GB2057894A

GB2057894A - A tape for grips of games or sports appliances

Info

Publication number: GB2057894A
Application number: GB8029989A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Sasaki Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sasaki Co Ltd
Priority date: 1979-09-17
Filing date: 1980-09-17
Publication date: 1981-04-08
Also published as: CH636770A5; FR2464725A1; SE8006487L; DE3034541A1; BR8005921A; GB2057894B; IT8024714A0; NL8005066A; IT1132858B

Abstract

A tape, for winding around the grip of a tennis racket or other sports appliance, is provided with dimples (2) and projections (3) on its surface in suitable array to reduce slip between the grip of the appliance and the palm of the hand. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A tape for grips or games or sports appliances The present invention relates to a tape which is intended to be wound around the grip of a tennis racket, golf club, baseball bat or other appliance, for example striking-appliances, for games or sports.

In ball games such as tennis, golf and baseball, it is very important to hit the ball with accuracy in a desired direction and to a desired distance, and one of the basic requirements for such accurate hitting of the ball is to prevent slip from occurring between the palm of the hand and the grip of the tennis racket, golf club or baseball bat.

For this purpose, it has been common practice to wind a tape around the grip of a tennis racket or other striking-appliance to prevent slipping. Conventional grip tapes in general use are made of leather and provided with a multiplicity of small holes with a diameter of 1 mm. or so.

A drawback of these conventional tapes is that the small holes do not catch or frictionally engage the palm of the hand and do not have a sufficient effect in preventing slip.

Another drawback of the conventional tapes is that the fibers of the leather are cut by the small holes and, as a consequence, the tensile strength of the tapes is lessened to a great extent, so that the tape is liable to split along a transverse row of the small holes because it is tightly wound around the grip of the striking appliance.

Still another drawback of the conventional tapes is that tears are apt to start from the edge of the small holes and these tapes do not withstand use for a prolonger period of time.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape which alleviates or substantially eliminates or solves the above-described drawbacks, to which end the tape has either dimples alone, or both dimples and projections, on its surface. The tape thus has a greater effect in preventing a slip than a conventional tape.

The invention also consists in a sports or games appliance having a hand grip fitted with a tape as just defined.

In order that the present invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof; Figure 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a sectional view thereof; and Figure 5 is a plan or face view of a tennis racket, around the grip of which a tape embodying the present invention is wound.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, a tape 1 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is made of a strip of leather, and provided with depressions or dimples 2 on its surface in a suitable arrangement.

As shown in Fig. 1, the dimples 2 are formed so as to be circular in shape, and have a suitable diameter. They are formed by partially hot-pressing the leather tape. To effectively prevent slip, the dimples 2 are preferably arranged at longitudinally and transversely equal intervals on the surface of the tape 1.

The slip-preventing effect varies with the depth of the dimples 2. The depth of the dimples 2 may be decided at will, so long as the fibers of the tape 1 are not cut.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, a tape 1' in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention is made of a strip of leather and provided with dimples 2 and projections 3 on its surface in a suitable arrangement.

As shown in Fig. 3, the dimples 2 and projections 3 are formed so as to be circular in shape, and have a suitable diameter. They are formed by partially hot-pressing the leather tape. To form the dimples 2, hotpressing dies may be applied to the upper side of the leather tape. To form the projections 3, they may be applied to its reverse side. For effective slip prevention, the dimples 2 and projections 3 are preferably arranged at longitudinally and transversely equal intervals on the surface of the tape 1', with the rows of dimples 2 alternating with the rows of projections 3.

The slip preventing effect varies with the depth of the dimples 2 and the height of the projections 3. However, these factors may be decided at will so long as the fibers of the tape 1' " are not cut.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the tape 1 or 1' is spirally wound around the grip 5 of a tennis racket 4 in such a manner that the iongitudi- nal edges of the tape overlap. Bn order to prevent the overlapping portions from becoming too thick, the longitudinal edge portions of the back of the tape 1 or 1' may be beveled.

The tape 1 or 1' wound around the grip 5 of the tennis racket 4 obviates the necessity of applying particularly strong grasping power to prevent slip, because the dimples and the projections make the tape more abrasive.

The tape embodying the present invention has another advantage in that, by hot-pressing a leather tape, the dimpled and projecting portions of the leather tape harden and lose stretchability. As a consequence, the tape is prevented from becoming loose even after long use. Furthermore, because the fiber of the leather remains uncut, the tape embodying the present invention has a higher tensile strength, is durable enough to stand longer use, and is less liable to tear or split, even if it is tightly wound around the grip of a sporting striking-appliance.

Although a tennis racket using a tape embodying the present invention is shown by way of example in Fig. 5, the tape embodying this invention may be applied to any other games or sporting goods or appliances having a grip.

Claims

1. A tape intended to be wound around the grip of a sports or games appliance, the surface of the tape being provided with dimples.

2. A tape as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said dimples is generally circular in shape.

3. A tape as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said dimples are formed by hot-pressing.

4. A tape as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, the surface of which is provided with an array of both dimples and projections.

5. A tape as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of said projections is generally circular in form.

6. A tape as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said projections are formed by hot pressing.

7. A tape as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the projections are arranged in rows.

8. A tape as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the dimples are arranged in rows.

9. A tape as claimed in claims 7 and 8, wherein the rows of projections aiternate with the rows of dimples.

1 0. A tape intended to be wound around the hand grip of a sports or games appliance, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A tape intended to be wound around the hand grip of a sports or games appliance, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

1 2. A sports or games appliance having a hand grip around which is wound a tape as claimed in any preceding claim.