ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT WEIGHT APPARATUS

Abstract

A weight apparatus suitable for attaching to athletic equipment includes a flexible main body of a weight material, wherein the flexible main body is formed into a flattened strip that has a length along its y direction that is significantly greater than its width along its x direction, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to conform in a curved manner to wrap along a head of a sporting racket and around a handle of a hockey stick.

Description

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/456,879, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to athletic equipment, and more particularly, to a weighted apparatus for attaching, in a detachable manner, to athletic equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a weight apparatus configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the weight apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a sports racket with a weight apparatus installed thereon in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of a sports racket with a weight apparatus installed thereon in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5A illustrates a front view of a portion of a lacrosse stick with a weight apparatus installed thereon in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 5B illustrates a back view of a portion of the lacrosse stick of FIG. 5A with a weight apparatus installed thereon in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a hockey stick with a weight apparatus installed thereon in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that various changes to the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the following more detailed description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is presented for purposes of illustration only to describe the features and characteristics of embodiments of the present invention to sufficiently enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention.

In describing and claiming embodiments of the present invention, the following terminology will be used.

The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, “adjacent” refers to the proximity of two structures or elements. Particularly, elements that are identified as being “adjacent” may be either abutting or connected. Such elements may also be near or close to each other without necessarily contacting each other. The exact degree of proximity may in some cases depend on the specific context.

As used herein, the term “and/or” when used in the context of a listing of entities, refers to the entities being present singly or in combination. Thus, for example, the phrase “A, B, C, and/or D” includes A, B, C, and D individually, but also includes any and all combinations and subcombinations of A, B, C, and D.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a defacto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.

Embodiments of the present invention provide an attachable and detachable weighted apparatus, which may be installed on or attached to various types of athletic equipment for strength training and development and enhancement of various movements of the equipment by a user. The athletic equipment may be for use in any sport that makes use of rackets. Racket sports are games in which players use rackets to hit a ball or other object, including, but not limited to, Badminton, Ball badminton, Basque pelota, Frontenis, Xare, Beach tennis, Matkot, Padel, Paleta Frontón, Pelota mixteca, Pickleball, Platform tennis, Qianball, Racketlon, Racquetball, Racquets, Real tennis, Soft tennis, Speed-ball, Speedminton, Squash, Hardball squash, Squash tennis, Stické, Table tennis, Tennis, and Tennis polo. Additionally, the athletic equipment may be for use in any sport that makes use of sticks, including, but not limited to, lacrosse, cricket, and hockey sticks, and any other athletic equipment that requires manipulation by the user during an athletic endeavor. Further, the weight apparatus may be installed on such athletic equipment to assist in the rehabilitation of the user's hands, arms, shoulders, back, etc. due to an injury.

Embodiments of the present invention are designed to enhance an athlete's power performance on the court, field, and ice. Embodiments of the present invention provide a weight apparatus with a low profile design that easily and securely attaches to a sports racket and/or stick to allow the athlete to increase strength and stamina, increase racket and stick speed, build explosive velocity on shots, gain greater control and accuracy, and gain flexibility lost through weight lifting.

Embodiments of the present invention enable an athlete to use their natural movements (e.g., tennis, lacrosse, hockey, etc.) with a full range of motion while training or practicing. Embodiments of the present invention engage the exact muscles a player uses in tandem naturally and organically, increasing the physical demand through the element of resistance. Through the element of resistance brings a greater demand on the level of effort, therefore increasing the player's power performance.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a weight apparatus 100 configured in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention, while FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the weight apparatus 100. The main body 101 of the weight apparatus 100 may comprise one or more enclosed chambers comprising a flexible material, such as cloth or Neoprene. Each of the one or more chambers may enclose a filler material 104 (not actually shown in FIGS. 1-2 for reasons of simplicity), such as grains of sand, iron particles, or any equivalent material capable of adding mass (i.e., weight) to the apparatus 100. Moreover, a user may utilize a plurality of such weight apparatuses 100, where each is filled with a different amount of the filler material 104 so that each apparatus 100 has a different mass/weight than the other(s).

The ends 102 of the main body 101 may be enclosed by some sort of stitching 102 to ensure that the filler material 104 does not escape from within the one or more chambers of the main body 101. Alternatively, one or more of the ends 102 may be comprised of a hook and loop type of fastening material to permit the user to alter the amount of filler material 104 within the one or more chambers of the main body 101.

As shown in FIG. 2, the one or more chambers of the main body 101 may be formed by wrapping the flexible material into a cylinder for forming the one or more chambers of the main body 101, and attaching together the longitudinal ends of the flexible material with stitching 201.

Attached to the main body 101 are pluralities of strips 103 of hook and loop fasteners. The strips 103 may be attached to the main body 101 by stitching 105, or any other equivalent means.

Each strip 103 may have a first end 103A comprising a hook material and a second end 103B comprising a loop material configured in a manner so that when the main body 101 is installed on a piece of athletic equipment (e.g., see FIGS. 3-5B), the ends of each strip 103 are joined together so that the hook and loop features fasten together. Alternatively, the strips 103 may comprise any other type of means for fastening one end 103A of the strip 103 to the other end 103B when the main body 101 is installed on a piece of athletic equipment.

As illustrated in the non-limiting example of FIG. 3, the weight apparatus 100 may be installed on a top portion of a head of a racket 301. Depending on the length of the weight apparatus 100, the plurality of fastening strips 103 are then looped around the frame of the head and through the strings of the racket 301 securing the weight apparatus 100 to the racket 301.

The user of the racket 301 is then able to swing the weighted sports racket in any manner desired in order to strengthen the various muscles and joints of the user's arm and/or for therapeutic reasons associated with the rehabilitation of any injuries. Because of the inherent strength of the fastening of the ends of the strips to each other, the weight apparatus 100 will not detach itself from the racket 301 during such movements by the user. Moreover, if desired, the user may additionally utilize the weighted racket 301 while hitting balls or shuttlecocks, as the case may be.

Referring next to the non-limiting example of FIG. 4, there is illustrated a sports racket 401 with a weight apparatus 400 installed thereon in a manner as similarly illustrated in FIG. 3, wherein the weight apparatus 400 is configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The weight apparatus 400 is configured from a solid material, which can be manually shaped at least in a limited manner to conform to the shape of a portion of the athletic equipment on which it is installed. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, such a solid material is an elongated piece of a high density material (e.g., lead), which may be coated with a plastic coating (e.g., a Plastisol PVC coating or rubber). The elongated piece may be formed as flattened strips. As such, the weight apparatus 400 may have a form of a flattened strip that has a length along its y direction that is significantly greater than its width along its x direction. Note that any other malleable solid material may be utilized instead of lead, and which has a sufficient density to impart weight to the portion of the athletic equipment on which it is installed.

The weight apparatus 400 may be installed on the athletic equipment using any suitable means, such as with a plurality of hook and loop fasteners 403. In the illustration of FIG. 4, the weight apparatus 400 is installed on the top of the sports racket 401. For example, the weight apparatus 400 can be laid on a flat hard surface and pressed flat. Then, the top of a sports racket 401 can be placed adjacent to and on top of the weight apparatus 400, and the weight apparatus then manually conformed to the shape of the top of the sports racket 401. The hook and loop fasteners 403 can then be threaded through the strings and around the weight apparatus 400 and the frame of the sports racket 401 and fastened together to secure the weight apparatus 400 adjacent to the head of the sports racket 401.

With respect to other sports, such as lacrosse, the weight apparatus 100, 400 may be installed on an end of the stick. For example, the non-limiting illustrations in FIGS. 5A and 5B show how a weight apparatus 500 (which may be similarly configured as the weight apparatuses 100, 400) can be installed on an end of a lacrosse stick 501 with a plurality of hook and loop fasteners 503 after the malleable weight apparatus 500 is manually conformed to the shape of the portion of the lacrosse stick 501 (e.g., an outer edge of the basket) on which it is installed.

Referring next to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a non-limiting example of an installation of a weight apparatus 600 (which may be similarly configured as the weight apparatuses 100, 400, 500) to a portion of the handle 601 of a hockey (e.g., field or ice) stick 603. As shown in FIG. 6, hook and loop fasteners are not necessary to install the weight apparatus 600 to the hockey stick 603, but instead the weight apparatus 600 can be twisted around the handle 601 of the hockey stick 603 without any other means for attaching the weight apparatus 600 to the hockey stick 603. When the weight apparatus 600 is twisted in such a manner around the handle 601 adjacent to where the handle 601 of a hockey stick 603 conjoins with the blade 602, it will not slip off when the user performs typical hockey stick movements because the handle 601 of a typical hockey stick 603 widens as it conjoins with the blade 602. Nevertheless, in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention, such hook and loop fasteners can be utilized for attaching the weight apparatus 600 to the hockey stick 603.

An advantage of embodiments of the present invention over prior art weight apparatuses is that the same weight apparatus can be installed on sports rackets such as illustrated in FIG. 4, other athletic equipment such as a lacrosse stick as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and on a hockey stick such as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Claims

1. A weight apparatus suitable for attaching to athletic equipment, comprising a flexible main body comprising a weight material, wherein the flexible main body is formed into a flattened strip that has a length along its y direction that is significantly greater than its width along its x direction, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to conform in a curved manner to wrap along a head of a sports racket and around a handle of a hockey stick.

2. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to conform in a curved manner to wrap along a basket of a lacrosse stick.

3. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the flexible main body further comprises a plastic or rubber outer coating completely enclosing the weight material.

4. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the weight material comprises lead.

5. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the weight material comprises a material having a mass similar to lead.

6. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more hook and loop fastening strips configured to attach the flexible main body to the head of the sports racket.

7. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to twist around a handle of a hockey stick.

8. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to twist around a handle of a hockey stick without any other means for attaching the weight apparatus to the hockey stick.

9. A weight apparatus suitable for attaching to athletic equipment, comprising:

a flexible main body comprising a weight material, wherein the flexible main body is formed into a flattened strip that has a length along its y direction that is significantly greater than its width along its x direction, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to conform in a curved manner to wrap along a portion of an athletic device; and

one or more hook and loop fastening strips configured to attach the flexible main body to the athletic device.

10. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein the flexible main body further comprises a plastic or rubber outer coating completely enclosing the weight material.

11. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the weight material comprises lead.

12. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the weight material comprises a material having a mass similar to lead.

13. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein the athletic device is a sports racket, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a curved head of the sports racket with the one or more hook and loop fastening strips.

14. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein the athletic device is a lacrosse stick, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a curved head of the lacrosse stick with the one or more hook and loop fastening strips.

15. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein the athletic device is a hockey stick, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a handle of the hockey stick adjacent to the blade of the hockey stick by wrapping the main body around the handle.

16. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the athletic device is a hockey stick, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a handle of the hockey stick adjacent to the blade of the hockey stick by wrapping the main body around the handle.

17. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the athletic device is a lacrosse stick, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a curved head of the lacrosse stick with the one or more hook and loop fastening strips.

18. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a handle of the athletic device by wrapping the main body around the handle.

19. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 17, wherein the athletic device is a hockey stick, wherein the weight apparatus is attached to a handle of the hockey stick adjacent to the blade of the hockey stick by wrapping the main body around the handle.

20. The weight apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the flexible main body is configured to be malleable to twist around the handle of the hockey stick without any other means for attaching the weight apparatus to the hockey stick.