Hockey Stick

Abstract

A hockey stick having a composite blade and a shaft is disclosed. The composite blade includes a heel section that is recessed relative to the front and back faces of the blade. The recessed heel section is configured to be received by a hockey stick shaft or an adapter member configured to connect the blade to the shaft. The composite blade preferably comprise a foam inner core overlaid preferably with substantially continuous fibers disposed in a matrix material and may include an internal bridge structure extending from one side of the blade to the other. The blade may also be preferably comprised of a core comprising non-continuous fibers disposed within a matrix material. In another aspect, processes for manufacturing the previously described hockey stick blade(s) are described.

1 . A method for making a hockey stick blade comprising:
 providing one or more inner core components;   wrapping the inner core components with one or more plies of fibers to form a hockey stick blade pre-form structure having front and back facing walls, each wall defining an exterior facing surface and an interior facing surface;   placing the hockey stick blade pre-form structure into a mold configured to impart the desired exterior shape of a hockey stick blade including one or more incurved regions that define an exterior cavity on the exterior surface of at least one of the front or back facing walls;   curing the blade pre-form structure; and   removing the cured blade structure from the mold.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of filling an exterior cavity, at least partially, with a filler material that is dissimilar from the material that forms the wall of the incurved region that defines the exterior cavity. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the filler material is comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of fiberglass, urethane, epoxy, ABS, styrene, polystyrene, and resin. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interior facing surface of one of said front or back facing walls, at an incurved region, extends to the interior facing surface of the opposing wall. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interior facing surface of one of said front or back facing walls, at an incurved region, extends toward and meets the interior facing surface of the opposing wall. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interior facing surface of one of said front or back facing walls, at an incurved region, extends toward and adjoins the interior facing surface of the opposing wall. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein both the front and back facing walls include generally opposing incurved regions that define respective exterior cavities. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising the step of filling said exterior cavities, at least partially, with a filler material that is dissimilar from the material that forms the walls of the incurved regions that define the exterior cavities. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the filler material is comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of fiberglass, urethane, epoxy, ABS, styrene, polystyrene, and resin. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the interior facing surfaces of said front and back facing walls at the generally opposing incurved regions extend toward one another. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the interior facing surfaces of said front and back facing walls at the generally opposing incurved regions extend toward and meet one another. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the interior facing surfaces of said front and back facing walls at the generally opposing incurved regions extend toward and adjoin with one another. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more plies of fibers includes substantially continuous fibers disposed within a hardened matrix material. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more plies of fibers includes aligned fibers disposed within a hardened matrix material. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more plies of fibers is disposed within a hardened matrix material in a first defined orientation while at least one of the one or more plies of fibers are disposed within a hardened matrix material in a second defined orientation, wherein said first and second defined orientations are different from one another. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the inner core components is formed of a foam material. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hockey stick is configured to be detachably coupled to a hockey stick shaft. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hockey stick is configured to be permanently attached to a hockey stick shaft. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hockey stick is permanently attached to a hockey stick shaft. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the mold is configured to include a convex surface to impart at least one of the incurved regions.