Racket stringing apparatus with cross string aid

Abstract

A first improvement to racket stringing machines, for the sport racquets in badminton, tennis, racquetball, and squash/etc. sports, includes a tensioning of two opposite strings with one string tensioning mechanism. A movable base for the racket mounting mechanism is used to link the two ends of tensioning mechanism together and achieve the object to string two strings with one action of string tensioning mechanism. A second improvement is specific for the drop weight tensioning method and includes a moving of the support frame of the drop weight, instead of the rotating the drop weight. A third improvement includes a cross-stringing aid for weaving the cross string during the stringing process. Each of these improvements, either alone or together, are believed to speed up the stringing process so that it is much faster than convention stringing equipment.

Claims

1. A stringing apparatus for a racket, comprising: a common platform base; a movable racket mounting system disposed on the common platform base; a linkage mechanism disposed between the racket mounting system and the common platform base; a tensioning head disposed on one side of the movable racket mounting system; and a standing fixed clamp disposed on another side of the movable racket mounting system, wherein the movable racket mounting system is a movable or float mechanism configured to transfer a tension force from one side of a racket to another side of a racket, wherein the movable racket mounting system is configured to pull a racket disposed on the racket mounting system toward the tensioning head and pull a string disposed between the racket and the standing clamp to cause an increased tensioning of the string.

2. A stringing apparatus for a racket, comprising: a common platform base; a movable racket mounting system disposed on the common platform base; a linkage mechanism disposed between the racket mounting system and the common platform base; a tensioning head disposed on one side of the movable racket mounting system; and a standing fixed clamp disposed on another side of the movable racket mounting system, wherein the movable racket mounting system includes a plurality of rolling balls or wheels.

3. A stringing apparatus for a racket, comprising: a common platform base; a movable racket mounting system disposed on the common platform base; a linkage mechanism disposed between the racket mounting system and the common platform base; a tensioning head disposed on one side of the movable racket mounting system; and a standing fixed clamp disposed on another side of the movable racket mounting system, wherein the standing fixed clamp is disposed on the common platform base and configured to secure a string of a racket on a side of the movable racket mounting adjacent the standing fixed clamp, and the tensioning head is disposed on the common platform base and configured to hold the string of the racket on a side of the movable racket mounting system adjacent the tensioning head and to apply tension to the string.

4. A stringing apparatus for a racket, comprising: a common platform base; a movable racket mounting system disposed on the common platform base; a linkage mechanism disposed between the racket mounting system and the common platform base; a tensioning head disposed on one side of the movable racket mounting system; a standing fixed clamp disposed on another side of the movable racket mounting system; and a movable plate disposed between the racket mounting system and the common platform base, the movable plate being movable along one direction linearly relative to the racket mounting system and the common platform base, wherein the tensioning head and the standing fixed clamp are disposed on the movable plate.

5. A stringing apparatus for a racket, comprising: a common platform base; a movable racket mounting system disposed on the common platform base; a linkage mechanism disposed between the racket mounting system and the common platform base; a tensioning head disposed on one side of the movable racket mounting system; a standing fixed clamp disposed on another side of the movable racket mounting system; and a drop weight mechanism having: a movable support frame on which the tensioning head is disposed; and a drop weight/bar string tension mechanism disposed on the tensioning head, wherein the movable support frame is configured to permit a change to a relative effective distance between the racket mounting system and the drop weight/bar string tension mechanism to achieve a leveling horizontal position of the drop weight/bar.

6. The stringing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the drop weight mechanism further comprises a motor actuator configured to selectively and linearly move the support frame.

7. The stringing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the support frame and the motor actuator are disposed on a common platform base.

8. The stringing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the support frame is slidably disposed on a rail affixed to an upper surface of the common platform base.

9. The stringing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the drop weight mechanism further comprises a control circuit system in electrical communication with the motor actuator and configured to operate the motor actuator.

10. The stringing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit system is in electrical communication with a DC power supply.

11. The stringing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control circuit system includes a start-stop switch configured to control an actuation of the motor actuator, and a toggle switch configured to control a direction of movement of the support frame by the motor actuator.

Description

DRAWINGS

(1) The above, as well as other advantages of the present disclosure, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, particularly when considered in the light of the drawings described hereafter.

(2) FIG. 1 is side elevational view of a manual stringing device of the prior art, for use in stringing a racket;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-stringing method of the prior art for assistant of cross string installation;

(4) FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a stringing device according to a first embodiment of the first improvement of the present disclosure, for use in stringing a racket;

(5) FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a stepwise process for stringing of the racket using the stringing device shown in FIG. 3;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a stringing device according to a second embodiment of the first improvement of the present disclosure, for use in stringing a racket;

(7) FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a stepwise process for stringing of the racket using the stringing device shown in FIG. 5;

(8) FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a drop weight mechanism of the prior art, for use with the stringing device shown in FIG. 1;

(9) FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of a drop weight mechanism according to a first embodiment of the second improvement of the present disclosure, for use with the stringing device shown in FIG. 3;

(10) FIG. 9A includes multiple side elevational views of the drop weight mechanism illustrated in FIG. 8, shown in various stages of operation;

(11) FIG. 9B includes additional side elevational views of the drop weight mechanism illustrated in FIG. 8, shown in various stages of operation;

(12) FIG. 10 includes a pair of side elevational views of the drop weight mechanism illustrated in FIG. 8, and further shows a schematic of a circuit for use with drop weight mechanism;

(13) FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pre-weaved pattern on tubes device according to a first embodiment of the third improvement of the present disclosure;

(14) FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the pre-weaved pattern on tubes device shown in FIG. 11, with the main strings installed through the tubes on a racket;

(15) FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the pre-weaved pattern on tubes device shown in FIG. 11, with the main strings in position and the tubes being removing;

(16) FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the pre-weaved pattern on tubes device shown in FIG. 11, with the tube device removed through cut slot, the main string in position, and the cross string being hooked;

(17) FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the pre-weaved pattern on tubes device shown in FIG. 11, with the cross string pulled through the main strings; and

(18) FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the pre-weaved pattern on tubes device shown in FIG. 11, with the main strings and the cross string completed.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

(19) The following description of reference numbers in the drawings is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

(20) 100Stringing machine;

(21) 102Common platform base for stringing machine;

(22) 104Racket mounting system;

(23) 106First type of linkage mechanism between the common platform base and the racket mounting system;

(24) 108Tensioning head;

(25) 110Standing fixed clamp;

(26) 112Racket;

(27) 114String

(28) 116Movable plate for the tensioning head and standing clamp;

(29) 118Second type of linkage mechanism for the second embodiment of the first improvement;

(30) 120Fixed support frame for drop weight tensioning mechanism;

(31) 200Drop weight tensioning mechanism;

(32) 202Linearly movable support frame for the drop weight tensioning mechanism;

(33) 204Motor actuator;

(34) 206Control circuit system for the actuator;

(35) 208Rail for the linearly movable support frame of the drop weight tensioning mechanism;

(36) 210Drop weight for the drop weight tensioning mechanism;

(37) 212Drop weight bar;

(38) 214DC power supply;

(39) 216Toggle switch;

(40) 218Stop switch for the drop weight bar;

(41) 300Pre-weaved pattern;

(42) 302Cut pipes or tubes;

(43) 304Assistant strings;

(44) 306Main string; and

(45) 308Cross strings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(46) The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should also be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. In respect of the methods disclosed, the order of the steps presented is exemplary in nature, and thus, is not necessary or critical unless otherwise disclosed.

(47) Section 1: The First Improvements of the Present DisclosureTensioning the Two Strings in the Opposite Direction Simultaneously:

(48) For the first improvement, referring to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure as disclosed in the drawing at FIGS. 3-6, the basic components of stringing machine 100 of the present disclosure includes a common platform base 102, a movable racket mounting system 104, a linkage mechanism 106 between the racket mounting system 104 and the common platform base 102, a tensioning head 108 and a standing fixed clamp 110.

(49) The common platform base 102 is the base for the stringing machine 100. All the other components will be either installed on it at fixed location or situated on it. The racket mounting system 104 will be on the top of the common platform base 102 and in its center. Under the racket mounting system 104, there are several rolling balls or wheels, which make the racket mounting system 104 movable on the common platform base 102. The linkage mechanism 106 will be used to limit the movement of the racket mounting system 104 in only in certain rotation and linear direction. The tensioning head 108 will be fixed on one end and the standing fixed clamp 110 will be in the other end on the common platform base 102 across its center.

(50) The operation of the stringing machine 100 of the present disclosure is described as following, referring to the FIGS. 3-6. After a string 114 is threaded through a grommet holes on the racket 112, and out of the racket 112, the string 114 will be clamped on the standing fixed clamp 110, and the other end of the string 114 will be threaded through the opposite grommet hole of the racket, then installed on the tensioning head 108 with the string grip.

(51) This process is shown in FIG. 4 with a starting position (top), an intermediate position (middle), and a final position (bottom). When it is ready, as shown in the top starting position of FIG. 4, the tensioning head 108 will apply tension on the string 114 on the tensioning head 108 side by pulling the string 114. Since the racket mounting system 104 is movable, this tensioning force will pull the racket 112 together with the racket mounting system 104 moving toward to the tensioning head 108. This movement of the racket mounting system 104 will pull the string 114 between the racket 112 and the standing fixed clamp 110 and cause the tension of the string 114 to increase. As shown in the middle intermediate position, the string 114 between the racket 112 and the tensioning head 108 (right side) is shortened, and the string 114 between the standing fixed clamp 110 and the racket 112 (left side) is elongated. The final static balanced position, shown in the bottom final position in FIG. 4, will be reached when the desired string tension between the tensioning head 108 and the racket 112 is achieved. At this final position, the string 114 between the racket 112 and the tensioning head 108 will be even shorter with the desired tension, and the string 114 between the standing fixed clamp 110 and the racket 112 will be getting further longer with tension that is very close to the desired tension. The string tension between the racket 112 and the stranding fixed clamp 110 should be very close to the desired tension by the tensioning head 108. The difference is the friction force between the racket mounting system 104 and the common platform base 102, which could be reduced by good design of the moving mechanism of the racket mounting system 104. At this point, the string tension on the racket 112 could be held by the clamps, de-grip the strings from the string tension mechanism and the standing fixed clamp 110, rotate the racket mounting system 104 a small angle to face to the next string, and continue to another pair strings.

(52) There are several advantages of the present disclosure over the prior art. The first is to tension the two opposite strings with one action of the tensioning head 108. This will save time over doing it one by one. The second is the racket mounting system 104 does not need to be rotated 180 degrees for every string. It only needs to rotate a small angle for next pair of strings. The maximum rotation angle may be about 45 degrees only. The third is due to the nature of doing each type action (i.e., string grip, threading string through grommet holes, and clamping string to holding tension) by pairs, this will save time for stringer.

(53) The second embodiment of the first improvement is shown in FIG. 5. Here the racket mounting system 104 is only rotatable on the common platform base of stringing machine 102. A movable plate 116 is used to hold the standing fixed clamp 110 and the tensioning head 108. The movable plate 116 is movable along one direction linearly relative to the racket mounting system 104 and the common platform base 102. The same result is achieved as the first embodiment as described hereinabove.

(54) The stringing process for the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 6, with a starting position (top), an intermediate position (middle), and a final position (bottom). When stringing, the movable plate 116 moves to achieve the tension the both strings 114 at the same time. But the racket 112 and the racket mounting system 104 stands still at its position. The result of this embodiment is same as the first embodimenttensioning two strings by one action of tensioning head 108.

(55) The main purpose of the movable racket mounting system 104 of first embodiment or the movable plate 116 base for the string tensioning mechanism of the second embodiment is to transfer the tensioning force from the side of the string tensioning mechanism to the opposite side of the racket 112. This is different to the prior art, in which the tensioning force from the tensioning head is against the fixed racket or racket mounting system. So, it can only tension one string at a time. Any other design considerations are possible only if it can transfer the tensioning force from one side of racket to the other side of the racket when it is on the racket mounting mechanism. It could be a hard linkage on any location (side of the racket mounting mechanism, top of the racket mounting mechanism, and/or even linkage by soft link method).

(56) Section 2: The Second Improvements of the Present DisclosureLinearly Moveable Support Frame for the Drop Weight:

(57) For the second improvements, referring to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as disclosed in FIGS. 8-10, the stringing machine of the present disclosure includes a common platform base 102, a racket mounting system 104, a drop weight mechanism 200, a linearly movable support frame 202 for the drop weight, a motor actuator 204, and a control circuit system 206 for the motor.

(58) For this improvement, the common platform base and the racket mounting system 104 is same as the prior art. The racket mounting system 104 is at the fixed location on the common platform base 102. The main changes are the linearly movable support frame 202 for the drop weight mechanism 200, compared to the fixed support frame for the drop weight mechanism in the prior art. The motion of the movable support frame 202 could be controlled by any mechanical mechanism along the direction of moving toward to or away from the racket mounting system. But in this embodiment, the electric motor actuator 204 is used to achieve the best result for the design.

(59) The operation of the stringing machine with this improvement of the present disclosure is described as following, referring to the FIGS. 9-10. The stringing process in both FIG. 9a and FIG. 9b is shown in three positions: the starting position at the top; the intermediate position at middle; and the final position at bottom. After the string is threaded through grommet hole and installed on the pulley of the drop weight and gripped, as shown at the top starting position in both FIG. 9a and FIG. 9b, the drop weight bar will be manually rotated away from the racket mounting system 104. When it is free, depending on the string length between the racket mounting system 104 and the drop weight, the drop weight bar will be stopped at either above the horizontal position (middle intermediate position in FIG. 9a) or below the horizontal position (middle intermediate position in FIG. 9b) at the balanced point between the drop weight and the tension of the string 114. If it is above the horizontal position (middle in FIG. 9a), the toggle switch 216 for the electric motor actuator 204 will be toggled to move the support frame 202 of the drop weight 200 toward to the racket mounting system 104. This movement of the support frame 202 of the drop weight 200 makes the drop weight gradually come down to the level position (bottom in FIG. 9a). If it is below the horizontal position (middle in FIG. 9b), the toggle switch 216 for the electric motor actuator 204 will be toggled to move the support frame 202 of the drop weight 200 away from the racket mounting system 104. Similar as above, but in the other direction, this movement of the support frame 202 of the drop weight 200 makes the drop weight gradually move up to the level position (bottom in FIG. 9b). In both cases, the electric motor actuator 204 will be stopped when the drop weight bar reaches to horizontal position. The desired tension on the string 114 should be achieved at this point.

(60) The circuit schematic of the current embodiment showing in the FIG. 10 is most basic controlling circuit design. The two drawings in FIG. 10 correspondence to the two starting positions: the drop weight at above the level position (top); and the drop weight at the below the level position (bottom). When the drop weight is at the above starting position (top), the toggle switch 216 will be toggled to the left so the motor will move the support frame 202 to the left direction and the drop weight will be come down gradually. When the drop weight/bar reaches the level position, the stop switch 218 will be touched, opening the circuit, and the motor will be stopped so the desired tension on string 114 is achieved. The operation for the drop weight below the level position (bottom) is similar, but in the opposite direction. In both cases, the drop weight will be at the level position at the final position and the string will be tensioned to the desired tension. Additional electronic components could be added to achieve a fully automatic one-touch operation of the tensioning process.

(61) The main advantage of this improvement to the drop weight tensioning method is to make the drop weight tensioning method easier to operate. So, the convenience of the advanced stringing machine could be achieved with a much lower cost. The other advantage is the constant pulling, especially compared to the instant pulling by the mechanical crank tensioning method.

(62) The other embodiment to move the support frame of the drop weight is to use a manual handle to manually rotate a thread and screw system with gears. It is simpler than the electric motor actuator with lower cost.

(63) The main principle for the drop weight tensioning method to work is to achieve three conditions simultaneously: the desired string tension, the drop weight bar at the horizontal position, and a certain string length between the racket and the drop weight pulley. All the prior art for the drop weight method is designed with a fixed distance between racket mounting system and the drop weight tensioning head. So, the length of string between the racket to the gripper must be adjusted by the manually re-adjust method or the clutch method to achieve the above three conditions simultaneously. The main difference of the present disclosure over the prior art is to have the drop weight system movable to achieve the above three conditions. The present disclosure has the distance between the racket mounting system and the drop weight system variable, instead the of fixed as in the prior art. The above embodiment of moving the support frame of the drop weight linearly is just one method to achieve this design principle. Other embodiments are possible

(64) In another embodiment, not shown, the support frame could be rotated around its base so the drop weight head will move toward to or away from racket mounting system. So, the same result as the above embodiment is achieved. In fact, according to the principle in the above paragraph, any method to change the distance between the racket/racket mounting system and drop weight tensioning head is feasible to get the same result mentioned above.

(65) Section 3: The Third Improvement of the Present DisclosureCross-stringing Aid:

(66) The third improvement of the present disclosure is for weaving the cross string. It will use the pre-weaved pattern of the assistant strings to help the weaving of the cross strings.

(67) Referring to FIGS. 11-16, the first embodiment of the third improvement of the present disclosure, involving the pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings, is shown. The assistant strings 304 are pre-weaved onto many cut pipes or tubes 302, which are used to hold the pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings 304. Each one of these pipes has an opening slot along its side. These opening slot (cut) are designed to be used when removing these pipes from main strings by slipping the main string through opening slot (cut). The pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings 304 goes under one pipe and then goes above the next pipe in the sinuous pattern until all the pipes are used. Then, the next assistant string goes to the same sinuous pattern, but in the opposite side of the pipe of the one before, or inverse phase like the sinuous wave. Then all of subsequent assistant strings 304 will follow same fashion to be pre-weaved on the pipes 302, as shown in FIG. 11.

(68) The number of the pipes 302 will equal the number of the main strings 306 of the racket, which is depending on the racket types, usually 16 or 18 for tennis racket and 22 for badminton racket. The number of the assistant strings 304 also depends on the type of racquet, and will be equal to the number of cross strings 308 of racket. For example, for most badminton racquets, the number of the assistant strings is 21 and for common tennis racquets, it is 18. The assistant string 304 could be just one string and this one assistant string 304 just goes back and forth a certain number of times in the pre-weaved pattern on to the pipes. Or there are multiple assistant strings 304 where each one only thread through the pipes/tubes 302 once.

(69) The pipes 302 used in the above embodiment are just like straws with an opening slot on its side, in the direction of pipe. The pipe 302 could be in a shape of other than being round. The size of the pipes 302 should be long enough to hold all the assistant strings 304, enough inside diameter to let the main string 306 to get through it, and small enough to fit into the spacing between the main strings. The material of the pipes 302 could be plastic or any others; however, plastic may be preferred due to cost and flexibility.

(70) The assistant strings 304 could be made in any materials. It should be flexible and small enough to get around the pipes 302. It could have hook or loop at its end so it would be easy to hoop or tie to the cross strings 308. The assistant string 304 could be one piece of string going back and forth on pipes 302 with adjunction one alternate up and down on the pipes. Also, the assistant strings 304 may be multiple piece short strings, each one of them just goes once with weaved pattern on the pipes 302.

(71) The operation or usage of the pre-weaved pattern 300 to help weaving the cross string 308 is in following. Referring FIGS. 11-16, when installing the main strings 306 on to the racket 112, after a main string is threaded through a grommet hole of the racket from outside of the racket 112 to inside of the racket 112, this main string will be threaded through of one end of a pipe of the pre-weaved pattern in the proper position and come out from another end of the same pipe, and then to the other grommet hole on the other side of the racket 112 from inside of the racket 112 to the outside of the racket 112. The position of this pipe should be same as the position of this main string on racket 112. Then the next main string will be installed in the same way. After all the main strings are threaded and installed on the racket 112, the pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings 304 with the pipes 302 should be on the racket 112 as show in FIG. 12.

(72) The next step is to remove the pipes 302 from the main strings 306 so the pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings 304 themselves will be on the racket 112. This can be done by sliding the pipes 302 on the main strings 306 along the longitude direction and keep the assistant strings 304 static on its original position, as shown in FIG. 13. After the pipes 302 are off the assistant strings 304, it can be taken off the main strings 306 by slipping through the slot opening along the pipes 302, not shown. The pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings 304 is then on the racket 112 with main strings 306 in position, either tensioned or not tensioned.

(73) Referring to FIGS. 14-16, when installing the cross strings 308, the assistant strings 304 with the pre-weaved pattern on the main strings 306 are used to help weaving the cross strings 308 through the main strings 306. After a cross string 308 is threaded through a grommet hole of one side of racket from outside of racket into the inside of the racket, this cross string 308 will be tied together with a free end of the assistant string 304 on the same side of the racket, as shown in FIG. 14. Then the other end of the assistant string 304 on the other side of racket will be pulled. During this pulling action of the assistant string 304, the assistant string 304 will come out of the weaving pattern of the main strings 306 on the racket and the cross string 308 will get pulled into the weaving pattern of the main strings 306 on the racket, as shown in FIG. 15. So, the weaving pattern of the assistant string 304 is now transferred to the cross string 308 tied together in the early step, as shown in FIG. 16. Then, the cross string 308 should be threaded through the grommet hole on racket from inside of the racket to the outside of the racket 112 and continuing to next one. This same process will be repeated for all the cross strings 308. When all the assistant strings 304 are pulled out of the main strings 306, the whole weaving pattern of the assistant strings 304 are transferred to the cross strings 308.

(74) The above process of transferring the pre-weaved pattern 300 of the assistant strings 304 to cross strings 308 could be done either before or after tensioning the main strings 306. It is preferred to be done before the tensioning of the main strings 306. If the main strings 306 are not tensioned when installing the cross strings 308, there is not much pressure between the main strings 306 and cross strings 308. So, the heat burning of the main strings 306 could be avoided. In another word, the special caution to move the cross string 308 around the man strings 306 is not necessary when pulling the cross strings 308. This also can save some time for the stringer.

(75) It should be appreciated that the above-mentioned first, second, and third improvements and their various embodiments may be employed individually, or in combinations with each other or with conventional racket stringing systems, and that all such individual uses and combinations are contemplated by the present disclosure.

(76) While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for purposes of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure, which is further described in the following appended claims.