Hockey stick blade and a method of making thereof
View Patent ↗There is provided a hockey stick blade and a method of making thereof, wherein the blade is made in a composite material comprising a core formed of light weight material, such as foam, and a fiber braid jacket or tubular prepreg cloth, the core being partially hollow to define longitudinal cavities inside the blade assembly.
1. A hockey stick blade, comprising:
a) a shaft connecting portion;
b) a heel portion;
c) a puck contacting portion consisting of
i) a partly filled core formed of light weight material defining longitudinal spaced apart sections defining longitudinal cavities therebetween;
ii) a jacket formed of a number of braid fiber sleeves, fibers of said jacket having a predetermined directional orientation, said jacket being first pulled over said core sections and said longitudinal cavities to form a jacketed assembly, said jacketed assembly being then tensioned by applying a mold to said jacketed assembly, said tensioned jacketed assembly completely wrapping said spaced apart core sections;
iii) a polymeric material encapsulating said tensioned jacketed assembly to form a molded blade part having opposite side faces, including a side face with a discontinuous surface; and
iv) a cover plate of composite polymeric material secured to said side face with a discontinuous surface of said molded blade;
said jacket providing a continuity of fibers on a full perimeter of the blade while encapsulating the spaced apart core sections, and forming said side face opposite said side face with a discontinuous surface.
2. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein said core is formed of low-density foam.
3. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein a combined height of said core sections is about half that of said blade.
4. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein said fibers of said jacket are bi-directionally oriented.
5. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein said fibers of said jacket are tri-directionally oriented.
6. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , further comprising additional core sections in one or more of said cavities.
7. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a roving between two of said number of sleeves along a bottom edge of said blade.
8. A hockey stick as defined in claim 1 , wherein said fibers are made of a material selected from a group including carbon, Kevlar, polyethylene, glass and a carbon/Kevlar hybrid.
9. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein said composite polymeric material is thermoplastic.
10. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein said composite polymeric material is thermoset.
11. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein said core encapsulating polymeric material is a thermoset resin.
12. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , further comprising filler elements in said cavities.
13. A hockey stick blade as defined in claim 1 , wherein fiber braids of said jacket are pre-tensioned, aligned, and in full contact with said core exterior surface.
14. The hockey stick blade of claim 1 , wherein said opposite side faces of the blade are locally in direct liaison inside the core cavities.