US1542177A - Tennis racket and the like - Google Patents

Description

June 16, I925.

- R. ROSE TENNIS RACKET AND THE LIKE Filed. Sept. 6, 1924 PIC-1.1.

Pres.

i Patented June 16, 1925 UNITEDSTATES PATENT, OFFICE.

Bonner nosn, or BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

T TEnnIsnAoKEr annrnnnrxn.

I Application filed September 6, 1924. Serial No. 736,280.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, ROBERT Rosa, residing at 72 I-Iolyhead Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis Rackets and the like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to tennis rackets and the like and has for its object to provide an improved construction or arrangement of that kind of racket wherein the strings are made of metal or material other than gut.

In rackets of the kind wherein the strings are made of metal or material other than gut it has been found that there is a certain lack of resilience which isbelieved to result from the nature of the material of which the strings are made. The presentinvention has for its object to provide a construction or arrangement wherein approximately the same degree of resilience can be obtained for a racket with metal strings or strings made of material other than gut that can be obtained with the best gut strings.

According to the present invention, in a racket having strings made of metal or material other than gut, I provide curved resilient plate springs which are disposed between the looped ends of the strings in order to impart resilience thereto.

Although my invention is applicable to tennis rackets having frames made either of wood or metal, it is preferred to employ a frame of hollow rectangular or other hollow section. The frame may be built up of a continuous length of tube and a bridge piece secured by brazing or other suitable means at or near the lower end.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a front view of one form of racket constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View upon an enlarged scale showing a portion of the frame and the strings.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view upon an enlarged scale showing another portion of the In. the construction illustrated, the frame of the racket is made from acontinuous completed by a separate. bridge piece 2 which may be brazed, soldered, welded or otherwise secured in position.

The frame 1 may be of a hollow substantially rectangular section such as is shown in Figure 3 and is preferably made of solid drawn steel tube.

The frame is preferably designed to produce a pleasing appearance and to provide at all points a good and satisfactory sup port for the auxiliary springs 3. These springs are applied to the exterior of the frame as shown clearly in Figure 2 and each spring consists of a piece of curved resilient plate with its ends 4 turnedbackwardly and slotted for the passage of the strings 5. e V

If continuous stringing is adopted, the wire or other material forming the string is passed alternately from top to bottom or from side to side of the frame, preferably passing through the material of the frame at each end and being passed over one of the springs 3. The whole of the longitudinal stringing may be in one length of Wire as also may the whole of the transverse stringing.

Owing tothe curvature of the frame, however, it is diificult to obtain a satisfactorybearing or support for the auxiliary springs 3 at the more sharply curved portions of the frame and the main stringing of the racket may therefore be confined to that shown in Figure 1. Auxiliary transverse and longitudinal stringing may be provided near the edges or ends of the racket and such auxiliary strings may be arranged with or without auxiliary springs such as 3.

The auxiliary springs which are disposed near what are known as the shoulders of the racket, may be of special form, as shown clearly at 6 in Figure 4, these springs being designed so as not to distort the strings which pass over them.

If desired the frame of the racketmay be of channel section either all the way round or at its end so that those springs 3 which are disposed at the end of the racket may be protected. Alternatively, the springs 3 which are at the end of the racket may be omitted while the springs at the handle end which are associated with the longitudinal stringing may be 91; double forinatien, as shown at 7 in Figure 1 single strings: are employed, they may pass through the centre of the springs 3, 6O r 7 as shown in full lines in Figure 5. If continuous stringing is employed it is preter: ably passed over the springs as shdWn in Figures 1 and 4 and in detted lines in Eigure 5.

i Will. b un rstoe tha nstead oi proid t ilia y swin s. at bath en s of th tr n ve se and a judinel st ings h pr n m be p ev e at one em only.

Whatclaim th i r=.

tennis 9r like racket having eurved resilient plate springs disposed between the looped ends of the strings and the frame, said springs having bifurcated ends to reeeive and position the strings.

2. A tennis or like racket having curved resilient plate springs disposed between the loeped ends of the strings and the frame, said springs having upturned bifurcated nds to: i w re and. nosit an the ri lnw m where f I afi x my Si n tu QBERTRQsn

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