GB2264650A

GB2264650A - Hand grip for racket

Info

Publication number: GB2264650A
Application number: GB9203999A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Arthur Hong
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-02-25
Filing date: 1992-02-25
Publication date: 1993-09-08
Also published as: GB9203999D0

Abstract

A racket hand grip comprises a gripping member 22 made of light material such as polyurethane foam, and a reinforcing member 21 of elongate rod-shaped construction provided with an insertion hole 210 along its center line. The reinforcing member is embedded centrally and coaxially in the gripping member so as to enhance the structural strength of the hand grip. The insertion hole of the reinforcing member is used to receive thereinto the shaft 30 of the racket. The reinforcing member may be of reinforced plastics, aluminium or steel. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVED ISLAND GRIP OF RACKET BACKGROUND OF TBE INVENTION The present invention relates to a racket, and more particularly to an improved hand grip of a racket.

It is still a common practice among the racket producers that the hand grips of rackets are made of wooden material and are individually attached to shafts of rackets. Few hand grips are made integrally with shafts of carbonaceous fiber material or polyurethane material.

As shown in FIG. 1, a racket of prior art is provided with a wooden hand grip, which has a relatively better elasticity and can be made separately. However, such wooden hand grip is limited in that it is relatively heavy and that its weight is not evenly distributed. As a result, the center of gravity of a racket provided with such wooden hand grip tends to deviate so as to have a negative influence on the quality of the racket. In addition, the top quality of such wooden hand grip of racket is dependent on the excellent quality of wood grain and the absence of slits incapable of being detected by naked eyes. Furthermore, an extreme care must be exercised during the process of making a hole located at the front end of a wooden hand grip and intended for use in inserting thereinto a shaft so as to ensure that the center line of hand grip is aligned with that of shaft.

A prior art racket, as shown in FIG. 2, of carbonaceous fiber material is an excellent and expensive one without the shortcomings of the racket having wooden hand grip as described above. Such racket of carbonaceous fiber material has enjoyed a very limited market share because of its high cost of production. In order to be able to reduce the price tag of such racket to a level affordable to consumers at large, most manufacturers make rackets having head portion and shaft which are made of carbonaceous fiber and having hand grip of wooden material or polyurethane material. It requires an enormous capital expenditure to convert the existing production facilities so as to facilitate the production of rackets made entirely of carbonaceous fiber material.

A prior art racket, as shown in FIG. 3, of polyurethane material is unique in that it is light in weight and that its density is evenly distributed. However, hand grip of such racket is made by means of injection molding in the wake of formation of head portion and shaft. It is therefore technically difficult for makers to produce such racket in quantity. In other words, a manufacturer must invest a substantial amount of capital on injection molding equipments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention to provide a hand grip of racket, which can be made separately and attached thereafter to a shaft.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a hand grip of racket, which is light in weight and has an evenly distributed density, an accurate center line and an excellent structural strength.

In keeping with the principles of the present invention, the foregoing objectives are accomplished by an improved hand grip of racket comprising a gripping member and a reinforced member. The gripping member made of material light in weight is provided with a shape consistent with that of hand grip and with an evenly distributed density. The reinforced member of rod-shaped construction is furnished with an insertion hole along the center line thereof and is embedded in the center of the gripping member in such a manner that its axial line consolidates with that of the gripping member so as to enhance the structural strength of the gripping member. The insertion hole of the reinforced member is intended for use in inserting thereinto a racket shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ThE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a cut-away view of a hand grip of a wooden racket of prior art.

FIG. 2 shows a cut-away view of a hand grip of a prior art racket of carbonaceous fiber material.

FIG. 3 shows a cut-away view of a hand grip of a prior art racket of polyurethane material.

FIG. 4 shows a cut-away view of a hand grip embodied in the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a cut-away view of a hand grip of the present invention attached to a racket shaft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, an improved hand grip 20 embodied in the present invention is shown comprising a reinforced member 21 and a gripping member 22. The reinforced member 21 of hollow tubular construction is made of aluminum alloy and is inserted into the gripping member 22 which is made from polyurethane by means of injection molding and has a shape consistent with that of the hand grip. The axial hole of the reinforced member 21 forms an insertion hole 210 intended for use in inserting thereinto a racket shaft 30.

The advantages of the present invention are explained hereinafter.

The hand grip of the present invention can be made separately and is provided with an excellent elasticity comparable to that of a wooden hand grip. In addition, the hand grip of the present invention is devoid of defects shared by hand grips made respectively from carbonaceous fiber material and polyurethane material.

Unlike a wooden hand grip, the hand grip of the present invention is structurally sound and light in weight, and has an even density and an accurate center line, which are prerequisite to a racket of excellence, thanks to the fact that the hand grip of the present invention is composed of a hollow tubular reinforced member of aluminum material having properties of rigidity and extensibility, and of a gripping member of polyurethane foam material which is light in weight and has a unique quality of even density. Such hand grip is not vulnerable to breakage on impact.

Claims

1. A hand grip of a racket, comprising a gripping member made of light material and provided with an even density and a shape consistent with that of said hand grip, and a reinforcing member of elongate rod-shaped construction provided with an insertion hole along a center line thereof, the reinforcing member being embedded centrally in said gripping member in such a manner that its axial line coincides or substantially coincides with the axial line of said gripping member.

2. A hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcing member is of hollow tubular construction with an axial hole forming said insertion hole.

3. A hand grip according to claim 1 of claim 2, wherein said reinforcing member is made of reinforced plastics material, aluminum, or steel.

4. A hand grip according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said gripping member is made from polyurethane foam material by injection molding and is made integrally with said reinforcing member.

5. A hand grip of a racket, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

6. A racket having a hand grip as set forth in any one of the preceding claims.