Dunlop Gmbh

Dunlop Limited a British Company

Michael E Curtis

Robert C Haines

Andrew J Marsden

Connecting piece for the handle and shaft of a racket

A games racket frame is discontinuous being in two parts (11, 12). The parts (11, 12) are joined by a vibration-damping material (21) secured in position by plugs (23, 24). A reinforcing member (14) is also provided and this may comprise a collar (20) surrounding the discontinuity (13), together with a rod (25) contained within the vibration-damping material (21). Rackets according to the invention exhibit reduced transmission of shock and vibration to the player, thus minimizing the risk of 'tennis elbow' and similar injuries.

Games racket frame

The invention relates to a frame for a games racket e.g. tennis, of the type made as a hollow injection moulding of reinforced thermoplastics material. The frame has attachments for stringing in the form of a series of discrete lugs moulded integrally with the walls of the hollow frame and so positioned that the racket strings in their desired positions do not pass to the outer periphery of the head. The discrete lugs may for example be around the inner periphery of the head of the frame and each contain an integrally-moulded circumferential bore for string passage. The frame may be made by injection moulding around a fusible core and the shape of the core required to give the desired lugs provides strong resistance to movement under the injecting pressures hence giving improved product uniformity.

Racket frame having interiorly located stringing lugs

A one-piece, hollow, moulded head for a golf-club of the 'wood' or 'driver' type is made by injecting a thermoplastics material around a fusible core having a melting-point below the injection temperature, allowing the injected material to set and melting out the core. One or more holes are provided, the holes extending completely through the core, so that the injected material fills each hole and sets therein to provide corresponding internal 'struts' in the moulding. The injected material may be, e.g., a polyamide, a polycarbonate, a poly(phenylene oxide), an acetal resin or an ABS resin. The material may be reinforced with up to 50% by weight of glass and/or carbon fibres. The moulded head may optionally be filled with a polyurethane foam. The finished moulding may have the conventional face-pieces and/or sole-plates attached thereto.

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Wakefield, United Kingdom

Michael E Curtis