Hockey stick
A composite hockey stick having a tubular hollow shaft and a blade is disclosed. The shaft includes a region of focused weight in the form of an overlay coating that is applied on top if the internal surfaces of the cured shaft using a coating plug. The blade includes a focused weight region that is inserted into a cavity within the cured composite blade. Methods and suitable materials for constructions of the various components of the blade and shaft are also disclosed.
1. A method of manufacturing a focused weighted composite hockey stick blade comprising the steps of:
a. providing a cured composite hockey stick blade having a cavity that includes a passage through an outer surface of the cured blade; and
b. filling said cavity, at least partially, with a component of relatively higher density than the surrounding regions of the blade, wherein the passage of the cavity extends through a connection member adapted at a region to be received within a tubular shaft;
wherein said cured composite hockey stick blade is formed of one or more core elements encased within one or more walls formed of one or more layers of directionally oriented fibers disposed within a hardened resin matrix.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said component is comprised of metal balls housed within a sock.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of filling further includes inserting said metal balls housed within said sock into the cavity and then adding a polymer material to further encapsulate said sock and metal balls.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising inserting a plug system within the cavity.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the plug system includes a liquid foam component.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the plug system includes a flexible foam element.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the plug system is inserted through the passage that extends through the connection member.
8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the cured composite hockey stick blade comprises aligned fibers in defined orientations disposed in hardened resin matrix that define the external surfaces of the blade.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said cavity is defined by said fibers disposed within said hardened resin matrix.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a cured composite hockey stick blade includes making the cavity within the cured blade using an air bladder.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavity is defined at least in part by one or more bridge structures extending from the front to the back of the blade.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the bridge structures are formed of fibers disposed in a hardened resin matrix.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the cured composite hockey stick blade includes a first foam core element and a second foam core element separated at least in part by the cavity.
14. The method of claim 4 , wherein the plug system is inserted using a positioning rod that moves one or more of the components of the plug into the desired location within the cavity.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of filling said cavity with a second component of relatively higher density that the surrounding regions of the blade.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein said component is positioned in the cavity within the heel region of the blade.
17. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of adjusting the weight of the component to the particular needs of the user.
18. The method of claim 3 , wherein the polymer material is an elastomer material.