig. 1 showing the
orientation of
the carbon fibre; and
Fig. 7 is a cutaway view of a hockey blade of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a lightweight hockey stick shaft 10 and connected
blade
100 are illustrated. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the present
invention
is not limited to hockey sticks and the technology can be applied to any
sporting
shaft. Herein, reference to hockey shaft encompasses all sorts of sporting
shafts.
Hockey shaft 10 has first 12 and second 14 ends and an outer surface 16.
Hockey
shaft 10 includes a plurality of shaft members 18 each disposed lengthwise of
the
shaft from the first 12 to the second 14 end. A plurality of shaft connector
members
are also disposed lengthwise of the shaft from the first 12 to the second 14
end.
20 The shaft connector members 20 connect neighboring shaft members 18 to
one-
another and are configured to create a central lengthwise space 22 in the
shaft.
Additionally, a plurality of shaft fins 24 are also disposed lengthwise of the
shaft
from the first 12 to the second 14 end. The shaft fins 24 are connected
perpendicularly to the plurality of shaft connector members 20 and extend from
the
connector members to the outer surface 16 of the hockey shaft 10. The shaft
fins
24 are configured to create interstitial spaces 26 among the shaft fins that
run the
length of the shaft 10.
Preferably, shaft members 18, connector members 20 and fins 24 are formed from
carbon fibre of suitable grades and thicknesses. As those skilled in the art
will
appreciate, shaft members 18, connector members 20 and fins 24 may be formed
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Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-23
of any suitable material depending on the shaft's 10 application. As those
skilled
in the art will also appreciate shaft members 18, connector members 20 and
fins
24 may be individually formed and bonded together or they may be integrally
formed.
Referring to Fig. 3, filler material 28 is disposed inside the central 22 and
interstitial
spaces 26 running lengthwise of the shaft 10 from the first 12 to the second
14
end. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, any suitable filler material
will do,
but preferably, the filler material is rigid foam. The rigid foam may form
most of the
outer surface 16 of the shaft 10, but it is also contemplated that a thin
jacket 30 of
lightweight material may comprise the outer surface.
As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, shaft members 18 have rounded edges along the
outer surface 16 of the shaft 10 to aid a player's hold of the shaft. However,
as
those skilled in the art will appreciate, shaft members 18 may be of any
suitable
shape and may be squared off as illustrated in Fig. 3.
Referring to Fig. 4, shaft 10 may have circular cross-section, for example
when
used in a fishing rod, baseball bat or golf shaft etc.. With a circular cross
section,
the shaft members 18 and fins 24 are equidistantly disposed along a perimeter
of
the circular shaft.
Referring to Fig. 5a, the plurality of shaft members 18 may taper from a
midpoint
13 to each end 12 14 of the shaft member to further reduce the shaft's weight
and
to customize the kickpoint of the hockey shaft. Referring to Fig. 5b, the
plurality of
shaft members 18 may also change directions or angles as they run from the
first
12 end to the second 14 end to customize the shaft's 10 stiffness. Referring
to
Fig. 5c, the plurality of shaft members 18 may taper from a midpoint 13 and
also
change directions or angles as they run from the first 12 end to the second 14
end
to further customize the shaft's 10 characteristics.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-23
Referring to Fig. 6, the preferred orientation of the carbon fibre is
illustrated. As
those skilled in the art will appreciate, the orientation of the carbon fibre
can vary
depending on desired shaft characteristics. Orientation of the carbon fibre of
the
shaft member 18 are along lines 400. Orientation of the carbon fibre of the
.. connector members 20 are along lines 402. Orientation of the carbo fibre of
the
shaft fins 24 are along lines 404.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 7 a hockey blade 100 is illustrated. The blade 100
includes
a heel portion 102, a top edge 104, a tip edge 106 and a bottom edge 108. The
blade 100 also includes a front face 200 and a rear face 300. The heel portion
102
is configured to connect to the second end 14 of the shaft 10. Preferably,
blade
100 is integrally formed with hockey shaft 10 as a "one-piece" stick, but it
is also
contemplated that the blade may simply be connected to a hosel for insertion
into
a stand-alone hockey shaft. A blade member 110 is embedded inside the blade
body 101 along substantially the top 104, tip 106 and bottom edges 108. A
plurality
of blade connector members 112 may be included and embedded inside the blade
100 from the front 200 to the back 300 faces to create a blade body space
within
the blade. Filler material 114 is disposed inside said blade body space.
Orientation of the carbon fibre of blade member 110 along top edge 104, tip
edge
106 and a bottom edge 108 is along line 116. Orientation of the carbon fibre
of
blade connector members 112 is along line 118.
While embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such
embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only. The
invention
may include variants not described or illustrated herein in detail. Thus, the
embodiments described and illustrated herein should not be considered to limit
the
invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-23
