A DAMPING ARRANGEMENT AT A BLADE FOR A FLOORBALL STICK

Abstract: The invention relates to a floorball stick blade arrangement which improves the playing properties of the stick with regard to receiving a pass and passing and shooting a ball. The blade (2) includes a damping device in the form of a damping element (1, 3) on at least one side thereof, wherein the damping element is located within a blade region that is located at a height level from the bottom edge of the blade which exceeds one ball radius (R). The blade (2) also includes a non-dampened shot zone located at a lower height level than the damping device (1, 3). The damping element (1, 3) is located on the forehand and/or the backhand side of the blade. If desired, the damping element (1, 3) may be exchangeable and made of a material that is different to the material from which the remainder of the blade (2) is made. The ball impacts the damping element (damping zone) when the blade (2) is angled slightly in a forward direction ( alpha smaller than 90 degrees), such as to provide a damping effect when receiving a ball and when passing a ball (fig. 4). When the blade is angled slightly rearwards ( alpha greater than 90 degrees), the ball impacts the blade (2) beneath the damping element (1) so as to enable a hard non-dampened shot to be fired.

Description: A DAMPING ARRANGEMENT AT A BLADE FOR A FLOORBALL STICK The present invention relates to a floorball stick blade in accordance with the preamble of Claim 1. Present-day floorball stick blades, or indoor bandy club blades, either have a force damping property or lack such a property, which presents a problem. There are known stick blades that include a force damping material on the shooting zone of the blade surface. The damping effect of this material is desirable when receiving a pass or when passing the ball, but is more negative when wishing to hit a hard shot or when shooting at a goal for instance, e.g. when firing a so-called hockey shot. Although blade surfaces that lack damping means are able to produce a hard shot, they make receiving of a ball and controlled passing of a ball difficult to achieve. Stick blades that are made of a material that has relatively high internal damping, so-called softly dampened blades, and that lack special damping means on the blade surface have been a good compromise between the two aforesaid extremities. In view of this, most of the stick blades produced today have different forms of compromise between a dampened and a non- dampened blade. In order to solve the problem created by these compromises, it would be desirable to create a stick blade that is dampened when receiving and passing a ball and which is non- dampened on shooting occasions. The object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the aforesaid problems and to provide a floorball stick blade that exhibits effective damping properties when receiving and passing a ball and which also includes a non- dampened ball shooting surface which enables non-dampened hard shots to be fired (hockey shots) . This object is achieved with a blade defined in the characterizing clause of the following Claims. The aforesaid problem is solved by placing a damping element only on those zones of the blade that contact the ball on ball receiving and ball passing occasions, and to allow those surfaces of the blade used to "fire" the ball to remain undampened. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplifying embodiments thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of an inventive floorball stick blade; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a floorball stick blade; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of a floorball stick blade; and Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate how the inventive blade functions in a dampened and non-dampened mode respectively. The blade 2 shown in Fig. 1 includes a damping element 1 which is comprised of a fixed part of the blade and is made of the same material as the main part of said blade 2. The ■ damping element . 1 forms a damping construction and is conveniently placed on the blade 2 within a region of one ball radius (D/2) above the bottom edge of the blade 2, and upwards. The non-dampened shot zone on the blade 2 is spaced one ball radius (D/2) above the bottom edge of the blade and preferably at least 10 mm in a downward direction. The damping element or elements 1 is/are placed on the forehand side of the blade 2. The blade 2 shown in Fig. 2 includes a damping element 1 that is placed within the region or area described with reference to Fig. 1, and the damping element, or elements, is/are exchangeable and/or are comprised of a highly damping material that differs from the surface material of the remainder of the blade 2. A non-dampened shot zone is located one ball radius (D/2) above the bottom edge of the blade and preferably at least 10 mm in a direction downwards. The damping element or elements 1 is/are placed on the forehand side of the blade 2. Fig. 3 shows a stick blade 2 that includes a damping element 1, 3 in the aforesaid region on both the forehand side and the backhand side of the blade. A non-dampened shot zone is located at a height of one ball radius (D/2) above the bottom edge of the blade, and preferably at least 10 mm downwards on both the forehand and the backhand side. Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate how the dampened zone/zones and the non-dampened zone/zones of the blade 2 function in respect of whether the angle α is slightly smaller or greater than 90 degrees. If desired, the inventive damping element may be produced from a combination of the blade material and a different material, with or without damping constructions irrespective of its location on the forehand and/or backhand side. It will be understood that the material from which the blade and the damping element or elements are made can vary. For instance, both blade and damping element may be made of a plastic material, although this is only mentioned by way of example. The inventive damping device may be provided on the forehand side and/or the backhand side of the blade. The damping element or elements is/are either provided on part of the length extension of the blade or along the whole of said extension. The damping element may be continuous or intermittent. The invention is mainly applied with floorball sticks. It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the illustrated and described embodiments and that changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the following Claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A floorball stick blade arrangement (2) for improving the playing properties of the stick with regard to receiving a pass and passing and shooting a ball, characterized in that the blade (2) includes a damping device in the form of a damping element (1, 3) on at least one side thereof; in that the damping element is located within a region of the blade (2) that is located at a height above the bottom edge of the blade that exceeds one ball radius (R) ; and in that the blade (2) also includes a non-dampened shot zone that is located on a lower height level than the damping device (1, 3) . 2. An arrangement according to Claim l, characterized in that the damping element (l, 3) is located on the forehand and/or the backhand side of the blade (2) . 3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the damping element (1, 3) is removable and/or exchangeable. 4. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the damping element (1, 3) is comprised of the same material as the remainder of the blade surface. 5. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-4, characterized in that the damping element (1, 3) is comprised of a material that differs from the material of the remainder of the blade surface. 6. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that the damping element (1, 3) is comprised of the same material as the remainder of the blade surface in combination with another material or other materials. 7. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-6, characterized in that the damping element (1, 3) comprises a plurality of part-elements.

Inventors: BERGSTROEM JOACIM, HANSSON JONAS, BERGSTROEM, JOACIM, HANSSON, JONAS
Applicants: BERGSTROEM JOACIM, HANSSON JONAS, BERGSTROEM, JOACIM, HANSSON, JONAS
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A63B59
IPC codes: A63B59