Abstract:
A handle for a lacrosse head is provided. The handle includes a hollow metal tube having an interior surface and an exterior surface. The hollow metal tube also has a first end for communicating with a throat portion of a lacrosse head and a second end opposing the first end. The exterior surface includes a plurality of sidewalls meeting at a plurality of intersections. The intersections have cross-sectional widths of greater magnitude than the sidewalls.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present invention claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/581,488, filed Jun. 21, 2004, and entitled “Handle With Increased Strength”. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to a lacrosse handle for attachment to a lacrosse head. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lacrosse handle for attachment to a lacrosse head that has increased strength and resistance to breakage or damage.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Original lacrosse handles were constructed of wood. These wood handles were shaped such that the lacrosse handle and the lacrosse head were a single one-piece wood structure. These wooden lacrosse handles suffered from a variety of disadvantages. Initially, these wooden handles were susceptible to damage from excess exposure to water such as through warping. Further, these prior wooden handles were heavy and somewhat cumbersome and also susceptible to breakage. Moreover, because the wood had to be bent to form the sidewall and the scoop, a significant amount of time was involved in forming or making each of these wooden lacrosse handles, which made them relatively expensive. Because the lacrosse handle and head were a single structure, if any portion of the head or the handle broke or was damaged, the entire wooden handle and head needed to be replaced.  
         [0004]     Subsequently, plastic lacrosse heads were developed which were intended to be attached to a lacrosse handle. As the lacrosse heads and the lacrosse handles were separate components that could be manufactured separately, if either the lacrosse handle or the lacrosse head became damaged or was broken, each component could be replaced individually. The original handles for attachment to these plastic heads were constructed of wood. These handles were also susceptible to water damage and were relatively heavy and cumbersome.  
         [0005]     Thereafter, metal lacrosse handles were developed for attachment to the plastic lacrosse heads. The initial metal handles were less expensive than the prior wood handles. However, they were relatively heavy, which provided disadvantages from both a playability and a safety standpoint. Current lacrosse handles are constructed of a lighter metal, such as aluminum or titanium. These lacrosse handles typically take the form of a hollow metal tube, and are formed by extrusion or similar processes. While having a relatively light weight, the hollow handles are susceptible to breakage or damage. Additionally, these conventional handles also are formed with a uniform wall thickness along the entire length of the tube. In other words, the cross-sectional thickness of the handles from one end to the other end is the same. Moreover, the top and bottom halves of these conventional handles are symmetrical. This is disadvantageous in that the handle does not assist a player in determining the orientation of the handle and thus the attached lacrosse head in the player&#39;s hand.  
         [0006]     Therefore, a need exists for a lacrosse handle that has increased durability without significantly increasing the weight thereof. A need also exists for a lacrosse handle that provides a player with tactile feedback as to the orientation of the handle in the player&#39;s hand.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     It is therefore one advantage of the present invention to provide an improved handle for a lacrosse head that provides tactile stimuli or feedback such that a player can sense the orientation of a lacrosse head attached to the handle without the need for visual inspection.  
         [0008]     It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a lacrosse handle having increased strength and durability. In other words, additional material (metal) added to the interior of the sidewall intersections results in a decrease in dents and cracks where they most frequently occur.  
         [0009]     It is a related advantage of the present invention to provide a lacrosse handle for a lacrosse head having increased strength and durability that does not require a significant increase in the weight of the handle.  
         [0010]     It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a handle for a lacrosse head that yields improved playability and handling.  
         [0011]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lacrosse handle for attachment to a lacrosse head that has a varying or non-uniform wall thickness.  
         [0012]     In accordance with the above and the other advantages of the present invention, a handle for a lacrosse head is provided. The handle includes a hollow metal tube having an interior surface and an exterior surface. The hollow metal tube has a first end for communicating with a throat portion of a lacrosse head and a second end opposing the first end. The exterior surface includes a plurality of sidewalls meeting at a plurality of intersections. The hollow tube has a first thickness defined between each of the plurality of intersections and the interior surface. The hollow tube has a second thickness defined between at least one of the sidewalls and the interior surface. The first thickness has a greater magnitude than the second thickness.  
         [0013]     Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should now be made to the embodiments illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings and described below by way of examples of the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a lacrosse stick including a lacrosse head attached to a lacrosse handle in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a section of a lacrosse handle in accordance with another embodiment of the preset invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the lacrosse handle of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  in the direction of the arrows  3 - 3 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     In the following figures, the same reference numerals are used to identify the same components in the various views.  
         [0019]     In the embodiment, illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , a lacrosse stick  6  having a lacrosse head  8  coupled to a lacrosse handle  10  having areas of increased wall thickness is shown. The lacrosse handle  10  is preferably an eight-sided structure that is generally symmetrically shaped on either side of a handle centerline as is well known in the art. It will be understood, however, that the lacrosse handle can take on a variety of different shapes. The lacrosse handle  10  is preferably constructed of metal, such as aluminum or titanium. However, the handle may be formed of a variety of other materials, such as a variety of alloys. The handle is preferable formed by an extrusion process, however, a variety of other suitable manufacturing processes may also be utilized. The handle  10  also is preferably constructed as a hollow metal tube with a top portion  12  and a bottom portion  16 . The top portion  12  and the bottom portion  16  are generally defined by a centerline  14  of the handle  10 . The lacrosse handle  10  has a varying wall thickness providing increased strength, as discussed in more detail later.  
         [0020]     The lacrosse handle  10  of the present invention has a generally octagonal cross-section (illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) having sections/sidewalls  20 ,  22  with a uniform wall thickness and other sections/sidewalls  24 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32  with a non-uniform wall thickness. Further, the intersections  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54  where the sidewalls meet are areas having the greatest wall thickness. In accordance with the present invention, material is generally added only to the interior of the intersections  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54 , and this material is here embodied as metal or other sturdy material.  
         [0021]     More specifically, the lacrosse handle  10  of the present invention essentially includes a hollow tube having a generally octagonal cross-section defining an interior surface  60  and an exterior surface  62 . Therefore, there are a plurality of sidewalls, here embodied as eight sidewalls  20  (first one of the plurality of sidewalls),  22 ,  24  (second one of the plurality of sidewalls),  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32 , each having an exterior side and an interior side, and eight intersections  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54  where the sidewalls  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32  meet.  
         [0022]     There are four sidewalls  20 ,  22 ,  27 ,  32  having a flat exterior side and the other four sidewalls  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  have a concave exterior side. Further, the flat and concave exterior sides alternate around the circumference of the handle  10  defining the exterior surface  62  of the handle  10 . Important to note is that the flat and concave exterior sides need not alternate around the circumference, and any combination or number of flat and concave sides may be used.  
         [0023]     The additional material added to the intersections  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54  adds only a small amount of weight to the overall weight of the handle  10 . An external area of each of the intersections  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54  is either flattened or rounded for providing increased comfort to a lacrosse player when grasping the handle  10 . The thickness of the intersections can be added in a variety of different ways; for example, the intersections may be formed integral with the handle or formed in a subsequent forging process and added therein.  
         [0024]     The interior surface  60  of the handle  10  is a smooth surface, and one embodiment thereof includes a plurality of sections  50  also alternating between flat sections  52  and concave sections  54 . Each of the flat sections  52  is in substantially parallel relation to a flat section of the exterior, and each of the concave sections  54  is in substantially parallel relation to a concave section of the exterior. The concave sections  54  are, however, generally less concave than the concave sections of the exterior. Another embodiment includes all the internal sections flat with respect to the exterior.  
         [0025]     In accordance with one embodiment, each of the intersections  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54  includes a first wall thickness (t 1 ) and each of the sidewalls  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32  has a second wall thickness (t 2 ) or a varying third wall thickness (t 3 ). In conventional lacrosse handles, the first wall thickness and the third wall thickness are the same. In fact, in conventional lacrosse handles, the wall thickness is the same along the length of the handle. The first wall thickness is greater than the second and third wall thicknesses.  
         [0026]     The increased wall thickness (t 1 ) provides a tactile stimuli or feedback such that a player using the handle  10  can sense in what direction the handle  10  is configured in the player&#39;s hand, i.e. whether the portion having an increased wall thickness is facing upward or downward or somewhere in between. As the lacrosse handle  10  is attached to a lacrosse head, the player can also sense the direction the lacrosse head is facing, based solely on the feel of the weight of the handle in the player&#39;s hands. This feature eliminates the need for a player to look at the lacrosse head to determine its orientation during play thereby allowing the player to focus on the game.  
         [0027]     While one way of varying the handle thickness for providing tactile stimuli or feedback is disclosed above and shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , it will be appreciated that the lacrosse handle wall thickness can be varied in other ways to provide this tactile feedback. It will be understood that that the increased thickness can extend along any portion of the length of the handle as desired. Alternatively, the increased wall thickness does not need to be uniform from one end of the handle to the other, i.e. the magnitude of the increase may vary. It will be understood that the handle  10  can take on a variety of other configurations to allow a player to sense the direction the attached head is facing, including having a side of the lacrosse handle having larger wall thickness than the other side.  
         [0028]     While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, numerous variations and alternate embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only in terms of the appended claims.