Abstract:
A self-adhesive grip sheath includes a grip sheath body having a hot melt adhesive arranged along each of two opposite side edges thereof in such a manner that when the grip sheath body is wrapped about the grip of a sports equipment, the two hot melt adhesive are overlapped and then heated and bonded together to affix the grip sheath body to the grip of the sports equipment.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to handle grips for swing-type ball game equipment sporting equipment handles, and more particularly, to a self-adhesive grip sheath and mounting method thereof. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    In order to provide comfort to the hands of the user, the grip of a tennis racket, badminton racket or golf club is normally covered with a grip sheath. Grip sheaths generally include two types, one designed for direct factory installation and the other for consumer installation. For a grip sheath designed for direct factory installation, because a factory has a complete mounting and bonding equipment system, a factory can achieve better grip sheath bonding effects, however, this cannot be achieved by an ordinary consumer. For the installation of a grip sheath designed for consumer installation, it is the normal way to adhere a double-sided adhesive to the inner surface of the grip sheath. In installation, the consumer can remove the release paper from the double-sided adhesive, and then bond the grip sheath to the periphery of the grip of the sports equipment. 
         [0005]    The structure and mounting method of a grip sheath designed for consumer installation allow a consumer to affix the grip sheath to the grip of a sports equipment by oneself, however, because the bonding strength of the double-sided adhesive is still not strong enough, after a long use, the grip sheath can be forced out of position or away from the grip. Therefore, there is still room for improvement. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a self-adhesive grip sheath, which allows the consumer to install the self-adhesive grip sheath without special training and, which greatly enhances the bonding strength of the grip sheath body. 
         [0007]    To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, a self-adhesive grip sheath comprises a grip sheath body in the form of a sheet that defines a top edge, a bottom edge, two side edges respective located at two opposite lateral sides thereof between the top edge and the bottom edge, a bonding surface and an opposing gripping surface, a hot melt adhesive located at the bonding surface near and extending along one side edge of the grip sheath body, and a hot melt adhesive located at the gripping surface near and extending along the other side edge of the grip sheath body. 
         [0008]    It is the main object of the present invention to provide a self-adhesive grip sheath mounting method, which allows installation of the self-adhesive grip sheath by the consumer. 
         [0009]    To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, a self-adhesive grip sheath mounting method is performed attaching a bonding surface of a grip sheath body to the periphery of a grip of a sports equipment, and then wrapping one side edge of the grip sheath body about the periphery of the grip of the sports equipment, and then wrapping the other side edge of the grip sheath body about the periphery of the grip of the sports equipment to overlap the hot melt adhesive at the bonding surface of the grip sheath body on the hot melt adhesive at the gripping surface of the grip sheath body, and then heating the hot melt adhesive at the bonding surface and the hot melt adhesive at the gripping surface to have the two hot melt adhesives be bonded together. 
         [0010]    Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fully understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference signs denote like components of structure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a grip sheath body of a self-adhesive grip sheath in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing illustrating the installation of the grip sheath body in a racket grip (I). 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing illustrating the installation of the grip sheath body in the racket grip (II). 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing illustrating the installation of the grip sheath body in the racket grip (III). 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of the grip sheath body and the grip after installation. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , a self-adhesive grip sheath in accordance with the present invention is shown. The self-adhesive grip sheath comprises a grip sheath body ( 10 ). 
         [0017]    The grip sheath body ( 10 ) is formed of one single piece of sheet material. This sheet material can be, for example, rubber or leather or polyethylene sheet. Alternatively, this sheet material can be composed of a felt layer and a polyurethane layer. The grip sheath body ( 10 ) is shaped to fit the shape of the grip to be set in. In this embodiment, the grip sheath body is configured to fit the grip of a golf club. However, this application example is not a limitation. The grip sheath body ( 10 ) can also be configured for application to tennis racket, badminton racket, or the grip of any other sports equipment. The grip sheath body ( 10 ) comprises a top edge ( 11 ) located at a top side thereof, a bottom edge ( 12 ) located at an opposing bottom side thereof, and two side edges ( 13 ) respectively located at two opposite lateral sides thereof. The width of the top edge ( 11 ) can be smaller than or equal to the width of the bottom edge ( 12 ). The grip sheath body ( 10 ) further comprises a bonding surface ( 14 ) and an opposing gripping surface ( 15 ). The bonding surface ( 14 ) is provided with a double-sided adhesive. Further, a hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) is located at the bonding surface near and extending along one side edge ( 13 ). The amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) has a width W 2  about 1/20˜¼ of the width W 1  of the bottom edge ( 12 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ). The hot melt adhesive used herein is not limited to any specific species, however, hot melt adhesives based on the resin of polyurethane (PU), ethylene or ethylene vinyl acetate are preferred. 
         [0018]    Further, another hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) is located at the gripping surface ( 15 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) near and extending along the other side edge ( 13 ). The hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) and the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) are respectively extended along the two opposite side edges ( 13 ). In this embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) extends along the side edge ( 13 ) at the right side of the grip sheath body ( 10 ); the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) extends along the left side edge ( 13 ) at the left side of the grip sheath body ( 10 ). The amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) has a width W 3  about 1/20˜¼ of the width W 1  of the bottom edge ( 12 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ). 
         [0019]    The width W 2  of the amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) can be wider than or equal to the width W 3  of the amounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ). 
         [0020]    In accordance with the structure described above, the self-adhesive grip sheath of the present invention is installed subject to the following steps: 
         [0021]    At first, remove the release paper from the double-sided adhesive at the bonding surface ( 14 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ), and then adhere the bonding surface ( 14 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) to the periphery of a grip of the club or racket or any other sports equipment. In this embodiment, adhere the bonding surface ( 14 ) of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) to the periphery of the grip of a racket. 
         [0022]    Thereafter, wrap the side edge ( 13 ) of the gripping surface ( 15 ) that carries the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) about the periphery of the grip of the racket, as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0023]    Thereafter, wrap the other side edge ( 13 ) of the gripping surface ( 15 ) that carries the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) about the periphery of the grip of the racket and overlap the area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) at the bonding surface ( 14 ) on the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) at the gripping surface ( 15 ), as shown in  FIG. 4 . At this time, the width of the overlapped part of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) is larger than or equal to the width of the mounting area of the hot melt adhesive ( 16 ) at the bonding surface ( 14 ) or the hot melt adhesive ( 17 ) at the gripping surface ( 15 ). 
         [0024]    Thereafter, use a heating device, for example, a hot air blower or electric iron to heat the overlapped hot melt adhesives ( 16 )( 17 ) and to give a pressure to them, causing the hot melt adhesives ( 16 )( 17 ) to be bonded together, and thus, one lateral side of the bonding surface ( 14 ) is bonded to the mating lateral side of the gripping surface ( 15 ), as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0025]    After installation, the bonding strength of the grip sheath body ( 10 ) to the grip of the racket is greatly enhanced, avoiding disconnection of the self-adhesive grip sheath from the grip of the racket accidentally. This installation method is so simple that any consumer can easily replace an existing grip sheath or a damaged grip sheath with the desired self-adhesive grip sheath or a new self-adhesive grip sheath. 
         [0026]    In the aforesaid preferred embodiment of the present invention, two hot melt adhesives are respectively provided at the gripping surface and the bonding surface, however, this arrangement is not a limitation. It is workable to provide one single hot melt adhesive at the gripping surface or bonding surface for enabling the two opposite lateral edges of the grip sheath body to be overlapped and sealed by heat after the grip sheath body is wrapped around the periphery of the grip of the sports equipment, achieving the same effect.