This disclosure relates to sporting implements and, more particularly, to hockey sticks and other sporting implements (e.g., lacrosse sticks).
Sporting implements are used in various sports to strike, propel, or otherwise move a puck, ball, or other object.
For example, in hockey, a player uses a hockey stick to move, pass, and shoot a puck or ball during a game. Notably, the hockey stick comprises a shaft for holding by the player and a blade for handling the puck or ball.
Hockey sticks are often desired to be lightweight and have various properties, such as strength, stiffness, flex, impact resistance, etc., which can sometimes be conflicting, require tradeoffs, or not be readily feasible, for cost, material limitations, manufacturability, and/or other reasons.
Similar issues often arise in other sports, such as lacrosse, in which users use sticks or other sporting implements.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for improvements in hockey sticks and other sporting implements.
According to various aspects, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick or other sporting implement designed to enhance its use, performance and/or manufacturing, including, for example, by being lightweight, having improved strength, flex, stiffness, impact resistance and/or other properties, reducing scrap or waste during its construction, and/or enhancing other aspects of the hockey stick or other sporting implement. For instance, in some embodiments, the hockey stick or other sporting implement may include a structure that is open, such as by being latticed (e.g., trussed), and/or made by additive manufacturing, selective material positioning, etc.
For example, according to one aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises a lattice including fiber-reinforced composite material.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises a lattice including fiber-reinforced composite material and constituting at least part of the blade and at least part of the shaft.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises a lattice including fiber-reinforced composite material; and a stiffness of the lattice is variable in a longitudinal direction of the hockey stick.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises a lattice and a core disposed within the lattice.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises an additively-manufactured component.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises an additively-manufactured component comprising a plurality of distinct zones structurally different from one another.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises a plurality of additively-manufactured components with different functions additively-manufactured integrally with one another.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a hockey stick comprising: a blade; and a shaft to be held by a user. The hockey stick comprises an additively-manufactured component and a non-additively-manufactured component received by the additively-manufactured component.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a method of making a hockey stick, the hockey stick comprising a blade and a shaft to be held by a user, the method comprising: providing feedstock; and additively manufacturing a component of the hockey stick using the feedstock.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a lacrosse stick comprising: a head; and a shaft to be held by a user. The lacrosse stick comprises a lattice including fiber-reinforced composite material.
According to another aspect, this disclosure relates to a sporting implement comprising: an elongate holdable member configured to be held by a user; and an object-contacting member configured to contact an object intended to be moved by the user. The sporting implement comprises a lattice including fiber-reinforced composite material.
These and other aspects of this disclosure will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill upon review of a description of embodiments that follows in conjunction with accompanying drawings.
A detailed description of embodiments is provided below, by way of example only, with reference to accompanying drawings, in which:
It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for purposes of illustrating certain embodiments and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be and should not be limiting.
In this embodiment, as further discussed later, the hockey stick 10 is designed to enhance its use, performance and/or manufacturing, including, for example, by being lightweight, having improved strength, flex, stiffness, impact resistance and/or other properties, reducing scrap or waste during its construction, and/or enhancing other aspects of the hockey stick 10. For instance, in some embodiments, the hockey stick 10 may include a structure that is open, such as by being latticed (e.g., trussed), and/or made by additive manufacturing, selective material positioning, etc.
The shaft 12 is configured to be held by the player to use the hockey stick 10. A periphery 30 of the shaft 12 includes a front surface 16 and a rear surface 18 opposite one another, as well as a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24 opposite one another. Proximal and distal end portions 26, 28 of the shaft 12 are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction of the shaft 12, respectively adjacent to the handle 20 and the blade 14, and define a length of the shaft 12. A length of the hockey stick 10 is measured from a proximal end 34 of the shaft 12 along the top surface 22 of the shaft 12 through the blade 14.
A cross-section of the shaft 12 may have any suitable configuration. For instance, in this embodiment, the cross-section of the shaft 12 has a major axis 36 which defines a major dimension D of the shaft's cross-section and a minor axis 38 which defines a minor dimension W of the shaft's cross-section. In this example, the cross-section of the shaft 12 is generally polygonal. More particularly, in this example, the cross-section of the shaft 12 is generally rectangular, with the front surface 16, the rear surface 18, the top surface 22, and the bottom surface 24 being generally flat. Corners between these surfaces of the shaft 12 may be rounded or beveled.
The shaft 12 may have any other suitable shape and/or be constructed in any other suitable way in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the cross-section of the shaft 12 may have any other suitable shape (e.g., the front surface 16, the rear surface 18, the top surface 22, and/or the bottom surface 24 may be curved and/or angular and/or have any other suitable shape, possibly including two or more sides or segments oriented differently, such that the cross-section of the shaft 12 may be pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, partly or fully curved, etc.). As another example, the cross-section of the shaft 12 may vary along the length of the shaft 12.
The blade 14 is configured to allow the player to pass, shoot or otherwise move the puck or ball. A periphery 50 of the blade 14 comprises a front surface 52 and a rear surface 54 opposite one another, as well as a top edge 56, a toe edge 58, a heel edge 59, and a bottom edge 60. The blade 14 comprises a toe region 61, a heel region 62, and an intermediate region 63 between the toe region 61 and the heel region 62. The blade 14 has a longitudinal direction that defines a length of the blade 14, a thicknesswise direction that is normal to the longitudinal direction and defines a thickness of the blade 14, and a heightwise direction that is normal to the longitudinal direction and defines a height of the blade 14.
A cross-section of the blade 14 may have any suitable configuration. For instance, in this embodiment, the cross-section of the blade 14 varies along the longitudinal direction of the blade 14 (e.g., tapers towards the toe region 61 of the blade 14), with the front surface 52 and the rear surface 54 curving so that the front surface 52 is concave and the rear surface 54 is convex. Corners between the front surface 52, the rear surface 54, the top edge 56, the toe edge 58, the heel edge 59, and the bottom edge 60 may be rounded or beveled.
The blade 14 may have any other suitable shape and/or be constructed in any other suitable way in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the cross-section of the blade 14 may have any other suitable shape (e.g., the front surface 52, the rear surface 54, the top edge 56, the toe edge 58, the heel edge 59, and the bottom edge 60 may be curved differently and/or angular and/or have any other suitable shape, etc.).
The shaft 12 and the blade 14 may be interconnected in any suitable way. For instance, in this embodiment, the shaft 12 and the blade 14 are integrally formed with one another (i.e., at least part of the shaft 12 and at least of the blade 14 are integrally formed together) such that they constitute a one-piece stick. In other embodiments, the blade 14 may be secured to and removable from the shaft 12 (e.g., by inserting a shank of the blade 14, which may include a tenon, into a cavity of the shaft 12).
In this embodiment, the hockey stick 10 includes an open structure 68 and a covering 69 that covers at least part of the open structure 68. This may reduce a weight of the hockey stick 10, enhance properties such as the strength, the stiffness, the flex, the impact resistance, and/or other characteristics of the hockey stick 10, etc.
More particularly, in this embodiment, at least part of the hockey stick 10 is latticed, i.e., comprises a lattice 70. Thus, in this example, the lattice 70 constitutes at least part of the shaft 12 and/or at least part of the blade 14. Specifically, in this example, the shaft 12 includes a portion 71 of the lattice 70, while the blade 14 includes another portion 73 of the lattice 70. In this embodiment, the lattice 70 occupies at least a majority (i.e., a majority or an entirety) of the length of the shaft 12 and at least a majority (i.e., a majority or an entirety) of the length of the blade 14.
In some embodiments, the lattice 70 comprises a framework of structural members 411-41E that intersect one another. In some embodiments, the structural members 411-41E may be arranged in a regular arrangement repeating over the lattice 70. In some cases, the lattice 70 may be viewed as made up of unit cells 371-37C each including a subset of the structural members 411-41E that forms the regular arrangement repeating over the lattice 70. Each of these unit cells 371-37C can be viewed as having a voxel, which refers to a notional three-dimensional space that it occupies. In other embodiments, the structural members 411-41E may be arranged in different arrangements over the lattice 70 (e.g., which do not necessarily repeat over the lattice 70, do not necessarily define unit cells, etc.).
The lattice 70, including its structural members 411-41E, may be configured in any suitable way.
In this embodiment, the structural members 411-41E are elongate members that intersect one another at nodes 421-42N. The elongate members 411-41E may sometimes be referred to as “beams” or “struts”. Each of the elongate members 411-41E may be straight, curved, or partly straight and partly curved. While in some embodiments at least some of the nodes 421-42N (i.e. some of the nodes 421-42N or every one of the nodes 421-42N) may be formed by having the structural members 411-41E forming the nodes affixed to one another (e.g., chemically fastened, via an adhesive, etc.), as shown in
In this embodiment, the structural members 411-41E may have any suitable shape, as shown in
Moreover, in this embodiment, the structural member 41i may comprise any suitable structure and any suitable composition, as shown in
More particularly, in this embodiment, the lattice 70 includes a truss 73, as shown in
In this example, between its peripheral portions 741-744, the truss 73 includes a void 76, as shown in
Also, in this embodiment, the lattice 70 includes another truss 78, as shown in
In this example, between its peripheral portions 791-796, the truss 78 includes a void 81. In this embodiment, the blade 14 comprises a core 82 disposed in the void 81 of the truss 78. For instance, the core 82 may include one or more internal members of foam, elastomeric material, etc. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the void 81 of the truss 78 may be hollow (i.e., not contain any core).
Material 50 of the lattice 70 can be of any suitable kind. In this embodiment, the material 50 is composite material. More particularly, in this embodiment, the composite material 50 is fiber-reinforced composite material comprising fibers disposed in a matrix. For instance, in some embodiments, the material 50 may be fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP—a.k.a., fiber-reinforced polymer), comprising a polymeric matrix may include any suitable polymeric resin, such as a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin, like epoxy, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) or other polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), nylon, polyimide, polysulfone, polyimide-imide, self-reinforcing polyphenylene, polyester, vinyl ester, vinyl ether, polyurethane, cyanate ester, phenolic resin, etc., a hybrid thermosetting-thermoplastic resin, or any other suitable resin, and fibers such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, polymeric fibers such as aramid fibers (e.g., Kevlar fibers), boron fibers, silicon carbide fibers, metallic fibers, ceramic fibers, etc. In some embodiments, the fibers of the fiber-reinforced composite material 50 may be provided as layers of continuous fibers, such as pre-preg (i.e., pre-impregnated) tapes of fibers (e.g., including an amount of resin) or as continuous fibers deposited (e.g., printed) along with rapidly-curing resin forming the polymeric matrix. In other embodiments, the fibers of the fiber-reinforced composite material 50 may be provided as fragmented (e.g., chopped) fibers dispersed in the polymeric matrix.
In some embodiments, the material 50 of the lattice 70 may be identical throughout the lattice 70. In other embodiments, the material 50 of the lattice 70 may be different in different parts of the lattice 70. For example, in some embodiments, the material 50 of the portion 71 of the lattice 70 that is part of the shaft 12 may be different from the material 50 of the portion 73 of the lattice 70 that is part of the blade 14. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the material 50 of one region of the portion 71 of the lattice 70 that is part of the shaft 12 may be different from the material 50 of another region of the portion 71 of the lattice 70 that is part of the shaft 12, and/or the material 50 of one region of the portion 73 of the lattice 70 that is part of the blade 14 may be different from the material 50 of another region of the portion 73 of the lattice 70 that is part of the blade 14.
The material 50 of the lattice 70 may be polymeric material (e.g., not fiber-reinforced), metallic material, or ceramic material in other embodiments.
The lattice 70 of the hockey stick 10 may be designed to have properties of interest in various embodiments.
For example, in some embodiments, strength of the lattice 70 may be at least 800N, in some cases at least 1000N, some cases at least 1100N, some cases at least 1200N, and in some cases at least 1300N, and/or in some cases no more than 2000N, in some cases no more than 1500N, in some cases no more than 1400N, in some cases no more than 1300N, in some cases no more than 1200N, in some cases no more than 1100N, in some cases no more than 1000N, in some cases even less.
The strength of the lattice 70 may be measured by a 3-points-bending test to failure, as shown in
In some embodiments, the lattice 70 may include distinct zones 921-92Z that are structurally different from one another. For instance, this may be useful to modulate properties, such as the strength, flex, stiffness, etc., of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70.
For example, the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 may include a zone 92i at the proximal end portion 26 of the shaft 12, a zone 922 at the distal end portion 28 of the shaft 12, a zone 923 at the toe region 61 of the blade 14, a zone 924 at the heel region 62 of the blade 14, and a zone 925 at the intermediate region 63 of the blade 14.
In this embodiment, delimitations of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 are configured to match different parts of the hockey stick 10 which may be subject to different stresses and may require different mechanical properties. Accordingly, the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 may have different mechanical properties to facilitate puck handling, to increase power transmission and/or energy transmission from the hockey stick 10 to the puck during wrist shots and/or slap shots, to lighten the hockey stick, to increase impact resistance of the hockey stick 10, to increase elongation at break of the hockey stick 10, to position a kickpoint, to reduce manufacturing costs, and so on.
Mechanical properties of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 may be achieved by any suitable means.
For example, in some embodiments, a shape of the unit cells 371-37C of each zone 92i may be pre-determined to increase or diminished the aforementioned mechanical properties.
As another example, in some embodiments, the voxel (or size) of the unit cells 371-37C of each zone 92i may be pre-determined to increase or diminished the aforementioned mechanical properties.
As another example, in some embodiments, a thickness of elongate members 411-41E of each zone 92i may be pre-determined to increase or diminished the aforementioned mechanical properties..
As another example, in some embodiments, the material 50 of each zone 92i may be pre-determined to increase or diminished the aforementioned mechanical properties.
As such, in some embodiments, the shape of the unit cells 371-37C (and thus the shape of the elongate members 411-41E and/or nodes 421-42N), the voxel (or size) of the unit cells 371-37C, a thickness of elongate members 411-41E of each zone 921 and/or the material 50 of each zone 92i may vary between the zones 921-92Z. For instance, in some embodiments, adjacent ones of the nodes 421-42N in one region 92i of the lattice 70 may be located closer to one another than adjacent ones of the nodes 421-42N in another region of the lattice 70, as shown in
In this embodiment, the distinct zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 differ in stiffness and/or stiffness. For example, in some embodiments, a ratio of the stiffness of a given one of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 over the stiffness of another one of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 may be at least 10%, in some embodiments at least 20%, in some embodiments at least 30%, in some embodiments at least 40%, in some embodiments even more. Similarly, in some embodiments, a ratio of the strength of a given one of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 over the strength of another one of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 may be at least 10%, in some embodiments at least 20%, in some embodiments at least 30%, in some embodiments at least 40%, in some embodiments even more.
In this embodiment, the distinct zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 differ in resilience.
For example, in some embodiments, a ratio of the resilience of a given one of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 over the resilience of another one of the zones 921-92Z of the lattice 70 may be at least 5%, in some embodiments at least 10%, in some embodiments at least 20%, in some embodiments at least 30%, in some embodiments even more.
In this embodiment, the covering 69 may covers at least part of the open structure 68 of the hockey stick 10. In that sense, the covering 69 may be viewed as a “skin”. In this embodiment, the covering 69 covers at least a majority (i.e., a majority or an entirety) of the lattice 70. More particularly, in this embodiment, the covering 69 covers the entirety of the lattice 70, as notably shown in
In other embodiments, the covering 69 may not cover the entirety of the lattice open structure 68 and may therefore comprise apertures, as shown in
In this embodiment, the shaft 12 includes a portion 86 of the covering 69, while the blade 14 includes another portion 87 of the covering 69. The portion 86 of the covering 69 thus covers the truss 73 of the shaft 12, whereas the portion 87 of the covering 69 covers the truss 78 of the blade 14.
Material 90 of the covering 69 can be of any suitable kind. In this embodiment, the material 90 is composite material. More particularly, in this embodiment, the composite material 90 is fiber-reinforced composite material comprising fibers disposed in a matrix. For instance, in some embodiments, the material 90 may be fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP—a.k.a., fiber-reinforced polymer), comprising a polymeric matrix may include any suitable polymeric resin, such as a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin, like epoxy, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylic, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) or other polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), nylon, polyimide, polysulfone, polyimide-imide, self-reinforcing polyphenylene, polyester, vinyl ester, vinyl ether, polyurethane, cyanate ester, phenolic resin, etc., a hybrid thermosetting-thermoplastic resin, or any other suitable resin, and fibers such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, polymeric fibers such as aramid fibers (e.g., Kevlar fibers), boron fibers, silicon carbide fibers, metallic fibers, ceramic fibers, etc. In some embodiments, the fibers of the fiber-reinforced composite material 50 may be provided as layers of continuous fibers, such as pre-preg (i.e., pre-impregnated) tapes of fibers (e.g., including an amount of resin) or as continuous fibers deposited (e.g., printed) along with rapidly-curing resin forming the polymeric matrix. In other embodiments, the fibers of the fiber-reinforced composite material 90 may be provided as fragmented (e.g., chopped) fibers dispersed in the polymeric matrix.
In some embodiments, the material 90 of the covering 69 may be identical throughout the covering 69. In other embodiments, the material 90 of the covering 69 may be different in different parts of the covering 69. For example, in some embodiments, the material 90 of the portion 86 of the covering 69 that is part of the shaft 12 may be different from the material 90 of the portion 87 of the covering 69 that is part of the blade 14. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the material 90 of one region of the portion 86 of the covering 69 that is part of the shaft 12 may be different from the material 90 of another region of the portion 86 of the covering 69 that is part of the shaft 12, and/or the material 90 of one region of the portion 87 of the covering 69 that is part of the blade 14 may be different from the material 90 of another region of the portion 87 of the covering 69 that is part of the blade 14.
In other embodiments, the material 90 of the covering 69 may be (non-fiber-reinforced) polymeric material, metallic material, or ceramic material.
The hockey stick 10, including the lattice 70 and the covering 69, may be manufactured in any suitable way.
For example, in some embodiments, the lattice 70 may be an additively-manufactured lattice that is additively manufactured, i.e., made by additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, in which the material 50 thereof initially provided as feedstock (e.g., as powder, liquid, filaments, fibers, and/or other suitable feedstock), which can be referred to as 3D-printed material, is added by a machine (i.e., a 3D printer) that is computer-controlled (e.g., using a digital 3D model such as a computer-aided design (CAD) file) to create it in its three-dimensional form (e.g., layer by layer, from a pool of liquid, applying continuous fibers, or in any other way, normally moldlessly, i.e., without any mold). This is in contrast to subtractive manufacturing (e.g., machining) where material is removed and molding where material is introduced into a mold's cavity.
Any 3D-printing technology may be used to make the lattice 70. For instance, in some embodiments, fused deposition modeling (FDM), digital light processing (DLP), stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), material jetting (MJ), binder jetting (BJ), continuous-fiber 3D printing, and/or any other suitable 3D-printing technology may be used. Examples of suitable 3D-printing technologies may include those available from Carbon (www.carbon3d.com), EOS (https://www.eos.info/en), HP, (https://www8.hp.com/ca/en/printers/3d-printers. html), Arevo (https://arevo.com), and Continuous Composites (https://www.continuouscomposites.com/).
In this embodiment, as it includes the fiber-reinforced composite material 50, the lattice 70 may be 3D-printed using continuous-fiber 3D printing technology. For instance, in some embodiments, this may allow each of one or more of the fibers of the fiber-reinforced composite material 50 to extend along at least a significant part, such as at least a majority (i.e., a majority or an entirety), of a length of the lattice 70 (e.g., monofilament winding). This may enhance the strength, the impact resistance, and/or other properties of the hockey stick 10.
The lattice 70 can be designed and 3D-printed to impart its properties and functions, such as those discussed above, while helping to minimize its weight. The 3D-printed material 50 constitutes the lattice 70. Specifically, the elongate members 411-41E and the nodes 421-42N of the lattice 70 include respective parts of the 3D-printed material 50 that are created by the 3D-printer. Fibers may be printed by the 3D printer along with rapidly-curing resin to form the fiber-reinforced composite material 50.
The lattice 70 may be manufactured in any other suitable way in other embodiments, including by technology other than 3D printing.
For instance, in some embodiments, the lattice 70 may be provided by positioning pre-preg tapes of fibers (e.g., including an amount of resin) to form the elongate members 411-41E and the nodes 421-42N of the lattice 70 and heating it (e.g., in a mold) to form its fiber-reinforced composite material 50 once cured.
For instance, pre-preg tapes of fibers may be enrolled around a support 108 (e.g. a mandrel, foam, procured part, and so on) with a pre-determined pitch and a pre-determined angle to form a “green” lattice. The pre-determined pitch and pre-determined angle used to form the green lattice may contribute to determine the geometry of the unit cells 371-37C and thus mechanical properties (e.g. stiffness) of the lattice 70.
For example, in some embodiments, as shown in
As another example, in some embodiments, to obtain a similar lattice 70 using pre-preg tape having a thickness of 0.25 mm, four successive passes of the aforementioned steps may be repeated, which in comparison with the preceding embodiment may provide a lattice 70 having superior strength and interlaminar shear.
It is noted that, in other embodiments, width, thickness and material of the pre-preg tape used for manufacturing the lattice 70 may vary for each segment 106i and/or for each pass, and that any stage layers of material (e.g. the covering 69) may be added under or over the .
The obtained “green” 70 may be subsequently cured or molded, for example using an autoclave, vacuum molding, RTM, compression molding (e.g. with a bladder or a mandrel to control an external dimension of the lattice during and after molding), or so on.
The covering 69 may be provided about the lattice 70 in any suitable way in various embodiments.
For example, in some embodiments, the covering 69 may be an additively-manufactured covering that is additively manufactured, i.e., 3D-printed. Any 3D-printing technology may be used to make the covering 69, such as those discussed above. For instance, in some embodiments, the covering 69 may be 3D-printed using continuous-fiber 3D printing technology. This may allow each of one or more of the fibers of the fiber-reinforced composite material 90 to extend along at least a significant part, such as at least a majority (i.e., a majority or an entirety), of a length of the covering 69 (e.g., monofilament winding).
As another example, in some embodiments, the covering 69 may be provided by wrapping pre-preg tapes of fibers (e.g., including an amount of resin) about the lattice 70 and heating it (e.g., in a mold) to form its fiber-reinforced composite material 90 once cured.
The hockey stick 10, including the shaft 12 and the blade 14, may be implemented in various other ways in other embodiments.
For example, in some embodiments, the lattice 70 may have any suitable cross-section shape such as a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, a round shape, an elliptical shape, and so on, as shown in
In this embodiment, the portion 73 of the lattice 70 that is part of the blade 14 may be structurally different from the portion 71 of the lattice 70 that is part of the shaft 12. For example, an average voxel of the unit cells 371-37C of the portion 73 of the lattice 70 may be significantly smaller than an average voxel of the unit cells 371-37C of the portion 71 of the lattice 70 and in some embodiments a ratio of the average voxel of the portion 73 over the average voxel of the portion 71 may be less than 0.95, in some embodiments less than 0.75, in some embodiments less than 0.50, in some embodiments less than 0.25, in some embodiments even less. As another example, the shape of the unit cells 371-37C of the portion 73 of the lattice 70 may be different from the shape of the unit cells 371-37C of the portion 71 of the lattice 70 such that the portion 73 is significantly stiffer than the portion 71. As another example, in some embodiments, the portion 73 of the lattice 70 that is part of the blade 14 comprises a framework defining a non-hollow lattice, while the portion 71 of the lattice 70 that is part of the shaft 12 comprises a framework defining a hollow lattice.
As another example, in some embodiments, the structural members 411-41E of the lattice 70 may be implemented in various other ways. For example, in some embodiments, as shown in
The lattice 70 may be implemented in any other suitable way and have any other suitable configuration. Examples of other possible configurations for the lattice 70 in other embodiments are shown in
In some embodiments, the hockey stick may be an “intelligent” hockey stick. That is, the hockey stick 10 may comprise sensors 2801-280S to sense a force acting on the hockey stick, a position, a speed, an acceleration and/or a deformation of the hockey stick 10 during play or during a testing (e.g. of hockey sticks, of players, etc.). More particularly, in this embodiment, the lattice 70 comprises the sensors 2801-280S. More specifically, in this embodiment, the sensors 2801-280S are associated with an additively-manufactured component of the lattice 70.
Further, in this embodiment, the hockey stick 10 may comprise actuators 2861-286A. Specifically, the actuators 2861-286A may be associated with at least some of sensors 2801-280S and may be configured to respond to a signal of the sensors 2801-280S. In particular, the sensors 2801-280S may be responsive to an event (e.g. an increase in acceleration of the hockey stick 10, an increase of a force acting on the hockey stick 10, an increase of the deformation of the hockey stick 10, etc.) to cause the actuators 2861-286A to alter the additively-manufactured component to alter the lattice 70 (e.g. to increase resilience, to increase stiffness, etc.).
Practically, in this embodiment, this may be achieved using piezoelectric material 290 implementing the sensors 2801-280S, the piezoelectric material 290 being comprised in the additively-manufactured component of the lattice 70.
In other embodiments, more or less of the hockey stick 10 may be latticed as discussed above.
For example, in some embodiments, as shown in
As another example, in some embodiments, as shown in
As yet another example, as shown in
For instance, in some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
Further, in some embodiments, as shown in
Alternatively, in some embodiments, instead of being formed by the lattice 70, the 1201-120R and/or ribs 1221-122R may be formed by the covering 69 around the lattice 70.
In some embodiments, the hockey stick 10 may comprise one or more additively-manufactured components, instead of or in addition to the lattice 70. That is, the lattice 70 is one example of an additively-manufactured component in embodiments where it is 3D-printed. Such one or more additively-manufactured components of the hockey stick 10 may be 3D-printed as discussed above, using any suitable 3D-printing technology, similar to what was discussed above in relation to the lattice 70 in embodiments where the lattice 70 is 3D-printed. The hockey stick 10 may comprise the lattice 70, which may or may not be additively-manufactured, or may not have any lattice in embodiments where the hockey stick 10 comprises such one or more additively-manufactured components.
For example, in some embodiments, as shown in
The 3D-printed lattice 282 of the core 182 of the blade 14 may be manufactured in any suitable way, using any suitable materials and may have any suitable mechanical properties, such as those described with regards to the lattice 70. In this embodiment, the 3D-printed lattice 282 is manufactured prior to the lattice 70, while in other embodiments, the 3D-printed lattice 282 and the lattice 70 are manufactured simultaneously.
In some embodiments, the method of manufacture, the materials and the structure of the lattices 70, 282 forming the blade 14 may differ. For instance, the lattice 282 may be lighter (i.e. less dense) but less stiff than the lattice 70 which is over the lattice 282 and thus may provide stiffness to the blade 14 more efficiently.
While in this embodiment the hockey stick 10 is a player stick for the user that is a forward, i.e., right wing, left wing, or center, or a defenseman, in other embodiments, as shown in
The goalie stick 10 comprises a paddle 497 that may be constructed according to principles discussed herein. For instance, in some embodiments, the paddle 497 may be disposed between the shaft 12 and the blade 14. The paddle 497 is configured to block hockey pucks from flying into the net. A periphery 430 of the paddle 497 includes a front surface 416 and a rear surface 418 opposite one another, as well as a top edge 422 and a bottom edge 424 opposite one another. Proximal and distal end portions 426, 428 of the paddle 497 are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction of the paddle 497, respectively adjacent to the shaft 12 and the blade 14, and define a length of the paddle 497. More particularly, in this embodiment, at least part of the goalie stick 10 is latticed, i.e., comprises the lattice 70. Thus, in this example, the lattice 70 (e.g., which may be additively-manufactured or otherwise made) and/or one or more other additively-manufactured components constitutes at least part of the shaft 12 and/or at least part of the blade 14 and/or at least part of the paddle 497 in a similar fashion as described above with regards to the hockey player stick 10.
Although in this embodiment the sporting implement 10 is a hockey stick, in other embodiments, the sporting implement 10 may be any other implement used for striking, propelling or otherwise moving an object in a sport.
For example, in other embodiments, as shown in
The lacrosse head 14 comprises a frame 623 and a pocket 631 connected to the frame 623 and configured to hold the lacrosse ball. The frame 623 includes a base 641 connected to the shaft 12 and a sidewall 643 extending from the base 641. In this embodiment, the sidewall 643 is shaped to form a narrower area 650 including a ball stop 651 adjacent to the base 641 and an enlarged area 655 including a scoop 656 opposite to the base 641. Also, in this embodiment, the pocket 31 includes a mesh 660.
The lacrosse stick 10 may be constructed according to principles discussed herein. For example, in some embodiments, the lacrosse stick 10 may comprise the lattice 70 (e.g., which may be additively-manufactured or otherwise made) and/or one or more other additively-manufactured components, as discussed above. For instance, in some embodiments, the lattice 70 (e.g., which may be additively-manufactured or otherwise made) and/or one or more other additively-manufactured components may constitute at least part of the shaft 12 and/or at least part of the lacrosse head 14, such as at least part of the frame 623 and/or at least part of the pocket 631, according to principles discussed herein.
In other embodiments, as shown in
The ball bat 10 may be constructed according to principles discussed herein. For example, in some embodiments, the ball bat 10 may comprise the lattice 70 (e.g., which may be additively-manufactured or otherwise made) and/or one or more other additively-manufactured components, as discussed above. For instance, in some embodiments, the lattice 70 (e.g., which may be additively-manufactured or otherwise made) and/or one or more other additively-manufactured components may constitute at least part of a handle 866 of the elongate holdable member 12 and/or at least part of the barrel 14, according to principles discussed herein.
Any feature of any embodiment described herein may be combined with any feature of any other embodiment described herein in some examples of implementation.
Certain additional elements that may be needed for operation of certain embodiments have not been described or illustrated as they are assumed to be within a purview of those of ordinary skill. Moreover, certain embodiments may be free of, may lack and/or may function without any element that is not specifically disclosed herein.
Although various embodiments and examples have been presented, this was for purposes of describing but should not be limiting. Various modifications and enhancements will become apparent to those of ordinary skill and are within a scope of this disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/850,831 filed May 21, 2019 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/881,687 filed Aug. 1, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CA2020/050686 | 5/21/2020 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62881687 | Aug 2019 | US | |
62850831 | May 2019 | US |