Racket Guard

Abstract

A racket guard formed from a sturdy, durable, lightweight, yet flexible, material, such as a thermoplastic urethane, can be mounted on the distal end of a sports racket without the use of fasteners to protect the frame of the racket from accidental impacts, such as against the playing surface, during use of the sports racket. The cross-sectional shape of the racket guard is an oval configuration with an outer band that overlies the frame and includes side walls and inwardly directed flanges that terminate in a spaced relationship defining a gap through which the frame can pass by flexing the flanges. The racket guard is preferably sized to cover about 180 degrees of the sports racket to provide protection for the sides of the frame. The lightweight racket guard does not serve as a weight or as a dampening device. If damaged, the racket guard is easily removed and replaced.

Claims

1. A racket guard for mounting on a distal end of a sports racket frame, comprising: an arcuate integral body including an outer panel, a pair of opposing side walls extending from opposing lateral ends of said outer panel, and a pair of flanges extending inwardly toward one another from the corresponding said side walls to terminate in a spaced relationship forming a gap therebetween, and a cavity between said side walls, flanges and outer panel into which said sports racket frame can be received, said integral body being formed of a plastic material that will allow the flanges to diverge from one another and increase the size of the gap when forced around the sports racket frame to allow passage of said sports racket frame into said cavity, said plastic material permitting said gap to return toward said spaced relationship and encapsulate the distal end of said sports racket frame within said cavity.

2. The racket guard of claim 1 wherein said plastic material is a thermoplastic urethane.

3. The racket guard of claim 2 wherein said thermoplastic urethane has a material thickness of between 0.03 inch and 0.08 inch.

4. The racket guard of claim 1 wherein said arcuate shape of said integral body and the capture of said racket frame within said cavity enables the racket guard to retain position on the distal end of said racket frame without utilizing fasteners connecting the racket frame to said racket guard.

5. The racket guard of claim 1 wherein said gap between the terminal ends of said flanges is of sufficient size to accommodate the passage of racket strings to said racket frame positioned within said cavity.

6. The racket guard of claim 1 wherein said sports racket frame is part of a tennis racket.

7. A tennis racket comprising: a frame supporting strings arranged in orthogonal directions and terminating in a generally linear handle incorporating a grip, said frame having an arcuate distal end remote from said grip; a racket guard detachably mounted on the distal end of said frame without the use of mechanical fasteners, said racket guard having an arcuate integral body matching the arcuate distal end of said frame and including an outer panel, a pair of opposing side walls extending from opposing lateral ends of said outer panel, and a pair of flanges extending inwardly toward one another from the corresponding said side walls to terminate in a spaced relationship forming a gap therebetween, and a cavity between said side walls, flanges and outer panel into which said sports racket frame can be received.

8. The tennis racket of claim 7 wherein said integral body is formed of a plastic material that will allow the flanges to diverge from one another and increase the size of the gap when forced around the tennis racket frame to allow passage of said tennis racket frame into said cavity, said plastic material permitting said gap to return toward said spaced relationship and encapsulate the distal end of said tennis racket frame within said cavity.

9. The tennis racket of claim 8 wherein said plastic material is a thermoplastic urethane.

10. The tennis racket of claim 9 wherein said thermoplastic urethane has a material thickness of between 0.03 inch and 0.08 inch.

11. The tennis racket of claim 7 wherein said arcuate shape of said integral body and the capture of said racket frame within said cavity enables the racket guard to retain position on the distal end of said racket frame without utilizing fasteners connecting the racket frame to said racket guard.

12. The tennis racket of claim 7 wherein said gap between the terminal ends of said flanges is of sufficient size to accommodate the passage of racket strings to said racket frame positioned within said cavity.

13. An apparatus mountable on a frame of a sports racket to protect the sports racket frame from damage when the racket is impacted with a playing surface, comprising: a racket guard detachably mounted on the distal end of said frame without the use of mechanical fasteners, said racket guard having an arcuate integral body matching the arcuate distal end of said frame and including an outer panel, a pair of opposing side walls extending from opposing lateral ends of said outer panel, and a pair of flanges extending inwardly toward one another from the corresponding said side walls to terminate in a spaced relationship forming a gap therebetween, and a cavity between said side walls, flanges and outer panel into which said sports racket frame can be received.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said integral body is formed of a plastic material that will allow the flanges to diverge from one another and increase the size of the gap when forced around the sports racket frame to allow passage of said sports racket frame into said cavity, said plastic material permitting said gap to return toward said spaced relationship and encapsulate the distal end of said sports racket frame within said cavity.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said plastic material is a thermoplastic urethane.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said thermoplastic urethane has a material thickness of between 0.03 inch and 0.08 inch.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said arcuate shape of said integral body and the capture of said racket frame within said cavity enables the racket guard to retain position on the distal end of said racket frame without utilizing fasteners connecting the racket frame to said racket guard.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said gap between the terminal ends of said flanges is of sufficient size to accommodate the passage of racket strings to said racket frame positioned within said cavity.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said sports racket frame is part of a tennis racket.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a representative tennis racket having a racket guard incorporating the principles of the instant invention mounted thereon;

[0029] FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic elevational view of the racket guard shown in FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the racket guard corresponding to lines 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

[0031] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the racket guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a racket guard incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. FIG. 1 depicts a representative tennis racket having a racket guard 10 mounted on the distal end of the racket R. One skilled in the art will recognize that the representative racket R could be any sports racket, including, but not limited to, a tennis racket, a paddle ball racket, a squash racket, a pickle ball racket, and a badminton racket, which are exposed to being impacted into a non-yielding object, including the playing court. The purpose of the racket guard 10 is to overlie the outside surface of the frame F of the racket R, as well as the sides S of the frame F, and protect the frame F from being damaged by impacts to the frame F. One skilled in the art will recognize that the racket R has a head H that incorporates the frame F and terminates in a handle having a grip G by which the racket R is used to play games such as tennis or pickle ball.

[0033] As is best seen in FIGS. 2-4, the racket guard 10 preferably covers about 180 degrees of the racket frame F corresponding to the distal end of the racket R. The cross-sectional shape of the racket guard 10 is somewhat of an oval with an outer band 11 to overlie the outside surface of the frame F, a pair of opposing side walls 12 extending from the outer band 11, and a pair of inwardly directed flanges 13 integrally directed from the side walls 12 to terminate in a spaced relationship on opposing sides of the strings S spanning the frame F of the racket R, defining a gap 15 between the terminal ends of the flanges 13. The relationship between the side walls 12 and the flanges 13 enables the flanges 13 to bend outwardly sufficiently to pass over the width of the frame F and allow the racket guard 10 to be mounted onto the distal end of the frame F. The flanges 13 return to their normal position after being placed onto the frame F to secure the racket guard on the racket R.

[0034] Preferably, the racket guard 10 is formed from a thermoplastic urethane, or other similar material, having a preferable thickness in the range of 0.03 to 0.08 inch, providing a sturdy, yet flexible, structure that does not require a fastener to be secured to the frame F of the racket R. The arcuate shape of the racket guard 10 is shaped to match the oval curvature of the racket frame F, which helps to keep the racket guard 10 in position on the distal end of the frame F during play with the racket R. The overall weight of the racket guard 10 is minimal compared to the weight of the racket R, so that the racket guard 10 does not serve as a weight or dampening device on the racket R.

[0035] Installation of the racket guard 10 is accomplished by wedging the frame F of the racket R into the gap 15 at one end of the racket guard 10, forcing the flanges apart so that the width of the frame F can pass through the gap 15 and into the cavity defined by the outer band 11, side walls 12 and flanges 13. Once the end of the racket frame F has been positioned into the aforesaid cavity, further installation is accomplished by pressing along the arcuate length of the racket guard 10, spreading the flanges 13 to widen the gap 15 and allow the entry of the frame F into the aforesaid cavity along the entire arcuate length of the racket guard 10. Once in proper position, the racket guard 10 extends around the distal end of the racket R from the 9 o'clock position to the 3 o'clock position, thus being in a balanced mounted position.

[0036] Removal of the racket guard 10 is accomplished in a similar manner. One end of the racket guard 10 is pulled away from the racket frame F, expanding the size of the gap 15 until the frame F passes through the gap 15 allowing the racket guard 10 to be partially removed from the frame F. Pulling on the racket guard 10 while holding the racket R in a stable position, permits the entire racket guard 10 to be removed along the arcuate length of the distal end of the racket R.

[0037] One skilled in the art will recognize that the racket guard 10 can be formed in any color or pattern and/or be emblazoned with a sponsor logo to permit color coordination as desired and to earn an additional revenue source through corporate advertising. Once mounted onto the distal end of the racket R, an accidental impact of the distal end of the racket R with a solid structure, like the playing court, will be absorbed by the racket guard 10 protecting the distal end of the racket R, and the outer surface of the frame F. In this manner, the operative life of sports rackets can be extended without requiring repairs or replacements.

[0038] It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiments of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.