GB2493147A - Mouldable hand grip - Google Patents

Abstract

A removable handle grip which is easily attached and removed from a handle intended for gripping is made from a rigid sleeve (A, figure 2) with a locking device F, the sleev being coated with a mouldable material D to provide a gripping section. The mouldable material D is formed to a user's hand and cured. The locking device allows the handle grip to be easily removed for curing, adjusteing or replacement. Due to the rigid nature of the sleeve A, the moulding can be carried out with or without pre-fixing of the handle grip on the equipment. The grip may be used on a cycle handlebar, a tennis racket, crutches, canoe paddles, and the suchlike.

Description

PAGE 1

Description

Background field of the Invention

The invention relates to equipment that is intended to be gripped by the human hand, specifically to improvements to the handle grip whereby the grip material is custom moulded to the user's hand(s), and improvements in the method in which the mouldable material is applied to and removed from the equipment.

Some examples of equipment where existing non customised grips are used are bicycles, motorbikes, snow mobiles, jet skis, crutches, tennis rackets, canoe paddles and suchlike.

The nature of many of these types of equipment and similar applications means that the grip has to be held reasonably tightly, often for prolonged periods, and varying forces are put through the grip to the hand. This causes relatively high pressure contact areas between parts of the user's hands and the grip of the device. These limited contact areas of higher pressure between the hand and the grip present a number of limiting factors in use. Some of these are as follows:- * The small points of contact mean that the user has to hold the grip more tightly than if there was a larger contact area between the users hand and the grip, this uses additional energy that could otherwise be used for the task in hand.

* The higher pressures in these concentrated areas often cause discomfort, and it is common that regular users of this type of equipment have blisters and calluses on these contact points of their hand, i.e. the parts of the hand which are exerted to the highest pressures, this is regardless of whether the user uses gloves or otherwise.

* The support that is offered in conventional non custom moulded grips is limited and because of the aforementioned lack of contact area, the hand can be quickly fatigued and cause aching and pain. This is a very common complaint for mountain bikers and motocross riders, and is known in the industry as arm pump'. This complaint can be described academically as chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the forearm.

An example of where this may occur is after a long technical descent on a mountain bike.

* A condition that is commonly seen in cyclists is that of tingling sensations and numbness in the hands or fingers. This condition is known as handlebar palsy or medically speaking; ulnar neuropathy. This is caused by the compression of the ulnar nerve, which controls sensation in the ring and little fingers and controls most of the muscular function of the hand. The compression of the nerve is the result of direct pressure on the nerve from the grip on the handlebars. The effects are numbness, general weakness and lack of control in the hands.

By offering a custom mouldable grip, the present invention overcomes these problems in the following ways: PAGE 2 * With the users grip(s) custom moulded to their hand(s), there will be a larger contact area between the hand(s) and the gripping surface(s). This will enable the following: o Reduce the energy required for gripping, allowing the energy to be used elsewhere.

o Reduce the gripping force required which will allow the users hand and arms to be more relaxed and less tense, this enables a more fluid a controlled operation of the equipment; o It will increase useful control of the piece of equipment to which it is attached through having more feeling from the increased contact gripping area.

o The elimination of high pressure areas across the surface of the hand will greatly reduce or completely eliminate callusing and similar complaints.

o The pressure will be evened out over the complete contact area, thus reducing the strength required for the user to hold on and thus reducing fatigue in the hands and the muscles used in gripping.

o Gripping related ailments are reduced. The custom mouldable nature of the present invention will provide additional support in the area of where the ulnar nerve is often compressed during the use of handle grips. The aforementioned reduction in pressure from increased surface contact will reduce this compression and reduce the effects of the compression of the ulnar nerve.

PAGE 3

Prior Art of the Field

A number of previous designs have been patented in an attempt to provide solution for allowing the user to customise the shape of the gripping section of a piece of equipment.

This has been done in a number of ways including the following: * Using a soft material to allow the grip material to take some shape of the users hand during use; * by creating a pre moulded general ergonomic shape for the average human hand; * by carefully positioning softer materials in high pressure areas to allow some temporary shaping of the grip to the users hand without losing durability of the complete grip.

We will now discuss a number of previous inventions within this field.

US yatent number US6263759 (B!) shows a design for a Removable, non-turning handlebar aria where the gripping material is a flexible material' and is removable and lockable to the handlebar of the equipment. The grip is in a fixed pre moulded shape and is not mouldable to the user's hand which therefore does not offer the same level of comfort, support and control that the increased contact area of a custom grip offers.

The present invention uses a grip sleeve with material which is able to be moulded by the user, which will provide the benefits discussed in the background section.

US Patent Number US2009007387 (A1J shows a design for a Custom Gun for Writing Instruments and Other Hand Held Items in which the custom grips comprise a thermoplastic material that is plastic at temperatures compatible with human touch allowing a custom mouldable nature of the device grip to the user. The main limitations of this invention are: * The material requires heating while in place on the device/instrument on which it will be used. This requires both the mouldable material and the device, or part of the device to be subjected to the material softening/curing environment; examples of these are to be submerged in heated water, or subject to microwaves.

* Where only part of the device requires subjecting to the softening/curing environment, the device will require either: disassembling, moulding carried out and re-assembling; or be provided in a pre assembled state, then assembling after moulding/processing.

PAGE 4 The present invention offers the advantage of allowing the handle grip to be easily removed from the equipment to which it is fitted, this enables only the handle grip to be subject to the necessary curing environment, and saves the equipment (e.g. bicycle, or canoe paddle) from having to be subjected to that curing process; this reduces limitations to curing options for the mouldable material.

The rigid nature of the grip sleeve in the present invention also allows, if required, the complete moulding and curing processes to be carried out away from the equipment, and then fitted to the equipment once completed.

US patent 1/5461 7697 (A) shows a design for a Moldable handle adapter which states using a pouch having flexible walls and end closures. This pouch is intended to be filled with a mouldable material. The main limitations of this invention are that: * The join of the walls of the pouch provides an area of weakness after the mouldable material has cured and the grip is in use.

* The inner surface which is intended to contact the existing handlebar will be able to move on the handlebar unless the suggested means of holding it in place, this being using a hot melt adhesive is used. This method does not allow the grip to be easily removed from the device once fitted.

* The life of the product is limited to the length of time that the flexible wall can withstand the wear and tear during use.

With the present invention, there is no intended flexible wall material to be in place on the inside surface of the mouldable material, allowing the mouldable material to directly bond with the locking sleeves outer surface. This creates a strong bond between the mouldable material and the removable locking sleeves outer walls. The rigid wall of the gripping sleeve is locked in position to the handlebar and this acts as the surface in which the mouldable material bonds with.

There is no secondary flexible material intended to be used as part of the device after moulding and curing i.e. during use. In use, the users hand will come into direct contact with the post cured mouldable material and as it wears, it will continue to have a consistent surface without any breaks in the material or damage to an outer layer of material.

The present invention is easily locked to or removed from the handle by means of a locking device, thus removing the need to adhere the mouldable material directly and more permanently to the piece of equipment.

PAGE 5 US patent U54785495 (A) Moldable hand grips shows a design which states using a hair dryer to soften material to allow it to be moulded by the users hand and retain the conformation of the hand upon cooling. The invention also includes the possibility of using outer layers and under layers of additional materials.

The main limitations of this invention are that: * The mouldable sleeve/grip is fixed by use of a hot melt adhesive to the handlebar of the equipment, therefore cannot be easily removed or adjusted once in place.

* The flexible wall material presents a possibility to be able detach from the mouldable material causing either the hand gripping surface of the grip to lose its hold on the moulded material underneath, or the moulded gripping section to lose its hold from the wall material which is bonded to the handlebar.

* The life of the product is limited to the length of time that the flexible wall can withstand the wear and tear during use.

The present invention allows the removal and repositioning/adjusting of the moulded grip once the grip has been moulded by means of simply unlocking the handle grip and moving it to the desired location on the handle and then re locking it; or it can be completely removed from the handle.

The present invention also utilises the mouldable material as the gripping surface of the grip, allowing the grip to maintain its surface as it wears, prolonging the usable life of the grip.

Additionally there are no thin layers of material present and only one point of bonding between the mouldable material and the gripping sleeve beneath.

PAGE 6 US patent U54696842 (A) Custom moldable handgrip shows a design that uses layers of film to prevent an air/moisture curing silicone from curing. The device allows the material to be moulded, the outer film to be removed, and the moulded material to then be open to the air through the semi permeable film for curing.

The main limitations of this invention are: The material is supplied in sheet form, which means that there will be a join in the material once it has been wrapped around the equipment to be used. This join will likely form a weak point in the material. The sheet could also have problems with the material curing in the ends before the user has applied the material and moulded the item.

* The Material stated in this invention is a solvent evaporation type material. These materials release solvent vapour once exposed to the air and inherently have an unpleasant odour.

The present invention overcomes these issues by the fixing of the present invention to the device being very easy. There is also no join in the material as it is manufactured to encircle a rigid sleeve. The material is safe to use and does not produce any noxious, dangerous elements or compounds before or during the curing process.

Patent W02006125995(A1)shows a design for a mouldable material that can be applied to any device to improve aid or fix said device.

This invention poses the following problems * The invention is a material only and if used for a hand gripping device, there would be the aforementioned problem of it being difficult to remove from the handlebar once applied.

The present invention allows the handle grip to be removed, fastened and adjusted by means of simple mechanical locking device(s). The mouldable material is also contained within a fixed area, which is neat, tidy and looks good.

PAGE 7 US patent U55555584 (A) shows a method of producing custom-fitting articles by the use of a mouldable material, which is heat curable to be used in a range of applications. The main application is focussed on using the material for an insole or footwear, but also goes on to outline a range of possible hand gripping uses.

The limitation of this invention is: * The material intended for a handle grip is not positively fixed to a rigid surface on the equipment and thus allows the potential for unwanted movement between the handle grip and the equipment.

* The material is intended to be wrapped around the handle of the equipment; this brings about weak points in the area where the material ends meet together and a join is formed.

The present invention has the mouldable material bonded strongly to the rigid surface of the sleeve part of the handle grip and does not allow any unintended movement. The mouldable material is supplied in a form that is already encircling a sleeve, it has no joins and is a complete single entity, and this removes any possibility of there being any weak points throughout the mouldable material.

German patent DE202005013861 (U1)shows a design for a Handlebar grip for enduro-bicycle which offers a removable grip with a clamping system that is profiled ergonomically to a generic hand grip.

The limitations of this invention are: * The profiling of the grip is generic to the average human hand. This means that the profiling will not fit every consumer and will not fit any consumer exactly therefore it does not offer a custom formed ergonomic grip.

* The clamping point of this invention is at the outer edge of the hand grip. Most of the force of the hand on any given standard hand grip is at the thumb and index finger side of the hand, which in this case is a considerable distance from the clamp point.

This allows the sleeve material to torsionally flex in the material between the clamp and the main portion of the grip of the hand, this flexion is undesirable during use and will not give a solid, confident feel.

* With the clamping point of the grip being on the outside of the grip, the overall width of the bicycle is increased with the increase being an unused area of the grip for the purpose of gripping, this additional width is a limitation to the bicycles ability to negotiate small gaps, e.g. when a mountain bike is on a route which weaves through trees, in this situation, there needs to be no unnecessary additional width to the handlebar/complete bike.

The present invention enables the user to mould their exact hand print. This will provide a larger contact area between the user and their custom moulded handle grip. The clamping point in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is on the inside part of the grip and is in close quarters to the main holding point of the grip of a hand, i.e. the clamp is on the inside of the gripping sleeve and is very close to the thumb and index finger of the user of the grip. This also gives minimal unnecessary increase in handlebar width in the application of a bicycle.

PAGE 8

Summary of the Invention I Statement of Invention

The present invention comprises a rigid sleeve or sleeve assembly encompassed within and/or around a mouldable material which is mounted within or around said rigid sleeve.

The assembly is easily attached and removed from a handle, or implement intended for gripping by the human hand, by simple mechanical means. The resulting device is intended for and used as a handle grip which possesses the capability of allowing custom moulding to the user's hand. The moulding process is carried out by first mounting the hand grip onto the intended equipment (e.g. a tennis racket, or a bicycle handlebar), the grip is then moulded by the user's hand simply by the user gripping the grip in the way they would when using the equipment, the grip is then removed from the equipment and subjected to the relevant curing process for the given mouldable material. Due to the rigid nature of the sleeve part of the handle grip, the moulding can also be carried out without the pre-fixing of the handle grip on the equipment. The handle grip also offers a range of benefits with regards to the following aspects of the invention: a) The moulding process can be carried out on or off the equipment.

b) There is no requirement for the adding of the mouldable material directly and more permanently to the equipment.

c) The range and ease of material curing processes is less limited due to the comparatively smaller size of the handle grip, this means the material can be cured away from the equipment and then re fitted post curing. An example of this is where a heat cure mouldable material were to be used; a complete bicycle, or even bicycle handlebar could not easily be put in a domestic oven, but two relatively small handle grips could.

d) The removable nature of the present invention also allows rotational and linear adjustment of the post cured/moulded handle grip once re mounted on the equipment, for on-the-go adjustment.

e) Another benefit of supplying the mouldable material on a sleeve is that the application of the material itself does not have to be carried out by the user, meaning, the mouldable material is already applied to the surfaces with which it will be in contact when used. The present invention is intended to be supplied to the user with the mouldable material already in its final bonding/adhering location, requiring the user to simply mould/shape the handle grip to the contours of their hand, cure the material and fit to the equipment.

f) Once the present invention is fastened to the intended equipment, it will not rotate around the handle of the equipment or move longitudinally along the handle, but is easily removed via the use of a locking/unlocking mechanism.

PAGE 9 Description of the preferred embodiment, description of drawings and drawing legend The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the following references apply: A -Inner rigid shell.

B -Solid flanges.

C -Space intended for mouldable material.

D -Mouldable material.

E -Clamp ring.

F -Tab of uninterrupted material G -Narrow channel.

H -Clamping action clearance.

I -Clamping screw.

3 -Hollow section.

Figure 1 shows one handle grip with single locking ring and partially covered with mouldable material (for illustration purposes).

Figure 2 shows a pair of handle grips each with a single locking ring but without the mouldable material (for clarity).

Figure 3 shows a larger view of the clamping end of the grip sleeve without the mouldable material (for clarity) Figure 4 shows a pair of handle grips complete with the mouldable material before moulding has taken place. The mouldable material is transparent allowing clarity of the sleeve underneath.

Figure 5 shows a pair of handle grips after the moulding and curing has taken place. The mouldable material is transparent allowing clarity of the grip sleeve underneath.

Figure 6 shows a pair of handle grips after moulding and curing and fitted to a bicycle handlebar ready for use. The mouldable material is transparent.

Figure 7 shows a pair of handle grips before moulding and curing and fitted to a bicycle handlebar with the locking ring on the outside end of the handlebar. The mouldable material is coloured black.

Figure 8 shows a handle grip with a locking ring at both ends and is not covered with a mouldable material (for clarity).

Figure 9 shows a larger view of the clamping end of the grip providing a view of the clearance channel and tab, and is complete with the locking screw in place.

In this preferred embodiment, the present invention is constructed primarily of an inner rigid shell with extending flanges at each end of the gripping area. The flanges act as barriers to contain a heat curable mouldable material and are part of the same component/material as the sleeve. A clamp system is integrated as part of the sleeve and fixes the grip assembly to the equipment handle e.g. a bicycle handlebar. The mouldable material has a thin outside layer that has been pre cured at manufacture, which is able to contain the non cured mouldable material beneath. The resulting invention is a grip that is custom mouldable to the user, curable away from the equipment, and can be removed from the equipment easily via the use of simple mechanical means. This resolves a range of previously unsolvable issues within this field of gripping technology. The preferred embodiment comprises the following features: PAGE 10 * The handle grip is made from two main component materials, one is a continuous entity of aluminium to create a sleeve; the second is a mouldable material which is mounted upon/around this aluminium sleeve. The sleeve has an integrated locking clamp which is operated by the use of a metal locking screw. The grip assembly is described in more detail by the following features, making reference to the drawing figures 1 -9: * An inner rigid shell (A) has solid radially extending flanges (B) at both ends of the gripping area in the axial plane.

* The space (C) that is found between the flanges contains, or encases a heat curable mouldable material (D) * The mouldable material (D) is of a heat cure type where a thin layer of the outside surface of the material is pre-cured at the manufacturing stage, with the remaining material underneath this thin cured layer still in an uncured mouldable state. The thin layer of cured mouldable material adheres at each end to the aluminium flanges outer portions, where it is in contact with the aluminium and so creates a strong bond at these points. This completely encases the uncured material below which is now sealed within the space (C). Once the user of the mouldable grip has moulded and cured the grip, the thin pre cured layer bonds and becomes one homogeneous entity of cured moulded material.

* A clamp ring (E) is joined to the flange (B) at the inner end of the grip sleeve assembly via a tab (F) of material. The sleeve, flanges and clamp ring are produced from one piece of aluminium.

* The section between the flange and the clamp ring has a narrow channel (G) machined through from the nominal diameter to the inner diameter of the grip sleeve in all but the tab, which provides means of joining the clamp ring to the rest of the sleeve.

* The resulting ring is interrupted at the point opposite the un-machined tab of material by means of removing a thin section of material to create a space (H) which allows the ring to flex inwards under force from a locking bolt or screw (I). The channel in the clamp ring (H) allows the clamping action of the clamp to contact and grip the handlebar underneath. The clamping action is actuated by use of the screw (I), which when tightened, holds the complete gripping sleeve firmly in place. The screw has a socketed head which accepts an Allen key tool, which the user can use to tighten and loosen the screw and clamping mechanism with for removal and fitting of the grip assembly.

* The clamping ring has a low profiled nature to reduce weight and increase the aesthetics and styling of the grip.

Claims (1)

1. <claim-text>Page 1].Claims Having described the invention, we now claim: 1) A handle grip which acts as an interface between a human hand, and equipment intended for holding by said hand is attachable to and removable from said equipment and comprises of: a sleeve with a hollow section partially or completely through longitudinal axis of said sleeve whereby a means of attachment is incorporated for attaching the grip to the equipment and; a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve is covered with a layer of mouldable material intended for a user to imprint their hand in, and the said mouldable material subsequently subjected to a curing method.</claim-text> <claim-text>2) A hand grip unit according to claim 1, in which there are radially extending portions at both ends of the intended gripping section of said sleeve; whereby the space between said portions is filled with the said mouldable material.</claim-text> <claim-text>3) A hand grip unit according to claim 1, in which there is one radially extending portion at one end of the intended holding section of said sleeve.</claim-text> <claim-text>4) A handle grip according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve and means of attachment, are of one material produced from a continuous entity of said material.</claim-text> <claim-text>5) A handle grip according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve and means of attachment are made of dissimilar materials and incorporate a method of locating the means of attachment onto the sleeve.</claim-text> <claim-text>6) The handle grip assembly of claim 4 wherein the materials main constituent is aluminium or an alloy thereof.</claim-text> <claim-text>7) The handle grip assembly of claim 4 wherein the materials main constituent is magnesium or an alloy thereof.</claim-text> <claim-text>8) The handle grip of claim 4 wherein the materials main constituent is a polymer or a combination of polymers.</claim-text> <claim-text>9) The gripping sleeve assembly of claim 3 wherein any of the materials is aluminium or an alloy thereof.</claim-text> <claim-text>10) The said mouldable material from claim 1 being a room temperature vulcanising silicone material which when exposed to atmosphere cures within a time period no more than 240 hours.</claim-text> <claim-text>Page 12 11) The said mouldable material of claim 1 being a heat curing silicone where the material cures when exposed to elevated temperatures greater than 40°Celsius.</claim-text> <claim-text>12) The said mouldable material of claim 1 being a thermoplastic material which exhibits plasticity at temperatures greater than 40 degrees Celsius.</claim-text> <claim-text>13) The said mouldable material of claim 1 to be a material which exhibits mouldable qualities when subjected to certain bands within the light spectrum.</claim-text> <claim-text>14) The said mouldable material of claim 1 to be a material which is made from two parts, and when these parts are mixed, or brought into direct contact, the materials cure.</claim-text> <claim-text>15) The said mouldable material of claims 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 to be covered with a thin layer of material removing the need for contact between said hand and said mouldable material during the moulding process and the said thin layer of material to be subsequently removed after the moulding process but before the mouldable material is subjected to its curing process.</claim-text> <claim-text>16) The said curable materials of claims 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 to be covered with a thin layer of material removing the need for direct contact between said hand and said material during the moulding to said users hand where the thin layer of material to be subsequently removed after the curing of the material.</claim-text> <claim-text>17) The said curable materials of claims 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 to have a thin layer of that material on the outside, that is pre cured during manufacture, removing the need for direct contact between said hand and the said mouldable material still in its mouldable pre cured state.</claim-text> <claim-text>18) The said thin layer of material of claims 15, 16 and 17 to be adhered to said radially extending protrusions during manufacture of the gripping device.</claim-text> <claim-text>19) The said radially extending portions of claims 2 and 3 to be a split single ring clamping system incorporating an additional ring on the mouldable material side or inner side of the clamping ring to act as a barrier ring between the mouldable material and the atmosphere.</claim-text> <claim-text>20) The said barrier ring of claim 19 to be made from a polymer.</claim-text> <claim-text>21) The said barrier ring of claim 19 to be made from a metal or alloy thereof.</claim-text> <claim-text>22) The sleeve assembly of claim S wherein any of the materials is a polymer.Page 13 23) The gripping sleeve assembly of claim 4 wherein the said continuous entity of material comprises a locking clamp and locking screw at one or both ends of the gripping sleeve assembly.</claim-text>