EP1606027A1

EP1606027A1 - Racket

Info

Publication number: EP1606027A1
Application number: EP04722800A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Harald Turzer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-24
Filing date: 2004-03-24
Publication date: 2005-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2024-03-24
Also published as: ZA200507661B; ES2368142T3; CN1816373B; JP4284356B2; JP2006520623A; CN1816373A; DE20305073U1; AU2004224784A1; EP1606027B1; AU2004224784B2; US20060073923A1; WO2004085007A1; DE112004000978D2; ATE512701T1; US7553246B2; CA2520395A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a racket for ball and shuttlecock games such as tennis, squash or badminton. With the objective of generally improving the playing characteristics of the racket and to adapt the racket to the ergonomic movements of the layer on serving, receiving and returning the ball with more effective utilization of the striking force, the racket has an S shaped configuration throughout and has a midline 5 running in a common S shape for the striking part 1, the shaft 2 and the grip 3, such that the upper and lower points of intersection of the head frame 6 and the striking part 1 lie on the midline 5, while the arrangement of shaft 2 and grip 3 follows the course of the midline 5 in their longitudinal extension and the cross sections of the profiles 6.1; 6.2 of the headframe 6 and shaft 2 are different in the halves of the racket separated by the midline 5-FIG. 1. The racket according to the invention has an arc-shaped grip 3 designed as a segment of a circle, designed and arranged with respect to the striking part 1 so that each of the tangents 10, 17 of the inner and outer arcs 16, 15 of the grip intersect the striking surface 9 of the striking part and the parts of the striking surface to the right side of the symmetry axis 14 of the striking part are limited on one side by an outermost tangent 10 running from the grip base 3.1 to the outer arc 15-FIG. 1.

Description

racket

The invention relates to a further improved racket for ball and badminton games, such as tennis, squash, badminton, speedminton, racquetball.

Ball rackets for ball and badminton games, with which the game ball is guided and the player's power is transferred to the ball, are already known in a wide variety of designs.

In the most widespread, conventional designs - DE 34 34 956 A1, US 4 997 186, US 4 919 438 - the striking part or striking surface is generally arranged symmetrically to the grip axis. This means that the center of gravity of the striking surface lies on the handle axis, the extension of the handle axis simultaneously forming the longitudinal axis of the ball racket. A major disadvantage of these rackets is the unfavorable position of the face in relation to the hand and arm position of the player. The conventional ball rackets with a straight longitudinal axis of the striking part, shaft and handle do not meet the ergonomic conditions of an effective player-ball racket combination.

The straight longitudinal axis of the ball racket requires a correspondingly higher posture of the game arm of the player when accepting and playing high balls. For the best execution of a shot in terms of coordination and force, the angle of the game arm and ball racket should be less than 45 °. That means that even slightly higher balls demands that go beyond this optimal range of 45 °. This results in more extreme coordination and increased effort on the part of the player's arm.

The straight, symmetrical axis of the striking part, shaft and handle also leads to the ball racket becoming an optimal resonance vibrating body, which transmits the vibrations and / or vibrations which arise when the ball is picked up and struck unhindered to the game arm of the player. This causes irritation of the club arm with every stroke. The player tries to absorb these irritations through a firmer grip, the so-called "concrete" handle, which in turn leads to cramping of the wrist up to pathological symptoms, the so-called tennis elbow, and to loss of coordination and energy. As a result of the cramping everyone has to Muscle groups of the individual fingers over those of the arm up to those of the shoulder are relieved, re-coordinated and re-fixed after each stroke. This means loss of time, concentration and energy. The ball racket is fixed in the handle and thus affects the hand muscle groups and the associated forearm muscles and tendons. The resulting so-called tennis arm is therefore the sum of the constant overuse and chronic fatigue and wear and tear that occur with each stroke.

With the aim of avoiding the above-mentioned disadvantageous properties and stabilizing the stick position, increasing the hit rate, giving the player more security for the entire game process and at the same time making the movement process in the game more variable, ball rackets have been developed in which the striking part or the striking surface or the handle of the racket are angled to the straight symmetry or longitudinal axis of the ball racket - DE 24 07 213 C1, FR 2 696 351, US 4 131 278, US 4 155 550, US 4 478 416, US 4,659,080.

In addition, asymmetrical profiles of the handle have already been proposed which are intended to improve the grip technique in order to fix the racket even more firmly in the hand of the player and to increase the transmission of the impact force to the ball racket - DE 100 22 298 A1, US 4,759,546 , DE 24 07 213 C1. The arrangement and design of the sweet spot, which is located in the center of the striking part and which extends in accordance with the unequal lengths of the longitudinal and transverse axes of the striking part towards the edge of the striking part, is of crucial importance for an effective opening, accepting and retouming of the ball. The area outside of this sweet spot is increasingly unfavorable due to the increasing tension of the strings and the unfavorable force levers when returning the ball. Playing with these sections of the striking part is much more uncoordinated and requires more effort.

Ball reproduction is all about guiding the ball, which should be as long as possible. The longer the longitudinal and transverse axis of the sweet spot, the smoother the string in contact with the ball covering the striking part. As a result, the distance covered by the game ball on the strings of the striking part is lengthened and can be guided and controlled longer in this way. Playing along the longitudinal axis of the sweet spot is therefore considerably more advantageous than playing along the shorter transverse axis, which is regularly the case with slice and top spin balls with conventional ball rackets that have a linear longitudinal axis.

The known ball rackets described above, with a striking part angled to the straight rack axis, already have an extended distance for guiding and controlling the ball after striking the striking part of the striking part and thus have an enlarged sweet spot with the advantages that result from this Accept and return the ball result. However, if the ball hits the surfaces of the striking part that lie outside the enlarged sweet spot, an incomparably higher lever moment arises, which can only be counteracted with increased use of force. This higher lever torque causes the shaft to twist with the handle and leads to loss of control and power.

The situation is similar for the further developed ball racquets with a handle part angled to the straight longitudinal axis. The angled handle relieves the pressure on the wrist, but every ball hitting the striking element triggers a lever torque that lies outside the line of force of the play arm. The lines of force run far outside with an angled handle. half of the striking part and can only partially counteract the lever torque that occurs.

In summary, it can therefore be stated that the ergonomics of the movement sequence can be better met by bending the striking part or the handle. On the other hand, these versions of the ball racket cause a negative force lever, which has an unfavorable effect on the picking up and returning of the ball.

The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a ball racket with overall improved playing properties, which largely adapts to the ergonomic movement sequences of the player when picking up and returning the ball and enables even more effective use of the impact power.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a ball racket according to the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the ball racket according to the invention result from subclaims 2 to 11.

The proposed ball racket has a sinusoidal configuration with a sinusoidal longitudinal axis such that the starting points and end points of the striking part, the shaft and the handle each lie on the sinusoidal longitudinal axis and the perpendicular center of gravity axis of the striking part to the perpendicular center of gravity axis of the handle by an amount “D "are apart - claim 1.

One of the main advantages of the new ball racket is that the vibrations that occur when it hits, receives and returns the ball are not transmitted to the player's arm to the extent that they are amplified, as is the case with ball clubs with a straight longitudinal axis. The sinusoidal configuration of the ball racket, in particular that of the shaft, acts like a spring and absorbs a large proportion of the vibrations that occur. The ball racket according to the invention dampens the resonance of the vibration and thus contributes to protecting the play arm. The vibration-damping effects can be enhanced by expanding the profile cross section, which are provided in the region of the end point of the handle - claim 6. The sinusoidal configuration of the ball racket does not only result in the proposed ball racket being more extensively adapted to the ergonomic movement sequences when the ball is hit, received and returned, compared to the previously known designs, but also advantageously leads to a displacement of the striking part in relation to one the center of gravity of the handle center of gravity by the amount "D". In comparison to conventional ball rackets, the ball can therefore be played higher at the same angle between the player's arm and the body of the player. This property, which is particularly advantageous when playing on the net, reduces the required force and increases the control of the ball when struck.

The curvature of the handle, the start and end point of which lies on the sinusoidal longitudinal axis of the ball racket, additionally supports the variable use of the ball racket according to the invention both in forehand and backhand balls and enables even better use of the advantages that result from the displacement or Deflection of the striking part result. In addition, the handle is even better adapted to the player's hand bow due to its curvature. There is a larger grip contact, through which the racket is held even better in the hand of the player. At the same time, the curved handle is an effective lever against twisting of the racket caused by balls that are not accepted and hit with the sweet spot.

Another major advantage of the ball racket according to the invention is above all that the unfavorable lever moments, which result, for example, from an angled arrangement of handle and / or striking part, are compensated for by the sinusoidal configuration and the common sinusoidally extending longitudinal axis, i. H. cancel each other out.

With the shift resp. Deflection of the striking part, as described above, also turns the axis cross of the sweet spot in relation to the trajectory of the incoming ball and at the same time changes the effective area of the sweet spot. The incoming flying ball is therefore not primarily picked up by the main strings of the striking part of the striking part, as is generally the case with ball rackets with a straight longitudinal axis, but is taken up by the main strings and cross strings, which roughly slide. are directed gonally to the trajectory of the ball - claim 7. This advantageous effect can be increased even further by the longitudinal strings of the covering not running parallel to a connecting line between the outermost points of the head frame of the striking part, but rather being arranged approximately diagonally - claim 8 The ball must then travel a longer distance on the stringing of the striking part and is therefore given a longer lead. At the same time, the overall control of the ball increases. In addition to the improved control of the ball, the quasi double guidance of the ball along the longitudinal and transverse strings of the stringing also results in a more efficient transfer of the striking force to the ball.

An effective service game and the slice and tospin-played balls require the struck ball to be cut. For this purpose, the striking part of the ball racket is set slightly at an angle by the player with respect to the trajectory of the ball in order to cut the trajectory of the ball and to apply a swirl effect to the ball being played. The impact is not fully transferred to the ball. There is a loss of power.

Due to the sinusoidal configuration of the ball racket according to the invention, the associated deflection of the striking part and the guidance of the struck or arriving ball on the transverse and longitudinal strings of the strings of the striking part, supplemented by the arrangement of the strings, as described above, the ball receives a rotation by its own axis, which triggers a swirl effect on the ball without the player having to cut the ball. The entire impact of the stroke is transferred to the ball.

Without negatively influencing the improved game and other advantageous properties, the ball racket according to the invention can be equipped with a symmetrically or asymmetrically designed striking part and with a symmetrically or asymmetrically designed shaft and handle. In the case of a symmetrically shaped shaft and handle, the longitudinal axis of the striking part, shaft and handle has no sinusoidal shape and will expediently be straight. In accordance with the invention, also in this embodiment the center of gravity axes of the striking part and the handle are offset from one another by the amount “D”. The ball racket in turn has a sinusoidal configuration, where in the case of the successive, straight longitudinal axes of the handle, shaft and striking part have an angled, sinusoidal shape - claims 2 to 5. With the asymmetrical shape of the striking part, the length of the strings of the stringing and the length of the striking lever are extended at the same time. This results in a greater impact power and a larger area of the sweet spot, which improves the guidance and control of the ball on the impact part.

On the other hand, the asymmetrical design of the striking part creates imbalances which cause torques in the course of movement when hitting the ball. These torques are desirable to the extent that a swirl effect is transmitted to the ball. However, they are undesirable and disadvantageous if these torques become very strong and the ball racket tends to twist in the hand of the player. This fact is counteracted according to the invention in that the profile of the cross section of the shaft and the striking part in the opposite halves of the ball racket, which are separated by the longitudinal axis, is unequal.

Advantageously, the ball racket according to the invention is manufactured in one piece - claim 10. In order to simplify and decentralize the production if necessary, the individual functional assemblies of the ball racket can be manufactured separately and firmly connected to one another in an assembly process by force and / or form-fitting connections - claim 11.

The invention will be explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. In the accompanying drawings:

1 is a schematic representation of a ball racket made according to the invention with a symmetrically designed striking part,

2 shows the side view of the ball racket according to FIG. 1,

Fig. 3 shows a ball racket produced according to the invention with an asymmetrical striking part

4 and 5 the left and right side view of the racket of FIG. 3rd As can be seen from FIG. 1, the ball racket produced according to the invention has a continuous sinusoidal configuration with a sinusoidal longitudinal axis 5 on which the starting points 1.1, 2.1 and 3.1 and the end points 1.2, 2.2 and 3.2 of the functional elements of the ball racket striking part 1, shaft 2 and handle 3 are arranged. The ball racket shown has a symmetrically shaped striking part 1, which is formed by the head frame 6 and the strings 7. This new, constructive design results in a number of advantageous properties, which have already been described extensively in the previous explanations. In order to avoid repetitions, these improved game and other advantageous properties are no longer discussed in detail in the present part of the description of the invention.

The sinusoidal configuration of the ball racket means that the center of gravity axis 10 of the striking part 1 is shifted or deflected by the amount “D” to the center of gravity axis 11 of the handle 3. This results in changed lever ratios, which are particularly advantageous when playing on the net , since the ball can be played higher at an angle of less than 45 ° between the arm and the body of the player. The curved handle 3, which is also better adapted to the hand bow of the player, also contributes to stabilization and a variable design of the stick position and can be fixed even more in the hand of the player.

Due to the sinusoidal shape of the longitudinal axis 5, the axis cross of the sweet spot 9 in the center of the striking part 1 also rotates with respect to the trajectory of the incoming ball. As already explained, this results in significant advantages when accepting and returning the ball, since the ball travels a longer distance on the strings of the striking part 1 and can thus be better guided and controlled. By twisting the axis cross of the sweet spot 9, the main and cross strings run approximately diagonally to the trajectory of the ball. In contrast to the previously known ball rackets, the ball is guided over an extended distance both along the main strings and the cross strings. This increases the transmission of the impact force to the ball, which is simultaneously rotated around its own axis. In this way, the ball receives an additional swirl effect without the player having to cut the ball separately. These beneficial effects can be further enhanced by the main strings the strings 7 are not arranged parallel to a connecting line 14 between the outermost points of the head frame 6 of the striking part 1, but rather run approximately diagonally to this line 14.

Another measure to increase the effective area of the sweet spot 9 is to dispense with the web 4 of the head frame 6 in a manner known per se and to guide the longitudinal and transverse strings of the covering of the striking part 1 into the head region of the shaft 2 and anchored there.

The arcuate design of the handle 3 continues in the structural design of the shaft 2, the start and end points 2.1, 2.2 of which also lie on the sinusoidal longitudinal axis 5 of the ball racket. Supported by the shift of the center of gravity axis 10 of the striking part 1 to the center of gravity axis 11 of the handle 3 by the amount “D”, the design of the shaft 2 acts like a spring and dampens the vibrations occurring when the ball is struck and accepted. The damping properties of the proposed ball racket can additionally still be reinforced by an expansion of the profile cross section 8 in the region of the end point 3.2 of the handle 3.

The ball racket produced according to the invention and shown in FIG. 3 has an asymmetrically designed striking part 1. This configuration of the striking part 1 increases the sweet spot 9 by the sweet spot area 9.1. At the same time, the stroke lever of the ball racket is extended, with the result that a higher impact force can be transferred to the ball. The areal enlargement of the sweet spot also results in better guidance and control of the ball during its contact with the covering of the striking part 1.

In order to counter possible problems which are triggered by high torques due to the asymmetrical design of the striking part 1 when hitting the ball, the profiles 6.1; 6.2 of the head frame 6 and the shaft 2 in the respective ball racket half a different profile cross section. The unbalance of the ball racket, which results from the asymmetrical design of the striking part 1, can be compensated for by a suitable selection of these profile cross sections which differ from one another. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1 striking part

1.1 Starting point of the striking part

1.2 End point of the striking part

2 shaft

2.1 Starting point of the shaft

2.2 End point of the shaft

3 handle

3.1 Starting point of the handle

3.2 End point of the handle

4 bridge

5 longitudinal axis

6 head frames

6.1 Profile

6.2 Profile

7 strings

8 profile cross-section

9 sweet spot

9.1 Sweet spot area

10 center of gravity of the striking part

11 Center of gravity of the handle

12 line of force

13 asymmetrical striking part

14 connecting line

Claims

1. Ball racket (racket) for ball and badminton games, such as tennis, squash, badminton, speedminton, racquetball, consisting of a striking part (1), which is formed by a head frame (6) with a string (7), a shaft (2) and a handle (3), characterized in that the ball racket has an overall sinusoidal configuration with a sinusoidal longitudinal axis (5), the starting points (1.1; 2.1; 3.1) and the end points (1.2; 2.2; 3.2) of the Impact part (1), the shaft (2) and the handle (3) each lie on the sinusoidal longitudinal axis (5) and the center of gravity (10) of the impact part (1) to the center of gravity axis (11) of the handle (3) by an amount "D" are apart.

2. Ball racket according to claim 1, characterized in that the

Impact part (1), the shaft (2) and the handle (3) are asymmetrical and have a common sinusoidal longitudinal axis (5).

3. Ball racket according to claim 1, characterized in that the striking part (1) asymmetrical and shaft (2) and handle (3) are symmetrical, the starting points (1.1; 2.1; 3.1) and the end points (1.2; 2.2; 3.2 ) of the striking part (1), the shaft (2) and the handle (3) lie on a straight, multi-angled longitudinal axis.

4. Ball racket according to claim 1, characterized in that the striking part (1) is symmetrically shaped, while the shaft (2) and the handle (3) are asymmetrical and the starting points (1.1; 2.1; 3.1) and the end points (1.2 ; 2.2; 3.2) are arranged on a common, sinusoidal longitudinal axis (5).

5. Ball racket according to claim 1, characterized in that the striking part (1), shaft (2) and handle (3) are formed symmetrically and their starting points (1.1; 2.1; 3.1) and end points (1.2; 2.2; 3.2) so on one straight, multi-angled longitudinal axis are arranged so that the ball racket has a sinusoidal body shape overall.

6. Ball racket according to claim 1 to 5, characterized in that the profile cross section (8) in the region of the end point (3.2) of the handle (3) is expanded.

7. Ball racket according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the longitudinal strings of the covering run parallel to the connecting line (14) between the outermost points of the head frame (6) of the striking part (1) and the cross strings of the covering at an angle of approximately 90 ° to the main strings are arranged.

8. Ball racket according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the longitudinal strings of the covering run approximately diagonally to the connecting line (14) between the outermost points of the head frame (6) of the striking part (1) and the transverse strings at an angle of approximately 90 ° are arranged to the diagonally running main strings.

9. Ball racket according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the cross sections of the profiles (6.1; 6.2) of the head frame (6) and shaft (2) in the halves of the racket separated by the longitudinal axis (5) are different.

10. Ball racket according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it is made in one piece.

1. Ball racket according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the striking part (1), shaft (2) and handle (3) are manufactured separately as individual assemblies and are firmly connected to one another by force and / or positive locking to form a complete ball racket ,