CA2168310A1 - Hollow, filled, ring-shaped hockey puck - Google Patents

Abstract

A hockey puck made from a polymer in the shape of a hollow ring surrounding a central web. The inner volume of the hollow ring is partially filled with a filler material or a combination of materials which may be a liquid or a granule. The puck is capable of riding over a rough surface in a very stable manner with a minimized tendency to turn over or to turn on its side.

Description

HOLLOW, FILLED, RING-SHAPED HOCKEY PUCK

13ac~ of thP Inv~nti~n q- ~ Prior ~rt 1. Field of Invention The field of the invention is ~~ 6 goods and the invention relates more p. rticularly to roller hockey and to pucks used for roller hockey.

2. l)e~;plion of the Related Art Nu~ .vus designs of pucks have been used for use on sllrfnces other th. n 10 ice. For the pl,lf~ c~:~nql or upper level of roller hockey, the game is played on a l~la~vel~ smooth cement sllrf^^e. The g. me, however, is also commonly played onasphalt streets . nd other rough svrf~^~s. The typical solid or col,~let^ly filled puck has a significqnt t~nd-~ncy to bounce along a rough surf ce and will often flip over or onto its side.
15One style of roller hockey puck is a completely hollow blow-molded puck completely filled with granulated sugar or other r q~riql a nd having a central vertic. l rivet or bolt to pl~ ._nt the puck from bowing oulwar~lly or twisting out of shape.
A p~fee~:onq1 level of puck which is also co........ -~nly used for street hockey is shown in applicant's U.S. Patent No. 5,275,410.
A puck having a central weight and an outer ring of foam is shown in White, Sr. U.S. Patent No. 4,078,801. A Puck c~ -ing n impact ,..~ ;,-g deviceis shown in the Shpr~hp-~ Patent No. 5,207,720. A puck having built-in projecti~nS is shown in the r~q~ing~ et al. Patent No. 5,184,820. A felt puck incluAing a bdllast weight is shown in the T~rJc~ , et al. Patent No. 3,887,188. Another puck havingbuilt-in bosses and an opening 8 the center is shown in the Hsieh Patent No. 5,288,072.
A game puck having an air-cuc~ioned hollow annular b.~ ~r is shown in ~qn~iqn Patent No. 2,070,003. A puck with a central dcplession and balls on the surface is shown in the Felber U.S. Patent No. 3,784,204. A partially filled hollow puck is shown in the Bigornia, et al. Patent No. 5,284,343. A sliding game piece having an annular hollow rubber b~ is hown in the McGee Patent No. 2,812,184 which is not a puck.
None of these patents show a puck which c. n be used in roller hockey games on a rough surface which has a lesser t~Y~de3~c~ to turn over during play.

Of th~ TnvPnti~ n It is an object of the present invention to provide a puck for use on a non-ice surface which is um~uqlly steady and is capable of riding over the rough surface with a d~.~d ~ de~c~ to flip over as c~",~ to the con~c~t;onql hockey puck.

Brief l~ n of thP r)!~-wiiU~
Figure 1 is a ~ e view showing the front and top of the hockey puck of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross-s~cfiortql view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 3.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the puck of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a cross 5~!;--n~1 view of a prior art hockey puck.
Figure 5 is a cross-s~ql view of an qlt,P,rnqte emho~iment of the puck of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a cross-s~ti~nql view of an altçrnqtP embo~limpnt of the puck 15 of Figure 1.
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of an al~rnqte ç...ho~ t of the puck of Figure 1.
Figure 8 is a cross-s~ti~nql view of an q1~rrqte çmho-liment of the puck of Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a cross-s~tionql view of an al~P-rrqte embo~limpnt of the puck of Figure 1.

of thP ~r~,f~ d F.mk)(limPntc The puck of the present invention is shown p~ re view in Figure 1 and in~1irqt~d g~nPrally by l~fc.~ h~u~t~ 10. Puck 10 has an outer p~ h~,~l ring-shaped wall 11. This wall is shown in cross-s~tionql view in Figure 2 and can be seen to be a thin wall 11 having an upper edge 12 and a lower edge 13. Upper and lower disk-sh~d or flat ring ~haped surface ...f~ S 14 and 15 form the top and bottom of the puck and a plurality of runners 16 are formed along the top and bottom of the puck 30 and are integra~ly formed from raised portions of the upper and lower flat ring-shaped surface ...~
These ring-shdped surface ..,~ have an inner edge. The inner edge of the upper ring-shaped surface ..-P-..~r is indic~q~t~d by lef_~nce character 17 and that 216831~

on the lower surface is indicated by ~f~cc character 17'. Inner, upper and lowerwall .~ arc indicated by r~f~w~cc characters 18 ant 19 and these t~ e at lower and u~per edges 20 and 21 respectively. A solid dislc or central web 22 is int~grtql with and c4l t~ lower and uppcr edges 20 and 21. Puclc 10 is pl~f~.~bly formed by S the process of blow-n~lding and has an e~ o~ inner volume 23 which is filled with a heavier than air filler 24. If filler 24 is silica sand, the pl~ f~l xi size of the puck weighs about 4'h oz. which is a desired weight for most roller hockey pucks. This weight can be il~c~d by using a denser filler than silica sand 24, such as steel shot 25 shown in Figure 5. It is also possibl- to il~Cf~ the weight as indicqtPd in Figure 8 which is 10 d~ C~d below. It is likewiæ possibb to de~ the weight of the puck to, for cc 3'h oz., by using a less dense filler or a lesser amount of filler.
~ f~ably, the puck of the present invention is blow-molded from a polymer such as high density polyethylene which may be lnodifi~Pd with various polymers to malce it softer, such as by the, ~t1iti~n of ethylvinyl ~cetate. Such a mqtPriql provides 15 a small a~ of deflP~.tion when the puck hits a wall or other hard surface giving it a desired bounce remini~ent of an ice hockey puck hitting a wall. When the puck is only par~ally filled, it has a le~ d~ to be somewhat less bouncy off the boards as CGIlll)at~
to a compbtely full puclc. It is thus poss;b!~ to fashion a puck with a desired qmol~nt of bounce off the boards. As a par~ally filled puck strikes the boards, the filler will cQn~ e to move for a fr~r,.ti- n of a sccond, thereby eliminqtine too lively a bounce.
An es~ ;q1 feature of the present invention is the weight distribution of the puck ~ ~n a large . mount of the weight is concent,~t~ d at a greater flictqnc~ from the oenter of the puck than a con~e1-~;nnql puck or than the prior art puck shown in Figure 4. This pUckisi~Airq~ grner~qlly by ,~f~.~oe char_cter 26 and has a hollow pol~ ic body 27, upper and lower rings 28 and 29 tei, ~ li~ely, and a center screw and socloet ass~n,bly 30. Puck 26 is filled with ~r~qn~ d sug. r indi~r~Ad by ~f~.~ce Cl~ ~t~i f 31. The weight distribution or mnm~nt of inertia of puck 26 versus puck 10 is vastly dirr~ t. The IIIOII~t of inertia is the product of two times the mass times the radius s~ ed (2 x Mass x Radius2). The radius is the center of the mass and, as can be seen in the d,.~.ings, the radius inAic-~Ad by l~,f~ ce chqr~r-ter 32 in Figure 2 is substantially longer than radius 33 shown in Figure 4. ~ JS~ the ...o---~n~ of inertia of the present puck is much higher, the puck will remain ~p;Ani~ much longer and will also be more stable against flipping over be~q~se, of its g~,us~opic inertia. Still further, the weight ~;n~;kv~ when the puck is pardy filled is far more stable. Thus, withapplicant's de~gn it is pcasil~l- to partly fill a puck such as puck 34 in Figure 5 where metal shot 2S only par~ally fills the interior volw.,c 35. In contrast, if puck 26 were only p~y filled with a grqf~ at~d or liquid filler, it would be far more out of bqlqrce S during play than if the weight were ~istrib~lted in the an...llar hollow space of ~r~ qnt~s puck 10. In add;l;on, puck 26 of Figure 4 n~uilw center screw and socket assembly 30 so that it will not bow oul-.afdly or twist during use. The existence of this screw and socket assembly weakens the structure since it r~u~s a pair of holes which in themselves weaken the top and bottom of the puck. Also, it l~4uires a ~hate assembly 10 step and could conceivable unser~. during play. Applic~nt's design completelyeli-~ ates the n~e~c~ for a screw and socket with no possibility of flying parts.
The ability to partially fill the int~iol of the puck while still not causing itto be grossly out of balance is a very illl~l~nt feature of applicant's invention. It has been ob3c,~ in tests that ~pli~qnt's puck is far more stable during play on a rough 15 surface than col~e~l;onql solid pucks. While not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is ~pplic~t's belief that the parbal filling provides a stability against flipping ova on a rough surface such as an asphalt surface. A partially filled puclc actually has a shock b~g ~bility since the filler can move so..~..h~ le-~ of the outer shell which ~ . ~t~ the sudden jolts from a rough surface. Thus, as the puck hits a bump, the filler can lift slightly and the outer shell ~.,lains stable ag. inst the surface. A
partially filled puck also has a lower center of gravity since the weight is nearer the bottom of the puck and by virtue of that fact is less likely to flip over. It is also believed that the weight ~ tributi~ removed from the center of the puck further d~l~ases the tPn~ncy to flip over during play.
~lir~lt~s design permits puclcs of varying weights to be produced for dirf~ OSeS. Thus, a puck c. n be par~y filled with sand to provide a light puck,or e~ it;~lly completely filled as shown in Figure 2 to provide a puck of greater weight.
If s~ll further weight is l~Ui[lCd, a heavier filling such as iron filings or metal shot can be used as in-lir~tP~d in Figure 5. It is also possible that the weight can be incl~sed by riveting a pair of weights 36 and 37 to solid disk 22 by rivet 38 as shown in Figure 8.
Thus, puck 39 of Figure 8 is partially filbd with sand 40 leaving an air space 40', and yet can have any desired weight, d~S-Aing on the siæ of the metal weights added.

Puck 41 of Figure 6 is filled with a liquid 42, such as water. It is also cQ~ 'ed that a more viscus liquid, for in~t ~re of the viscosity of honey, could be used to provide a more stable ~ ~t than water 42.
A still further v~ tinn is sho vn in puck 43 of Figure 7 which is filled S with a l- iAlul~ of sand 44 and rice 44'. The rice will tend to quickly work its way to the top snd the sand to the bottom as the puclc passes over a rough surface and cause the puck to be heavier on the lower half than the upper half, thus causing it to be more stable. Other fillers conk-...p1~ include a IlliAlUl~ of water and sand, a viscus liquid such as honey, a l~liAlwe of sand and honey, a llliAlule of rice and metal shot or beads, a 0 IlliA~U~ of honey and metal beads and a l.liAIul~ of st~lofo~" beads and sand. It thus can be seen that the present design provides a very wide array of fillers bc~use of the even weight d;~tl;hu~;r~n around the outer ~.jph~.~ of the puck. The center area vastly inclc~S the strength of the puck and p~ien~ any sort of twisting, but also provides a place for 1~beli~ the puck. Furthcl",o~, its app~" ce is eYçeptir,~nqlly lS attractive.
A puck which eAhibits a very high degree of weight shifting with the heavier ~lbSt r~ ing to the bottom is shown in Figure 9 and indi~qt~ by reference cl~:t~r 48. Puck 48 is filled with a lllL~tlUl~ of silica sand 49 and ~t~lofo~" beads 50.
As the puck 48 slides on a rough surface, the sand quickly settles lllr~ugh the s~lofo~"
20 beads (which could be of a ~ ; r of ". The result is a distribution such as that shown in Figure 9 where almost all of the sl~fohll be. ds are at the top providing a very low center of gravity and a very st ble puck If the puck should flip over in play, the sand will quickly work its way down again and the beads work their way up. Note that it is be~firiq1 that the puclc have an air space Sl above the be.ds. This p~llllils 25 greater l,~.emcnl of the solids within the puck and assists in the settling action. The open or air space should be at least 10% _nd pfef~i,bly at least 20% so that the filler will be able to move within the volume and the heavier mqt~r~ql to fall to the bottom.
The dirf~.~ in ~lensities of the two mvqteriql~ should be s~lss~ . By the term n~lbst- ~;qln, it is in~nd~d to mean a diff~.~nce of at least 100% in bulk density. The 30 two dirrtl~.~t m~tqriqls should each be present in a ~i~nifi~qnt volume. That is, the volume should be at least 20% of one n-~t~riq1 so that it has a --nin~ful effect on weight distribution. There could, of course, be three or more m~teriql~ of dirr~ t Q I;~S~ A con~e rl ~d filler would consist of 40%-45% by volume of silica sand, 40%~5% by volume of ~ d;5~ s~ ofo~- beads and the balance of ~pen air.
ic~'s design, thus, plU~tS a puck which may be par~ally filled and yet still remain quite balai ced during play. It may be e~ c~lly fabricated by blow-S m~t~ing and filled through the blow-hole 45 shown in Figure 2, st~ ed by a sonic welded plug 46. This blow-hole may ~ltet~ively be located on the face of the puck if desired by ~ltPring the mold design. By sonic welding a plug in the opening 45 it is not to add a layer of tape such as tape 47 shown on the prior art puck 26 in Figure 4 which t~e is fC~uilC~I to seal blow-mnl~ing blow hole 52.
The present e~ t~; of this invention are thus to be c~no;~lPred in all n ~ as i~ o~tive and not restrictive; the scope of the invention being indicqted by the ~pc~ d claims rather than by the fol~going de~lilJtion. All cl~ ges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are in~endçd to be embraced therein.

Claims (16)

1. A hockey puck for use on non-ice and less than smooth surfaces, said puck having a hollow body with an enclosed inner volume said puck comprising:
a body comprising:
an outer peripheral ring shaped wall having an upper edge and a lower edge;
an upper disk-shaped surface member, said upper disk-shaped surface member extending inwardly from the upper edge of the ring shaped wall and said upper disk-shaped surface member having an inner edge;
a lower disk-shaped surface member, said lower disk-shaped surface member extending inwardly from the lower edge of the ring shaped wall and said lower disk-shaped surface member having an inner edge;
an inner, upper wall member extending downwardly from the inner edge of said upper disk-shaped surface member to a lower edge;
an inner, lower wall member extending downwardly from the inner edge of said lower disk-shaped surface member to an upper edge which upper edge contact the lower edge of said inner, upper wall member to form a closed internal volume; and a heavier than air filler within said closed internal volume.

2. The hockey puck of Claim 1 further including a solid disk held in the center of said puck body by the lower edge of said inner upper wall member and the upper edge of said inner lower wall member.

3. The hockey puck of Claim 1 wherein said upper and lower flat ring-shaped member has a plurality of raised runner surfaces extending outwardlytherefrom.

4. The hockey puck of Claim 3 wherein said upper and lower flat ring-shaped members each have six raised runners.

5. The hockey puck of Claim 2 wherein said inner upper wall member and said inner lower wall members slope to meet said solid disk.

6. The hockey puck of Claim 1 wherein said filler is a granular filler.

7. The hockey puck of Claim 6 wherein said filler is silica sand.

8. A hockey puck fabricated from a polymer in the shape of a hollow ring surrounding a central web, said hollow ring having an inner volume partially filled with a heavier than air filler.

9. The hockey puck of Claim 8 wherein said filler fills no more than about ninety per cent of said inner volume.

10. The hockey puck of Claim 9 wherein said puck further includes a weight held to said central web.

11. The hockey puck of Claim 9 wherein said filler is a mixture of materials of at least two different densities.

12. The hockey puck of Claim 8 wherein said filler is a liquid.

13. The hockey puck of Claim 12 wherein said filler is water.

14. The hockey puck of Claim 8 wherein said filler is metal shot.

15. A hockey puck having an inner volume filled with a mixture of at least two materials of substantially different densities and the inner volume being filled no more than about 80%.

16. The puck of Claim 15 wherein the materials are silica sand and styrofoam beads.