Yang, Wei-chao (Taipei, TW)
Kuo, Chang-chin (Taipei, TW)

11/181246

08/14/2007

07/14/2005

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Continental Chemical Industries Co., Ltd. (Taipei, TW)

473/300

473/549, 473/568

A63B53/14

473/549-552, 473/300-303, D21/756, 473/568

Blau, Stephen

Baxley, Charles E.

What is claimed is:

1. A sports handle, comprising: a handle pipe; at least one groove, disposed on the external circumferential surface of said handle pipe and axially extended along said handle pipe; and at least one sheet handle strap, being wrapped and fixed onto the external circumferential surface of said handle pipe and at a position where said grooves resides; such that said groove is provided for overlapping and fixing said handle strap into said groove of said handle pipe, said sheet having edges wherein said edges of the handle strap overlap in said groove of said pipe forming an overlapped section of said strap, said overlapped section in said groove forms an external circumferential surface on said strap which is even with the overall external surface of said handle strap.

2. The handle of claim 1, wherein said groove has an axial length substantially equal to the axial length of said handle pipe.

3. The handle of claim 2, wherein said sheet handle strap has a unit of a sheet, and said sheet handle strap is wrapped and fixed onto the whole external circumferential surface of said handle pipe.

4. The handle of claim 1, wherein said groove has two groove edges vertically coupled to a flat bottom of said handle pipe.

5. The handle of claim 1, wherein said groove has two groove edges coupled to a flat bottom of said handle pipe in a decreasingly aslant manner.

6. The handle of claim 1, wherein said groove has two edges coupled to a concave bottom of said handle pipe in a decreasingly aslant and continuous manner.

7. A sports equipment handle, comprising: a handle pipe; at least one groove, disposed on the external circumferential surface of said handle pipe and axially extended along said handle pipe; and at least one sheet handle strap, being wrapped and fixed onto the external circumferential surface of said handle pipe and at a position where said groove resides; such that said groove is provided for overlapping and fixing said handle strap into said groove of said handle pipe, said sheet having edges wherein said edges of the handle strap overlap in said groove of said handle pipe forming an overlapped section of said strap, said overlapped section in said groove forms an external circumferential surface on said strap which is even with the overall external surface of said handle strap wherein said sheet handle strap wrapped around said handle pipe has an edge with a thickness equal to the thickness of an uncut edge, and the other edge is a cut edge.

8. The handle of claim 7, wherein said sheet handle strap is coated with an adhesive on the whole surface corresponding to said handle pipe.

9. The handle of claim 7, wherein said handle strap has an uncut edge fixed into said groove of said handle pipe, and said cut edge is adhered and fixed onto said uncut edge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sports equipment handle, and more particularly to a handle pipe being used together with a sheet handle strap and having a groove axially disposed along the circumferential surface of the handle pipe for receiving the overlapped edges of the sheet handle strap, so that the external circumferential surface of the handle strip will not be protruded.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1 for the cross-sectional view of a sports equipment handle pipe 11 being wrapped by a sheet handle strap 10 , the sports equipment handle pipe has a complete continuous external circumferential surface, and the sheet handle strap 10 is wrapped around and fixed onto the external circumferential surface of the handle pipe 11 , and the corresponding edges 101 , 102 are overlapped and glued together. If the overlapped edges 101 , 102 are not thinned edges, the external circumferential surface of the sports equipment handle pipe 11 forms a protrusion 103 . The protrusion 103 becomes an action point of force, and makes it uncomfortable for users to grip. Furthermore, the overlapped edges will be lifted or loosened easily.

Referring to FIG. 2 for the solution for overcoming the foregoing problem, the surfaces of the two overlapped edges 101 , 102 corresponding to the surface of the handle pipe 11 are thinned, so as to reduce the thickness of the overlapped edges and avoid the formation of a protrusion 103 . In addition to thinning the overlapped edges corresponding to the surface of the handle pipe 11 , some manufacturers thermal press the other side of the overlapped edges to further reduce the thickness of the overlapped edges. As a result, no protrusion will be formed, but a slight recession will be formed to make the overlapped edges no longer an action point of force.

However, both thinning and thermal pressing processes not only increase the manufacturing cost, but also make the overlapped edges too thin or too easy to break.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a feasible solution to thin one side of the overlapped edges to avoid the formation of the protrusion. Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a groove on the handle pipe for fixing the overlapped edges of the foregoing sheet handle strap and use the depth of the groove to offset the thickness of the overlapped edges of the sheet handle strap, so that no protrusion will be formed at the overlapped position on the external circumferential surface of the handle strap. In other words, at least a part of the external circumferential surface of the handle strap at the overlapped position is even with the overall external circumferential surface of the handle strap.

The handle sports equipment handle pipe that goes with a sheet handle strap comprises a sheet handle strap wrapped around and fixed onto a sports equipment handle pipe, and the two corresponding edges are overlapped and fixed. A groove is provided along the axial length of the external circumferential surface of the handle pipe for fixing the two corresponding overlapped edges of the handle strap. One of the corresponding sides of the sheet handle strap is of the same thickness with the uncut edge of the handle strap, and the other side is a thinned edge, such that the uncut edge is fixed into the groove and the cut edge is overlapped and fixed onto the uncut edge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art handle pipe wrapped and fixed by a sheet handle strap;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another prior art handle pipe wrapped and fixed by a sheet handle strap;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a handle pipe and a sheet handle strap of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a handle pipe being wrapped by a sheet handle strap according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of Section 5 - 5 as depicted in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of Section 6 - 6 as depicted in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a handle pipe assembled with a sheet handle strap according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a handle pipe assembled with a sheet handle strap according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a handle pipe assembled with a sheet handle strap according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a handle pipe assembled with a sheet handle strap according to the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 for a sheet handle strap 20 that wraps and fixes a sports equipment handle pipe 30 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle pipe 30 comprises a groove 31 disposed along the axial length of the external circumferential surface of the handle pipe 30 . One of the corresponding sides of the handle strap 20 has a thickness equal to the thickness of an uncut edge 21 of the handle strap 20 , and the other edge is a cut edge. The whole surface of the handle strap 20 corresponding to the handle pipe 30 is coated with an adhesive.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the two corresponding edges 21 , 22 of the sheet handle strap 20 are overlapped and adhered. In other words, the uncut edge 21 is adhered and fixed to the bottom of the groove 21 . The depth of the groove 21 offsets the thickness of the overlapped uncut edge 21 and the cut edge 22 of the handle strap 20 , and thus no protrusion will be formed on the external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 , and at least one portion of the external circumferential surface at the overlapped position is even with the overall external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 .

Basically, the groove 31 is capable of fixing the two overlapped edges 21 , 22 and preventing any protrusion formed on the overall external circumferential surface, and thus the groove 31 can be of different forms as far as it meets the foregoing requirements.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 for a shape of the groove 31 , two groove edges 311 , 312 are vertically coupled with a flat bottom 313 of the groove 31 . Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the two groove edges 311 , 312 are also vertically coupled to a flat bottom 313 of the groove 33 , but the width of the groove 33 is larger than the width of the groove 31 as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Since the difference of the width of the groove will give different situations for the two edges 21 , 22 of the handle strap 20 . Regardless of the difference, the overlapped position will not have any protrusion formed on the external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 , and at least one part of the external circumferential surface at the overlapped position is even with the overall external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 .

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the groove 35 is in the shape of an arch, and two groove edges 351 , 352 of the groove is aslant and forms a continuous arc groove bottom 353 . An open end of the uncut edge 21 of the handle strap 20 is in contact with the groove bottom 353 and adhered to one of the groove edges 21 , and the cut edge 22 is adhered and fixed to the uncut edge 21 . Therefore, no protrusion will be formed at the overlapped position of the external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 , and at least one part of the external surface at the overlapped position is even with the overall external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 .

Referring to FIGS. 12 to 14, the two groove edges 341 , 342 of the groove 34 are slightly aslant, and the two edges 21 , 22 of the handle strap 20 are overlapped and adhered with each other in a fashion different from that described above. However, the cut edge 21 and the uncut edge 22 of the handle strap 20 at the overlapped position still have no protrusion formed on the external circumferential surface of the handle strap 20 , and at least one part of the external circumferential surface at the overlapped position is even with the overall circumferential surface of the handle strap.

In summation of the above description, the handle pipe provides a groove disposed on the external circumferential surface along its axial length, and the groove is provided to fix the two corresponding overlapped edges of the sheet handle strap. The depth of the groove offsets the thickness of the overlapped sheet handle strap, and thus no protrusion will be formed at the overlapped position on the external circumferential surface of the handle strap. In other words, the thickness of a part of the external circumferential surface at the overlapped position is equal to or less than the thickness of the overall external circumferential surface. Therefore, it only needs to cut one of the overlapped edges of the handle pipe of the invention that goes with the sheet handle strap 20 , and thus reducing the cost of the secondary manufacture and also avoiding the handle strap from being damaged easily by the thermal pressing and thinning processes.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.