US3343838A

US3343838A - Cover and press for tennis rackets

Info

Publication number: US3343838A
Application number: US456146A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lucille F Baukney
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-05-17
Filing date: 1965-05-17
Publication date: 1967-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1984-09-26

Description

Sept. 26, 1967 F. BAUKNEY COVER AND PRESS FOR TENNIS RACKETS Filed May 17, 1965 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,343,838 COVER AND PRESS FOR TENNIS RACKETS Lucille F. Baukney, 1520 NE. 40th Court, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33308 Filed May 17, 1965, Ser. No. 456,146 Claims. (Cl. 27374) This invention relates to a combined cover and press for tennis rackets or similar articles of such nature as will protect the head of a tennis racket against elements and to also maintain the frame of the tennis racket against warping.

The invention contemplates a molded plastic cover that is shaped to conform to the general oval shape of the head of a tennis racket and with the cover being formed of relatively stiff plastic material that will avoid flexing and that will maintain the body of the tennis racket in a normal flat condition. The cover embodies an upper and lower spaced apart substantially fiat walls that are connected together around their major circumference by an edge wall and with the edge wall being terminated at one side to form an opening for the insertion of the head of the tennis racket and with the opening being covered and uncovered by hinged U-shaped cover that conforms to the curvature of the device and swingable to a closed overlapping position with respect to the upper and lower walls of the device.

The invention further comprises a tennis racket cover and press having substantially identical upper and lower walls that are spaced apart to define a chamber for the reception of the head of a tennis racket and with the upper and lower walls at spaced apart points being provided with depressions constituting clamping surfaces for the frame of the tennis racket head and with the depressions of the upper and lower faces being in opposed relation and with the depressions being yieldable to permit the insertion of the frame of the tennis racket therebetween so as to effectively clamp the tennis racket at substantially four points upon a tennis racket frame and with the cover being peripherally reinforced by a thickened wall and with the cover being formed open for a part of its circumference to permit the body of the tennis racket to be inserted into the chamber and engaged between a pair of opposed depressed elements and with the opening being closed by a hinged U-shape cover that conforms to the curvature of the cover and with the closure cover being also depressed to engage into an adjacent depression in the upper and lower covers.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device will be more clearly apparent during the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein has been illustrated a preferred form of the device and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a tennis racket cover and press illustrating the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an edge view of the device,

FIGURE 3 is a section taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a section taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a section taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 6 is a section taken substantially on line 6-6 of FIGURE 1.

Referring specifically to the drawings, there has been provided a tennis racket cover having upper and lower sheets of relatively stifi plastic 5 and 6, connected at their marginal edges by a vertical wall 7 that is provided with a molded reinforcing strip 8 extending for the major circumference of the device. The covers 5 and 6 are spaced apart as illustrated, to form a chamber 9 therebetween and each of the sheets 5 and 6 are identically formed and provided with depressed areas 10, 11, '12 and 13 and these depressed areas project into the chamber 9 and, being in opposed relation with respect to the sheets 5 and 6, constitute clamping elements for the frame F of the tennis racket and the depressed areas 10-13 are yieldable to permit the frame of the tennis racket to be forced therebetween to substantially hold the frame of the tennis racket against warping. The side wall 7 and the rib 8 are cut away at one side of the cover, forming an opening 14 for a substantial part of the cover to permit the insertion of the frame F of the cover therethrough to be engaged by the depressed areas 10-13.

A generally U-shaped cover 15 is adapted to overlie the opening 14, see particularly FIGURES 1 and 6. The cover 15 is curved to conform to the curvature of the tennis racket cover and terminates adjacent a rear opening 16, employed to receive the handle 17 of the tennis racket. The sides 18 of the cover 15 overlie the marginal areas of the upper and lower sheets 5 and 6 and connected together by a wall 19. The sides 18 are also depressed as indicated at 20 and, when the closure cover is in the closed position, engages within the depressed area 13, see particularly FIGURES 1 and 6. The closure cover 15 is hingedly connected to a marginal body of the racket cover by a pin 21.

In the use of the device, the closure cover 15 is swung to the open position shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1, exposing the edge opening 14 of the racket cover and the tennis racket frame F is then inserted through the opening 14 in an angle direction, also shown in FIGURE 1 and is shifted into the chamber wall 19, with the frame F of the tennis racket being forcibly engaged between the inwardly projecting depressed areas 1013. The racket is then swung sidewise, disposing the handle '17 into the opening 16 and it should be pointed out, that the opening 14 also communicates with the opening 16. With the tennis racket being positioned in its cover as shown in FIG- URE 1, the closure cover is then swung inwardly, causing its depressed area to have snapping engagement into the depressed area 13 where to be effectively held against accidental opening.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a very novel tennis racket cover and press has been provided. The device may be suitably molded from plastic and con stitutes a weather-proof support for the racket. In the molding of the sheets 5 and 6, the depressed areas 10-13 are formed therein and spaced apart as clearly shown in FIGURE 1, being so arranged that when the racket is fully engaged, the frame of the racket will be suitably clamped between the several inwardly depressed areas 10-13. The device is strong, durable, cheap to manufacture and most effective for protecting a tennis racket against the elements and to hold the frame of the racket in a true oval position against warping.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, but that changes are contemplated as readily fall within the spirit of the invention as shall be determined by the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A molded plastic combined cover and press for tennis rackets that comprises a cover that is shaped to conform to the curvature of the head portion of a tennis racket, the cover embodying a pair of spaced apart walls of substantially oval shape that are connected together by an integral marginal wall, the spacing of the walls defining a chamber for the reception of the head of the tennis racket, the cover terminating at one end in a reduced throat opening adapted to embrace the handle of the tennis racket, the cover being provided with an etchgated opening at one marginal edge whereby the head of the racket may be inserted into the cover, the elongated opening also extending through the throat opening and a pivoted closure for the elongated opening, each of the side walls being indented to yieldably engage the frame of the tennis racket to maintain the frame against warping.

2. A combined tennis racket cover and frame press that comprises a molded plastic housing of generally oval shape in top plan and that consists of a pair of plate sections that are spaced apart in accordance with the thickness of the tennis racket head, the plates being connected together at their marginal edges by a reinforced wall that is integral with the plates, the spacing of the plates in their spaced apart relation defining an open chamber, the plates at one end being provided with an opening to receive a portion of the handle of the tennis racket, the integral wall for a portion of the marginal edges of the plates being cut away to form an elongated opening for the insertion of the head tennis racket and with the opening communicating with the opening for the handle of the racket and a pivoted closure device for the marginal opening that is of U-shape to overlie and underlie, respectively, the upper and lower plates, and means carried by the closure that has snapping engagement with the plates.

3. The structure according to claim 2 wherein the plates at spaced apart points are pressed inwardly to form yieldable presses for the reception of the head of the tennis racket and with the walls of the closure device being pressed inwardly in alignment with the inwardly pressed area of the upper and lower plates and whereby to have a snapping engagement into the pressed areas at one side of the device and to retain the cover in a closed position.

4. The structure according to claim 2 wherein the upper and lower plates are molded inwardly to project into the chamber from the upper and lower sides of the device and whereby the frame of the tennis racket is yieldably engaged between the inward projections to yieldably clamp the tennis racket frame therebetween.

5. A combined tennis racket cover and press that comprises a pair of spaced apart plates of generally oval shape and with the plates forming a chamber therebetween, the plates around their marginal edges being connected together by a marginal wall that is reinforced, the upper and lower plates being inwardly molded at spaced apart points to form clamps for the head of the tennis racket, a portion of the. marginal wall of the plates being omitted to form an elongated opening and with the opening communicating with an opening at one end of the plates for the reeeption of a handle of the tennis racket, the elongated opening being covered and uncovered by a U-shaped cover that is shaped to conform to the curvature of the head of the cover, the cover being pivotally connected at one end of the elongated opening and swingable toward and from the plates and to overlie the upper and lower plates, the cover being depressed to have snapping engagement into one of the depressed areas of the plates whereby to maintain the cover in a closed position, the several depressed areas of the plates adapted to yieldably engage a frame of the tennis racket at spaced apart points to mintain the frame of the racket against warping.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,203,786 11/1916 Ricords 273-74 1,620,072 3/1927 Chase 27374 FOREIGN PATENTS 421,302 12/1934 Great Britain.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

R. J. APLEY, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A MOLDED PLASTIC COMBINED COVER AND PRESS FOR TENNIS RACKETS THAT COMPRISES A COVER THAT IS SHAPED TO CONFORM TO THE CURVATURE OF THE HEAD PORTION OF A TENNIS RACHET, THE COVER EMBODYING A PAIR OF SPACED APART WALLS OF SUBSTANTIALLY OVAL SHAPE THAT ARE CONNECTED TOGETHER BY AN INTEGRAL MARGINAL WALL, THE SPACING OF THE WALLS DEFINING A CHAMBER FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE HEAD OF THE TENNIS RACKET, THE COVER TERMINATING AT ONE IN A REDUCED THROAT OPENING ADAPTED TO EMBRACE THE HANDLE OF THE TENNIS RACKET MAY BE COVER BEING PROVIDED WITH AN ELONGATED OPENING AT A MARGINAL EDGE WHEREBY THE HEAD OF THE RACKET MAY BE INSERTED INTO THE COVER, THE ELONGATED OPENING ALSO EXTENDING THROUGH THE THROAT OPENING AND A PIVOTED CLOSURE FOR THE ELONGATED OPENING, EACH OF THE SIDE WALLS BEING INDENTED TO YIELDABLY ENGAGE THE FRAME OF THE TENNIS RACKET TO MAINTAIN THE FRAME AGAINST WRAPING.