REPLACEABLE FACE PICKLEBALL PADDLE

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of paddles for sports, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a pickleball paddle with a removable and replaceable paddle surface.

BACKGROUND

Pickleball is a sports game that is played on a badminton-sized court using pickleball paddles, a ball, and a net. Pickleball paddles are sometimes referred to as pickleball rackets, pickleball racquets, bats, or other terms. The ball is a perforated plastic hollow ball (similar to a Wiffle Ball™) which is struck by players using a pickleball paddle that resembles large table tennis paddles. Pickleball paddles may be made from wood, graphite, aluminium, composite materials, and other materials.

Generally, pickleball paddles are constructed by cutting or machining a large sheet of material into the shape of a paddle. Further, a foam material can be molded into the shape of a paddle. The handle area is then built up with a spacer, upon which grip tape and an end cap are applied. Various types of edge treatments are usually applied around the perimeter of the paddle for a finished look and to protect against damage.

Generally, the pickleball paddle comprises a core and a skin connected to the core by a connection mechanism. The core material is normally low-strength material, but its greater thickness provides the sandwiched composite with both high bending stiffness and low overall density. Open-cell structures and closed-cell-structured foams like polyvinylchloride, polyurethane, polyethylene or polystyrene foams, balsa wood, and syntactic foams are commonly used as core materials. Open-cell and closed-cell metal foam can also be used as core materials. The skin is also referred to as a “laminate” or “face sheet”. Laminates of glass or carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics or thermoset polymers (unsaturated polyesters, epoxies, and such) and sheet metal are also used as skin materials.

A “composite panel” or “sandwich panel.” comprises a core material bonded to the skin material. A sandwich-structured composite is a special class of composite materials that is fabricated by attaching two thin, but stiff, skins to a lightweight, but thick, core material.

In recent years, the sport of pickleball has gained popularity amongst racquet sports. The sport is typically played in residential communities, country clubs, and sports clubs on slightly modified tennis courts. However, due to the design and material of pickleball paddles, the sound of the pickleball striking the pickleball paddle is quite loud and has high sound (decibel) levels. The pickleball paddle sport has (a) a paddle without strings, and (b) a hard, hollow, perforated, plastic ball for contact with the pickleball paddle. This combination of paddle and ball creates a loud “thwacking” noise upon impact. Furthermore, this noise is amplified by the modified tennis court, which also disturbs those residing in the surrounding community. With the significant growth in the number of places to play, this noise problem has led to resident complaints, difficulties in getting clearances for making new pickleball court construction, ceasing of gameplay, loss of focus for players, discomfort for spectators and even filing of nuisance lawsuits. Being loud is a major concern as USA pickleball has even created a new category for quiet pickleball paddles.

Various quiet pickleball paddles are already known in the art. For instance, US20170136325A1 discloses a sound-absorbing game paddle containing a blade having a support structure and a filling. The support structure preferably defines adjoining cells of various shapes, including for example hexagonal and non-hexagonal cells. The filling preferably comprises one or more of a foam, a gel, a silicone, or other polymer, and can fill some or all of the cells at any desired volume(s). Contemplated methods include a manufacturer building a version of a game paddle without a filling, and subsequently building another version of the same or similar paddle with a filling. Further contemplated methods include developing an improved game paddle with altered sound emissions by determining that an existing game paddle has undesirable peak amplitudes and frequencies of sounds emitted and then designing an improved game paddle with a sound absorbing filling.

US20210252356A1 discloses a pickleball paddle that may include a handle and a head coupled to the handle. The head may include an inner layer sandwiched between a first outer faceplate and a second outer faceplate. The inner layer may include a lattice. At least portions of the handle, the inner layer, the first outer faceplate, and the second outer faceplate are integrally formed as a single unitary body. Paddle provides the user with desirable sound and feel as well as a large sweet spot for striking a pickleball ball.

Various other quiet pickleball paddles also exist in the market and are sold by various merchandise using multiple product names. For instance, the “Owl” paddle available for purchases at https://www.owlpaddle.com/and uses sound dampening on the outside of the paddle by applying a felt-like surface preinstalled instead of underneath the surface.

Further, the pickleball paddle surface is known to lose texture over time reducing performance to the player. Generally, a player has to repurchase a new pickleball paddle every time their pickleball paddle is worn out, which is an economic burden for the player. Thus, there is a need for a pickleball paddle having a detachable paddle surface that provides an option of replacing the paddle surface (skin) when the paddle surface is worn out instead of replacing the whole pickleball paddle. The pickleball paddle having a detachable paddle surface already exists in the market. For instance, CN220193928U discloses a pick racket with a replaceable hitting surface that comprises a racket body. The racket body is provided with a racket surface, a handle part connected with the racket surface, a racket core arranged in the racket surface part, and a covered edge arranged along the periphery of the racket surface part. An accommodating cavity for positioning a ball-hitting surface is defined by the covering edge and the surfaces of the two sides of the racket core; wherein an adhesive layer adhered to the surface of the racket core and a release layer adhered to the surface of the adhesive layer are arranged on the accommodating cavity, so that the ball hitting surface is adhered by tearing off the release layer

The existing solutions related to quiet pickleball paddles do not effectively reduce sound levels while playing, and are difficult to manufacture, and are inefficient in use. Further, the connection mechanism between the core and the paddle surface (skin) of the existing pickleball paddle having a detachable paddle surface is ineffective and inefficient and cannot be used multiple times. There is a need for an effective and efficient solution that solves the aforementioned problem by providing a pickleball paddle with a removable and replaceable paddle surface that effectively reduces sound levels while playing.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a pickleball paddle that can effectively reduce sound levels while playing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pickleball paddle that can provide an option to the user to select and customize the paddle surface according to their requirements.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pickleball paddle that can enable users to remove the old and worn-out paddle surface and replace it with a new paddle surface, thereby saving costs associated with purchasing an entirely new pickleball paddle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pickleball paddle that does not require any special tools for the replacement of the paddle surface.

While the way that the present disclosure addresses the disadvantages of the prior art will be discussed in greater detail below, in general, the present disclosure provides a pickleball paddle comprising a handle configured to be gripped by the hands of a user and a head connected to the handle. The head comprises a core having two opposite sides and a paddle surface is removably disposed on both opposite sides of the core. An adhesive layer is interposed between the paddle surface and each side of the core and the adhesive layer comprises a micro-suction tape.

In an embodiment, each side of the core comprises at least one guide hole disposed at the periphery of each side to removably hold the paddle surface on each side of the core.

In an embodiment, each side of the core is recessed to removably hold the paddle surface in each side of the core.

In an embodiment, the micro-suction tape comprises a sheet of a plurality of micro-suction cups.

In an embodiment, the adhesive layer comprises a single continuous micro-suction tape.

In an embodiment, the adhesive layer comprises a discontinuous micro-suction tape that includes a plurality of individual discontinuous micro-suction tapes arranged substantially in a layer-like manner.

In an embodiment, the paddle surface is replaceable and/or removable.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description below, in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present disclosure may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar elements throughout the figures, and

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of a pickleball paddle, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective exploded view of a pickleball paddle of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a side-exploded view of a pickleball paddle of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side-exploded view of a pickleball paddle, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is of exemplary embodiments of the invention only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the following description is intended to provide a convenient illustration for implementing various embodiments of the invention. As will become apparent, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described in these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth herein. It should be appreciated that the description herein may be adapted to be employed with alternatively configured devices having different shapes, components, attachment mechanisms and the like and still fall within the scope of the present invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not for limitation.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

The pickleball paddle will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, particularly FIGS. 1-4.

Reference is initially made to FIG.1 which illustrates a front perspective view of a pickleball paddle 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The pickleball paddle 100 comprises a handle 110 connected to a head 120, the entirety of which will be described in greater detail in the below description.

The handle 110 is covered with an ergonomically designed grip 112 that is configured to be gripped and manipulated by the hands of a user. An endcap 114 may be placed at the free end of the handle 110 for support and protection of the paddle 100.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the head 120 comprises a core 130 having two sides 131 arranged opposite of one another. The core 130 has a general honeycomb mold structure and the core 130 could be made of any material having sufficient strength and rigidity including but not limited to polyvinylchloride foam, polyurethane foam, polyethylene or polystyrene foam, balsa wood, metal foam, syntactic foams and so on. Each side 131 of the core 130 comprises at least one guide hole 134 to removably hold a paddle surface 140 in each side 131 of the core 130. Further, each side 131 of the core 130 is recessed to removably hold the paddle surface 140 in each side 131 of the core 130. The head 120 may be formed from any conventional manufacturing process known in the art such as but not limited to additive manufacturing process, extrusion process, injection molding, and so on. In an embodiment, as seen in FIGS. 1-3, the paddle surface 140 is formed of carbon fiber material.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a paddle surface 140 is removably disposed on both opposite sides 131 of the core 130. The paddle surface 140 is removable and replaceable with multiple textures and thicknesses options. Once, a paddle surface 140 is worn out due to various factors such as repeated use, environmental factors, and so on, then the user can replace the old paddle surface 140 with a new paddle surface 140. Further, users can selectively choose (customize) a paddle surface 140 from a variety of paddle surfaces 140 that could have different designs, different colors, different textures, different geometrical patterns, and so on. Further, the user can replace the old paddle surface 140 having a certain thickness with a new paddle surface 140 having a different thickness to better suit his/her playing style. Broadly speaking, the user can replace the old paddle surface 140 with any new paddle surface 140 depending on their requirements.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an adhesive layer 150 is interposed between the paddle surface 140 and the core 130. The adhesive layer 150 comprises a micro-suction tape 152 that comprises a sheet of a plurality of micro-suction cups. The micro-suction tape 152 is already known in the prior art and is also referred to as “micro-suction cup”, “micro suction tape”, “nano suction cup” and “nano suction tape”. The one side of the micro-suction tape 152 is attached to the paddle surface 140 by a suitable adhesive. The side 131 of the core 130 is attached to the other side of the micro-suction tape 152 by pressing the side 131 of the core 130 against the micro-suction tape 152. The side 131 of the core 130 sticks to the micro-suction tape 152 due to small bubbles (cavities) on the surface of the micro-suction tape 152. The small bubbles (cavities) on the surface of the micro-suction tape 152 contain air, which is squeezed out when the surface of side 131 of the core 130 is pressed against the surface of the micro-suction tape 152. Due to the sealing properties of the material, when the paddle surface 140 is pulled off the surface of the side 131 of the core 130, a vacuum is created in the small bubbles (cavities) on the surface of the micro-suction tape 152. Due to external air pressure, this creates a force that prevents the paddle surface 140 from being removed from the side 131 of the core 130, a mechanism similar to that of a “suction cup”. When the ball strikes the paddle surface 140, the plurality of micro suction cups at least partially absorbs the impact of the ball. Thus, the plurality of micro suction cups of micro-suction tape 152 tends to quiet the strike of the ball, which is known to be annoyingly loud in pickleball. Thus, the micro-suction tape 152 serves to reduce the sound (decibel) levels while the user is playing with the ball head 120 as the plurality of micro suction cups at least partially absorb the impact of the ball striking the playing surface of the paddle surface 140.

The micro-suction tape 152 provides enough suction to hold the paddle surface 140. As the pickleball contacts the paddle surface 140, this will further enforce the suction of the micro-suction tape 152 to hold to the side 131 of the core 130. It takes several pounds of pressure to cause the adherence to slide between the two surfaces. When a large enough surface area of the paddle surface 140 is pressed onto the micro-suction tape 152, considerable force is necessary to detach the paddle surface 140 by pulling it off. A significant force is necessary to detach the paddle surface 140 by pulling it away from the micro-suction tape. However, it is easy to peel the micro-suction tape 152 from the paddle surface 140 starting at the edge of the contact area. Further, the micro-suction tape 152 is highly reusable and also immune to collecting dust or debris.

The micro-suction tape 152 can also easily be cleaned with soap and water solutions and can be reused several times. The micro-suction tape 152 can also be cleaned by touching it repeatedly with a sticky side of gaffa tape or by wiping it with a wet tissue.

In an embodiment as seen in FIGS. 1-3, the micro-suction tape 152 has a thickness in the range of 0.1 millimeter to 0.8 millimeter and is substantially circular in shape. However, it should be understood that the micro-suction tape 152 could have any thickness and shape depending on the requirements of the user.

In an embodiment, the micro-suction tape 152 is a Sewell direct airStick micro-suction tape that is sold by Sewell on various e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. In another embodiment, the micro-suction tape 152 could be any micro-suction tape sold by any merchandise such as but not limited to 3M, Etsy, Xiamen Aerchs Adhesive Tape Co., Ltd, Exel Trading Co., Nitto Denko Corporation, LINTEC Corporation, Wacker Chemie AG, Wonder Polymers and so on.

In an embodiment as seen in FIG. 3, the adhesive layer 150 comprises a single continuous micro-suction tape 152 that is sandwiched between the paddle surface 140 and a side 131 of the core 130. In an embodiment as seen in FIG. 4, the adhesive layer 150 comprises a discontinuous micro-suction tape 152 that essentially includes a plurality of individual discontinuous micro-suction tapes 152 arranged substantially in a layer-like manner and the plurality of individual discontinuous micro-suction tapes 152 are sandwiched between the paddle surface 140 and the side 131 of the core 130. The advantage of the single continuous micro-suction tape 152 in comparison to the discontinuous micro-suction tape 152 is that the single continuous micro-suction tape 152 provides more adhesion in comparison to the discontinuous micro-suction tape 152. The advantage of the discontinuous micro-suction tape 152 in comparison to the single continuous micro-suction tape 152 is that the discontinuous micro-suction tape 152 requires less quantity of micro-suction tape 152 in comparison to the single continuous micro-suction tape 152 and thus, the discontinuous micro-suction tape 152 is more cost-efficient.

In an embodiment as seen in FIG. 3, the micro-suction tape 152 has two opposite sides wherein one side has a conventional adhesive and the opposite side has a plurality of micro-suction cups. However, it should be understood that in various other embodiments, the micro-suction tape 152 could have two opposite sides wherein both sides could include a plurality of micro-suction cups.

An exemplary method of replacing an old paddle surface 140 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

Firstly, a user identifies which paddle surface 140 needs to be replaced. Afterward, the user removes the old paddle surface 140 from side 131 of the core 130 by peeling the micro-suction tape 152 from the paddle surface 140. Afterward, the new paddle surface 140 is applied on the side of the user by pressing the new paddle surface 140 to the side 131 of the core 130.

In another embodiment (not shown in figures), a prepackaged pickleball paddle kit (not shown in figures) is provided that includes a pickleball paddle 100 that comprises a handle 110 connected to a head 120. Further, the prepackaged pickleball paddle kit (not shown in figures) comprises a plurality of paddle surfaces 140 and at least one sheet of micro-suction tape 152. The user can purchase the prepackaged pickleball paddle kit (not shown in figures) from the supplier/retailer and then customize the pickleball paddle 100 by selectively attaching paddle surface 140 according to their choice without requiring any special tools.

Finally, while the present invention has been described above with reference to various exemplary embodiments, many changes, combinations, and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the various components may be implemented in alternative ways. These alternatives can be suitably selected depending upon the particular application or in consideration of any number of factors associated with the operation of the device. In addition, the techniques described herein may be extended or modified for use with other types of devices. These and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.