DEVICE FOR SECURING LACROSSE MESH WITHOUT KNOTS

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application makes no priority claim.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a device for securing a lacrosse mesh to the head of a lacrosse stick without needing to employ knots in an attachment string. In one example embodiment, a device for securing a mesh includes an attachment portion and a base, which has a receptacle. In the aforementioned example embodiment, the attachment portion is configured to be received by and removably secured to the base, and to contact and apply pressure to a lacrosse stick textile (e.g., a small nylon string linked to a lacrosse mesh) to connect the lacrosse mesh to a head of a lacrosse stick.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Lacrosse is a sport involving several variations (e.g., box lacrosse, men's field lacrosse, women's field lacrosse), each of which today generally involve players from competing teams attempting to move a ball into the opposing team's net while keeping the ball out of one's own team's net. The players primarily use a lacrosse stick to regulate movement of the ball. The components of a lacrosse stick include a shaft (where the player places one's hands to control the stick) and a head (which is adapted to receive the ball and permit the ball to be discharged). With known lacrosse stick assembly techniques, the head is attached (typically using fasteners) to the shaft, and a lacrosse mesh (e.g., a grid of woven nylon) is strung to the head using long, continuous attachment strings (typically woven nylon).

The lifespan of both the lacrosse mesh and the attachment strings are limited, and thus one or both often need to be replaced. It is especially common for attachment strings to fray and/or tear from prolonged use of the lacrosse stick. When replacement of the attachment strings and/or mesh is necessary, the lacrosse mesh must be removed, and then a new mesh secured (or the original mesh resecured) to the head of the lacrosse stick. Known techniques for securing lacrosse mesh to the head involve weaving a long, continuous string through the lacrosse mesh at multiple points and tying certain knots in the string at multiple points proximate to various apertures across the rear surface of the head. Issue with the known techniques include, as non-limiting examples, that they are very time-consuming, require a significant degree of skill to be done properly (e.g., tying the knots properly requires knowledge, practice, and attention to detail), and are expensive when one hires someone else to perform the mesh installation. Known techniques are burdensome particularly because making adjustments, even if minor, generally requires restringing large sections of the lacrosse stick head. The long, continuous attachment string has many potential failure points. If even only a small portion of the long, continuous attachment string tears, the entire string will require replacement, as unravelling of the string may occur if any part of the string is torn, resulting in detachment of the mesh. Additionally, knots in the attachment strings may become undone, resulting in detachment of the mesh.

Furthermore, different lacrosse players often have very specific preferences for the configuration of the lacrosse mesh (e.g., positioning of the mesh and attachment strings with respect to the head) to account for desired performance characteristics (e.g., throwing mechanisms). Lacrosse is unique in the sense that many players wish to personalize the specific assembly of the stick, including the mesh configuration, to optimize performance based on, e.g., the player's lacrosse skills/abilities. Players may wish to experiment with various mesh configurations and make adjustments as necessary to achieve desired performance characteristics. Since making adjustments to the mesh configuration, even if minor, generally requires restringing large sections of the lacrosse stick head, experimenting with various configurations and making adjustments as necessary to achieve desired performance characteristics is burdensome with known stringing techniques.

Also, damage to and/or detachment of the mesh may occur during competition, which may be particularly problematic to the player if the player does not have time during the competition to perform restringing, lacks the proper materials to perform restringing, lacks the skill to perform restringing, some combination thereof, or the like. In such a case, the player may be forced to use a back-up lacrosse stick, or may have to ask another player if he or she can borrow the other player's lacrosse stick to continue competing. Back-up lacrosse sticks may be of inferior quality compared to the main lacrosse stick the player uses, as the player (or the player's parents) may not want to spend as much money on a backup lacrosse stick (since the player may only plan to use the backup stick if an issue occurs with the main lacrosse stick). When a backup or another lacrosse stick is not available, the player may be unable to continue competing (at least until there is an opportunity to make fixes at a later stage), as his or her performance is likely to be negatively impacted by any detachment of the mesh or damage to the mesh.

The aforementioned shortcomings speak to the need for a device for quickly attaching lacrosse mesh to the head of a lacrosse stick wherein the device is lightweight, affordable, and requires very little skill or training to operate.

In view of this, it is beneficial to have a device for securing lacrosse mesh without needing to employ knots in an attachment string.

According to the present invention in one aspect, an exemplary device for securing a lacrosse mesh to a lacrosse stick head comprises an attachment portion and a base, including a receptacle. The attachment portion may be configured to contact and apply pressure to a lacrosse stick textile (e.g., a small length of nylon string configured to be threaded through the mesh to secure the mesh to the head). Part of the attachment portion (e.g., an insert) may be configured to be received by and removably secured in the receptacle of the base to secure an amount of the lacrosse stick textile (e.g., portions of the nylon string on each side of the insert) in the receptacle to connect the lacrosse mesh to the head of the lacrosse stick.

The attachment portion may comprise a strap, insert, and front connector. The strap may establish a permanent connection between the attachment portion and the base, and may permit the attachment portion to be rotatable with respect to the base. In certain alternative embodiments, there is no strap, and the attachment portion and the base are capable of being separated from one another. The device may be configured to be secured proximate to an aperture of the head of the lacrosse stick (e.g., from tensile, normal and/or friction forces between the device and a small length of string looped through the mesh). The insert may be configured to be received by and removably secured in the receptacle, and a channel may be adapted to receive a portion of the lacrosse stick textile on each side of the insert when the insert is positioned in the receptacle.

An indented gap may be present between the front connector and the insert. A lip portion may be present on a rim of the base. The indented gap may be configured to receive the lip portion of the rim of the base to secure the attachment portion to the rim (e.g., to permit the attachment portion to be snapped to the base, forming a connection providing an alternative to a knot). The front connector may be configured to permit a user to attach the attachment portion to the base and to detach the attachment portion from the base. The insert may comprise a plurality of ridges. The lip portion of the rim of the base may be positioned below a top surface of the base. The base may be substantially round in shape. Each channel in the receptacle may be substantially semicylindrical in shape. The receptacle may extend the height of the base. The device may comprise any number of different lightweight, low-cost materials.

Advantages of exemplary embodiments may include, by way of example and not limitation, an ability to rapidly attach new lacrosse mesh to a lacrosse stick head or reattach old lacrosse mesh to a lacrosse stick head, ease of the attachment or reattachment, longevity of the attachment or reattachment, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Novel features and advantages of the present invention, in addition to those expressly mentioned herein, will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that different references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a known lacrosse mesh;

FIG. 2 illustrates a known stringing technique for attaching the known lacrosse mesh of FIG. 1 to the head of a lacrosse stick;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary device for securing lacrosse mesh without knots;

FIG. 4 illustrates a pair of perspective views and a top plan view of the exemplary device of FIG. 3 in a closed position;

FIG. 5 illustrates a pair of side elevational views and a rear elevational view of the exemplary device of FIG. 3 in a closed position;

FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom plan view of the exemplary device of FIG. 3 in a closed position;

FIG. 7 illustrates a pair of cross-sectional views, a rear elevational view, and a left-side elevational view of the exemplary device of FIG. 3 in a closed position;

FIG. 8 illustrates a pair of perspective views, a top plan view, a pair of side elevational views, and a rear elevational view of the exemplary device of FIG. 3 in an open position;

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of another exemplary device for securing lacrosse mesh without knots;

FIG. 10 illustrates a left-side, cross-sectional view of the exemplary device of FIG. 9

FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of yet another exemplary device for securing lacrosse mesh without knots;

FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of the exemplary device of FIG. 11 being used to secure a lacrosse mesh;

FIG. 13 illustrates another perspective view of the exemplary device of FIG. 11 being used to secure a lacrosse mesh;

FIG. 14 illustrates yet another perspective view of the exemplary device of FIG. 11 being used to secure a lacrosse mesh; and

FIG. 15 illustrates another perspective view of the exemplary device of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S)

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, specific details such as detailed configuration and components are merely provided to assist the overall understanding of these embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art stringing technique 16 for attaching lacrosse mesh 10 to the head 18 of a lacrosse stick. Referring now to FIGS. 1-2, the lacrosse mesh 10 may comprise a grid 14 of woven material (e.g., nylon) positioned between a pair of edges 12. The edges 12 may comprise a similar or identical material to that of the grid 14. Here, the lacrosse stick comprises a head 18 having a plurality of apertures 20 on a rear side thereof, and the head 18 is affixed to a shaft 26 of the lacrosse stick. An attachment string 22 is employed here to attach the mesh 10 to the head 18. In the example shown, the attachment string 22 is woven through the mesh 10 and a knot 24 is tied in the string 22 at an aperture 20 to connect the mesh 10 to the head 18 proximate to the aperture 20. For the remainder of the mesh 10 to be connected to the head 18, like knots may be employed at various apertures 20 across the rear surface of the head 18. The prior art stringing technique 16 shown may present several issues.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-8, an exemplary device 30 for securing a lacrosse mesh 10 (e.g., having a grid 14 and edges 12) without needing to employ attachment knots is shown. The device 30 may be located opposite of the mesh 10 with respect to a rear face edge 29 of the head 18. A small length of string 27 (e.g., woven nylon) may be threaded through a portion of the mesh 10, and each end of the string 27 may be positioned through a receptacle 32 of the device 30. An insert 40 of an attachment portion 28 of the device 30 may be secured in the receptacle 32 to immobilize amounts of the string 27 in channels on each side of the insert 40. The aforementioned configuration may cause the portion of the string 27 in contact with the mesh 10 to be under tension, holding up the mesh 10 proximate to the device 30 without the presence of a knot. Force applied on the mesh 10 from the string 27 may prevent the mesh 10 from becoming spaced apart from the head 18 when the device 30 is in a closed position. The string may be 2-5 inches in length, although any number of different lengths may be employed. A different attachment string may be employed for each device (e.g., 30) located across a perimeter of the head 18. An exemplary device (e.g., 30) may be employed wherever connection between the mesh 10 and the head 18 is desired.

In this particular embodiment, tension and/or friction from the string 27 may restrict movement of the device 30, and maintain the device at or near an aperture 20 of the head 18 when the device is in the closed position. In an alternative embodiment, an attachment portion of the device is positioned through an aperture of the head, through a portion of the mesh, and over a rear face edge of the head before being removably secured to the base to connect the mesh to the head and restrict movement of the device. In another alternative embodiment, a portion of the device is secured in an aperture of the head to restrict movement of the device, and an amount of attachment string, lacrosse mesh, some combination thereof, or the like (independently or collectively referred to herein as “lacrosse stick textile”) is secured in a receptacle of the device to connect the mesh to the head. Said portion may be varied in shape and/or size to accommodate different heads.

As another non-limiting example, a portion of an exemplary device (e.g., including a clip, fastener, strap, buckle, some combination thereof, or the like) may be configured to engage any number of different sections of the head 18 to removably secure the exemplary device to the head 18. As yet another non-limiting example, an exemplary device may be formed to or permanently affixed to the head 18. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that any number of different techniques may be employed for securing an exemplary device in and/or proximate to the head of the lacrosse stick. Furthermore, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not limited to securing any particular type, size, length, composition, and/or shape of lacrosse stick textile.

In this particular embodiment, the attachment portion 28 includes a strap 34 and a front connector 36. Variations to the shape and size of an exemplary strap and front connector may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, an exemplary attachment portion is not necessarily limited to a strap and front connector. Here, the strap 34 is configured to rotate relative to the base 38 to permit the attachment portion 28 to be connected to (e.g., snapped on) the rim of the base 38, and the strap keeps the attachment portion 28 and the base 38 linked to one another when the device 30 is in an open position. An insert 40 of the attachment portion 28 may be configured to be received by and secured in a receptacle 32 of the base 38 to achieve a closed position of the device. The insert 40 may be removed from the receptacle 32 to achieve an open position of the device. The device 30 may be set to a closed position (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 4-7) to affix mesh (e.g., 10) to the head 18, and the device may be set to an open position (e.g., as shown in FIG. 8) when old mesh is to be replaced with new mesh. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that an exemplary device may accommodate any number of different lacrosse meshes (e.g., hard, soft, traditional), and lacrosse stick heads (e.g., variations of men's regular, variations of women's regular, variations of goalie).

Lacrosse stick textile (e.g., attachment string 27) secured to the device 30 may be positioned below the insert 40 of the attachment portion 28 and through channels in the receptacle 32 on each side of the insert 40. An indented gap between the front connector 36 and the insert 40 may be configured to receive a lip portion 38A of a rim of the base 38 to secure the attachment portion 28 to the base 38 (e.g., by way of a snapping action). In this particular embodiment, when the device 30 is in the closed position, the lip portion 38A of the base 38 protrudes over a bottom slanted portion and under a top slanted portion of the attachment portion 28 adjacent to the front connector 36 to cause (e.g., by way of normal and frictional forces) the attachment portion 28 to be removably secured to the base 38. A force may be applied by a user to the front connector 36 to cause the attachment portion 28 to become detached from the lip portion 38A of the base 38 to achieve the open position. The particular size and shape of the lip portion 38A and the indented gap may be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that any number of different materials and/or techniques may be employed for permitting an exemplary attachment portion to be removably attached to an exemplary base. For example, in certain alternative embodiments, one or more clips, fasteners, buckles, some combination thereof, or the like may be employed to permit an exemplary attachment portion to be removably attached to an exemplary base.

The insert 40 may comprise a plurality of ridges adapted to apply gripping pressure to the lacrosse stick textile (e.g., 27) positioned inside the device 30. The gripping pressure may be beneficial for ensuring the lacrosse stick textile does not detach from the device 30 causing the mesh 10 to detach from the head 18. The lip portion 38A of the rim of the base 38 may be positioned below the top surface of the base 38. Variations to the shape and size of an exemplary device and a receptacle thereof may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, it is not required that the base is circular or oval in shape. Low-cost, lightweight materials (e.g., HDPE, PVC, polypropylene, composite material, some combination thereof, or the like) are preferred to define an exemplary device. The device 30 is preferably miniature in size and lightweight, so as to not hinder the performance of the player.

In this particular embodiment, rotation of the attachment portion is permitted by the flexibility of the strap 34, and a proximal end of the strap 34 is permanently affixed to a rear side of the base 38. In other embodiments, a hinge, joint, some combination thereof, or the like may additionally or alternatively be employed to permit rotation of the attachment portion, and it is not required that the strap is permanently affixed to a rear side of the base. The ridges of the insert 40 may additionally comprise any number of different materials having a high friction coefficient, although such is not required. Additionally, though a plurality of ridges adapted to apply gripping pressure to the portion of the mesh 10 positioned inside the device 30 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that any number of different features and/or techniques may be employed for applying gripping pressure to a portion of the mesh without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Referring specifically to FIG. 6, a bottom plan view of the exemplary device 30 in a closed position is shown. Here, a pair of semicylindrical channels (for receiving a portion of lacrosse stick textile, such as, e.g., nylon attachment string) are shown on each side of the insert 40, and the receptacle 32 extends all the way through the base 38. The number and/or shape of the channels may be varied. The shape and position of the front connector 36 may be varied, but the front connector 36 is preferably large enough that a user may position the user's thumb and/or fingers on the front connector 36 to reposition the device between open and closed positions.

Referring specifically to FIG. 7, SECTION C-C illustrates a right-side, cross-sectional view of the device 30, and SECTION B-B illustrates a front, cross-sectional view of the device (where ridges of the insert 40 are visible). The insert 40 may extend at least most of the distance across the receptacle 32, although such is not required. The insert 40 may also extend the height of the receptacle 32, although such is not required.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, another exemplary device 42 (having a base 38 with lip portion 38A, receptacle 32, and attachment portion 28 with strap 34, insert 40, and front connector 36) for securing a lacrosse mesh without needing to employ attachment string knots is shown. Referring specifically to FIG. 10, a left-side, cross-sectional view of the exemplary device 42 in a closed-position is shown. Here, the lip portion 38A of the base 38 protrudes into an indented gap 44 over a bottom slanted portion and under a top slanted portion of the attachment portion 28 proximate to the front connector 36. The aforementioned configuration may cause (e.g., by way of normal and frictional forces) the attachment portion 28 to be removably secured to the base 38 at the lip portion 38A thereof. A force may be applied by a user to the front connector 36 to cause the attachment portion 28 to become detached from the lip portion 38A of the base 38 to achieve the open position. When the device 42 is in the open position, a force may be applied by a user to the front connector 36 to cause the lip portion 38A to be received by the indented gap 44 to achieve the closed position. A small amount of space 46 may be present between the insert 40 and distal and proximal portions of inside walls of the base 38, although such is not required.

Referring now to FIGS. 11-15, an alternative device 50 for securing a lacrosse mesh without a requirement for attachment string knots is shown. In this particular embodiment, there is no strap, and an attachment portion 48 and base 52 are capable of being separated from one another. The device 50 may be positioned proximate to the head 18 of the lacrosse stick opposite of the mesh 10 (e.g., having a grid of woven material 14 and edges 12) and near one of various apertures 20. Here, a small length of string 27 (e.g., woven nylon) is provided. The string 27 may be threaded through a portion of the mesh 10, and each end of the string 27 may be positioned through a receptacle 54 of the device 50. A user may use one's hand 56 to position the device 50 and the string 27. An insert 58 of the attachment portion 48 of the device 50 may be secured in the receptacle 54 to immobilize amounts of the string 27 in receptacle 54 channels on each side of the insert 58. The aforementioned configuration may cause the portion of the string 27 in contact with the mesh 10 to be under tension, holding up the mesh 10 proximate to the device 50 without the presence of a knot. Force applied on the mesh 10 from the string 27 may prevent the mesh 10 from becoming spaced apart from the head 18. Tension and/or friction from the string 27 may cause the device 50 to be maintained proximate to an aperture 20 of the head 18.

An indented gap 60 may be present between each of a pair of edge connectors 62 of the attachment portion 48 and the insert 58. Each indented gap 60 may be configured to receive a lip portion 52A of a rim of the base 52 to secure the attachment portion 48 to the base 52 (e.g., by way of a snapping action). In this particular embodiment, when the device 50 is in the closed position, each lip portion 52A of the base 38 protrudes over a bottom slanted portion and under a top slanted portion of a corresponding edge connector 62 to cause (e.g., by way of normal and frictional forces) the attachment portion 48 to be removably secured to the base 52. A force may be applied by a user (e.g., to one or both edge connectors 62) to cause the attachment portion 48 to become detached from the lip portions 52A of the base 52 to achieve the open position. Although a traditional attachment string 22 and knots 24 are shown with respect to the top of the mesh 10 in FIGS. 11-12, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that an exemplary device (e.g., 50) may replace the knots 24 at any portion of the head 18, and exemplary attachment string 27 may replace the traditional attachment string 22 at any portion of the head 18.

Any embodiment of the present invention may include any of the features of the other embodiments of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention. Although embodiments described herein were described with reference to lacrosse mesh and lacrosse stick heads, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that an exemplary device may be useful for other purposes in addition to securing lacrosse mesh. Having shown and described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to the described invention. Many of those variations and modifications will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.