A TRAINING AID FOR RACQUET SPORTS

Abstract: A training aid for racquet sports, said aid comprising an adjustable length wristband (4) coupled by a flexible resiliently extensible adjustable length tie member (17) to an adjustable length band (18) to embrace and grip the handle of a racquet. The adjustment of the tie member (17) is accomplished by movement of the tie member (17) through openings (8 and 9) in the body (6) of a releasable clamp arrangement (5) mounted on said wristband (4). The clamping arrangement (5) includes a clamp (11) adapted to wedge the tie member (17) in a vee notch (10) forming part of the opening (9) after the desired length of the tie member (17) has been achieved.

Description: A TRAINING AID FOR RACQUET SPORTS, This invention provides a training aid for racquet sports and in particular for training tennis players to maintain the head of the racquet above the elevation of the wrist of the racquet hand for all strokes. In tennis it is well known that if the player can maintain the racquet above the wrist of the. racquet hand his chances of successfully playing a stroke are greatly improved. There are some stokes where the racquet head may be located lower than the player's wrist but these can be ignored for the purpose of this invention as such stokes do not figure on the list of recognised stokes of a skilled player. If a stroke has to be played close to the court surface it is best, for the control of the shot and for the chances of success, for the player to have the racquet head above the wrist of the racquet hand and to bend his knees to bring the- racquet to the elevation required to hit the ball. Should a player forget this technique during the progress of a game and endeavour to scoop up the ball a poor shot usually results. The purpose of this invention is to provide an aid which prompts the player to bend his knees if he attempts to scoop the ball, i.e. if the racquet head tends to drop below the elevation of the racquet hand. O H The invention can be broadly defined as a training aid for racquet sports, said aid comprising an adjustable length wristband coupled by a flexible resiliently extensible adjustable length tie member to an adjustable length band to embrace and grip the handle of a racquet, the adjustment of the tie member being accomplished by means of a releasable clamp arrangement mounted on said wristband, said clamp arrangement comprising a body with a slot through which said wristband passes, a first opening into an internal cavity in said body, a second opening into said body cavity exiting from a support surface of the body, said second opening having an axis at right angles to the axis of said first opening and including a vee shaped notch the sharp end of which points towards said first opening, a slidable clamp mounted on said Body movable between an operative position adjacent said first opening where a pressure face of the clamp overlies said second opening and an inoperative position remote from said first opening where said pressure face does not overlie said second opening, the spacing between the said support surface and said pressure face being less than the thickness of said tie which passes into and out of the body cavity by way of the first and second openings respectively and overlies said support surface and has an end part retained in overlying relationship with the portion of the tie exterior to said first opening. O PI J WIPO A presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichi :- Fig.l is a fragmentary view showing a hand gripping a racquet handle with a training aid as proposed by the invention interconnecting the wrist of the racquet hand and the racquet handle and Fig.2 is an enlarged perspective view of the the parts of the training aid as illustr-ated in Fig.l. In Fig.l the racquet handle is indicated 1, the player's hand is indicated 2 and the training aid is generally indicated 3. The training aid 3 comprises an ' adjustable length wrist band 4 adapted to embrace the player's wrist and preferably includes an inner liner of a cotton fabric to absorb persperation and to grip the wrist. The band is preferably fastened by overlapping portions to which there is respectively affixed a panel with a multitude of small loops and a panel with a multitude of small hook like members. Such materials are known by the trade mark Velcro. The band 4 is threaded through a releasable clamp assembly indicated generally as 5 and comprises body 6 with a band receiving slot 7. The body 6 is hollow and there is a first opening 8 into the. hollow interior of the body from a first end of the body. There is a second opening 9 into the OMPI __ Λ>~ W-PO body with an axis at right angles to the axis of the first opening 8. The second opening 9 includes a vee notch 10 pointed toward the first opening. There is an arched slidable clamp 11 mounted on the body 6 including an upper and a lower lip 12 and 13 at each side respectively disposed above and below ribs 14 on the body 6. In this way the clamp 11 is retained and is slidably mounted on the body 6. The clamp 11 has a pressure surface 15 on the clamp 11 and it i-s disposed above a clamping surface 16 on the body 6, through which the second opening 9 exits from the body 6, by a predetermined amount which is less than the thickness of a flexible resiliently extensible tie member 17. The tie member 17 interconnects the clamp assembly 5 to a band 18 embracing the racquet handle. The tie 17 is engaged in the clamp assembly 5 by passing into the body 6 through the opening 8'and exiting through the opening 9. It overlies the clamping surface 16 and its free end 17a is retained in a member 19 including a lug 20 with a hole 21 through which the tie 17 passes. In this way the free end 17a of the tie 17 is held captive and the tie entering and leaving the body are retained in overlying relationship. The band 18 comprises a tubular sleeve of generally rectangular external section and the bore of the sleeve is shaped- and dimensioned to allow the tie 17 to be passed OMPI through the sleeve from one end to the other and then back again leaving a loop 22 at one end of the sleeve and the free end 17b of the tie 17 exiting from the sleeve is retained in a member 23 including a lug 24 with a hole 25 through which the tie 17 passes. In this way the free end 17a of the tie member 17 is held captive and the tie entering and leaving the sleeve are retained in overlying relationship. The loop 22 is slid over the band 18 as shown in Fig.2 to provide a noose to embrace the racquet handle. The material from which the sleeve is made is preferably a plastics material with a high degree of surface grip so that the noose will not readily slacken off after mounting on the racquet handle. In use the band 18 is first mounted on the racquet handle about 25mm above, the hand location on the handle. The wrist band 4 is then mounted on the player's racquet hand wrist. With the clamp 11 retracted the tie member is shortened by movement of the member 19 along the tie member 17 until a wrist cocked position for the racquet is obtained, see Fig.i. After this the clamp 11 is moved over the opening 9 to clamp the tie 17 under pressure between the pressure surface 15 and the clamp surface 16. The forward movement of the clamp 11 wedges the tie 17 into the vee notch 10 thereby providing a positive non-slip grip on the tie member 17. OMPI

Claims: THE CLAIMS . 1. A training aid for racquet sports, said aid comprising an adjustable length wristband coupled by a flexible resiliently extensible adjustable length tie member to an adjustable length band to embrace and grip the handle of a racquet, the adjustment of he tie member being accomplished by means of a releasable clamp arrangement mounted on said wristband, said clamp arrangement comprising a body with a slot through which said wr.istband passes, a first opening into an internal cavity in said body, a second opening into said body cavity exiting from a support surface of the body, said second opening having an axis at right angles to the axis of said first opening and including a vee shaped notch the sharp end of which points towards said first opening, a s ' lidable clamp mounted on said body movable between an operative position adjacent said first opening where a pressure face of the clamp overlies said second opening and an inoperative position remote from said first opening where said pressure face does not overlie said second opening, the spacing between the said support surface and said pressure face being less than the thickness of said tie which passes into and out of the body cavity by way of the first and second openings respectively and overlies said support surface and has an end part retained in overlying relationship with the portion of the tie exterior to said first opening. 2. The training aid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the end part of said tie terminates in a guide with an opening through which that portion of the tie exterior to said first opening passes. 3. The training aid as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said grip embracing band comprises a sleeve with a bore through which said tie passes from a first sleeve end to a second sleeve end and then returns from said second sleeve end to the first sleeve end providing a loop at said second sleeve end, said loop overlies said sleeve to provide a noose to embrace the handle of a racquet and the tie where it exits from the first end of the sleeve is terminated to prevent tie re-entering said sleeve. 4. The training aid as claimed in claim 3 wherein the termination of the tie is by a connector having a two holes therethrough with the tie portion preceeding that tie portion entering into said sleeve first end passing through one of said holes and the tie exiting from said first end of said sleeve passing through the other of said holes with a retainer thereon to prevent its return back through said other hole. OMPI

Inventors: LA GANZA WILLIAM THOMAS, LA GANZA, WILLIAM, THOMAS
Applicants: STAART CORP PTY LIMITED, THE STAART CORPORATION PTY. LIMITED
Application year: 1983
Main classification: A63B69
IPC codes: A63B69