Hockey-Stick Blade with Tailored Performance Regions
A hockey-stick blade includes a heel region, a toe region spaced longitudinally from the heel region, and a mid-region located between the heel region and the toe region. The toe region includes one or more reinforcing elements, optionally of different lengths, located at different vertical positions within the toe region. The blade further includes a hosel that optionally is tailored to substantially match the strength and stiffness characteristics of an attached or integral hockey stick shaft. The mid-region of the blade exhibits improved feel and flexibility characteristics due to the increased stiffness in the toe region.
1 . A hockey-stick blade including a front face, and a rear face spaced from the front face in a lateral direction, comprising:
a heel region;
a toe region spaced from the heel region in a longitudinal direction;
a mid-region located between the heel region and the toe region; and
an upper core element and a lower core element positioned between the front face and the rear face,
wherein a first reinforcing element is positioned directly on a lower surface and directly on front and rear faces of the upper core element and only on a portion of a second reinforcing element, and the second reinforcing element is positioned directly on an upper surface and directly on front and rear faces of the lower core element.
2 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 1 wherein the core elements are spaced apart from one another in a vertical direction.
3 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 2 , further comprising a plurality structural of ribs positioned between the core elements running longitudinally from the toe region toward the heel region.
4 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 1 , wherein the first and second reinforcing elements comprise fiber-reinforced plies.
5 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 1 wherein one reinforcing element has a length in the longitudinal direction that is greater than a length of another reinforcing element in the longitudinal direction.
6 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 1 wherein the first and second reinforcing elements are contained within the blade.
7 . A hockey-stick blade including a front face, and a rear face spaced from the front face in a lateral direction, comprising:
a heel region;
a toe region spaced from the heel region in a longitudinal direction;
a mid-region located between the heel region and the toe region; and
a plurality of core elements positioned between the front face and the rear face,
wherein the plurality of core elements includes at least an upper core element and a lower core element, wherein a first reinforcing element is positioned on a lower surface and directly on a front face or a rear face of the upper core element and on a second reinforcing element, wherein the second reinforcing element is positioned on an upper surface and a front face or a rear face of the lower core element.
8 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 7 wherein the core elements are spaced apart from one another in a vertical direction.
9 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 8 , further comprising a plurality of ribs positioned between each pair of vertically neighboring core elements running longitudinally from the toe region toward the heel region.
10 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 9 wherein the blade includes at least four core elements separated by at least three ribs.
11 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 7 wherein one of the reinforcing elements has a length in the longitudinal direction that is greater than a length of another reinforcing element in the longitudinal direction.
12 . A hockey-stick blade including a front face, and a rear face spaced from the front face in a lateral direction, comprising:
a heel region;
a toe region spaced from the heel region in a longitudinal direction;
a mid-region located between the heel region and the toe region; and
an upper core element and a lower core element positioned between the front face and the rear face,
wherein a first reinforcing element is positioned on a lower surface and on front and rear faces of the upper core element and only on a portion of a second reinforcing element, and the second reinforcing element is positioned on an upper surface and on front and rear faces of the lower core element.
13 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 12 wherein the core elements are spaced apart from one another in a vertical direction.
14 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 13 , further comprising a plurality structural of ribs positioned between the core elements running longitudinally from the toe region toward the heel region.
15 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 12 , wherein the first and second reinforcing elements comprise fiber-reinforced plies.
16 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 12 , wherein one reinforcing element has a length in the longitudinal direction that is greater than a length of another reinforcing element in the longitudinal direction.
17 . The hockey-stick blade of claim 12 , wherein the first and second reinforcing elements are contained within the blade.