CA2414794A1

CA2414794A1 - Sports equipment carrier

Info

Publication number: CA2414794A1
Application number: CA002414794A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Dan Mason
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-12-20
Filing date: 2002-12-20
Publication date: 2004-06-20

Abstract

A carrying apparatus for a hockey stick. The carrier has two upwardly facing U-shaped channels formed by two outer wails connected via a base to a shared inner wall. The outer walls are biased towards the inner wall. The distance between the outer walls and the inner wall at the base is greater than the width of the shaft of the stick. Straps are connected to the outer walls through a pair of openings located in the upper portion of the walls. The portion of strap material located within the channel is pressed between the outer wall and the shaft of the stick when the stick is positioned in the carrier thereby preventing it from moving during transportation.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
SPORTS EQUIPMENT CARRIER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to sports equipment carriers, more specifiically to a hand-held carrier for shafted sports equipment such as a hockey stick.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hockey players are required to transport a large amount of equipment associated with the playing of the sport. Besides bulky protective padding, clothing, skates and a helmet, a hockey player must also carry at least one stick. In fact, most players usually transport at least two sticks in case one breaks during game play.
The transportation of long, shafted, sports equipment such as hockey sticks along with the remainder of the user's equipment is awkward and difficult.
This is particularly true for young children whose hands are not yet large enough to properly grasp and balance multiple sticks while also carrying their remaining equipment.
In colder climates, the athlete must also contend with heavy winter clothing that makes it even more difficult to carry the shafted equipment. The individual's gloves or mitts may not fit adequately around the sticks in order to get a proper grip such that maintaining the sticks in a balanced position is difficult.
Conversely if no protective clothing is worn on the hand, the hand will become cold and stiff.

A number of carriers for shafted equipment have been developed. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,249,723 discloses a carrier for shafted equipment for sports such as hockey, curling, or ringette. The carrier includes two elongated, downwardly open, U-shaped channels which are formed of resilient plastic material. The channels are formed by outer side walls and a shared inner side wall. The channels are dimensioned so that the outer side walls are biased against the shaft of the sports equipment inserted in the channel. The outer side walls have an included angle less than 90 degrees, preferably about 86 degrees.
Insertion of the shafted equipment forces the side walls apart such that after insertion the bias of the angled side wall pushes against the shaft to retain it in position. The top edges of the side walls have a plurality of lip sections projecting into the channels. These lip sections act to retain the shafted equipment in place once inserted in the channel. A strap may be attached to the carrier at the outer ends. This strap may be placed over the user's shoulder for carrying the sticks in a horizontal position.
The carrier holds the shaft tightly in place, however the combination of the biased side walls and the lips makes it difficult to insert and remove a shaft Into a channel or to properly balance the shaft within the channel. This is especially true for children who may not have the necessary strength to accomplish this task. Furthermore, the '723 patent teaches the use of a shoulder strap to carry the sticks horizontally. While this can provide a hands free transportation method, tipping of the sticks in order to negotiate through more confined spaces requires use of a free hand. If the straps become loose they will fall off the users shoulder. If anything else is placed on the shoulder, such as the straps of an equipment bag, the shoulder straps of the carrier may become bound making tipping of the sticks difficult if not impossible.
U.S. Patent No. 5,954,379 also teaches a carrier for shafted sports equipment.
The '379 patent teaches a carrier having a base with shaft holders at opposite ends and a handle. The shaft holders are downwardly extending U-shaped channels. The shaft holders are defined by outer side walls and an inner shared side wall and the walls are parallel to one another. The spacing between the side walls is a distance less than or equal to the width of the shaft to be inserted in the channel, preferably less. As a result, when the shaft is inserted into the shaft holder, the outer side walls are deflected outwardly at an angle greater than degrees from the shaft holder base. Furthermore, each side wall has an inwardly overhanging lip which is either sloping or curved to guide the shaft into the carrier with minimum force. The overhanging lip has a retaining ledge that extends along the length of the side wall substantially parallel to the shaft holder base.
This ledge prevents the shaft from slipping out of the carrier when carried in a horizontal position, particularly if only one shaft has been placed in the carrier.
While the '379 design overcomes some of the deficiencies of the '723 patent, the retaining ledges make it difficult to remove shafts from the shaft holder.
Furthermore, the design itself is relatively complicated requiring precision molding which is costly. There remains a need for a simple carrier design that can be easily used by adults and children to carry hockey sticks and which may be produced at very low cosi;.
Accordingly, it is an object of an embodiment of this invention to provide a simple and easy to use carrier that rnay accommodate at least two hockey sticks.
It is a further object of an embodiment of this invention to provide a carrier that may be produced at low cost.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description that follows.

SUMMARY OF TtiE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a carrying apparatus, or carrier, for transporting elongated members. The carrier comprises a pair of elongated, upward facing, u-shaped channels and first and second carrying straps. The channels are defined by a pair of outer walls, a shared inner wall and a base. The walls have a first end and a second end, the first ends of the walls being connected to the base. Each of the outer walls has a pair of openings and the first carrying strap is attached to a first of the outer walls, and the second carrying strap is attached to a second of the outer walls.
The outer walls are spaced apart from the inner wall a distance greater than a width of the elongated member. The openings are located towards the first ends of the outer walls.
In another aspect of the invention, at the base, the outer walls are spaced apart from the inner wall a distance greater than a width of the elongated member.
The outer walls are biased towards the inner wall. The biasing results from the outer walls each respectively being at an acute angle relative to the base. In addition, the inner wall may also be at an acute angle relative to the base.
In another aspect, the straps are formed of polypropylene webbing. A portion of the strap material is located within the channels.
Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment and to the claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings and wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a carrier according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is an end view of the carrier of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is an end view of the carrier of Fig. 1 showing two hockey sticks in cross section;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the carrier in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiment of a carrying apparatus or carrier 10 according to the invention is shown in Figs. 1 through 4. The carrier 10 may be used to carry at least two hockey sticks as shown best in Fig. 4 and as described below.
In the preferred embodiment, the carrier 10 has two generally u-shaped channels 14, 16 formed by first and second outer walls 20 and 22, respectively and a shared inner wall 24. Preferably, the upper edges of the walls are rounded and outer walls 20, 22 extend below the level of base 12 forming downwardly extending lips 21, 23. A base 12 joins the outer walls 20, 22 with each other and with inner wall 24. Preferably, the walls run substantially parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to base 12, which forms the floor of the channels 14, 16. However, as is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, outer walls 20, 22 are biased towards inner wall 24. This is accomplished by angling the outer walls 20, 22 relative to the base 12 and by further angling base 12 with inner wall 24.
The angles between each of the outer walls and the base and between the inner wall and the base are less than 90 degrees. This combination of two acute angles for each channel creates a pincer like effect on any object placed between the respective outer walls 20, 22 and the shared inner wall 24.
A pair of openings 30 are present in each of the outer walls 20 and 22.
Preferably they are positioned in the top half of the outer wall sufficiently below the upper edge of the walls. Preferably, the carrier is 12 inches long, 2 inches wide and .81 inches high with the openings commencing approximately 1.5 inches from the ends. Carrying straps 26 and 28 are connected to walls 20 and 22 respectively, by way of the openings 30. Preferably, the straps are made of one-inch wide, 0.05-inch thick, flexible polypropylene webbing. Other flexible materials would also be suitable. One end of the webbing is inserted through one of the openings 30 and the other end is inserted through the other opening.
The ends are looped back and connected to the body of the webbing by stitching 32. With both ends secured to the carrier, a handle is formed. This is repeated for both walls 20 and 22.
The channels are dimensioned to be slightly wider at the base 12 than the object to be inserted therein. For example, the shaft 40 of a hockey stick is approximately 3/ inch wide and 1 and 118 inches deep. Preferably, the carrier to be used for transporting a pair of hockey sticks has channels that are 7/8 of an inch wide at the base and 3/ of an inch deep. The opening to the channel between the outer wall and the inner wall is less than the width of the hockey stick shaft. Preferably the channel opening is .82 inches wide.
The rounded upper edges and additional space within the channel makes for easy insertion of the shaft 4G of the hockey sticks and allows the stick's position in the carrier to be altered relatively easily in order to achieve a balanced state.

When a shaft is inserted, the rounded upper edge of the outer wall presses against the side of the shaft with an inward biasing force. The portion of webbing of the handles 26, 28 that is present within the confines of the channel provides an added resistive element that prevents movement of the shaft within the channel. In addition, when both straps are grasped in a user's grip, a force is applied to the outer walls and against the stick shafts, forcing them towards the inner wall 24 as shown in Fig. 3. This provides a further retaining force against the shafts of the sticks. This prevents the sticks from moving within the channels when the carrier is being used. A user may use the carrier to lift the sticks into a vertical position without the sticks falling from the carrier.
Because of the resistive forces applied by the webbing, the walls of the carrier may be perpendicular to the base and the space between the outer wall and the inner wall greater than the width of the shaft to be placed therebetween and the carrier will still resist movement of the stick within the carrier. While this makes it that much easier to introduce a shaft into the channels of the carrier, it does not provide as much resistance to movement as does the preferred embodiment.
The downwardly extending lips 21, 23 provide a contact surface below the level of the base for supporting the carrier when it is seated on a surface. This provides additional protection to the bottom of base 12 thereby limiting wear and tear.
Preferably the carrier is formed of rigid polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") molded into the correct shape. Rigid PVC is typically used for exterior applications such as window profiles, doors, gutters, and downspouts. It proves especially suitable for use as a carrier, which will travel from temperature extremes (inside a house to an indoor or outdoor hockey rink. However, other plastics and similar type materials are contemplated. In addition to being temperature resistant, the material used for the carrier should be slightly flexible. It is also contemplated that additional channels could be added in order to increase the carrying capacity of the carrier.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the preferred and alternative embodiments have been described in some detail but that certain modifications may be practiced without departing from the principles of the invention.

Claims

1. A carrying apparatus for transporting elongated members, said apparatus comprising a pair of elongated, upward facing, u-shaped channels and first and second carrying straps wherein:
said channels are defined by a pair of outer walls, a shared inner wall and a base;
said walls have a first end and a second end, said first ends of said walls being connected to said base;
each of said outer walls has a pair of openings; and said first carrying strap is attached to a first of said outer walls, and said second carrying strap is attached to a second of said outer walls.

2. The carrying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said openings are located towards said first ends of said outer walls.

3. The carrying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said outer walls are spaced apart from said inner wall a distance greater than a width of said elongated member.

4. The carrying apparatus of claim 1 wherein at said base said outer walls are spaced apart from said inner wall a distance greater than a width of said elongated member.

5. The carrying apparatus of claim 4 wherein said outer walls are biased towards said inner wall.

6. The carrying apparatus of claim 5 wherein said outer walls each respectively form an acute angle relative to said base.

7. The carrying apparatus of claim 6 wherein said inner wall forms an acute angle relative to said base.

8. The carrying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said straps are formed of polypropylene webbing.

9. The carrying apparatus of claim 1 wherein a portion of said respective straps is located within said channels.