Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sports racket such as a tennis racket, in particular incorporating means for damping vibrations set up in the frame of the racket during use.

Background of the Invention

During use, when hitting a tennis ball with a tennis racket, vibrations occur in the racket frame. These vibrations are undesirable as they can cause discomfort to the player. A number of racket frame constructions have been proposed which attempt to absorb and/or reduce this vibration.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a games racket having good vibration reduction characteristics.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention there is provided a sports racket, comprising a head frame and a shaft portion extending outwardly of the head frame, the shaft portion including a hand grip at a free end thereof, the shaft portion having a slot, a vibration absorbing material being provided in the slot.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a sports racket, comprising a head frame and a shaft portion extending outwardly of the head frame, the shaft portion including a hand grip at a free end thereof, the shaft portion having one or more channels extending along at

least part of the shaft portion, a vibration absorbing material being provided in the or each channel.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a sports racket comprising a head frame and a shaft portion extending outwardly of the head frame, the shaft portion including a hand-grip at a free end thereof, the shaft portion having a slot and one or more channels extending outwardly from the slot along the shaft portion, a vibration absorbing material being provided in the slot and in the or each channel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the slot is provided in the shaft portion between the hand-grip and the head frame. Ideally, the slot extends through the shaft portion between opposite sides of the shaft portion.

Preferably, the channels extend along an exterior of the shaft portion.

In another embodiment, the or each channel extends between the slot and a free end of the shaft portion.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, two channels are provided in the shaft portion extending along opposite sides of the shaft portion.

Preferably the vibration absorbing material provided in the slot and in the channel or channels is of the same material. Conveniently, one or more inserts of vibration absorbing material may be provided mounted within the slot and/or the channel or channels. Ideally, each insert for a channel is integrally formed with at least portion of an insert for the slot.

In a further embodiment, each insert comprises one or more elongate strips of material, each for engagement within a channel, each strip having an enlarged head at one end for complementary engagement within the slot. In a preferred embodiment, a pair of inserts are provided each having an elongate strip of material mounted in one of a pair of channels extending along opposite sides of the shaft portion, each insert having a head which engages within the slot. Ideally the inserts are bonded together within the slot.

In another embodiment, the vibration absorbing material is an elastomeric material. Conveniently, the vibration absorbing material may be a polyvinyl chloride elastomer. Examples of other suitable vibration absorbing materials an elastomeric polyurethane foam, Pebax, Sorbathane and Trethane.

In a preferred embodiment, the vibration absorbing material is translucent. Conveniently the vibration absorbing material may be of any desirable colour.

It will be appreciated that the invention may be applied to sports rackets for playing different types of games, for example tennis, squash, badminton, racketball, paddle tennis, platform tennis, table tennis and the like. It is also envisaged that the invention may be applied to other types of hand-held athletic equipment, implements, tools and the like, for example hammers, used for hitting objects to damp vibrations in the handle of any of such devices.

The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a shaft portion of a racket according to the invention with vibration absorbing inserts in position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shaft portion with a hand grip cover of the racket and the vibration absorbing inserts removed;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a frame of the racket of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view of a shaft portion of the racket frame of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail partially sectioned view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a shaft portion of the racket frame taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an insert of vibration absorbing material forming portion of the racket;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a shaft portion of the racket taken along the line IX-IX of Fig. 3.

Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a tennis racket according to the invention indicated generally by

the reference numeral 1. The racket 1 comprises a head- frame 2 of generally known construction having strings 3 arranged thereon in known fashion. A shaft portion 4 extends from the head-frame 2. The shaft portion 4 has an inner end 5 and a hand-grip 6 at an outer free end thereof. Inserts 10 of vibration absorbing elastomeric material are mounted on the shaft portion 4.

A slot 7 is provided in the shaft portion 4 at the inner end 5 between the hand-grip 6 and the head frame 2. A pair of channels 8 extend along the shaft portion 4 from the slot 7 to a free end 9 of the shaft portion 4. It will be noted that the channels 8 extend along an exterior of the shaft portion 4 at opposite sides of the shaft portion 4.

A pair of inserts 10 of elastomeric material, in this case polyvinyl chloride, are mounted on the shaft portion 4. Each insert 10 has an elongate strip 13 for engagement within a channel 8. An enlarged head 14 at one end of the strip 13 engages within the slot 7. It will be noted from Fig. 5 that the heads 14 of the insert 10 meet within the slot 7 and the heads 14 fill the slot 7. The heads 14 are generally bonded together within the slot 7, however in some cases they may not be bonded. The inserts are preferably of translucent material and may be of any desirable colour. A grip 20 is wound around the shaft portion 4 to form the hand-grip 6 enclosing the inserts 10 within the channels 8. A butt cap 22 is mounted at the free end 9 of the shaft portion 4. This butt cap 22 may be of any suitable construction, for example either a one piece butt cap or a two piece butt cap.

In use, the racket 1 is used in conventional fashion. The inserts 10 of elastomeric material dampen vibrations in

the frame thus increasing the comfort for a player using the racket 1.

Tests have been carried out in which the vibration damping characteristics of a racket according to the invention have been compared with a similar racket without the vibration absorbing material. These tests show that the racket with the vibration absorbing material gives improved vibration damping.

It will be appreciated that the slot may extend either partially or fully through the shaft portion and may be of any desirable shape and/or size. While the slot may be provided anywhere along the shaft portion, it is preferably provided between the hand grip and the head- frame for vibration damping.

It is envisaged that in some cases either only a slot filled with vibration absorbing material may be provided or alternatively only one or more channels filled with vibration absorbing material may be provided, however, it is preferable that both a slot and one or more channels are provided on the shaft portion. In some cases only one channel may be provided or more than two channels may be provided either arranged on opposite faces of the shaft portion or spaced-apart around the shaft portion. The channels may be of any suitable length and need not necessarily extend to a free end of the shaft portion.

While the invention has been described above in relation to a sports racket, it is envisaged that the invention could be applied to dampen vibrations in the handles of other hand-held athletic equipment, for example hockey sticks, bats or the like, and also to implements and tools such as hammers and the like used for hitting objects.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.