REPLACEABLE FACE PICKLEBALL PADDLE

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a pickleball paddle. The pickleball paddle includes a head connected to a handle. The head includes 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. A user can select and attach various paddle surfaces on the two opposite sides of the core according to the requirements of the user and can replace the paddle surface. Further, the pickleball paddle has the added advantage that it can effectively reduce sound levels while playing.

Claims

1. A pickleball paddle (100), comprising: a handle (110) configured to be gripped by the hands of a user; a head (120) connected to the handle (110); wherein the head (120) comprises a core (130) having two opposite sides (131); a paddle surface (140) removably disposed on both opposite sides (131) of the core (130); an adhesive layer (150) interposed between the paddle surface (140), and each side (131) of the core (130); and wherein the adhesive layer (150) comprises a micro-suction tape (152).

2. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein each side (131) of the core (130) comprises at least one guide hole (134) disposed at a periphery of each side (131) to removably hold the paddle surface (140) in each side (131) of the core (130).

3. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein each side (131) of the core (130) is recessed to removably hold the paddle surface (140) on each side (131) of the core (130).

4. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the micro-suction tape (152) comprises a sheet of a plurality of micro-suction cups.

5. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer (150) comprises a single continuous micro-suction tape (152).

6. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer (150) comprises a discontinuous micro-suction tape (152) that includes a plurality of individual discontinuous micro-suction tapes (152) arranged substantially in a layer-like manner.

7. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the paddle surface (140) is formed of carbon fiber material.

8. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the core (130) has a honeycomb mold structure.

9. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the paddle surface (140) is removable and/or replaceable.

10. The pickleball paddle (100) of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the micro-suction tape (152) is in the range of 0.1 millimeters to 0.8 millimeters.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] 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

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of a pickleball paddle, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective exploded view of a pickleball paddle of FIG. 1.

[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates a side-exploded view of a pickleball paddle of FIG. 1.

[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates a side-exploded view of a pickleball paddle, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] The pickleball paddle will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, particularly FIGS. 1-4.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] An exemplary method of replacing an old paddle surface 140 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.