PATENT AGENT EXAMINATION PAPER D

Friday, April 27, 2012, from 9h00 to 13h00

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

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5. 6. 7. 8.

You have been provided with a copy of the examination paper, answer book(s), an envelope, and a copy of the Patent Act and Patent Rules. The only other text you are permitted to bring to the examination is one of the following: English dictionary; French dictionary; or bilingual (French/English) dictionary. You must provide your own pen with which to write the paper. Cellular phones or any other types of wireless communication devices are not permitted in the examination room. Write your assigned candidate number on the examination paper, the answer book(s), and the envelope. No other form of identification may be used on any material submitted. Identify your answers by question number. Write legibly, using double spacing, on the right side of the answer booklet, staying within the margins of the book pages. Markers are not obliged to consider anything that is written on the left hand pages, nor anything that is indecipherable. You may use the left hand pages for your notes and drafts. You may refer to, incorporate and use portions of the examination paper in your answers. Any matter so incorporated must be clearly indicated in the answer booklet. Because the answer booklet will be scanned into digital format, you must not use staples, sticky notes or highlighters. If a portion of the examination paper is to be incorporated into the answer book, it must be held firmly in place with adhesive tape. You are responsible for providing your own adhesive tape, and scissors. Salutations, signatures and other formalities of correspondence are not required in your answers; substance is what is important. Give reasons for your choices and alternatives. Skeleton and outline answers will be considered if they appear on the right hand pages. Total marks available in this paper are 100. Each question should be read carefully and answered fully. Take note of the marks allotted to each question or part of a question, as a guide to budgeting your time.

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9. 10. 11.

You have four hours to complete the examination. At the conclusion of the examination period, put down your pen. The Presiding Officer will note the candidate number of anyone not following this rule, and markers may take this into consideration when marking the papers. Upon completion of the paper, insert the examination paper, whether used or not to form part of the answers, together with the answer book(s), into the envelope provided to you and thereafter seal the envelope. Only those responses appearing in the answer book(s) will be considered when awarding marks. No envelope, answer book or examination paper may bear any identification other than your assigned candidate number. Leave the provided copy of the Patent Act and Patent Rules on the table, not in the envelope. Give the sealed envelope to the Presiding Officer.

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2012-PAPER D The exam comprises Part A (OPINION) and Part B (SHORT QUESTIONS). Part A comprises Questions A1 to A5 and also includes Schedule A and Schedule B. Part B comprises Questions B1 to B10. PART A - OPINION - TOTAL 77 MARKS Background information Your client, Titan Corporation, is a large manufacturer of replaceable stick blades for hockey sticks. As known in the field of hockey, manufacturers of hockey sticks have been offering hockey sticks in which the blade and the shaft are separate components that may be secured to one another by the player. The hockey stick shaft is a hollow shaft made of aluminum or composite (carbon, Kevlar, graphite). The replaceable stick blade has a tenon or peg provided at the proximal end section of the shank of the stick blade. The tenon or peg is adapted to be inserted into the hollow shaft at its distal end. To replace the blade, the player must first heat the distal end of the shaft so as to soften or melt the adhesive thereby permitting the removal of the blade. The player must then heat the tenon of the replacement blade and the shaft to soften or melt the adhesive found on this new blade to allow for the insertion of the tenon into the hollow shaft. The blade/shaft combination is then left to cool down to permit one to adhere or bond to the other. TITAN has an important market share in the field of replaceable stick blades and TITAN's blades are sold in Canada, the United States and Europe. TITAN has therefore developed an expertise in the making of replaceable stick blades. Rangers Inc., a company located in Canada and specialized in the making of hollow composite components such as bicycle handlebars, bicycle stems, frame tubing and lacrosse shafts, wants to enter into the hockey sticks market by selling a new "one- piece" hockey stick. RANGERS will offer hockey sticks having different rigidities, flexes and feels in order to respond to the different needs of today's hockey players. RANGERS has therefore developed different hollow shafts each having at its distal end a tapered outer section and an inner section for receiving the proximal end of the blade shank. RANGERS has asked TITAN to provide blades having a tapered end section such that RANGERS can incorporate the TITAN blades in the making of their one-piece hockey sticks.

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The TITAN blades will be manufactured in Canada and in China and sent to the RANGERS' factory located in Vancouver, British-Columbia, Canada. Having the TITAN blades, RANGERS will make each one-piece hockey stick by inserting the tapered end section of the blade's shank in the distal end of the hollow shaft, by wrapping a fiber tape pre-impregnated with plastic in an overlapping manner onto the tapered outer section of the hollow shaft and a portion of the shank and by placing the blade/shaft combination in a mold where pressure and heat will be applied to the mold for bonding together the blade shank and the shaft and for shaping the blade according to different curvatures. TITAN has now obtained an order from RANGERS for providing stick blades that will be incorporated in their hollow shafts for assembling and making one-piece hockey sticks in Canada. The RANGERS one-piece hockey sticks will be sold in Canada, the United States and Europe. To meet RANGERS' requirements, TITAN has designed two versions of a hockey stick blade, Blade 1 and Blade 2, which are described in Schedule A. TITAN has become aware of recently issued CA Patent 2,XXX,678 to Redwings Products, Inc. for a HOCKEY STICK BLADE AND A METHOD OF MAKING THEREOF (hereinafter the "'678 Patent"). A copy of the relevant description, claims and drawings of the '678 Patent is attached at Schedule B. Whilst both versions of the TITAN proposed blade construction and method are somewhat different from the REDWINGS's patented product and method, TITAN is concerned about potential infringement of the '678 Patent, especially since REDWINGS is known for aggressively asserting its patents against their competitors. QUESTION A1 (4 Marks) State in point form the Canadian principles of law regarding claim construction and infringement that one must apply in construing a claim and determining whether this claim is infringed by a product or method. You should list at least eight principles. Also provide statutory and case law supports. In light of your answer to Question A1, please advise your client, TITAN, upon the specific questions set forth below: QUESTION A2 (21 Marks) Construe claims 1 to 11 of the '678 Patent. For claim 1, you should construe at least elements (f), (g), (h), (i) and (j). For claim 10, you should construe at least elements (a), (b) and (e).

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For claim 11, you should construe at least elements (a), (b) and (e). For each of dependent claims 2 to 10, you should construe at least one term. Note: You should identify any information you feel is missing to properly advise your client. You may make reasonable assumptions in the absence of specific information but you should identify any such assumption. You should identify and construe the terms appearing in the claims which are necessary for a proper analysis of the infringement questions. QUESTION A3 (20 Marks) Discuss whether Blade 1 would infringe claims 1 to 9 of the '678 Patent, whether the method of making a hockey stick incorporating Blade 1 would infringe claim 10, and whether the method of making Blade 1 would infringe 11 regardless of the party performing the methods. Note: Even if you conclude that a claim is not infringed, you should analyze each claim which depends therefrom upon its merits and not simply conclude that it must also be non-infringed because of its dependency. QUESTION A4 (20 Marks) Discuss whether Blade 2 would infringe claims 1 to 9 of the '678 Patent, whether the method of making a hockey stick incorporating Blade 2 would infringe claim 10, and whether the method of making Blade 2 would infringe 11 regardless of the party performing the methods. Note: Even if you conclude that a claim is not infringed, you should analyze each claim which depends therefrom upon its merits and not simply conclude that it must also be non-infringed because of its dependency. QUESTION A5 (12 Marks) Assuming infringement of some or all of claims 1, 9, 10 and 11 is found, identify for each of claims 1, 9, 10 and 11 which of the parties, i.e. TITAN and RANGERS, would be directly or indirectly infringing and refer to relevant case-law.

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PART B - SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS - TOTAL 23 MARKS QUESTION B1 (1.5 marks) Your client has a product with which they have an important commercial success in the United States. Your client runs ads in trade magazines which are read by Canadian consumers. The products are not directly sold in Canada and are rather sold to a U.S. distributor located just across the border in Plattsburg, N.Y. Your client is aware of a third party Canadian patent covering this product. Your client has been informed that many of their products end up in Canada by Canadian purchasers crossing the border to visit the U.S. distributor. Advise your client as to whether they can continue their activities or whether there will be an issue with respect to infringement of the Canadian patent. Provide statutory or case law support. QUESTION B2 (2 marks) Your client, Whacko Inc., is a major supplier of plumbing fixtures, including a line of faucets which it had manufactured in China and imported into Canada. Whacko tells you that two lots of faucets were imported from China over a period of time. Whacko has come to you with a letter received from a competitor, stating that it has a Canadian patent covering the faucets in question and alleging infringement. You review the patent and conclude that your client's faucets do indeed fall within the claims. Your client also tells you: - the first lot of faucets was manufactured and paid for in China before the claim

date of the Canadian patent but was not received in Canada until after the claim date; and

- the second lot was paid for in China before the claim date but was not manufactured and shipped to Canada until after the claim date.

Given that the two lots of faucets are all within the claims, which ones (if any) would be considered to infringe? Provide statutory support and case law support. QUESTION B3 (2.5 marks) Describe the five exceptions to infringement set out in the following sections of the Patent Act: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Section 55.2(6) Section 55.2(1) Section 23 Section 21.01 Section 19

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QUESTION B4 (3 marks) Your client has filed a patent application in Canada years ago for a new substance and the Patent Office has now allowed the patent application. All of the allowed claims are directed to a process of making the new substance. Since your client filed the patent application, a number of competitors are now selling the new substance in Canada. Each of these competitors is having the new substance made in a foreign country and is importing it into Canada. None of these competitors are manufacturing the substance in Canada. Your client is concerned that a patent with claims to the process will not be enforceable since no one is manufacturing the substance in Canada using the process defined in the allowed claims. As a result, your client is considering abandoning the application and not paying the issue fee. 1. 2. 3.

Should your client abandon the application because the claims cover a process only? What if your client does not know the process the competitors are using to make the substance imported into Canada? What if the substance that is produced is only an intermediate and your client's competitors are all importing a final product into Canada that is produced in a foreign country using the substance to produce the final product. Will this change your answer to the client?

Provide statutory or case law support for each question. QUESTION B5 (1.5 marks) AIRFAN Inc. sells a unique air compressor and holds a patent covering this unique air compressor. Your client has been repairing or rebuilding these air compressors for customers that have purchased the air compressors from AIRFAN. These activities have become a very large part of your client's business and as a result your client has become concerned about the Canadian patent of AIRFAN. Your client has asked you whether they should approach AIRFAN about entering into a patent license so that they can continue repairing or rebuilding these air compressors without worrying about AIRFAN enforcing its patent against them. Would you advise your client to approach AIRFAN about a patent license so that they can continue to repair or rebuild the air compressors in Canada? Provide case law support. QUESTION B6 (2 marks) Your client is a small manufacturer and they were approached by SKATE Inc. to manufacture a number of parts for an inline skate. SKATE is a large multinational corporation and has a relatively large legal department. SKATE took the parts made by your client along with a number of other parts and assembled all of these parts into inline skates in Canada. Your client was aware that these assembled inline skates were

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direct copies of inline skates manufactured and patented in Canada by ROLLER Inc. ROLLER has now brought an action against SKATE and your client for patent infringement. Assuming the inline skates assembled by SKATE do infringe the Canadian patent, but that no single part being manufactured by your client infringes the patent, could your client be found liable for patent infringement? Provide case law support. QUESTION B7 (2.5 marks) Your client has been named in an action for infringement brought by DIAMOND Inc., alleging infringement of the product claims of the Canadian patent of DIAMOND. The action is brought on April 9, 2012. After a lengthy examination, the patent of DIAMOND only issued on May 10, 2007 and the patent term expired on April 5. 2010. Your client commenced manufacture and sale of the allegedly infringing product in June 2006 and they are still selling this product. 1. Indicate to your client the potential monetary remedies available to DIAMOND

and specify for which periods of time. Provide statutory support. 2. Indicate whether an injunction is available to DIAMOND.

QUESTION B8 (3 marks) Your client manufactures a liquid cleaner product and has received a notice from MRCLEAN Inc. alleging that your client's cleaner infringes the claims of MRCLEAN's patent for a liquid cleaning solution. Your client admits that all the ingredients of its liquid cleaner product are the same ingredients as in the claims of the MRCLEAN patent. However, your client says that the ingredients of its cleaner product are the same as those used in old liquid cleaning products of a third party, ACME Inc., and shows you brochures illustrating two ACME products that were sold long before MRCLEAN filed the patent application, one for ACMECLEAN and the other for ACMEFRESH. 1.

2.

If all the ingredients of your client's product are the same as the ingredients of the ACMECLEAN product, explain what defense to infringement this may present to your client. If only some but not all of the ingredients of your client's product are same as ingredients in the ACMECLEAN product but the rest of these ingredients are the same as ingredients in the ACMEFRESH product, how would this change your advice?

Provide case law support for each question.

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QUESTION B9 (3 Marks) Your client has been named in a patent infringement action in the Federal Court of Canada. Your client's purported infringing activity commenced in 2005 shortly after grant and the action was brought in April 2012. 1.

2.

3.

Assuming that the Canadian patent was granted from an application filed before October 1989, and your client's infringing activity took place across Canada, explain to your client what limitation period may apply to this infringement action. Provide statutory support. Assuming the activity of your client was restricted to one of the common law provinces and Quebec only, how would your answer in (1) above change, if at all. Provide statutory or case law support. Assuming the Canadian patent is based on an application filed after and not before October 1989, explain how your answers for each of (1) and (2) above would be the same or different. Provide statutory support.

QUESTION B10 (2 Marks) A patent infringement action is commenced by ABC Inc. against your client. The patent of ABC was granted on January 5, 2010 and the filing date was March 10, 2006. On February 2, 2009, ABC had decided to change agents, to use as its new agents the firm it was intending to use as counsel for the contemplated infringement action and instructed that the file be transferred. The new firm submitted the maintenance fee due before March 10, 2009 and the fee was accepted. The appointment of agent was submitted on April 20, 2009 and the new firm has been submitting the maintenance fees on every anniversary thereafter. 1. 2.

Based on the above, advise your client whether it faces liability for infringement of the Canadian patent of ABC. Assuming the new firm submitted a request for reinstatement on February 8, 2010, together with the reinstatement fee and maintenance fees for 2009 and 2010, explain whether your answer to (1) above would be the same or different.

Provide case law support for each part of the question.

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SCHEDULE A

Version 1 - Blade 1 Version 1 of the TITAN stick blade is shown in Figure 5, which is a perspective view of the stick blade, Figure 6, which is a perspective view of the stick blade with portions being partially removed, and Figure 7, which is a cross-sectional view of the stick blade (hereinafter "Blade 1"). Blade 1 comprises an elongated extension (shank) 8, a heel section 10 and a blade element 12. The heel section 10 is located at the junction of the extension 8 and the blade element 12. The proximal end of the extension 8 defines a tapered end section 14. In order to make Blade 1, as shown in Figure 1, a core 16 having the general shape of the desired blade is provided. The core 16 comprises a first portion 18 located above and aligned with a second portion 20. The first and second portions 18, 20 are dimensioned such as to have the shape of a blade when aligned with one another. The first and second portions 18, 20 are made of thermo-expandable foam. The first and second portions 18, 20 may be cut from a sheet of foam. Liquid foam may also be injected in a mold in order to form the first and second portions 18, 20. As shown in Figure 2, a first fiber braid 22 is wrapped over the first portion 18 and a second fiber braid 24 is wrapped over the second portion 20. As shown in Figure 3, a third fiber braid 26 is wrapped over the first and second fiber braids 22, 24 of the first and second portions 18, 20 such as to realize a preformed blade 28 as shown in Figure 4. The preformed blade 28 comprises the foam core and the fiber braids covering the foam core and is a "preformed" blade since it has to be placed in a mold in order to manufacture Blade 1. The fiber braids 22, 24, 26 are expandable so as to conform to the shape of the first and second portions 18, 20 and are made of woven fibers such as Kevlar fibers, polyester fibers or polyethylene fibers. The fibers are pre-impregnated with a thermoplastic material such as Nylon or polypropylene. The fiber braids are made of vertical fibers and fibers crossing at 45º. However, any other fibers crossing at between 30º and 60º can be used. The foam core and the fibers braids have similar processing temperatures and the melting point of the thermoplastic-fibers matrix is therefore similar to the softening point of the foam. As shown in Figure 4, the preformed blade 28 is inserted in a mold in order to manufacture Blade 1. It is understood that the mold may be heated before or after the introduction of the preformed blade 28 in the mold or it may remain at a steady temperature during the entire process. The mold is afterwards closed and heat is applied to the mold in order to melt the plastic-fibers matrix and soften the foam core of

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the preformed blade 28. Pressure is also maintained on the mold in order to compress the blade during the process. When the fibers-thermoplastic matrix is set after cooling, the mold is opened and Blade 1 is removed from the mold. Excess material along the edges of the blade is removed with quick trimming and sanding operations. Blade 1 has the general shape of a straight hockey stick blade. Because a thermoplastic material is used for making Blade 1, Blade 1 is also reformable i.e. it can be heated and softened again in another mold for shaping the blade element 12 to a selected curvature. As seen in Figures 6 and 7, once the thermoplastic-fibers matrix is set, Blade 1 has an internal rib 30 forming an interface between the first and second foam portions and joining the front and rear facing walls of Blade 1. The rib 30 has fiber reinforced elements that are oriented generally in a transverse direction to the plane of the blade such that the rib 30 increases the impact resistance of the blade when the blade is subjected to a significant impact from the puck upon the hockey player performing a hard pass or a slap shot. Version 2 - Blade 2 Version 2 of the TITAN stick blade is shown in Figure 11, which is a perspective view of the stick blade, Figure 12, which is a perspective view of the stick blade with portions being partially removed, and Figure 13, which is a cross-sectional view of the stick blade (hereinafter "Blade 2"). As shown in Figure 11, Blade 2 comprises an elongated extension (shank) 80, a heel section 100 and a blade element 120. The heel section 100 is located at the junction of the extension 80 and the blade element 120. The proximal end of the extension 80 defines a tapered end section 140. In order to make Blade 2, as shown in Figure 8, a core 160 having the general shape of the desired blade is provided. The core 160 is made of thermo-expandable foam and has a plurality of apertures 180. As shown in Figure 9, sheets 200, 220, 240, 260 are used for covering the foam core 160. The sheets 200, 220, 240, 260 are made of a material having a rigidity higher than the rigidity of the foam core 160 and have a shape that is slightly larger than that of the foam core 160 such that portions of the sheets also cover the edges of the foam core 160. Sheets 200, 220, 240, 260 are made of fibers impregnated with thermoplastic material such as Nylon or polypropylene where the fibers may be made of Kevlar, polyester or polyethylene and where the fibers are vertical fibers and fibers crossing at between 30º and 60º. The foam core and the plastic-fibers of the sheets have similar processing temperatures and the melting point of the thermoplastic-fibers matrix is therefore similar to the softening point of the foam.

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In order to make a preformed blade 280 as shown in Figure 10, sheets 200, 220 are wetted with a suitable bonding agent such as Nylon and are applied on the front and rear faces of the foam core 160. Sheets 200, 220 are then covered with respective sheets 240, 260. Again, sheets 240, 260 are wetted with a suitable bonding agent such as Nylon before being applied on sheets 220, 220. The preformed blade 280 is afterward inserted in a mold, the mold is closed and heat is applied to the mold in order to melt the plastic-fibers matrix and soften the foam core of the preformed blade 280. Pressure is also maintained on the mold in order to compress the blade during the process and to force the plastic-fibers matrix into the apertures 180. When the fibers-thermoplastic matrix is set after cooling, the mold is opened and Blade 2 is removed from the mold. Excess material along the edges of the blade is removed with quick trimming and sanding operations. Blade 2 has the general shape of a straight hockey stick blade. Because a thermoplastic material is used for making Blade 2, Blade 2 is also reformable i.e. it can be heated and softened again in another mold for shaping the blade element 120 to a selected curvature. As seen in Figures 12 and 13, once the thermoplastic-fibers matrix is set, Blade 2 has internal ribs 300 within the apertures 180 of the foam core 160 and joining the front and rear facing walls of Blade 2. Each rib 300 has fiber reinforced elements oriented generally in a transverse direction to the plane of the blade such that the ribs 300 increase the impact resistance of the blade when the blade is subjected to a significant impact from the puck upon the hockey player performing a hard pass or a slap shot.

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BLADE 1

16 18

20

FIG. 1

BLADE 1

18

22

20

24

FIG. 2

BLADE 1

18+22

20+24

26

FIG. 3

BLADE 1

28

FIG. 4

BLADE 1

7

14

8

10

12

7

FIG. 5

BLADE 1 14

8

10

FIG. 6

12

30

30

FIG. 7

BLADE 2

180

160

180

180

FIG. 8

BLADE 2

260

220

160

200

240

FIG. 9

BLADE 2

280

FIG. 10

BLADE 2

13

140

80

100

120

13

FIG. 11

BLADE 2 140

80

100

FIG. 12

120

300

300

300

300

FIG. 13

SCHEDULE B

Canadian 2,XXX,678 Intellectual Patent CANADIAN PATENT

5 Property Office

(22) Filing date: 2007/12/24 (41) Open to Public Insp: 2009/06/24 (45) Issue Date: 2011/07/04

10 (72) Hull, John (US) (73) Redwings Products, Inc. (US)

(54) Title: HOCKEY STICK BLADE AND A METHOD OF MAKING THEREOF

15 20 25

A blade for a hockey stick, where the blade has a shank, a heel portion below the shank, a blade portion, a front wall that defines a front contacting surface of the stick blade, and a rear wall that defines a rear contacting surface of the stick blade. The front and rear walls are spaced apart at their mid-sections and merge together at their top and bottom edges to define a space therebetween. An inner core is encased within the space and the blade has at least one bridge member extending from the front wall to the rear wall, wherein the front wall, rear wall and bridge member are integral and made of fiber reinforced plastic material and wherein the bridge member has fibers oriented transversely with respect to the front and rear walls.

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HOCKEY STICK BLADE AND A METHOD OF MAKING THEREOF

Field of the invention The present invention relates to game stick blades and in particular to a composite hockey stick blade. Background of the invention A blade of a hockey stick must be extremely strong in order for it to endure the tremendous forces developed between it and a puck. On the other hand, the stick blade must have a certain amount of flexibility so that the player has an acceptable level of "feel" while handling a puck or executing a shot. The optimum design of a stick blade furthermore includes a primary concave contacting surface which places a further limit on its construction; the blade also usually has a corresponding convex contacting surface which is more or less parallel to the concave face, i.e. in order to keep the weight of the blade low. Many types of hockey stick blades are presently known. Traditional blades for ice hockey sticks are made of one or more layers or sheets of wood reinforced with fibers which are impregnated and bonded to the wooden surface with a synthetic resin. These types of reinforced wooden blades have given good results including good playing performance; this performance is mainly the result of the combination of low weight and high stiffness. Stick blades made of synthetic materials with foam core element(s) and layers of fibers impregnated with resin or layers of fibers pre-impregnated with resin or layers of fibers pre-impregnated with plastic are also known. However, difficulties are still encountered in providing a (synthetic) composite blade for a hockey stick that can withstand the substantial impacts to which it is subjected during use and yet provide a "feel" comparable to that of traditional wooden sticks when handling the puck and executing a shot. Composite stick blades may, for example, have good strength characteristics but may have (high) weight, (low) wear and/or feel (i.e. low stiffness) characteristics which may be unacceptable to some players. It is possible, for example, to obtain a light weight stick blade having good stiffness by using a core of polyurethane foam, but, such a core may have a limited shear strength which may lead to internal fracture of the stick blade during use. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an alternative composite stick blade which may be strong, durable, lightweight and of acceptable stiffness. Summary of the invention According to one aspect, the invention provides a blade for a hockey stick, where the blade has a shank; a heel portion below the shank; a blade portion; a front wall that

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defines a front contacting surface of the stick blade; and a rear wall that defines a rear contacting surface of the stick blade. The front and rear walls are spaced apart at their mid-sections and merge together at their top and bottom edges to define a space therebetween. An inner core is encased within the space and the blade has a at least

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10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

one bridge member extending from the front wall to the rear wall, wherein the front wall, rear wall and bridge member are integral and made of fiber reinforced plastic material and wherein the bridge member comprises fibers oriented transversely with respect to the front and rear walls. The invention also covers a hockey stick with the aforesaid blade and a method of making a hockey stick incorporating the aforesaid blade. According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method of making a hockey stick blade having a shank, a heel portion below the shank and a blade portion extending horizontally from the heel portion to a tip edge, the method comprising: providing an inner core made of foam defining shank, heel and blade portions; covering a front face of the shank, heel and blade portions of the inner core with at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material and covering a rear face of the shank, heel and blade portions of the inner core with at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material for forming a preformed stick blade having front and rear walls; providing an inner core; covering a front face of the inner core with at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material and covering a rear face of the inner core with at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material for forming a preformed stick blade having front and rear walls; placing the preformed stick blade in a mold having an internal cavity with a shape corresponding to the desired external shape of the stick blade; closing the mold; applying heat and pressure to the mold for softening the fiber reinforced plastic material to form, after hardening, integral front wall, rear wall and bridge member extending therebetween and formed of the fiber reinforced plastic material, the bridge member extending longitudinally from the heel portion to the tip edge and comprising fibers oriented transversely with respect to the front and rear walls; and removing the stick blade from the mold. Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following description and the drawings. Brief description of the drawings A detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is provided herein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a hockey stick blade in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is side elevational view of the stick blade shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic enlarged view showing a number of inner strips to be used for making the core of the stick blade shown in Figures 1 and 2;

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Figure 4 is a schematic enlarged view showing the inner strips covered by channelled fabric of interwoven fiber strands for incorporation into the construction of the stick blade shown in Figures 1 and 2;

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Figure 5 is a schematic enlarged view showing the foam strips covered by fiber socks instead of channelled fabric of interwoven fiber strands; Figure 6 is a schematic enlarged view showing an intermediate structure of the stick blade prior to curing; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the stick blade of Figure 1 taken along line 7-7 of Figure 1; and Figure 8 shows an example embodiment of a replaceable stick blade which incorporates the construction of the present invention. In the drawings, the embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of examples. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention. Detailed description of the embodiments Referring to Figure 1 and 2, a hockey stick blade 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown. The stick blade 10 comprises a shank 12 extending along a first longitudinal axis A-A, a heel portion 14 below the shank 12 and a blade portion indicated generally by the reference numeral 16. The blade portion 16 extends horizontally along a second longitudinal axis B-B from the heel portion 14 to a blade tip edge 18. Continuing with Figures 1 and 2, and referring to Figure 7, which shows a cross- sectional view of the stick blade 10 after forming, the stick blade 10 has a front wall 20 that defines a front contacting surface 21 of the stick blade 10 and a rear opposed wall 22 that defines a rear contacting surface 23 of the stick blade 10. As will be described later, each of the front and rear walls 20, 22 is made of at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material. The front and rear walls 20, 22 are spaced apart at their mid- sections and merge together at their top and bottom edges to define spaces therebetween indicated generally by the reference numeral 24. It is understood that the spaces 24 extend along the shank 12, heel portion 14 and blade portion 16. The stick blade 10 has an inner core comprising a first inner core element 26, a second inner core element 28 and a third inner core element 30 encased within the spaces 24. Continuing with Figure 7, the stick blade 10 further comprises first and second bridge members extending from the front wall 20 to the rear wall 22. More particularly, the stick blade 10 has a first bridge member 32 located between the inner core elements 26, 28 and a second bridge member 34 located between the inner core elements 28, 30. In

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Figures 1 and 2, the bridge members 32, 34 are shown in longitudinally extending outline by the broken lines 36. Reverting to Figure 7, after hardening, the front wall 20, rear wall 22 and bridge members 32, 34 are integrally formed together and are made of fiber reinforced plastic material. For illustration purposes, the fibers, which are part of

5

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

the structure of the stick blade 10, are schematically shown by short lines 38. A stick blade having the bridge members 32, 34 and inner core elements 26, 28, 30 may be built up using example intermediate structures such as those schematically illustrated in Figures 3 to 6. Referring to Figure 3, the intermediate structures for making the inner core elements 26, 28, 30 include a number of elongated filler strips or inserts 40 (the strips are not shown in their entire length). The strips 40 are disposed such that they are spaced apart so as to leave spaces 42 between adjacent strips 40, within which the required bridge members 32, 34 will be formed. The strips 40 may be made of thermo-expandable foam, flexible foam or thermoplastic rigid foam which softens during molding such that the final intermediate structure as described below may be shaped in a pressure mould to provide the stick blade of desired shape and thickness. Under the desired molding conditions, the foam must facilitate imparting to the stick blade, the shape and thickness of the mold form; e.g. the foam should soften at the mold temperatures used. Formation of the final intermediate structure will now be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6. Referring to Figure 4, the strips 40 are maintained in position by being engaged in respective elongated channels defined by a two layered fabric material which is woven into a channelled fabric having a plurality of elongated channels. As can be seen, each of the channels of the fabric is formed by opposed cross-over fiber strands designated at 44 and 46 and front and rear fiber strands designated at 48 and 50 which connect up with the cross-over fiber strands 44, 46. The channelled fabric comprises a plurality of interwoven fiber strands and is impregnated with a suitable plastic material such as resin, epoxy resin or Nylon. Some of the fiber strands run parallel to the lengthwise dimension of the channels, while other fiber strands run perpendicular to the lengthwise dimension, i.e., the perpendicularly running cross over strands are disposed transverse to the walls 20, 22 of the stick blade 10. As can be seen, the spaces 42 between the strips 40 are occupied by the cross-over fiber strands 44, 46. As may also be appreciated, the cross-sectional thickness of the strips 40 is such that they fill the elongated channels of the channelled fabric sufficiently to maintain the perpendicular strands of the cross-over strands 44, 46 in a tensioned transverse state during hardening of the plastic material. Sufficient plastic material is pre-applied to the channelled fabric such that after hardening, the spaces 42 between the strips 40 are occupied by reinforced fibers, which form part of the bridge members 32, 34 connecting the walls 20, 22 together. The plastic material in the cross-over fabric region (fiber strands) between adjacent strips 40 is intended, once hardened, to have imbedded therein transverse fibers; i.e. in the hardened state, this portion of the plastic material defines a fiber-plastic material bridge member 32 or 34 which connects the walls 20, 22 together.

17

The number of strips 40 for making the stick blade 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is three. It is understood, however, that only two strips covered by channelled fabric of interwoven fiber strands may instead be used for making the stick blade such that the

5

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

first, second and third inner core elements 26, 28, 30 are replaced by an upper inner core element located above a lower inner core element and the first and second bridge members 32, 34 are replaced by a single bridge member located between the upper and lower inner core elements. The length and shape of the strips 40 are selected in order to provide respective shank 12, heel portion 14 and blade portion 16 having the desired length and shape. The strips 40 are disposed so as to provide bridge members 32, 34 of a more or less longitudinally straight aspect. The strips 40 may of course be configured to provide a desired longitudinal extending curved aspect of the bridge members 32, 34. Referring to Figure 6, the strips 40 encased in the channeled fabric of interwoven fiber strands are covered by reinforced front and rear fabric layers (sheets) 52, 54 - i.e., the channelled fabric and strip combination is sandwiched between the reinforced front and rear fabric layers 52, 54. The reinforced fabric layers 52, 54 are also impregnated with a suitable plastic material such as resin or Nylon. The channel fabric of each of the end or outermost strip may be tied off or connected at the junction of the crossover fiber strands (i.e. terminated) in any suitable manner since there is no adjacent strip around which the fabric to be wrapped. The front and rear fabric layers 52, 54 are sized to extend beyond the outer edges of the channelled fabric and foam strip combination. Thus, during molding, the fiber reinforced layers of these excess regions (top region, bottom region and tip region) are pinched and hardened towards each other for forming the top, bottom and tip edges of the stick blade 10. It is understood that any excess material is thereafter removed to obtain the desired edge contour of the stick blade. Figure 5 shows another embodiment where fiber socks 56 made of reinforced fibers are used for wrapping the strips 40 instead of channelled fabric of interwoven fiber strands. The fiber strands of the fiber socks 56 are pre-impregnated with a plastic material such as resin or Nylon and can be such that the strands thereof extend at a controlled angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blade portion. For instance, they may be at an angle of 45º with respect to the longitudinal axis of the strips 40 (i.e. the fiber strands are of a criss-cross configuration) so as to enhance shear stress resistance. A number of these appropriately sized and configured "sausages" may be positioned one over the other and sandwiched between appropriate reinforced plastic layers or sheets such as those indentified at 52, 54 in Figure 6. The combined elements as shown in Figure 6, which are designed and positioned to form a preformed stick blade, are placed in a mold having an internal cavity with a shape corresponding to the desired external shape of the stick blade 10. As indicated above, in the combined elements shown in Figure 6, the channelled fabric of interwoven

18

pre-impregnated fiber strands may be replaced by pre-impregnated fiber socks 56. The preformed stick blade is thereafter placed in a mold which is subject a suitable range of temperatures and pressures for softening the plastic material and shaping the stick blade into the shape and thickness of the desired stick blade 10.

5

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

As indicated previously, after hardening, the stick blade 10 may be worked to remove any excess material including fiber material that extends beyond the edges of the stick blade. This can be done in a conventional manner such as by cutting, sanding or grinding. These methods are well known in the art. After hardening, as shown in Figure 7, the front and rear walls 20, 22 of the stick blade 10 comprise the respective reinforced plastic layers 52, 54 of Figure 6 as well as the fiber strands 48, 50 of the channelled fabric. Moreover, the bridge members 32, 34 consist of plastic material having embedded therein the criss-cross fiber strands (e.g. fiber strands 44, 46 or the angled fiber strands of the fabric socks 56) with the strands thereof extending transversally with respect to the walls 20, 22. In accordance with the present invention, the expressions "fibers oriented transversely", "transverse fibers" and the like are to be understood as referring to a non-parallel orientation of fibers, i.e. the spatial disposition of such fibers is such that the fiber is in a non-parallel relation (along a length dimension) with respect to the walls 20, 22. The fibers are embedded in the plastic matrix of the bridge members 32, 34. The transverse fiber is oriented so as to provide, when the stick blade is viewed in cross-section, an aspect which is more or less transverse to the walls 20, 22 (see for example the elements designated at 38A in Figure 7). In accordance with the present invention, the strength of the stick blade will notably depend on the bridge members 32, 34 which are integral with the walls 20, 22. The number of bridge members, the blade volume occupied by the inner core elements, the blade volume of the bridge members, may be varied, as desired, in any suitable manner, in accordance with the plastic and fiber materials and structure desired to be used for the bridge members and walls. However, the configuration and structure of the bridge member(s), connecting the walls together, must be such as to adequately maintain the structural integrity of the stick blade. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the bridge members 32, 34 are more or less parallel to the longitudinal axis B-B of the blade portion. The word "parallel" is to be understood herein as characterizing a bridge member oriented more or less towards the tip edge and heel portion of the blade portion as against being oriented towards the top and bottom edges of the blade portion. It is also understood that the bridge members could extend longitudinally with respect to the blade portion at some angle relative to the longitudinal axis B-B. The bridge members 32, 34 may also extend along the longitudinal axis A-A of the shank 12 as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

19

The bridge member may extend more or less along the entire length of the blade portion (i.e. from about the heel portion to about the tip edge of the blade portion) or it may be of some intermediate length. The bridge member may alternatively be formed of a plurality of bridge members extending more or less parallel to the longitudinal axis B-B.

5

10 15 20 25 30

In accordance with the present invention, the fiber reinforced plastics material of the walls 20, 22 and bridge members 32, 34 may be composed of suitable plastic materials and suitable reinforced fibers. The plastic material may be a resin such as polyester or epoxy resin or a thermoplastic such as Nylon while the reinforced fibers may be made of fibers selected from the group consisting of carbon fibers, glass fibers and Kevlar fibers. It is understood that the stick blade 10 may be joined to a shaft in order to make a "one- piece" composite hockey stick. For example, a composite hollow stick shaft may be provided and a portion of the proximal end of the shank 12 may be inserted into the hollow shaft at its distal end. Layers of fibers pre-impregnated with resin or layers of fibers pre-impregnated with plastic may be disposed over each of the side surfaces of the blade shank so as to provide flap portions which extend over the distal outer sides of the shaft. Thereafter, the whole may be cured or set in a pressure mold to harden the fiber reinforced layer about the distal end of the shaft and to shape the blade portion according to a selected curvature. Alternatively, the stick blade may be a replaceable stick blade 100 as shown in Figure 8 wherein the shank 102 has a tenon 104 adapted to be inserted into a hollow hockey stick shaft made of aluminum or composite material. The above description of the embodiments should not be interpreted in a limiting manner since other variations, modifications and refinements are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

20

CLAIMS 1. A blade for a hockey stick, said stick blade comprising:

5

10 15 20

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

a shank extending along a first longitudinal axis; a heel portion below said shank; a blade portion extending horizontally along a second longitudinal axis from said heel portion to a tip edge; a front wall that defines a front contacting surface of said stick blade; a rear wall that defines a rear contacting surface of said stick blade; wherein said front and rear walls are spaced apart at their mid-sections and merge together at their top and bottom edges to define a space therebetween along said shank, heel portion and blade portion; and an inner core encased within said space; at least one bridge member extending from said front wall to said rear wall; wherein said front wall, said rear wall and said bridge member are integral and made of fiber reinforced plastic material; and wherein said bridge member has fibers oriented transversely with respect to said front and rear walls.

2. A stick blade as defined in claim 1, comprising a plurality of said bridge members.

3. A stick blade as defined in claim 1, wherein said bridge member extends 25 30 35 40 45

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

generally parallel to said second longitudinal axis of said blade portion from said heel portion to said tip edge. A stick blade as defined in claim 2, wherein said plurality of bridge members extends generally parallel to said second longitudinal axis of said blade portion from said heel portion to said tip edge. A stick blade as defined in claim 1 or 3, wherein said bridge member extends generally along said first longitudinal axis of said shank. A stick blade as defined in claim 1, wherein said front wall is made of at least two layers of fiber reinforced plastic material and said rear wall is made of at least two layers of fiber reinforced plastic material. A stick blade as defined in claim 1, wherein said inner core is made of an upper foam inner core element and a lower foam inner core element. A stick blade as defined in claim 7, wherein said bridge member is located between said upper and lower foam inner core elements and extends generally along said second longitudinal axis of said blade portion from said heel portion to said tip edge.

21

9. A hockey stick comprising a stick blade as defined in claim 1. 10. A method of making a hockey stick, comprising:

5

10

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(f)

inserting a portion of the shank of the stick blade of claim 1 into an end section of a hollow shaft; covering opposite sides of the shank and shaft with layers of fibers pre- impregnated with resin or plastic; placing the blade/shaft combination in a mold; closing the mold; applying pressure and heat to the mold for bonding together the blade and shaft and for shaping the blade portion according to a selected curvature; and removing the hockey stick.

15 11. A method of making a hockey stick blade having a shank, a heel portion below

the shank and a blade portion extending horizontally from the heel portion to a tip edge, comprising: (a)

20 25 30 35

(b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

providing an inner core made of foam and defining shank, heel and blade portions; covering a front face of the shank, heel and blade portions of the inner core with at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material and covering a rear face of the shank, heel and blade portions of the inner core with at least one layer of fiber reinforced plastic material for forming a preformed stick blade having front and rear walls; placing the preformed stick blade in a mold having an internal cavity with a shape corresponding to the desired external shape of the stick blade; closing the mold; applying heat and pressure to the mold for softening the fiber reinforced plastic material to form, after hardening, integral front and rear walls formed of the fiber reinforced plastic material and a bridge member formed of the fiber reinforced plastic material extending transversely between the front and rear walls and integral therewith, the bridge member extending longitudinally from the heel portion to the tip edge and comprising fibers oriented transversely with respect to the front and rear walls; and removing the stick blade from the mold.

22

12

14

7

7

21

16

10

23

36

36

18

Fig. 1

A

10

12

B

14

A

Fig. 2

16

21

B

18

40

42

40

42

40

Fig. 3

40

44

48

40 50

46

40

Fig. 4

56

40

56

40

56

40

Fig. 5

40

44

48

40

54

50 46

52 40

Fig. 6

22

32

34

23

26

28

30

38

20

38A

21

24

38A

38

Fig. 7

104

102

100

23

36

36

Fig. 8