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Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring stringsRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Player Held And Powered, Nonmechanical Projector, Per Se, For Projecting Aerial Projectile By Striking; Part Thereof Or Accessory Therefor, Racket Or Paddle; Accessory Therefor (e.g., A Tennis Racket, Tennis Racket Press, Etc.), Having String Mounting Feature Other Than Mere Through-holes Lying In String PlaneSports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070123377, Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to sports racquets, for example tennis, squash, badminton, and racquetball racquets. Such racquets have a head portion containing an interwoven string bed, a handle, and a shaft portion connecting the head portion to the handle. [0002] Most high performance sports racquets have a frame molded from composite materials, e.g., a carbon fiber-reinforced resin. Holes for anchoring the ends of the strings are drilled through the frame after the racquet is molded. Plastic grommet pegs, which are formed on a grommet strip or bumper strip that rests against the outside surface of the frame, extend through the string holes to protect the strings from the sharp edges of the drilled holes. [0003] Proposals have been made to form string holes during the molding process. For example, commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,239 discloses a racquet made of two frame tubes, in which the string holes are formed during the molding process using a plurality of hole-forming pins positioned within the mold between the two tubes. Such racquet has the advantage that it does not require drilling holes through the material, which can weaken the frame. Moreover, the two tubes press against one another during molding, forming an interior support wall, which further strengthens and stiffens the racquet. [0004] Commonly owned PCT application WO 2004/075996 discloses another sports racquet in which the string holes are molded-in. In this racquet, however, pairs of adjacent conventional string holes are replaced with a single enlarged string hole, the opposite sides of which accommodate two strings. Such process allows the weight of the racquet head to be reduced and, as in the case of the '239 patent, tends to produce a frame which is stiffer and stronger than one in which string holes are drilled through the frame after molding. [0005] In racquet sports, there is no single ideal racquet. Different players need racquets with different playing characteristics. For example, beginners, intermediate players, and advanced players each tend to prefer racquets with different playing characteristics. Also, a player's choice of racquet tends to vary depending upon the player's type of swing and playing style. Serve-and-volley players may prefer racquets with far different playing characteristics than racquets preferred by baseline players. [0006] Once a racquet has been designed and built, it is difficult to alter its playing characteristics to any significant degree. Its overall weight, stiffness, balance, mass and polar moments of inertia, sweet spot, and coefficient of restitution are determined principally by the design of the frame, choice of material, the fiber orientation of the various plies of material forming the frame, and the number and placement of the string holes. The weight, balance, and moments of inertia can be modified to some degree by using special tapes positioned at certain racquet locations, or by attaching removable parts. However, such measures make the racquet heavier than its original design, which is normally undesirable. Moreover, the frame stiffness and the stringing pattern of the racquet cannot be changed after the racquet has been molded and the string holes formed. In order to substantially modify the playing characteristics of an existing racquet model, the racquet frame would have to be redesigned. [0007] In order to satisfy a range of player needs, manufacturers currently are forced to offer many different racquet models. It would be desirable to provide a racquet whose playing characteristics can be customized after the racquet is manufactured in order to reduce the number of racquet models while still providing a wide range of playing characteristics. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The present invention is an improved sports racquet, e.g., a tennis, squash, badminton, or racquetball racquet. In one embodiment according to the present invention, along the sides of the racquet frame, and optionally in the tip region and throat bridge, the racquet frame includes elongated cutout portions that extend through the frame to provided openings in the string bed plane. Each cutout portion includes a seat surface. A separate insert member containing string holes is positioned in each cutout portion and includes a bearing surface which bears against the seat surface when the strings are tensioned, to secure the ends of the strings in place. [0009] Preferably, the insert members are removably positioned in the cutout portions, and can be replaced with different insert members, e.g., of different weights or with different string hole spacing, in order to modify the playing characteristics of the racquet or change the string bed pattern. If desired, racquet frames may be offered by retailers along with a selection of insert members, from which the customer or a club professional can choose prior to stringing. If desired, the racquet may be sold with two or more sets of insert members, allowing the customer to switch when the racquet is re-strung. [0010] In a preferred embodiment, each insert member has at least one enlarged string hole for seating two adjacent main or cross strings (herein referred to as a "string port hole"). The frame and insert member are preferably formed of different materials. [0011] Preferably, the frame is formed of conventional composite material, but it is possible to use other materials such as metal. The insert members may be formed of carbon fiber-reinforced composites, metal, wood, ceramic, plastic or another suitable material, or a combination thereof, the principal criteria being that the insert members must be strong enough to anchor the ends of the strings. The choice of material depends largely on the desired weight and flexibility of the insert members. [0012] The use of insert members provides flexibility in customizing the playing characteristics of the racquet, insofar as it allows the player easily to vary a number of playing characteristics of the racquet, including: mass, balance, polar and mass moments of inertia, stiffness, and vibration and shock absorption. The player can also change the relative spacing of the strings in the string bed, to vary its playing characteristics. Thus, the player can readily customize the racquet to suit his or her playing abilities and preferences. [0013] The invention further allows the player to vary the appearance of the racquet, e.g., by using insert members having different colors or different outer surface designs. [0014] The invention also simplifies the frame construction process, in that it does not require molding in string holes, or drilling individual string holes after the racquet has been molded. It also simplifies the painting process, reducing production cost. [0015] Preferably each insert member includes a plurality of adjacent string port holes. The insert member may also include one or more conventional string holes. [0016] The string port holes on opposite sides of the frame (as well as the opposed string port holes in the tip and throat bridge, if present) are offset relative to one another such that a string that bears against an upper surface of a string port hole on one side of the racquet, after crossing the string bed, bears against a lower surface of a port on the opposite side of the racquet. [0017] The string port holes can have any suitable shape, such as elliptical, circular, polygonal, rounded, convex, concave, or irregular. The use of string port holes allows the overall weight of the racquet to be reduced and makes stringing easier. Examples of suitable string port holes are disclosed in WO 2004/075996, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. [0018] Preferably, all of the string ends are anchored in string holes in the insert members. Preferably, the throat bridge has forked ends to define an opening in the string bed plane to allow outer main strings to pass through the throat bridge to string holes in the side insert members. Thus, in such embodiment the openings and insert members extend down the racquet frame to a point below the ends of the throat bridge. [0019] In one embodiment, the racquet is formed by molding two tubes of prepreg material in accordance with a process as generally described in U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2003/0162613, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. In the process described in the aforementioned publication, the two tubes form an upper and lower frame half, respectively, of the frame. String holes of conventional size are formed between the common wall of two tubes by positioning a plurality of metal pins between the facing walls of the upper and lower tubes prior to the molding process. The pins are then removed after the frame has been molded, leaving molded string holes. [0020] In the present case, instead of pins, molding elements in the shape of the cutout are positioned between the upper and lower tubes prior to molding. Thus, the cutouts are formed by the two spaced apart, closed tubular portions to keep out dirt and water. [0021] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING Continue reading about Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings... Full patent description for Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Sports racquet with multi-section frame Next Patent Application: Adjustable weight broadhead adapter bolt and arrow Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Sports racquet with insert members for anchoring strings patent info. 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