Abstract:
The hockey stick extender device was invented to address the problems of too short goalie sticks. A stick being “too short” means that the point where the stick broadens out is too low on the shaft. The extender is a cap with a hole or tunnel pierced therethrough. The shaft of the hockey stick is passed through the extender, and the extender is lowered on the shaft until it lies on the part of the stick where the stick widens. The effect of the extender is to raise the point where the goalie will grasp the stick higher on the shaft of the stick, or equivalently the combined stick and extender raises the point where the shaft of the combined stick and extender widens.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This patent relates to a device to use with hockey goalie sticks. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In the sport of ice hockey, goaltenders use specially shaped goalie sticks, that essentially are flatter and wider towards the bottom of the stick. In use, the part of the shaft of the stick where the stick broadens out is important, since in use that is where the goalie will grasp the stick with his blocker hand. (This hand is called the blocker hand since the glove on that hand typically includes a blocker) If, during the flow of play, the goalie shifts his blocker hand away from the part of the shaft of the stick where the stick widens, the goalie usually (and is usually trained to) return his blocker hand to this position. 
         [0003]    The choice of size of the stick has important ramifications for the goaltender. When grasping the stick and in his default stance (the stance to which he will return while standing), the blade of the stick should lie flat upon the ice. If the blade of the stick lies flat upon the ice and the point on the shaft where the stick broadens and the goalie grasps the stick is too low, the goaltender will be forced out of his optimal stance: his blocker hand will be too low and the goalie&#39;s stance will be out of balance (i.e. standing too low, hunched over or leaning towards the blocker side). On the other hand, if the blade of the stick lies flat upon the ice and the point on the shaft where the stick broadens and the goalie grasps the stick is too high, the goaltender will be forced out of his optimal stance: his blocker hand will be too high and the goalie&#39;s stance will be out of balance (i.e. standing too high or leaning away from the blocker side). 
         [0004]    Goaltender sticks are available in a variety of pre-set sizes. However, this does not completely address the issues with proper goalie stick sizing and use. Unless a goalie obtains an (expensive) custom made stick, the pre-set sizes may not be optimal for a particular goalie. In addition, in cases where a goalie has obtained a stick that is to short (a common mistake caused by selecting a stick without taking into account the additional height added by skates), the goalie can only rectify the mistake by obtaining a new stick. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The hockey stick extender device was invented to address the problems of too short goalie sticks, whether in the context of a stick that has been purchased that is simply too small, or in the context of customizing a stick that is generally acceptable but could be improved. In this context a stick being “too short” means that the point where the stick broadens out is too low on the shaft. 
         [0006]    The extender is a cap with a hole or tunnel pierced therethrough. The shaft of the hockey stick is passed through the extender, and the extender is lowered on the shaft until it lies on the part of the stick where the stick widens. The effect of the extender is to raise the point where the goalie will grasp the stick higher on the shaft of the stick, or equivalently the combined stick and extender raises the point where the shaft of the combined stick and extender widens. In either case, in a goalie&#39;s neutral stance this has the effect of raising the blocker hand and (if the stick was originally too short) assisting to balance the stance of the goaltender. By proper choice of the combination of stick and extender, a better personalized goalie stick results. 
         [0007]    As described below, the extender may be provided with further optional features that form additional embodiments of the basic device. 
         [0008]    In accordance with the invention, there is provided a device comprising a cap with two members attached at opposite ends of the cap extending away from the cap on a downwards angle and a hole pierced through the cap. In another aspect of the present invention, the hole and members are adapted to fit securely on a goalie stick for hockey. In another aspect of the present invention, the underside of the members has a groove. In another aspect of the present invention, the underside of said members is made of a flexible plastic. In another aspect of the present invention, the device has been cut into two pieces and the cut separates the hole into two parts. In another aspect of the present invention, the hole has an inner surface, and the inner surface is made of a flexible plastic. In another aspect of the present invention, the underside of the members has a groove, the underside of the members is made of a flexible plastic, and the hole has an inner surface, and the inner surface is made of a flexible plastic. In another aspect of the present invention, the flexible plastic is a thermoplastic elastomer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    In order to better understand various exemplary embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a typical goalie hockey stick; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the hockey stick extender; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the hockey stick extender; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the hockey stick extender; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a view of the hockey stick extender in use with the typical goalie hockey stick of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the hockey stick extender divided into two pieces. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    In the sport of ice hockey, goaltenders use specially shaped goalie sticks, and example of which is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Turning to  FIG. 1 , a goaltender stick  10  is illustrated, with a shaft  12 , and a blade  18 . The end of the shaft  12  that connects with blade  18  has a wider, generally flat section  16 . Section  16  meets blade  18  at point  17 . Point  14  is the point where the shaft  12  widens into section  16 . This point includes shoulders  15  where the shaft widens into section  16 . 
         [0017]    In use, point  14  and shoulders  15  are important, since in use that is where the goalie will grasp the stick with his blocker hand. (This hand is called the blocker hand since the glove on that hand typically includes a blocker). If, during the flow of play, the goalie shifts his blocker hand away from the part of the shaft of the stick where the stick widens, the goalie usually (and is usually trained to) return his blocker hand to this position. In practice, this often occurs by the goalie&#39;s blocker hand sliding down shaft  12  until it encounters shoulders  15  at point  14 . 
         [0018]    When actively goaltending, the goalie has a default bend-knees stance to which the goalie is trained to return. In this stance, the goaltender has bent knees, the blocker hand grasps the hockey stick  10  at point  14 , and blade  18  lies flat upon the ice. 
         [0019]    Ideally, the best stance of the goaltender is reflected by choosing a goalie stick that matches the goaltender&#39;s best stance: in other words, a stick is chosen that matches the stance. 
         [0020]    In reality, however, goaltenders often if not typically alter their stance to match their stick due to the necessity of having blade  18  rest upon its length upon the ice. If, when the length of the blade of the stick  18  lies flat upon the ice, point  14  is too low for the goaltender&#39;s optimal stance, then compared to the optimal stance the goaltender&#39;s blocker hand will be too low and the goalie&#39;s stance will be out of balance (i.e. leaning towards the blocker side). 
         [0021]    Goaltender sticks are available in a variety of pre-set sizes. However, this does not completely address the issues with proper goalie stick sizing and use. Unless a goalie obtains an (expensive) custom made stick, the pre-set sizes may not be optimal for a particular goalie. It is more common for a goaltender stick to be too short than too long, since goaltenders often purchase sticks without properly accounting for the additional height from wearing skates as opposed to shoes. 
         [0022]    The hockey stick extender is illustrated in a perspective view in  FIG. 2 . Turning to  FIG. 2 , extender  21  includes a cap  20  that is connected to members  22  and  24 . A hole  26  is pierced through the cap  20 . Hole  26  may be more easily seen in  FIG. 4 , a top view of the extender  21 . Hole  26  has an inner surface  46 . Turning to  FIG. 3 , it may be seen that members  22  and  24  extend downwards at angles  28  and  30  from cap  20 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is an illustration of the extender  21  in use on a stick  10 . In use, shaft  12  of hockey stick  10  is passed through hole  26 , and members  22  and  24  come to rest on shoulders  15  of hockey stick  12 . 
         [0024]    Returning to  FIG. 3 , angles  30  and  28  should be designed so that lower surfaces  32  and  34  of members  24  and  26  rest snugly against shoulders  15  of stick  10 . 
         [0025]    Returning of  FIG. 5 , the use of extender  21  effectively replaces the distance from point  17  to point  14  with the distance from point  17  to point  36 , where point  36  is the point where in the combined goalie stick plus extender, shaft  12  meets the wide portion of the combined stick plus extender. Equivalently, extender  21  extends flat portion  16  of the stick up shaft  12 . In use, the combined goalie stick plus extender allows the goaltender&#39;s blocker hand to be higher when in a neutral stance, and compared to the stick without extender allows the goaltender to better balance towards the catcher-hand side. 
         [0026]    In a preferred embodiment, lower surfaces  32  and  34  of members  22  and  24  are grooved so that shoulders  15  of stick  10  fit snugly into the grooves. This should prevent the extender  21  from rotating and losing alignment with the flat portion of the stick  16 . 
         [0027]    In another preferred embodiment, turning to  FIG. 3 , the ends  38  and  40  of members  22  and  24  are squared off, so that, turning to  FIG. 5 , when in use ends  38  and  40  roughly align with the outer edges  42  and  44  of flat portion  16  of stick  10 . 
         [0028]    In another preferred embodiment, members  22  and  24  are shaped so that they match the profile of flatter portion  16  of stick  10  when extender  21  is in use. 
         [0029]    Extender  21  may be made from a variety of materials. Generally, cap  20  and members  22  and  24  will be made from a plastic that is durable and sufficiently rigid to withstand the wear and tear of use, including the likelihood of being impacted by a shot hockey puck. 
         [0030]    In a preferred embodiment, the lower surfaces  32  and  34  are made of a more elastic material than cap  20  and members  22  and  24 , allowing extender  21  to fit snugly and securely on shoulders  15  of stick  10 . In a particularly preferred embodiment, the lower surfaces  32  and  34  are grooved and are also made of a more elastic material than cap  20  and members  22  and  24 . 
         [0031]    In another preferred embodiment, inner surface  46  of hole  26  is made of a more elastic material than cap  20  and members  22  and  24 . This allows the extender to grip shaft  12  of stick  10 , so that once the extender  21  is in place, it is less likely that extender  21  will move up shaft  12  and lose contact with shoulders  15 . 
         [0032]    In a particular preferred embodiment, extender  21  is made from TPE or thermoplastic elastomers. By varying the type of thermoplastic elastomers used, the elasticity of various portions of the extender  21  may also be varied as described above. For example, lower surfaces  32  and  34  may be made of a more elastic thermoplastic elastomer material than cap  20  and members  22  and  24 , allowing extender  21  to fit snugly and securely on shoulders  15  of stick  10 . Similarly, inner surface  46  of hole  26  may be made of a more elastic thermoplastic elastomer material than cap  20  and members  22  and  24 . 
         [0033]    In another preferred embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the hockey stick extender is divided into two pieces  50  and  52 . In use, pieces  50  and  52  are fitted onto the goalie stick, and then are attached to each other and the stick through use of tape, typically hockey tape. In  FIG. 6 , the hockey stick extender is illustrated as divided halfway between the two members  22  and  24  and at right angles to members  22  and  24 ; however, numerous divisions of the hockey stick extender are possible. 
         [0034]    The hockey stick extender may be produced in a variety of sizes, such as Youth, Junior, Intermediate and Adult. Within each of those sizes, there can be a variety of thicknesses of the cap  20 , which (turning to  FIG. 5 ) can be used to adjust the distance from point  17  to point  36 , where point  36  is the point where in the combined goalie stick plus extender, shaft  12  meets the wide portion of the combined stick plus extender. 
         [0035]    The invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but rather the invention is intended to be applied widely within the scope of the inventive concept as defined in the specification as a whole including the appended claims.