U.S. patent application number 13/591621 was filed with the patent office on 2014-01-09 for stringing means for a badminton racket.
The applicant listed for this patent is Jung-shih CHANG. Invention is credited to Jung-shih CHANG.
Application Number | 20140011615 13/591621 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49878935 |
Filed Date | 2014-01-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140011615 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHANG; Jung-shih |
January 9, 2014 |
STRINGING MEANS FOR A BADMINTON RACKET
Abstract
A stringing means is made integrally with, or an independent
device secured on, the throat of a badminton racket. The badminton
racket includes a hoop-shaped head with a longitudinal axis, a
shaft and a throat connecting the shaft to the head along the
longitudinal axis thereof. The head of the racket defines a
stringed hitting surface with a sweet zone. The stringing means
comprises at least two guiding holes and a guiding channel. Each of
the guiding holes is spaced apart in a predetermined distance and
includes an opened outer end to be as a string inlet and an inner
end connected with the guiding channel. When a badminton racket is
equipped with such a stringing means, portions of the string chords
for forming the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface can
thread through the means and extend in parallel with the
longitudinal axis of the head.
Inventors: |
CHANG; Jung-shih; (Taichung
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHANG; Jung-shih |
Taichung City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
49878935 |
Appl. No.: |
13/591621 |
Filed: |
August 22, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/541 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 49/022 20151001;
A63B 60/50 20151001; A63B 49/035 20151001; A63B 49/032 20151001;
A63B 67/18 20130101; A63B 2102/04 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/541 |
International
Class: |
A63B 51/00 20060101
A63B051/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 5, 2012 |
TW |
101124264 |
Claims
1. A stringing means for a badminton racket wherein the racket
includes a hoop-shaped head with a longitudinal axis, a shaft and a
throat connecting the shaft to the head along the longitudinal axis
thereof, the head defines a stringed hitting surface with a sweet
zone, said stringing means is disposed on the throat of the racket
and constructed in such a way that portions of the string chords of
the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface can string through
said stringing means and extend in parallel with the longitudinal
axis of the head of the racket.
2. The stringing means of claim 1, wherein said stringing means is
integrally formed with the throat and comprises at least two
guiding holes spaced apart in a predetermined distance and a
guiding channel; each of said guiding holes includes an opened
outer end to be as a string inlet and an inner end connected with
said guiding channel.
3. The stringing means of claim 2, wherein said guiding channel has
a curved bearing surface with opposing longitudinal ends.
4. The stringing means of claim 3, wherein said guiding channel
includes a pair of suspending portions, each of said suspending
portions is disposed respectively on each of said longitudinal ends
of said curved bearing surface.
5. The stringing means of claim 4, wherein each of said suspending
portions is a projecting area facing to each of said guiding
holes.
6. A badminton racket comprising a hoop-shaped head with a
longitudinal axis, a shaft and a throat connecting the shaft to the
head along the longitudinal axis thereof, said head having an inner
surface, an outer surfaces and a plurality of string holes disposed
between said inner and outer surfaces to be threaded through by a
tensioned string to form a stringed hitting surface with a sweet
zone; said racket further comprising a stringing means disposed on
the throat thereof and constructed in such a way that portions of
string chords of the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface can
thread therethrough and extend in parallel with the longitudinal
axis of the head.
7. The badminton racket of claim 6, wherein said stringing means is
integrally formed with the throat and comprises at least two
guiding holes spaced apart in a predetermined distance and a
guiding channel, each of said guiding holes includes an opened
outer end to be as a string inlet and an inner end connected with
said guiding channel.
8. The badminton racket of claim 7, wherein said guiding channel
has a curved bearing surface with opposing longitudinal ends.
9. The badminton racket of claim 8, wherein said guiding channel
further includes a pair of suspending portions, each of said
suspending portions is disposed respectively on each of said
longitudinal ends of said curved bearing surface.
10. The badminton racket of claim 9, wherein each of said
suspending portions is a projecting area facing to each of said
guiding holes.
11. The badminton racket of claim 7, wherein the string holes
includes two upper string holes disposed on the upper portion of
the head, each of said upper string holes respectively corresponds
to one of said guiding holes such that each of said upper string
holes and each of said guiding holes to which said upper string
hole corresponds are in a common axis.
12. The stringing means of claim 1, wherein said stringing means
comprises a block body secured on the throat of the badminton
racket.
13. The stringing means of claim 12, further comprising at least
two guiding holes and a guiding channel, each of said guiding holes
being disposed on said body and spaced apart in a predetermined
distance, each of said guiding holes including an opened outer end
to be as a string inlet and an inner end, said guiding channel
being disposed on said body and connected with said inner end of
each of said guiding holes.
14. The stringing means of claim 13, wherein said guiding channel
has a curved bearing surface with opposing longitudinal ends.
15. The stringing means of claim 14, wherein said guiding channel
further includes a pair of suspending portions, each of said
suspending portions is disposed respectively on each of said
longitudinal ends of said curved bearing surface.
16. The stringing means of claim 14, wherein each of said
suspending portions is a projecting area facing to each of said
guiding holes.
17. The stringing means of claim 12, wherein said body includes
through holes to be tightly secured on the throat of the badminton
racket by screws or the like.
18. The stringing means of claim 13, wherein each of said guiding
holes has an opened side.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to badminton rackets and
particularly to a stringing means for a badminton racket.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] It is well known that badminton rackets typically include a
hoop-shaped head and a shaft downwardly and outwardly extending
from the head. The shaft usually includes a handle attached to the
proximal end thereof. The handle generally is covered by a
grip.
[0005] The head of such prior art badminton rackets normally is
constructed to have a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis and a
set of string holes to be threaded through by tensioned strings to
form a stringed hitting surface with a sweet zone. The string holes
are usually arranged in two groups. A first or longitudinal group
of string holes are disposed on the upper and lower portions of the
head and each longitudinal string hole has an axis parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the head so that the stringed hitting surface
includes a plurality of longitudinal string chords which thread
through the longitudinal string holes and extend in parallel with
the longitudinal axis of the head. A second or transverse group of
string holes are disposed on the right and left portions of the
head and each transverse string hole has an axis parallel to the
transverse axis of the head to construct a plurality of transverse
string chords extending in parallel with the transverse axis of the
head. The head usually connects with the shaft at a single region
as opposed to two or more areas commonly used with tennis racquets.
This single connection region is hereinafter referred to as
throat.
[0006] For being a joint of the head and the shaft, the throat is
formed as an area that stress concentrates. In other words, when
the badminton racket impacts a shuttlecock, the head and shaft will
place a large amount of stress on the throat. As a result, it is
not uncommon for badminton rackets to prematurely fail at the
throat.
[0007] To address the premature failure issue, some existing
badminton rackets have included T-shaped joints at the throat
thereof. However, actually, there remained some problems yet to be
solved. For example, the throat including T-shaped joint inherently
required to be constructed with larger dimensions than the other
racket portions. As a result, the axes of the longitudinal string
holes disposed near the throat cannot parallel to the longitudinal
axis of the head of the badminton racket, as shown in FIG. 3(a) of
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,084, so that the string chords passing through
such string holes tiltedly extend as comparing with other
longitudinal string chords. This means that the friction between
the inner wall of the longitudinal string holes and the string
chords passing therethrough will be increased. Because the string
chords near the throat construct the sweet zone of the stringed
hitting surface, the rather large friction can negatively effect
the tension transmitting of the string chords of the sweet zone, as
a result, the playability of the racket is also negatively
affected.
[0008] Thus, there is a need for a badminton racket that inhibits
premature failure at the throat thereof without negatively
affecting the tension transmitting of the strings chords of the
sweet zone. Further speaking, what is needed is an improved
stringing design that can effectively reduce the friction between
the strings chords of the sweet zone and the inner wall of the
string holes through which the string chords of the sweet zone
thread.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a stringing means for a
badminton racket wherein the racket includes a hoop-shaped head
with a longitudinal axis, a shaft and a throat connecting the shaft
to the head along the longitudinal axis thereof. The head of the
racket defines a stringed hitting surface with a sweet zone. The
stringing means is disposed on the throat of the racket and
constructed in such a way that portions of the string chords for
forming the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface can thread
through the means and extend in parallel with the longitudinal axis
of the head.
[0010] According to a principal aspect of the present invention, a
badminton racket comprises a hoop-shaped head with a longitudinal
axis, a shaft and a throat connecting the head and the shaft along
the longitudinal axis of the head. The head has an inner surface,
an outer surfaces and a plurality of string holes disposed between
the inner and outer surfaces to be threaded through by a tensioned
string to form a stringed hitting surface with a sweet zone. The
racket further comprises a stringing means disposed on the throat
and constructed in such a way that portions of string chords for
forming the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface can thread
through the means and extend in parallel with the longitudinal axis
of the head.
[0011] According to another principal aspect of the present
invention, a stringing means is integrally formed with the throat
of a badminton racket. The stringing means comprises at least two
guiding holes spaced apart in a predetermined distance and a
guiding channel. Each of the guiding holes includes an opened outer
end to be as a string inlet, and an inner end connected with the
guiding channel.
[0012] According to a further principal aspect of the present
invention, a stringing means comprises a body provided for being
mounted on the throat of the badminton racket. The means further
comprises at least two guiding holes and a guiding channel. The
guiding holes are disposed on the body and spaced apart in a
predetermined distance. Each of the guiding holes includes an
opened outer end to be as a string inlet and an inner end. The
guiding channel is also disposed on the body and connected with the
inner end of each of the guiding holes. Thus, when the body is
mounted on the throat of the badminton racket, portions of the
string chords of the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface
will string through the body and extend in parallel with the
longitudinal axis of the head of the racket.
[0013] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the
drawings accompanying the application.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a badminton racket
with a stringing means according to a first preferred embodiment of
the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a merged drawing combined with an enlarged view of
the upper portion of the head of the badminton racket of FIG. 1 and
a cross-sectional view of the throat of the badminton racket of
FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the throat of a
badminton racket with a stringing means in accordance with a second
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the throat of a badminton
racket on which a stringing means in accordance with a third
preferred embodiment of the present invention is secured;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stringing means shown in
FIG. 4; and
[0019] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of
FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] Referring firstly to FIG. 1, a badminton racket is indicated
generally at 10. Racket 10 includes a hoop-shaped head 12, a shaft
14 and a handle 16.
[0021] Hoop-shaped head 12 has a longitudinal axis X-X', a
transverse axis Y-Y', an inner surface 122 and an outer surfaces
124. Shaft 14 extends along axis X-X' and has a proximate end
connected to the bottom portion of head 12 by a throat 24.
Connected to a distal end of shaft 14 is handle 16. In this
embodiment, head 12, throat 24 and shaft 14 is made integrally of
lightweight materials, such as aluminum alloy, FRP etc. Therefore,
the upper surface 242 of throat 24 is also a portion of inner
surface 122 of head 12.
[0022] Disposed between inner and outer surfaces 122, 124 are a
plurality of transverse string holes 18 and a plurality of
longitudinal string holes 20. A string 100 tensionedly threads
through string holes 18, 20 to form a stringed hitting surface 22
with a sweet zone 222.
[0023] Badminton racket 10 further comprises a stringing means 30
disposed on throat 24. In this embodiment, stringing means 30
integrally formed with throat 24 and includes two guiding holes 32,
34 spaced apart in a predetermined distance and a guiding channel
36 with a curved bearing surface 362. Each of guiding holes 32, 34
has an opened outer end 322, 324 to be as a string inlet and an
inner end connected with guiding channel 36. Speaking detailedly,
each of guiding holes 32, 34 corresponds respectively to one of top
string holes 201, 202 disposed on the upper portion of head 12. The
distance D between guiding holes 32, 34 is equal to the distance D'
between top string holes 201, 202 so that guiding hole 32 and top
string hole 201 have a first common axis and guiding hole 34 and
top string hole 202 have a second common axis. Thus, string 100
coming from top string hole 201 will extend in parallel with
longitudinal axis X-X' of head 12, then enter into guiding hole 32
from opened end 322, form a loop 102 received on curved bearing
surface 362, pass out from opened end 324 of guiding hole 34,
extend in parallel with longitudinal axis X-X' of head 12 and
lastly thread through top string hole 202.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, for having stringing means 20 disposed
on throat 24, the two major longitudinal string chords of sweet
zone 222 of stringed hitting surface 22 extend in parallel with
longitudinal axis X-X' of head 12 rather than extend at an angle
therewith. The result is that the friction between each of the two
major longitudinal string chords of sweet zone 222 and the inner
wall of each of the string holes through which the major
longitudinal string chord of sweet zone 222 threads is effectively
reduced. Thus, the objects or advantages of the present invention
can be achieved.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 3, in a particularly preferred embodiment,
a stringing means 40 is also formed integrally with the throat of a
badminton racket. Stringing means 40 is substantially the same as
stringing means 30 described above. The difference between
stringing means 40 and stringing means 30 is that curved bearing
surface 422 of guiding channel 42 of stringing means 40 has a pair
of suspending portion 424, 426 disposed respectively on opposing
longitudinal ends thereof. In this embodiment, each of suspending
portions 424, 426 is a projecting area facing to guiding holes 44,
46. This ensures that string threads through guiding channel 42
without touching the inner wall of each of guiding holes 44, 46 and
means the friction between the inner wall of guiding holes 44, 46
and the string threading therethrough will be largely reduced. As a
result, the tension among the string chords of the sweet zone
produced during impacting a shuttlecock can be smoothly
transmitted.
[0026] FIGS. 4-6 show a further alternative stringing means 50
embodied according to the present invention. In this embodiment,
stringing means 50 is an independent device secured on throat 82 of
badminton racket 80. Stringing means 50 includes a block body 51
made of lightweight materials, such as FRP, aluminum, titanium or
other metallic alloys. Block body 51 has a top surface 52, a bottom
surface 54 and side surface 56, 58.
[0027] Stringing means 50 further includes a pair of guiding holes
60, 62 and a guiding channel 64. Guiding holes 60, 62 is disposed
on body 51 and spaced apart in a distance "d" and extend from top
surface 52 to bottom surface 58. The distance "d" is equal to the
distance of a pair of upper string holes (not shown in the
drawings) of badminton racket 80 to which guiding holes 60, 62
correspond. Guiding channel 64 is also disposed on body 51 and has
a pair of opposing open ends connected respectively with each of
guiding holes 60, 62.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, stringing means 50
is secured on top surface 822 of throat 82 of badminton racket 80
by two screws 70, 72 screwing into a pair of through holes 66, 68
disposed on body 51. Each of guiding holes 60, 62 preferably has an
opened side 602 , 622 so that an U-shaped stringing channel can be
formed on body 51 for being easily threaded through.
[0029] When badminton racket 80 is constructed to have stringing
means 50 secured on throat 82 thereof, as shown in FIG. 6, string
100 coming from top string hole will extend in parallel with
longitudinal axis of the head of the racket to enter into guiding
hole 60 from opened end 602, then form a loop 102 received on
curved bearing surface 642, and then pass out from opened end 622
of guiding hole 62, lastly extend in parallel with longitudinal to
the top string hole. Thus, the two major longitudinal string chords
located on the sweet zone of the stringed hitting surface of the
badminton racket 80 will extend in parallel with the longitudinal
axis of the head of the racket 80 rather than extend at an angle
therewith. Therefore, the objects or advantages of the present
invention are achieved.
* * * * *