Patent Application
20100275449
This specification relates to cutting tools. This specification also relates to equipment for the sport of ice hockey.
The comments in this background section are not an admission that anything discussed in this section is citable as prior art or part of the common general knowledge of persons skilled in the art in any country.
Hockey players may wrap the blade of their stick with adhesive tape. The tape may be applied to the blade of the stick to improve friction between the puck and the stick for better control and to cushion the reaction to the puck when it strikes the blade of the stick, thereby improving the puck-handling characteristics of the stick.
To apply the tape, the player wraps tape around the blade, beginning at one end, running the tape at a light angle after the first wrap to create an overlap, e.g., of about 1/4″. The player may press the tape as flat as possible against the blade to maximize puck control, ensuring that there are no bubbles or excess tape. Tape may be applied in either direction, heel to toe or toe to heel. Each player may have his/her own preference. However, applying tape from heel to toe may reduce the friction of the snow on the ice, reducing the build-up of the snow on the blade. Applying tape from heel to toe may also allow greater spin when passing and shooting.
Hockey tape may be replaced by the player, for example at regular intervals, once the tape begins to wear-out or when its adhesion is impaired. Removing hockey tape from a stick may be a considerable nuisance. An accepted practice for tape removal is a “brute force” method: the player uses his/her fingers to tear, pull and/or unwind the tape away from the blade. This may become increasingly more difficult over time, as the tape becomes compressed on to the blade as a result of impacts with the hockey puck, or where it has been cut due to contact with a skate blade or other objects, causing the tape to come off in pieces.
The use of a knife or a straight razor is another approach to tape removal, but doing so may risk scoring or otherwise damaging the blade, and thus this method is generally avoided. Also, slitting the tape with a knife or razor may not necessarily make it that much easier to remove the tape as one would still have to use the blade of the knife, or a fingernail, to lift the tape along the edge that it has been cut in order to get a sufficient grip to then pull the tape off of the blade.
Preventing damage to the blade may be important in light of the new generation of hockey sticks made of Aluminum, fiberglass, and composite materials that have become more and more common for players of all levels of ability. These sticks may be expensive, and so users are less inclined to jeopardize the integrity of the blade using a cutting tool to remove the tape.
The following is intended to introduce the reader to this specification but not to define or limit any claim. Inventions may reside in a combination or sub-combinations of the apparatus elements or process steps described below or in other parts of this document.
An apparatus is provided for cutting tape on a hockey stick blade. The apparatus includes a body, and a ski including a front edge and a bottom surface. The apparatus includes a cutting blade arranged generally upright relative to the bottom surface of the ski. The cutting blade may include a cutting edge disposed at an acute angle relative to the top surface of the ski, and the cutting edge may be positioned proximate to the front edge of the ski.
There is also provided a method of cutting tape on a hockey stick blade, the method including providing an apparatus as described herein, gripping the body of the apparatus, guiding the front edge of the ski to an edge of the tape, and pushing and directing the front edge of the ski between the tape and the hockey stick blade so that the tape engages the cutting edge of the cutting blade thereby cutting the tape.
Various apparatuses or methods will be described below to provide an example of an embodiment of each claimed invention. No embodiment described below limits any claimed invention and any claimed invention may cover apparatuses or methods that are not described below. The claimed inventions are not limited to apparatuses or methods having all of the features of any one apparatus or method described below or to features common to multiple or all of the apparatuses described below. It is possible that an apparatus or method described below is not an embodiment of any claimed invention. The applicant(s), inventor(s) and/or owner(s) reserve all rights in any invention disclosed in an apparatus or method described below that is not claimed in this document and do not abandon, disclaim or dedicate to the public any such invention by its disclosure in this document.
Because of the sticky and elastic nature of hockey tape, normal use of a taped hockey stick blade over time may cause the tape to be compressed and adhered to the blade, making removal difficult. This may be especially true for the inside curvature of the hockey blade, where the tape is impacted onto the blade after repeated collisions with a hockey puck.
To address this problem, an apparatus is provided including a body for holding the apparatus, and a ski. The ski generally includes a front edge and a bottom surface. The apparatus also includes a cutting blade arranged generally upright relative to the bottom surface of the ski. The cutting blade includes a cutting edge disposed at an acute angle relative to the bottom surface of the ski. The cutting edge is positioned proximate to the front edge of the ski.
In use, the ski of the apparatus is forced between the tape and the hockey stick blade. The ski lifts the tape, making it taut and easier to cut while also protecting the hockey stick blade from the cutting blade.
The apparatus and method described herein is simple, effective, and enables the removal of tape from a hockey stick blade without scoring or otherwise damaging the blade by lifting the tape, cutting the tape and turning up both sides of the cut to allow the user to grip the tape and remove the tape from the blade of the stick.
With reference to
The body 12 may be formed of a sufficiently tough and durable material so that the apparatus 10 is robust and resistant to breaking, cracking or chipping after repeated use, dropping, etc. For example, the body 12 may be formed of a plastic material, such as nylon. In another example, the body 12 may be formed of a composite material, such as fiberglass reinforced nylon.
The apparatus 10 further comprises a cutting blade 16. To ensure efficient cutting, the blade 16 should be sharp. To prevent operators, who may be children, from injuring themselves by coming in to contact with the cutting blade 16, the body 12 may include a blade covering portion 18 extending longitudinally beyond the front edge of the ski 14. The blade covering portion 18 provides a means of covering and protecting the blade 16, since a gap between the blade covering portion 18 and the ski 14 is relatively narrow so that it is not possible for even a small finger to touch the blade 16.
In operation, the ski 14, once slid between the tape and the hockey stick blade, serves to lift the tape thereby making the tape taut, and therefore easier to cut, prior to engagement with the angled cutting blade 16. The cutting blade 16 is provided at an angle in relation to the bottom surface of the ski 14, as discussed more fully below.
With reference to
The apparatus 10 may further include a bottle opener and/or lace tightening device 22, which is held to the body 12 via a fastening means 24 such as a screw or a rivet. The bottle opener and/or lace tightening device 22 may also include a flat tip 25 that can be used as a flathead screwdriver for repairing helmets, etc. The apparatus 10 may further include a skate sharpening stone 26. The bottle opener and/or lace tightening device 22 and the skate sharpening stone 26 are optional components. Also optional is the inclusion of a relatively sharp edge 28 at some point on the main body 12 to assist the user in the removal of remaining tape residue left on the stick's blade after the tape has been removed. Other optional components could be included.
With reference to
It is not essential that the cutting blade 16 be housed in the ski 14. The cutting blade 16 may be arranged or fixed generally upright (e.g., it may be perpendicular, but does not have to be exactly perpendicular) relative to a bottom surface of the ski 14. The cutting blade 16 may also be arranged or fixed centrally and longitudinally (i.e. in a direction generally parallel to a general cutting direction) in relation to a top surface of the ski 14. Suitable configurations of the cutting blade 16 relative to the ski 14 may be accomplished in a multitude of ways as would be appreciated by a person of skill in the art. For example, the cutting blade 16 could be welded to the ski 14. A welded configuration would operate as a cutting device in much the same way. However, a drawback to this approach is that it would not be possible to replace the cutting blade 16 independently of the ski 14.
With reference to the cutting assembly 30 illustrated in
It has been determined that apparatus 10 is most effective at cutting when the distance 36 does not exceed a certain threshold. In particular, the distance 36 of offset should be less than about 4.5 mm, or about 0.5 to 5 mm, or about 1 to 3 mm. With a distance greater than 5 mm, there may be too much surface area of the ski 14 to impede the adhesive tape, causing gathering of the tape and preventing efficient cutting. Hockey tape is generally relatively strong, sticky and elastic. The inventors have found that the longer the distance 36 means that greater force is required to push the ski 14 under the tape and lift the tape. As well, due to the tape's material and elasticity it will begin to gather as it is being pushed, and the gathering makes it difficult, and at a certain point the blade 16 will not be able to cut the tape with reasonable force.
With reference to
The cutting blade 16 is preferably angled. An angled cutting blade 16 has been found to be effective at cutting because it forces the tape further up and away from the hockey stick blade, pulling it tight and allowing the cutting edge 40 to cut though. The inventors have found that the apparatus 10 has superior cutting performance when the blade angle 52 (defined by the angle between the cutting edge 40 and the bottom edge 42 in the configuration illustrated) is generally between about 10 to 22.5 degrees, or about 10 to 25 degrees, or about 18 to 23 degrees. With an angle of about 22.5 degrees, for example, it has been found that the cutting edge 40 slices through the tape relatively quickly. With a higher angle greater than 25 degrees, it has been found that tape tends to stretch more and bunch up, and the tape will not be able to be cut with reasonable force.
The cutting blade 16 may be formed from a metallic material such as steel or aluminum. In a particular example, the cutting blade 16 may be formed of a high performance stainless steel material, such as SK5 steel.
With reference to
It is preferable that at least the bevel portion 54 is relatively flat across its width (i.e. neither concave or convex in a lateral direction relative to the direction of cutting), so that the bevel portion 54 may sit flush with the surface of the hockey stick blade to get underneath the edge of the hockey tape.
For the sake of comparison, the inventors conducted tests using a ski having a flat bottom in the longitudinal direction, i.e. in the direction of cutting. The result was that, due to the blade of the stick being curved, the tip of the ski would dig into the blade of the stick and stop or score the stick blade. Tests were also conducted with a ski bottom that was concave in shape in a lateral direction. A ski that was concaved from side to side was problematic because the center of the tip of the ski was then not flat on the blade of the stick, and therefore would not easily go under the tape.
The front edge 38 of the ski 14 should be sufficiently sharp and narrow in order to get underneath the edge of the hockey tape. For example, the front edge 38 of the ski 14 may have a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm. Or, for example, the front edge 38 of the ski 14 may have a thickness of about 0.2 to 0.3 mm. The width of the tip 38 should be thin enough and relatively narrow so it may slip under the tape, but wide enough to stretch the tape to enable efficient cutting. The gradual increase in the width of the ski 16 (across the bevel portion 54) pulls the tape taut for cutting and also turns the edges of the tape up away from the stick blade so the user can easily grab the edges of the tape and peal back the tape off the stick blade.
Because the front edge of the ski 14 is applied, at an angle of attack, to the edge of the tape with sufficient force to slide between the tape and the hockey stick blade, and the tip 38 of the ski should be sufficiently thin, it is important that at least the portion around the tip 38 of the ski 14 be formed from a sufficiently tough material, for example, a metallic material. In a particular example, stainless steel may be used. Other tough materials may be possible, but the inventors have found that even hard plastics, such as polycarbonate, may not be suitable for the ski 14 because they are prone to break, crack or chip after repeated use when produced in accordance with the dimensional parameters described herein.
With reference to
The ski 14 may further include a recess 64 for receiving the bottom surface 42 of the cutting blade 16 so that the tip 44 of the cutting blade 16 is provided in a recessed position relative to a top surface of the ski 14. Providing the tip 44 in a recessed position inhibits the possibility of tape catching at the tip 44 between the ski 14 and the cutting blade 16, which would negatively affect the cutting process.
The apparatus 10 is relatively simple and intuitive to use. The front edge of the ski 14 may be guided to an edge of the tape at an end of the hockey stick blade, and then directed between the tape and the hockey stick blade, such that the tape engages the cutting edge 40 of the cutting blade 16 thereby cutting the tape. The user slides apparatus 10 though the length of the blade of the stick, thereby cutting the tape and allowing easy removal.
In practice, it has been found that tape removal is easier if the user begins cutting the tape at the heel end of the blade, preferably in the same direction the stick blade was taped, along the inside curvature of the stick blade. It is preferable if the ski is forced between the blade and the tape at a midway point on the blade surface (midway in a height direction, not a heel-toe direction), and may be easier and safer if the cutting is done with a pushing action away from the user's body, as opposed to pulling the apparatus 10. For this reason, the body 12 is preferably located generally behind (from the perspective of the user) the ski 14 and blade 16. The inventors have attempted other configurations for use with a pulling motion. However, problems arose with these configurations. First, while pulling such an apparatus, the body portion tended to hide the tip of the ski from view of the operator, and made it difficult to place the ski under the edge of the tape and maintain the correct angle to cut the tape.
Second, a pulling action was found to be potentially dangerous since the operators would be pulling the blades towards their bodies with some degree of force.
As mentioned above, the body 12 is adapted to fit comfortably in a user's hand, and may be offset at an angle in relation to the bottom surface 58 of the ski 14, thereby providing an angle of attack when in use. The angle of the body 12 also allows the user's fingers to be located under the body 12 when holding the device and still have clearance relative to the stick, preventing the fingers from contacting the stick blade and tape.
Because the ski 14 may have a substantially flat bottom surface (e.g., at least over the bevel portion 54), use of the apparatus 10 advantageously prevents damage or scoring of the blade, as compared with trying to remove the tape with a straight razor or a knife, for example.
Although the body 12, ski 14 and cutting blade 16 are illustrated as separate components, the apparatus 10 could comprise a unitary design wherein two or more components are integrated in a unitary design. For example, the ski 14 may be integrated with the body 12 as a single molded assembly, or the blade 16 could be integrated with the ski 14 as a single unitary assembly, or both. Another possible configuration is integrate the cutting blade 14 with the body 12, e.g., by insert molding the cutting blade 14 into the body 12. Other configurations are of course possible.
It is also possible for one or more components be fabricated from more than one material. With reference to
With reference to
It is anticipated that those having ordinary skill in this art can make various modification to the apparatuses and methods disclosed herein to produce modified apparatuses and methods that fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
For the United States of America, this application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/889,088, filed Feb. 09, 2007, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by this reference to it.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA08/00240 | 2/5/2008 | WO | 00 | 3/22/2010 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60889088 | Feb 2007 | US |
