Racket with self-powered piezoelectric damping system
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to one embodiment of the invention, a sports racket includes a racket frame comprising a head portion, handle portion and a throat portion joining the head portion to the handle portion. The racket frame also comprises a self-powered piezoelectric damping system for damping vibrations of the racket during play. The self-powered piezoelectric damping system comprises at least one transducer laminated to the racket and at least one circuit located within the racket handle portion and electrically connected to the at least one transducer.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1-10. -10. (canceled)
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11. A racket comprising:
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a racket frame comprising a racket handle portion orientated along a longitudinal axis of the racket, a racket head portion allowing for the attachment thereto of generally longitudinally directed strings and generally laterally directed strings to form a string bed of the racket, and a racket throat area joining the handle portion with the head portion; and
a self-powered piezoelectric damping system comprising two transducer elements laminated to the racket frame and a first circuit located within the racket handle portion and electrically connected to the transducer elements by way of a Y-shaped flex circuit, the first circuit including at least one storage element configured to store power extracted from the two transducer elements;
wherein the transducer elements each have a size of about 8 cm2 to about 16 cm2; and
wherein the transducer elements are mounted in a region of the racket where maximum deformation occurs. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A racket comprising:
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a racket frame comprising a racket handle portion orientated along a longitudinal axis of the racket, a racket head portion allowing for the attachment thereto of generally longitudinally directed strings and generally laterally directed strings to form a string bed of the racket, and a racket throat area joining the handle portion with the head portion;
a self-powered piezoelectric damping system comprising two transducer elements laminated to the racket frame and at least one first circuit located within the racket handle portion and electrically connected to the transducer elements by way of a Y-shaped flex circuit; and
at least one storage element configured to store power extracted from the two transducer elements, wherein the racket handle portion includes a slot in the racket handle portion and the first circuit is affixed within the slot;
wherein the transducer elements each have a size of about 8 cm2 to about 16 cm2; and
wherein the transducer elements are mounted in a region of the racket where maximum deformation occurs. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A racket comprising:
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a racket frame comprising a racket handle portion orientated along a longitudinal axis of the racket, a racket head portion allowing for the attachment thereto of generally longitudinally directed strings and generally laterally directed strings to form a string bed of the racket, and a racket throat area joining the handle portion with the head portion;
a self-powered piezoelectric damping system comprising two transducer elements and at least one first circuit located within the racket handle portion and electrically connected to the transducer elements by way of a Y-shaped flex circuit; and
a storage element configured to store power extracted from the two transducer elements;
wherein the transducer elements are mounted in a region of the racket where maximum deformation occurs; and
wherein the first circuit is located within a slot in the racket handle portion and electrically connected to the Y-shaped flex circuit to enable transmission of electrical power from within the slot, back through the Y-shaped flex circuit, and to the transducers when a ball is struck. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification