STRINGS FOR A TENNIS RACKET

Abstract

A tennis racket carries strings which have a material applied thereto which provides the strings with a tacky surface. In some forms the material can be a solution or a dry adhesive. In other forms the material can be hook-like which engages the loop-like surface of a tennis ball. As such, a tennis ball can be struck creating more RPM to impart spin to the ball.

Claims

1. A tennis racket comprising a frame, a plurality of strings carried by said frame, and a material applied to said strings to improve the coefficient of friction of said strings thereby improving the striking ability of the racket.

2. The tennis racket of claim 1 wherein said material includes a rosin.

3. The tennis racket of claim 2 wherein said material includes an abrasive material.

4. The tennis racket of claim 1 wherein said material includes an array of hooks which are adapted to grip the surface of a tennis ball.

5. A method of manufacturing strings for a tennis racket comprising the steps of applying a material to the strings thereby increasing the coefficient of friction of the strings and improving the results of the strings engaging a tennis ball by imparting spin to the tennis ball.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the material includes a rosin.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the material includes an abrasive material.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the material includes an array of hooks which are adapted to grip the surface of a tennis ball.

9. An apparatus to be used for a tennis racket comprising a plurality of strings, and a material applies to said strings which improves the coefficient of friction of said strings thereby increasing the possibility of imparting spin to a ball when striking the ball.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the material includes a rosin.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the material includes an abrasive material.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said material includes an array of hooks which are adapted to grip the surface of a tennis ball.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tennis racket having a material sprayed thereon to increase the coefficient of friction of the strings.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tennis racket having an alternative material carried by the strings to increase the coefficient of friction of the strings.

[0016] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the encircled portion of FIG. 2.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0017] A tennis racket made in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10 in the figure. Racket 10 includes a handle 11 which carries a frame 12. The frame 12 carries a plurality of strings 13 which are tautly stretched within the frame 12. Strings 13 can be made of a material typically used for tennis strings such as nylon, cut gut, polyester or the like.

[0018] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, strings 13 are provided with an outer material that improves the coefficient of the friction of the strings and effectively renders them tacky. One type of material would consist of a hydrogenated rosin such as that sold under the trademark STAYBELITE by Pinova, Inc. of Brunswick, Ga. Such a rosin can be incorporated into a paste or a spray such as the Mueller Stickum paste or Mueller Stickum Spray Grip Enhancer sold by Mueller Sports Medicine, Inc. of Prairie du Sac, Wis.

[0019] These or equivalent materials, may be applied to the strings in a number of ways. For example, with the material in a gel form, such could be provided in a tube with some type of applicator, such as a sponge, so that when the tube is squeezed, the material saturates the sponge. Alternately, a roll-on ball type mechanism could be provided. Or most simply, a towelette could be saturated with the material so that it could be rubbed onto the strings. If the material is in a liquid form, it could be provided as an aerosol spray to be applied to the strings as shown in the figure where a canister 14 is used to spray material 15 onto the strings. Whatever the form of dispensing, such provides the strings 13 with a tacky feeling and yet, when dried, the material will not be transferred to a tennis ball when it is struck. But when a ball is struck, the presence of the material enhances the RPM of an airborne ball increasing the possibility of imparting a desirable spin to the ball.

[0020] To even further increase the coefficient of friction of the strings and to further enhance the ability to spin the ball, the material can include a grit or other abrasive particles which provide the strings with roughness in addition to tackiness. Such a grit could simply be in the form of a sand.

[0021] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a dry adhesive could be applied to strings 13. Such could use the technology of Nanograiptech of Pittsburgh Pa. This adhesive could be extruded onto the strings to provide the required coefficient of friction increase. The advantage of this alternative is that there is no possibility of a residue of the product being transferred to a tennis ball.

[0022] Another aspect of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this embodiment an array of VELCRO-like micro-hooks 16 are provided to generally coat the strings. Since tennis balls are made of a felt-like material, such provides the loops to be temporarily gripped by hooks 16 to enhance the ability of the user of the racket 10 to impart spin to the tennis ball

[0023] In view of the forgoing description, it should be evident that a tennis racket and the tennis racket strings described herein accomplish the objects of the invention and substantially improve the art.