US1046562A - Racket. - Google Patents

Description

JOSEPH J'. CURLEY, OF NEW YORK, N.

RACKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

Application tiled August 22,v 1912. Serial No. 716,448.

1'0 ail 'whom it may concern: i

Be it .known that I, JOSEPH J. CURLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the citv, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rackets, .of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rackets, and the main object of the invention is to provide a well balanced, light racket of ample strength, with a handle having the proper degree of rigidit and firmness.

Most raekets are made by iiending a piece of ash, or other suitable wood, into a loop ot' proper form for receiving the Strings, the looped piece of wood at the bottom of the frame so Jformed being drawn together and spaced apart .by and secured to a suitable yoke piece forming a part ot' the lower end ofthe frame. The loose ends 0f the looped piece extend down from the yoke and form a part of the handleof the racket, the handle being usually built up on these pieces by securing strips of cane or other suitable material to the itat surfaces thereof/for the purpose of forming a gripping surface and giving strength to the handle.

In order that the rackets should have the desired tinish and be as free as possible from warping, and ot' suliieient strength; hard, heavy wood is employed in the construction of the racket which makes the racket heavier than desired by most tennis players, and due to the shape and construction of rackets the handle is usuall)7 heavier than it should be, to give the proper balance to the racket. The handle is usiially so heavy that it throws out the desiredbalance of the racket which is one of, if not the, most desirable feature of rackets; Likewise these hard wood handles are usually so rigid that any shock upon thek strings or frame of the racket results in breaking the strings or in breaking the neck oi the racket just below the base otl the frame, which is usually the weakest point in the racket. In order to obviate some of these l'ditiiculties it has been proposed to slot out the handle for a short length along the gripping surface in order to remove a part of the heavy Wood and thus lighten the racket and to some extent eil'ect a bet-ter balance The ditliculty found in simply slottinof the handle of the racket and leaving the stlot open is that the slot can not be extended a sufficient length along the handle to reduce the weight to the desired point because of the fact that the slot if extended Well up through the handle near the neck of the racket, would so weaken the handle as to render it liable to be readily broken. Another difficulty which would be experienced if it were attempted to extend the slot along the handle for further lightening it would be that thehandle as a whole would have toomuch spring, and again, the slotted handle would be so compressible as to yield to an undesired extent when the handle is tight-ly gripped by the player, which might throw out the calculation of the player in striking the ball, whereas if the slot. be only limited to the short length to which it is practicable to extend it if left open, no spring is provided at or near the neck of the racket, where some slight spring in the handle is desirable.

By'means of my invention the weight of the racket may be reduced to the desired extent, that the racket may be readily balanced, and the propel' degree of spring given to the handle, and a better gripping surface provided, all without unduly weakening the handle or rendering it too compressible.

In carrying out my invention I slot the handlel along its length and place cork or other suitable material within the slot., as will be more fully set forth and explained in the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings formingr a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of ay tennis racket embodying one form of my invenf tion; Fig. 2 is a section through the handle, taken on line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a. transverse section of the handle, taken on the line B-B of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a. similar section taken on the line CC of Fig. Q; and Fig. 'is a section similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating a modified form of handle.

Referring to the drawings, the racket consists of a. frame'portion 1, formed by looping a suitable piece of' wood 8, as forinstance ash, the free ends 3 ofwhich are drawn together to form the neck ot' the racket 9, and properly spaced apart by and .secured toA a suitable yoke piece 6 forming the base of the frame for receiving the strings 11.

form a part of the handle 2, these pieces bemg suitably held together by any usual The free ends of the looped Jpiece 8 extend down from the yoke 6 to methodsand'on the fiat surfaces of these pieces are secured suitably formed pieces of ane or other suitable material 12, for giv. ing a better gripping surfaceqv The handle .is then bored out longitudinally, as shownf at 13 (Fig. 2), Well up throughfthe gripping portion of the handlel` and a suitable, butt lor eappiece 14 is then ysecured at the" butt of the handle.

iol

In the preferred forni of Iny invention the handle is'slotted out from a point 5. near the butt thereof upward to the desired point for giving the proper reduction in weight fand desired balance tothe handle, and in most rackets it will be found that these ob- -jects are obtained by'extending the slot ap- V proximaately'to theneek of the racket. The farther upward the slot is extended with safety toward the bas'eof the frame, the bet- 'ter Willvbe the resulting spring. in' the handie. `vIn order to prevent undueeoinpression o'fthe handle When the same isgripped by thefpl'ayer, and to enable the'slot to be extended' vJell up toward the throat ofthe 'racket so as to get the desired Weight', bal'- ane'e and spring, Without unduly iweakening the racket, and-togive .a good gripping surface'to the handle', I iit eorlr?, or others suitableflight material, Withinthe slot. This ycork is Iso light that it addspraetieally no lnveight to the 'slot and handle .and yet it serves the purpose of preventing any ap- ;spreei'able compression of the handle andreffd'ii'ees the .excessive spring of the handle,

which would otherwise'result when the han j' y dle is slotted Well up toward the throat, and

lcork, renders the handle slightly lighter, and

retains the other advantages heretofore set forth.'- This e'orkv surface extending along y the gripping portion' ofthe handle results in7 a better gripping surface.

In 'the preferred form' of the invention .the upper end of the slot is V shaped, as

shown at l0 in Fig. 2, that is, the end of tho slot flaresiipwardly andou'twardly from an finished 0E straightjaeross. While have described apex, so as to'provide shoulders to which the cork -:may be heldjiirposition, andbesides this it' gives lgreater strength to the neeir ofV the racketl than 'vi/'OuldL result if thev Islot were inyinvention in a detail in connection with eert-ain well known construction of raekets, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that iny invention is not limited to any specific construction of `racket towhich the invention may" be ap.-

plied,.and I donot wish to be understood as limiting the invention other than as indi-` cated in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnewf and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: A f

1. A racket having yahandlelwith a. slot extending longitudinallyfthereof from the butt of the handle substantially throughout the gripping portion of the handleso as to lightenand balance the racket, and cork itting in said slot and exposed along the edges thereof to prevent compressionbf thehandle in gripping the saine, and topi-Ovide better gripping surface. y

f2. A racket having a handle with a slo-t extending longitudinally thereof substan tially to the throat ofthe racket to lighten and readily balance the racket, and cork fit-` ting in said slot tostrengthen the handle and prevent undue spring and compression therein.

3. A raelrethaving a Ybored out ihandle with a slot extending longitudinally thereof and transversely therethrough from .the butt substantially throughout the gripping p'ort-ion of the handle to lighten the saine, and

strips of cork fitting the edges of the.` slot and exposed'theieat to stifffen the handle and provide a goed gripping surface.

4. A raokethaving a bored out handle a' with a slot extending longitudinally :thereof andsubstantially throughout vthe length of the handle to the throat ofthe iaeket and transversely tl'irough the handle,' and cork strips fittingalong the edges of the slot to stiften the-handle.

5. A racket having ahandle with a slot extending longitudinally.thereof freni the `butt substantially to the throat of theraeket and transversely theiethiroughM the `upper end'of said slot being V,shape d, and cork fitting in said slot to'stiffen the handle, and engaging thesloping surfaces o-f the upper. end of the slot so as to be ,heldin position.;

In testimony WhereofpI hai/'e signed In v 1r yine lto this specification, in the presence of y --Jositrii J. Connex;

W'itnesses':l i* v I A 17'" I FnA'NoIsIJ. Gunmen,

" EDWIN Susan.

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