US20060166767A1 - Sporting racket - Google Patents
Sporting racket Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060166767A1 US20060166767A1 US10/520,248 US52024805A US2006166767A1 US 20060166767 A1 US20060166767 A1 US 20060166767A1 US 52024805 A US52024805 A US 52024805A US 2006166767 A1 US2006166767 A1 US 2006166767A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- string
- racket
- adjustment member
- tension adjustment
- section
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B51/00—Stringing tennis, badminton or like rackets; Strings therefor; Maintenance of racket strings
- A63B51/12—Devices arranged in or on the racket for adjusting the tension of the strings
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B49/00—Stringed rackets, e.g. for tennis
- A63B49/02—Frames
- A63B49/022—String guides on frames, e.g. grommets
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B49/00—Stringed rackets, e.g. for tennis
- A63B49/02—Frames
- A63B49/028—Means for achieving greater mobility of the string bed
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a sporting racket using strings in a hitting area in tennis, badminton, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to a racket that allows the tension of stretched strings to be changed (or adjusted) in an appropriate and easy manner.
- Rackets for tennis, badminton, etc do not provide satisfactory tension of the strings stretched therein depending on the rigidity of the frame, the size of the face (size of the hitting area), the repulsive force of the strings, the preference of a player, etc. In such a case, the user must put up with the unsatisfactory tension or must stretch the strings again until a desired tension is obtained.
- the present invention has been made in view of the above and has an objective of providing a racket capable of easily adjusting the tension of the strings in a simple structure.
- a racket including a loop-shaped frame body having an inner surrounded region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; and a shaft section having a grip section gripped by a player, at a tip end section thereof, the racket comprising: a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be folded back therethrough; and a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes positioned to be adjacent to each other to form a string folding portion and configured to allow the string to be folded in a desired position, wherein the string tension adjustment member includes columnar member having a string-contact face on a peripheral face thereof, and a distance from a rotation center of the string tension adjustment member to the string-contact face is variable.
- the string tension adjust member can be operated to allow the string to be easily adjusted to have a desired tension.
- this columnar member may be made of a resin, metals such as aluminum, wood, or ceramics.
- a sporting racket including a loop-shaped frame body having an inner surrounded region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; and a shaft section having a grip section gripped by a player, at a tip end section thereof, the racket comprising: a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be folded back therethrough; and a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes positioned to be adjacent to each other to form a string folding portion and configured to allow the string to be folded at a desired position, wherein the string tension adjustment member has a screw mechanism configured to change a position at which the string is folded.
- the string tension adjustment member functioning as the screw mechanism can be operated to easily adjust the strings of the racket to have a desired tension.
- the racket as described above is superior to the racket according to the first invention in that the wedge action by the screw (force doubling action) can be used to easily change the force of the string.
- any of the rackets has a yoke section and the string tension adjustment member is disposed at the yoke section, a structure preferable from the viewpoint of practicality is obtained.
- FIG. 1 is a view showing the entire structure of a tennis racket that is one type of sporting rackets according to an embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating a yoke section of the racket shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIGS. 3 ( a ), 3 ( b ), and 3 ( c ) are views showing the structure of a string tension adjustment member provided in the yoke section of FIG. 2 , wherein FIG. 3 ( a ) is a side view of the string tension adjustment member, FIG. 3 ( b ) is a view taken in the direction of arrows along line IIIb-IIIb of FIG. 3 ( a ), showing a helical string-contact face of the string tension adjustment member of FIG. 3 ( a ), and FIG. 3 ( c ) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIc-IIIc of FIG. 3 ( a ) in which the string tension adjustment member shown in FIG. 3 ( a ) causes the string to be in contact with a string folding position with the minimum tension;
- FIGS. 4 ( a ) and 4 ( b ) are partially enlarged perspective views of the string tension adjustment member with the string tension adjustment member shown in FIGS. 3 ( a ), 3 ( b ), and 3 ( c ) provided in the yoke section of the racket, in which FIG. 4 ( a ) illustrates an embodiment in which the string tension adjustment member is attached to a general yoke section and is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section, and FIG. 4 ( b ) is a view taken along line IVb-IVb of FIG. 4 ( a );
- FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the yoke section illustrating an embodiment in which the string tension adjustment member as shown in FIGS. 3 ( a ), 3 ( b ), and 3 ( c ) is stored in a storage hole of a member adjacent to the yoke section;
- FIGS. 6 ( a ) and 6 ( b ) are views showing a structure of the string tension adjustment member different from that of FIGS. 3 ( a ), 3 ( b ), and 3 ( c ) in which a columnar member is formed by a tapered columnar member, in which FIG. 6 ( a ) is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section with the string tension adjustment member and FIG. 6 ( b ) is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIb-VIb of FIG. 6 ( a );
- FIGS. 7 ( a ) and 7 ( b ) are views showing another embodiment illustrating the structure of the string tension adjustment member using a screw mechanism in which the string tension adjustment member is attached to the yoke section, in which FIG. 7 ( a ) is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section and FIG. 7 ( b ) is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIb-VIIb of FIG. 7 ( a );
- FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment that is different from the one using the screw mechanism in FIGS. 7 ( a ) and 7 ( b ), which is taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section, and illustrating the structure of the string tension adjustment member attached to the yoke section;
- FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of the string tension adjustment member having a helical shape seen from the upper face side, and illustrating the structure of the string tension adjustment member attached to the yoke section.
- a racket 1 includes a loop-shaped frame body 3 having an inner region in which strings 2 are stretched in net shape to provide a hitting area Ht; a shaft section 4 having a grip section 7 gripped by a player at a tip end section thereof; a yoke section 5 partially forming the frame body 3 ; and a throat section 6 for connecting both ends of this yoke section 5 to the shaft section 4 .
- the periphery of the frame body 3 has string holes 8 that penetrate the frame body 3 from an inner peripheral face 3 a to an outer peripheral face 3 b so that the strings 2 are inserted back and forth therethrough.
- These string holes 8 are provided at plural positions in an edge portion of the frame body 3 so as to be spaced a predetermined distance from one another. Therefore, the yoke section 5 partially forming the frame body 3 also has a plurality of string holes 8 (six string holes 8 in this embodiment) which are spaced apart a predetermined distance apart from each other
- one string tension adjustment members 9 is respectively provided between string holes 8 a and 8 b , between string holes 8 c and 8 d , and between string holes 8 e and 8 f of the six string holes 8 ( 8 a , 8 b , 8 c , 8 d , 8 e , 8 f ) provided at the center part of the yoke section 5 .
- Each string tension adjustment member 9 is retained by the string 2 inserted to the corresponding hole.
- the string tension adjustment member 9 As schematically shown in a enlarged view of FIG. 3 ( a ), the string tension adjustment member 9 according to this embodiment entirely has a columnar shape body (one type of circular cylindrical body in this embodiment) and, has a helical screw groove 10 on an outer peripheral face thereof.
- the helical screw groove 10 is provided in a manner as shown in FIG. 3 ( a ) or FIG. 3 ( b ) showing a helical groove bottom 10 b of the screw groove 10 , in which the depth of the groove 10 continuously varies changed from one end to the other end of the columnar body.
- This screw groove 10 functions as a string-contact face.
- the screw groove 10 in this embodiment preferably has a pitch angle a in the range from 8 to 16 degrees and more preferably of about 11.5 degrees.
- the above described angles are preferable because they provide the retention of the string 2 under various conditions and a range in which the string 2 can be adjusted to have a required tension.
- the pitch angle is not limited to these angles and also may be an angle near or other than these angles.
- the string tension adjustment member 9 in this embodiment is made of ABS resin.
- the string tension adjustment member 9 also may be made of other resins (e.g., glass-fiber reinforced resin), wood, metals (e.g., aluminum, duralumin, titanium), or ceramics.
- the string tension adjustment member 9 shown in FIG. 3 is actually provided between the string holes 8 provided so as to be close to one another (adjacent to one another in this embodiment) in the yoke section 5 such that the string 2 is wound around the screw groove 10 of the string tension adjustment member 9 (see FIG. 3 ( c )), i.e., a folding section 2 A of the string 2 is in contact with the screw groove 10 that functions as a string-contact face of the string tension adjustment member 9 .
- the string tension adjustment member 9 itself is fixed to the frame body 3 of the racket 1 by the tension by the string 2 .
- the tension can be increased by inserting a commercially-available hexagonal wrench (not shown) into a hexagonal wrench hole 9 B provided at a top face 9 A of the string tension adjustment member 9 to rotate the string tension adjustment member 9 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 or FIG. 4 ( a ) in this embodiment.
- the tension can be reduced by rotating the string tension adjustment member 9 in a clockwise direction.
- the tension of the string 2 can be changed by about 5.7 lb (2.6 kgf).
- the tension of the string 2 can be changed by about 8.5 lb (3.8 kgf).
- the difference in the distance of about 2 mm to 3 mm is sufficient for practical use.
- only the strings 2 in the longitudinal direction in the sweet spot area of the racket 1 among the string 2 can be adjusted to have a different tension.
- only the strings 2 in the lateral direction in the sweet spot area also may be appropriately adjusted to have a different tension.
- the strings 2 both in the longitudinal and lateral directions may be adjusted to have a different tension.
- FIG. 5 another structure also may be provided, in which storage hole members 20 are provided along and adjacently to the yoke section 5 so that each storage hole member 20 has a circular cylindrical storage hole (hole for storing the string tension adjustment member) 20 C to allow this storage hole 20 C to perfectly store therein the string tension adjustment member 9 except for the top face and the bottom face thereof.
- storage hole members 20 are provided along and adjacently to the yoke section 5 so that each storage hole member 20 has a circular cylindrical storage hole (hole for storing the string tension adjustment member) 20 C to allow this storage hole 20 C to perfectly store therein the string tension adjustment member 9 except for the top face and the bottom face thereof.
- the string tension adjustment member 9 also may be structured such that, a tapered columnar body the head of which is cut off as shown in FIGS. 6 ( a ) and 6 ( b ), has, at a peripheral face thereof, a screw groove 10 that functions as a string-contact face around which the string 2 is wound.
- the reference numeral 24 denotes a grommet provided between the string tension adjustment member 9 and the yoke section 5 .
- This grommet 24 may be made of synthetic resin such as nylon or made of rubber.
- the frame body 3 (including the yoke section 5 ) has the string tension adjustment member 9 on an outer peripheral face thereof.
- the screw mechanism 12 allows the relative movement of two wedge members 13 A and 13 B so that the height of a valley 14 provided between these wedge members 13 A and 13 B (distance from a side face of the yoke section 5 ) is changed, thereby changing the tension of the string 2 retained at the valley 14 .
- the reference numeral 24 denotes a grommet provided between the string tension adjustment member 9 and the yoke section 5 .
- a female screw hole 15 is formed to extend from the outer peripheral face to the inner peripheral face of the frame body 3 in parallel with the string 2 so that a bolt 16 is screwed to the female screw portion 15 and a head portion 16 h of this bolt 16 has a concave curved face so as to easily retain the string 2 .
- the tension of the string 2 is changed by allowing this head portion 16 h of the bolt 16 to be relatively moved into or from the female screw hole 15 .
- the reference numeral 24 denotes a grommet provided between the string tension adjustment member 9 and the yoke section 5 .
- the string tension adjustment member 9 has a three-dimensional helical body, the thickness of which varies continuously.
- a part of the string tension adjustment 9 which contacts the folded part of the string 2 is appropriately changed depending on a desired tension.
- This string tension adjustment member 9 is, of course, brought into contact with the outer peripheral face 3 F (not shown) of the frame body 3 or is brought into contact with an outer face 24 F of the grommet 24 as shown in FIG. 9 .
- the present invention also can be applied to a racket having a yoke section or a racket having no yoke section.
- the string hole provided in the yoke section is replaced by a string hole provided in a corresponding part of the frame body.
- the above description has mainly been directed to a tennis racket.
- the present invention also can be applied to various rackets in which strings in the hitting area are stretched in a net shape, including badminton, squash, etc.
- the present invention is carried out in the manner as described above. According to the racket of the present invention, a simple structure can be used to change the tension of the strings in accordance with the preference of a player and in a simple and quick manner.
- the racket according to the present invention does not cause a substantial increase in the weight or an unbalanced appearance.
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Abstract
An objective is to provide a racket in which strings can be adjusted to have a desired tension in an easy manner. This racket includes: a loop-shaped frame body having an inner region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; a shaft section extending from one end of the frame body; a throat section for connecting the frame body with the shaft section; and a grip section gripped by a player that is provided at an end side of the shaft section, wherein the racket includes: a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be inserted therethrough; and a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes provided to be adjacent to each other so as to provide a string folding section so that the string can be folded at a desired position.
Description
- The present invention relates to a sporting racket using strings in a hitting area in tennis, badminton, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to a racket that allows the tension of stretched strings to be changed (or adjusted) in an appropriate and easy manner.
- Rackets for tennis, badminton, etc do not provide satisfactory tension of the strings stretched therein depending on the rigidity of the frame, the size of the face (size of the hitting area), the repulsive force of the strings, the preference of a player, etc. In such a case, the user must put up with the unsatisfactory tension or must stretch the strings again until a desired tension is obtained.
- Current users of such rackets also face a situation in which the strings cannot be always maintained to have a desired tension due to the initial elongation of the string itself and the change by the repeated use.
- The present invention has been made in view of the above and has an objective of providing a racket capable of easily adjusting the tension of the strings in a simple structure.
- According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a racket including a loop-shaped frame body having an inner surrounded region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; and a shaft section having a grip section gripped by a player, at a tip end section thereof, the racket comprising: a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be folded back therethrough; and a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes positioned to be adjacent to each other to form a string folding portion and configured to allow the string to be folded in a desired position, wherein the string tension adjustment member includes columnar member having a string-contact face on a peripheral face thereof, and a distance from a rotation center of the string tension adjustment member to the string-contact face is variable.
- In accordance with the racket structured as described above, the string tension adjust member can be operated to allow the string to be easily adjusted to have a desired tension.
- In the racket, when the string-contact face is provided in a tapered helical manner on a peripheral face of the columnar member, the tension can be continuously changed to become a desired one. In this case, this columnar member may be made of a resin, metals such as aluminum, wood, or ceramics.
- When the string-contact face in the racket is formed by a screw groove, a structure which is simple and that has a high reliability is achieved.
- According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sporting racket including a loop-shaped frame body having an inner surrounded region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; and a shaft section having a grip section gripped by a player, at a tip end section thereof, the racket comprising: a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be folded back therethrough; and a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes positioned to be adjacent to each other to form a string folding portion and configured to allow the string to be folded at a desired position, wherein the string tension adjustment member has a screw mechanism configured to change a position at which the string is folded.
- Thus, according to the racket having the structure as described above, the string tension adjustment member functioning as the screw mechanism can be operated to easily adjust the strings of the racket to have a desired tension.
- The racket as described above is superior to the racket according to the first invention in that the wedge action by the screw (force doubling action) can be used to easily change the force of the string.
- When any of the rackets has a yoke section and the string tension adjustment member is disposed at the yoke section, a structure preferable from the viewpoint of practicality is obtained.
-
FIG. 1 is a view showing the entire structure of a tennis racket that is one type of sporting rackets according to an embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating a yoke section of the racket shown inFIG. 1 ; - FIGS. 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c) are views showing the structure of a string tension adjustment member provided in the yoke section of
FIG. 2 , whereinFIG. 3 (a) is a side view of the string tension adjustment member,FIG. 3 (b) is a view taken in the direction of arrows along line IIIb-IIIb ofFIG. 3 (a), showing a helical string-contact face of the string tension adjustment member ofFIG. 3 (a), andFIG. 3 (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIc-IIIc ofFIG. 3 (a) in which the string tension adjustment member shown inFIG. 3 (a) causes the string to be in contact with a string folding position with the minimum tension; - FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are partially enlarged perspective views of the string tension adjustment member with the string tension adjustment member shown in FIGS. 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c) provided in the yoke section of the racket, in which
FIG. 4 (a) illustrates an embodiment in which the string tension adjustment member is attached to a general yoke section and is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section, andFIG. 4 (b) is a view taken along line IVb-IVb ofFIG. 4 (a); -
FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the yoke section illustrating an embodiment in which the string tension adjustment member as shown in FIGS. 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c) is stored in a storage hole of a member adjacent to the yoke section; - FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are views showing a structure of the string tension adjustment member different from that of FIGS. 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c) in which a columnar member is formed by a tapered columnar member, in which
FIG. 6 (a) is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section with the string tension adjustment member andFIG. 6 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIb-VIb ofFIG. 6 (a); - FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are views showing another embodiment illustrating the structure of the string tension adjustment member using a screw mechanism in which the string tension adjustment member is attached to the yoke section, in which
FIG. 7 (a) is a cross-sectional view taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section andFIG. 7 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIb-VIIb ofFIG. 7 (a); -
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment that is different from the one using the screw mechanism in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), which is taken in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the yoke section, and illustrating the structure of the string tension adjustment member attached to the yoke section; and -
FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of the string tension adjustment member having a helical shape seen from the upper face side, and illustrating the structure of the string tension adjustment member attached to the yoke section. - Hereinafter, embodiments of a sporting racket according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, and herein, a tennis racket will be described as an example of the sporting racket.
- As shown in
FIG. 1 , aracket 1 includes a loop-shaped frame body 3 having an inner region in whichstrings 2 are stretched in net shape to provide a hitting area Ht; ashaft section 4 having agrip section 7 gripped by a player at a tip end section thereof; ayoke section 5 partially forming theframe body 3; and athroat section 6 for connecting both ends of thisyoke section 5 to theshaft section 4. - The periphery of the
frame body 3 hasstring holes 8 that penetrate theframe body 3 from an innerperipheral face 3 a to an outerperipheral face 3 b so that thestrings 2 are inserted back and forth therethrough. These string holes 8 (seeFIG. 2 ) are provided at plural positions in an edge portion of theframe body 3 so as to be spaced a predetermined distance from one another. Therefore, theyoke section 5 partially forming theframe body 3 also has a plurality of string holes 8 (sixstring holes 8 in this embodiment) which are spaced apart a predetermined distance apart from each other - As shown in
FIG. 2 , in the case of theracket 1 according to the present invention, one stringtension adjustment members 9 is respectively provided betweenstring holes string holes string holes yoke section 5. Each stringtension adjustment member 9 is retained by thestring 2 inserted to the corresponding hole. - As schematically shown in a enlarged view of
FIG. 3 (a), the stringtension adjustment member 9 according to this embodiment entirely has a columnar shape body (one type of circular cylindrical body in this embodiment) and, has ahelical screw groove 10 on an outer peripheral face thereof. Thehelical screw groove 10 is provided in a manner as shown inFIG. 3 (a) orFIG. 3 (b) showing ahelical groove bottom 10 b of thescrew groove 10, in which the depth of thegroove 10 continuously varies changed from one end to the other end of the columnar body. This screw groove 10 functions as a string-contact face. - As shown in
FIG. 3 (a), thescrew groove 10 in this embodiment preferably has a pitch angle a in the range from 8 to 16 degrees and more preferably of about 11.5 degrees. According to the experiment by the present inventor, the above described angles are preferable because they provide the retention of thestring 2 under various conditions and a range in which thestring 2 can be adjusted to have a required tension. However, the pitch angle is not limited to these angles and also may be an angle near or other than these angles. The stringtension adjustment member 9 in this embodiment is made of ABS resin. Alternatively, the stringtension adjustment member 9 also may be made of other resins (e.g., glass-fiber reinforced resin), wood, metals (e.g., aluminum, duralumin, titanium), or ceramics. - As shown in
FIG. 1 or FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) that are a partially enlarged view thereof, the stringtension adjustment member 9 shown inFIG. 3 is actually provided between thestring holes 8 provided so as to be close to one another (adjacent to one another in this embodiment) in theyoke section 5 such that thestring 2 is wound around thescrew groove 10 of the string tension adjustment member 9 (seeFIG. 3 (c)), i.e., afolding section 2A of thestring 2 is in contact with thescrew groove 10 that functions as a string-contact face of the stringtension adjustment member 9. - In this embodiment, the string
tension adjustment member 9 itself is fixed to theframe body 3 of theracket 1 by the tension by thestring 2. - When a player desires to change the tension of the
string 2 of theracket 1 having the structure as described above (e.g., when the player desires to slightly increase the tension), the tension can be increased by inserting a commercially-available hexagonal wrench (not shown) into ahexagonal wrench hole 9B provided at atop face 9A of the stringtension adjustment member 9 to rotate the stringtension adjustment member 9 in a counterclockwise direction inFIG. 1 orFIG. 4 (a) in this embodiment. The tension can be reduced by rotating the stringtension adjustment member 9 in a clockwise direction. - Specifically, when the string
tension adjustment member 9 is rotated so that the difference in distance from the string-contact face of this stringtension adjustment member 9 which is in contact with thestring 2 to the outer peripheral face of theframe body 3 becomes 2 mm, the tension of thestring 2 can be changed by about 5.7 lb (2.6 kgf). When the difference in the distance becomes 3 mm, the tension of thestring 2 can be changed by about 8.5 lb (3.8 kgf). The difference in the distance of about 2 mm to 3 mm is sufficient for practical use. - In this embodiment, only the
strings 2 in the longitudinal direction in the sweet spot area of theracket 1 among thestring 2 can be adjusted to have a different tension. Alternatively, as necessary only thestrings 2 in the lateral direction in the sweet spot area also may be appropriately adjusted to have a different tension. In a further alternative, thestrings 2 both in the longitudinal and lateral directions may be adjusted to have a different tension. - Nonetheless, only the change in the tension of the
strings 2 in the longitudinal direction in the sweet spot area can effectively adjust the tension of thestrings 2 of the racket. - As shown in
FIG. 5 , another structure also may be provided, in whichstorage hole members 20 are provided along and adjacently to theyoke section 5 so that eachstorage hole member 20 has a circular cylindrical storage hole (hole for storing the string tension adjustment member) 20C to allow thisstorage hole 20C to perfectly store therein the stringtension adjustment member 9 except for the top face and the bottom face thereof. - In the case of the
racket 1 according toEmbodiment 2, all of the stringtension adjustment member 9 and the folded parts of thestring 2 are stored in thestorage hole member 20 as shown inFIG. 5 , thus providing an improved appearance. The tension of thestring 2 in this embodiment is also adjusted in the manner as described above by inserting the hexagonal wrench (not shown) into thehexagonal wrench hole 9B provided at thetop face 9A of the stringtension adjustment member 9. - The string
tension adjustment member 9 also may be structured such that, a tapered columnar body the head of which is cut off as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), has, at a peripheral face thereof, ascrew groove 10 that functions as a string-contact face around which thestring 2 is wound. In these drawings, thereference numeral 24 denotes a grommet provided between the stringtension adjustment member 9 and theyoke section 5. Thisgrommet 24 may be made of synthetic resin such as nylon or made of rubber. - In another embodiment in
FIG. 7 (a) andFIG. 7 (b), the frame body 3 (including the yoke section 5) has the stringtension adjustment member 9 on an outer peripheral face thereof. In the stringtension adjustment member 9 according to this embodiment, thescrew mechanism 12 allows the relative movement of twowedge members valley 14 provided between thesewedge members string 2 retained at thevalley 14. In the drawings, thereference numeral 24 denotes a grommet provided between the stringtension adjustment member 9 and theyoke section 5. - In another structure in
FIG. 8 , afemale screw hole 15 is formed to extend from the outer peripheral face to the inner peripheral face of theframe body 3 in parallel with thestring 2 so that abolt 16 is screwed to thefemale screw portion 15 and ahead portion 16 h of thisbolt 16 has a concave curved face so as to easily retain thestring 2. In this structure, the tension of thestring 2 is changed by allowing thishead portion 16 h of thebolt 16 to be relatively moved into or from thefemale screw hole 15. In the drawing, thereference numeral 24 denotes a grommet provided between the stringtension adjustment member 9 and theyoke section 5. - In another structure shown in
FIG. 9 , the stringtension adjustment member 9 has a three-dimensional helical body, the thickness of which varies continuously. In this structure, a part of thestring tension adjustment 9 which contacts the folded part of thestring 2 is appropriately changed depending on a desired tension. This stringtension adjustment member 9 is, of course, brought into contact with the outerperipheral face 3F (not shown) of theframe body 3 or is brought into contact with anouter face 24F of thegrommet 24 as shown inFIG. 9 . - Although the above embodiments have been described in terms of a racket having a yoke section, the present invention also can be applied to a racket having a yoke section or a racket having no yoke section. When the present invention is applied to a racket having no yoke section, the string hole provided in the yoke section is replaced by a string hole provided in a corresponding part of the frame body.
- The above description has mainly been directed to a tennis racket. However, the present invention also can be applied to various rackets in which strings in the hitting area are stretched in a net shape, including badminton, squash, etc.
- The present invention is carried out in the manner as described above. According to the racket of the present invention, a simple structure can be used to change the tension of the strings in accordance with the preference of a player and in a simple and quick manner.
- Furthermore, the racket according to the present invention does not cause a substantial increase in the weight or an unbalanced appearance.
Claims (8)
1. A sporting racket including a loop-shaped frame body having an inner surrounded region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; and a shaft section having a grip section gripped by a player, at a tip end section thereof, the racket comprising:
a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be folded back therethrough; and
a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes positioned to be adjacent to each other to form a string folding portion and configured to allow the string to be folded in a desired position,
wherein the string tension adjustment member includes a columnar member having a string-contact face on a peripheral face thereof, and a distance from a rotation center of the string tension adjustment member to the string-contact face is variable.
2. The racket according to claim 1 , wherein the string-contact face is provided in a tapered helical manner on the peripheral face of the columnar member.
3. The racket according to claim 2 , wherein the string-contact face is formed by a screw groove.
4. A sporting racket including a loop-shaped frame body having an inner surrounded region in which strings are stretched in a net shape to provide a hitting area; and a shaft section having a grip section gripped by a player, at a tip end section thereof, the racket comprising:
a plurality of string holes provided in the frame body to allow the strings to be folded back therethrough; and
a string tension adjustment member provided between the string holes positioned to be adjacent to each other to form a string folding portion and configured to allow the string to be folded at a desired position,
wherein the string tension adjustment member has a screw mechanism configured to change a position at which the string is folded.
5. The racket according to claim 1 , wherein the racket has a yoke section and the string tension adjustment member is disposed at the yoke section.
6. The racket according to claim 2 , wherein the racket has a yoke section and the string tension adjustment member is disposed at the yoke section.
7. The racket according to claim 3 , wherein the racket has a yoke section and the string tension adjustment member is disposed at the yoke section.
8. The racket according to claim 4 , wherein the racket has a yoke section and the string tension adjustment member is disposed at the yoke section.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2002/007151 WO2004007032A1 (en) | 2002-07-15 | 2002-07-15 | Sport racket |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20060166767A1 true US20060166767A1 (en) | 2006-07-27 |
Family
ID=30022652
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/520,248 Abandoned US20060166767A1 (en) | 2002-07-15 | 2002-07-15 | Sporting racket |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20060166767A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP3806130B2 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2002318733A1 (en) |
TW (1) | TWM244938U (en) |
WO (1) | WO2004007032A1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN113318396A (en) * | 2020-02-28 | 2021-08-31 | 住友橡胶工业株式会社 | Racket |
GB2599009A (en) * | 2020-09-07 | 2022-03-23 | Blair Wylde Brown | A device for hitting a ball |
US20220088444A1 (en) * | 2020-09-23 | 2022-03-24 | Elevating Sports B.V. | Racket With a String Tensioning Device |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
TW201138899A (en) * | 2010-05-13 | 2011-11-16 | Jian-Wen Lu | Racket |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1621746A (en) * | 1927-03-22 | Tennis racket | ||
US3884467A (en) * | 1971-04-07 | 1975-05-20 | Reinhold Sommer | Device for hitting a ball, shuttlecock or the like |
US4340225A (en) * | 1979-04-13 | 1982-07-20 | Wilson Craig R | Game racket and apparatus for adjusting the tension in the strings of a game racket |
US4721304A (en) * | 1985-09-13 | 1988-01-26 | Anthony L. Zavilenski, Jr. | Racket string tensioning device |
US4995608A (en) * | 1988-04-25 | 1991-02-26 | Von Hackewitz Friedrich Wilhel | Stringed frame with adjustable tensioning |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0231591A3 (en) * | 1985-10-28 | 1987-08-26 | Fin Sports Limited | A tensioning device for a strung racquet |
JPS63133257U (en) * | 1987-02-24 | 1988-08-31 | ||
JPH0520767U (en) * | 1991-08-29 | 1993-03-19 | 秀雄 梅津 | Rack with gut tension adjusting device and gut tension adjusting device |
-
2002
- 2002-07-15 JP JP2004521110A patent/JP3806130B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2002-07-15 WO PCT/JP2002/007151 patent/WO2004007032A1/en active Application Filing
- 2002-07-15 US US10/520,248 patent/US20060166767A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2002-07-15 AU AU2002318733A patent/AU2002318733A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2003
- 2003-06-25 TW TW092211603U patent/TWM244938U/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1621746A (en) * | 1927-03-22 | Tennis racket | ||
US3884467A (en) * | 1971-04-07 | 1975-05-20 | Reinhold Sommer | Device for hitting a ball, shuttlecock or the like |
US4340225A (en) * | 1979-04-13 | 1982-07-20 | Wilson Craig R | Game racket and apparatus for adjusting the tension in the strings of a game racket |
US4721304A (en) * | 1985-09-13 | 1988-01-26 | Anthony L. Zavilenski, Jr. | Racket string tensioning device |
US4995608A (en) * | 1988-04-25 | 1991-02-26 | Von Hackewitz Friedrich Wilhel | Stringed frame with adjustable tensioning |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN113318396A (en) * | 2020-02-28 | 2021-08-31 | 住友橡胶工业株式会社 | Racket |
EP3871742A1 (en) * | 2020-02-28 | 2021-09-01 | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. | Racket |
GB2599009A (en) * | 2020-09-07 | 2022-03-23 | Blair Wylde Brown | A device for hitting a ball |
US20220088444A1 (en) * | 2020-09-23 | 2022-03-24 | Elevating Sports B.V. | Racket With a String Tensioning Device |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP3806130B2 (en) | 2006-08-09 |
TWM244938U (en) | 2004-10-01 |
WO2004007032A1 (en) | 2004-01-22 |
AU2002318733A1 (en) | 2004-02-02 |
JPWO2004007032A1 (en) | 2005-11-10 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |