GB2191409A - Racket - Google Patents

Abstract

A racket includes a frame 1 having a plurality of holes through which the gut 2 is inserted. A vibration absorption member 4 has a plurality of holes for the gut 2, and is fixed along the internal side face of the frame 1 so that the holes in the frame 1 and the holes in the vibration absorption member 4 communicate with one another. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Racket The present invention relates to a racket, e.g.

for tennis, equipped with means for damping and absorbing vibration of the gut. (The term "gut" is used herein to refer to the stringing of the racket, and is not limited to the actual material, which may for example be true gut or nylon.) When hitting a ball with the racket on whose frame the gut is stretched while playing tennis, an impact against the racket may give rise to a strong vibration in the racket, whereby a player using the racket feels a numbness or has a fear of hurting his arms.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, Japanese patent Provisional Publication No. SHO (60)-168473 shows the arrangement in which, in order to absorb the vibration from the gut, a vibration absorption band comprising an elastic material having a softness or a viscoelastic material is mounted to the racket having the gut stretched on its frame such that the afore-mentioned vibration absorption band is wound round a plurality of gut strings.

In general, such a construction, which has the vibration absorption band, if necessary, mounted to the racket after stretching the gut on its frame, may cause the following inconvenience: First, since the afore-mentioned vibration absorption band has to be detached, whenever the gut is renewed, there may be the fear of losing afore-mentioned vibration absorption band. In addition, if the frequency of detaching the same is increased, the afore-mentioned vibration absorption band is so thin in thickness that a crack or a separation easily takes place in it so that there may be also a possibility of cutting the same.

Moreover, since the afore-mentioned vibration absorption band is so small that there may be many cases of mounting a plurality of the same bands to the racket so that an effect by them may be increased, the appearance of the racket is spoiled and the player has a feeling of uneasiness as to a possibility of having the ball strike against the vibration absorption bands, when the ball is hit with the racket.

Winding of the afore-mentioned vibration absorption band around a plurality of gut strings causes the intervals among the gut strings around which the band is wound to be changed, whereby the parallelism between the gut strings is broken, so when hitting the ball with the racket, the ball may sometimes spring in an irregular manner.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide the racket capable of solving the afore-mentioned problematic points.

The present invention, comprising the frame possessing a plurality of holes into which the gut respectively is inserted and the vibration absorption member possessing a plurality of holes into which the gut respectively is inserted, is concerned with an arrangement in which the vibration absorption member is fixed along the internal side face of the aforementioned frame under the state where the holes, located on the frame, into which the gut respectively is inserted and the holes, lo casted on the vibration absorption member, into which the gut respectively is inserted, communicate with one another.

Such a construction may enable the player using the afore-mentioned racket to avoid a feeling of discomfort as well as to prevent his arms from being injured, because the vibration of the gut, caused by hitting the ball with the racket, is absorbed by the vibration absorption member.

Moreover, the fixing of the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member to the frame as one unit reduces the necessity of detaching the vibration absorption member from the racket, even when renewing the gut, whereby there is no fear of losing the vibration absorption member. Since the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member is mounted along the internal side face of the frame, the appearance of the racket is not spoiled, and the feeling of uneasiness as to the possibility of having the ball strike against the vibration absorption member at the time of hitting the ball with the racket is solved to a considerable extent.In addition, because the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member does not make a change in the intervals between the gut strings so that the gut is maintained to be in parallel with one another, any possibility that the ball may spring in an irregular manner, when the ball is hit with the racket, hardly takes place.

An embodiment of the invention-will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of the principal part of the racket of one embodiment according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is an outline plan view of the same racket; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the vibration absorption member in the racket; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the procedure for mounting the same vibration absorption member to the racket.

In the drawings, 1 is the racket frame, and the gut strings 2 are vertically and horizontally stretched in an opening section which is formed by a frame element 1 a of the frame 1.

Grommets 3 are provided in the inside of the frame element la, and a resulting arrangement is made such that each of gut strings 2 is inserted from the side of the opening section of the frame element la through the holes respectively made on the grommets 3 to the outside thereof.

The racket has the vibration absorption member 4 fixed along the side face on the side of the opening section (hereinafter referred to as an internal side face), located correspondingly onto a yoke part 1 b of the aforementioned frame 1, on which the gut is stretched. The vibration absorption member 4 is preferably formed, for example, of the elastic material such as rubber or the viscoelastic material, and its shape has its one-side face formed into a curved surface which is fitted to the internal side face of the afore-mentioned yoke part 1 b and another opposite face (face on the side to which the internal side face is not touched) formed into a horizontal surface.

In the present embodiment, referred to below, the structure is that 6 units of gut 2 penetrate the vibration absorption member 4 and, among these gut units, 4 units of gut come in contact with the vibration absorption member 4. According to the present invention, however, the number of gut strings which come in contact with vibration absorption member is not always limited to 4 units, and the face on the side to which the internal side face is not touched is not always needed to be of the horizontal surface, the accepted variants being set, depending upon the shape and size of the racket A description of the procedure for fixing the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4 to the racket is made as follows:: The afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4, as shown in Fig. 1, has both its left and right sides provided with the holes which the grommets penetrate 4a such that such holes 4a penetrate the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4 and the section between 2 units of these holes which the grommets penetrate 4a provided with 4 units of holes constituted by the holes into which the grommets are inserted 4b and the holes into which the gut is inserted 4c such that the latter 4 units of holes also penetrate the vibration absorption member 4. The holes into which the gut is inserted 4c have their internal diameter fixed such that, when stretching the gut 2 on the frame of the racket, their internal peripheries come into close contact with entire external peripheries or partial ones of the gut 2.

On the other hand, 2 units of grommets 5 and 5, each of which has 3 units of cylindrical parts 5a, 5b, and 5b with holes respectively into which the gut is inserted, are provided on the internal section of the yoke part 1 b in a symmetrical manner. Among these cylindrical parts 5a, 5b, and 5b, the cylindrical parts 5a which are provided for being inserted into the afore-mentioned holes which the grommets penetrate 4a, have a longer dimension than the cylindrical parts 5b, and are adapted to penetrate the yoke part 1 b and the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4.

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 3, if the cylindrical parts 5a and the cylindrical parts 5b are inserted into the holes which the grommets penetrate 4a in the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4 and the holes into which the grommets are inserted 4b therein respectively, the heads Sc and Sc of the cylindrical parts 5a and 5a are protruded from the upper surface of the vibration absorption member 4, and flattening of these heads Sc and Sc in a platelike manner will allow the vibration absorption member 4 to be fixed to the yoke part ib.

Under such a consequence, as referred to as above, an attempt to stretch the gut 2 on the frame 1 by means of inserting the gut 2 through the afore-mentioned holes into which the gut is inserted 4c and the cylindrical parts 5a, 5b, and 5b on the grommets 5 results in the contact of 4 units of gut 2 via the holes into which the gut inserted 4c with the vibration absorption member 4.

According to the afore-mentioned construction, in the case where the impact against the racket with which the ball is hit causes the strong vibration to take place on the gut 2, almost all the vibration is absorbed from the gut 2 which is in contact with the vibration absorption member 4 into the vibration absorption member 4, so the player using the racket of the present invention may dispense with having a feeling of discomfort.

Since the afore-mentioned structure, in which the gut 2 can be rebewed under the state of fixing the vibration absorption member 4 to the frame 1, does not need the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4 to be detached from the racket, there is no fear of losing the vibration absorption member 4. Moreover, because the vibration absorption member 4 is fixed along the internal side face of the frame 1, the appearance of the racket is not spoiled and the worry of having the ball strike against the vibration bsorption member 4 at the time of hitting the ball is not needed.

No change in intervals between the gut strings 2 due to the vibration absorption member 4 is made, resulting in retaining the state where the gut strings are in parallel with one another.

A consideration of the balance of the center of gravity in the racket may regard it as recommendable that the vibration absorption member 4 be mounted to the yoke part 1 b, and even if the vibration absorption member 4 is fixed along the internal side face of a top end part of the racket or side parts thereof, depending on the player's taste, it is possible to absorb the vibration from the gut 2. (In the case of mounting the same to the side parts, it is preferable to do so to both the side parts in terms of keeping the balance.) Although the afore-mentioned embodiment illustrates the structure in which 2 units of grommets are provided on the yoke part 1 b in a symmetrical manner, their shape and number or the num ber of holes made on them may not be limited to the above statement, an option depending on the configuration of the racket is allowed. Also with regard to the means of fixing the afore-mentioned vibration absorption member 4, an optional way is not limited to the method using the grommets 5 with any fixing means whatsoever allowed so that if a fixture by an adhesive and the like is made, for example, it enables the construction of the racket according to the present invention to be established.

Claims (8)

1. A racket, comprising the frame having a plurality of holes into which the gut is inserted and the vibration absorption member having a plurality of holes into which the gut is inserted wherein the vibration absorption member is fixed along the internal side face of the aforementioned frame under the state where the holes into which the gut is inserted on the frame and the holes into which the gut is inserted on the vibration absorption member communicate with one another.

2. A racket, as defined in Claim 1, wherein the vibration absorption member is formed of the elastic material such as rubber or viscoelastic material.

3. A racket, as defined in Claim 1 or 2, in which the vibration absorption member is fixed along the internal side face of the yoke part of the frame.

4. A racket, according to any preceding claim having grommets which are fixed on the side of the frame and penetrate holes which are provided on the vibration absorption member; and wherein flattening of the heads of the grommets penetrating the holes permits the vibration absorption member to be fixed to the frame.

5. A racket according to any preceding claim, wherein the vibration absorption member is fixed along the internal side face of the frame by adhesive.

6. A racket according to any preceding claim, wherein the diameters of the holes into which the gut is inserted are established such that the vibration absorption member becomes in contact with the gut being stretched on the frame around the gut's entire periphery.

7. A racket according to any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the diameters of the holes into which the gut is inserted are established such that the vibration absorption member becomes in contact with the partial periphery of the gut being stretched on the frame.

8. A racket substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.