Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6206793
-
Patent Number
6,206,793
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, December 23, 199726 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 27, 200123 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 473 FOR 189
- 473 535
- 473 536
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A hand-held implement grip and protectant, preferably for a hockey stick, is described. The invention mainly consists of a blade attached to a composite shaft integrally enshrouded with a rubber sheath. A method of forming the same is also provided as laying up a number of sheets of composite material, wrapping those sheets about a mandril, enshrouding the layup with a rubber sheath, vulcanizing the combination, removing the mandril, and inserting a blade therein.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to hand-held implements, especially sports equipment, such as hockey sticks. More specifically, the instant invention is directed to a hockey stick handle formed from composite material having an integrally formed outer elastomeric shroud to protect the composite material and improve gripping ability.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The necessity for adequately gripping hand-held implements has been a long-known and recurring problem. A variety of grips have been explored, but problems still persist. Although it is known to include a rubberized grip about the handle of an implement, certain drawbacks still exist.
One problem encountered with prior art gripping means (such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,050,289 and 5,005,254) is the slippage of the grip vis-à-vis a handle. Whether a grip is glued to a handle or friction-fitted, such rubberized grips have a tendency to dislodge from a shaft. Furthermore, the longer the shaft, and the longer the grip vis-à-vis the shaft, the greater the likelihood of the grip rolling up on itself or slipping. Many attempts have been made to correct this problem, but to no avail. Ultimately, the hand-held implement is either replaced, or the grip is replaced, wasting much time and material.
Another problem involves the now frequent use of hockey stick shafts formed from composite material. “Space-age” materials, such as Kevlar®, boron and graphite, while extremely strong in compression, tension and flexing, have been found to be susceptible to fracture when sharply impacted, such as by a hockey puck or another hockey stick.
It is desirable therefore to provide a hand-held implement with a resilient grip capable of extending a greater distance along the hockey stick shaft, and providing a grip that endures greater impacts and pressures without fracture or slippage.
One particular application where a shock damping is desirable along an entire shaft and where a grip is required to adhere strongly is that of a hockey stick. Currently, hockey stick grips tend to be just near the top of a shaft and are of a short length. If extended further down the shaft, or preferably all the way down the shaft, the grip tends to slip, roll or bunch in the prior art. To overcome these problems would be a great benefit to the sport and overall safety.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
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INVENTOR
ISSUE DATE
PATENT NO.
|
|
2,201,706
Sukohl
05-21-1940
|
2,649,133
Just
08-18-1953
|
2,674,557
Boggs
04-06-1954
|
2,964,065
Haroldson, et al.
12-13-1960
|
3,020,192
Stephens, et al.
02-06-1962
|
3,125,478
Pratt
03-17-1964
|
3,606,326
Sparks
09-20-1971
|
4,016,640
Briggs
04-12-1977
|
4,080,879
Hoden, et al.
03-28-1978
|
4,134,198
Briggs
01-16-1979
|
4,273,601
Weingart
06-16-1981
|
4,579,617
Oberg, et al.
04-01-1986
|
4,923,541
Burger
05-08-1990
|
5,005,254
Uffindell
04-09-1991
|
5,024,712
Lecourt, et al.
06-18-1991
|
5,050,289
Uffindell
09-24-1991
|
5,373,616
Biersdorf, et al.
12-20-1994
|
5,458,330
Baum
10-17-1995
|
5,655,981
Reed
08-12-1997
|
|
The prior art listed above, but not specifically discussed, teach gripping devices and further catalog the prior art of which the applicant is aware. These references diverge even more starkly from the references specifically distinguished above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed toward addressing the problems of providing an anti-fracture gripping means to an elongate member, such as a hockey stick shaft, wherein that gripping means will protect the underlying composite and still will be substantially free from unwanted vibration, slipping, bunching, or rolling up on itself vis-à-vis the shaft. To overcome these problems, this invention provides a means for integrally forming a grip to a shaft. This integral formation is accomplished, essentially, by forming the grip and shaft composite as an integrated unit and ultimately heating the shaft and grip combination at a desired temperature to integrate both the shaft and grip into one.
The most common shaft types (wood, metal, plastic) will not optimally accept heating to combine with a grip. This invention provides, in particular, for resin pre-impregnated into fiber, such as graphite impregnated with epoxy, to be heated and cured together with the grip and the invention also alternatively provides for a similar integration with thermoplastic.
By first wrapping epoxy-impregnated uncured graphite about a heat conductive mandril to form a shaft, a heat susceptible medium is provided. By next placing the mandril and shaft combination into a vacuum tube lined with the grip on the tube interior by evacuating the tube to conform the grip to the tube, the graphite shaft receives the grip by releasing the vacuum and next providing some pressure on the now grip-lined shaft. Thereafter, by heating the shaft and rubber sheath combination at an appropriate temperature for an appropriate amount of time, the integration of the shaft and sheath is accomplished by vulcanization. All then that remains is the removal of the mandril from the core of the shaft to provide an elongate hollow shaft integrated with a grip. With this grip provided over the entire shaft or substantially all of the shaft, it is also far less susceptible to damage versus the prior art.
In particular, in a hockey stick, the hockey stick handle is also to be provided with a rubberized cuff at one end to receive a blade thereafter in a hollow of the shaft. Prior to this invention, such a shaft/grip combination was not provided in the hockey sports industry.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The overall object of the present invention is to provide a handle and grip means which are integrally formed for a long-handled or shafted device, particularly a hockey stick.
It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a grip means on an elongate shaft that is not susceptible to slipping and delamination vis-à-vis the shaft.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a grip means on an elongate shaft that is not susceptible to rolling or bunching on the elongate shaft.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an elongate shaft, such as a graphite impregnated epoxy-type shaft cooked and cured with a rubber sheath for gripping about the entirety of the shaft to protect the graphite.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing an elongated shaft having a grip means provided about its entirety and integrated therewith to cushion sharp blows to the shaft.
Viewed from a first vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hockey stick, comprising, in combination, a shaft, a blade attached to the shaft, the shaft formed from a composite layup including a hollow core, and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing the shaft.
Viewed from a second vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming a hockey stick, the steps including, laying up a composite material, forming the layup of composite material about a mandril defining a layup wrapped mandril, ensconcing a resilient sheath over the layup wrapped mandril, vulcanizing the sheath and layup wrapped mandril combination, removing the mandril, and inserting a hockey blade hosel in a central core of the layup formed by removal of the mandril.
Viewed from a third vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hockey stick, comprising, in combination, a shaft, and a blade attached to the shaft, the shaft formed by laying up a plurality of uncured resin-impregnated sheets of composite material, forming the plurality of sheets about a mandril, defining a layup wrapped mandril, ensconcing a resilient sheath over the layup wrapped mandril, vulcanizing the sheath and layup wrapped mandril combination, and removing the mandril.
Viewed from a fourth vantage point, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shaft for a hockey stick, comprising, in combination, a composite layup including a hollow core, and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing the shaft.
These and other objects will be made manifest when considering the following detailed specification when taken in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of composite layers on a vacuum table.
FIG. 1A
is an exploded perspective view of the composite layers shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 2A
is a side view of a device for wrapping layup about a mandril in an open position.
FIG. 2B
is a side view of a device for wrapping layup about a mandril in an closed operational position.
FIG. 3A
is a cutaway perspective view of a vacuum pipe and rubber sheath.
FIG. 3B
is the cutaway view of
FIG. 3A
with a layup wrapped mandril therein.
FIG. 3C
is a perspective end view of a layup wrapped mandril enshrouded with elastomer.
FIG. 4
is a front cross-sectional view of that which is shown in FIG.
3
C.
FIG. 5
is a cutaway perspective of a heating chamber.
FIG. 6
is a side view of a mandril being removed from the invention.
FIG. 7
is a perspective view of the invention.
FIG. 8
is a flowchart of the method of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Considering the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the various drawing figures, reference numeral
10
(
FIG. 7
) is directed to a hockey stick integrally formed with a shaft and gripping means thereabout according to the present invention.
The grippable shaft
10
is formed of three main components: layers of a thermoset synthetic material
12
; an elastic sheath
30
; and a hockey blade B having a hosel
13
.
As seen in
FIGS. 4 and 7
, a grippable sheath
30
is integrally formed with a plurality of fabric layers
12
wherein the fabric layers
12
are preferably pre-impregnated graphite epoxy and wherein the sheath
30
is preferably then a rubber tube. Whereas the sheath
30
becomes integrally formed with the fabric layers
12
and the elastic cuff
14
by means of a heating and curing process. The elastic cuff is preferably made of urethane.
In manufacture, as first depicted in
FIG. 1
, as a first step, adhesive transfer sheets are removed from sheets
12
to expose the resin thereunder to other sheets
12
, save for the uppermost and lowermost sheets
12
, where transfer sheets
58
remain temporarily. Next, urethane strip
14
is added atop the stack and the entire layup
56
is placed within vacuum table
48
supported by legs
54
. When lid
52
is closed, a vacuum is produced via vacuum holes
50
, causing sheets
12
and strip
14
to be pressed together (had uppermost and lowermost transfer sheets
58
not remained, adherence to the lid
52
and/or table
48
would likely result). The size of urethane strip
14
is preferably less than both the length and width of fabric layers
12
. More preferably, strip
14
's length L is as long as the circumference of mandril
18
.
Next, as depicted in
FIGS. 2A and 2B
, the shaft
10
is formed by first providing multiple epoxy-impregnated graphite sheets
12
, having the remaining transfer sheets
58
now removed, and a urethane or rubber elastomer
14
thereby which are then wrapped about a mandril
18
. The sheets
12
are preferably the graphite type wherein the grains of graphite can be a mixture of longitudinal, latitudinal or crossed grains. That is, each individual graphite sheet
12
may have the same or different grain varieties included. One, for instance, may have graphite strands all longitudinally drawn. Another sheet
12
may have all the graphite grains perpendicular to the previous sheet
12
. Yet another sheet or sheets may have the grains of graphite running at various angles. By utilizing different grain striations on sheets
12
, different shaft strength characteristics can be achieved. By providing a strip of elastomer such as urethane
14
immediately next to sheets
12
, the elastic receptacle or cuff
14
can later be formed.
As the strips
12
and elastomer
14
, known as layup
56
, progress down the conveyer belt
16
as depicted in
FIG. 2B
, they are wrapped around and adhered to a heat conductive mandril
18
. Conveyor belt
16
is rotated by motor
22
coupled to pulleys or rollers
20
. Likewise, belt
16
, also driven by motor
22
when tightened by moving lever
68
along arrow O and activating tension means
26
and thereby raising arm
28
, will thereby rotate mandril
18
around arcuate arrow R and wrap layup
56
about it in turn. Mandril
18
with sheets
12
and urethane
14
wrapped about it is then removed.
As relates more particularly to mandril wrapping machine
100
, the device is made up of the following. As shown in
FIG. 2A
, when lever
68
is in a resting (or open) position, belt
16
is loosely wrapped about rollers
20
. Motor
22
, coupled to motor wheel
88
by belt
90
, will cause belt
90
to turn motor wheel
88
, thereby causing belt
92
to likewise rotate wheels
20
via belt
16
. Thereafter, when lever
68
is moved in the direction of arrow O about pivot
80
, resulting in the
FIG. 2B
, tension means of pump
26
causes arm
28
to raise and tension the upper roller
20
, thereby tensioning conveyor belt
16
about the plurality of rollers
20
. That tensioning causes the belt
16
to tightly wrap around a mandril
18
. In particular, when lever
68
is moved along arrow O, the V-shaped coupling
76
likewise rotates into arcuate notch
78
, locking the device into a closed position and tensioning tension support
82
coupled to arm
84
when arm
84
likewise pivots about pivot point
86
. When tightly tensioned as indicated above, mandril
18
will be caused to rotate around arcuate arrow R by belt
16
next to bight
94
as contained by hooked stop
70
. As the layup
56
is conveyed along belt
16
to mandril
18
, layup
56
will likewise be tightly wrapped about mandril
18
and held in place by hooked stop
70
at the end of guide arm
84
. After, to remove the layup wrapped mandril from apparatus
100
, lever
68
is moved in the opposite direction of arrow O to unlock the device
100
so that the layup wrapped mandril may be removed therefrom. A supporting frame
74
provides a rigid structure for the above-described apparatus.
Thereafter, as shown in
FIGS. 3A and 3B
, the mandril
18
wrapped with sheets
12
is inserted into an air pressurized sheath
30
, which is clamped about a pipe
64
at both ends to cause cavity
72
to be formed. As can be seen in
FIGS. 3A and 3B
, sheath
30
is longer than pipe
64
, and once inserted into pipe
64
, the ends of sheath
30
are wrapped back onto the outside of pipe
64
to be clamped by clamp means
60
. Pipe
64
, therefore, has an inside diameter greater than the mandril
18
and layup
56
combination. The cross-section of pipe
64
can be circular as depicted or any other shape as necessary. The sheath
30
is expanded via an air pressure means
62
, or evacuated, to so accommodate the mandril-wrapped shaft. Then the vacuum between sheath
30
and sheets
12
and mandril
18
is released from valve
62
, so that sheath
30
conforms completely about the mandril-wrapped sheets
12
as shown in
FIGS. 3C and 4
. At this point, the grippable sheath
30
is frictionally affixed to sheets
12
which are wrapped about mandril
18
.
To further integrate sheath
30
with sheets
12
, the combination must be allowed to be heated and cured, or vulcanized, as the process is known, as depicted in
FIG. 5
in heating chamber
34
.
FIG. 5
shows a rack
36
of a plurality of the inventions with an inner mandril core
18
wrapped with sheets
12
encased in sheath
30
having an elastic receptacle
14
combined therewith, ready for heating by element
66
. Once heated to the desired temperature and cooked for the desired period of time, racks
36
are removed from oven
34
where the shafts have been vulcanized. They are thereafter allowed to cure. For thermoplastics, heating at 350° F. to 550° F. (176° C. to 288° C.) for thirty seconds to ten minutes with a subsequent dwell or hold time to allow bubbles and gases to escape, is preferred. It may be beneficial to heat the thermoplastic prior to applying the rubber sheath
30
. For epoxies, heating at 150° F. to 350° F. (65° C. to 177° C.) for one to two hours is preferred.
Once cured and cooled, the mandril
18
can be removed from within the core of the sheets
12
by sliding the shaft to a stop
40
and pushing or pulling mandril
18
out from within as depicted in FIG.
6
. Thereafter, one has a grip ensconced shaft as depicted in
FIG. 7
which may be mated, preferably with a blade B, by inserting blade B's hosel portion
13
into receptacle or cuff
14
to form a hockey stick
10
. The entirety of this process is depicted in a flowchart at FIG.
8
. In one form, the sheath
30
ensconces the entirety of the shaft, In another, the sheath
30
initially ensconces the entirety of the shaft, but later, a few inches are melted off during the blade mating process.
Moreover, having thus described the invention, it should be apparent that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope and fair meaning of the instant invention as set forth hereinabove and as described hereinbelow by the claims.
Claims
- 1. A hockey stick, comprising, in combination:a shaft; a blade attached to said shaft; said shaft formed from a composite layup including a hollow core; and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing said shaft; wherein said composite layup is comprised of a plurality of graphite sheets; wherein said graphite sheets are impregnated with resin, and affixed to each other by said resin; wherein said resilient material runs the length of said shaft; wherein said resilient material is rubber; wherein said layup further comprises a urethane sheet; and wherein said urethane sheet defines an innermost layer of said shaft.
- 2. A shaft for a hockey stick, comprising, in combination:a composite layup including a hollow core; and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing said shaft; wherein said resilient sheath runs the length of the shaft; wherein said resilient sheath is rubber; wherein said composite layup is comprised of a plurality of graphite sheets; wherein said graphite sheets are impregnated with resin and affixed to each other by said resin; wherein said layup further comprises a urethane sheet; wherein said urethane sheet defines an innermost layer of the shaft.
- 3. A shaft for a hockey stick, comprising, in combination:a composite layup including a hollow core; and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing said shaft; wherein said resilient sheath runs the length of the shaft; wherein said resilient sheath is rubber; wherein said composite layup is comprised of thermoplastic materials; wherein said layup further comprises a urethane sheet; wherein said urethane sheet defines an innermost layer of the shaft.
- 4. A hockey stick, comprising, in combination:a shaft; a blade attached to said shaft; said shaft formed from a composite layup including a hollow core; and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing said shaft; wherein said layup further comprises a urethane sheet; wherein said urethane sheet defines an innermost layer of said shaft.
- 5. The hockey stick of claim 4 wherein said blade includes a hosel coupled into said shaft hollow core, said urethane layer overlying said hosel.
- 6. The hockey stick of claim 5 wherein said urethane sheet has a lesser length than said shaft.
- 7. A shaft for a hockey stick, comprising, in combination:a composite layup including a hollow core; and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing said shaft; wherein said layup further comprises a urethane sheet; wherein said urethane sheet defines an innermost layer of the shaft.
- 8. A shaft for a hockey stick, comprising, in combination:a composite layup including a hollow core; and a sheath formed from resilient material ensconcing said shaft; wherein said composite layup is comprised of thermoplastic materials; wherein said layup further comprises a urethane sheet; wherein said urethane sheet defines an innermost layer of the shaft.
US Referenced Citations (24)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
557838 |
May 1958 |
CA |
637779 |
May 1950 |
GB |