Sound absorbing game paddle

Abstract

A sound absorbing game paddle containing a blade having a support structure and a filling. The support structure preferably defines adjoining cells of various shapes, including for example hexagonal and non-hexagonal cells. The filling preferably comprises one or more of a foam, a gel, a silicone or other polymer, and can fill some or all of the cells at any desired volume(s). Contemplated methods include a manufacturer building a version of a game paddle without a filling, and subsequently building another version of the same or similar paddle with a filling. Further contemplated methods include developing an improved game paddle with altered sound emissions by determining that an existing game paddle has undesirable peak amplitudes and frequencies of sounds emitted, and then designing an improved game paddle with a sound absorbing filling.

1 . A game paddle, comprising:
 a blade having opposing first and second surfaces bounded by an edge;   a support structure providing at least first and second wall portions disposed intermediate to the first and second surfaces, wherein at least a portion of the support structure is distanced by at least 2 cm from a closest section of the edge; and   a filling disposed between the first and second surfaces, and also between the first wall portion and at least one of (a) the second wall portion and (b) the edge.   
     
     
         2 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the opposing first and second surfaces are mutually parallel over at least 90% of their surfaces. 
     
     
         3 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the core of the support structure comprises at least first, second, and third adjoining cells. 
     
     
         4 . The game paddle of  claim 3 , wherein the first, second, and third adjoining cells are hexagonal. 
     
     
         5 . The game paddle of  claim 3 , wherein the filling occupies at least 50% of the first cell. 
     
     
         6 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the support structure does not define any adjoining cells. 
     
     
         7 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the filling comprises a foam. 
     
     
         8 . The foam of  claim 7 , wherein the foam comprises an open-cell formation. 
     
     
         9 . The foam of  claim 7 , wherein the foam comprises a closed-cell formation. 
     
     
         10 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the filling comprises a gel. 
     
     
         11 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the filling comprises a silicone. 
     
     
         12 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the filling comprises a polymer. 
     
     
         13 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the filling comprises different first and second materials. 
     
     
         14 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein at least some portion of the support structure has a thickness between 0.25 cm and 5 cm. 
     
     
         15 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second wall portions are mutually orthogonal. 
     
     
         16 . The game paddle of  claim 1 , wherein first surface has an area of between 740 cm 2  and 840 cm 2 . 
     
     
         17 . A method of manufacturing game paddles, comprising:
 directing manufacturing of a first type of game paddle having a blade that encloses an adjoined cell support structure, without inclusion of an additional sound-absorbing material;   directing manufacturing of a second type of game paddle having a blade that includes at least some of the sound-absorbing material.   
     
     
         18 . A method of developing an improved game paddle having altered sound emissions, comprising:
 determining that an existing game paddle has undesirable peak amplitudes and frequencies of sounds emitted during a test game play; and   designing the improved game paddle with a sound-absorbing filling, such that the improved game paddle emits at least 5 dB reduced peak sound amplitude for at least one frequency relative to the test game play.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the improved game paddle has a blade that encloses a support structure around at least a portion of which is disposed the sound-absorbing filling. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the improved game paddle emits at least 20 dB reduced peak sound amplitude for at least one frequency relative to the test game play.