MX2011006411A - Racket string alignment tool. - Google Patents

Abstract

A racket string alignment device for aligning crisscrossed strings forming the face of a sports racket. The device features a body in a cup or hemispheric shape adapted for easy gripping by the palm and hand of a user. Projections extending from an axle engaged roller have distal ends adapted to easily engage within rectangles formed by the strings of the face and realign them. The axle is in floating engagement with the body to allow the body to tile while maintaining the axle substantially parallel to the face of the racket formed by the strings. Fluid applicators may be located between the projections to apply emollient to the strings and the rollers may be in a kit form allowing them to be changed for different sized racket faces with different sized rectangles in the crisscross pattern.

Description

TOOL FOR THE ALIGNMENT OF RACKET STRINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention The application claims the priority of the Provisional Patent Application of E.U. Number 61/122646 filed on 12/15/2008 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The invention described herein refers in general to stringed rackets used for games such as tennis and raquetbo1. More particularly it relates to an alignment tool adapted for a clutch wound simultaneously with the cords of a sports racquet that provides an alignment of the cords and overlaps to form a uniformly spaced grid with a substantially perpendicular arrangement. 2. Previous technique Background of the invention: Rackets strung for ball games such as tennis, racquetball and squash have been used by game participants for many decades. Such rackets are used in tennis and other sports games where a ball is hit on a projectile such as a ball by and between competitors during a game or match.

When stringing most of the rackets, the strings are formed of natural or synthetic material. To form a crisscross pattern on the racquet head, the cords engage through openings in the frame of the racquet and intersect within a cavity or opening in the racquet defined by the inner circumference of the frame of the racquet.

Upon traversing the distance of the frame opening, the strings conventionally intertwine with each other generally in an arrangement substantially perpendicular to one another in a somewhat woven clutch. This perpendicular woven clutch forms the surface of the racquet. It is this surface formed within the opening of the racquet within the frame, which is used by the user to hit the projectile intended for the game such as a ball or cock.

For example, in the tennis game, the surface of the racquet is formed by intertwined cords produced from a synthetic material or animal gut that intersect substantially in two directions through the openings communicating through the frame of the racquet generally circular or oval that defines the opening of the racket. During the process of stringing the formation of the surface, it can take a substantial period of time to intertwine these cords over and under each other in a carefully formed pattern. The result of this stringing process produces a plurality of rectangles, substantially of the same size, of cords crisscrossed on a large racket surface within the racket opening.

This careful string pattern and the careful tension of the strings during the stringing operation and the formation of the pattern, if done properly, produce what is generally known as an "optimum point" in the central area of the surface. the racket strung. This is the point in the pattern of woven ropes that forms the surface that usually imparts enough strength to bounce the ball especially well towards the other player, and with the most accurate trajectory.

Since speed and precision are of paramount importance to the frame as well as to professional players who use stringed racquets, the training and maintenance of this optimum point is of particular importance. It is therefore very important to string the racquet initially in a crisscrossed interlaced pattern, which will produce the optimal point desired by the user, and which will have the optimum size and rebound qualities for the user's game. The clutches of the strings uniformly separated and substantially perpendicular in the cross-linked pattern are also especially important to maintain over time the highest optimum point and the most uniform bounce force from that point. In addition, it is important to keep the cords substantially in their original pattern to also maintain the optimum point of the racquet surface in the same position.

However, during the execution of the game, the surface of the racket strung as in tennis, hits the ball with enough force to propel it back to the other player at speeds exceeding ninety miles per hour or more. Other sports that employ stringed racquets also impact projectiles continuously during the game. The impact of the ball or projectile used against the strung surface of the racket, over time will generally impact the individual string portions. These constant collisions of the projectile and the strings, will cause over time that the strings move in mutual relation and become misaligned with the original string pattern.

As the ropes move further and further apart and align with the adjacent ropes, the optimum point on the surface of the racket is affected both in accuracy and in the force impartible on the projectile.

Because the strings that form the surface of the racket are under tension and intertwined, this movement and misalignment in relation to each other, once imparted over time by the impact of a ball or projectile, tends to stay out of alignment appropriate. This is because the friction forces of the interlaced and tensioned cords at their intersections tend to maintain the misalignment as they do with the proper alignment.

Due to the increase in misalignments of the adjacent and transverse strings of the racket surface over time and after many impacts of the ball or other projectile against the surface of the racket during a match, the balls propelled by the surface will tend to be less and less precise in its trajectory and the rebound speed will be affected. Path errors and slower projectile propulsion from the surface of the racquet are caused because the rectangular clutches of the originally uniformly spaced, uniformly sized strings will tend to form unequal angles and irregular patterns. Additionally, this results in irregular areas of the rectangles formed in the string pattern of the racket surface.

For both professional and amateur players, these irregular cross patterns that are formed by these constant ball impacts, if not repaired or realigned, will severely affect the force imparted to the ball by the surface of your racket, the accuracy of the placement of his shot, and consequently his overall performance in the game.

The surface of the racket with the deformed spacing will have larger and smaller rectangular patterns formed when the strings slide over the impacts of the ball, and will have areas of greater and lesser tension. Additionally, areas with smaller rectangles and larger rectangles are formed by criss-cross strings that produce irregular contacts with the ball or other projectile on impact. Therefore it is important to rectify these non-uniform crossover patterns of the cords, and the rectangular areas of multiple sizes between those patterns, at the first sign that they are causing a change in the force imparted to the ball.

Also, as can be seen, since the size and uniform force of the optimal point of the racquet are a function of the appropriate transverse clutch and substantially uniformly and substantially perpendicularly separated from the interlaced cords, this migration of the cords, imparted by the ball or other projectile that impacts during the game, will also migrate the area and change the size of the optimal point of the racket. The irregular patterns of the ropes and the changed areas of the formed rectangles can displace the optimal point from the center of the racket, make it smaller in size, and form areas of irregular impact force against the ball or projectile.

For the player, which was originally a predictably located optimum point, with a substantially uniform area of rebound strength, and over which his hand-to-eye coordination that he is trained to hit from the training, he can easily step out of position or It can in fact disappear. Being the result that instead of following a trajectory planned to the impact, the hitting ball in which used to be the optimal point of the surface of the racket, will follow an unintended trajectory, at an unintended speed or turn. These symptoms are directly related to the irregular patterns of the strings, which the execution of the game itself can impart to the surface of the racket.

When realizing that the racket string pattern needs realignment, players will usually take the racket to a professional store for that purpose, or they will try it themselves. Conventionally, players have been offered tools that aim to help them realign the strings in an appropriate format to properly position the optimal point of the racket surface in its original pattern. However, most such tools are not well adapted to handle the relatively uneven rope and racquet intersections, and can be extremely difficult to use, especially during a game.

A conventional tool is that of picks or rods that are used by the player to attempt a realignment. In use, the player forces the strings to the new positions, by holding them on the rod or peak at a first end, and using a distal end to push or hook and pull the strings individually. However, forcing the individual portions of individual cords, leaves the relative final placement of the cord to the user's eye. The lack of alignment, by the tightening of a misaligned rope, or just due to poor vision, can produce unpredictable results on the surface of the racket formed. In addition, many players lack the dexterity and physical strength to sustain and employ these types of devices.

Another conventional tool that is offered to users to repair the alignment and separation of the ropes presents a roller with depressions crisscrossed on the surface of the roller to form supporting projections on the roller. These projections are generally dimensioned to form rectangles when they are forced towards the woven cord patterns of the surface of the racquet and form a fabric with a generally uniform size and distribution of the rectangles formed.

Such roller alignment devices have a waffle plate-like appearance of the roller surface only with the projections spaced around the surface of a cylinder. However, these devices suffer from a severe defect in their inability to engage with the ropes immediately adjacent to the frame of the racket. Since the straightness of the cords from the openings in the frame determines the uniformity of the pattern formed, this inability to engage and rectify the alignments near the frame of the racquet is a severe disadvantage.

This inability to properly engage and separate and dimension the frames of the woven rope forming the surface immediately adjacent to the frame of the racquet thus makes the conventional roller alignment tools less than satisfactory. Its inability to clutch and square the pattern of the ropes adjacent to the frame occurs because the edge of the frame or the jejjj holding the cylindrical roller, in conventional roller devices, hits the frame when placed on it in position to allow the roller clutch the strings next to the frame. Once the jsjqj or body of the roller stand is on the surface of the frame, it places one side of the roller unable to form its clutch with the cords adjacent to the frame. Consequently, the rectangles and the alignment of the strings of the racket near the frame can not be repaired to their original state by such devices and the users either do not repair them and suffer the signs of misalignment noted, or try to use the spikes or members listed above as a second tool.

As such, there is an unmet need for a widely available, easy-to-use racquet string relocation tool that does not depend on the user's eye to properly relocate the ropes. Such a device must provide equal or uniform rectangles in the customary string pattern. Such a device must also be able to engage between the transverse cords of the surface, substantially across the entire surface of the racquet. Such a device must also be deployable and clutch with the rectangular rope through the crosses immediately adjacent to the frame of the racket and thus realign the entire surface without the need for additional tools. Still further, such a device must simultaneously be able to apply emollient to the strings in areas of the country where the game tends to dry the strings, or to degrade the strings by ultraviolet exposure such as the desert where the heat, the low humidity, and sunlight can cause contraction and deterioration of the strings.

With respect to the foregoing, before explaining in detail at least one preferred embodiment of the system of alignment and application of emollient to the racquet cords of the present, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components or the steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatuses and methods of the invention are capable of other modalities and of being practiced and effected in various ways that will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this description. Also, it should be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be considered as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception on which this description is based can be readily used as a basis for designing other devices, methods and systems to carry out the various purposes of the present described device that allows users to easily align all the strings of a racket regardless of its location on the surface. Therefore, it is important that the objects and claims are considered to include any such equivalent constructions by those skilled in the art provided they do not depart from the spirit and general scope of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The device described provides a solution to the noted disadvantages of conventional racquet string alignment tools. The device has a rolling cylindrical surface having projections thereon to engage the rectangular shaped patterns formed by the transverse cords of the racquet surface. The projections may also have a tapered rectangular shape that is narrower at its distal ends.

This tapering of the rectangles from narrow to wide therefore provides means for easy clipping of the projections with the sides of the strings in roving positions at the smaller distal ends of the projections. The taper towards the larger rectangular base of the projections serves as a means to push the strings to their proper rectangular location as the cylinder rolls on the surface of the racket and the projections clutch the rectangles formed by the strings.

The cylinder that forms the base for the projections is clutched on an axis that provides a means to rotate the cylinder while the body to which the shaft clings is held. This shaft preferably engages itself with a hemispherical portion of the body which, due to this shape, is particularly well adapted for the comfortable clutch with the curl formed by the grip of the user's hand.

Unlike prior art devices employing rollers that use extended handles that require the user to hold such devices between opposing fingers, the device described herein allows the user to comfortably hold the outer body hemispherically with the fingers, thumb and the palm of the curved hand. The positioning of the shaft within the clutch cupped body of the hand maximizes the area of force imparted to the hand by the realignment action and therefore provides a means to minimize the torsional force imparted to the user's hand during use. This cupped clutch and the reduction of the force imparted make the use of the described device much easier and less burdensome for the muscles of the hand and arm of the users.

In a particularly preferred mode of the device, the shaft that rotationally engages the roller to the body is in floating clutch at its distal ends, with the adjacent supports or on the inner wall of the body. This floating clutch allows one end of the shaft and the connected roller to rise or fall in opposition to the opposite end. This floating clutch thus provides a means for maintaining the projections of the roller clutched with the rectangles formed by the cords, in the area of the surface of the racket immediately adjacent to the inner edge of the frame of the racket while simultaneously rolling the roller so engaged, for push the ropes to your site.

The floating clutch of the shaft in this manner allows a portion of the body to be hemispherical, to raise its lower edge on or above the surface of the frame of the racquet when the roller engages the rectangles formed by the cords adjacent to the frame. The plane of the lateral surface of the frame of the racket is higher than the plane of the surface of the racket formed by the strings through the openings in the frame. The ability to raise the lower part of the frame on the highest plane on the side of the racquet, while keeping the shaft sufficiently parallel to the plane of the surface of the strings to continue the clutch of the projections with all the strings, allows the user of the described device appropriately placing all the intersecting cords on the surface of the racquet that are adjacent to the frame, or in the middle part of the surface. The compact size of the device - - provided by the hemispherical shaped body makes it easy to carry in the user's pocket or the bag of his racket without occupying a large amount of space, as do handhold devices. Alternatively, using an attached strap, the device can be attached to the user's racket, bag, or clothing when not in use.

Optionally, in a preferred mode of the device, an applicator located adjacent the bottom of the roller projections adjacent to the shaft will provide a lubricant or emollient deposit that can be imparted simultaneously to the cords during the realignment. This applicator and reservoir can be formed from foam adhered to the roller, or using a hollow roller with openings at the base of the projections that would communicate the liquid of the liquid stored inside the hollow roller and discharged through the openings by the centrifugal force of the tread.

The foregoing has summarized, rather than broadly describing, the most relevant and important features of the device and string alignment system of the present, so that the following detailed description of the invention can be better understood in such a way that the present contribution to The technique can be seen more fully. As noted, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that conception and modalities - - Specific features described herein, can of course be readily used as a basis for providing other string alignment tools with floating axes and liquid discharge and for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such equivalent systems and methods are considered within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth herein.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an easily deployable system to allow users of sports rackets to easily realign the strings that form the surface of their racket.

A further objective of this invention is to provide such a device that works equally well in the middle part of the racquet surface and in the part immediately adjacent to the racket frame, to align the ropes.

Additional objects of this invention will be presented in the following part of the detailed specification wherein the detailed description is intended to fully describe the invention without establishing limitations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES - - Figure 1 is a sectional view of the device showing the hemispherical body and the clutch cover, and a floating axle support within the body with the roller adapted with tapered projections to engage with and realign the strings of the racquet that form the surface of a strung sports racquet.

Figure 2 is a front view of the device showing the tilting ability of the body portion provided by the floating clutch of the distal ends of the roller shaft and a decorative cover for the body.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view of a device mode showing the clutch of the floating shaft and a different body shape that can also clutch to a body cover or label plate.

Figure 4 depicts a front view of the device in Figure 3 and showing the removable labeled plate portion.

DETAILED DESCRIBE OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings in Figures 1 to 4 where similar parts are identified by similar reference numbers, it is seen in Figure 1, the cut through the device 10 showing the components thereof and their clutches and operation. Relative - - The device 10 has one or a plurality of cylinders 12 having a rolling surface 14 on the outer circumference. On the rolling surface 14 is located a series of appropriately spaced projections 16 that extend from the surface 14 of the rotating cylinder 12 to a distal end with a taper 13 as shown, which tapers slightly as the projections 16 extend. towards its distal ends.

This taper 13 provides a means for an easy clutch within the rectangles formed by the superimposed strings 18, used in most of the rackets that form the surface of the racket to hit a projectile. After being used to strike a projectile, the ropes 18 forming the rectangles can be displaced to form rectangles of unequal sizes by the roving positions of the ropes 18 caused by the impacts of the projectile. The taper 13 from the larger rectangular base of the projection 16 to the smaller distal end provides a means for engaging in the rectangle formed by the superimposed strings 18 and for pushing the strings 18 to the appropriate position to form the surface of the racket as intended. This can be achieved by manipulating the device 10 and driving it through the cords 18 that form the surface of the racquet. The surface of a strung string is very - - known and does not need to be represented. The cylinder 12 rotates as the projections 16 extend from the rolling surface 14 by continuously clipping more of the rectangles' on the surface of the racquet along its forward or reverse path depending on the direction in which it is driven or attracts the device 10 by the user's hand.

The cylinder 12 is rotatably engaged to the body 20 on the shaft 22. It is of particular importance for the overall performance of the device 10, that the shaft 22 employs a means for a floating clutch 24 with the inner surface 26 of the body 20 as shown in Figures 1 to 3. In Figure 1 this is shown with a biasing means such as a spring 27 for maintaining axis 22 centered but translatable at both ends. As shown in Figure 2, this floating clutch 24 in all modes provides a means for holding the cylinder 12 and the projections 14 embraced with the surface and the rectangles formed by the cords 18 when the device is placed adjacent to the inner edge. of the racket frame 31 or overlays it. This function is especially important in that it allows the device 10 to clutch substantially all of the rectangles formed on the surface of the racquet while rotating the cylinder 12 and urging the cords 18 toward their proper placement as they slide through the - tapers 13 of projections 16.

Without this floating clutch 24 which provides a means for tilting towards the body 20, still maintaining the axis 22 substantially parallel to the surface of the racquet formed by the overlapping cords 18 which extend between the opening formed by the frame 31, the device 10 it can not clutch to the surface rectangles since the body 20 would raise the projections 16 out of such a clutch or would not allow the projections 16 to slide through the taper 13 to completely relocate the cords 18 to properly form rectangles on the surface adjacent to the frame 31. Of course, those skilled in the art will realize upon reading this disclosure that other means may be employed for the floating clutch of shaft 22 with a body, and all such clutches are considered within the scope of this application.

It is optionally provided but it is preferred that a strap 30, can be clutched to the body 20 having a fastener 32 such as a safety hook at the distal end. This strap 30 would provide a means to secure the device 10 to a tennis bag or to the racquet or in such a way as to prevent it from being lost. Also, the device 10 may have a fluid applicator means 34, such as foam impregnated with fluid, which will be placed to lubricate or apply treatments to the cords such as a fluid - emollient to the ropes 18, as the projections 16 propel them to the proper position. In hot dry areas or when a rope material such as casing is used, this can significantly improve the life of the racket strings 18 and the device 10 would apply the liquid directly to the strings 18 while simultaneously paralleling them.

Furthermore, as a means for identifying the device 10 the bodies 20 can be clutched with body covers 21 having signs 33 therein that identify the source of the device 10 or where the user may have been. This would be especially important for groups of people who may want to put on the cover the logo of the team for its clutch to the body 20, or for a resort (resort) that may wish to sell souvenir covers (memorabilia) 21 or bodies 20 which contain the name or logo of the resort as in Figure 2. Alternatively, a slot 23 may be provided, as in Figure 3, to engage a tagged plate 25, containing the sign 33 such as a logo or words identifying the source , the place, or group of people or resort.

Additionally, the device 10 can be provided in the form of equipment where different cylinders having different projectiles 16 are provided - - sizes that extend from them. The tapers 13 may also differ to allow the user to adapt the device 10 to engage the overlapping cords 18 of different rackets or different types of rackets and align them. This function of the equipment will allow the device to be provided with one or a plurality of different cylinders 12, each having projections 16 of different size or spacing from them to engage the rectangles that form the surface of rackets of different types or differently strung . The user would simply remove the axle 22 and the cylinder 12 and replace them with those having projections 16 of size, spacing, proper taper, or other characteristics that may vary in a set of clutch cylinders 12.

Finally, the device 10 can also use removable bodies or bodies 20 adapted for the clutch covered by the body cover 21 or a similar protection. These covers 21 or protections may be provided with novel designs such as those that resemble insects or small animals such as in Figure 2, or may be provided with logos or designs of a particular resort. This would allow the user to modify the appearance of his device 10 to make it more identifiable among others, if he were in a group of such - - devices 10. This would provide means to help prevent theft, providing means for personalizing the device 10 for the user, to a point where a thief or other user would not mistakenly identify it by accident.

Although all the features and fundamental features of the st alignment tool with floating shaft and tiltable hemispherical body have been shown and described herein, with reference to the particular modalities thereof, a freedom of modification, several changes and substitutions in the foregoing description and it will be apparent that in certain cases, some features of the invention may be employed without corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that various substitutions, modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, all such modifications, variations and substitutions are included within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims (20)

1. An apparatus for aligning racquet ropes to align criss-cross ropes that form the surface of a sports racquet, comprising: a body that has an interior and that has an exterior surface; at least one roller, said roller being rotationally engaged on an axis having a hinge extending between the first and the middle ends for the floating clutch of said first and second ends to said body, said means for floating clutch providing means for tilting said body around said hinge of said axis; projections extending radially from said roller to the distal ends; said distal ends of said projections being dimensioned to engage the rectangles formed on said surface by said criss-cross strings; Y whereby the thrust of said body, with said projections clutched with said surface, causes the rotation of said roller about said hinge which remains substantially parallel to said surface during any said inclination of said body in relation thereto.

2. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a cover, said cover being adapted for a clutch on a portion of said body; said cover having a sign thereon; and said sign being one or a combination of signs that are decorative or signs that identify a location.

3. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of said rollers engaged on said axis; each of said plurality having said projections extending radially toward the distal ends; Y rotating each of said plurality independently of the others of said plurality.

4. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 2 further comprising: a plurality of said rollers engaged on said axis; each of said plurality having said projections extending radially toward the distal ends; Y rotating each of said plurality independently of the others of said plurality.

5. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: said roller which is a member of a set of said rollers; Y each roller having said equipment in said differently sized projections, each of which has said distal ends sized to engage said differently sized rectangles formed on said surface of a racket.

6. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 2 further comprising: said roller which is a member of a set of said rollers; Y each roller having said said differently sized projections, each of which has said distal ends sized to engage said differently sized rectangles formed on said surface of a racket.

7. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 3 further comprising: said rollers that are members of a set of individual pluralities of said rollers; Y each of said plurality of said rollers having said said equipment, said differently sized projections, each of said distal ends having dimensioned to engage said differently sized rectangles formed on said surface of a racket.

8. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 4 further comprising: said rollers that are members of a set of individual pluralities of said rollers; Y each of said plurality of said rollers in said equipment having said differently sized projections, each of said distal ends having dimensions sized to engage said differently sized rectangles formed in said surface of a racket.

9. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

10. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 2 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

11. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 3 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

12. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 4 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

13. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 5 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

14. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 6 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

15. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 7 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

16. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 8 further comprising: means for applying fluid to said cords placed between some or all said adjacent projections; and said means for the application of fluid imparting the fluid to said cords during said thrust of said body.

17. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a strap clutched to said body.

18. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 2 further comprising: a strap clutched to said body.

19. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 3 further comprising: a strap clutched to said body.

20. The racquet string alignment apparatus of claim 16 further comprising: a strap clutched to said body.