1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hockey sticks. More particularly, the present invention relates to hockey sticks having a handle with a triangular cross section and at least two different bending planes in which the handle deflects to store energy to be applied to a hockey puck.
2. Prior Art
Ice hockey, street hockey and roller hockey are popular sports played by many people ranging from young children to professional athletes. Street hockey and roller hockey are warmer versions of ice hockey played on non-ice surfaces with in-line skates, or wheeled skates, as opposed to the ice surface and ice skates of ice hockey. Hockey is typically played on enclosed rinks by attempting to shoot a puck through a goal located at either end of the rink, known as a cage. The players wear skates and strike the puck with a stick in order to move it across the rink and into the cage. During play, the puck is often passed back and forth between players and shot at the cages. Accurately passing or shooting the puck with the stick requires a great degree of skill. Therefore, it is important for the player's hockey stick to enhance the player's skill, or at least not unduly interfere or impede the player's ability. In addition, the puck is often shot at the goal with a great deal of force. Therefore, it is important for the player's hockey stick to capably handle the applied forces.
The hockey stick usually has an elongated handle with a grip at a proximal end and a blade at a distal end. The stick is grasped by the player at the grip and at the handle. The blade extends from the handle and has a striking surface used for contacting the puck. The blade is used to guide the puck across the ice as the player skates. In addition, the blade strikes the puck in order to pass the puck to another player or to shot the puck at the goal. The blade is usually formed of wood and may be reinforced with a fiber and epoxy matrix. The blade is also sometimes formed from a plastic material. The handle is also usually formed of wood and may also be reinforced with a fiber and epoxy matrix. The hockey stick typically is provided as an integral unit, with the blade either integrally formed with the handle or otherwise permanently fastened to the handle.
The grip is formed at one end of the handle and wrapped with a tape material for an improved grip. Typically, the grip is little more than an extension of the proximal end of the handle wrapped in tape. Players may hold the handle by the grip with one hand, but usually grasp the handle with both hands, one hand grasping the grip and the other grasping the handle past the grip. In this sense, the entire handle forms the grip of the stick. Passing and shooting the puck usually requires holding the stick with both hands.
The handle is usually formed of an elongated shank or shaft with a rectangular cross section. As mentioned above, the grip is usually nothing more than the proximal end of the handle, and thus shares the same rectangular cross section. The handle, and grip, have four surfaces, two elongated surfaces generally aligned with the blade or the striking surface of the blade, and two shorter surfaces each located between and perpendicular to the longer surfaces. A radius of curvature is formed between each of the surfaces.
In hockey, there are three main types of shots, including the slap shot, the snap shot, and the wrist shot. Each type of shot requires certain performance characteristics from the stick and/or handle, and proper orientation of the grip and handle in the user's hand, and thus proper orientation of the stick and blade to the puck.
The "wrist" shot is considered by many to be the most important shot because it is typically the most accurate. In the wrist shot, the player stands perpendicularly to the goal with the stick cupping the puck behind the back foot. The player moves the puck forwardly on the ice, transferring weight from the back leg to the front leg. As the player follows through the shot, the wrists are quickly reversed, rotating the blade in the direction of the shot. The flicking motion of the wrists shoots the puck off the blade. Thus, with the wrist shot, the proper orientation of the wrist, or the proper orientation of the hand on the handle, is important to reversing, flicking, or breaking the wrist to shoot the puck off the blade. For example, if the player's hands are already gripping the handle in a rotated orientation in the same direction that the player will rotate to shoot, then the amount of further wrist rotation available is limited, and the shot will have less force and speed.
The "snap" shot is a quick release shot used to get a quick shot, such as before the goalie repositions in front of the goal. The snap shot is simply a quick reverse or rotation of the wrist (in either direction). There is no wind-up, as with the wrist shot, but the shot is followed through in the direction of the goal. Again, proper orientation of the wrist, or proper orientation of the hand on the handle, is important for an effective snap shot.
The "slap" shot is generally considered to be the least effective shot because it is less accurate and takes more time to execute, although it looks impressive. The player is oriented perpendicular to the goal and positions the puck near the forward skate. Although a big wind-up is not necessary, the player usually draws the stick back and rotates the trunk and hips to raise the blade as far behind and above as possible. The player then rotates the hips, trunk and shoulders causing the stick to accelerate fowardly and downwardly. The blade contacts the ice behind the puck (1 to 4 inches). The impact of the blade on the ice causes the handle to bend. The player continues to apply pressure on the stick by pushing the lower hand against the handle and holding the grip close to the body. As the handle bows, it stores energy. A good player may bow the handle by approximately two inches. The player continues to move the handle until the blade catches the puck. The energy in the handle is then released causing the puck to accelerate. The player rotates the handle forwardly, turning the blade over until it faces down toward the ice, thus increasing the acceleration of the puck by maintaining force on it.
Thus, an important aspect of the slap shot is the performance characteristics of the stick. The bending or bowing of the handle stores energy. Traditional hockey sticks, with their rectangular cross section, have a single bending plane from which the stick bends or bows. The bending plane is generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the handle and the blade, and thus parallel with the longer sides of the handle. The rectangular cross section is very similar to structural beams. The stick has a greater dimension, or width, in one direction, much like the larger dimension, or vertical height, of a beam against which a load is applied. Thus, the greater dimension is designed to resist bending, and the stick tends to deflect insignificantly in that direction. The hockey stick, however, has a smaller dimension designed to bow and store energy. The stick deflects significantly in this direction, or out of this plane, defining the single bending plane or direction. In order to take advantage of the bowing design, or energy storing capacity, of the hockey stick, the player must properly orient the stick such that the stick is oriented with respect to the ice and the player so that the applied forces bow the stick.
Players spend a great deal of time practicing the various shots in order to control the orientation of the stick, and thus control the shot of the puck and performance characteristics of the stick. For example, players practice for hours every day to perfect the proper form of the swing and follow through for slap and wrist shots; the proper orientation of the handle and wrist rotation for slap, snap and wrist shots; the proper form, stance and balance transfer for slap and wrist shots; etc.; all in an effort to accurately and quickly deliver the puck to a particular target zone in the goal.
Deviations in the performance of the hockey stick are generally greeted with trepidation as players feel uncomfortable changing their tried and true forms to accommodate a renegade stick design. For example, changing the size or bending characteristics of the stick may affect the shot direction of the puck, and thus the accuracy of the shot. Yet at the same time, it is desirable to have a hockey stick with performance characteristics that enhance the player's ability. For example, different materials have been utilized in fabricating sticks, such as composites, to lighten the stick and increase the energy storing capacity of the stick. Therefore, it is desirable to increase stick performance without altering player performance, such as by altering or tampering with practiced form.
Limited efforts have been directed towards improving hockey stick designs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,836, issued Jun. 10, 1997, to Carroll et al. discloses improving the fatigue and deflection properties of a composite hockey stick shaft by limiting the use of reinforcing materials, such as carbon fibers, to only the two sides of the shaft perpendicular with the bending plane, or the short sides, because carbon fibers in the sides of the stick that bend result in lower deflection. Thus, the long sides parallel to the bending plane, and which bend out of the plane, are formed only with layers of glass fiber, while the short sides perpendicular to the bending plane, and which do not bend, are comprised of glass and carbon fiber. Therefore, Carroll teaches placing certain fibers in order to facilitate bending in the single, desired bending plane, while resisting bending in the other, undesirable direction.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,003, issued Apr. 26, 1994, to Pagotto, discloses a hockey stick with two upper edges having a larger radius of curvature than the two lower edges, but maintaining the generally rectangular cross section. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,725, issued Nov. 26, 1996, to Pagotto et al. discloses a hockey stick with a handle having different upper and lower gripping zones, each with concave and convex faces, reversed relative to the other, to accommodate each hand of the player. Each zone, however, maintains the generally rectangular cross section with the longer sides having the concave and convex faces.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop a hockey stick and/or handle capable of properly orienting the stick in the player's hands so that the shot may be quickly and accurately executed. It would also be advantageous to develop a hockey stick and/or handle capable of properly orienting the stick in the player's hands so that the action of the wrist may be maximized. It would also be advantageous to develop a hockey stick and/or handle capable of maximizing the amount of energy stored, without unduly altering accuracy. It would also be advantageous to develop a handle that conforms more naturally to the player's hand. It would also be advantageous to develop a handle that is comfortable.