Paddle with internal ribs

Abstract

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure describe a pickleball paddle. A hollow interior structure is formed between front and rear shells of the paddle and reinforced with internal ribs.

1 . A paddle comprising:
 a handle;   a blade including a length and a width extending from said handle, said blade including a front shell and a rear shell, wherein said front shell includes a planar front face and said rear shell includes a planar rear face opposite said front face, and wherein said blade defines a hollow interior volume between said front shell and said rear shell;   a rib system including a first pattern of parallel ribs and a second pattern of parallel ribs, wherein each of said ribs include a first edge and a second edge, wherein said first edges of said ribs join said front shell and said second edges of said ribs join said rear shell;   wherein each pattern of parallel ribs is perpendicular to a corresponding axis across the blade area, wherein the axis of the first pattern of ribs is non-parallel to the axis of the second pattern of ribs;   wherein at least one of said first pattern of ribs and said second pattern of ribs includes a plurality of ribs non-uniformly spaced along the corresponding axis;   wherein said rib system is located within said hollow interior portion and said rib system defines a plurality of voids between said ribs.   
     
     
         2 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein said first pattern of ribs and said second pattern of ribs each includes a plurality of non-uniformly spaced parallel ribs along a corresponding axis. 
     
     
         3 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the axis of the first pattern of ribs is along the length of said blade, and wherein the axis of the second pattern of ribs is along the width of said blade. 
     
     
         4 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the ribs of said first plurality of parallel ribs are perpendicular to the ribs of said second plurality of parallel ribs to form a grid pattern. 
     
     
         5 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the ribs of said first plurality of parallel ribs are oblique to the ribs of said second plurality of parallel ribs so that said voids between said ribs are diamond shaped. 
     
     
         6 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein said blade defines an area including an edge area and a center area along the axis of the non-uniformly spaced parallel ribs, and wherein the ribs in the pattern are distributed along the axis such that the spacing between the ribs near the center of the blade area is greater than the spacing between ribs near the edge area of the blade. 
     
     
         7 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein said blade is made from a rigid, non-compressible material. 
     
     
         8 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the deflection of the blade is 0.005 inches or less when said blade is subjected to a force of 3 kg. 
     
     
         9 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the paddle has a length and a width, and wherein the combined length and width of the paddle does not exceed 24 inches. 
     
     
         10 . The paddle of  claim 1 , comprising a filler material inserted into at least one of said voids between said ribs. 
     
     
         11 . The paddle of  claim 10 , wherein said filler material is inserted into each of said voids between said ribs. 
     
     
         12 . The paddle of  claim 10 , wherein said filler material is foam. 
     
     
         13 . The paddle of  claim 10 , wherein said filler material is rubber. 
     
     
         14 . The paddle of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a first filler material inserted into at least one of said voids between said ribs;   a second filler material inserted into at least one of a different one of said voids between said ribs; and,   wherein the density of said first filler material is different than said density of said second filler material.   
     
     
         15 . The paddle of  claim 1 , wherein said ribs are formed from carbon fibers impregnated with a resin. 
     
     
         16 . A paddle comprising:
 a handle;   a blade extending from said handle including an edge area and a center area, said blade including a front shell and a rear shell, wherein said front shell includes a planar front face and said rear shell includes a planar rear face opposite said front face, and wherein said blade defines a hollow interior volume between said front shell and said rear shell;   a rib system including a plurality of ribs positioned in said hollow interior volume between said front shell and said rear shell;   wherein said ribs are parallel and perpendicular to an axis across the blade area, and wherein said ribs are non-uniformly spaced along the axis.   
     
     
         17 . The paddle of  claim 16 , wherein the spacing between ribs along the axis near the center area of the blade is greater than the spacing between ribs near the edge area of the blade. 
     
     
         18 . The paddle of  claim 16 , wherein the spacing between ribs along the axis near the edge area of the blade is greater than the spacing between ribs near the center area of the blade. 
     
     
         19 . The paddle of  claim 16 , wherein said rib system defines a plurality of voids between said ribs and wherein a filler material is inserted into at least one of said voids between said ribs. 
     
     
         20 . The paddle of  claim 19 , comprising:
 a first filler material inserted into at least one of said voids between said ribs;   a second filler material inserted into at least one of a different one of said voids between said ribs; and,   wherein the density of said first filler material is different than said density of said second filler material.