Rib-reinforced hockey stick shaft and method of fabrication

• US 20050215365A1
• Filed: 03/25/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sport Maska Incorporated (Adidas AG)
• Original Assignee: 2946-6380 Quebec Inc.
• Inventors: Belanger, Germaiin, Lussier, Remi, Jean, Marcel, Gatien, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,326,135 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/560
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/22 Field hockey
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/023 Long, oriented fibres, e.g. wound filaments, woven fabrics, mats
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 59/70 with bent or angled lower parts for hitting a ball on the ground, on an ice-covered surface, or in the air, e.g. for hockey or hurling
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/06 Handles

Abstract

The invention relates to a hockey stick shaft having a cross-section and properties varying along a length thereof and to a method for fabrication thereof. The varying cross section defines selected regions of optimized grip for the hands of a player and of optimized rigidity and resistance in torsion of the shaft.

Claims

1. A shaft for a hockey stick, comprising at least one rib in at least one surface thereof, said at least one rib running at least in one part of a length of said at least one surface.

2. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein a position of said at least one rib over a width of said at least one surface of the shaft is selectively varied.

3. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein the position of the at least one rib on said at least one surface is modified from a proximate end portion of the shaft to a central portion of the shaft, and further modified from the central portion of the shaft to a distal end portion of the shaft adjacent a blade mounting region of the hockey stick.

4. The shaft as recited in claim 3, wherein said at least one rib flattens and has a spreading geometry in the distal end portion adjacent the blade mounting region of the hockey stick.

5. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein the position of the at least one rib on said at least one surface is selectively positioned along the length of said at least one surface to enhance a resistance in flexion of the shaft between positions of two hands of a player holding the hockey stick, and has a flattened and spreading geometry in an end portion of the shaft adjacent a blade mounting region of the hockey stick to enhance a resistance to torsional rotation and to deflection effect.

6. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one rib has a geometry varying along the length of said at least one surface.

7. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one rib is one of a dished-in rib, a protuberance, and a combination thereof.

8. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of a depth, a height, a width and a cross-section of the at least one rib is varied along the length of said at least one surface according to target localized properties of the shaft.

9. The shaft as recited in claim 1, wherein the cross section of the at least one rib is, at least in part along the length of said at least one surface of the shaft, one of rectangular, semi-circle shaped, trapezoid and diamond shaped.

10. The shaft as recited in claim 1, said at least one ribs comprising ribs of different lengths, said ribs being one of intersecting at determined locations along the length of said at least one surface of the shaft and parallel.

11. The shaft as recited in claim 1, the shaft further comprising at least one of longitudinally oriented high tensile strength wires and fibers on at least parts of said at least one surface thereof.

12. The shaft as recited in claim 11, wherein said at least one of longitudinally oriented high tensile strength wires and fibers are provided in opposite surfaces of the shaft.

13. The shaft as recited in claim 1, the shaft further comprising on at least part of a surface thereof a surface finish.

14. A method for fabricating a shaft for a hockey stick, comprising the step of inserting at least one rib in at least one part of a length of at least one surface of the shaft.