U.S. patent application number 10/857862 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-08 for strengthened and vibration-damping shaft for sports equipment.
Invention is credited to Tsai, Mei-Li.
Application Number | 20050272521 10/857862 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35449686 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050272521 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai, Mei-Li |
December 8, 2005 |
Strengthened and vibration-damping shaft for sports equipment
Abstract
A strengthening and vibration-damping shaft for sports equipment
has a tube, a central body accommodated inside the tube, and
multiple damping holes defined in the central body partly or
completely along the length of of the central body. The central
body provides a supporting efficiency to the shaft to prevent the
shaft curving or deforming when the shaft is being swung. The
damping holes mitigate and decrease vibration transmission to
eliminate most vibrating energy. Therefore, the shaft has less
vibration to keep the shaft steady for accurate hitting without
deformation.
Inventors: |
Tsai, Mei-Li; (Fengyuan
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE
3458 ELLICOTT CENTER DRIVE-SUITE 101
ELLICOTT CITY
MD
21043
US
|
Family ID: |
35449686 |
Appl. No.: |
10/857862 |
Filed: |
June 2, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/318 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 60/06 20151001;
A63B 60/10 20151001; A63B 53/12 20130101; A63B 60/54 20151001; A63B
60/08 20151001; A63B 60/00 20151001; A63B 60/50 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/318 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/10 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A strengthening and vibration-damping shaft for sports equipment
comprising: a tube having an inner channel with an inner periphery;
a central body longitudinally accommodated inside the inner channel
and having at least two sides respectively abutting to the inner
periphery of the tube; and multiple damping holes longitudinally
defined in the central body at intervals.
2. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the multiple damping holes are respectively
defined at sides of the central body.
3. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 2, wherein each of the multiple damping holes is a segment
with an arcuate edge and a flat edge; and the flat edge of the
damping hole is adjacent to the inner periphery of the tube.
4. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 3, wherein the multiple damping holes are defined along an
entire length of the central body.
5. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 3, wherein the multiple damping holes are defined along part
of a length of the central body.
6. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the central body is cruciform in
cross-section.
7. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the central body is straight in cross-section.
8. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the tube is round in cross-section.
9. The strengthening and vibration-damping shaft as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the tube is oval in cross-section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a shaft for sports
equipment, and more particularly to a shaft that has strengthening
and vibration-damping efficiency.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Many items of sports equipment have a shaft, especially
badminton rackets and golf clubs, wherein the shaft is long and
thin. Conventional II shafts in such equipment have a simple
tubular structure without any strengthening element. Therefore, the
shaft is easily deformed and curved by a reacting force when being
violently swung to hit a ball. The deformation of the shaft causes
an inaccurate trajectory of the ball so that a user can not
precisely determine the destination of the ball. Additionally,
vibration that occurs during impact of the ball and shaft causes
injury to the user's hands.
[0005] The present invention has arisen to mitigate or obviate the
disadvantages of the conventional shaft for sports equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a
strengthening shaft that has a central body accommodated inside the
shaft to enhance supporting efficiency.
[0007] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
vibration-damping shaft that has multiple holes defined in the
central body to provide a shock minimizing efficiency.
[0008] Further benefits and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed
description with appropriate reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is an intersected perspective view of a golf club
with a strengthening and vibration-damping shaft in accordance with
the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the
strengthening and vibration-damping shaft in FIG. 1, wherein a flat
central body extends inside the shaft;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a partially cross-sectional side plane view of the
strengthening and vibration-damping shaft, wherein multiple damping
holes are formed throughout the shaft all;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a partially cross-sectional side plane view of the
strengthening and vibration-damping shaft, wherein multiple damping
holes are formed in only a portion of the shaft;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a partially cross-sectional perspective view of
another embodiment of the strengthening and vibration-damping shaft
for sports equipment in accordance with the present invention,
wherein a cruciform central body is accommodated inside the shaft;
and
[0014] FIG. 6 is a partially cross-sectional perspective view of
still another embodiment of the strengthening and vibration-damping
shaft for sports equipment in accordance with the present
invention, wherein the shaft is oval in cross-section.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] A strengthening and vibration-damping shaft for sports
equipment in accordance with the present invention comprises a
tube, a central body accommodated inside the tube, and multiple
damping holes defined either entirely or partly along the length of
the central body. The central body provides a supporting efficiency
to the shaft to prevent the shaft curving or deforming when the
shaft is being swung. The damping holes mitigate vibration
transmission and so eliminate most vibrating energy. Therefore, the
shaft has less vibration whereby the comfort and strength enable
the user to keep the shaft steady for accurate hitting of balls
etc.
[0016] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first preferred
embodiment of the strengthening and vibration-damping shaft (30)
used in a golf club comprises a tube (10) round in cross-section, a
flat central body (15) extending inside the round tube (10), and
multiple cutouts (152) defined in the flat central body (15).
[0017] The round tube (10) has an inner channel (102) with an inner
periphery. The flat central body (15) is longitudinally
accommodated inside the inner channel (102) and has two sides
respectively abutting to the inner periphery of the round tube
(10). The multiple cutouts (152) are longitudinally defined in the
flat central body (15) at intervals and respectively at sides of
the flat central body (15). Each of the multiple cutouts (152) is a
segment with an arcuate edge and a flat edge, wherein the flat edge
is adjacent to the inner periphery of the round tube (10). Thereby,
the cutout (152) forms a damping hole (20) inside the shaft (30) to
mitigate and decrease vibration transmission along the shaft.
[0018] With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, arrangements of the
damping holes (20) can be varied. In FIG. 3, the damping holes (20)
are longitudinally defined in sides of the flat central body (15)
at intervals along the entire length of the flat central body (15)
to eliminate the vibration gradually. In FIG. 4, the damping holes
(20) are selectively defined in partial sections at sides of the
flat central body (15) at intervals but not over the entire length
of the flat central body (15). With reference to FIG. 5, a second
preferred embodiment of the strengthening and vibration-damping
shaft has the same structure with the first embodiment except that
the central body ( 16) is cruciform in cross section. The cruciform
central body (16) correspondingly has four sides respectively
connected to the inner periphery of the round tube (10). Multiple
damping holes (20) are defined in each side of the cruciform
central body (16).
[0019] With reference to FIG. 6, a third embodiment of the
strengthening and vibration-damping shaft for sports equipment has
an oval cross-section tube (101).
[0020] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its
preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other
possible modifications and variations can be made without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter
claimed.
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