Game racket

At least one mark is provided on a tennis racket. The distance between the mark and an end or edge of the racket defines a measurement length which is equal to the difference between the 36" height of the net and the length of the racket. The height of the net can be verified by the combined height of the racket and the measurement length. Three marks may be provided on the strings of the racket head to define the measurement length between each side edge of the racket head and the end of the racket head. Also, a mark may be provided on the handle of the racket.

BACKGROUND 
The present invention relates to rackets used in net games such as tennis 
and badminton. According to the rules of the International Lawn Tennis 
Federation, the height of a tennis net should be three feet at the center. 
Typically, the net is held down at the center to the 36" height by a strap 
which is secured to the ground. The strap is adjustable so that the height 
can be adjusted. 
Standard tennis rackets are 27" long and 9" wide across the head of the 
racket. Thus, a common approach to assuring that the tennis net is at the 
proper height has been to stand the racket next to the net to measure 27" 
and then turn the racket on its side with the lower edge at the measured 
27". If the net is at the proper height, the upper edge of the racket is 
then at the same height as the net. In recent years, tennis rackets of 
many different heights and widths have been introduced. Such rackets to 
not allow for the conventional approach to verifying the net height used 
by tennis players. 
Beyond having a yard stick at the court, other approaches to verifying the 
height of the tennis net have been suggested. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,146 
to Davis, a rod is pivotally mounted to the court where the center strap 
is fixed to the ground. The rod is 36" tall when lifted to a vertical 
position and thus provides a rule for the net height. In play, the rod is 
laid horizontally beneath the net. Other approaches to verifying the 
height of the net include the use of a chain such as that illustrated in 
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 249,336 to Webb, or a chain fixed to the end of a 
racket by which the racket is suspended from the top band of the net as 
illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,840 to Blevins. In yet another 
approach, illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,351,066 to Robinson, height 
indications are provided at the buckle of the net center strap. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
In accorance of the present invention a conventional racket is simply and 
inexpensively modified to provide an indication of the height of the net. 
At least one mark is provided on the racket to define a measurement 
length. The racket can be positioned next to the net in a vertical 
orientation to note a first length which is less than the height of the 
net, such as the overall height of the racket, and by then positioning the 
racket such that the measurement length is added to the first length to 
verify the height of the net. To allow for measurement from either side 
edge of the racket head or from the end of the racket head, three marks 
may be provided on the racket strings. In addition, or alternatively, a 
mark may be placed on the handle.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 illustrates two rackets 12 and 14 in position next to a tennis set 
16. The rackets are, but for marks provided in accordance with the present 
invention, conventional tennis rackets. Each includes a handle 6 and a 
head 7 which supports strings 8. The net 16 is held to the proper height 
by a strap 17 wrapped over the upper edge of the net and secured to the 
court 18 by a ring 19 and a connection not shown. 
The height at the center of the net from the court 18 should be 36". To 
verify that height, the racket 12 is placed in a vertical orientation on 
the court adjacent to the net. The height of the racket defines a first 
length less than the height of the net. The difference between the proper 
net height and the height of the racket, a measurement length, is defined 
by the distance between a mark 20 on the racket and the side edge of the 
racket head. If a like racket 14 is available, that racket can be placed 
on the racket 12 as illustrated in FIG. 1, and the proper net height is 
indicated by the mark 20. A similar mark 22 may be provided so that the 
opposite side edge of the racket head can be positioned against the racket 
12. Further, a third mark 24 may be provided to define a measurment length 
between that mark and the end of the racket so that the measurement can be 
obtained as illustrated in FIG. 2 with the two rackets head to head. 
Alernatively, or additionally, the mark may be provided on the hahdle as 
at 26 on the rackets 28 and 30 in FIG. 3, so that the measurement distance 
is between that mark and the end of the racket handle. 
In each illustration, two like rackets are illustrated. It should be 
recognized that, if only one suitably marked racket is on hand, the first 
length defined by the height of the racket may be noted by simply holding 
one's finger at that height and then moving the same racket to one of the 
positions illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 to complete the measurement using the 
measurement length defined by the mark. 
As an alternative, to provide a universal mark by which two rackets of 
different sizes can be used together to make the measurement, the mark may 
be placed 18 inches from one end of the racket. Then, a second racket 
having a similar 18 inch mark can be held against the first racket in a 
like vertical orientation but with its end at the height of the mark of 
the first racket. 
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with 
references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by 
those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be 
made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention 
as defined by the appended claims.