US1961473A - Ping pong racket - Google Patents

Description

lNvENToR BY W Minka' Patented June 5, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE Application October 18,

5 Claims.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a racket for the playing of ping pong or other gaines, which will be light in weight, after the nature of the wooden rackets, now customarily employed, but free of the objectionable warping and other faulty characteristics of wooden rackets; also possessed ofthe desirable characteristics as to stiffness, flexibility and resiliency, durability, balance and handling qualities.

These and other desirable objects are attained by the novel features of construction, combinatic-ns and relations of parts hereinafter described and claimed and illustrated in the aci companying drawing.

The drawing being primarily for purposes of disclosure, it will be understood that the structure illustrated may be modified and changed, all within the true intent and broad scope of the claims.

Figs. l and 2 in the drawing are face and edge views respectively of one of the new rackets.

Fig. 3 is a broken enlarged vertical sectional View as on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. l is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail showing particularly the securing of the end of the binding strip.

In this invention, the blade or paddle portion 5 of the racket is made of thin sheet metal, such las a tempered aluminum alloy stock and this spring blade is given a degree of reinforcement across the widest portion of the same and adjoining its junction with the handle by suitable reinforcement blades or strips, such as those designated 6 and 7.

While the material used may vary, it has been found practical and desirable to use relatively thin strips of bakelite, overlying the opposite faces of the paddle, shaped to follow the edges j of the blade and extending up from the handle to a line at 8, adjacent the greatest width of the blade.

The handle is shown as made up in two parts 9, 10, of wood or the like, secured together by through bolts 11, over the intervening reduced handle portion 12 of the blade.

The handle members 9, 10, are shown as recessed at 13, to receive and t over the reinforcement strips 6, 7 and the upper screw 11 is shown in Figs. 1 and 3 as also passing through these reinforcement strips.

The inner ends 14 of the handle members are shown as beveled down toward the blade and the upper edges 15 of the reinforcement strips vare shown as similarly beveled in continuation 1932, serial No. 638,285 (ci. 273-76) of the handle bevel to serve as convenient rests and grips for the thumb and fingers at the front and back of the racket.

The active blade portion of the racket may be left uncovered or be covered, or treated in various ways.

In the illustration, the active blade portion is shown covered on each side with a layer 16 of the rubber such as customarily used on Wooden rackets.

These facing layers may be adhesively or otherwise suitably secured. To protect the edges and hence prevent the facing material from grad-. ually tearing or peeling away from the blade, there is provided in the illustration, a narrow binding strip 17 of U-shaped cross section, gripped over the edge of the blade and having widened end portions 18, caught in under the reinforcement pieces and secured by the through fastenings 19, which thus tie the end parts of the reinforcing strips together over the blade and to the ends of the binding strip, thus effecting the unification and reinforcement of the entire structure. The lower portions of the blade, where they curve inward to the handle, are indicated cut out at 20, to receive the back portions of the ends of the binding strip and thus make this strip flush in a continuous extension of the curving edges of the blade.

The facing material may be caught beneath the edges of the binding strip and the transverse reinforcements, but it has been found suflicient, for all practical purposes, simply to terminate the facings at these edges as indicated at 2l, so that the binding strip and the reinforcement blades, in effect, cover the edges of these layers, preventing access thereto of objects, such as would have the tendency of rubbing these layers loose from the blade.

The construction disclosed is light, non-warping and though possessed of certain resiliency and flexibility, is suilciently stiff and rigid for the purposes of the game. The transverse bracing strips, in addition to reinforcing and giving the desired stability to the blade, form an extension of the handle, enabling the racket to be gripped in various ways and used with greater dexterity. These bracing strips may be made as integral extensions of the handle pieces and they may project a greater or less extent than shown, depending upon the stiffness of the blade 'material and other features, so long as they impart the desired stability to the blade.

What is claimed is:

1. A racket for ping pong and other games,

comprising a thin metallic blade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handle and blade portions of the racket and of approximately the full width of the blade, said rein- 8 forcement including overlying strips at opposite faces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elements overlying the blade and said reinforcement strips and a binding strip eX- tending about the rim of the blade and having its ends secured between said reinforcement strips.

2. A racket for ping pong and other games, comprising a thin metallic blade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handle and blade portions of the racket and of approximately the full width of the blade, said reinforcement including overlying strips at opposite faces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elements overlying the blade and said reinforcement strips, abinding strip extending about therim of the blade and having its ends secured between said reinforcement strips and facing layers on said blades having their edges covered by said binding strip and reinforcement strips.

3. A racket for ping pong and other games, comprising a thin metallic blade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handle and blade portions of the racket and of approxiimately the full width of the blade, said reinforcement including overlying strips at opposite faces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elements overlying the blade and said reinforcement strips and a binding strip surrounding the rim of the blade and having its ends seated between the reinforcement strips, the blade being recessed to receive the ends of said binding strip in flush relation.

4. A racket for ping pong and other games, comprising a thin metallic blade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handle and blade portions of the racket and of approximately the full width of the blade, said reinforcement including overlying strips at opposite faces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elements overlying the blade and said reinforcement strips, a binding strip surrounding the rim of the blade and having its ends seated between the reinforcement strips, the blade being recessed to receive the ends of said binding strip in flush relation and fastenings extending through said reinforcement strips and interposed end portions of the binding strip.

5. A racket of the character disclosed, comprising a thin flexible non warping blade, a rigid stiff handle connected therewith and extensions projecting transversely from beneath said handle over opposite faces of the blade and extending in substantially straight lines from the handle to substantially the full width of the blade to i'mpart lateral stability to the base of the blade at the handle leaving the balance free to flex on a transverse axis determined by said transverse eX- tensions.

LOUIS E. BALTZLEY.

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