U.S. patent application number 10/614356 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-18 for variable weight end structure for sporting equipment handles.
Invention is credited to Deese, Todd, Hemingway, Annelouise, Schwieg, Mark.
Application Number | 20040053715 10/614356 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31997479 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040053715 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schwieg, Mark ; et
al. |
March 18, 2004 |
Variable weight end structure for sporting equipment handles
Abstract
A variable weight end structure 10 that provides for variable
tail-end weighting of racquets, clubs, or sporting equipment with
handles. The end structure 10 comprises an interface element 17 and
a weighting element 18 that allows a player to quickly and easily
add and vary tail-end weights. The variable weighting end structure
10 provides a player with a more versatile racquet/club, providing
increased power and control, reduced shock, while not significantly
changing swing weight.
Inventors: |
Schwieg, Mark;
(Lawrenceville, GA) ; Hemingway, Annelouise;
(Lawrenceville, GA) ; Deese, Todd; (Melbourne,
FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Mark Schwieg
900 OLD PEACH TREE RD
LAWRENCEVILLE
GA
30043
US
|
Family ID: |
31997479 |
Appl. No.: |
10/614356 |
Filed: |
July 7, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60395022 |
Jul 12, 2002 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/519 ;
473/297 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 60/24 20151001;
A63B 53/14 20130101; A63B 60/06 20151001; A63B 60/10 20151001; A63B
60/22 20151001; A63B 60/08 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/519 ;
473/297 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/14; A63B
049/04; A63B 059/00 |
Goverment Interests
[0001] None
Claims
I claim:
1. A variable weight end structure comprising a. an interface
element mountable to a sporting equipment handle, b. a weighting
element mountable to interface element, and c. a securing mechanism
for holding weighting element to interface element
2. The weighting element of claim 1 wherein said body of material
is composed of any type of metal, alloy, plastic, or a composite of
metal and plastic.
3. The weighting element of claim 1 wherein said body is solid or
made of subassemblies attached or stacked together.
4. The interfacing element of claim 1 wherein said body is composed
of any type of plastic.
5. The interfacing element of claim 1 wherein said body has a
cavity at one end and on the opposite side a sleeve that fits over
a racquet or club handle.
6. The securing mechanism in claim 1 wherein said method is any
type of threaded bolt, screw nut or screw.
7. The securing mechanism in claim 1 wherein said method uses
tab(s) on the outside of said cap and angled grooves along the
inside of cavity wall to secure weight to interface element.
8. The securing mechanism in claim 1 wherein said method uses
tab(s) on the inside of cavity and angle grooves on the outside of
said cap to secure weight to interface element.
9. The securing mechanism in claim 1 wherein said method uses
threads on outside of cap and along the inside on cavity wall.
10. The securing mechanism in claim 1 wherein said method uses
locking tabs on cap and cavity.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] Provisional Patent 60/395,022 Jul. 12, 2002
BACKGROUND
[0003] 1. Field of Invention
[0004] This invention relates to an improvement for tennis
racquets, golf clubs, and other sporting equipment that employ a
handle. Specifically, the improvement is a means to add variable
weights to the tail end of a racquet or club. The tail end refers
to the end of the handle of a racquet or club.
[0005] 2. Description of Prior Art
[0006] The addition of weight to improve playability and feel is a
common way to customize racquets or clubs. In fact, many
professional players employ some type of custom weighting to
improve their racquet or clubs performance. While weighting a
racquet/club can have dramatic effects, the placement of the weight
is critical to achieve improved performance. For example,
application of weight at the tail-end of a racquet or club
increases power and control, reduces shock, and maintains swing
weight. In contrast, a weight placed at the head or side of a
racquet reduces power and control, increases shock, and increases
swing weight. Therefore, the preferred placement of a weight to
achieve optimum performance is at the tail-end of a racquet or club
handle. The amount of weight depends on the particular racquet
characteristics, physical ability of a player along with his/her
specific desires. The ideal weight would be different for each
player. In addition, in a sport such as tennis, a player matches
his skill against opponents whose playing styles and physical
abilities greatly vary. A successful player is one who will be able
to adjust his game to counter that of his opponent. Therefore, it
is very desirable for a player to vary the weight placed on a
racquet/club so as to `tune` his game to current conditions. To be
able to vary the weighting of a racquet quickly and efficiently,
even during a match, is a great asset.
[0007] Unfortunately, no methods currently exist that allow a
player to easily attach variable weight to the tail-end of a
racquet or club. Current techniques promoted by the sporting
industry, involve disassembly of the racquet handle (removing grip
and butt cap) and adding weight along with cotton padding inside
the handle. Not only is this method cumbersome and time consuming,
the method requires a racquet/club with a hollow handle to hold the
weight. If a handle is solid, the player must gouge out a cavity or
not use a weight.
[0008] Another technique used and sited in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,421,
"Counter-weighting handle grip", requires the player to wrap
lead/felt tape beneath a golf club handle grip. This method is
cumbersome, increases grip size, and doesn't place the weight at
the ideal tail-end location of a handle.
[0009] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,902 to McCutchen (1991), a static
distal butt weight for a tennis racquet handle, for the purpose,
among others, of extending the center of percussion, absorbing
shock, and increasing the momentum of the racquet. This method is
not a variable weighting method, but rather adds one fixed weight
to the racquet handle
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,453 to Douglas et al. (1992) shows a
tennis racquet with a solid butt weight attached to its handle end
by means of an "acorn shaped weighted extension" (4) attachable to
the end of the handle by welding or screwing it on (5:8). Once
again this is not a variable method to add weight to the tail end
of a racquet or club.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,793 to Chen (1991) teaches an elongated
rubber sheath over a conventional butt cap, the sheath extending up
the handle with numerous recesses for containing small individual
optional weights under the player's hand. This method does not
provide a means to quickly and easily change weight. Additionally,
the weight placement is in the handle not at the optimum location
of the tail-end.
[0012] In conclusion, solutions of prior art for weighting the tail
end of a racquet or club, all pertain to fixed or static weighting
and do not address the fundamental difficulty of allowing a player
to efficiently and easily change the weight on the fly or even
during play. Insofar as we are aware, no sporting racquet/club
handle mechanism formerly developed provides a means to quickly and
easily vary the weight located at the tail end of a handle.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
[0013] Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present
invention are:
[0014] 1. to provide custom tail-end weighting;
[0015] 2. to provide variable weighting;
[0016] 3. to provide rapid user-friendly weight adjustments;
[0017] 4. to provide weighting in an economical manner.
[0018] Still further objects and advantages will become apparent
from a study of the following description and the accompanying
drawings.
DRAWINGS AND FIGURES
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the variable weight end
structure for tennis racquets.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a exploded view of the variable weight end
structure constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the
interface element, weighting element, and securing mechanism.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a side view of the interface element.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a side view of the weighting element.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0023] 10 Variable weight end structure
[0024] 11 Cap
[0025] 12 Cap Slot
[0026] 13 Locking tab (outside cap)
[0027] 14 Plug
[0028] 15 Sleeve
[0029] 16 Locking tab (inside cavity)
[0030] 17 Interface Element
[0031] 18 Weight Element
[0032] 19 Cavity
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION
[0033] A typical embodiment of the variable weight end structure 10
is illustrated in FIG. 1 (perspective view). FIG. 2 is an exploded
view of the variable weight end structure 10 showing the interface
element 17, weight element 18 and securing mechanism. In this
embodiment the interface element 17 is comprised of a sleeve 15,
and cavity 19. The sleeve 15 is tapered and notched to slide over a
racquet handle or club. The sleeve 15 is secured to a handle using
glue or staples. At the other side of interface element 17 is the
cavity 19 that holds the weight element 18. The securing mechanism
to hold weight element 18 inside cavity 19 is a cap 11. The cap 11
has a slot 12 that is used to rotate cap during plug 14 removal and
replacement. There are locking tabs 13/16 on the outside of cap 11
and inside of cavity 19 to firmly secure cap to interface element
17 and hold weight element 18 firmly in place. The weighting
element 18 in this embodiment is a solid plug 14. A set of plugs 14
can be made each having a different weight by using materials with
different densities (lead, brass, pewter, or plastic) or removing
varying amounts of material from the center of plug 14.
[0034] There are various embodiments with regard to the securing
mechanism of weight element 17 to interface element 18. A second
embodiment uses a threaded screw and nut through the center of cap
11 and plug 14 in place of locking tabs 13/16. Additionally, the
weight element 17 could consist of round or disk-shaped
sub-elements attached or stacked together.
DESCRIPTION--OPERATION
[0035] In operation a player uses the variable weight end structure
10 in a manner similar to current tennis racquet butt caps. The
variable weight end structure 10 replaces the standard butt cap and
is attached using the same techniques employed for standard butt
caps making installation very easy. The variable weight end
structure 10 maintains the same shape and form fit as a standard
butt cap so that a player feels no difference in his grip.
[0036] The player, when desired, may change the performance
characteristic of his racquet by changing the plug weight 14 at the
end of the racquet. This is done by replacing the plug 14 with a
second plug 14 of different weight. If desired the player can
choose not to tail-weight by not placing a plug 14 in the sleeve
15.
[0037] When changing out a plug 14 the player uses slot 12 to
rotate cap 11 counterclockwise to release locking tabs 13/16. Once
released, the cap 11 and plug 14 are removed from the sleeve 15. A
new different weight plug 14 or no plug may be placed in the sleeve
15. The cap 11 is placed over the plug 14 and rotated to engage
locking tabs 13/16 to secure plug 14 and cap 11.
[0038] A player can change the plug 14 quickly and easily so that
weight changes can be performed even during play. A player
therefore can make rapid adjustments to his racquet to optimize his
play against opponents or current playing conditions.
SUMMARY, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE
[0039] Accordingly, the reader will see that the invention, a
variable weight end structure 10, has an interface element 17 and a
weighting element 18. The variable weight end structure 10 attaches
to sporting equipment handles so that a player can quickly and
easily add and vary tail-end weighting.
[0040] Although the description above contains many specificities,
these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the
presently preferred embodiments of this invention.
[0041] Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the
appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the
examples given
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