| Table-tennis net assembly with a winder -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Table-tennis net assembly with a winderRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Playing Field Or Court Game; Game Element Or Accessory Therefor Other Than Projector Or Projectile, Per Se, Means For Dividing Field Or Court Into Compartments; Element Thereof Or Accessory Therefor (e.g., A Net, Marking Strip, Marked Line, Etc.), Net Attachable To Game TableThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060205541. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of accessories for playing table tennis. More particularly, it relates to a table-tennis net assembly comprising a net proper and two supports for said net, each fitted with means for fastening to a respective side of the table. The invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a set in which at least one of the supports is fitted with an automatic net winder. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Integrating an automatic net winder in at least one of the supports of a table-tennis net assembly is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,590. In that document, the net support is constituted by a cylindrical tube having a vertical pivot shaft mounted therein, with its bottom end passing through a chamber in which a spiral torsion spring is housed that is wound around said shaft. One end of the spiral-spring blade is secured to the pivot shaft while the other end is secured to the chamber. The net is mounted on the pivot shaft in such a manner that the spiral torsion spring contributes to tensioning the net when the two supports are mounted on opposite sides of the table, and serves automatically to wind in the net around the shaft inside the cylindrical tube when the net is removed from the table. [0003] Advantageous though it might be, the winder device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,590 nevertheless presents drawbacks. From a manufacturing point of view, it is not easy to mount the spiral spring, and above all to adjust it so as to obtain good conditions for tensioning the net and for winding it in automatically. The spring can be damaged if the assembly is not kept under good storage conditions between two utilizations. The author of U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,590 was well aware of this difficulty since a knob is provided for turning the pivot shaft in the event of the spring blade malfunctioning. OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] One of the objects of the present invention is to propose a table-tennis net assembly with a winder that mitigates the above-mentioned drawbacks. [0005] Concerning the means for fastening the support to the sides of the table, they are generally of the clamp type, with a top jaw that is to bear against the top face of the side of the table and a bottom jaw or equivalent element that is designed to bear against the bottom face of the side of the table, together with means for driving the two said jaws in displacement relative to each other. For example, the bottom jaw can be mounted on a threaded rod, which, on being turned, causes the bottom jaw to move vertically relative to a stationary horizontal support secured to the top jaw. That type of fastener means is awkward for a user to actuate, since the user needs to turn the threaded rod about its own axis and there is a danger of spoiling the bottom face of the table if excessive pressure is applied. [0006] One of the objects of the present invention is to propose a table-tennis net assembly with means for fastening to the sides of the table that mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks. [0007] This object is fully achieved by the table-tennis net assembly that comprises a net and two net supports, each support having a structure including fastener means for fastening the support on a side of a table, and at least one of the net supports including, for winding the net, a hollow winder spool. [0008] In a manner characteristic of the invention, the net assembly includes an elongate resilient element mounted inside said spool, having a first end secured to the winder spool and a second end secured to the structure of the support, said resilient element forming part of the means for actuating the winder spool and/or of means for actuating the fastener means. [0009] Preferably, the elongate resilient element is made of natural or synthetic rubber, is of circular or square section, e.g. is made of natural rubber and is of circular section having a diameter of about 8 millimeters (mm) to 12 mm. [0010] In a variant embodiment, the first end of the resilient element is fastened to the top portion of the winder spool via a cover-forming central part that is engaged axially in said top portion of the spool. Thus, while the net assembly is being assembled, it is possible to stretch the resilient element, to fasten it to the central part, and to engage said part in the top portion of the spool. [0011] Preferably, the cover includes a radial slot forming an opening passing right through the thickness of the cover, with the first end of the resilient element being inserted and jammed in said opening. [0012] When the resilient element forms a part of the actuator means of the winder spool, said spool is pivotally mounted and it is the twisted elongate resilient element that serves to deliver the energy needed for tensioning and automatically winding the net around the spool. [0013] In a variant embodiment, the bottom end of the winder spool includes an annular cheekplate terminated by a cylindrical rim, with the support structure comprising a stationary plate having a hollow cylindrical housing formed in its thickness suitable for receiving said cylindrical rim together with an annular bearing disposed in the cylindrical housing under the cheekplate. The annular bearing constitutes means that are preferred, amongst others, for limiting friction between the winder spool and the structure of the support when the winder spool is set into rotation under drive from the resilient element. [0014] In a variant embodiment, the fastener means of the table-tennis net assembly are of the clamp type, with a top jaw for bearing against the top face of the side of the table and a bottom jaw for being brought to bear against the bottom face of the side of the table, together with means that can be actuated to move said two jaws relative to each other. The top jaw is preferably integrated in the structure of the support, and in particular it may be constituted by a portion of the above-mentioned stationary plate. [0015] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,950, where the fastener means are likewise of the clamp type, the means that can be actuated to move the two jaws comprise a spiral traction spring placed so as to move the bottom jaw towards the top jaw. [0016] When the resilient element forms part of the means that can be actuated to move the two jaws relative to each other, the second end of said elongate resilient element is secured to the bottom jaw. Thus, the resilient element performs the function of moving the two jaws towards each other. As mentioned above, it can also perform the function of winding the net if the winder spool is also pivotally mounted. This function of moving the two jaws towards each other and of driving the winding of the net are performed by two distinct and independent springs in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,590. [0017] Preferably, the bottom and top jaws are displaced in vertical translation and the means that can be actuated to move them likewise comprise a vertical hollow tube secured to the bottom jaw, passing through the top jaw, and slidably mounted inside the winder spool. In addition, the elongate resilient element passes inside said hollow tube. It is this resilient element with its two ends secured respectively to the top portion of the spool and to the bottom jaw that holds together the assembly of parts that can be moved either in translation or optionally in rotation. [0018] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,590, the bottom jaw of the clamp for fastening onto the side of the table is provided with a kind of handle that is to be found under said jaw. Thus, in order to mount the support, the user needs to hold the cylindrical tube containing the net in one hand and use the other hand to take hold of said handle in order to fasten the net assembly to the side of the table, after opening the clamp by moving the bottom jaw away using the handle. [0019] In a variant embodiment of the present invention, the bottom jaw includes a vertical actuator arm passing through a portion of the stationary plate that is on the side of the winder spool opposite from the portion of said plate that acts as the top jaw. Thus, in this particular configuration, only one hand is needed to open the clamp in order to place the support on the side of the table, as explained in greater detail below. [0020] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the two net supports includes a respective winding guide constituted by two vertical rods secured to the top of the top jaw close to the winder spool. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] The present invention can be better understood on reading the following description both of a preferred first embodiment of a table-tennis net assembly with a winder in which each of the two net supports includes a resilient element serving both to perform the winding function and the function of actuating the system for securing the support to the side of the table, and of a simplified second embodiment in which the resilient member serves solely to perform the function of actuating the fastener system, as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Continue reading... Full patent description for Table-tennis net assembly with a winder Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Table-tennis net assembly with a winder patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. 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