Sports Stick with Rotatable Shaft

Abstract

In one aspect of the disclosure, a sports stick shaft includes a first tubular portion including a first end constructed to couple with a sports stick head, an insert coupled with the first tubular portion on a top end and a spinning unit on a bottom end, and a spinning unit coupled to the insert. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the sports stick shaft comprises an insert unit, comprised of a coupling end constructed to couple with the first tubular portion, and a second tubular portion configured to couple with the spinning unit.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to and takes the benefit of United States Provisional application Ser. No. 63 / 691,072 filed on Sep. 5, 2024, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention

[0002] The present disclosure relates to sports sticks, and more particularly, to a sports shaft having a freely rotatable handle portion for training players to use their less dominant or “off” hand.Description of the Related Art

[0003] In sports that require the use of a stick or the equivalent, including baseball, lacrosse, hockey and tennis for example, players normally have a dominant hand / side and a weak hand / side, sometimes referred to as an “off” hand. In order to improve, players need to practice utilizing their “off” hand to become as proficient in the particular sport in comparison to when they utilize their dominant hand.

[0004] For example, cradling is a basic technique employed during the playing of lacrosse to maintain a lacrosse ball in the pocket of a lacrosse stick. Cradling is accomplished when the player holds the bottom of the stick with a loose grip and holds the top of the stick with a tight grip and the player rotates the lacrosse stick back and forth by rotating his top wrist. The rotation of the top wrist back and forth results in the rotating of the lacrosse stick, which generates centrifugal force to keep the lacrosse ball in the pocket.

[0005] When learning the cradling skill, it is common for new players to incorrectly rotate the lacrosse stick with their dominant hand regardless of whether it is located at the bottom or top of the stick. This results in incorrect mechanics, with newer players rotating the stick from the bottom of the stick if their dominant hand is located at the bottom of the stick, rather than properly rotating with the top hand.

[0006] As can be seen, there is a need for a sports stick with a freely rotatable bottom portion to facilitate the proper training of cradling a lacrosse ball by forcing the user to rotate with the correct hand.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The instant apparatus and system, as illustrated herein, is clearly not anticipated, rendered obvious, or even present in any of the prior art mechanisms, either alone or in any combination thereof.

[0008] In one aspect of the disclosure, a sports stick shaft comprises a first tubular portion including a first end constructed to couple with a sports stick head, an insert coupled with the first tubular portion on a top end and a spinning unit on a bottom end, and a spinning unit coupled to the insert.

[0009] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the sports stick shaft comprises an insert unit, comprised of a coupling end constructed to couple with the first tubular portion, and a second tubular portion configured to couple with the spinning unit.

[0010] In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the spinning unit is configured to couple with the second tubular portion of the insert unit.

[0011] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of a rotatable sports stick, the description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the system that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

[0012] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the system in detail, it is to be understood that the system is not limited in its application to the details of construction, assembly and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The system is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0013] These together with other objects of the system, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the system, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the system, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the system.

[0014] The foregoing has outlined the more pertinent and important features of the present device in order that the detailed description of the system that follows may be better understood, and the present contributions to the art may be more fully appreciated. It is of course not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and / or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations or permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture described below is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Advantages of the present device will be apparent from the following brief description of exemplary embodiments thereof; which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. The system may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the system in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an external perspective view of the sports stick.

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded external perspective view of the sports stick.

[0018] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate top-down views of the sports stick showing the internal structures. FIG. 3B is an exploded view of FIG. 3A.

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates an interior view of the sports stick, illustrating how the individual components fit together inside the sports stick.

[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates three-dimensional cross-sectional view of the interior of the sports stick along a major axis.

[0021] FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate three-dimensional cross-sectional views of the interior of the sports stick along the minor axis at various points along the major axis.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of presently preferred embodiments of the device and does not represent the only forms in which the present device may be construed and / or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of the steps for producing the system and accompanying apparatus. However, it is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the system.

[0023] The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of this invention. The description is not meant to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention.

[0024] The preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is a rotatable sports stick 100 with an independently rotatable portion at a bottom of the stick. The rotatable portion at the bottom may be rotated freely and independently of the rest of the shaft of the sports stick. The rotatable sports stick 100 in the preferred embodiment is configured to couple with a traditional sports head, but other head attachments are possible.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, the rotatable sports stick 100 is comprised of a first shaft portion 110, an insert unit 130, and a rotatable sleeve 120. The first shaft portion 110 is preferably hollow throughout and may have an octagonal cross section, similar to that of a traditional sports stick. However, the first shaft portion 110 may be hollow and also have varying cross-sectional shapes, including but not limited to circular and hexagonal. The first shaft portion 110 is preferably made from aluminum similar to traditional sports sticks but can be made from other suitable materials. In a preferred embodiment, the first shaft portion 110 is coupled at an end opposite the insert unit 130 to a traditional sports head, but it may be coupled with a different head unit.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 2, the insert unit 130 is comprised of a coupling portion 231 that is configured to couple with the first shaft portion 110, and a smaller tubular portion 232 that is configured to couple with the rotatable sleeve 120. In a preferred embodiment, the coupling portion 231 has a hexagonal cross-section that is smaller than the cross-section of the first shaft portion 110 such that the coupling portion 231 couples securely with the first shaft portion 110, but the shape of the coupling portion 231 may be adjusted to conform with the desired shape of the first shaft portion 110. In a preferred embodiment, the smaller tubular portion 232 has a round cross section, but the cross section can be of varying shapes.

[0027] The rotatable sports stick 100 also includes a rotatable sleeve 120 that is a hollow tube which fits over the smaller tubular portion 232 such that the rotatable sleeve 120 freely rotates three hundred sixty degrees while the insert unit 130 remains stationary. The rotatable sleeve 120 should have the same cross-section shape and size as the first shaft portion 110. In a preferred embodiment, the rotatable sleeve 120 has a hexagonal cross section, matching the cross-section of the first shaft portion 110, but the dimensions of the rotatable sleeve 120 may be adjusted to match the shape of the first shaft portion 110, whatever they may be. In a preferred embodiment, the rotatable sleeve 120 has a round cross section wherein the inner circumference is such that the rotatable sleeve 120 fits securely onto the coupling portion 231 but allows free rotation, but the shape of the inner circumference may be adjusted such that it couples to the coupling portion 231 allowing for free rotation.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 3, the rotatable sleeve 120 is secured to the insert unit 130 such that the rotatable sleeve 120 freely rotates while remaining secure too the overall rotatable sports stick 100. In a preferred embodiment, this is achieved with a captive nut 241 that is located in the hollow portion of the rotatable sleeve 120 where the rotatable sleeve 120 couples to the smaller tubular portion 232 and a bolt 140 that is screwed onto the captive nut 241 through the end of the rotatable sleeve 120 opposite of the end of the rotatable sleeve 120 that abuts the coupling portion 231. However, other means of securing the rotatable sleeve 120 to the rotatable lacrosse stick 100 may be employed, so long as the rotatable sleeve 120 rotates freely around the smaller tubular portion 232.

[0029] FIG. 4 is an interior view of the sports stick, illustrating how the components fit together inside the sports stick. FIG. 4 shows the rotatable sports stick 100 as assembled, with the first shaft portion 110 attached to the insert unit 130. The coupling portion 231 is located inside the hollow portion of the first shaft portion 110. The smaller tubular portion 232 is located inside the hollow portion of the rotatable sleeve 120, where the rotatable sleeve 120 is secured to the smaller tubular portion 232 by a bolt 140 and the captive nut 241 (not pictured in FIG. 4).

[0030] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rotatable sports stick 100 divided along a major axis. The first shaft portion 110 is hollow, and preferably octagonal in cross section. The coupling portion 231 has dimensions slightly smaller than the first shaft portion 110 such that the coupling portion 231 fits securely into the hollow portion of the first shaft portion 110. Thus, the cross section of the coupling portion 231 is also preferably octagonal. The rotatable sleeve 120 can be seen as it fits over the smaller tubular portion 232 and is secured by the bold 140.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 6A, a cross section along a minor axis of the rotatable sports stick 100 is shown. The first shaft portion 110 is securely fit to the insert unit 130 such that the insert unit 130 remains stationary while the rotatable sleeve 120 can be freely rotated around the major axis. The bolt 140 is used to secure the rotatable sleeve 120 to the insert unit 130.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 6B, the cross section of the smaller tubular portion 232 is preferably round, but can be of varying shapes, so long as the rotatable sleeve 120 can be secured to the smaller tubular portion 120 while allowing for the rotatable sleeve 120 to be freely rotated around the major axis.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 6C, the cross section of the rotatable sports stick 100 is shown with the insert unit 130 secured to the first shaft portion 110. As such, the overall shape of the cross section of insert unit 130 and the coupling portion 231 is the same as the shape of the cross section of the first tubular portion 110.

[0034] In a preferred method of use of the rotatable sports stick, a player may use the stick by first gripping the first shaft portion with a top hand, then gripping the rotatable sleeve with a second hand. Further, the player may rotate the top hand back and forth on the first shaft portion to rotate the first shaft portion and coupled head, and when the bottom hand is rotated, the rotating sleeve is freely rotated while the first shaft portion and coupled sports stick head do not rotate.

[0035] While the device is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the device to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the device.

Claims

1. A rotatable sports stick comprising:a first shaft portion;an insert unit coupled with a bottom end of the first shaft portion;a hollow tubular portion coupled with a rotatable sleeve; andwherein the rotatable sleeve fits over the hollow tubular portion to allow for free rotation independent of the insert unit and the first shaft portion.

2. The rotatable sports stick of claim 1, wherein a top end of the first shaft portion is coupled to a top end of a sports stick head.

3. The rotatable sports stick of claim 1, wherein the insert unit is comprised of a coupling portion to couple with the first shaft portion.

4. The rotatable sports stick of claim 1, wherein the rotatable sleeve rotates three hundred sixty degrees while the insert unit remains stationary.

5. The rotatable sports stick of claim 1, wherein the rotatable sleeve is secured to the insert unit with a captive nut located on a hollow portion of the rotatable sleeve.

6. The rotatable sports stick of claim 5, wherein a bolt is secured with the captive nut through an end of the rotatable sleeve opposite of an end that abuts the coupling portion.

7. A method of cradle training using the rotatable sports stick of claim 1 comprising:gripping the first shaft portion with a top hand;gripping the rotatable sleeve with a second hand;rotating the top hand back and forth on the first shaft portion to rotate the first shaft portion and coupled head; andwhen the bottom hand is rotated, the rotating sleeve is freely rotated while the first shaft portion and coupled sports stick head do not rotate.

Images