US1186283A - Racket. - Google Patents

Description

D. H. CODDINGTON.

RACKET.

APPLlCATlON FILED OCT. 30, 1915.

1 1 86,283 Patented June 6, 1916.

@2513 Q4 atto/Meta been found `that professional tennis players eat proficiencyv desirey a i i comprises a framelO preferablyformed of rolled aluminum, and which may be of DAVE H. coDmNeroN, or NEW YoiaK; N. Y.

` RACKET.

l Application led October 30, 1915. Serial No. 58,890.

To all whom t may concern A Be it known that I, DAVE H. CODDI'NGTON,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the-.borough of Manhattan, in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rackets, of which the following i'sa s ecication. A he present inventlon relates to lmprovements in rackets and particularly a racket adapted to playing the game Aof tennis.

Heretofore rackets generally have beenv conv structed of a wooden frame and gut strings.

Because of the continuous strain ofthe strings on the frame and the force with which these strings were struck while play- -lng tennis, thel frame very oftenv became warped and there was a tendency ofthe vstrings to stretch vand become broken, so

that frequent restringing of the racket waas necessary, and the racket only retainedits perfect playing qualities fora compara-` tively short period. The I strings in the rackets as heretofore 'constructed `were formed from' a continuous piece which was interwoven between the frame,so;that if the same became `broken in one placa-the entire racket vwould have to be restrung. It has and players of very fine age o sarilywea er than the string', which was neceseavierv strlngs used` in ordinary play. Because of fthej great force with which these were'used in playing, the strings were often broken, resulting 1n great expense due to restringing, `and also the player 1n changing racketswould find that the new rackets were'not always well suited to his tastes. For these reasr'ms,4

the u se of the iinegaged strings hasbeen practlcally prohibitory tothe usual players. It is an object` of the present invention,

therefore, to provide an' improved metallic'x racket, which will bel light in weight, of great strength, and 1n whichgthe strings,`

which are` formed of iinevsteel pianoy wire,

will be individually mounted x within. the:v` frame, sothat in the event `ofthe-,lorefallrin'g or looseningof a lsingle string,` the:v same may be regulated andremoved without the necessity for changing the-other strings..

the

Speccationof Letters lfatent.

from n the outside of. i the frame,

Patented June 6,1916,

require the constant care and attention as is the case with the wooden rackets.

lVith these and other objects in view, my

drawings, and will be hereinafter more fully described with reference 'thereto and .finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 "is a plain View with parts broken away and' partly in section, of'my improved racket; ig. 2 is -a sectional View of a portion of the j frame thereof; Fig. 3"is`an interior sidel fview of a portion of the frame; Fig. 4 is Ia sectional view of a Vportion ofthe frame of a slightly modified form of construction; Fig. 5 is a sectional view ,through the hollow throat taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. l; Fig. 6 is a side view of a modified form of string; Fig. 7 is a side View of a modified form of covered string or wire; Fig. 8 is a sectional View thereof; Fig. 9 is a sectional v iew of a further modified form of metal Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several iigures of the drawings. v

. i Referring to the drawings, and more particularlygto Fig.' l thereof, my invention eithersemi-circular or rectangularA crosssection.- .The frame. is in the shape of the usual rwell known form of racket, and is contracted at the throat 11, where itis secured to the handle portion l2.- A bridge 13 is provided across the throat, the curve of which is preferably continuouslyv formed' invention is shown. in the accompanying 1 v with the curve of the frame.A The strings` v14: arefformedof ne piano wire, and are vindividually mountedl in the frame, being' provided at eachend with : screws 15 and 15, thescrew lihaying right-hand screw *These screws, as canbe seen, maybe threaded simultaneouslyinto the,v oppositely disposed -holes 16 of thefframe by turning the ,string ,5, forwardly at zbothfends. 'In this way the' l. A further object is to provide means by-f which the wei ht and balanceof lsuchfj; racket may be controlled, as desiredftosuitf articular fancy 'Y ofthe playerfand az! furt er object isto provide such a 4racket Y,

tension lof thestrings may be regulated very accurately"@v'vithoutl `necessitating the disturbing'of 'any .ofthe other strings. The holes` 16 are preferably formed le end of .100 threads, 'and-the' screwgl -having left-hand screw threads, andl which screw into correthe same beingthen plugged, as at 17, and the outer surface of the frame suitably finished to give to the same a smooth and attractive appearance. 'A desirable arrangement is to have twelve perpendicular holes at each end and twenty-one horizontal holes along the sides. At the outer portions of the frame, the ends of several strings meet at the same point, and these are preferably fastened to the same screw. As these outer strings are merely used for filling in, and do not come into actual play to any extent, it is not as essential to have these as well adjusted as the central strings, which strike the bali.

lf desired, the frame may be constructed of wood, in which case a narrow strip of steel 18 is inlaid about the interiorv surface of the same, the holes for receiving the screws being drilled through both the steel and the wood.

In order to regulate the weight of the racket, the throat is made hollow, -as at 19, and a threaded rod 20 is removably secured longitudinally therein, being provided at each end with' right and left screws 2l and 22, which are threaded into the bridge and handle portion. A detachable weight-regu lating member, which preferably' comprises a pair of nuts 24 and 25, is mounted on the said rod, and by moving the same upwardly, the weight of the racket will be toward the head, while if the same is moved downwardly, the weight will be toward the handle. in this way, the balance of the racket may be accurately regulated; These detachable members may be changed as desired, to increase or diminish the weight of the rachet'. The rackets may, therefore, all be manufactured of a uniform stock weight,

say twelve ounces, which is usually the4 lighter weight racket, and by merely changing the weights, the player may have any weight desired, depending entirely upon his choice, the same players, as is well known, desiring for different conditions and times various weights of raclrets. The two nuts Q/f'and'Q, which constitute the weightregulating member, are held securely in posltion by the locking action of one against the other.

u In order to prevent the ball from glancing od the strings, the same may be formed of twlsted wire, as indicated at 26 in Fig.

6, which will give a suitably roughened surface to the net, or, if desired, the wires may be covered, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, byv

a tubular covering of rubber, fabric or other suitable material 27. 4

The metal frame of the racket may, if desired, be made of hollow construction as shown in F ig. 9, to decrease the weight.

My improved racket will prove especially desirable to players desiring a very light racket having great strength, and by reason of the substituting and balancing of the weights, the same may be perfectly adapted to individual needs.

l have illustrated a preferred and satisfactory form of my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made therein, and that the invention may be embodied in rackets other than tennis rackets, all within the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

1. An improved metal racket of relatively minimum vplaying weight, comprising a metalrim, having a hollow throat, remov-y ably secured weighted means within said hollow throat adapted, to vary the weight and balance of the racket, a handle, and strings mounted within said rim. to form a net.

2. An improved metal racket, comprising a metal rim, having a hollow throat, a perpendicularly disposed rod within throat, a removably secured weighted means within said throat, adapted to vary the weight and balance of the racket and to change the balance thereof by adjustmenton said rod, a handle, and strings mounted within said rim to form a net.

3. An improved racket of relatively minimum playing weight, comprising a rim. having a hollow throat, removably secured weighted means within said hollow throat adapted to vary the weight and balance of the racket, a handle, and strings mounted. within said rim to form a net.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing said as my invention, l have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVE CODDINGTON.

Witnesses: e D. Lewis Marmara,

JOHN SCHWARZ.

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