TWI896422B - Artificial feathers for badminton - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an artificial feather for badminton. The structure of the artificial feather includes: a main shaft, at least one feather groove, a first vane, and a second vane. The artificial feather is a micro-elastic porous structure with micro bubbles, which is made by micro-foaming injection molding technology using a thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers. The structure of the main shaft includes a coaxially connected The feather comprises a rachis and a quill. The rachis has a wedge-shaped cross-section. The first and second vanes are located on the left and right sides of the rachis, respectively, and are integrally connected to the rachis. The barb groove is located on at least one of the top and back surfaces of the rachis, extending along the axis of the rachis. The artificial feather of the present invention has the advantages of rapid production, optimal structural strength, and reduced consumption of natural resources.

Description

Artificial feathers for badminton

The present invention relates to the structure of a badminton shuttlecock, in particular to artificial feathers for a badminton shuttlecock.

The structure of a badminton can be basically divided into two major parts: the head and the feathers. The head is a cylindrical structure with a semi-spherical front end. It serves as the point where the shuttlecock and the racket face meet. The racket face is composed of a mesh made up of specialized threads crisscrossed vertically and horizontally. The feathers are evenly inserted at the end of the head and arranged in a neat pyramidal structure. The current standard badminton uses 16 feathers.

Badmintons can be broadly categorized by the materials they're made of: natural and artificial. Natural materials command a higher price than artificial materials. Therefore, natural feather shuttlecocks are often used in competitions, while artificial materials can be used as practice balls for beginners.

Natural feathers, typically goose or duck feathers, are difficult to collect, sort, and process, leading to high costs. To maintain the shuttlecock's flight stability during competition, even the slightest wear and tear can affect its trajectory, necessitating immediate replacement. During intense competition, the consumption of shuttlecocks remains high.

In the approved Republic of China invention patent (Certificate No. TW I713740), "Artificial Feathers for Badminton, and Badminton," the feather portion of the proposed artificial feather can be made of, for example, nonwoven fabric or resin. In the case of nonwoven fabric, a reinforcing film is formed on the surface to prevent the fibers from unraveling during hitting the ball. The reinforcing film can be formed by applying resin.

In the approved Republic of China invention patent (certificate number TW I636815) "Badminton and its shaft", the badminton includes a plurality of blades, a ball head and a plurality of the shafts, the shaft including: a shaft having a blade end and a ball head end, the shaft being made of plastic material, and one of the plurality of blades being joined to the blade end. The shaft comprises: a hollow tube having an upper top surface and a lower top surface; a receiving channel located within the hollow tube; and a pair of side wings connected to oppositely facing sides of the hollow tube. The side wings are sheet-like structures connected to oppositely facing sides of the hollow tube, allowing each feather to be securely attached thereto. Furthermore, a foam material is filled within the receiving channel. The foam material fills the interior of the shaft to mimic the porous structure of natural feathers, making the shaft lightweight and low-density while maintaining impact resistance and toughness.

The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to provide an artificial badminton feather that has the advantages of rapid production, strong structure, and reduced consumption of natural resources.

To address the aforementioned technical issues, a preferred embodiment of the artificial feather structure for a badminton shuttlecock disclosed herein comprises: a main shaft, a first sulcus, a first vane, and a second vane. The artificial feather is a micro-elastic porous structure with micro-bubbles, produced using micro-foam injection molding technology using a thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers. The thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers comprises 80% to 90% by weight of nylon and 10% to 20% by weight of artificial fibers.

The main shaft structure includes a rachis and a quill connected coaxially as a whole. The cross-section of the main shaft is wedge-shaped, and the wedge includes a left side, a right side, a top surface, and a back surface.

The first sulcus is located on at least one of the top and back surfaces of the main shaft, and extends axially along the main shaft.

The first and second vanes are located on the left and right sides of the rachis, respectively, and are integrally connected to the rachis. The first and second vanes are symmetrical in structure and comprise a plurality of parallel and spaced-apart barbs, with a vane located between any two adjacent barbs. One end of each barb is connected to the rachis, and the other end of each barb extends away from the rachis. An inner edge of the vane is connected to the rachis.

The artificial fiber mentioned herein includes any one of glass fiber and carbon fiber.

As a preferred embodiment of the artificial feather of the badminton shuttlecock of the present invention, it includes a second feather groove, wherein the first feather groove is located on the top surface of the main shaft and extends along the axis of the main shaft; the second feather groove is located on the back surface of the main shaft and extends along the axis of the main shaft.

The two axial ends of the main shaft are slightly curved toward the back side to form a curved arc.

In a preferred embodiment of the artificial feathers of the badminton shuttlecock of the present invention, the width of the main shaft gradually decreases from the quill to the shaft, and the thickness of the main shaft gradually decreases from the quill to the shaft.

As a preferred embodiment of the artificial feathers of the badminton shuttlecock of the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the barbs is arc-shaped or semicircular.

In a preferred embodiment of the artificial feathers of the badminton shuttlecock of the present invention, the thickness of the first vane and the second vane gradually decreases from the rachis toward the direction away from the rachis.

The advantages and effectiveness of the artificial feathers for badminton of the present invention are as follows: The artificial feathers are manufactured using micro-foam injection molding technology using a thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers, facilitating mass production and offering the advantages of rapid production. The cross-sectional shapes of the main shaft and barbs enhance structural strength. The artificial feathers for badminton of the present invention are manufactured using micro-foam injection molding technology using a thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers to create a micro-elastic porous structure with micro-bubbles, achieving optimal structural strength within feather weight constraints and reducing the consumption of natural resources.

The specific implementation methods, technical features, and effects of the present invention are described below with accompanying drawings.

10: Main axis

11: Feather shaft

12:Feather

21: First Groove

22: Second grove

31: First Feather

32: Second pinna

33: barbule

34: Feather membrane

341: Inside

B: Microbubbles

4B: Back

4L: Left side

4R: Right side

4U: Top

T1: Thickness

T2: Thickness

W1: Width

Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a preferred embodiment of the artificial feathers of the badminton shuttlecock of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front view schematic diagram of the embodiment of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of Figure 2 at the C-C position.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of Figure 2 at position A-A.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of Figure 2 at position B-B.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of another preferred embodiment of the main shaft of the artificial feather of the badminton shuttlecock of the present invention.

In the embodiments disclosed in the present invention's patent specification and drawings, the directions mentioned therein (e.g., up, down, left, right, front, and back) are based on the content shown in the drawings and are used to illustrate the relative relationships (e.g., positional relationships, connection relationships, and motion relationships) between the various components or structures in the embodiments. In principle, when the positions of the components or structures mentioned in the present invention specification match those shown in the drawings, the directions described will be appropriate. If the positions of the components or structures mentioned in the present invention specification change, the directions described should also change accordingly.

The artificial badminton feathers proposed in this invention are made from a thermoplastic blend containing synthetic fibers, then produced using microcellular injection molding technology (MuCell). The resulting structure features microcells B (see Figure 4), creating a microelastic, porous structure with microcells. The thermoplastic blend containing synthetic fibers comprises 80% to 90% by weight of nylon (polyamide, commonly known as PA) and 10% to 20% by weight of synthetic fibers. Preferred embodiments of the synthetic fibers include either glass fiber or carbon fiber. By controlling the density of the microcells, the feathers' elasticity, density, and weight can be adjusted to achieve the required toughness and elasticity for badminton feathers while meeting standard weight requirements.

Please refer to Figure 1, which shows the structure of a preferred embodiment of the artificial feather for a badminton shuttlecock of the present invention. The preferred embodiment of the artificial feather for a badminton shuttlecock of the present invention comprises: a main shaft 10, a first vane groove 21, a first vane 31, and a second vane 32.

The cross-sectional shape of the main shaft 10 is wedge-shaped (see FIG. 4 ), and the wedge includes a left side 4L, a right side 4R, a top surface 4U, and a back surface 4B. The structure of the main shaft 10 includes a shaft 11 and a calamus 12 connected coaxially as a whole. Since the artificial feather of the present invention is made using micro-foam injection molding technology (MuCell), in a preferred embodiment, the shaft 11 and the calamus 12 are connected end to end coaxially to form the main shaft 10. In a preferred embodiment, the width W1 of the main shaft 10 gradually narrows from the calamus 12 toward the shaft 11 (see Figure 2). Since the cross-sectional shape of the main shaft 10 is wedge-shaped, the width W1 of the main shaft 10 should be understood to include the widths of the back surface 4B and top surface 4U of the main shaft 10, both of which gradually narrow from the calamus 12 toward the shaft 11. Furthermore, the thickness T1 of the main shaft 10 gradually decreases from the calamus 12 toward the shaft 11 (see Figures 3 and 4). In a preferred embodiment, the axial ends of the main shaft 10 are slightly curved toward the back surface 4B, forming a curved arc (see Figure 3).

The first vane groove 21 is located on at least one of the top surface 4U and the back surface 4B of the main shaft 10. The first vane groove 21 extends axially along the main shaft 10. In a first preferred embodiment, the first vane groove 21 is located on the top surface 4U of the main shaft 10 (see Figures 1 and 4). In another preferred embodiment, a second vane groove 22 is included (see Figure 6). The first vane groove 21 is located on the top surface 4U of the main shaft 10 and extends axially along the main shaft 10. The second vane groove 22 is located on the back surface 4B of the main shaft 10 and extends axially along the main shaft 10.

The first vane 31 and second vane 32 are located on the left side 4L and right side 4R of the rachis 11, respectively, and are integrally connected to the rachis 11 (see Figures 1 and 5). The first vane 31 and second vane 32 are symmetrical in structure; generally, their projections onto the same plane are asymmetrical. The first vane 31 and second vane 32 consist of a plurality of parallel and spaced-apart barbs 33, with a vane 34 located between any two adjacent barbs 33. One end of each barb 33 is connected to the rachis 11, while the other end extends away from the rachis 11. The inner edge 341 of the vane 34 is connected to the rachis 11.

In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the barb 33 is arcuate or semicircular (see Figure 1 ). This provides the barb 33 with improved structural strength. The arcuate shape further reduces the weight of the barb 33, thereby helping to maintain the weight of the badminton within a standard range. In a preferred embodiment, the thickness T2 of the first vane 31 and the second vane 32 gradually decreases from the rachis 11 toward the distance from the rachis 11 (see Figure 5 ).

Although the present invention has been disclosed through the aforementioned embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art may make modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of patent protection for the present invention shall be determined by the claims attached to this specification.

10: Main axis

11: Feather shaft

12:Feather

21: First Groove

31: First Feather

32: Second pinna

33: barbule

34: Feather membrane

341: Inside

Claims (7)

An artificial badminton feather comprises a main shaft, a first sulcus, a first vane, and a second vane. The artificial feather is manufactured using a micro-foam injection molding technique using a thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers to form a micro-elastic porous structure with micro-bubbles. The thermoplastic mixed material containing artificial fibers comprises 80% to 90% by weight of nylon and 10% to 20% by weight of artificial fibers. The main shaft structure includes a rachis and a barb connected coaxially as a whole. The cross-section of the main shaft is wedge-shaped, and the wedge includes a left side, a right side, a top surface, and a back surface. The first sulcus is located at at least one of the top surface and the back surface of the main axis, and the first sulcus extends axially along the main axis; The first and second vanes are disposed on the left and right sides of the rachis, respectively, and are integrally connected to the rachis. The first and second vanes are symmetrical in structure and comprise a plurality of parallel and spaced-apart barbs, with a vane located between any two adjacent barbs. One end of each barb is connected to the rachis, and the other end of each barb extends away from the rachis. An inner edge of the vane is connected to the rachis. The artificial feather for a badminton shuttlecock as described in claim 1, wherein the artificial fiber comprises any one of glass fiber and carbon fiber. The artificial feather for a badminton shuttlecock as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second feather groove, wherein the first feather groove is located on the top surface of the main shaft and extends along the axis of the main shaft; and the second feather groove is located on the back surface of the main shaft and extends along the axis of the main shaft. In the artificial badminton feather of claim 1, the two axial ends of the main shaft are slightly curved toward the back side to form a curved arc. The artificial badminton feather of claim 1, wherein the width of the main shaft gradually narrows from the quill to the shaft, and the thickness of the main shaft gradually thins from the quill to the shaft. The artificial feather for badminton as described in claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the barb is arc-shaped or semicircular. The artificial feather for badminton as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the first vane and the second vane gradually decreases from the rachis toward the direction away from the rachis.