String construction for athletic rackets

• US 4,306,410 A
• Filed: 11/12/1980
• Issued: 12/22/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kureha Gosen Kabushiki Kaisha, Kureha Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Kureha Gosen Kabushiki Kaisha, Kureha Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Nakamura, Masaaki, Ueba, Hisaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Watkins, Donald
• Application Number:
  US06/205,911
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 57/206, 57/207, 57/210, 57/225, 57/230, 57/234, 57/251, 57/7.13, 428/360, 428/375, 428/377, 428/378, 428/400
• US Class Current: 57/234
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 51/02 Strings; String substitutes; Products applied on strings, e.g. for protection against humidity or wear
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 51/026 Strings having non-circular cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: D02G 3/38 Threads in which fibres, filaments, or yarns are wound with other yarns or filaments, e.g. wrap yarns, i.e. strands of filaments or staple fibres are wrapped by a helically wound binder yarn; D02G3/32 takes precedence; covering endless core threads with fibres by using open-end spinning techniques D01H4/00
• CPC Class Codes: D02G 3/444 Yarns or threads for use in sports applications strings for tennis rackets A63B51/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2936 Wound or wrapped core or coating [i.e., spiral or helical]

Abstract

A string construction for athletic rackets which can be frictionally engaged with a tennis ball or a badminton shuttlecock very well upon hitting it and which can be uniformly stretched on the athletic racket frame without being twisted, comprises a string-like core made of thermoplastic resin material and a tubular netlike structure made of thermoplastic resin material, the tubular netlike structure netting over and being secured to an outer circumference of the core, wherein the netlike structure includes a plurality of thread-like members forming a plurality of nodes at intersections thereof, all the thread-like members forming each node being integral with each other at each node, and projecting from the outer circumference of the core to a height substantially equal to each other at each node.

Claims

1. A string construction for athletic rackets comprising a string-like core made of thermoplastic resin material and a tubular netlike structure made of thermoplastic resin material, said tubular netlike structure netting over and being secured to an outer circumference of said core, wherein said netlike structure includes a plurality of thread-like members forming a plurality of nodes at intersections thereof, all the thread-like members forming each node being integral with each other at said each node, and projecting from the outer circumference of said core to a height substantially equal to each other at said each node.

2. The string construction of claim 1, in which the core and the network structure are secured by cofusion.

3. The string construction of claim 2, in which each of the nodes is formed at the intersection of two thread-like members.

4. The string construction of claim 3, in which each of the thread-like members extends helically along the outer circumference of the core and has a pitch equal to each other.

5. The string construction of claim 4, in which the nodes are distributed uniformly over the outer circumference of the core.

6. The string construction of claim 5, in which at least a part of the nodes have projections, each projection projecting radially outwardly from the string construction, and the nodes having projections are distributed uniformly over the outer circumference of the core.

7. The string construction of claim 6, in which each node has the projection.

8. The string construction in any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the core comprises a plurality of monofilaments twisted and secured to each other.

9. The string construction of claim 8, in which the monofilaments are secured by cofusion.

10. The string construction of claim 9, in which the cofusion among the monofilaments in a central part of the core proceeds much more than cofusion among the monofilaments in a peripheral part of the core.

11. The string construction of claim 9, in which a pitch of the twisted monofilaments is different from the pitch of the helical thread-like members.

12. The string construction of claim 9, in which a diameter of each monofilament is smaller than a diameter of each thread-like member and the pitch of the twisted monofilaments is equal to the pitch of the helical thread-like members.

13. The string construction of claim 9, in which the thermoplastic resin material is a resin selected from the group consisting of fluorocarbon resins polyamide resins and polyester resins.

14. The string construction of claim 13, in which the thermoplastic resin materil is a vinylidene fluoride resin.

15. The string construction of claim 14, in which the percent elongation at rupture thereof is from 15 to 50%.