US717504A - Parlor-tennis racket. - Google Patents

Description

i No, 70,504.

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1 mmmwww UNITED STATES HENRY W. LONGFELLOVV, JR.,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF BOSTON, MASSA OHUSETTS.

PARLOR-TENNIS RACKET.

SEEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,504, dated December` 30, 1902.

Application filed October 13,1902. Serial No.l27,002. (No model.) I

fo all whom, t may concern.-

Beit known that LHENRY W. LoNGFELLow, Jr., a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of 'Massachusetts have invented an Improvement in Parlor-Tennis Rackets, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is a game racket or bat particularly intended for the now popular game of indoor or parlor tennis. This game has called forth a great many different kinds of raokets, most of them having simply straight handles, although a few have had curved or club-shaped handles, in both cases the handles having such shape and surface as to Weary the vhand and beliable to twist or give an uncertain blow to the ball unless very firmly grasped. s

It is the purpose of the present invention to obviate these disadvantages and produce a handle which will provide ease and relief to the hand, aord a hrm and certain grasp, and tend to give added assuranceto the player.

With these objects in View I have provided a handle which is short, chunked, or bulbshaped and provided with a slightly-roughened portion Ato rest in the palm of the hand and a considerably-roughened portion to be engaged between` the fingers at the narrow part or neck portion of the handle, my invention also including various other constructional details, which will be more fully set forth in the following description and further defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l represents in front elevation my improved racket. Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view thereof on the line 2, Fig. l; and Fig. 3 shows in side elevation the foundation portion of the handle. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in elevation of a fragmentary portion of the racket, showing the corrugated striking-surface.

As herein shown, I have provided a flat oval striking part a, comprising a foundation portion of wood or other suitable material a', covered on its opposite faces with a suitable engaging substance, that preferred being a corrugated surface d2 on one side and a smooth cork surface a3 on the opposite side,

these surfaces enabling the operator to give different degrees ofrtwist or cut to the ball when struck.

Secured to the handle end of the part o, is a foundation-piece b, preferably of wood, having a shape somewhat like an Indian club, the lower part b thereof having a chunked thick shape to rest in the palm of the hand and the upper part h2 thereof comprising a small or slender neck portion terminating in flattened ears b3, which slope off gracefully on the opposite sides of the portion a. for neatness and strength, as well as enabling the parts to be secured properly together. On this handle foundation b I secure in any suitable manner a covering c of roughened material, this covering preferably consisting of transversely corrugated rubber, which is tightly stretched over the part b of the handle,it being convenient to use a seamless and peripherally-corrugated tube of rubber when stretched on the part b it cannot 'slip and will cling to the hand of the user. The lower end of this roughened covering c eX- tends partially about the lower end of the handle, as indicated at c', Fig. 2, and is neatly and firmly secured by a cap dof metal or hard substance. This cap construction is not only very neat, but 'is of particular advantage and service in this article, because of the jerky twisting movement that is frequently exerted by the operator, which tends to disturb the covering of the handle; but when held by this cap d the ends of the covering cannot escape, as they are tightly bound by the entire cap, and particularly so at the edges thereof. The neck portion is provided with a surface e, grooved peripherally or extremely roughened as compared with the more smooth surface c. This affords a sure grip for the lingers and gives confidence to the player. It may be formed in Various ways but I prefer to make it of layers of slightlyyielding material, such as leather, and this may be conveniently applied by winding the neck part b2 and properly securing theends of the strip. I prefer that this wound portion of the handle should extend from the base of the bulge or chunked part b' of the handle to the upper end of the handle next the part a, as in playing this game many playslightly smaller than the handle itself, so that IOO ers do not grasp the handle with the entire palm, but simply hold it between the fingers somewhat as a pen is held in writing, and this rough surface e, extending overv the entire neck portion of the handle, as described, makes this manner of holding the racket practical and easy.

Besides the mechanical advantages above explained and others which will occur to those practiced in the art my invention affords great opportunity for ornamental effects in the Way of applying different colors, materials, and forms to the various portions, the Whole being enhanced by the graceful contours and effects of the parts.

Without limiting myself to the specific details herein set forth, inasmuch as various changes, as already enumerated, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention, whatlclaim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat-ent, is-

1. A game-racket comprising a striking part provided at one end with a handle chunked or bulb-shaped at its lower end, said lower end having a slightly-roughened surface, and the upper end of the handle having a coarser roughened surface, the former for engaging the palm of the hand andthe latter to be grasped by the fingers.

2. A game-racket comprising a striking part provided at one end with a handle chunked or bulb-shaped at its lower end, said bulb-shaped portion having a covering of slightly-roughened material capable of clinging frictionally to the palm of the hand, said material extending partially over the extreme end of the handle, and a binding-cap of unyielding material clamping said lower end of the covering tightly against the handle.

3. A game-racket comprising a striking part provided at one end with a handle chunked or bulb-shaped at its lower end, said bulb-shaped portion having a covering of slightly-roughened material capable of clinging frictionally to the palm of the hand, and the upper part of the handle being provided with peripherally-overlapped bands or layers of narrow material aording rough corrugations to be grasped bythe ngers of the user.

4L. A game-racket comprising a striking part provided at one end with a handle chunked or bulb-shaped at its lower end, and a slender neck portion at its upper end, said lower end being provided with a taut rubber covering, and said upper end being spirally wound with a narrow strip providing coarse corrugations.

5. A game-racket comprising a dat striking part having a smooth yielding surface such as cork on one side, and a highly fric- 'tional yielding surface such as rubber on the

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