CA1193958A

CA1193958A - Spiral wrapping tape for tool handles

Info

Publication number: CA1193958A
Application number: CA000409791A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Conrad J. Gaiser
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-08-18
Filing date: 1982-08-19
Publication date: 1985-09-24
Also published as: GB2125334A; GB2125334B; AU8729982A

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

There is disclosed a tape for the spiral wrapping on the handle of a tool which comprises a continuous strip of permanently heat-compressed, reticulated plastic foam which has longitudinal, narrow-width, edge bands of heat sintered surfaces coextensive the length of the strip. The strip has a pressure sensitive adhesive layer on one side and a removable backing strip overlying the adhesive layer. The tape can include at least one narrow-width band of heat sintered surface spaced equally between the longitudinal edge bands, and the opposite ends of the tape have ends cut at a bias, with an angle from 5 to about 35 degrees. Preferably the tape has at least one lateral tab distally projecting from said tape along the bias angle. The resultant tape can be readily applied to the handle of a tool such as the handle of a tennis racket or bat in a spiral wrap. The permanent, heat compression of the reticulated plastic foam imparts to the tape a high degree of tear resistance and this tear resistance is augmented at the edges of the tape by the narrow-width edge bands of heat sintered surfaces.

Description

93~

This invention relates to coverings for tool handles, and, in particular, to a spiral wrapping of an adhesive-backed tapeO

Various coverings have been suggested, and a few have been used with varied success, as non~slip grips for handles o working and sporting tools. Among these are moisture absorbent materials such as terricloth and plastic sponge; moisture repellant materials such as rubber and plastic tapes; leather; and the like.

In my prior United States patents 4,098,506 and 4,174,109, I disclose the use of a reticulated plastic foam which can be placed over the handle of tools as a sleeve, including the application of the material as an adhesive-backed tape. Conventional reticulated foam, however, is of very low density and this material thus has limited tension and shear strength and must be used in appreciable thickness in the uncompressed state.
Because of its limited tear resis~ance, I prevlously ~ound it desirable to overlay the abutted edgesr i.e., the seams, of adjacent tape wraps with an adhesively backed tape in the manner described in U.S. Patent No.
4,174,109.

Handle wrappings of lesser thicknesses are desirable, and, preferably, such wraps should be provided without the need for a tape overlay along its edge seams.

3~i8 I have now found that a particular form of reticulated foam can be treated to provlde a very superior handle wrap. This form of reticulated foam is one which has been heat pressed to a permanent, approximately 30 to 70 percent, compression. The resultant foam still retains its open cell wall structure and has a non-woven fibrous structure, however the size and spacing between the fibers of the structure is substantially decreased by the heat compression of the foam. This foam is provlded with a pressure sensitive adhesive layer that is overlayed with a backing which is stripped from the tape when the tape is applied to a sur~ace. This tape is modi~ied for use in my invention by the heat sin~ering of narrow-width edge bands~ one at each side of the band, coextensively with its length. Preferably the ends of the tape are cut on a bias angle from 5 to about 35 degrees and, most preferably, the opposite end edges are parallel and are cut at a bias angle whlch is equal to the helical angle of the spiral wrap when appIied to a tool handle. In its preferred embodiment, the tape also includes at least one lateral tab distally projecting rom said tape along the bias angle and, in application, this tab is overlayed by the adjacent spiral wrap of the tape, thereby reducing the tendency of the ends of the spiral wrap to fray or loosen in use.

The invention will be described with reference to the figures of which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the tape of the inventionS

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view along lines 2~2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 illustrates the initial applica~ion of the tape of the inven-tion to a tennis handle;

FIGURE 4 illustrates the completed spiral wrapping of the tape of the invention; and FIGURE 5 is a sectional view along lines 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the invention is shown as a narrow-width tape 10 o extended length, havlng longitudinal edges 12 and 14 and end edges 16 and 18 whi~h are cut at equal bias angles indicated a~ 20.
The bias angle 20 of the ends of tape 10 should be equal to the helical angle of winding of the tape on a tool handle as described in greater detail hereinafter.

The tape has its longitudinal edges 12 and 14 treated along narrow width band~ shown at 22 and 24. The bands are heat sintered surfaces achleved by passing a hot iron over the edges of the tape, typ.ically the sur~aces are heated to a temperature o from ~00 to about 375 degrees F., most preferably, about 325 degrees F~

The tape 10 is also processed to provide at least one, narrow-width, longitudinal band 26 intermediate its width, preferably at equal spacing between the edge bands 10 and 14~ The continuous narrow-widtn band ~6 is imparted in the tape by heat treatment, by passing a hot iron surface across the surface of the tape; the aforementioned temperatures being suitable and preferred for this use also.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, the cross sectlon of the tape is illustrated. As thus shown, the tape is of a limited thickness, typically from about 1/16 to about 3/8 inch, most preferably about 1/8 inch thic~ness.
The edges are provided with the longitudinal, heat sintered bands 12 and 14 and, the tape is of slightly reduced thickness, resulting f rom this treatment. The tape similarly has a, narrow, central band 26 of slightly reduced thickness, also resulting from heat sintering treatment of the surface of the tape in this region. Preferably~ the sin~ering along the edges of the tape provides a bevel to the top edge of the tape ~3~5~

so that when the edge is abutted against a like edge, a V-groove results. Also preferably, the central band 26 is formed as a V~groove o~ substantially the same dimensions as that formed by the abutting adjacent edges of the tape so that the central band 26 and the edge seams have the same appearance and feel The undersurface 27 of the tape has a pressure sensitive adhesive coating and this coating is overlald by a protective backing 34~ shown in exaggerated thickness ln the illustration of FIGURE 2.

The tape of the invention i5 a reticula~ed plastic foam which is heat pressed to reduce its thickness approximately 30 to 70 percent. The reticulated plastic foam is a plastic material havlng at least 50, and, preferably, 100 percent open cells~ The material has a reticulated, three dimensional structure and is basically a non-woven fibrous material obtained by the reticulation treatment of an open cell, cellular pla~tic foam. The plastic material is characterized by a low capillary structure and a low wa~er holding capacity. The maximum amount of water retained by the material is generally no greater than about 20 volume percent and, preferably~ is no greater than about 10 volume percent. This limited water holding capacity ensures that the ma~erial readily breathes in use and moisture is expelled rather than retained~ thereb~

~ ~ 3 ~3~ 6 retaining the natural balance of the tool and firmness in the grip of a user.

The reticulated foam can be obtained by various manufacturing methods such as the consolida~ion of a loose mat of randomly oriented fibers such as polyester fibers, with an adhesive such as an aqueous polyvlnyl acetate or synthetic rubber latex. Most preferably, the material is obtained by the reticulation treatment of opened celled plastic foam, preferably polyurethane foam. This material is obtained by the post-formation heat treatment of a polyurethane or other plastic foam to rupture the cell walls of the foam, leavlng a reticulated or skeleton structure which closely resembles a non-woven fibrous mat structure.

A preferred class of plastic oam for reticulation treatment is a flexible, opened-cell cellular polyurethane foam. There are two general types of polyurethane foam which are commonly available; these are ether-base and ester-base polyurethane ~oams. 0 these, the ester-base polyurethane foams are most preferred for use as the open-celled or reticulated materials because of their high resistance to OilS, moistures and solvents. Generally, the` flexible, open-cell, cellular plastic foam or reticulated oam in its uncompressed state has a low density, e.g~, from about 0.1 to about 6 pounds per cubic foot.

9~

The uncompressed reticulated foam is further treated or processed to pxovide the foam useful in this invention by heat pressing to compress the foam to approximately 30 to 70 percent of its original thickness. This pressure application is accompanied by heating of the foarn-to a permanent deformation temperature, typically to a tempera-ture of about 225 -to 350 degrees F., at which temperature the foam undergoes a plastic deformation and is cooled in its compressed state to a permanent compressed or deformed condition. The resulting treatment does not significantly decrease the porosity or open-celled nature of the foam but does, however, substantially increase its -tear resistance and durability.

Following the heat pressing of the foam to the partially and permanently cornpressed state, the foam can be coated with a suitable pressure sensitive adhesive along one sur-face. The surface to be coated is first overlaid with a thin plastic f:ilm, e.g., Mylar, a registered trademark, that is bonded to the foam with a permanent adhesive, thereby providing a non-permeable base for the pressure sensitive adhesive. Pressure sensitive adhesives are com-monly a coating of an elastomer, referred to as a mass coat, which has a desirably high tacky surface. Usually the elastomer is applied to the back of a substrate in a volatile solvent which is inert to the substrate.
~arious elastomers which have .~ .,.
~1 ~ ~ ~ 3 ~c~

the property of a tacky surface can be applied to the foam such as: natulral rubber; styrene-butadiene rubber; styrene-hutadiene-styrene bloc~ copolymers;
neoprene, etcO These elastomers are dissolved in a suitable volatile solvent such as aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The tac~y property of the resultant coating of the elastomer can be enhanced by inclusion of adhesive materials such as terpene resins, phenolic resins, partially hydrogenated rosin esters, etc.

The last coat of the pressure sensitive adhesive is then overlayed with a protective bac~ing 34 which can be formed of various materials such as wax or silicone coated paper, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and the like.

The tape 10 of the invention prleerably is provided with at least one lateral tab 28 r also formed of the reticulated foam that comprises an integral projectlon distally located on the tape. The lateral tab projects at the same bias angle 20 of the tape. Preferably, this lateral tab 28 is heat pressed and sintered to reduce its thickness to appxoximately 20 to 50 percent of the thickness of the main body of the tape 10 as shown in FIG~RE 2. If desired, a similar narrow lateral tab 30 can be located at the opposite end of the tape 10 as shown in the phantom lines of FIGURE 1.

~3~ 9 Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is illustrated a portion of a handle 36 of a tool such as a tennis racket handle. This handle 36 has a typical or conventional end rib 38 of slightly greater diameter than the handle. The tape 10 of the invention is used by peeling the protective backing 34 from the adhesive coated tape and applying the tape to the handle of the racket, in this application, the tape is preferably applied with the lateral tab 28 and the end edge 18 of the tape overlying the raised rim 38 of the handle.
The remainder of the tape is layed about the handle so that the s~cceeding wrap of the tape overlies the tab 28, as shown. For this purpose9 the distance X shown ln FIGURE 1 should be approximately the circumference of the base of the handle 36.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the tape 10 is shown as a completed spiral wrapping 40 about handle ~6 of a tennis racket. The adjacent wraps of the tape form a continuous, helical~ abutting seam 42 be~ween the edges 12 and 14 of the adjacent wraps of the tape. The continuous, spiral seam 42 is shown repeatedly in FIGURE 4 and the adjacent, sintered, longitudinal edges 22 and 24 cooperate to form a narrow-width channel 46 which is shown in sectional view in FIGURE 5. The lateral tabs distally carried on the tape are shown as elements 28 and 30 which are overlayed by the adjacent wrapping. The wrapping is applied to the tape at a helical angle ~0 which is the same angle 20 of the bias cut of ends 16 and 18 of the tape. The tape of my invention can thus be used without any adhesive bonding or tape, other than the adhesive bac~ing on the undersurface of the tape. The heat sintering treatment of the longitudinal edge bands 22 and 24 of the tape imparts a very subs~antial tear strength to the tape and greatly improves its dimensional stability so that the edge seam 42 is stable durlng use and does not readily tear. The tape can be readily applied to any regular or irregular shaped handle and the la~eral tab such as 28 can be used to an advantage to avoid any fraying or loosening of the ends of the spiral wrapping.

The porous nature of the tape surface used in tne invention provides a course or rough exterior surface that can be readily grasped by a user WithOU~
discornfort and with a maximum of frictional engagement.
This frictional engagement can be enhanced by further treatment of the plastic foam u~ed in the invention to deposit from about 5 to 100 weight percent, or greater, of an abrasive solid powder havlng a maximum particle si~e less than about 200 mesh. Typical and suitable materials for this comprise various powdered minerals such as silicas, clays, alumina, etc~ A very suitable material is fumed sili~a such as material commerc ally 9, ~, ~ o~o~
available under the designation of Santomerse~Z or Cab-3 ~ ~3 ~ J ~ ~ - ~ ~ ~ 11 O-Si~ These materials can be applied to the tape by suspending them in a suitable, volatile carrier such as alcohol and spraying ~he material on the surface of the tape or dusting or brushing of the dry powder or carrier-suspended powder across the surface of the tape. Since the tape has an open-celled, skeletal structure, it has a very high ahsorbency for abrasive materials such as those aforedescribed~ The presence of even slight amounts of such materials greatly enhances the frictional properties of the surEace of the tape, and the high porosity of the tape permits a high loading of the abrasive solid such that the solid remains in the tape throughout its useful life.

The greatly reduced thickness of the tape of the invention provides a gripping surface which is of no significantly greater thickness than the thickness of the uncoated tool handle. This retains the kinesthetic perception of the tool when grasped in a user's hand.
Additionally, the material is of very low density and therefore has a minimal weight ef~ect on the tool and does not alter the natural balance of the tool. Since the reticulated foam, even when permanently compressed, still maintains a non-capillary porous, open-celled structure, moisture and volatile oils which develop on the hand of the user are readily dlssipated from the material and do not accumulate in the ma~erial to affect its usefulness.

3~

The invention has been described with reference to the illustrated and presently preferred embodiment thereof. It is not intended that the inventlon be unduly limited by this description of the illustrated embodiment. Instead, it is intended that the invention be defined by the means, and their obvious equivalents, set forth in the following claims.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. A tape for a spiral wrap on the handle of a tool which comprises:
a continuous strip of permanently, heat compressed reticulated plastic foam;
a non-permeable base formed of a thin film overlying one side of said strip and permanently bonded thereto;
a pressure sensitive adhesive layer on the outside of said film; and a removable backing strip overlying said pressure sensitive adhesive layer.

2. The tape of claim 1 wherein said foam has a thickness from 1/16 to about 3/8 inch and including at least one narrow-width edge band of heat sintered surface coextensive the length of said strip.

3. The tape of claim 1 wherein said tape has end edges cut on bias angles from 5 to about 35 degrees.

4. The tape of claim 3 wherein said end edges are parallel.

5. The tape of claim 3 including at least one lateral tab distally projecting from said tape at said bias angle.

6. The tape of claim 3 including a lateral tab distally projecting from each end of said tape on said bias angle.

7. The tape of claim 5 wherein said tab is heat compressed to a reduced thickness.

8. The tape of claim 1 including from 0.5 to about 10 weight percent of an abrasive solid powder having a maximum particle size less than about 200 mesh incorporated in said reticulated foam.

9. The combination of a tool handle and a spiral wrapping of the tape of claim 1 received therein with the opposed edges of adjacent tape wraps in abutting contact.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein the ends of said tape are cut on a bias angle equal to the helical angle of said spiral wrap and said ends are abutted into edge-to-edge contact with the distal tape wraps.

11. The combination of claim 10 including at least one lateral tab distally projecting along the bias angle of an end of said tape and received beneath the adjacent tape wrap.

12. The combination of claim 10 including two said lateral tabs, one each at opposite ends of said tape, so received beneath the respective adjacent tape wrap.