Patents by Inventor Rafael G. Filippini

Rafael G. Filippini has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240066371
    Abstract: A composite molded sports paddle comprising a head with a hitting surface; a throat; and a handle, wherein the hitting surface includes a molded textured area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Publication number: 20240017141
    Abstract: A composite molded sports paddle comprising a head with a paddle face; a handle; and a transition area between the head and the handle, wherein the transition area includes a ball dwell control mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2023
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 11707898
    Abstract: A composite panel structure has opposing outer walls or surfaces and a core comprising a plurality of ribs extending between and connected to the outer walls and defining chambers which are filled with expanding foams, non-expanding foams, gases, or a combination thereof. The outer panel surfaces and internal chamber walls or ribs are made of woven or non-woven fibrous material impregnated with one or more resins. The panel structure may be used for making a variety of products including sports equipment such as sports paddles, surfboards, kite boards, skateboards, wakeboards, as well as construction panels for walls, ceilings or floors, display panels, panels for the vehicle industry, furniture, and other structures requiring high strength to weight properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Gearbox, Inc.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Publication number: 20210323254
    Abstract: A composite panel structure has opposing outer walls or surfaces and a core comprising a plurality of ribs extending between and connected to the outer walls and defining chambers which are filled with expanding foams, non-expanding foams, gases, or a combination thereof. The outer panel surfaces and internal chamber walls or ribs are made of woven or non-woven fibrous material impregnated with one or more resins. The panel structure may be used for making a variety of products including sports equipment such as sports paddles, surfboards, kite boards, skateboards, wakeboards, as well as construction panels for walls, ceilings or floors, display panels, panels for the vehicle industry, furniture, and other structures requiring high strength to weight properties.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2021
    Publication date: October 21, 2021
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 11046037
    Abstract: A composite panel structure has opposing outer walls or surfaces and a core comprising a plurality of ribs extending between and connected to the outer walls and defining chambers which are filled with expanding foams, non-expanding foams, gases, or a combination thereof. The outer panel surfaces and internal chamber walls or ribs are made of woven or non-woven fibrous material impregnated with one or more resins. The panel structure may be used for making a variety of products including sports equipment such as sports paddles, surfboards, kite boards, skateboards, wakeboards, as well as construction panels for walls, ceilings or floors, display panels, panels for the vehicle industry, furniture, and other structures requiring high strength to weight properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: GEARBOX, INC.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Publication number: 20190344515
    Abstract: A composite panel structure has opposing outer walls or surfaces and a core comprising a plurality of ribs extending between and connected to the outer walls and defining chambers which are filled with expanding foams, non-expanding foams, gases, or a combination thereof. The outer panel surfaces and internal chamber walls or ribs are made of woven or non-woven fibrous material impregnated with one or more resins. The panel structure may be used for making a variety of products including sports equipment such as sports paddles, surfboards, kite boards, skateboards, wakeboards, as well as construction panels for walls, ceilings or floors, display panels, panels for the vehicle industry, furniture, and other structures requiring high strength to weight properties.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2019
    Publication date: November 14, 2019
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 10377093
    Abstract: A composite panel structure has opposing outer walls or surfaces and a core comprising a plurality of ribs extending between and connected to the outer walls and defining chambers which are filled with expanding foams, non-expanding foams, gases, or a combination thereof. The outer panel surfaces and internal chamber walls or ribs are made of woven or non-woven fibrous material impregnated with one or more resins. The panel structure may be used for making a variety of products including sports equipment such as sports paddles, surfboards, kite boards, skateboards, wakeboards, as well as construction panels for walls, ceilings or floors, display panels, panels for the vehicle industry, furniture, and other structures requiring high strength to weight properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: Gear Box
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Publication number: 20160193793
    Abstract: A composite panel structure has opposing outer walls or surfaces and a core comprising a plurality of ribs extending between and connected to the outer walls and defining chambers which are filled with expanding foams, non-expanding foams, gases, or a combination thereof. The outer panel surfaces and internal chamber walls or ribs are made of woven or non-woven fibrous material impregnated with one or more resins. The panel structure may be used for making a variety of products including sports equipment such as sports paddles, surfboards, kite boards, skateboards, wakeboards, as well as construction panels for walls, ceilings or floors, display panels, panels for the vehicle industry, furniture, and other structures requiring high strength to weight properties.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Publication date: July 7, 2016
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 7867428
    Abstract: A composite sports racquet frame including a frame made of composite material, the frame including a head portion configured to receive and surround a string bed with a plurality of string segments, and a handle portion. The head portion includes a tip section on an opposite end of the frame from the handle portion, and the tip section includes a solid cross-section substantially throughout and the remainder of the head portion includes a hollow cross-section substantially throughout.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Gear Box
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Publication number: 20080261733
    Abstract: A composite sports racquet frame including a frame made of composite material, the frame including a head portion configured to receive and surround a string bed with a plurality of string segments, and a handle portion. The head portion includes a tip section on an opposite end of the frame from the handle portion, and the tip section includes a solid cross-section substantially throughout and the remainder of the head portion includes a hollow cross-section substantially throughout.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2007
    Publication date: October 23, 2008
    Applicant: GEAR BOX
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 7144341
    Abstract: A racquet for hitting a projectile has a stem, which is a handle or a shaft with a handle, and a racquet head with a frame extending from the handle and supporting a tensioned string bed defining a sweet spot. The frame has an upper portion on an opposing end of the frame relative to the handle and a longitudinal axis extending from the upper portion to the handle. The string bed includes main strings generally running parallel to the longitudinal axis and cross strings running generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The string bed has an upper end defined at an interior surface of the upper portion and a lower end disposed at an interior surface of a lower end of the frame near the handle. A length is defined from the upper end to the lower end of the string bed. The cross strings are only disposed at most within approximately an upper 70% of the length of the string bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 7140985
    Abstract: In a sports racquet, anchor points for a string are marked with indicia to assist a stringer in stringing from one anchor point to a next anchor point. In a preferred embodiment, one of the anchor points is a bearing assembly located within a hollow cavity in the racquet stem. Colored tubes are placed in the stem that lead to and from the bearing assembly, and the colors of the tubes match respective colored indicia associated with string holes in the frame head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 7097576
    Abstract: A bearing assembly is at least partly disposed within the hollow stem or handle of a sports racquet. A plurality of curvilinear channels are disposed at different lateral locations in a direction which is at a substantial angle to the longitudinal axis of the racquet. For each channel there are provided a pair of ferrules through which string segments are strung from, and then back to, the string bed. Preferably the ferrules receive ends of tubes through which the string segments are strung. One embodiment receives most of the main strings of the sports racquet, while another embodiment receives all of them. In one embodiment the bearing assembly also forms the end cap of the racquet handle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 7077768
    Abstract: A sports racquet frame is built of a composite of laminations of fibrous material as impregnated by a thermosetting resin. The head section of the frame has an upper tube preferably disposed above the string bed plane and a lower tube preferably disposed below the string bed plane. A solid bridge of material integrally joins the upper tube to the lower tube. In a preferred embodiment the bridge is disposed radially exteriorly of the center line of the tubes, to maximize the length of string segments, which are strung to the bridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 6958104
    Abstract: A sports racquet comprises a handle and a frame coupled to the handle. The frame includes an inner portion and an outer portion located substantially opposite the inner portion. The inner portion of the frame include a plurality of undulations that extend towards and away from a ball-hitting surface, the undulations reducing the unintended bunching and wrinkling of material that intermittently forms in the frame during the manufacturing process. The undulations can be varied by location, undulation length, undulation height, and frequency and can be used in racquets made from a variety of materials and methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2005
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 6935974
    Abstract: A sports racquet strung with a bypass string pattern has a frame with a first side and an opposed second side. The second side of the frame has a plurality of spaced apart string anchoring points. A string bed including a string having a plurality of string segments each strung between the first side and the second side of the frame using the string anchoring points. The string bed includes first and second string segments that are adjacent each other on the string, substantially parallel to each other in the string bed, but are spaced apart from each other in the string bed by at least two other string segments strung substantially parallel to the first and second string segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 6852048
    Abstract: A string guide system is disposed within the hollow stem of a sports racquet and guides the continuous string at least through a turn for redirecting the continuous string back out of the cavity and toward the string bed. The redirection defines shared ends of a pair of connected consecutive string segments. The string guide system disposes the string segments at predetermined lateral positions along the width at least at the turn. In a preferred embodiment the string guide system includes flexible tubes which dampen vibration and aid in stringing the racquet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Publication number: 20040224800
    Abstract: A sports racquet strung with a bypass string pattern has a frame with a first side and an opposed second side. The second side of the frame has a plurality of spaced apart string anchoring points. A string bed including a string having a plurality of string segments each strung between the first side and the second side of the frame using the string anchoring points. The string bed includes first and second string segments that are adjacent each other on the string, substantially parallel to each other in the string bed, but are spaced apart from each other in the string bed by at least two other string segments strung substantially parallel to the first and second string segments.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2004
    Publication date: November 11, 2004
    Applicant: EF COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGIES, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 6796916
    Abstract: A racquet for hitting a projectile has a stem, which is a handle or a shaft with a handle, and a racquet head with a frame extending from the handle and supporting a tensioned string bed defining a sweet spot. The frame has an upper portion on an opposing end of the frame relative to the handle and a longitudinal axis extending from the upper portion to the handle. The string bed includes main strings generally running parallel to the longitudinal axis and cross strings running generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The string bed has an upper end defined at an interior surface of the upper portion and a lower end disposed at an interior surface of a lower end of the frame near the handle. A length is defined from the upper end to the lower end of the string bed. The cross strings are only disposed at most within approximately an upper 70% of the length of the string bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini
  • Patent number: 6764417
    Abstract: A sports racquet strung with a bypass string pattern. The sports racquet includes a frame having a first side and an opposed second side. The second side of the frame has a plurality of spaced apart string anchoring points. A string bed including a string having a plurality of string segments each strung between the first side and the second side of the frame using the string anchoring points. The string bed includes first and second string segments that are adjacent each other on the string, substantially parallel to each other in the string bed, but are spaced apart from each other in the string bed by at least two other string segments strung substantially parallel to the first and second string segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2004
    Assignee: EF Composite Technologies, L.P.
    Inventor: Rafael G. Filippini