SHAFT FOR LACROSSE STICK

Abstract

A shaft for a lacrosse stick comprises an elongated tubular body and an outer layer. The body is made of rigid materials. The body can be constructed by one piece or a plurality of sections and have a top end for attachment to a lacrosse head and a butt end to be slipped onto by an end cap. The outer layer is made of elastic materials, such as plastic PU (polyurethane), foam materials which are wrapped around a predetermined portion of the body. The wall thickness of the body is designed in a range of 1.00 mm to 3.00 mm. The thickness of the outer layer is designed in Abstract a range of 0.50 mm to 3.00 mm.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to lacrosse sticks, and, more particularly, to a shaft for a lacrosse stick.

2. Description of the Related Art

Traditional lacrosse shafts were constructed of wood. These wooden shafts suffered from a variety of disadvantages. The first is that they were susceptible to damage from excess exposure to water. The second is that these prior wooden shafts were heavy and somewhat cumbersome. Further, the wooden shafts were also susceptible to breakage.

To solve the disadvantages of the traditional wooden lacrosse shafts, shafts of metallic construction were developed to replace the wooden lacrosse shafts, particularly in the men's game. The advantage of such construction was that the metal shafts could be mass produced with uniform quality, strength and weight, and were generally stronger than wood shafts.

However, these metal shafts still have some drawbacks. For example, the rigid metal construction can transmit shock to a player's hands when the lacrosse stick is subjected to a sudden impact, e.g. slashing by an opponent. Further, if the external force is great enough, the shaft can even break.

Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,832 introduces an improved shaft which includes an outer surface having one or more predetermined portions with a coating coupled thereto. The coating is utilized for strengthening the tubular member, preventing damage thereto, and decreasing vibrations therein. However, when putting to use, the expecting advantages can not be found because it is difficult to prepare a suitable thickness for the coating coupled to the outer surface of the shaft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a shaft for a lacrosse stick that is lightweight, stronger and more durable than existing shaft.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a lacrosse shaft that has increased impact strength as compared to prior lacrosse handles.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lacrosse shaft that absorbs shock that would otherwise be transferred to a player's hands.

The foregoing objects are accomplished by means of a shaft for a lacrosse stick which comprises an elongated tubular body and an outer layer. The body is made of rigid materials, such as lightweight metals or composite materials. The body can be constructed by one piece or a plurality of sections and have a top end for attachment to a lacrosse head and a butt end to be slipped onto by an end cap. The outer layer is made of elastic materials, such as plastic PU (polyurethane), foam materials which are wrapped around a predetermined portion of the body, for example, it can be wrapped around one predetermined section of the body. The wall of the body is designed to have a thickness in a range of 1.00 mm to 3.00 mm. The outer layer is designed to have a thickness in a range of 0.50 mm to 3.00 mm.

In another general aspect, a shaft for a lacrosse stick embodied according to the present invention has a body and an outer layer wrapped around a predetermined portion of the body. The size of the body and the size of the outer layer are matched by each other in such a way that the shaft has a total weight in a range of 180 g to 230 g.

In another general aspect, a shaft for a lacrosse stick embodied according to the present invention has a body with a weight in a range of 100 g to 135 g and an outer layer with a weight in a range of 75 G to 105 G.

In another general aspect, a shaft for a lacrosse stick embodied according to the present invention has body and an outer layer wrapped around a predetermined portion of the body. The cross section of the outer layer is polygonal shaped. Particularly, the thickness of sidewalls of the outer layer is non-uniform distributed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages will become better apparent from the drawing and the more detailed description of the following description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lacrosse stick having a shaft in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 1 along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 1 along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 1 along line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a lacrosse shaft in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 5 along line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a lacrosse shaft in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 7 along line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a lacrosse shaft in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 9 along line 10-10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 9 along line 11-11 in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft shown in FIG. 9 along line 12-12 in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring, firstly, to FIGS. 1-4, a lacrosse stick 1 includes a shaft 10, a lacrosse head 12 and an end cap 14.

Shaft 10 includes a body 102 and an outer layer 104. Body 102 has a front section 106 and a rear section 108 (as shown in FIG. 2).

Front section 106 can be an elongated polygonal tube such as an octagon tube and made of rigid materials, such as graphite or other composite materials.

In this embodiment, front section 106 is an octagon tube having a pair of first side walls 110, a pair of second side walls 112 and four arched third side walls 114. First side walls 110 are opposite to each other with a first distance about 20 mm. Second side walls 112 are also opposite to each other with a second distance about 24.9 mm. Each of first side walls 110 has a length being longer than that of each of second side walls 112. One end of each of first side walls 110 and one end of each of second side walls 112 are connected by one of third side walls 114.

Rear section 108 is also an elongated octagon tube and made of aluminum, aluminum alloy, or titanium. The size of rear section 108 is slightly larger than that of front section 106 so that the distal end of front section 106 can be securely inserted into the front end of rear section 108.

Each section of body 102 has a length about 402 mm. Each sidewall of sections 106,108 has a thickness about 2.30 mm. When front and rear sections 106, 108 are joined together to construct body 102, the total length of body 102 is about 762 mm and the total weight of body 102 is about 120 g.

Outer layer 104, in this embodiment, is made of PU foam material. It is tightly wrapped around the entire exterior surface of a predetermined portion of front section 106 with a thickness about 1.80 mm so that the weight of outer layer 104 can be in the range of 75.0 g to 105 g.

Referring secondly to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown an improved lacrosse shaft 20 according to the second embodiment of the claimed invention. Lacrosse shaft 20 includes a body 202 and an outer layer 204.

Body 202 is, in this embodiment, an elongated circular tube and made of composite materials. The length of body 202 is about 756 mm and the wall thickness of body 202 is about 1.50 mm so that the weight of body 202 can be about 110 g.

Outer layer 204, in this embodiment, is made of PU foam material and tightly wrapped around the exterior surface of a predetermined portion 201 of body 202. The length of outer layer 204 is about 711 mm. The cross section of outer layer 204 is octagon-shaped. It has a pair of first side walls 206, a pair of second side walls 208, and four arched third side walls 210.

The thickness of outer layer 204 is distributed in a non-uniformly way. The thickness of second side walls 208 is larger than that of first side walls 206. In this embodiment, the thickness of each of first side walls 206 is about 1.50 mm, the thickness of each of second side walls 208 is about 3.90 mm and the thickness of each third side walls 210 is between 1.5 mm and 3.90 mm so that the weight of outer layer 204 can be about 105 g.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, there is shown an improved lacrosse shaft 30 according to the third embodiment of the claimed invention. Lacrosse shaft 30 includes a body 302 and an outer layer 304.

Body 302 is, in this embodiment, made of composite materials and an elongated oval tube with a length about 756 mm, a wall thickness about 3.00 mm and a weight about 115 g.

Outer layer 304, in this embodiment, is also made of PU foam material and tightly wrapped around the exterior surface of a predetermined portion 306 of body 302. In other words, the length of outer layer 304 is about 558 mm. The cross section of outer layer 304 is also octagon-shaped and has a uniform side wall thickness about 1.55 mmm. The weight of outer layer 304 is about 85 g.

Lastly, please referring to FIGS. 9 to 12, there is shown an improved lacrosse shaft 40 according to the fourth embodiment of the claimed invention. Lacrosse shaft 40 includes a body 402 and an outer layer 404. Body 402, like body 102 of shaft 10, has a front section 406 and a rear section 408.

Front section 406 is made of composite materials and is an octagon tube with a length about 406 mm and a uniform side wall thickness about 2.00 mm.

Rear section 408 is also made of composite materials. It is an elongated circular tube with a length about 406 mm, an external diameter about 19.5 mm and an internal diameter 17.0 mm. In combination, the rear end of rear section is inserted into the front end of front section 406. Between them is disposed a lining 410 so that front section 406 and rear section 408 can be securely joined together to form body 402 with a length about 762 mm a weight about 115 g.

Outer layer 404, in this embodiment, is also made of PU foam material. It is tightly wrapped around the entire exterior surface of a predetermined portion 403 of rear section 408 with a length about 355 mm. The cross section of outer layer 404 is octagon-shaped. Speaking detailedly, outer layer 404 has a pair of first side walls 414, a pair of second side walls 416 and four arched third side walls 418. The thickness of second side walls 416 is larger than that of first side walls 414. In this embodiment, the thickness of each of first side walls 206 is about 2.00 mm, the thickness of each of second side walls 416 is about 3.00 mm and the thickness of each third side walls 210 is between 2.00 mm and 3.00 mm so that the weight of outer layer 404 can be about 90 g.

It is understood that for being designed to have an elongated tube-shaped body made of rigid materials and an elastic outer layer with a suitable shape and thickness, the disclosed lacrosse shafts herein are lightweight, stronger and more durable than existing shaft. Moreover, the lacrosse shaft provided by the present invention is beneficial for absorbing shock during play.

Claims

1. A shaft for a lacrosse stick, comprising:

an elongated tubular body made of rigid materials;

an outer layer made of elastic materials being tightly wrapped around the entire exterior surface of a predetermined portion of said body;

the wall thickness of said body being in a range of 1.00 mm to 3.00 mm; and

said outer layer having a thickness in a range of 0.50 mm to 3.00 mm.

2. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein the shaft has a weight in a range of 180 g to 230 g.

3. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein said body has a weight in a range of 100 g to 135 g.

4. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein said outer layer has a weight in a range of 75 g to 105 g.

5. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein the cross section of said body is circular shaped.

6. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 5, wherein the cross section of said outer layer is polygonal shaped.

7. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 6, wherein the cross section of said outer layer is octagon-shaped.

8. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 7, wherein said outer layer includes a pair of first side walls, a pair of second side walls, and four arched third side walls.

9. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 8, wherein the thickness of second side walls is larger than that of first side walls.

10. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein the cross section of said body is oval shaped.

11. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 10, wherein the cross section of said outer layer is polygonal shaped.

12. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 11, wherein the cross section of said outer layer is octagon-shaped.

13. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein the cross section of said body is polygonal shaped.

14. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 13, wherein the cross section of said body is octagon-shaped.

15. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 1, wherein said body includes a front section and a rear section joined to one end of said front section.

16. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 15, wherein said outer layer is tightly wrapped around the entire exterior surface of a predetermined portion of said front section of said body.

17. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 15, wherein said outer layer is tightly wrapped around the entire exterior surface of a predetermined portion of said rear section of said body.

18. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 15, wherein said front section of said body is made of composite materials.

19. The shaft for a lacrosse stick of claim 17, wherein said rear section of said body is made of metal materials.