Blade for a stick

The invention is related to an improved blade for a stick such as a hockey- or floor hockey stick providing improved dribbling.

The last few decennia sports played with sticks have experienced ever greater advances in technology. For example, carbon fiber materials provide new light stick shafts which may be combined with new improved stick blades. Moreover, new materials are being developed which are lighter but provide the user with a better grip around the shaft. In order to achieve top performance today, practitioners of sports played with sticks have to be equipped with the right equipment.

Sports that are played with sticks have been popular for a long time both as competitive sports and as purely recreational sports. Within the competitive framework rigorous rules have been developed in order to regulate the type of equipment a practitioner is allowed to use and also the way the equipment is supposed to look. The rules safeguard that no practitioner during a competition gets an unfair advantage over the opponent. This rigorous set of rules needed to allow competition in sports such as floor hockey, hockey and similar sports has on the other hand resulted in a homogenization of the technological development, meaning that the rules have held back the development of sports played with sticks.

An example of a solution for an improved stick blade within the framework of the existing rules is presented in GB 2,318,064. Here, the stick blade comprises a lateral section in relation to the stick shaft whereby the lateral section is developed such that it facilitates control of the ball during dribbling. In WO 97/28854 a blade for a floor hockey ball stick is disclosed where a vertically arranged section in relation to the stick shaft on the upper side of the stick blade increases the shot precision and facilitates ball dribbling.

The development has previously focused on developing new sticks, stick blades and stick shafts which still may used in competitions, i.e. they are within the existing framework of norms concerning the design of the equipment. The framework of rules and the large commercial part behind getting approval for the equipment to be used in competition has lead to new sports generally having difficulties in developing and becoming popular. One can generally say that the development has been heading towards the manufacture of ever lighter sticks as well to the development of blades in order to enhance the dribbling properties or the ball control properties of the stick. One typical example when total ball control is needed is the dribbling type called “Zorro” in floor hockey. To do a “Zorro” involves a player picking up the ball on the stick blade with the stick and then moving the stick through the air with such a speed and precision that the ball still hangs on to the blade without falling off. In this way skilled players are able to perform very advanced movements with the stick while retaining the ball on the stick blade. While dribbling, players can move past other players in this way without the ball touching the ground during the dribble.

However, shooting and dribbling properties seem to always go hand in hand, i.e. if the dribbling properties are to be developed it occurs at the expense of the shooting properties and vice versa.

One example of this development is given in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,684 where a blade for a floor hockey stick is described. The blade comprises one or two apertures designed to facilitate shot control and the dribbling of a floor hockey ball. The aperture extends along and perpendicular to the entire length of the blade thickness. In the event of a shot the ball glides along a recess in the blade in order to arrive in the aperture in the blade where, according to the disclosure, optimum shooting control is to be found. Therefore, the aperture is first and foremost adapted for controlling the position of the ball when the ball is leaving the blade. The aperture (or apertures) in the blade is (/are) therefore designed to have a certain surface behind the ball in order for sufficient force to be transferred from the ball to the stick. Through the compromise between shooting control and dribbling control in the disclosed stick one obtains a stick that despite its design does not contribute significantly to better shooting control and dribbling, which would be desirable.

A patent describing a stick which reaches beyond the scope of the rules mentioned earlier is EP 0427522. In the patent games apparatus in the form of a paddle is disclosed, where the paddle comprises a central plate and two peripheral areas which can either be hollow or comprise a recess for the reception of a projectile such as a ball.

The size of the aperture corresponds approximately to size of the projectile. The games apparatus, however, does not provide total ball control which would be desirable. Furthermore, such games apparatus makes it difficult for experienced players of sports played with sticks to embrace such games apparatus, since it is very different from the earlier described sticks which are within the existing rule framework.

The present invention aims at solving at least some of the earlier mentioned problems. Hence, there seems to be a possibility of developing a blade which provides for improved ball control with respect to dribbling. There also appears to be a need for a blade which does not compromise shooting properties in order to obtain good dribbling properties.

The present invention has at least partly solved the problems mentioned earlier and also additional problems by providing a blade for a stick such as a floor hockey stick or a hockey stick where said blade comprises a ball through hole in order to hold a ball during dribbling. More specifically the blade comprises attachment means for a shaft in connection to an essentially elongated blade comprising a first and a second surface surrounded by an upper and a lower longitudinal edge as well as a first and a second short side, said first and second surface comprising a shooting and a dribbling surface as well as at least one ball through hole. The ball hole comprises at least a diameter adapted such that said ball through hole can hold a ball both during ground dribbling and during air dribbling.

The dribbling properties of a blade according to one embodiment of the present invention provide for a unique combination of ground dribbling and air dribbling. The simplicity in air dribbling, i.e. being able to perform very advanced movements in the air with a ball and a stick results also in that the invention is well suited for use with other goals than the conventional type of goals. For example, goals similar to basket ball hoops may be used as goals. The present invention provides for the holding of a ball with the blade making it possible for air dribbling and for pushing away the ball at various angles in a hitherto impossible way. A unique air play, air dribbling can be exercised with a stick equipped with a blade according to the invention, which would not have been possible with a blade and a stick falling within the scope of the existing rules for competition established for a sport such as floor hockey. Moreover the ball hole additionally provides for the reception of the ball and the holding of the ball with both sides of the blade. Thus, if a ball is located in a ball hole according to the present invention a user pushes away a shot rather than hitting away a shot, while the shooting and dribbling surface may be used as a conventional shooting and dribbling surface. The combination makes the present invention comprise both good shooting strength and good dribbling properties both during ground and air dribbling.

The ball hole may also comprise a circular cross section with an inner diameter, where said inner diameter is adapted for holding a ball in said ball hole both during ground dribbling and air dribbling. The invention provides the user with very good ball control during dribbling and the ball dribbling is so good that even inexperienced users can perform very advanced air dribbling movements with a stick equipped with a blade according to the invention. Additionally, a pass may be caught easily in the air with the blade according to the invention.

In a further embodiment of the present invention the ball hole comprises an input surface in turn comprising an input diameter and an output surface comprising an output diameter where the inner diameter is located between the input and output surface and where said inner diameter is smaller than said input and output diameter of the ball hole. Such a configuration of the ball hole guarantees good control of the ball when the ball is retained for example between the inner diameter and the inner surface or the inner diameter and the output surface.

The ball hole can be adjusted to the shape of a ball by the surface, a so called ball surface, between the input surface and the inner diameter having essentially a concave character. This results in the ball through hole being able to hold the ball in an embracing fashion which further improves the dribbling properties. The ball surface between the output surface and the inner diameter may also have an essentially concave character. The blade then becomes more functional since both sides of the blade are usable for receiving a ball. By concave character it is meant that a ball surface between the input surface and the inner diameter as well as the ball surface between the output surface and the inner diameter has a shape which essentially follows the shape of a ball.

The ball surface can in an embodiment of the invention have a form which essentially follows the shape of a ball. The ball surface may in an embodiment of the present invention be comprised of a material other than the material of the blade in order to provide the ball surface with certain desirable properties, such as improved friction, damping properties and similar.

The circular cross section of the ball hole provides for a better fit between the ball and the blade which allows more advanced dribbling—even for inexperienced practitioners of sports that are played with sticks. These properties may be improved further by the input and output surfaces of the ball hole having a circular shape.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the blade comprises a first or second short side with a curvature which along at least a part of its side corresponds to the circular shape of the input and output surface. Such a stick shape is material-saving and gives the user the impression of a conventional stick.

The ball hole is preferably located close to said blade\'s first or second short side and preferably close to the other short side when the attachment means are located close to the first short side. Additionally, the shooting and dribbling surface of the first and second surface may have a concave shape. Such a shape facilitates the use of the entire shooting- and dribbling surface in order to guide the ball to the ball hole. Thus, regardless of where on the shooting and dribbling surface a user catches a ball during for example a pass, the user can easily transport the ball to the ball hole in order to dribble or to push away a shot.

The lower edge comprises a groove along at least a part of its length. Such a groove saves material while at the same time in certain embodiments of the present invention is able to provide a wide lower longitudinal side with minimal material expenditure. The upper edge may in one embodiment have a concave shape, while the lower edge may have a convex shape such that said blade acquires an essentially elongated curved shape.