Replaceable Blade And Shank For Hockey Stick And A Hockey Stick Made Therewith

Abstract

A replaceable blade and shank for a hockey stick is made of a thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and has a socket into which an end of the shaft of a broken hockey stick can be inserted after the material has been heated to render it pliable, a secure fit between the shank and shaft resulting upon cooling of the material to a rigid condition.

Description

The invention relates to replaceable blades and shanks for hockey sticks, to hockey sticks themselves, and to methods for making the same.

Both road hockey and ice hockey are popular sports in North America, particularly in Canada, and elsewhere. As a consequence, there is a substantial market for hockey sticks, and these have been fabricated for years from wood, notwithstanding the fact that the blades of wooden hockey sticks break quite frequently and, particularly when used for road hockey, splinter easily, thus becoming dangerous to handle and use. Consequently, from time to time it is necessary for a hockey player to obtain a new hockey stick either on account of breakage or attrition of his previous hockey stick.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a replaceable blade and shank for a hockey stick that makes it unnecessary for the player to acquire a complete new hockey stick. Indeed, only the broken or worn blade of his previous hockey stick is discarded, the shaft of the stick still being useful, as will become more apparent hereinafter.

A replaceable blade and shank embodying this invention is made of a thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material which can be rendered pliable by heating so that it can be readily secured to the shaft without adhesive or fastening devices. By proper choice of the material, it is possible to obtain a blade that resists chipping and splintering to a much greater extent that a wooden blade and is considerably more impact resistant and hence less susceptible to breakage than a wooden blade.

This invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a replaceable blade and shank according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2--thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the replaceable blade and shank shown in FIG. 1 also showing a hockey stick secured to the shank;

FIG. 4 and 5 are sections taken along lines 4--4 and 5--5 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a top elevation of the shank portion of the blade an shank shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in the drawings, a unitary structure 10 is provided consisting of a shank portion 11 and blade portion 12.

Blade portion 12 is conventional in design and has a toe 13 and a heel 14. Blade 12 has two flat sides 15 and 16 extending between an upper edge 17 and a lower edge 18. Flat sides 15 and 16 may incline towards each other in a direction away from bottom edge 18 and towards top edge 17 as shown best in FIGS. 4 and 5. Illustratively bottom edge 18 may be 5/16 inch wide at the position denoted by line 5--5 in FIG. 3, while top edge 17 may be 3/16 inch wide at the same point. Because sides 15 and 16 may taper outwardly from toe 13 to heel 14, as is evident from a comparison of FIGS. 4 and 5, bottom edge 18 may be 1/2 inch wide at position 4--4 in FIG. 3, while top edge 17 may be 3/8 inch wide at this position. The front edge 19 of blade 12 is inclined rearwardly at an angle of 80.degree. to bottom edge 18. It will be appreciated, however, that the design of blade portion 12 may vary widely and is not a critical feature.

Shank portion 11 extends away from blade 12 at heel 14 thereof at an obtuse angle to the blade. Thus, the angle between the longitudinal axis of shank portion 11 and bottom edge 18 may be 225.degree., but this is illustrative only and not a critical feature of a replaceable blade and shank embodying my invention.

Shank portion 11 consists of three parts, a part 20 that is immediately adjacent blade 12, a part 21 that is remote from blade 12 and a part 22 that is between parts 20 and 21. As is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, of these three parts, part 20 is smallest in cross-sectional area, part 21 is largest, and part 22 tapers between parts 20 and 21.

Located in part 21 of shank portion 11 is an elongated socket 23. Socket 23 is open at the end 24 thereof remote from blade 12 and is rectangular in cross section throughout its length, being defined by inner walls 26, 26a, 27 and 27a of shank portion 11 that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length. At the bottom of the socket and located in tapered part 22 is a recess 27 that is of a size sufficient to make the weight of the blade and shank of this invention closely approximate the weight of the corresponding portions of a conventional wooden hockey stick. In order to facilitate insertion of the handle of a hockey stick into socket 23 and retention of the handle in the socket, ribs 28 projecting from surfaces 26 and 26a and extending longitudinally of socket 23 may be provided.

For strengthening purposes, a flange 29 extending around open end 24 of socket 23 may be provided, and exterior ribs 30 also may be provided on part 21 of shank portion 11.

Strictly by way of example, socket 23 may be 1 1/16.times. 3/4.times.4 inches, the walls defining the socket being 5/32 inch thick.

A replaceable blade and shank embodying this invention can be molded readily as a unitary structure and must be fabricated of a thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material. It is important for the material to be thermoplastic because of the manner in which a blade and shank embodying this invention is united to the shaft of a broken hockey stick, as will become more apparent hereinafter. However, the choice of a suitable material must also take into consideration its resistance to impact and abrasion. Obviously a material should not be chosen that will wear away quickly when rubbed against the asphalt surface of a road, nor should the material be one which will shatter easily under conditions normally encountered in a road hockey game, for example. Cost of the material is another factor of course. A particularly suitable material has been found to be linear polyethylene, preferably of relatively low molecular weight. Polystyrene and polypropylene also might be employed but may be found to be less durable from the point of view of their ability to resist shattering. Other materials that might be employed but which are relatively expensive are a polycarbonate, a butyrate and nylon, and hence these materials are not recommended.

In order to repair a hockey stick whose blade has cracked, worn away or broken off its shaft, the end of the shaft should be cut off square and a line marked thereon 4 inches from the cut off end. This 4-inch length then should be reduced in area using suitable woodworking equipment to 3/4.times. 1 inch at the top and 5/8.times. 1 inch at the bottom, i.e., the squared off end. Part 21 of shank portion 11 then should be heated to render the same pliable. This may be done by rotating part 21 over a stove element at low temperature for a minute or so. The tapered end of handle 31 (FIG. 3) then should be inserted into socket 23 by hand, the tapered end of the handle being inserted to the full depth of the socket. If considerable difficulty is experienced in forcing the tapered end of the handle into the socket, the handle should be removed and further tapered. Part 21 of shank portion 11 then should be permitted to cool. As cooling takes place, part 21 of shank portion 11 will set rigid and grip tightly onto the tapered end of handle 31 resulting in a tight friction fit between shank portion 11 and handle 31. No adhesive or fastening device is required.

If desired, blade 12 may be shaped for left- or right- hand shooting and may be curved. This is achieved by rotating the blade for a short time over a stove element until it becomes pliable. Blade 12 then may be bent in the desired shape and dipped in cold water to set the material in the desired shape.

Claims

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A replaceable blade and shank for a hockey stick; said blade and shank being constituted by a unitary structure fabricated of a thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material and having a blade portion and a shank portion, said blade portion having a toe and a heel with said shank portion extending away from said blade portion at said heel thereof and at an obtuse angle to said blade portion; said shank portion having an elongated socket formed therein and open at the end of said shank portion remote from said blade portion, said thermoplastic material having the characteristic such that it is rendered pliable by heating, whereby said socket portion may be heated to pliable condition and upon cooling of said thermoplastic material returns to a rigid condition.

2. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein the cross-sectional area of the part of said shank portion in which said socket is located is larger than the cross-sectional area of the part of said shank portion immediately adjacent said blade portion.

3. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 2 wherein said parts of said shank portion are joined by a tapered part of said shank portion.

4. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein said socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and is defined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length.

5. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein said thermoplastic material is polyethylene.

6. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1, said unitary structure including a flange of said material extending around the open end of said socket.

7. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 1 wherein said socket is defined by inner walls of said shank portion, said inner walls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable with said end of said shaft.

8. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 3 wherein said socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and is defined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length, said inner walls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable with said end of said shaft.

9. A replaceable blade and shank structure according to claim 3 wherein said socket is rectangular in cross section throughout its length and is defined by inner walls of said shank portion that are substantially straight and parallel throughout their length, said inner walls having ribs thereon extending longitudinally of said socket and engageable with said end of said shaft, said thermoplastic material being polyethylene.

10. In combination: a hockey stick shaft; a unitary blade and shank member, said shank member having a socket embracing an end of said shaft, said socket having been initially formed to a size and shape not snugly fitting said shaft end, said socket being of a thermoplastic material of such characteristics that it is rendered pliable by heating and returns to rigid condition when cooled; said socket having been heated to pliable condition and pressed onto said shaft end to conform snugly thereto then cooled to rigid condition whereby said socket snugly and securely embraces said shaft end.