GB310350A - Improvements in games racquet - Google Patents

Abstract

310,350. Claremont, C. A. Jan. 24, 1928. Rackets; handles.-A section of the frame of a lawn tennis or like racket, disposed at the end remote from the handle, is rendered heavier than that of sections on either side of it by an amount predetermined to move the " dull zone " nearer to that end of the frame. The magnitude of the weight necessary to eliminate the " dull zone " is determined by clamping a racket by the handle with the frame horizontal, suspending a weight from the outer end of the frame, noting the rebound of a ball dropped at various points along the longitudinal axis, and repeating the process with weights of various magnitures. The frame may be given the required weighting by forming the end part b, Fig. 1, of rectangular cross-section instead of the usual hexagonal. In addition strips of metal or heavy wood c may be screwed to the frame. In a modification, the weight comprises two weights e, Fig. 5, screwed together through a hole in a metal frame d, and serving if necessary to position thin lead discs e<3>. When applied to a wooden frame, the discs are secured to a pair of metal brackets projecting inwardly from the frame. The balance of the racket may be adjusted by traversing a weight g<4>, Fig. 8, along the interior of the handle by means of a screw g<2> rotatable by a crank g<3>. The weight is held in adjusted position by set screws g<9>, that also serve to prevent rotation of the weight during adjustment. The position of the weight may be observed through a sight opening formed in the handle. A racket having a wooden handle, Fig. 12, may be provided with a balance weight h<4> clamped between a cork plug h<5> and a wooden plunger h<1>. Alternatively, a weight may be freely slidable within a recess in the handle and be retained in any desired position by a setscrew passing through one of a series of tapped holes in the handle. Specifications 192,582 and 211,176 are referred to.