Games using tangible projectile – Player held and powered – nonmechanical projector – per se,... – Club
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-17
2001-06-19
Graham, Mark S. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Player held and powered, nonmechanical projector, per se,...
Club
Reexamination Certificate
active
06248031
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a handle for a hockey stick.
Hockey sticks have an overall shape which has changed very little since the game was first played although the materials from which sticks are made have changed, from wood to aluminum to carbon fiber and other composites. A conventional hockey stick comprises a substantially flat blade having a heel and a toe, and a straight shaft which is substantially rectangular in cross-section. The shaft extends from the heel of the blade and is substantially coplanar with the blade, a longitudinal axis of the shaft being disposed at an obtuse angle to a longitudinal axis of the blade. Being such a simple device, there is little room for user customization or adjustment. A player can select a stick from a variety of sticks offering a range of shaft stiffnesses, blade curvatures and blade-to-shaft angles. The top of the shaft is typically cut off to adjust shaft length.
In use, the stick is held with both hands spaced apart on the shaft, one hand above the other. The upper hand is placed in an overhand grip and is generally at or near the limit of the range of wrist motion while the lower hand is placed in an underhand grip. Force applied to the shaft is transmitted to the blade along the longitudinal axis of the shaft. By rotating the wrists, the blade is caused to rotate about the axis of the shaft, that is about the heel of the blade. When moving with the puck, the player usually wants to keep the puck near the middle of the blade. However, because the axis of rotation of the stick is at the heel of the blade and not in the middle of the blade adjacent the puck, puck control is not optimal. Rotating the blade has the effect of moving the puck to the heel of the blade which can cause the player to lose control of the puck.
There have been attempts to improve upon the design of conventional hockey sticks. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,961, Clement Kraemer discloses a handle which is insertable into the shaft of a hockey stick and axially aligned therewith. The Kraemer handle is capable of rotating about the shaft axis to change the angle that the blade of the stick forms with a playing surface, permitting improved elevational control of a puck. However, force is still applied through an axis which runs through the shaft of the stick and through the heel of the blade.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,753, Gerald F. Gibbons discloses a hockey stick handle which is attachable to an end of a conventional straight hockey stick shaft and is disposed at a fixed angle to a longitudinal axis of the hockey stick shaft. The applicant believes that a fixed angle handle having the range of angles disclosed by Gibbons will cause the axis of applied force to intersect the axis of the blade at a point beyond the toe of the blade for most practical shaft lengths, resulting in nonoptimal puck control.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,719, John F. Bennett discloses an angled handle for tools and sporting equipment in which the handle is inclined at a fixed angle with respect to a main axis of the tool.
What would be beneficial is a hockey stick which has a handle or grip portion which can be inclined at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the hockey stick to permit the customization of the hockey stick so that the axis of applied force extends through a point on the blade appropriate to an individual's preferences. It would also be beneficial if such a handle could be rotated with respect to the shaft axis to improve elevational control of a puck. Such a handle would align the wrist of the user's upper hand with his forearm, giving the user a greater range of motion and a more powerful shot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention reduces some difficulties of the prior art by providing a hockey stick grip portion which extends from an end portion of a hockey stick shaft and which is angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and is also rotated with respect to a longitudinal axis of the grip portion. When a user holds the stick with one hand on the shaft and one hand on the grip portion, a straight line joining both hands defines an axis of applied force for the stick, such that this axis is not collinear with the shaft.
In one embodiment, this axis of applied force can be changed by changing the angle between the shaft and the grip portion so that the axis intersects the midpoint of the blade, for example. By rotating the grip portion with respect to the grip axis, a user can angle the blade with respect to a playing surface to improve elevational control of a puck.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a handle for connection to a sport stick, the handle comprising a connector member, a grip member, journalling structure and locking structure. The connector member permits connection of the handle to the sport stick. The grip member cooperates with the connector member to extend therefrom. The journalling structure cooperates with the connector member and the grip member to permit relative rotation between the connector member and the grip member about a grip axis disposed longitudinally of the grip member, and about a connector axis disposed transversely of the connector member. The locking structure cooperates with the connector member and the grip member to resist both relative rotations therebetween when locked, and to permit the relative rotations when unlocked.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a handle for a sport stick, the handle comprising a longitudinally extending body portion and a longitudinally extending grip portion. The longitudinally extending body portion has a longitudinal body axis and mutually perpendicular major and minor transverse body axes. The longitudinally extending grip portion has a longitudinal grip axis and mutually perpendicular major and minor transverse grip axes and the grip portion extends obliquely and fixedly from the body portion so that the longitudinal axes thereof are disposed to each other at a first angle and the major transverse axes thereof are disposed to each other at a second angle. In one embodiment, the handle extends fixedly from a hockey stick shaft. In an alternative embodiment, the handle is removably connectable to a hockey stick shaft.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a convertible ambidextrous sport stick shaft comprising a straight shaft portion and first and second grip portions. The shaft portion extends longitudinally between first and second end portions, and has a longitudinal shaft axis and mutually perpendicular major and minor transverse shaft axes. The first grip portion extends obliquely and fixedly from the first end portion of the shaft portion and has a longitudinal grip axis and mutually perpendicular major and minor transverse grip axes, so that the longitudinal axes thereof are disposed to each other at a first angle and the major transverse axes thereof are disposed to each other at a second angle. The second grip portion is substantially identical to the first grip portion and extends fixedly from the second end portion of the shaft portion so as to be a mirror image of the first grip portion with respect to a reflecting plane disposed perpendicularly and transversely to the longitudinal shaft axis. The convertible ambidextrous sport stick shaft can be converted into a left or right handed sport stick shaft by the separation of one of the first and second grip portion from the shaft portion.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1561349 (1925-11-01), Murphy et al.
patent: 2147110 (1939-02-01), Schmid
patent: 3663019 (1972-05-01), Palotsee
patent: 4038719 (1977-08-01), Bennett
patent: 4351528 (1982-09-01), Duplin
patent: 4553753 (1985-11-01), Gibbons
patent: 4629190 (1986-12-01), Borgen
patent: 5456463 (1995-10-01), Dolan et a
Graham Mark S.
Miller Nash LLP
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