Games using tangible projectile – Playing field or court game; game element or accessory... – Practice or training device
Patent
1995-03-31
1998-09-15
Brown, Theatrice
Games using tangible projectile
Playing field or court game; game element or accessory...
Practice or training device
473573, A63B 6700
Patent
active
058071962
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a housing for a tennis racket having two elements to stop the ball which constitutes a simulator of the tennis game mainly for teaching purposes.
It is well known that in the teaching of the tennis game several drawbacks have been encountered. According to a known method, it is necessary to have available a great deal of space because the student must learn to hit the ball with the racket with force without causing injury to people or damage to property. Frequently, the tennis courts are located outdoors so that the possibility of carrying out the instructions depends also on the atmospheric conditions.
According to the known method, in view of the fact that the teacher frequently has several students and must examine the game of each student individually, in order to verify the point of impact of the ball, substantial loss of time is unavoidable in order to collect the balls from the container basket, make sure that the other students have completed their game, collect the balls from the field after the balls have been thrown and put the balls back in the basket. According to this known method, the student, particularly if he is very young, may become bored by the first phase of teaching also because of the long period of idle time and may lose interest in the tennis game.
According to the known method, the student who wishes to train by himself in addition to better understand the teachings which he has received, must face the inconvenience involved in the space requirement mentioned hereinabove, unless he is satisfied with exercising without the ball, by being limited to repeating the motion without the main impact of the ball on the racket.
The use of Velcro or similar material, in articles of play is disclosed in previous patents, yet none of them has the features required to solve the problems which this invention solves to attain its objective, namely to offer a tennis game simulator which can also be used at home. Therefore no other previously known method can offer the below mentioned advantages, which can be obtained with this invention. By "Velcro" is intended a material which comprises hook and loop component forming fastening means.
Patent EP-A-0 488 562 discloses a racket with one hitting surface which is only partially covered with a coating of Velcro material. The very feature of this patent is in the fact that in this equipment the operative surface includes a first (uncoated) region adapted to permit the projective to rebound therefrom, that portion which should properly be used to strike the projectile, namely the very part which has to hit the projectile, and a second region (coated with Velcro) adapted to remain the projectile thereto, the use of which is undesirable. The game with this equipment involves the hitting of the projectile with the central part which has no coating to throw the ball far away.
The primary objective of the invention disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,374 patent is to provide an article of play which can be used in the game of both hit and catch, and for this purpose the board portion of the racket has only one side covered with Velcro material, which is fixed by sewing operations on a flexible layer, that is engaged on the racket in a wall portion which is stably engaged by a frame. With both the above mentioned devices the ball is always expected to bounce and be thrown far away. Therefore, none of them can be employed in small spaces, for example at home, nor can it hold the ball on the racket, for educational purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,726 patent specifically refers only to a training golf club which is provided with a pivotable arcuate rigid base portion of metal pivotably secured by screw on one side only of the head portion of the club. The Velcro material is tautly stretched across its cavity. It also provides for the use of "a ball" which is absolutely special, since it has an elongate cylindrical shape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a device which permits to solve t
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patent: 5005834 (1991-04-01), Ferrari
patent: 5080374 (1992-01-01), Yu
patent: 5261673 (1993-11-01), Miller
patent: 5324029 (1994-06-01), Kim
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