FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a buffering structure for hollow and tubular sport items such as hockey sticks, the buffering structure absorbs shocks from outside of the sport items and prevents from being cracked.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional hockey stick as shown in FIG. 5 generally includes a rectangular body which includes four corners 80 as shown in FIG. 6. Each corner 80 includes an outer corner 81 and an inner corner 82. When the hockey stick hits pucks or hits on the ice, the shock is spread to the whole body and a concentration of stress is caused at the curved area such as the corners 80. The stress or tension caused by the impact to the hockey stick may cause cracks if the hockey stick has a notch or fatigue area, the hockey stick can be broken at the position where cracks are formed. Generally, the concentration of stress is formed at the inner corner 82 and the cracks happen from the inside of the hollow body.
The present invention intends to provide a buffering structure for the hollow and tubular sport items and the buffering structure includes recesses defined in the corners of the hollow and tubular body of the sport item. Polyethylene (PE) or Polyurethane (PU) are filled in the recesses so as to absorb the shocks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hollow and tubular sport item which includes a rectangular cross section with four corners and each corner has a buffering structure. The buffering structure includes a recess which is enclosed by an inner wall and an outer wall of the corner.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a buffering structure for preventing cracks formed at the corners of hollow and tubular sport items.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view to show a hollow and tubular sport item such as a hockey stick of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along line 2-2 in FIG. 1 to show the first embodiment of the buffering structure of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view to show the second embodiment of the buffering structure of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view to show the third embodiment of the buffering structure of the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows two conventional hockey sticks hit with each other, and FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view along line 6-6 in FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hollow and tubular sport item, such as a hockey stick, of the present invention comprises a rectangular cross section with four corners and each corner includes a buffering structure 20. The buffering structure 20 includes a recess 21 which is enclosed by an inner wall 22 and an outer wall 23 of the corner. The inner wall 22 of each corner is a straight wall which is inclined to two adjacent sides of the rectangular cross section. The recess 21 is substantially triangle-shaped and is defined in each corner. The recess 21 is filled with Polyethylene (PE) or Polyurethane (PU).
When the sport item hits the puck or hits the ice, the buffering structure 20 absorbs the shocks and the in-tension in the sport item caused by the compression form outside of the sport item is dispensed by the Polyethylene (PE) or Polyurethane (PU). Therefore, the shocks are not directly transferred to the inner wall 22 so that the inner wall 22 does not have cracks.
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the buffering structure 20 of the present invention, wherein the inner wall 22 of each corner is a curved wall 22 which protrudes inward in an interior space of the sport item, and the recess 21 is a circular hole which is an empty hole and separates the inner wall 22 and the outer wall 23. The empty recess 21 reduces the shocks to reach the outer wall 23.
FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the buffering structure 20 of the present invention, wherein the circular hole in FIG. 3 can be filled with Polyethylene (PE) or Polyurethane (PU).
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Patent Application
20070243957
