US2140383A - Polo mallet - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 13, 1938. HOWARD 2,140,383

POLO MALLET Filed Aug. 2, 1937 1 INVENTOR 2 WWW ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POLO MALLET ard, deceased Application August 2, 1937, Serial No. 156,887

9 Claims.

This invention relates to polo mallets.

The principal object1of this invention is to provide a polo mallet of simple construction and which is effective to promote improved play and increased sureness in playing the ball.

Another object is to provide a polo mallet having an added effective area for ball contact, while maintaining unimpaired its balance, maneuverability, and other playing characteristics.

Other objects and advantages will.be apparent from the accompanying drawing, the following description, and the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the lower portion of a polo mallet embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 and showing a modification.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the game of polo, great skill is required in playing the ball. Despite the greatest skill, the game is slowed down and rendered less interesting to spectators and players alike, because of misses, and badly executed shots caused by the erratic and unpredictable behavior of the ball while travelling over the roughened playing field. And as the field becomes increasingly rough during the course of a game, this erratic behavior of the ball may introduce a larger element of chance as the game progresses, with the result that it is not uncommon that at critical points, especially toward the end of a. game, chance rather than skill may be the deciding factor.

With conventional polo mallets, as commonly used in play, the ball is contacted and struck by the side of the mallet. The mallet head is of limited height, and the handle to which the head is attached is comparatively thin. Thus if the ball in traveling over roughened ground takes an erratic bounce or bad hop and hops over the mallet head, only the comparatively thin handle is available for use in an efiort to intercept, strike and direct the ball.

The present invention provides for effectively increasing the area of the mallet which is available for use in such situations, while preserving all of the desirable handling characteristics of the mallet, thus insuring that the speed and skill requirements of the game are not impaired.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is shown in Fig. 1 a mallet, having a handle H to which is attached a mallet head I2. Mallet head I 2 is apertured, in the usual manner, intermediate its ends at M, and this aperture receives the lower portion l6 of handle H. Mallet head l2 has a forward end l1, and rear end l8, these ends being plane surfaces located transversely of the head I2. Ends I! and I8 are not used in striking the ball, however, the mallet being used with one of its sides presented toward the ball. While not so effective the part of the handle adjacent the head is likewise used; but its small diameter makes for great uncertainty in playing even with the mallet in the most skillful hands.

Asshown, means are provided for effectively increasing the ball contacting area of the side of the mallet, while maintaining unimpaired the playing characteristics of the mallet. For this purpose, ball contacting members are provided extending from the mallet head upwardly and inwardly in the direction of the mallet handle. These ball contacting members are arranged across the spaces to, either side of the handle and above the head, and are spaced with respect to the handle and head so that they will intercept a ball passing into such spaces. Thus they enlarge the effective contact area of the mallet and handle. These members thus define areas of a size which will reject a. polo ball. As shown in Fig. 1 these ball contacting members comprise a forward upwardly and inwardly extending wire 20, and a similarly positioned wire 2|. These wires are shown as attached to the mallet head I2 at points adjacent the forward and rear ends of the mallet as indicated at 22 and 23, the wire being received in properly positioned grooves 26 and 21, and being secured therein by twisting the wire upon itself, as at 28 and 29. Both the front member and rear member II are shown as formed from a single length of wire, and as secured to handle II by being wrapped around the handle at 30.

The standard polo ball has a diameter of the order of four inches and the contacting members 20 and 2| are positioned sothat the area included between these members and the other parts of the mallet will not pass a ball of this size, and the areas are made sufficiently smaller than the balls so that there is no possibility of the ball becoming wedged between the parts. The distances of the attachment, 30, above the mallet head, and the points of attachment of the lower parts of the contacting members to the mallet head are chosen to give that arrangement. This invention gives greatly increased and. satisfactory playing results if the increase in area which is secured is approximately that of a mans outstretched hand, and affords a substantial increase in area over that presented by the mallet head and handle alone, thus making possible the execution of many shots which would otherwise be impossible or spoiled by an erratic bounce of the ball.

While the construction just described may have some reinforcing effect upon the mallet, this is incidental as the mallets as previously built have adequate strength characteristics, and it has been found that material interference with the strength characteristics of the conventional construction may give undesirable results, since this strength may be obtained at the cost of some of the resiliency and feel of the mallet.

It will also be noted that while the same increase in lateral area could be obtained by attaching solid members laterally extended to fill in the triangles or spaces between the head and the handle, such a construction would definitely impair the playing characteristics of the mallet by changing the accustomed balance of the mallet, by adding to the wind resistance, and also by in efiect creating a vane structure which might divert the mallet from its proper course whenit is swung. In the present construction the desirable results are obtained without any such attendant objectionable results.

In Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a construction in which forward and rear ball contacting members and 4| are supported entirely from the mallet head, thus avoiding all possibility of altering the resiliency and other playing characteristics of the mallet. In this construction, the ball contacting members 40 and 4| are in the form of upwardly and inwardly extending rods, having their lower ends joined to mallet encircling rings 42 and 43 which are located adjacent the forward and rear ends respectively of the mallet. The upper ends of ball contacting members 40 and 4| are joined at 44 and 45 to a connector ring 41, which surrounds handle 1 l in spaced relationship, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. The spacing of the connector ring above the mallet head I2 is in general similar to that of connection 30 in Fig. 1. Similarly the positioning of attaching rings 42 and 43 is similar to that of the points of attachment 22 and 23 of the wires 20 and 2| of Fig. 1.

There is thus provided a polo mallet with added effectiveness so that the element of mere chance in the game is substantially reduced,while the skill requirements remain unimpaired, and

. the mallet itself retains all of the desired playing characteristics which characterize the conventional type of mallet.

While the articles herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise articles, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a polo mallet of the character described, a head, a handle attached thereto, and means arranged within the space above the mallet head and adjacent the handle for preventing passage of a polo ball through said space.

2. In a polo mallet of the character described, a head, a handle attached thereto, and means arranged at either side of said handle and above the mallet head and within the space above the mallet head and adjacent the handle for preventing passage of a polo ball through said space.

3. In a polo mallet of the character described, a head, a handle attached thereto, and means arranged within the space above the mallet head and adjacent-the handle for preventing passage of a polo ball through said space, said means comprising a member of unobjectionable weight and wind resistance.

4. In a polo mallet of the character described,

a head, a handle attached thereto, and means arranged at either side of said handle and above the mallet head and within the space above the mallet head and adjacent the handle for preventing passage of a polo ball through said space, said means comprising a member of unobjectionable weight and wind resistance. 7 v

5. In a polo mallet having a handle and a head on said handle and adapted for use with a polo ball, ball contacting means secured to said mallet adjacent the head end thereof and constructed to stand for a substantial portion of its length clear of said mallet head and handle, said means being dimensioned and positioned to prevent the passage of the polo ball between itself and said mallet, to provide an added effective ball contacting area of substantial size while retaining the other playing characteristics of the mallet.

6. In a polo mallet having a handle and a head on said handle, ball contacting means comprising a member extending upwardly from said mallet head and lying substantially in the plane which includes the long axes of said head and said handle, said member being constructed for a substantial portion of its length to stand clear of said head and handle, and being dimensioned and positioned so that the included space between said member and said mallet will reject a pole ball, to provide an effective ball contact- 11g area of substantial size while maintaining unimpaired the playing characteristics of the mallet.

'7. A polo mallet of the character described comprising a mallet handle, a mallet head on said handle and receiving an end of said handle at a point intermediate the head length, and ball contacting members secured to said mallet head adjacent the ends thereof and extending upwardly and inwardly toward said handle, each said member being constructed and spaced with respect to said mallet head and handle to define a space of a size and shape which will not accept a polo ball, and being of light weight and small wind resistance.

8. A polo mallet of the character described comprising a mallet handle, a mallet head on said handle and receiving an end of said handle at a point intermediate said length, and ball contacting means comprising a wire secured about said head adjacent an end thereof and extending upwardly and inwardly to said handle and being secured thereto at a point spaced from said head by a distance commensurate with the head length, said wire extending from the point of attachment to the handle downwardly and outwardly to a point adjacent the other end of said head, said wire being there secured to said head.

9. A polo mallet of the character described comprising a mallet handle, a mallet head on said handle and receiving an end of said handle at a point intermediate the head length, and ball contacting means comprising a pair of rod members, means for securing said rod members to said mallet head adjacent opposite ends thereof, said rod members extending upwardly and in wardly toward said handle but terminating short of said handle, and a connector ring surrounding said handle in spaced relationship and secured to the upper ends of said rod members.

HOWELL HOFFMAN HOWARD.

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