Sports equipment having a tubular structural member
AssigneeAlliance Design and Development Group, Inc.
InventorsDavid J. Dodge, William C. Doble
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tubular structural member that provides directional resistance. The tubular structural member has a flexural resistance that is greater in one direction than in another. The tubular structural member can be employed in variety of devices or structures so as to effect the overall stiffness of the device.
Claims29
A tubular structural member comprising a tube having a longitudinal axis, a flexural axis, and a stiff axis, where the flexural axis and the stiff axis extend radially away from the longitudinal axis and the tube has a flexural resistance that is greatest in a direction parallel to the flexural axis.
A device having a longitudinal axis and stiffness along the longitudinal axis comprising at least two tubular structural members, at least two cavities, where the at least two tubular structural members comprise a tube having a longitudinal axis, a flexural axis, and a stiff axis, where the flexural axis and the stiff axis extend radially away from the longitudinal axis and the tube has a flexural resistance that is greatest in a direction parallel to the direction of the flexural axis, the at least two tubular structural members are each inserted into the at least two cavities, the at least two cavities are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the device so as to be equilaterally displaced radially from the longitudinal axis of the device, the at least two tubular structural members orientated with respect to each other so as to affect the stiffness of the device.
A method for manufacturing a tubular structural member that has a flexural resistance that is greater on one side of the tubular structural member, comprising the steps of:
- shaping a tube along a longitudinal axis of the tube so as to remove material along the length of the tube so that the flexural resistance of the tube is greatest along a flexural axis and least along a stiff axis.
A method for manufacturing a tapered tubular structural member, comprising the steps of:
- shaping a tapered tube along a longitudinal axis of the tube so as to remove material along the length of the tapered tube so that the flexural resistance of the tube is greatest along a flexural axis and least along a stiff axis.
A method for manufacturing sports equipment that has a flexural resistance along a bending plane, comprising the steps of:
- Creating a cavity along the longitudinal axis of the sports equipment having an inner diameter that matches the outer diameter of a tubular structural member,
- shaping the tubular structural member along the longitudinal axis of the tubular rod so that the flexural resistance of the tubular structural member is greatest along a flexural axis and least along a stiff axis, and
- inserting the tubular structural member into the cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.