CA2246079A1 - Hockey stick with an angled shaft - Google Patents
Hockey stick with an angled shaft Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2246079A1 CA2246079A1 CA 2246079 CA2246079A CA2246079A1 CA 2246079 A1 CA2246079 A1 CA 2246079A1 CA 2246079 CA2246079 CA 2246079 CA 2246079 A CA2246079 A CA 2246079A CA 2246079 A1 CA2246079 A1 CA 2246079A1
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- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- shaft
- blade
- hockey
- hockey stick
- player
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B59/00—Bats, rackets, or the like, not covered by groups A63B49/00 - A63B57/00
- A63B59/70—Bats, rackets, or the like, not covered by groups A63B49/00 - A63B57/00 with bent or angled lower parts for hitting a ball on the ground, on an ice-covered surface, or in the air, e.g. for hockey or hurling
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B60/00—Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
- A63B60/06—Handles
- A63B60/34—Handles with the handle axis different from the main axis of the implement
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2102/00—Application of clubs, bats, rackets or the like to the sporting activity ; particular sports involving the use of balls and clubs, bats, rackets, or the like
- A63B2102/22—Field hockey
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2102/00—Application of clubs, bats, rackets or the like to the sporting activity ; particular sports involving the use of balls and clubs, bats, rackets, or the like
- A63B2102/24—Ice hockey
Abstract
An improved hockey stick that includes a shaft and blade, where the blade portion of the shaft is angled forward so that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface when the hockey player's bottom hand is still accelerating, thus allowing the said hockey player to apply more power to their shot. The above said improved hockey stick, will also have the inflection point of motion, of the blade of the said hockey stick, occur when the hockey player's bottom hand is still accelerating, thus allowing the said hockey player to easily raise the puck with power.
Some hockey players would like the base of the blade to be close to the longitudinal axis of the shaft for puck control purposes. For such player's an improved hockey stick that includes a shaft and a blade, where the shaft first angles back and then angles forward, so that the base of the blade is more or less even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
The invention also does not need an elaborate shaft, as the present invention can be manufactured from most standard shafts.
Some hockey players would like the base of the blade to be close to the longitudinal axis of the shaft for puck control purposes. For such player's an improved hockey stick that includes a shaft and a blade, where the shaft first angles back and then angles forward, so that the base of the blade is more or less even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
The invention also does not need an elaborate shaft, as the present invention can be manufactured from most standard shafts.
Description
Hockey Stick With an Angled Shaft Inventor: Kent W. Mayhew Field of search ..............273/67 A , 67 C, 67 Da 273/67 DB, 67 DC, 67 R, 81.3, 80 C
References Cited 3,966,210 Jun., 29, 1976 Rozmus ABSTRACT
' An improved hockey stick that includes a shaft and blade, where the blade portion of the shaft is angle rward so that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface when the hockey player's om hand is still accelerating, thus allowing the said hockey player to apply more power to their sho . he above said improved hockey stick, will also have the inflection point of motion, of the blade of the sai ckey stick, occur when the hockey player's bottom hand is still accelerating, thus allowing the said h ey player to easily raise the puck with power.
Some hockey players would like the base of the de to be close to the longitudinal axis of the shaft for puck control purposes. For such player's an impr d hockey stick that includes a shaft and a blade, where the shaft first angles back and then an s forward, so that the base of the blade is more or less even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
The invention also does not need an elaborate shaft, as the present invention ca a manufactured from most standard shafts.
1) Hockey Stick -blade portion of the shaft angled forward FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hockey stick where the blade portion of the shaft is angled forward, allowing a hockey player to apply more power to their shot at the same time allowing the said hockey player to more readily raise the puck or ball.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hockey stick where the blade portion of the shaft of the said hockey stick, is angled forvvard. The said hockey stick is suitable for playing the position of forward or defence in the sport of hockey.
As used herein, the term "blade" shall refer to the section of the hockey stick that contacts the ice when the hockey stick is held in the vertical position. As used herein, the term "shaft"
refers to the section of the hockey stick that the hockey player grips with his/her hands. As used herein, the term "hosel" shall refer to the section of a hockey stick replacement blade onto which a blade is rigidly attached prior to insertion of the above said hosel's tenon into an aluminum or composite shaft. As used herein, the term "replacement blade"
shall refer to a replacement blade that can be used in the sport of ice hockey, roller hockey, street hockey or any other sport having a removable blade and a handle or shaft. As used herein, the term "top hand", shall refer to the hockey player's hand that grips the hockey stick shaft near the top of the said hockey stick shaft. As used herein, the term "bottom hand", shall refer to the hockey player's hand that grips the hockey stick shaft near the midpoint of the said hockey stick shaft. As used herein, the term "puck" shall refer to a hockey puck that is used in the sport of ice hockey. Certain versions of the sport of hockey, such as roller hockey may not use a puck in the traditional sense of the word, but it is to be understood that a ball or modified ball or modified puck or any other equivalent sporting device, may be used in place of a puck without changing the meanining or intention of the present invention.
The governing bodies of various hockey leagues generally lay down rules that manufactures have to follow if the manufacturer desires their hockey sticks to be legal in the above said hockey leagues. Generally, the amount of curvature that a hockey may have is limited by the governing bodies of various hockey league. Most hockey player's feel that the curve helps the hockey player raise the puck. Many hockey players are now using heel curves, which is a curve that starts in the heel of the hockey stick.
There are several different types of shooting techniques used by hockey player's in the sport of hockey. The three most common shooting techniques are the slapshot , the wristshot and the snapshot.
For a slapshot, generally as a hockey player swings a hockey stick, the power is attained in the downward portion of the swing motion and power is lost in the upward portion of the said swing motion. In other words, acceleration of the hockey stick blade occurs as the hockey player swings the said hockey stick blade, down towards the ice/playing surface and deceleration of the said hockey stick blade occurs as the player carries through with the shoot and lifts the said hockey stick blade, away from the ice/playing surface. The point where the motion of the hockey stick's blade changes direction with respect to the ice/playing surface, that is to say the point where the bottom of the blade of the hockey stick, stops moving towards the ice/playing surface and the said bottom of the blade of the said hockey stick, starts moving away from the ice, we shall refer to as herein as the "inflection point of motion of the blade ".
Part of this invention is to enable a hockey player to use less curvature of the blade, thus we shall treat the blade as if it is straight unless otherwise stated. For a straight blade the "inflection point of motion of the blade"
is same as the "inflection point of motion of the bottom of the shaft". As used herein , the term "inflection point of motion of the shaft" shall refer to the point where the bottom of the longitudinal axis of a hockey stick's shaft changes from moving towards the ice/playing surface to moving away from the ice/playing surface. The longitudinal axis of the shaft and the"inflection point of motion of the shaft" are treated as if the said shaft was straight. For a hockey stick whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forvvardly the "inflection point of motion of the shaft" is not the same as the "inflection poin of motion the blade" but for a straight shaft the above said two inflection points are one and the same.
This author believes that, much of the power in a slapshot comes from the hockey player's bottom hand. This author further believes that while taking a slapshot , a hockey player's bottom hand can be treated as accelerating until the lower arm is perpendicular to the ice after which time the bottom hand can be treated as decelerating. As used herein, the term "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand " shall refer to the point where the hockey player's bottom hand changes from an acceleration towards the ice/playing surface, to a deceleration away from the ice/playing surface.lt should be noted, that unless otherwise stated, the wrists are assumed to be in a locked position as the hockey player swings the hockey stick.
We have defined the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand" as the point where the bottom hand stops accelerating towards the ice/playing surtace and starts decelerating away from the ice/playing surface. We shall further define the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand"
to be located on a line perpendicular to the ice/playing surface and passing through the hockey player's shoulder. As refered to herein the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" shall refer to the motion of the bottom hand prior to the inflection point of motion of the said bottom hand, with said bottom hand rotating in a counterclockwise direction. As refered to herein the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand" shall refer to the motion of the bottom hand after the inflection point of motion of the said bottom hand, with said bottom hand rotating in a counterclockwise direction.
A hockey player whose bottom hand rotates in a counterclockwise direction while shooting a puck, is a hockey player that shoots left. Anything that can be said for a left handed shoot can similarly be said for a hockey player that shoots right.
Since power of the swing of a slapshot is lost as the hockey player starts to lift his bottom hand away from the ice/playing surface, for the most power, the ideal moment of impact for the blade with a puck, is near the end of the said hockey player's bottom hand's downswing, which this author defined as the" inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". This author further believes that at, or near the impact between the above said blade and the above said puck, the face of the said blade should be nearly perpendicular to both the ice/playning surface and the said puck. This author also believes that after the "inflection point of motion of the blade", the blade will want to lift up and away from the ice, thus lifting the puck, if the said blade was in contact with the said puck. In other words the contac of the bladet with the puck at or after the "inflection point of motion of the the blade" will increase the ability to raise the puck.
For years golf has incorporated the concept of the offset shaft that will allow for more loft of the golf ball. For example U.S. pat No 3,966,210, issued Jun 29, 1976 to John J
Rozmus, shows two distinct golf clubsheads each having an offset club face . By having an offset golf club, the golf player now has the inflection point of motion of the face of the golf club, lagging the inflection point of motion of the hands. In other words when the face of the golf club is at it's inflection point of motion, the golfer player's arms are starting to lift away from the playing surtace and are decelerating. The golf player now finds it easier to raise the golf ball because the golf player's arm is lifting up as the golf club strikes the golf ball. Since the arms are starting to decelerate, power must be lost.
A hockey player generally grips the hockey stick shaft with two hands, the top hand grips the shaft near the top, while the bottom hand generally grips the shaft just below the midpoint of the said shaft. While taking a slapshot, the hockey player's bottom hand will control the location of the " inflection point of motion of the blade". le. by moving the bottom hand closer the blade, the hockey player will move the "inflection point of motion for the blade" farther behind the said hockey player. It can be said that, since golf players hold both hands near the top of the golf club's shaft, the inflection point of motion for the head of a golf club is nearly directly in front of the golf player, but a hockey player holds his/her bottom hand on the lower part of the shaft, thus the inflection point of motion of the blade of a hockey stick is behind the hockey player.
It can also be said that, since the shaft is not held parallel to the lower arm, the "inflection point of motion for the blade" lags behind the "inflection point of motion for the bottom hand". In other words, for a straight shafted hockey stick with a straight blade, the "inflection point of motion for the said blade" occurs just after the bottom hand enters the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand". See Fig 6.
Since the "inflection point of motion of the hockey stick's blade" does lag behind the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand", shots like slapshots are generally taken with the puck slightly behind the hockey player.
Certain shooting techniques like the snapshot and wristshot use the strength in the wrists and twisting motion of the body to apply power onto the puck. In the above said shooting techniques, namely the wristshot, the blade of the hockey stick is dragged across the ice/playing surtace and for the most powertul shot, the most critical point for power to be applied, is the moment the face of the hockey stick blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace and the puck. Similarly for the most elevation of the above said shot, the most critical point for power to be applied is at the "inflection point of motion of the blade"
While a hockey player shoots a puck a complex series of motion occur. For the sake of simplicity, we will treat the process of shooting a puck as three rotations of a hockey stick, one rotation about an axis perpendicular to the ice/playing surface and two rotations about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surface. The rotation about an axis perpendicular to the ice/playing surface will be located at the player's center of mass. One of the two rotations about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surface, will have it's axis located at the hockey player's bottom hand while the other axis parallel to the ice/playing surface will be located in the players shoulders.
The "inflection point of motion of the blade", and the "inflection point of motion of the shaft", will be considered as rotations about the above said axis located in the hockey player's bottom hand.
The inflection point of motion of the bottom hand will be considered as a rotation about the above said axis located in the hockey player's shoulder.
As an example, we will treat the slapshot as a combination of three rotations.
The first rotation to be considered is the rotation of the hockey stick shaft about the hockey players bottom hand.
Not only does the above said rotation of the hockey stick shaft about the above said hockey player's bottom hand add power to the shot, but the said rotation also controls when the face of the hockey stick blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface. The rotation of the bottom hand about the axis located in the hockey player's shoulder will add power to the shot. The rotation about an axis perpendicular to the ice will add power to the shot.
There is a need in the art for a better hockey stick designed with a better understanding of the motions of hocky stick in mind.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
According to the present invention, a superior designed hockey stick whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly, which that allows a hockey player to easily raise a puck.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a hockey stick whose inflection point of motion of the blade is more synchronized with the inflection point of motion of the hockey player's bottom hand thus allowing a hockey player to apply more power to a puck.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a hockey stick whose blade is perpendicular to both the ice/playing surface and puck, while the bottom hand is near the end of the "bottom hand's acceleration phase", thus allowing a hockey player to apply more power to the puck.
According to still another aspect of this invention, a hockey stick that does not require as big of a curve as a conventional hockey stick The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To further the reader's understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, namely Flg 1, Fig. 1 shows the lower portion of a shaft 11, where the blade portion of the shaft 11 is angled forwardly 21. The line X-X represents the longitudinal axis of a staight shaft 10.
Flg. 2 shows the lower portion of a shaft 12, where the shaft is angled rearwardly and then the blade portion of the shaft 12 is angled forwardly 22. The line X-X represents the longitudinal axis of a staight shaft 10.
Fig. 3 a) shows a shaft 11, whose blade portion is angled forvvardly , with both the blade portion and forward angle grossly exaggerated for demonstration purposes Fig. 3b) shows the same shaft 11, rotated clockwise by two degree increments ,so that the inflection point of motion 31, can be seen for the above said shaft design. It should be noted that as drawn the shaft 11, is to be swung by a hockey player in a counterclockwise direction.
Fig. 4a) shows a shaft 13, whose lower part of the shaft 13 is angled rearwardly and whose blade portion is parallel to the shaft's longitudinal axis, with both the blade portion, angle rearvvard grossly exaggerated for demonstration purposes.
Fig. 4b) shows the same shaft 13, rotated counterclockwise by two degree increments ,so that the inflection point of motion 33, can be seen for the above said shaft design. It should be noted that as drawn the shaft 13, is to be swung by a hockey player in a counterclockwise direction.
Fig. 5 a) shows a shaft 12, whose lower part of the shaft is angled rearwardly and whose blade portion is angled forwardly , with both the blade portion, forward angle and angle rearward grossly exaggerated for demonstration purposes Fig. 5b) shows the same shaft 12, rotated clockwise by two degree increments ,so that the inflection point of motion 32, can be seen for the above said shaft design. It should be noted that as drawn the shaft 12, is to be swung by a hockey player in a counterclockwise direction.
Fig. 6 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a straight hockey stick shaft. The bottom hand in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand" while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface.
Fig. 7 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a hockey stick shaft that is offset rearwardly so that the blade portion of the shaft lags behind the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The bottom hand in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand" while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the icelplaying surtace.
Fig. 8 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a hockey stick shaft whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly. The bottom hand in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace.
Fig. 9 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a hockey stick shaft whose lower portion of the shaft is angled rearwardly and the blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly such that the base of the blade lines up the longitudinal axis of the said shaft. The bottom hand in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand"
while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace.
Fig. 10 shows a shaft 11 whose blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly can be formed from a suitable straight shaft 10.
Fig. 11 shows a shaft 12 whose whose lower portion of the shaft is angled rearvvardly and the blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly, can be formed from a suitable straight shaft 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A clearer understanding of the present invention will be obtained by first descibing a conventional hockey stick. A conventional hockey stick has a straight shaft with a blade rigidly attached to the said shaft's base. Curvature, which includes the blade's opening, allows the hockey player to more readily raise the puck. Most hockey leagues limit the amount of curvature a blade can legally have, which may in turn limit a hockey player's capability to raise the puck.
There are several methods for the rigid attachment of a blade to a shaft, most of which would be suitable for the present invention.Two of the most common methods used by hockey stick manufacturers, for rigid attachment of a blade to a shaft are given as follows; The first method of rigidly attachment of a blade to a shaft involves cutting a suitable tongue in the heel portion of the blade cutting a suitable groove in the blade portion of the shaft. The tongue potion of the above said blade is then inserted into the groove portion of the above said shaft and the blade is rigidly attached to the shaft. The second common method of rigid attachment of a blade to a shaft is using a suitable tapered shaft that is inserted between two or more blade components.
Most adult shafts are about 1.25" by 0.80" and are uniform until near the blade portion of the shaft. Generally, just above the blade portion of the shaft the said shaft starts to taper down to thickness of the blade.
Fig 7 shows a simple offset where the blade portion the shaft is a parallel and offset to the shaft 13. Fig 4 and 4b are gross exagerations of shaft 13 so that the dynamics of such a design can be seen. As can be seen in Fig 4b, when the base of the blade is at it's inflection point 33 when the top of the shaft 13 is angled 83 with respect to a vertical axis x-x. Since the above said angle 83 occurs after vertical axis x-x when rotating in a counterclockwise direction the bottom hand 70 must be decelerating when the blade of shaft 13 is at the "inflection point of motion 33 of said blade". By having the 'inflection point of motion 33 of the blade" for shaft 13 behind the inflection point of motion 30 for a straight shaft, it would be easier for a hockey using shaft 13 to raise the puck but power would be lost because the bottom hand must be in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand".
Fig 7 shows that the above said shaft 13, has the face of the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface, during the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand". By having the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface as the bottom hand is in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand", power will be lost from the hockey player's shot.
To proceed now with the description of the present invention. A hockey stick comprising of a shaft and blade rigidly attached for use by a forward or defenseman in the game of ice, roller or road hockey. The present invention, has the blade portion of the shaft 11, bent forward. In other words the blade portion of the shaft 11, is inclined forwardly with respect to the X-X longitudinal axis of the said shaft as shown in Fig 1. The angle 21 can be any acute angle but the preferred angles would be between 0 and 10 degrees.
To further one's understanding of the present invention, we will start by focusing on how the present invention will improve a hockey player's shot, when the said shot has a swinging motion, such as a slapshot. The dynamics of a slapshot can be rather complicated, but as stated in the "background to the invention ", if we look at the inflection point of motion of the hockey stick's components as if the said hockey stick was rotating around an axis located at the hockey player's bottom hand we can simplify some of the dynamics of the slapshot.
As is shown in Fig. 3, the present invention, which has the blade portion of the shaft angled forwardly, will move the "inflection point of motion 31 of the blade", forward ahead of the "inflection of motion 30 of the blade" of a silmilar hockey stick whose shaft 10, is straight. As can be seen in Fig 3b, that the base of the blade is at it's inflection point 31, when the top of the shaft 11, is angled 81, with respect to a vertical axis x-x. Since the above said angle 81 occurs befor the vertical axis x-x when rotating in a counterclockwise direction the bottom hand 70 must be accelerating when the blade of shaft 11 is at the "inflection point of motion 31 of the said blade"
In other words when a hockey stick with shaft 11 is at the " inflection point of motion 31 of the said blade" the bottom hand of the hockey player will still be in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" One skilled in the art of invention will realize that by having the bottom hand in it's the acceleration phase when the blade is at the "inflection point of motion of the blade" more power can be applied to the puck and the puck will be easier to raise, than if the same hockey stick blade was at it's "inflection point of motion" when the bottom hand is decelerating. One skilled in the art of invention would further realize that the ideal time for contact with the puck would be near the end of the acceleration phase of the bottom hand's motion.
One skilled in the art of invention would also realize that there must be some angle 21, where the "inflection point of motion of the blade", is synchronized with the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". The above said angle 21 would more than likely vary from hockey player to hockey player . The above said hockey stick, with the above said synchronized inflection points, would allow the above said hockey player to easily raise the puck and aply power to the said hockey player's shot.
One skilled in the art of invention would realize that a hockey player will also be able to more readily raise the puck when using a hockey stick whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly like the angled shaft 11, in Fig 2 , because the above said blade would angle under the above said puck better than conventional hockey sticks.
Fig. 8 shows that for a shaft 11, whose blade portion of the shaft, angles forwardly, there is an angle 91 between the lower arm 50 and shaft 11, such that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace when the bottom hand 70 is at the "
inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". By having the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface as the bottom hand is at the end of the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand", more power can added to the hockey player's shot.
Fig 10 shows that, an elaborate shaft 11, where the blade portion of the said elaborate shaft 11, angles forwardly can be produced from a simple straight shaft 10, if the angle 21 is sufficently small. If the blade portion of the simple straight shaft 10, is hardwood or some other suitable material or a suitable composite of materials, then the said straight shaft 10, can be tailored to resemble the above said elaborate shaft 11, where the blade portion of the shaft angles forvvardly.
If the manufacturing process involves the rigid attachment of the blade to the shaft using a suitable tongue in the heel portion of the blade and cutting a suitable groove in the blade portion of the shaft, then the above embodiment can be made with a suitable straight shaft 10 by cutting the said groove in the blade portion of the shaft at an angle 21 with respect to the lonitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10.The above said groove would be cut so that the top of the said groove was even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, thus forming shaft 12 thus forming shaft 11. The blade can then be inserted and rigidly attached to above said shaft 11, thus forming the present invention.
. One skilled in the art of invention will further realize that, an elaborate shaft 11, where the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly can be manufactured from a simple straight shaft by tailoring the suitable fashioned taper so that the said suitable fashioned taper as a whole, is at an angle 21 with the longitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10.The above said taper as a whole, that is angled forwardly at an angle 21 would be designed so that the top of taper as a whole was even with the longitudinal axis X-X, of the shaft, thus forming shaft 11 . The blade can then be rigidly attached to shaft 11, thus forming the present invention.
For the purposes of stickhandling and general comfort with the puck, certain hockey players would prefer to have the base of the blade even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.The present invention, can be further modified to suit the above said certain hockey players needs.
As shown in Fig. 5 a hockey stick shaft, where the shaft 12, first angles rearwardly and then angles forwardly so that the bottom of the blade is even with the longitudinal axis X-X of the shaft. As can be seen in Fig 5b, that the base of the blade is at it's inflection point 32, when the top of the shaft 12, is angled 82, with respect to a vertical axis x-x. Since when rotating in a counterclockwise direction, the above said angle 82 occurs befor the vertical axis x-x, , the bottom hand 70, must be accelerating when the blade of shaft 12 is at the "inflection point of motion 32 of the said blade" In other words when a hockey stick with shaft 12 is at the "
inflection point of motion 32 of the said blade" the bottom hand 70 of the hockey player will still be in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand". Fig. 5b also shows that the inflection point of motion 32 of the blade of a hockey stick using shaft 12 is behind the inflection point of motion 30 of the blade of a hockey stick using a straight shaft 10. The angle 22, can be any acute angle but the preferred angles would be between 0 and 10 degrees.
. For the most power, ideally the puck will first contact the blade of stick shaft 12 just at the end of the acceleration phase and the puck will leave the stick's blade just befor deceleration begins.
One skilled in the art of invention, will realize that at the "inflection point of motion 32 of the blade", the blade portion of the shaft 12 is forwardly angled, allowing a hockey player to more readily raise the puck. One skilled in the art of invention will also realize that by having the the "inflection point of motion 32 of the blade" occur while the hockey player's bottom hand 70 is in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" more power can be applied to the shot. as well as improve the hockey player's capability to raise the said puck.
Fig. 9 shows that for a shaft 12, which first angles rearwardly and then angles forwardly, there is an angle 92 between the lower arm 50 and shaft 12, such that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface when the bottom hand 70 is at the "
inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". By having the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface as the bottom hand is at the end of the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand", more power can added to the hockey player's shot.
Fig. 11 shows that,an elaborate shaft 12, where the shaft first angles rearwardly and then the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly (see Fig.11) can be produced from a simple straight shaft 12, if the angle 22 is sufficently small. If the blade portion of the simple straight shaft 10 is hardwood or some other suitable material or a proper composite of materials, then the above said straight hockey stick shaft 10, can be tailored to resemble the above said elaborate shaft 12 where the shaft angles rearwardly and then the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly.
If the manufacturing process involves the rigid attachment of the blade to the shaft using a suitable tongue in the heel portion of the blade and cutting a suitable groove in the blade portion of the shaft, then the above embodiment can be made with a suitable straight shaft 10 by cutting the said groove in the blade portion of the shaft at an angle 22 with respect to the lonitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10. The above said groove would be cut so that the bottom of the said groove was even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, thus forming shaft 12. The blade can then be inserted and rigidly attached to above said shaft 12, thus forming the present invention.
. One skilled in the art of invention will further realize that, an elaborate shaft 12, where the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly can be manufactured from a simple straight shaft by tailoring the suitable fashioned taper so that the said suitable fashioned taper as a whole, is at an angle 22 with the longitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10. The above said taper as a whole, that is angled forvvardly at an angle 22 would be designed so that the bottom of taper as a whole was even with the longitudinal axis X-X, of the shaft, thus forming shaft 12 . The blade can then be rigidly attached to shaft 12, thus forming the present invention One skilled in the art of invention should now realize that a shaft where the shaft first angles back and then angles forwardly can be made so that bottom of the blade lies in front of the longitudinal axis of the shaft X-X. By moving the bottom of the blade in front of the longitudinal axis of the shaft, one can further design a hockey stick, where the 'inflection point of motion of the blade for an elaborate shaft" is the same as the inflection point of motion of a the blade for a straight shaft"
One skilled in the art of invention will realize that the above embodiment descibes a hockey stick that is designed to allow a hockey player to easily raise the puck and to apply more power to the puck than conventional hockey sticks.
Having described how the the "inflection point of motion of the blade" can be moved by changing the shaft design and similarly, how the location where the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface can be moved by changing the shaft design, one skilled in the art of invention should realize that several designs maybe suitable for the sport of hockey.
Each hockey player may have his/her own preferences, thus various modification maybe made without deviating from the spirit of the present invention.
1. A hock tick, where the said hockey stick's shaft is designed so that the "inflection point of motion of the blade" a said hockey stick, occurs while the hockey player's bottom hand is at or near the end of the "accel ion phase of the bottom hand". In other words, let us consider a simple rotation of the above sa ockey stick about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surtace and passing through the above said hockey er's bottom hand. Then I
claim, a hockey stick shaft, where the said hockey stick shaft is so designed, th ' a straight blade were rigidly attached to the said hockey stick shaft, then the bottom of the said straig lade would be at the said straight blade's inflection point of motion with respect to the ice/playing ace, befor the above said hockey player's bottom hand crosses a line perpendicular to the ice/pla
References Cited 3,966,210 Jun., 29, 1976 Rozmus ABSTRACT
' An improved hockey stick that includes a shaft and blade, where the blade portion of the shaft is angle rward so that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface when the hockey player's om hand is still accelerating, thus allowing the said hockey player to apply more power to their sho . he above said improved hockey stick, will also have the inflection point of motion, of the blade of the sai ckey stick, occur when the hockey player's bottom hand is still accelerating, thus allowing the said h ey player to easily raise the puck with power.
Some hockey players would like the base of the de to be close to the longitudinal axis of the shaft for puck control purposes. For such player's an impr d hockey stick that includes a shaft and a blade, where the shaft first angles back and then an s forward, so that the base of the blade is more or less even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
The invention also does not need an elaborate shaft, as the present invention ca a manufactured from most standard shafts.
1) Hockey Stick -blade portion of the shaft angled forward FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hockey stick where the blade portion of the shaft is angled forward, allowing a hockey player to apply more power to their shot at the same time allowing the said hockey player to more readily raise the puck or ball.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hockey stick where the blade portion of the shaft of the said hockey stick, is angled forvvard. The said hockey stick is suitable for playing the position of forward or defence in the sport of hockey.
As used herein, the term "blade" shall refer to the section of the hockey stick that contacts the ice when the hockey stick is held in the vertical position. As used herein, the term "shaft"
refers to the section of the hockey stick that the hockey player grips with his/her hands. As used herein, the term "hosel" shall refer to the section of a hockey stick replacement blade onto which a blade is rigidly attached prior to insertion of the above said hosel's tenon into an aluminum or composite shaft. As used herein, the term "replacement blade"
shall refer to a replacement blade that can be used in the sport of ice hockey, roller hockey, street hockey or any other sport having a removable blade and a handle or shaft. As used herein, the term "top hand", shall refer to the hockey player's hand that grips the hockey stick shaft near the top of the said hockey stick shaft. As used herein, the term "bottom hand", shall refer to the hockey player's hand that grips the hockey stick shaft near the midpoint of the said hockey stick shaft. As used herein, the term "puck" shall refer to a hockey puck that is used in the sport of ice hockey. Certain versions of the sport of hockey, such as roller hockey may not use a puck in the traditional sense of the word, but it is to be understood that a ball or modified ball or modified puck or any other equivalent sporting device, may be used in place of a puck without changing the meanining or intention of the present invention.
The governing bodies of various hockey leagues generally lay down rules that manufactures have to follow if the manufacturer desires their hockey sticks to be legal in the above said hockey leagues. Generally, the amount of curvature that a hockey may have is limited by the governing bodies of various hockey league. Most hockey player's feel that the curve helps the hockey player raise the puck. Many hockey players are now using heel curves, which is a curve that starts in the heel of the hockey stick.
There are several different types of shooting techniques used by hockey player's in the sport of hockey. The three most common shooting techniques are the slapshot , the wristshot and the snapshot.
For a slapshot, generally as a hockey player swings a hockey stick, the power is attained in the downward portion of the swing motion and power is lost in the upward portion of the said swing motion. In other words, acceleration of the hockey stick blade occurs as the hockey player swings the said hockey stick blade, down towards the ice/playing surface and deceleration of the said hockey stick blade occurs as the player carries through with the shoot and lifts the said hockey stick blade, away from the ice/playing surface. The point where the motion of the hockey stick's blade changes direction with respect to the ice/playing surface, that is to say the point where the bottom of the blade of the hockey stick, stops moving towards the ice/playing surface and the said bottom of the blade of the said hockey stick, starts moving away from the ice, we shall refer to as herein as the "inflection point of motion of the blade ".
Part of this invention is to enable a hockey player to use less curvature of the blade, thus we shall treat the blade as if it is straight unless otherwise stated. For a straight blade the "inflection point of motion of the blade"
is same as the "inflection point of motion of the bottom of the shaft". As used herein , the term "inflection point of motion of the shaft" shall refer to the point where the bottom of the longitudinal axis of a hockey stick's shaft changes from moving towards the ice/playing surface to moving away from the ice/playing surface. The longitudinal axis of the shaft and the"inflection point of motion of the shaft" are treated as if the said shaft was straight. For a hockey stick whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forvvardly the "inflection point of motion of the shaft" is not the same as the "inflection poin of motion the blade" but for a straight shaft the above said two inflection points are one and the same.
This author believes that, much of the power in a slapshot comes from the hockey player's bottom hand. This author further believes that while taking a slapshot , a hockey player's bottom hand can be treated as accelerating until the lower arm is perpendicular to the ice after which time the bottom hand can be treated as decelerating. As used herein, the term "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand " shall refer to the point where the hockey player's bottom hand changes from an acceleration towards the ice/playing surface, to a deceleration away from the ice/playing surface.lt should be noted, that unless otherwise stated, the wrists are assumed to be in a locked position as the hockey player swings the hockey stick.
We have defined the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand" as the point where the bottom hand stops accelerating towards the ice/playing surtace and starts decelerating away from the ice/playing surface. We shall further define the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand"
to be located on a line perpendicular to the ice/playing surface and passing through the hockey player's shoulder. As refered to herein the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" shall refer to the motion of the bottom hand prior to the inflection point of motion of the said bottom hand, with said bottom hand rotating in a counterclockwise direction. As refered to herein the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand" shall refer to the motion of the bottom hand after the inflection point of motion of the said bottom hand, with said bottom hand rotating in a counterclockwise direction.
A hockey player whose bottom hand rotates in a counterclockwise direction while shooting a puck, is a hockey player that shoots left. Anything that can be said for a left handed shoot can similarly be said for a hockey player that shoots right.
Since power of the swing of a slapshot is lost as the hockey player starts to lift his bottom hand away from the ice/playing surface, for the most power, the ideal moment of impact for the blade with a puck, is near the end of the said hockey player's bottom hand's downswing, which this author defined as the" inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". This author further believes that at, or near the impact between the above said blade and the above said puck, the face of the said blade should be nearly perpendicular to both the ice/playning surface and the said puck. This author also believes that after the "inflection point of motion of the blade", the blade will want to lift up and away from the ice, thus lifting the puck, if the said blade was in contact with the said puck. In other words the contac of the bladet with the puck at or after the "inflection point of motion of the the blade" will increase the ability to raise the puck.
For years golf has incorporated the concept of the offset shaft that will allow for more loft of the golf ball. For example U.S. pat No 3,966,210, issued Jun 29, 1976 to John J
Rozmus, shows two distinct golf clubsheads each having an offset club face . By having an offset golf club, the golf player now has the inflection point of motion of the face of the golf club, lagging the inflection point of motion of the hands. In other words when the face of the golf club is at it's inflection point of motion, the golfer player's arms are starting to lift away from the playing surtace and are decelerating. The golf player now finds it easier to raise the golf ball because the golf player's arm is lifting up as the golf club strikes the golf ball. Since the arms are starting to decelerate, power must be lost.
A hockey player generally grips the hockey stick shaft with two hands, the top hand grips the shaft near the top, while the bottom hand generally grips the shaft just below the midpoint of the said shaft. While taking a slapshot, the hockey player's bottom hand will control the location of the " inflection point of motion of the blade". le. by moving the bottom hand closer the blade, the hockey player will move the "inflection point of motion for the blade" farther behind the said hockey player. It can be said that, since golf players hold both hands near the top of the golf club's shaft, the inflection point of motion for the head of a golf club is nearly directly in front of the golf player, but a hockey player holds his/her bottom hand on the lower part of the shaft, thus the inflection point of motion of the blade of a hockey stick is behind the hockey player.
It can also be said that, since the shaft is not held parallel to the lower arm, the "inflection point of motion for the blade" lags behind the "inflection point of motion for the bottom hand". In other words, for a straight shafted hockey stick with a straight blade, the "inflection point of motion for the said blade" occurs just after the bottom hand enters the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand". See Fig 6.
Since the "inflection point of motion of the hockey stick's blade" does lag behind the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand", shots like slapshots are generally taken with the puck slightly behind the hockey player.
Certain shooting techniques like the snapshot and wristshot use the strength in the wrists and twisting motion of the body to apply power onto the puck. In the above said shooting techniques, namely the wristshot, the blade of the hockey stick is dragged across the ice/playing surtace and for the most powertul shot, the most critical point for power to be applied, is the moment the face of the hockey stick blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace and the puck. Similarly for the most elevation of the above said shot, the most critical point for power to be applied is at the "inflection point of motion of the blade"
While a hockey player shoots a puck a complex series of motion occur. For the sake of simplicity, we will treat the process of shooting a puck as three rotations of a hockey stick, one rotation about an axis perpendicular to the ice/playing surface and two rotations about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surface. The rotation about an axis perpendicular to the ice/playing surface will be located at the player's center of mass. One of the two rotations about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surface, will have it's axis located at the hockey player's bottom hand while the other axis parallel to the ice/playing surface will be located in the players shoulders.
The "inflection point of motion of the blade", and the "inflection point of motion of the shaft", will be considered as rotations about the above said axis located in the hockey player's bottom hand.
The inflection point of motion of the bottom hand will be considered as a rotation about the above said axis located in the hockey player's shoulder.
As an example, we will treat the slapshot as a combination of three rotations.
The first rotation to be considered is the rotation of the hockey stick shaft about the hockey players bottom hand.
Not only does the above said rotation of the hockey stick shaft about the above said hockey player's bottom hand add power to the shot, but the said rotation also controls when the face of the hockey stick blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface. The rotation of the bottom hand about the axis located in the hockey player's shoulder will add power to the shot. The rotation about an axis perpendicular to the ice will add power to the shot.
There is a need in the art for a better hockey stick designed with a better understanding of the motions of hocky stick in mind.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
According to the present invention, a superior designed hockey stick whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly, which that allows a hockey player to easily raise a puck.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a hockey stick whose inflection point of motion of the blade is more synchronized with the inflection point of motion of the hockey player's bottom hand thus allowing a hockey player to apply more power to a puck.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a hockey stick whose blade is perpendicular to both the ice/playing surface and puck, while the bottom hand is near the end of the "bottom hand's acceleration phase", thus allowing a hockey player to apply more power to the puck.
According to still another aspect of this invention, a hockey stick that does not require as big of a curve as a conventional hockey stick The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To further the reader's understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, namely Flg 1, Fig. 1 shows the lower portion of a shaft 11, where the blade portion of the shaft 11 is angled forwardly 21. The line X-X represents the longitudinal axis of a staight shaft 10.
Flg. 2 shows the lower portion of a shaft 12, where the shaft is angled rearwardly and then the blade portion of the shaft 12 is angled forwardly 22. The line X-X represents the longitudinal axis of a staight shaft 10.
Fig. 3 a) shows a shaft 11, whose blade portion is angled forvvardly , with both the blade portion and forward angle grossly exaggerated for demonstration purposes Fig. 3b) shows the same shaft 11, rotated clockwise by two degree increments ,so that the inflection point of motion 31, can be seen for the above said shaft design. It should be noted that as drawn the shaft 11, is to be swung by a hockey player in a counterclockwise direction.
Fig. 4a) shows a shaft 13, whose lower part of the shaft 13 is angled rearwardly and whose blade portion is parallel to the shaft's longitudinal axis, with both the blade portion, angle rearvvard grossly exaggerated for demonstration purposes.
Fig. 4b) shows the same shaft 13, rotated counterclockwise by two degree increments ,so that the inflection point of motion 33, can be seen for the above said shaft design. It should be noted that as drawn the shaft 13, is to be swung by a hockey player in a counterclockwise direction.
Fig. 5 a) shows a shaft 12, whose lower part of the shaft is angled rearwardly and whose blade portion is angled forwardly , with both the blade portion, forward angle and angle rearward grossly exaggerated for demonstration purposes Fig. 5b) shows the same shaft 12, rotated clockwise by two degree increments ,so that the inflection point of motion 32, can be seen for the above said shaft design. It should be noted that as drawn the shaft 12, is to be swung by a hockey player in a counterclockwise direction.
Fig. 6 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a straight hockey stick shaft. The bottom hand in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand" while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface.
Fig. 7 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a hockey stick shaft that is offset rearwardly so that the blade portion of the shaft lags behind the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The bottom hand in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand" while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the icelplaying surtace.
Fig. 8 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a hockey stick shaft whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly. The bottom hand in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace.
Fig. 9 shows the counterclockwise rotation of the hockey players bottom hand and the rotation of a hockey stick shaft whose lower portion of the shaft is angled rearwardly and the blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly such that the base of the blade lines up the longitudinal axis of the said shaft. The bottom hand in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand"
while the base of the shaft is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace.
Fig. 10 shows a shaft 11 whose blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly can be formed from a suitable straight shaft 10.
Fig. 11 shows a shaft 12 whose whose lower portion of the shaft is angled rearvvardly and the blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly, can be formed from a suitable straight shaft 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A clearer understanding of the present invention will be obtained by first descibing a conventional hockey stick. A conventional hockey stick has a straight shaft with a blade rigidly attached to the said shaft's base. Curvature, which includes the blade's opening, allows the hockey player to more readily raise the puck. Most hockey leagues limit the amount of curvature a blade can legally have, which may in turn limit a hockey player's capability to raise the puck.
There are several methods for the rigid attachment of a blade to a shaft, most of which would be suitable for the present invention.Two of the most common methods used by hockey stick manufacturers, for rigid attachment of a blade to a shaft are given as follows; The first method of rigidly attachment of a blade to a shaft involves cutting a suitable tongue in the heel portion of the blade cutting a suitable groove in the blade portion of the shaft. The tongue potion of the above said blade is then inserted into the groove portion of the above said shaft and the blade is rigidly attached to the shaft. The second common method of rigid attachment of a blade to a shaft is using a suitable tapered shaft that is inserted between two or more blade components.
Most adult shafts are about 1.25" by 0.80" and are uniform until near the blade portion of the shaft. Generally, just above the blade portion of the shaft the said shaft starts to taper down to thickness of the blade.
Fig 7 shows a simple offset where the blade portion the shaft is a parallel and offset to the shaft 13. Fig 4 and 4b are gross exagerations of shaft 13 so that the dynamics of such a design can be seen. As can be seen in Fig 4b, when the base of the blade is at it's inflection point 33 when the top of the shaft 13 is angled 83 with respect to a vertical axis x-x. Since the above said angle 83 occurs after vertical axis x-x when rotating in a counterclockwise direction the bottom hand 70 must be decelerating when the blade of shaft 13 is at the "inflection point of motion 33 of said blade". By having the 'inflection point of motion 33 of the blade" for shaft 13 behind the inflection point of motion 30 for a straight shaft, it would be easier for a hockey using shaft 13 to raise the puck but power would be lost because the bottom hand must be in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand".
Fig 7 shows that the above said shaft 13, has the face of the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface, during the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand". By having the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface as the bottom hand is in the "deceleration phase of the bottom hand", power will be lost from the hockey player's shot.
To proceed now with the description of the present invention. A hockey stick comprising of a shaft and blade rigidly attached for use by a forward or defenseman in the game of ice, roller or road hockey. The present invention, has the blade portion of the shaft 11, bent forward. In other words the blade portion of the shaft 11, is inclined forwardly with respect to the X-X longitudinal axis of the said shaft as shown in Fig 1. The angle 21 can be any acute angle but the preferred angles would be between 0 and 10 degrees.
To further one's understanding of the present invention, we will start by focusing on how the present invention will improve a hockey player's shot, when the said shot has a swinging motion, such as a slapshot. The dynamics of a slapshot can be rather complicated, but as stated in the "background to the invention ", if we look at the inflection point of motion of the hockey stick's components as if the said hockey stick was rotating around an axis located at the hockey player's bottom hand we can simplify some of the dynamics of the slapshot.
As is shown in Fig. 3, the present invention, which has the blade portion of the shaft angled forwardly, will move the "inflection point of motion 31 of the blade", forward ahead of the "inflection of motion 30 of the blade" of a silmilar hockey stick whose shaft 10, is straight. As can be seen in Fig 3b, that the base of the blade is at it's inflection point 31, when the top of the shaft 11, is angled 81, with respect to a vertical axis x-x. Since the above said angle 81 occurs befor the vertical axis x-x when rotating in a counterclockwise direction the bottom hand 70 must be accelerating when the blade of shaft 11 is at the "inflection point of motion 31 of the said blade"
In other words when a hockey stick with shaft 11 is at the " inflection point of motion 31 of the said blade" the bottom hand of the hockey player will still be in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" One skilled in the art of invention will realize that by having the bottom hand in it's the acceleration phase when the blade is at the "inflection point of motion of the blade" more power can be applied to the puck and the puck will be easier to raise, than if the same hockey stick blade was at it's "inflection point of motion" when the bottom hand is decelerating. One skilled in the art of invention would further realize that the ideal time for contact with the puck would be near the end of the acceleration phase of the bottom hand's motion.
One skilled in the art of invention would also realize that there must be some angle 21, where the "inflection point of motion of the blade", is synchronized with the "inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". The above said angle 21 would more than likely vary from hockey player to hockey player . The above said hockey stick, with the above said synchronized inflection points, would allow the above said hockey player to easily raise the puck and aply power to the said hockey player's shot.
One skilled in the art of invention would realize that a hockey player will also be able to more readily raise the puck when using a hockey stick whose blade portion of the shaft is angled forwardly like the angled shaft 11, in Fig 2 , because the above said blade would angle under the above said puck better than conventional hockey sticks.
Fig. 8 shows that for a shaft 11, whose blade portion of the shaft, angles forwardly, there is an angle 91 between the lower arm 50 and shaft 11, such that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surtace when the bottom hand 70 is at the "
inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". By having the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface as the bottom hand is at the end of the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand", more power can added to the hockey player's shot.
Fig 10 shows that, an elaborate shaft 11, where the blade portion of the said elaborate shaft 11, angles forwardly can be produced from a simple straight shaft 10, if the angle 21 is sufficently small. If the blade portion of the simple straight shaft 10, is hardwood or some other suitable material or a suitable composite of materials, then the said straight shaft 10, can be tailored to resemble the above said elaborate shaft 11, where the blade portion of the shaft angles forvvardly.
If the manufacturing process involves the rigid attachment of the blade to the shaft using a suitable tongue in the heel portion of the blade and cutting a suitable groove in the blade portion of the shaft, then the above embodiment can be made with a suitable straight shaft 10 by cutting the said groove in the blade portion of the shaft at an angle 21 with respect to the lonitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10.The above said groove would be cut so that the top of the said groove was even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, thus forming shaft 12 thus forming shaft 11. The blade can then be inserted and rigidly attached to above said shaft 11, thus forming the present invention.
. One skilled in the art of invention will further realize that, an elaborate shaft 11, where the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly can be manufactured from a simple straight shaft by tailoring the suitable fashioned taper so that the said suitable fashioned taper as a whole, is at an angle 21 with the longitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10.The above said taper as a whole, that is angled forwardly at an angle 21 would be designed so that the top of taper as a whole was even with the longitudinal axis X-X, of the shaft, thus forming shaft 11 . The blade can then be rigidly attached to shaft 11, thus forming the present invention.
For the purposes of stickhandling and general comfort with the puck, certain hockey players would prefer to have the base of the blade even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft.The present invention, can be further modified to suit the above said certain hockey players needs.
As shown in Fig. 5 a hockey stick shaft, where the shaft 12, first angles rearwardly and then angles forwardly so that the bottom of the blade is even with the longitudinal axis X-X of the shaft. As can be seen in Fig 5b, that the base of the blade is at it's inflection point 32, when the top of the shaft 12, is angled 82, with respect to a vertical axis x-x. Since when rotating in a counterclockwise direction, the above said angle 82 occurs befor the vertical axis x-x, , the bottom hand 70, must be accelerating when the blade of shaft 12 is at the "inflection point of motion 32 of the said blade" In other words when a hockey stick with shaft 12 is at the "
inflection point of motion 32 of the said blade" the bottom hand 70 of the hockey player will still be in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand". Fig. 5b also shows that the inflection point of motion 32 of the blade of a hockey stick using shaft 12 is behind the inflection point of motion 30 of the blade of a hockey stick using a straight shaft 10. The angle 22, can be any acute angle but the preferred angles would be between 0 and 10 degrees.
. For the most power, ideally the puck will first contact the blade of stick shaft 12 just at the end of the acceleration phase and the puck will leave the stick's blade just befor deceleration begins.
One skilled in the art of invention, will realize that at the "inflection point of motion 32 of the blade", the blade portion of the shaft 12 is forwardly angled, allowing a hockey player to more readily raise the puck. One skilled in the art of invention will also realize that by having the the "inflection point of motion 32 of the blade" occur while the hockey player's bottom hand 70 is in the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand" more power can be applied to the shot. as well as improve the hockey player's capability to raise the said puck.
Fig. 9 shows that for a shaft 12, which first angles rearwardly and then angles forwardly, there is an angle 92 between the lower arm 50 and shaft 12, such that the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface when the bottom hand 70 is at the "
inflection point of motion of the bottom hand". By having the blade perpendicular to the ice/playing surface as the bottom hand is at the end of the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand", more power can added to the hockey player's shot.
Fig. 11 shows that,an elaborate shaft 12, where the shaft first angles rearwardly and then the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly (see Fig.11) can be produced from a simple straight shaft 12, if the angle 22 is sufficently small. If the blade portion of the simple straight shaft 10 is hardwood or some other suitable material or a proper composite of materials, then the above said straight hockey stick shaft 10, can be tailored to resemble the above said elaborate shaft 12 where the shaft angles rearwardly and then the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly.
If the manufacturing process involves the rigid attachment of the blade to the shaft using a suitable tongue in the heel portion of the blade and cutting a suitable groove in the blade portion of the shaft, then the above embodiment can be made with a suitable straight shaft 10 by cutting the said groove in the blade portion of the shaft at an angle 22 with respect to the lonitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10. The above said groove would be cut so that the bottom of the said groove was even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft, thus forming shaft 12. The blade can then be inserted and rigidly attached to above said shaft 12, thus forming the present invention.
. One skilled in the art of invention will further realize that, an elaborate shaft 12, where the blade portion of the shaft angles forwardly can be manufactured from a simple straight shaft by tailoring the suitable fashioned taper so that the said suitable fashioned taper as a whole, is at an angle 22 with the longitudinal axis X-X of the said shaft 10. The above said taper as a whole, that is angled forvvardly at an angle 22 would be designed so that the bottom of taper as a whole was even with the longitudinal axis X-X, of the shaft, thus forming shaft 12 . The blade can then be rigidly attached to shaft 12, thus forming the present invention One skilled in the art of invention should now realize that a shaft where the shaft first angles back and then angles forwardly can be made so that bottom of the blade lies in front of the longitudinal axis of the shaft X-X. By moving the bottom of the blade in front of the longitudinal axis of the shaft, one can further design a hockey stick, where the 'inflection point of motion of the blade for an elaborate shaft" is the same as the inflection point of motion of a the blade for a straight shaft"
One skilled in the art of invention will realize that the above embodiment descibes a hockey stick that is designed to allow a hockey player to easily raise the puck and to apply more power to the puck than conventional hockey sticks.
Having described how the the "inflection point of motion of the blade" can be moved by changing the shaft design and similarly, how the location where the face of the blade is perpendicular to the ice/playing surface can be moved by changing the shaft design, one skilled in the art of invention should realize that several designs maybe suitable for the sport of hockey.
Each hockey player may have his/her own preferences, thus various modification maybe made without deviating from the spirit of the present invention.
1. A hock tick, where the said hockey stick's shaft is designed so that the "inflection point of motion of the blade" a said hockey stick, occurs while the hockey player's bottom hand is at or near the end of the "accel ion phase of the bottom hand". In other words, let us consider a simple rotation of the above sa ockey stick about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surtace and passing through the above said hockey er's bottom hand. Then I
claim, a hockey stick shaft, where the said hockey stick shaft is so designed, th ' a straight blade were rigidly attached to the said hockey stick shaft, then the bottom of the said straig lade would be at the said straight blade's inflection point of motion with respect to the ice/playing ace, befor the above said hockey player's bottom hand crosses a line perpendicular to the ice/pla
Claims (11)
1. A hockey stick, where the said hockey stick's shaft is designed so that the "inflection point of motion of the blade" of the said hockey stick, occurs while the hockey player's bottom hand is at or near the end of the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand". In other words, let us consider a simple rotation of the above said hockey stick about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surface and passing through the above said hockey player's bottom hand. Then I
claim, a hockey stick shaft, where the said hockey stick shaft is so designed, that if a straight blade were rigidly attached to the said hockey stick shaft, then the bottom of the said straight blade would be at the said straight blade's inflection point of motion with respect to the ice/playing surface, befor the above said hockey player's bottom hand crosses a line perpendicular to the ice/playing surface with the said perpendicular line passing through the said hockey player's bottom shoulder.
claim, a hockey stick shaft, where the said hockey stick shaft is so designed, that if a straight blade were rigidly attached to the said hockey stick shaft, then the bottom of the said straight blade would be at the said straight blade's inflection point of motion with respect to the ice/playing surface, befor the above said hockey player's bottom hand crosses a line perpendicular to the ice/playing surface with the said perpendicular line passing through the said hockey player's bottom shoulder.
2. A hockey stick, where the said hockey stick's shaft is designed so that the blade of the said hockey stick, is perpendicular to the ice, while the hockey player's bottom hand is at or near the end of the "acceleration phase of the bottom hand". In other words, let us consider a simple rotation of the above said hockey stick about an axis parallel to the ice/playing surface and passing through the above said hockey player's bottom hand. Then I claim, a hockey stick shaft, where the said hockey stick shaft is so designed, that if a straight blade were rigidly attached to the said hockey stick shaft, then the face of the said straight blade would be perpendicular to the ice/playing surface, befor the above said hockey player's bottom hand crosses a line perpendicular to the ice/playing surface with the said perpendicular line passing through the said hockey player's bottom shoulder.
3. A hockey of claim 1 and claim 2, where the blade of the said hockey stick has a curve.
4. A hockey stick of claim 1 and claim 2, where the shaft angles forward so that the base of the blade is in front of the longitudinal axis of the shaft if the said shaft was straight.
5. A hockey stick of claim 1 and claim 2, where the shaft first angles back and then angles forward so that the base of the blade is slightly in front of the longitudinal axis of the shaft of the said shaft was straight.
6. A hockey stick of claim 1 and claim 2, where the shaft first angles back and then angles forward so that the base of the blade is even with the longitudinal axis of the shaft if the said shaft was straight.
7. A hockey stick of claim 1 and claim 2, where the shaft first angles back and then angles forward so that the base of the blade is slightly in behind the longitudinal axis of the shaft if the said shaft were straight.
8. A hockey stick of claim 4, where the elaborate shaft of claim 4 is made from a simple straight shaft.
9. A hockey stick of claim 5, where the elaborate shaft of claim 5, that is made from a simple straight shaft.
10. A hockey stick of claim 6, where the elaborate shaft of claim 6, that is made from a simple straight shaft.
11. A hockey stick of claim 7, where the elaborate shaft of claim 7, that is made from a simple straight shaft.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2246079 CA2246079A1 (en) | 1998-09-10 | 1998-09-10 | Hockey stick with an angled shaft |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2246079 CA2246079A1 (en) | 1998-09-10 | 1998-09-10 | Hockey stick with an angled shaft |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2246079A1 true CA2246079A1 (en) | 2000-03-10 |
Family
ID=29409808
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2246079 Abandoned CA2246079A1 (en) | 1998-09-10 | 1998-09-10 | Hockey stick with an angled shaft |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2246079A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9355499B1 (en) | 2015-04-20 | 2016-05-31 | Popcards, Llc | Augmented reality content for print media |
| US11058935B2 (en) | 2015-11-03 | 2021-07-13 | Andrew Oman | Hockey stick and hockey stick shaft with first and second bends |
| US11071895B2 (en) | 2015-11-03 | 2021-07-27 | Andrew Oman | Hockey stick and hockey stick shaft with first and second curves |
| US11077346B2 (en) | 2015-11-03 | 2021-08-03 | Andrew Oman | Hockey stick and hockey stick shaft with first and second bends |
-
1998
- 1998-09-10 CA CA 2246079 patent/CA2246079A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9355499B1 (en) | 2015-04-20 | 2016-05-31 | Popcards, Llc | Augmented reality content for print media |
| US11058935B2 (en) | 2015-11-03 | 2021-07-13 | Andrew Oman | Hockey stick and hockey stick shaft with first and second bends |
| US11071895B2 (en) | 2015-11-03 | 2021-07-27 | Andrew Oman | Hockey stick and hockey stick shaft with first and second curves |
| US11077346B2 (en) | 2015-11-03 | 2021-08-03 | Andrew Oman | Hockey stick and hockey stick shaft with first and second bends |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |