Patent Publication Number: US-2023149784-A1

Title: Lightweight paddle capable of improving surface flatness

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending U.S. Pat. Application Serial No. 17/306,958, “PICKLEBALL PADDLE”, filed on May 4, 2021. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to sports goods, and more particularly to a lightweight paddle capable of improving surface flatness. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are many types of rackets on the market, including beach bats, paddle tennis rackets, and pickleball paddles, all of which are very popular sports in Europe and the United States in recent years. In general, a conventional paddle includes a substrate layer and two face plates. Two surfaces of the substrate layer are overlaid with the two face plates, respectively. There will be a lot of vibration when the player swings the paddle to hit a ball. In order to reduce the transmission of vibration to the player’s hand for the player to hit the ball more comfortably, an elastic member is provided between the face plates and the substrate layer. The elastic member may be made of ETPU, PU, EVA or ORTHOLITE. These materials are all foam materials, with the characteristics of lightness and elasticity. The elastic member is configured to absorb part of the reaction force when the ball impacts the face plate, reduce the speed of returning the ball, provide more deformation space, increase the contact area of the ball on the face plate, and appropriately extend the time the ball stays on the face plate. However, due to the characteristics and processing method of the foam material, it is difficult to obtain the rated accurate size and thickness due to the shrinkage of the material after molding. Therefore, the precise cutting of length and width is easier, while the precision of thickness is always a problem. Due to the characteristics of the foam material and the products obtained by the foaming process, it is difficult to keep the thickness of the elastic member consistent, such as uneven thickness or uneven surface. 
     It is labor-intensive and time-consuming to go through secondary planning and cutting. If the entire elastic member with uneven thickness or uneven surface (having protrusions) is bonded between the substrate layer and the two face plates, it will cause the face plate of the paddle to tilt, dent or bulge easily to affect the effect of hitting a ball. Besides, the large area of the elastic member increases the overall weight of the paddle, which is not conducive to use. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the conventional paddle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the drawbacks of the prior art, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight paddle capable of improving surface flatness, which can effectively solve the problems that the existing paddle having an elastic member is heavy in weight and the surfaces of the face plates are not flat. 
     In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: 
     A lightweight paddle capable of improving surface flatness comprises a paddle body and a handle connected to the paddle body. The paddle body includes a substrate layer and two face plates. Two surfaces of the substrate layer are overlaid with the two face plates, respectively. The surfaces of the substrate layer are formed with a groove. An elastic member is embedded in the groove. When the two face plates are glued to the substrate layer, the outer surfaces of the elastic member are tightly attached to the inner surfaces of the face plates. At this time, the inner surfaces of the face plates press the elastic member that may have uneven outer surfaces, so that the elastic member is deformed to be fully embedded in the groove. The groove of the substrate layer provides a deformation space for the elastic member, which can make the outer surfaces of the elastic member flush with the surfaces of the substrate layer. The overall weight of the product can be reduced effectively, so the paddle is more lightweight. Besides, after the face plates are adhered to the substrate layer, there will be no inclination, depression or bulge on the surfaces of the face plates because the elastic member is uneven in thickness. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention has obvious advantages and beneficial effects. Specifically, it can be known from the above technical solutions: 
     The substrate layer has the groove. The elastic member is embedded in the groove. The substrate and the elastic member are attached to the inner surfaces of the face plates. The protrusion of the elastic member is pressed and deformed by the inner surface of the face plate for the elastic member to be fully embedded in the groove, replacing the traditional way of placing the whole elastic member with uneven thickness or uneven surface on the surface of the substrate layer. The overall weight of the product can be reduced effectively, so that the paddle is more lightweight. The groove provides a deformation space for the elastic member. After the face plates are adhered to the substrate layer, there will be no inclination, depression or bulge on the surfaces of the face plates because the elastic member is uneven in thickness. This improves the flatness of the surface of the product greatly. It is beneficial for the player to swing the paddle to hit a ball and enables the player to control the ball well. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a front, perspective view in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded, cross-sectional view in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional view of  FIG.  2    in an assembled state; 
         FIG.  4    is an exploded, cross-sectional view in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional view of  FIG.  4    in an assembled state; 
         FIG.  6    is an exploded, cross-sectional view in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG.  7    is a cross-sectional view of  FIG.  5    in an assembled state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG.  1    through  FIG.  3   , the specific structure of a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a paddle body  10  and a handle  20  connected to the paddle body  10 . 
     The paddle body  10  includes a substrate layer  11  and two face plates  12 . Two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  are overlaid with the two face plates  12 , respectively. The surfaces of the substrate layer  11  are formed with a groove  101 . An elastic member  13  is embedded in the groove  101 . The elastic member  13  may have a protrusion  131  extending out of the groove  101  due to its uneven thickness or uneven surface. The protrusion  131  will be pressed and deformed by the face plate  12 . The outer surfaces of the elastic member  13  are attached to the inner surfaces of the face plates  12 , respectively. The protrusion  131  of the elastic member  13  is pressed and deformed by the inner surface of the face plate  12  for the elastic member  13  to be fully embedded in the groove  101 , so that the outer surface of the elastic member  13  is flush with the surface of the substrate layer  11 . In this embodiment, the groove  101  passes through the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11 . The elastic member  13  is embedded in the groove  101 . The elastic member  13  has the protrusion  131  extending out of the groove  101 . In this embodiment, the surface of the elastic member  13  is inclined to form the protrusion  131 . After the face plate  12  is attached to the substrate layer  11 , the protrusion  131  is deformed. Thus, the two outer surfaces of the elastic member  13  are attached to the inner surfaces of the two face plates  12 , respectively. The two outer surfaces of the elastic member  13  are flush with the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  respectively, so that the face plates are flat. The groove  101  is located at the center of the substrate layer  11 , so the elastic member  13  is located in the sweet spot of the paddle for the user to swing the paddle to hit a ball better, thereby achieving a better rebound effect. The groove  101  is square, and the elastic member  13  is also square and cooperates with the groove  101  for better shock absorption. The groove  101  may be in other shapes, such as a circular shape, an irregular shape and so on, but not limited thereto. 
     The substrate layer  11  is formed with a plurality of perforations  02  for reducing the weight of the substrate layer  11 . The plurality of perforations  102  are arranged around the periphery of the groove  101  to achieve the purpose of weight reduction, so that the overall weight of the product is reduced. The face plate  12  is a fiber plate, or may be a carbon fiber plate or a glass fiber plate, but not limited thereto. The face plate  12  is adhered to the surface of the substrate layer  11  by pressing, so that the assembly of the paddle is convenient and the structure is stable. A resin film  14  is attached to the outer surface of the face plate  12 . The resin film  14  penetrates into the gaps of the face plate  12  by extruding via a release fabric  15 . After the release fabric  15  is torn off, the outer surface of the face plate  12  forms a rough surface  121  for enhancing friction. The rough surface  121  can improve the friction of the surface of the paddle effectively when hitting a ball. In the process of using the paddle, the user can swing the paddle to control the ball well, so as to control the direction of hitting the ball effectively. It is convenient to use the paddle. In addition, the elastic member  13  is made of an ETPU (engineering thermoplastic polyurethane) material. The elastic member  13  is formed of multiple monomer particles molded and bonded, so that each of the monomer particles has an independent elastic structure, which can improve the rebound effect of the paddle effectively for hitting the ball back faster. 
     The handle  20  is integrally formed with the substrate layer  11  and the two face plates  12  and extends backward to form an integrated structure. The structure is more stable and reliable. 
     In production, the substrate layer  11  is first produced, and the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  are perforated to form the groove  101 . Next, the elastic member  13  is produced. The elastic member  13  is embedded in the groove  101 . The protrusion  131  of the elastic member  13  may extend out of the groove  101 . Then, the two face plates  12  are adhered to the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  by gluing. The protrusion  131  of the elastic member  13  is pressed and deformed by the inner surface of the face plate  12  for the elastic member  13  to be fully embedded in the groove  101 , so that the outer surface of the elastic member  13  is flush with the surface of the substrate layer  11 . The inner surface of the face plate  12  is attached to the respective surfaces of the elastic member  13  and the substrate layer  11 . 
       FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5    illustrate the specific structure of a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is substantially similar to the first embodiment with the exceptions described hereinafter. 
     In this embodiment, each of the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  is recessed to form the groove  101 . The two grooves  101  of the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  are spaced apart from each other. The elastic member  13  is embedded in each of the two grooves  101 . The surface of the elastic member  13  may be uneven in thickness. The two ends of the elastic member  13  each have the protrusion  131 . The surface of the elastic member  13  may be concave and uneven like the first embodiment, but not limited thereto. The protrusions  131  of the elastic members  13  are pressed and deformed by the inner surfaces of the corresponding face plates  12  for the elastic members  13  to be fully embedded in the corresponding grooves  101 , so that the outer surfaces of the elastic members  13  are flush with the corresponding surfaces of the substrate layer  11 . On the premise of ensuring the rebound effect, the amount of usage of the elastic member  13  is reduced. 
     In production, the substrate layer  11  is first produced, and the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  are formed with the grooves  101 . The two grooves  101  are spaced apart from each other. Next, two elastic members  13  are produced. The surfaces of the two elastic members  13  may be uneven in thickness. The two ends of the elastic member  13  each have the protrusion  131 . The two elastic members  13  are embedded in the two grooves  101 , respectively. Then, the protrusions  131  of the elastic members  13  are pressed and deformed by the inner surfaces of the two face plates  12  for the elastic members  13  to be fully embedded in the corresponding grooves  101 , and the inner surfaces of the face plates  12  are adhered to the two surfaces the substrate layer  11 . 
       FIG.  6    and  FIG.  7    illustrate the specific structure of a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment is substantially similar to the second embodiment with the exceptions described hereinafter. 
     In this embodiment, the two grooves  101  communicate with each other, and a hollow space  103  is defined between the inner bottom surfaces of the two grooves  101 . A support portion  104  is disposed on the edge of the hollow space  103 . Two side surfaces of the support portion  104  respectively abut against the inner surfaces of the two elastic members  13 , so that a deformation interspace  105  for enhancing elasticity is formed between the two elastic members  13 . When the paddle is to hit a ball, the elastic member  13  is compressed and deformed inwardly toward the deformation interspace  105 . This provides a better shock absorption effect. Besides, it provides more deformation space for the elastic member  13 , so that the elastic member  13  can be embedded in the groove  101  well. After the elastic member  13  is embedded in the groove  101 , the outer surface of the face plate  12  is flat. The support portion  104  is ring-shaped, and may be in other shapes, but not limited thereto. 
     In production, the substrate layer  11  is first produced, and the two surfaces of the substrate layer  11  are formed with the grooves  101 . The two grooves  101  communicate with each other, and a hollow space  103  is defined between the inner bottom surfaces of the two grooves  101 . Next, two elastic members  13  are produced. The elastic member  13  may be inclined and uneven. The two ends of the elastic member  13  each have the protrusion  131 . The two elastic members  13  are embedded in the two grooves  101 , respectively. Then, the protrusions  131  of the elastic members  13  are pressed and deformed by the inner surfaces of the two face plates  12  for the elastic members  13  to be fully embedded in the grooves  101 , and the inner surfaces of the face plates  12  are adhered to the two surfaces the substrate layer  11 .