Patent Publication Number: US-6217468-B1

Title: Hockey puck with outer shock absorbing enclosure and spaced apart multiple inner core segments

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to hockey pucks and, more particularly, to a hockey puck having an outer shock absorbing enclosure and multiple inner core segments separated from one another by the outer enclosure. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In-line skates have expanded interest in playing hockey. Similar to ice hockey, the players seek to drive a puck into an opposing team&#39;s goal to score points. However, unlike ice hockey, the puck does not slide as easily along an in-line hockey playing surface, usually cement or asphalt, as it would on ice. 
     Various designs of hockey pucks for use on non-ice surfaces have been proposed in the prior art to reduce friction between the puck and surface. Some examples of these designs are the ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,727,744; 3,784,204; 4,078,801; 4,111,419; 4,153,253; 4,793,769; 4,801,144; 5,149,096; 5,184,820; 5,275,410; 5,288,072; 5,346,214; 5,366,219; 5,472,193; 5,482,274; 5,597,161; and 5,697,858. Many designs propose the use of spherical balls or rollers mounted in opposite surfaces of the pucks which reduce friction but over time accumulate dirt and debris that impair proper function. Other designs employ rounded or semispherical heads or runners protruding from opposite surfaces of the puck which do not rotate and thus avoid the problem of clogging with foreign matter but nonetheless sometimes break off resulting in damaged pucks. Some designs have rigid solid one-piece inflexible inner structures which seem to produce overly hard, dull impacts with hockey sticks and thus lack the feel on players&#39; sticks that pucks have in ice hockey. Still other designs appear to be too soft and flexible and thus lack the ice hockey feel also. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The hockey puck of the present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art hockey pucks by providing an outer shock absorbing enclosure and multiple inner core segments separated from one another by the outer enclosure. The inner core segments have protuberances extending from opposite sides thereof and through opposite faces of the outer enclosure so as to define glider elements protruding from the opposite faces of the outer enclosure which are reinforced by gussets interconnecting and extending diagonally between opposite portions of the protuberances and respective sides of the inner core segments within the outer enclosure. The hockey puck of the present invention has enhanced stability and balance through improved absorption and distribution of impact forces and a softer bounce. 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a hockey puck which comprises: (a) a plurality of separate inner core segments each having a pair of opposite sides; (b) a plurality of protuberances on the opposite sides of the inner core segments with the protuberances on one of the opposite sides of the inner core segments protruding from the inner core segments in an opposite direction from the protuberances on the other of the opposite sides of the inner core segments; and (c) an outer enclosure of a generally cylindrical configuration having a pair of opposite faces and a plurality of compartments being the same in number as the inner core segments such that each of the compartments respectively surround and contain one of the inner core segments so as to maintain the inner core segments in spaced relationships from one another, the outer enclosure also having a plurality of apertures in each of the opposite faces thereof such that the protuberances on the inner core segments protrude through the apertures substantially the same distance outwardly from the opposite faces of the outer enclosure so as to define glider elements protruding from the opposite faces of the outer enclosure for slidably engaging a hockey playing surface and supporting the outer enclosure and inner core segments in a spaced relationship above the hockey playing surface, the outer enclosure being of a material that provides shock absorbing inner and peripheral wall portions between and around the inner core segments which respond to impacts by reducing bounce and roll of the hockey puck during play. The protuberances extending from opposite sides of the inner core segments are reinforced by gussets interconnecting and extending diagonally between opposite portions of the protuberances and respective sides of the inner core segments within the outer enclosure. Also, the material of the outer enclosure preferably is transparent such that the inner core segments are visible therethrough. Further, the inner core segments and interior compartments of the outer enclosure have substantially similar pie-shaped configurations. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hockey puck according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of multiple spaced apart separate inner core segments of the hockey puck of FIG. 1 with an outer shock absorbing enclosure of the puck omitted. 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the hockey puck of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the hockey puck as seen along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 3 having a portion of the outer shock absorbing enclosure of the puck broken away. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the hockey puck taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is an axial sectional view of the hockey puck taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a hockey puck of the present invention, generally designated  10 . The hockey puck  10  basically includes a plurality of separate inner core segments  12 , a plurality of protuberances  14 , and an outer cover or enclosure  16 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 to  6 , each inner core segment  12  of the puck  10  has a pair of opposite sides  12 A,  12 B. The protuberances  14  of the puck  10  are rigidly, preferably integrally, attached on the opposite sides  12 A,  12 B of the inner core segments  12  such that each of the protuberances  14  on one of the opposite sides  12 A of the inner core segments  14  protrudes from the inner core segments  12  in an opposite direction from and in axial alignment with one of the protuberances  14  on the other of the opposite sides  12 B of the inner core segments  12 . 
     The outer cover or enclosure  16  of the puck  10  has a generally cylindrical configuration and a pair of opposite exterior faces  16 A,  16 B. The outer enclosure  16  also includes a plurality of radially-extending inner wall portions  18  integrally connected together at inner ends  18 A thereof, a pair of opposite upper and lower end wall portions  20 ,  22  integrally connected to opposite longitudinal edges  18 B of the inner wall portions  18 , and an outer peripheral wall portion  24  encompassing the inner wall portions  18  and opposite upper and lower end wall portions  20 ,  22  and extending between the opposite upper and lower end wall portions  20 ,  22  and integrally connected thereto at the peripheries thereof and integrally connected to outer ends  18 C of the inner wall portions  18  so as to define a plurality of interior compartments  26  in the outer enclosure  16  being the same in number and shape as the inner core segments  12 . Each of the interior compartments  26  respectively snugly contains one of the inner core segments  12  and thereby the inner core segments  12  are maintained by the outer enclosure  16  in a predetermined spaced relationship with respect to one another. The inner wall portions  18  of the outer enclosure  16  define and fill  15  gaps between the inner core segments  12  which can be any suitable width, for instance, such as about ⅛th inch. 
     The outer enclosure  16  also has a plurality of apertures  28  defined in each of the opposite upper and lower end walls  20 ,  22  and in communication with the interior compartments  26 . The protuberances  14  on the opposite sides  12 A,  12 B of the inner core segments  12  protrude through the apertures  28  of the outer enclosure  16  and extend substantially the same distance outwardly from the opposite faces  16 A,  16 B of the outer enclosure  16  on the opposite upper and lower end wall portions  20 ,  22  thereof so as to define glider elements  30  on the ends of the protuberances  14  protruding from the opposite faces  16 A,  16 B of the outer enclosure  16  for slidably engaging a hockey playing surface S and supporting the outer enclosure  16  and inner core segments  12  in a spaced relationship above the hockey playing surface S. 
     The outer enclosure  16  preferably is made of a material, such as polyurethane and the like, being softer in density and thus more compressible than a material of which the inner core segments  12  and protuberances  14  are made, such as nylon and the like. Such softer material enables the inner wall portions  18  and the outer peripheral wall portion  24  of the outer enclosure  16  extending between and around the inner core segments  12  to function with shock absorbing properties and thereby respond to impacts on the puck  10  by reducing bounce and enhancing predictability and trueness of the puck  10  during play. 
     More particularly, the plurality of inner core segments  12  and interior compartments  18  of the outer enclosure  16  preferably are three in number and have generally similar pie-shaped configurations, although greater numbers of, such as four or five, inner core segments  12  and compartments  18  could possibly be provided. Each of the inner core segments  12  has an arcuate-shaped outer or peripheral edge portion  32  with respect to which conforms the shape of outer peripheral wall portion  24  of the outer enclosure  16 . Also, each of the inner core segments  12  has a pair of substantially straight inner edge portions  34  defining an obtuse angle therebetween with respect to which conforms the shapes of the inner wall portions  18  of the outer enclosure  16 . Further, at least two protuberances  14  are attached on each of the opposite sides  12 A,  12 B of each of the inner core segments  12 . The outer enclosure  16  has a pair of the spaced apertures  28  in each of its upper and lower end walls  20 ,  22  per each of its interior compartments  26  such that the two protuberances  14  on opposite sides of each of the inner core segments  12  protrude through the two apertures  28 . Furthermore, the protuberances  14  extending from each of the opposite sides  12 A,  12 B of the inner core segments  12  are reinforced by gussets  36  which rigidly interconnect and extend diagonally between opposite side portions  14 A of the protuberances  14  and the respective sides  12 A,  12 B of the inner core segments  12  within the outer enclosure  16 . Also, the material of the outer enclosure  16  preferably is transparent such that the inner core segments  12  are visible therethrough. The upper and lower end wall portions  20 ,  22  of the outer enclosure  16  also have a plurality of wing-shaped recesses  38  defined in a circular arrangement therein for enhancing stability and balance of the puck  10  during play. 
     Each of the inner core segments  12  also has a pair of tubular projections  40  adjacent to an inner portion  12 C thereof. The tubular projections  40  of each pair thereof is aligned with one another and rigidly attached on one of the opposite sides  12 A,  12 B of the inner core segment  12  and extend in opposite directions therefrom. The tubular projections  40  and inner portion  12 C of each inner core segment  12  define a common passageway  42  through the inner portion  12 C of the inner core segment  12 . The upper and lower end wall portions  20 ,  22  of the outer enclosure further have cylindrical shaft portions  44  interconnecting the end wall portions  20 ,  22  by extending through the passageways  42  of the pairs of tubular projections  40  and the inner portions  12 C of the inner core segments  12 . The slider elements  30  defined at the outer ends of the protuberances  14  are flattened at  30 A allowing for equal distribution of the weight of the puck  10  and assuring a smooth glide on the surface S. Pucks with rounded ends tend to tip and roll easier. The hockey puck  10  also can have texturing  46  around the outer peripheral wall portion  24  of the outer enclosure allows for a hockey stick to grap the puck better when receiving a pass and also when passing and shooting the puck. 
     In an exemplary approach to manufacturing the hockey puck  10 , the inner core segments  12  and their respective protuberances  14  are first fabricated using conventional injection molding techniques. Then, the outer enclosure  16  is injection molded over, around and through the holes of the inner core segments  12  such that the glider elements  24  of the protuberances  14  are exposed exteriorly of the outer enclosure  16 . As seen in FIG. 3, a hole  48  left through the center of the outer enclosure  16  and passing the inner portions  12 C of the inner core segments  12  can be covered, if desired, by a plug or by a logo disc  50  or the like adhesively attached to the outer enclosure, as seen in FIG.  1 . 
     It is thought that the present invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely preferred or exemplary embodiment thereof.