CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority from United States patent application 63/397,188 filed on August 11 , 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to sporting good implement, such as but not limited to hockey sticks, and, more particularly, to shapes of handles and/or grips of such sporting good implements.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Conventional hockey sticks, such as those used for playing ice or street hockey, have a shaft and an adjoining blade. Typically, the shaft has a rectangular cross-section that is constant along an entirety of its length. Similarly, the shafts or handles of other types of sporting good implements, such as tennis racquets and golf clubs for example, may also have similar rectangular cross-sections that are substantially constant along the length of the handle or grip. This shape may present some drawbacks. Improvements are therefore sought.

SUMMARY

[0004] There is accordingly provided a hand-held section of a sporting good implement, comprising: a body extending along a longitudinal axis, the body having multiple interconnected faces distributed around the longitudinal axis; a palm-engaging section defining a first face of the multiple interconnected faces; a finger-engaging section defining a second face of the multiple interconnected faces opposed to the first face, a shape of the palm-engaging section different than a shape of the finger-engaging section; and the palm-engaging section and the fingerengaging section being spaced apart by a transverse distance and the multiple interconnected faces of the body define a perimeter such that a circumferential overlap is defined between a distal phalanx of an index finger of a user and a thumb of the user, a tip of the thumb of the user circumferentially extending to at most a joint interconnecting the distal phalanx to a remainder of the index finger when the hand is wrapped around the hand-held section. [0005] The hand-held section of a sporting good implement as defined above and described herein may also include one or more of the following features, in whole or in part, and in any combination.

[0006] In certain embodiments, the hand-held section defines a finger-engaging groove extending longitudinally from a first end to a second end of the hand-held section, the fingerengaging groove sized to receive tips of fingers of the user.

[0007] In certain embodiments, the finger-engaging groove is defined by a longitudinally extending face on the hand-held section, the longitudinally extending face being free of a convex surface.

[0008] In certain embodiments, the longitudinally extending face defines a concave surface.

[0009] In certain embodiments, the finger-engaging groove is located at an intersection between two of the multiple interconnected faces.

[0010] In certain embodiments, the multiple interconnected faces are convex but for at the finger-engaging groove.

[0011] In certain embodiments, the hand-held section defines a palm-engaging bump on the palm-engaging section configured to register with metacarpophalangeal joints of a hand of the user.

[0012] In certain embodiments, a distance between the longitudinal axis and the hand-held section is maximal at an apex of the palm-engaging bump.

[0013] In certain embodiments, the palm-engaging bump is defined by a first face of the multiple faces and located between a first intersection between the first face and a second face of the multiple faces and a second intersection between the first face and a third face of the multiple faces.

[0014] In certain embodiments, two faces of the multiple interconnected faces meet at a finger-engaging groove, the two faces including the second face and a fourth face of the multiple interconnected faces, the fourth face being opposite to the first face. [0015] In certain embodiments, the hand-held section is defined by a shaft-plug removably secured to a shaft of the sporting good implement, the shaft-plug locally increasing a cross- sectional area of the shaft.

[0016] In certain embodiments, the hand-held section and a shaft of the sporting good implement are monolithic parts of a single body.

[0017] There is also provided a sporting good implement, comprising: a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, the shaft having a hand-held section defining: multiple interconnected faces distributed around the longitudinal axis; and a finger-engaging groove at an intersection between two faces of the multiple interconnected faces, the finger-engaging groove extending longitudinally relative to the longitudinal axis and sized to receive tips of fingers of a user; wherein a perimeter of the hand-held section is selected such that a circumferential overlap is defined between a distal phalanx of an index finger of the user and a thumb of the user.

[0018] The sporting good implement as defined above and described herein may also include one or more of the following features, in whole or in part, and in any combination.

[0019] In certain embodiments, the perimeter is such that a tip of the thumb of the user extends to at most a joint interconnecting the distal phalanx to a remainder of the index finger when the hand is wrapped around the hand-held section.

[0020] In certain embodiments, the finger-engaging groove defines a longitudinally extending face on the hand-held section, the longitudinally extending face being concave.

[0021] In certain embodiments, the hand-held section defines a palm-engaging bump configured to register with metacarpophalangeal joints of a hand of the user.

[0022] The sporting good implement of claim 16, wherein the palm-engaging bump is defined by a first face of the multiple interconnected faces and located between a first intersection between the first face and a second face of the multiple interconnected faces and a second intersection between the first face and a third face of the multiple interconnected faces.

[0023] In certain embodiments, the two faces of the multiple interconnected faces meet at the finger-engaging groove and include the second face and a fourth face of the multiple interconnected faces, the fourth face being opposite to the first face. [0024] There is further still provided a hockey stick, comprising: a blade; and a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis from a blade end to a top end, the blade affixed to the blade end of the shaft, the shaft defining a hand-held section to be engaged by a hand of a user, the shaft having a baseline cross-sectional area taken on a plane normal to the longitudinal axis, the hand-held section: locally increasing a cross-sectional area of the shaft above the baseline cross-sectional area; and defining a finger-engaging groove extending longitudinally relative to the longitudinal axis along the hand-held section and sized to receive tips of fingers of a user.

[0025] The hockey stick as defined above and described herein may also include one or more of the following features, in whole or in part, and in any combination.

[0026] In certain embodiments, a perimeter is such that a tip of a thumb of the user extends to at most a joint interconnecting a distal phalanx to a remainder of the index finger when the hand is wrapped around the hand-held section.

[0027] In certain embodiments, the finger-engaging groove defines a longitudinally extending face on the hand-held section, the longitudinally extending face being concave.

[0028] In certain embodiments, the hand-held section defines a palm-engaging bump configured to register with metacarpophalangeal joints of a hand of the user.

[0029] In certain embodiments, the palm-engaging bump is defined by a first face of multiple interconnected faces of the hand-held section and located between a first intersection between the first face and a second face of the multiple interconnected faces and a second intersection between the first face and a third face of the multiple interconnected faces.

[0030] In certain embodiments, two faces of the multiple interconnected faces meet at the finger-engaging groove, the two faces including the second face and a fourth face of the multiple interconnected faces, the fourth face being opposite to the first face.

[0031] There is also provided a shaft-plug adapted to be affixed to a shaft of a hockey stick, comprising a body extending longitudinally from a first end to a second end, the body defining a cavity sized to receive the shaft of the hockey stick, the body increasing an effective perimeter of the shaft, the body defining a finger-engaging groove extending longitudinally between the first end to the second end, the finger-engaging groove sized to receive tips of fingers of a user. [0032] In certain embodiments, the body further defines a palm-engaging bump configured to register with metacarpophalangeal joints of a hand of the user.

[0033] In accordance with another embodiment, there is also provided a hockey stick, comprising: a blade; a shaft extending from a blade end to a top end, the blade affixed to the blade end of the shaft; and a shaft-plug affixed to the top end of the shaft, the shaft-plug increasing an effective circumference of the shaft, the shaft-plug defining a finger-engaging groove extending longitudinally from a first end to a second end of the shaft-plug, the finger-engaging groove sized to receive tips of fingers of a user.

[0034] In some embodiments, the shaft-plug further defines a finger-engaging bump configured to register with metacarpophalangeal joints of a hand of the user.

[0035] There is also alternately provided a shaft-plug to be affixed to an end of a hockey stick, comprising a body extending longitudinally from a first end to a second end, the body defining a cavity sized to receive the end of the hockey stick, the body increasing an effective circumference of the shaft, the body defining a finger-engaging groove extending longitudinally from the first end to the second end, the finger-engaging groove sized to receive tips of fingers of a user.

[0036] In some embodiments, the body further defines a finger-engaging bump configured to register with metacarpophalangeal joints of a hand of the user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Reference is now made to the accompanying figures in which:

[0038] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sporting good implement depicted as a hockey stick having a blade and a shaft which join together at a joint, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] Fig. 2 is a top view illustrating the hockey stick of Fig. 1 being used for propelling a sporting apparatus depicted as a puck;

[0040] Fig. 3 is a plan view of a hand of a user of the hockey stick of Fig. 1 ;

[0041] Fig. 4 is a three dimensional view of a hand-held section of the shaft of the hockey stick of Fig. 1 ; [0042] Fig. 5 is another three dimensional view of the hand-held section of Fig. 4;

[0043] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the hand-held section of Fig. 4;

[0044] Fig. 7 is a view illustrating the hand of Fig. 3 holding the hand-held section of Fig. 4;

[0045] Fig. 8 is another view illustrating the hand of Fig. 3 holding the hand-held section of

Fig. 4; and

[0046] Fig. 9 is a bottom view illustrating the hand of Fig. 3 holding the hand-held section of Fig. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Fig. 1 illustrates a sporting good implement, which in a particular embodiment is a hockey stick 10 (or simply “stick 10”). It will be appreciated that the present disclosure may apply to any sporting good implement configured to be held by a hand of a user. For instance, the sporting good implement may be a racket (e.g., a tennis racket, or a badminton racket), a golf club, a baseball bat, a cricket bat, and so on. The hockey stick 10, which may for example be used for the sport of ice hockey, is descried herein as an exemplary embodiment. The hockey stick 10 has a blade 20 which is adapted to contact a sport object, such as a ball or a puck, as well as a generally elongated shaft 30 extending along a longitudinal axis A and which can be manipulated by the user of the hockey stick 10. Put differently, the sporting good implement has a hand-held section (e.g., a stick, a handle, a grip, etc.) configured to be engaged by a hand of the user. The sporting good implement may have more than one hand-held section in certain cases. The sporting good implement further has an end section configured to impart velocity to an object (e.g., a puck, a ball, etc.). The end section may be, for instance, a frame and net of a racket, the blade 20 of the hockey stick 10, a head of the golf club, and so on. The blade 20 and the shaft 30 are joined together at a joint 11 . In some other embodiments, the blade 20 and the shaft 30 may be monolithic part of a single body of the hockey stick 10.

[0048] The blade 20 may be any suitable curved body which provides a contact surface to be used to manipulate the object. It may be made from any suitable material, including but not limited to, solid wood, laminated wood, fiber-glass-reinforced-polymer-coated wood, fiber-reinforced polymers, aluminum, titanium, and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers, or any combination thereof. It may also be curved along its length to provide for improved manipulation of the object. Some portion, or all, of the blade 20 may be hollow in order to reduce the overall weight of the hockey stick 10. The blade 20 has a blade body which is generally defined by its neck 21 , its heel 22, and its toe 23. The shaft 30 extends from a blade end 31 to a top end 32 opposite the blade end 31 along the longitudinal axis A.

[0049] As shown in Fig. 2, the user holds the shaft 30 with one hand on the top end 32 and the other hand between the blade end 31 and the top end 32. When used to propel the sport apparatus, depicted as a puck P1 in Fig. 2, the user pushes the shaft 30 with the hand located between the blade end 31 and the top end 32 and pulls the shaft 30 via the top end 32. As shown, a pushing force F1 is exerted on the shaft 30 between the blade end 31 and the top end 32 and a pulling force F2 is exerted on the top end 32 of the shaft 30. A propelling force F3 is then exerted on the puck P1 . The hand of the user located between the blade end 31 and the top end 32 where the pushing force F1 is exerted effectively acts as a fulcrum about which the shaft 30 pivots, and in this case bends, to propel the puck P1 .

[0050] For some players, the pulling force F2 exerted on the top end 32 of the shaft 30, and in some cases the pushing force F1 , may be substantial. Thus, the users have to exert significant grip strength to be able to hold the top end 32, or a middle section, of the shaft 30 while moving through large ranges of motion. Hand injuries, tendonitis, and so on may result from this repetitive movement over time.

[0051] Put differently, in hockey, the hand at the top end 32 of the shaft 30 does most of the work for some shooting motions. This requires a strong grip on the top hand, also known as power grip. Current sticks may be undersized for an optimized power grip. Therefore, it may be beneficial to increase the size of the shaft 30 at the top end 32.

[0052] Referring now to Fig. 3, a hand, a left hand in the present case, is shown at H. The hand H includes four fingers F and a thumb T. The hand H has a palm P on a front, palm, or inner side of the hand H. Each of the fingers F is pivotable relative to the palm P at their respective metacarpophalangeal (‘MCP’) joints (simply “finger joints” or “knuckles” herein). While slight differences in range of movement and precise location pivot axis for each finger may exist, for the purposes of the present disclosure the four fingers F may be pivoted in relationship to the palm P about a collective or common first pivot axis A1 that is a substantially linear axis, although it may be slightly curved. The first pivot axis A1 is located slightly below roots R of the fingers F; the roots R being defined as a location where the fingers F meet the palm P (i.e. at or proximate to the metacarpophalangeal joints. The first pivot axis A1 substantially registers with knuckles at intersections between the fingers F and the palm P. The hand H also defines a second pivot axis A2 between the palm P and a wrist W. [0053] Referring now to Figs. 4-5, a hand-held section of the hockey stick 10 is shown at 40. The hand-held section 40 is used to increase an effective perimeter or effective diameter of the top end 32 of the shaft 30 to improve the grip of the user. The hand-held section 40 is described in greater detail below.

[0054] The hand-held section 40 may be located at or proximate the top end 32, or between the top end 32 and the blade end 31 of the shaft 30. This alternate position of the hand-held section is shown at 140 in Fig. 1. The hand-held section 40 is, in this embodiment, defined by a shaft-plug 50 configured to be affixed to the shaft 30 of the hockey stick 10. The shaft-plug 50 may be removably secured to the shaft 30. In the embodiment illustrated, the shaft-plug 50 is designed to cover the top end 32 of the shaft 30. The shaft-plug may be referred to as a shaft grip located at any suitable locations along the shaft 30. In some embodiments, the hand-held section 40 may not be a separate component secured to the sporting good implement, but may be a monolithic part of the sporting good implement. The features of the hand-held section 40 described below may define a hand-held section of any sporting good implement, such as the hockey stick 10 of Fig. 1 . The hand-held section 40 may be defined by a handle or grip of the sporting good implement.

[0055] The hand-held section 40 has a body and extends axially from a first end 41 to a second end 42 opposite the first end 41 relative to a central axis C of the hand-held section 40, which may be substantially co-axial with the longitudinal axis A of the shaft 30 of the hockey stick 10. The second end 42 may be closed and located proximate the extremity of the shaft 30. Alternatively, both ends of the shaft-plug 50 are open to allow the shaft-plug 50 to be located between opposite ends of the shaft 30. The shaft-plug 50 may be hollow and sized to accept the top end 32 of the shaft 30 via the first end 41 , which defines an opening of a cavity 45 (Fig. 6). As shown in Fig. 9, the cavity 45 is sized to accept the top end 32 of the shaft 30. The shaft-plug 50 may be glued, press-fitted, fastened, and so on onto the top end 32 of the shaft 30.

[0056] The hand-held section 40 has many features to improve the grip of the user on the top end 32 of the shaft. The hand-held section 40 may have a length L extending in an axial direction relative to the longitudinal axis A and that is selected to ensure that an entirety of a width W1 (Fig. 3) the hand H of the user is overlapped by the hand-held section 40. In other words, the length L of the hand-held section 40 is selected to ensure that no portion of the hand H is floating and unsupported by the hand-held section 40.

[0057] Referring to Fig. 6, in the depicted embodiment, the hand-held section 40 increases the effective perimeter or circumference of the shaft 30. Stated differently, the shaft 30 may have a greater equivalent diameter, which may be defined as four times the cross-sectional area divided by the perimeter, at the hand-held section 40 than at another location on the shaft 30. Stated otherwise, the shaft 30 has a baseline cross-sectional area taken on a plane normal to the longitudinal axis A of the shaft 30. The cross-sectional area of the shaft 30 is locally increased above the baseline cross-sectional area at the hand-held section 40. The hand-held section 40 may thus provide the optimal circumference or cross-sectional area at the hand-held section 40 of the shaft 30, which may correspond to the upper portion of the shaft 30, being that which allows the player to obtain a full wrap around the shaft 30 by achieving the optimum amount of overlap between the thumb T (Fig. 3) and the fingers F (Fig. 3). As shown in Fig. 6, an effective cross- sectional area of the top end 32 of the shaft 30 is increased at the hand-held section 40. Herein, the expression “effective” is meant to refer to what the user perceives when he or she holds the shaft 30 with the hand-held section 40.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 7, at this optimum circumference or perimeter, the thumb T and fingers F minimally overlap to direct grip forces back towards the palm P, which may allow a player to minimize the amount of effort required to grip. In the embodiment shown, the overlap between the thumb T and an index finger I may be such that a distal phalanx 11 of the index finger I circumferentially overlaps the thumb T in such a way that a tip T1 of the thumb T extends circumferentially to at most a joint I2 that interconnects the distal phalanx 11 to a remainder of the index finger I when the hand of the user is circumferentially wrapped around the hand-held section 40.

[0059] Stated differently, the added circumference provided at the hand-held section 40 may ensure that a distal phalanx of the index finger and the thumb T partially overlap one another. The inventors of the present application have been found this configuration to provide the best grip to maximise the pulling force. Put differently, this overlap may maximize grip normal forces which may minimize the effort required by the user to grip the shaft 30.

[0060] At circumferences above and below this, the fingers F and thumb T may struggle to conform the hand H to the shape of the shaft 30, requiring greater muscular effort. In other words, at circumferences above and below the optimum circumference, the user may be required to expend greater muscular effort to hold the shaft 30, or any handle of any sporting good implement. The disclosed shape of the shaft-plug 50 may drastically reduce the effort required for players to grip the shaft 30 properly with the top hand. As a result, this shape may improve players' stick control and handling while reducing the risk of wrist overuse injuries. [0061] As shown in Fig. 6, the hand-held section 40 of the sporting good implement may define multiple interconnected faces that are distributed around the longitudinal axis A of the shaft 30. In the depicted embodiment, multiple interconnected faces are provided, however fewer or more faces may alternately be used. In the depicted embodiment, the multiple interconnected faces include a first face 40A, a second face 40B, a third face 40C, and a fourth face 40D. These four faces 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D of the multiple interconnected faces are generally disposed at an angle relative to one another, and fillets may be used to smooth intersections between them. The handengaging section 40 defines a palm-engaging section at the first face 40A and a finger-engaging section at the fourth face 40D, which is opposite the first face 40A. As pictured, a shape of the first face 40A is different than a shape of the fourth face 40D since they are designed to be engaged by different parts of the hand of the user. In the depicted embodiment, the palmengaging section and the finger-engaging section are spaced apart by a transverse distance and the multiple interconnected faces of the body define the perimeter to obtain the desired overlap between the thumb T and the index finger I as explained above.

[0062] Still referring to Fig. 6, the hand-held section 40 has a finger-engaging notch or fingerengaging groove 43 that extends longitudinally along the central axis C from the first end 41 to the second end 42. The finger-engaging groove 43 thus extends axially relative to the central axis A of the shaft 30. The finger-engaging groove 43 may be a single groove such that the hand-held section 40 (e.g., shaft-plug 50) of the sporting good implement (e.g., hockey stick 10) is devoid of any other groove on its outer surface being engaged by the hand of the user. The finger-engaging groove 43 is sized and positioned to be engaged by tips of the fingers F as illustrated in Figs. 7- 8. The finger-engaging groove 43 may act as a reference groove along the shaft 30 and may ensure the proper placement of the hand H on the shaft 30 and may enhance feedback on the spatial orientation of the shaft 30.

[0063] The finger-engaging groove 43 may be located at an intersection between two of the four faces. Specifically, this finger-engaging groove 43 may be located in place of the lagging-toe down corner of the shaft 30, connecting the lagging and toe down faces of the shaft 30, such that pads of both the thumb and fingers (namely, the index and pinky finger) make contact with the finger-engaging groove 43 when the hand H is closed around the shaft 30. Traditionally, the region of the shaft where the top hand normally sits is symmetric/rectangular. In this embodiment, the finger-engaging groove 43 is located at an intersection between the third face 40C and the fourth face 40D. The first and fourth faces may be referred to as long faces while the second face 40B and the third face 40C may be referred as short faces since their lengths is less than that of the long faces. The finger-engaging groove 43 may be located at an intersection between one of the long face and one of the short face. Other embodiments are contemplated for other sporting good implement than the hockey stick 10.

[0064] In the exemplified embodiment, the finger-engaging groove 43 is concave as illustrated. In some other embodiments, the finger-engaging groove 43 may be substantially flat. In other words, a curvature of hand-held section 40 at the finger-engaging groove 43 may be less (e.g., greater radius) than that at other corners of hand-held section 40. The finger-engaging groove 43 is defined by a longitudinally extending face, which may be free of any convex surface. In this case, the longitudinally extending face defines a concave surface. In some other embodiments, the finger-engaging groove 43 may be substantially flat or free of any convex surface. The fingerengaging groove 43 is located and sized to receive the distal phalanx of the index finger and the distal phalanx of the thumb T.

[0065] Referring now to Figs. 5-6, the hand-held section 40 may further define a palm-engaging bump 44 located on the palm-engaging section. This palm-engaging bump 44 extends longitudinally along the longitudinal axis L from the first end 41 to the second end 42. The palmengaging bump 44 has an apex 44A, which is depicted with a dashed line on Fig. 5, that extends from the first end 41 to the second end 42. As shown in Fig. 9, the apex44A of the palm-engaging bump 44 substantially registers with the MCP joints of the hand H. Thus, when the user exerts the pulling force F2 (Figs. 2, 9), the force is directed on the MCP joints, which are the parts of the hand that will receive the most pressure. As shown more clearly on Fig. 6, the palm-engaging bump 44 may be defined on the first face 40A of the hand-held section 40. The palm-engaging bump 44 may be located between a first intersection defined between the first face 40A and the second face 40B and a second intersection defined between the first face 40A and the third face 40C. The palm-engaging bump 44 may be centered on the first face 40A. In the embodiment shown, a distance between the longitudinal axis A and the hand-held section 40 is maximal at the apex 44A of the palm-engaging bump 44.

[0066] Referring back to Fig. 6, the second face 40B and the third face 40C, which may be referred to respectively as the top face and the bottom face, are both convex. The first face 40A and the fourth face 40D, which may be referred to respectively as the leading and trailing side faces 48, 49, may also be convex. The hand-held section 40 may therefore be convex but at the finger-engaging groove 43. The palm-engaging bump 44 is defined on the leading side face 48 whereas the finger-engaging groove 43 is defined at an intersection between the bottom face 47 and the trailing side face 49. The palm-engaging bump 44 and the finger-engaging groove 43 are thus circumferentially spaced apart from one another by the third face 40C in one direction and by the second and fourth face 40B, 40D in the other direction. The bump and the groove may be said to be substantially diametrically opposed to one another since a straight line interconnecting the two extend across the cross-sectional area of the hand-held section 40.

[0067] As illustrated on Fig. 9, which shows the end used to receive the top end 32 of the shaft 30, when the user exerts the pulling force F2 on the top end 32 of the shaft 30, he or she exerts a pushing force with his or her palm on the palm-engaging bump 44 while the fingertips rest within the finger-engaging groove 43. This configuration may provide a more effective grip allowing the user to more effectively exert the pulling force F2 on the shaft 30. The finger-engaging groove 43 may provide the user with a tactile feedback of proper placement of the shaft 30 within their hand and indicate the user of the proper orientation of their hand relative to the shaft 30.

[0068] The shaft-plug 50 may be manufactured by additive manufacturing, but any suitable methods of manufacturing such as injection molding, machining, and so on may be used. In some embodiments, the hockey stick 10 may be made such that the shaft-plug 50 is a monolithic part of the shaft 30. In other words, the shaft 30 may be manufactured to define the shape of the handheld section 40 at its top end 32 and/or between the top and blade ends. The hand-held section 40 and the shaft 30 may thus be a single piece. The hand-held section 40 and the shaft-plug 50 may be made of different sizes (e.g., small, medium, large) to cater to a wide variety of player hand sizes.

[0069] The embodiments described in this document provide non-limiting examples of possible implementations of the present technology. Upon review of the present disclosure, a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the present technology. Yet further modifications could be implemented by a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of the present disclosure, which modifications would be within the scope of the present technology.