Abstract:
A table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm is described. The racket includes a handle portion with a palm curved set and a racket portion constituted by a ball-striking portion and a gripping connection portion. The ball-striking portion has a striking face and an opposite striking face. The palm curved set, intersecting the striking face at an angle and obliquely joined to the gripping connection portion, is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face. Therefore, the present invention may achieve the following beneficial effects. The effective usable region of the two striking faces of the racket are enlarged. It is possible to strike a ball from different angles and with different forces. The probability that the fingers contact the ball is also reduced. Moreover, a user does not need to forcibly twist the wrist, so the requirements on gesture are lowered.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand, and more particularly to a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm adapted for different users. 
         [0003]    2. Related Art 
         [0004]    A table tennis racket or like racket played by hand for tennis, badminton, softball, or the like generally includes a racket for striking a ball and a handle. In use, the handle is gripped by the palm of a user, and the ball is struck out by the racket portion with a force exerted by the arm. Central axes of such handle and racket generally overlap. The handle, protruding from striking faces of the racket, is slim and smooth, suitable for being gripped by hand. However, as the ball is struck out by the racket from different directions and with different forces, the user also needs to return the ball with different forces, from different directions, and at different angles. Thereby, with regard to table tennis, shake-hand and pen-hold rackets are provided and have their own advantages to cater for different user preferences and dominance of the left or right hand. It is difficult to hold the shake-hand racket with the forehand striking face right to the front, unless the user twists the waist and does side bends, rotates the body along with the footsteps, or narrowly twists the wrist backwards. It is also difficult to hold the pen-hold racket with the backhand striking face downward even if the user does narrowly twist the wrist. Although other non-mainstream rackets have individual advantages, they are usually inferior to the shake-hand and pen-hold rackets. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,147,110, a table tennis racket also including a handle and a racket is disclosed. The handle is disposed inclined to the striking faces of the racket. The bottom and top end of the inclined handle are respectively disposed on two sides of the racket. Such racket may enhance the forehand striking force and enlarge the forehand usable area of the racket at the cost of a reduced backhand force and usable area. Meanwhile, the user needs to appropriately coordinate the wrist and the body when using the backhand. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In order to eliminate the above technical defects, the present invention is directed to a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm. Such racket is convenient for playing both forehand and backhand, capable of enhancing forehand and backhand forces, flexible to use, and capable of reducing the physical stress on the user and lowering the adjustments on gesture. 
         [0006]    Therefore, the following technical solutions are provided. Such table tennis racket or like racket played by hand includes a handle portion with a palm curved set and a racket portion constituted by a ball-striking portion and a gripping connection portion. The ball-striking portion has a striking face and an opposite striking face. The palm curved set, intersecting the striking face at an angle and obliquely joined to the gripping connection portion, is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face. 
         [0007]    The handle portion further includes a rapid switching unit and a multifunction unit. 
         [0008]    The rapid switching unit is disposed on one side of the gripping connection portion between the palm curved set and the opposite striking face of the racket portion and protrudes from the opposite striking face. The multifunction unit is disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and protrudes from the striking face. 
         [0009]    The palm curved set is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face of the racket portion. 
         [0010]    The palm curved set includes a bottom layer portion, an inclined portion, and a comfortable portion. The bottom layer portion protrudes from the opposite striking face. The inclined portion has a bottom connected to the bottom layer portion, and a top end further away from the opposite striking face relative to the bottom and intersecting the striking face at an angle. The comfortable portion is disposed on a side surface of the top end of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face. 
         [0011]    The bottom layer portion of the palm curved set is a cylinder. A bottom surface of the cylinder connected to the racket portion is a plane, an opposite top surface connected to the inclined portion is an inclined surface at an angle of 15° to 70° from the striking face of the racket portion, and a skew angle formed between a long side of the bottom surface and a central axis of the racket portion is 10° to 75°. 
         [0012]    The inclined portion is a smooth elliptical cylinder with a bottom portion and a slightly smaller top portion adapted for the palm to grip. An inclined angle formed between a side surface of the inclined portion adjacent to the center of the opposite striking face and the bottom surface of the inclined portion is 30 to 70°. Two side surfaces at the minor axis of the inclined portion are planes, and the bottom of the inclined portion is connected to the inclined top surface of the bottom layer portion. The comfortable portion, disposed on the side surface at the minor axis of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face, is a cylinder with a curved surface. 
         [0013]    The rapid switching unit is a triangular prism disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the opposite striking face, and positioned on one side of the inclined surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set adjacent to the opposite striking face of the racket portion. A top surface of the rapid switching unit and a vertical surface thereof adjacent to an edge of the gripping connection portion are connected by a smooth curved narrow surface, and a major axis of the smooth narrow surface is disposed inclined to the central axis of the racket portion. 
         [0014]    The rapid switching unit may also be a cylinder of any shape with a plane top portion adapted for the height of the finger, and further connected to the bottom layer portion. 
         [0015]    The multifunction unit is a cylinder with a plane bottom portion connected to the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and a curved top portion. An inclined angle formed between the multifunction unit and the long side of the bottom surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set is 45° to 90°. Alternatively, the multifunction unit is not only disposed inclined to the long side of the bottom surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set, but also disposed intersecting the striking face at an angle. The multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face. Major axes of the multifunction unit and the bottom layer portion respectively rotate counterclockwise by −30° to 80° and clockwise by 10 to 75° from the central axis of the striking face. Or, the multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face and intersecting the striking face at an angle. 
         [0016]    The palm curved set, the rapid switching unit, and the multifunction unit are fixed to each other by screws or nails or bonded by adhesives, or are integrally formed. 
         [0017]    The above technical solutions may achieve the following beneficial effects: 
         [0018]    1. enlarging the effective usable region of the two striking faces of the racket portion; 
         [0019]    2. adapted to strike a ball at different angles and with different forces; 
         [0020]    3. reducing the probability that the fingers contact the ball; and 
         [0021]    4. making it unnecessary for a user to forcibly twist the wrist, and thus lowering the requirements on gesture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a schematic three-dimensional view of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a schematic side view of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is another schematic side view of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is a schematic front view of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a schematic front view of a bottom layer portion and a rapid switching unit of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is a schematic top view of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is a schematic three-dimensional view of a bottom layer portion of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is a schematic three-dimensional view of an inclined portion of a palm curved set in a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 9  is a schematic three-dimensional view of a multifunction unit of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 10  is a schematic three-dimensional view of a rapid switching unit of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 11  is a schematic three-dimensional view of a comfortable portion of a palm curved set in a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0034]      FIG. 12  is a schematic view of a right hand; 
           [0035]      FIG. 13  is a schematic view of a backhand grip of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0036]      FIG. 14  is another schematic view of a backhand grip of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; 
           [0037]      FIG. 15  is a schematic view of a forehand grip of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention; and 
           [0038]      FIG. 16  is another schematic view of a forehand grip of a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0039]    The present invention is illustrated below with the accompanying drawings. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 11 , a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand includes a handle portion  1  and a racket portion  2 . The racket portion  2  includes a ball-striking portion and a gripping connection portion. The ball-striking portion is constituted by a striking face  22  and an opposite striking face  24 . The handle portion has a palm curved set  12 , a rapid switching unit  14 , and a multifunction unit  16 . The palm curved set, intersecting the opposite striking face at an angle and obliquely joined to the gripping connection portion, is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face. The rapid switching unit  14  is disposed on one side of the gripping connection portion between the palm curved set and the opposite striking face of the racket portion and protrudes from the opposite striking face. The multifunction unit  16  is disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and protrudes from the striking face. The palm curved set  12  includes a bottom layer portion  122 , an inclined portion  124 , and a comfortable portion  126 . The bottom layer portion protrudes from the opposite striking face. The inclined portion has a bottom connected to the bottom layer portion, and a top end further away from the opposite striking face relative to the bottom. In addition, an inclined angle formed between a side surface of the inclined portion adjacent to the center of the opposite striking face and the opposite striking face of the racket portion is about 37°. The comfortable portion is disposed on a side surface of the top end of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face. The bottom layer portion  122  of the palm curved set  12  is a cylinder. A bottom surface  1220  of the cylinder connected to the racket portion is a plane, an opposite top surface  1222  connected to the inclined portion is an inclined surface at an angle of 38° from the opposite striking face of the racket portion, and a skew angle formed between a side of the bottom surface and a central axis of the racket portion is 45°. The length of a major axis and the maximum height of the inclined surface of the bottom layer portion are so much to approximately reach a palm position P 1  when a backhand grip is adopted. The inclined portion  124  is a smooth elliptical cylinder with a bottom portion and a slightly smaller top portion adapted for the palm to grip. An inclined angle formed between a side surface of the inclined portion adjacent to the center of the opposite striking face and the bottom surface of the inclined portion is 50°. Two side surfaces at the minor axis of the inclined portion are planes. The bottom  1240  of the inclined portion is connected to the inclined top surface  1222  of the bottom layer portion. The comfortable portion  126 , disposed on the side surface at the minor axis of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face, is a cylinder with a curved surface. 
         [0041]    The rapid switching unit  14  is a triangular prism disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the opposite striking face, positioned on one side of the inclined surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set adjacent to the opposite striking face of the racket portion, and protrudes from the opposite striking face. A top surface of the rapid switching unit and a vertical surface thereof adjacent to an edge of the gripping connection portion are connected by a smooth curved narrow surface  142 . In addition, an inclined angle formed between a major axis of the smooth narrow surface and the central axis of the striking face of the racket portion is 59°. That is, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the major axis of the smooth narrow surface rotates clockwise by about 59° from the central axis of the striking face. The multifunction unit  16  is a cylinder with a plane bottom portion connected to the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and a curved top portion  162 . An inclined angle formed between the multifunction unit and the long side of the bottom surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set is about 65°. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the major axis of the bottom layer portion rotates clockwise by about 45° from the central axis of the striking face. The major axis of the multifunction unit rotates counterclockwise by about 65° from the long side of the bottom surface of the bottom layer portion. The multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the major axes of the multifunction unit and the bottom layer portion respectively rotate counterclockwise by 20° and clockwise by about 45° from the central axis of the striking face. Or, the multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face and intersecting the striking face at an angle. The palm curved set, the rapid switching unit, and the multifunction unit can be fixedly bonded to each other by adhesives. 
         [0042]    In particular, the shape and size of a racket are designed according to ergonomics. The sizes of the palm curved set  12 , the rapid switching unit  14 , and the multifunction unit  16  of the handle portion are varied depending on the sizes of the hand.  FIG. 12  shows a right hand. In  FIG. 12 , P 1  is the recess on the palm, P 2  is an upper palm area below the thumb, P 3  is a lower palm area below P 2 , and P 4  is a joint portion connecting the thumb and the palm. F 1  is the first joint of the middle finger, and F 2  is the second joint of the middle finger. The palm curved set enables steady forehand and backhand grips. The inclined portion prevents the palm curved set and the fingers holding the palm curved set from blocking a coming ball, and also enables the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger to steadily and comfortably grip the handle for both forehand and backhand. Due to the existence of the inclined portion, it is easy for the little finger, ring finger, and middle finger to grip the handle, and a coming ball may not be blocked by the fingers or the inclined portion. Meanwhile, the fingers can effectively, steadily, and comfortably press against the comfortable portion, and the comfortable portion may not thrust against or hold back the palm. The inclined portion is connected to the opposite striking face via the bottom layer portion. Without the bottom layer portion, the backhand grip may not be achieved. If the inclined portion is perpendicularly moved to the opposite striking face, the ring finger and the little finger are not long enough to steadily grip the inclined portion. If the inclined portion is moved along its major axis to the opposite striking face, the bottom of the inclined portion adjacent to the opposite striking face may thrust against or hold back the palm. If the inclined portion is moved to the opposite striking face in other directions, the above two problems may both occur. In addition, the bottom layer portion enables the palm curved set to extend away from the palm, and makes it easy for the fingers to steadily grip the inclined portion. 
         [0043]      FIGS. 13 to 16  respectively show backhand and forehand grips. The forehand and the backhand grip can be rapidly and easily switched to each other. The racket is designed to enable the user to control, change, or maintain the position and direction of the racket through the fingers and palm. Thereby, the foot movements as well as the swaying and turning of the waist are reduced, so that the ball can be returned much faster, easier, more accurate, and more energy-saving. The racket is also designed to enable the user to change the position and direction of the racket through the gravity. If the user intends to switch from the backhand to the forehand, all he needs to do is to relax the palm, and the racket will quickly drop to the desired position. The racket is designed with the upper palm area P 2  of the palm pressed against the comfortable portion of the handle portion in the forehand grip and with the lower palm area P 3  pressed against the comfortable portion of the handle portion in the backhand grip, thus achieving the purpose of energy-saving as the center of gravity of the racket in a backhand ready position is higher than that in a forehand situation. The upper palm area P 2  is pressed against the multifunction unit of the handle portion in the backhand grip, and the thumb is pressed against the multifunction unit in the forehand grip. In the backhand grip, the palm is on both sides of the racket portion and pressed against different portions of the handle portion. In this case, the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger are pressed against the palm curved set, and the thumb is pressed against the central area of the striking face. In the forehand grip, the palm is on the side of the opposite striking face, and in particular, only pressed against the handle portion on the side of the opposite striking face. The upper palm area P 2  is pressed against the comfortable portion of the handle portion. The middle finger, ring finger, and little finger are pressed against the palm curved set. The thumb is pressed against the multifunction unit rather than the striking face. The forefinger is pressed against the central area of the opposite striking face. The different gestures of the forehand and the backhand grip have the following advantages. As the thumb is pressed against the central area of the striking face, it is easy to exert force to hit a backhand drive, and as the forefinger is pressed against the central area of the opposite striking face, it is easy to exert force to hit a forehand drive. No matter in playing a forehand or backhand drive, the racket portion is easy to face upward or downward to the front. The curved surface and the large surface area of the comfortable portion enable the upper palm area P 2  and the lower palm area P 3  of the palm to steadily and comfortably press against the comfortable portion, so as to achieve steady forehand and backhand grips. The curved surface or the top surface of the rapid switching unit is press-driven by the first joint F 1  or the second joint F 2  of the middle finger, and meanwhile the multifunction unit is press-driven by the thumb, so that the forehand grip is easily and rapidly switched to the backhand grip. Moreover, the corners and edges of the rapid switching unit are all smooth so as to protect the fingers from being scratched. The multifunction unit also has other functions. When the backhand grip is adopted, the upper palm area P 2  of the palm is pressed against the multifunction unit, so as to stabilize the racket. Without the multifunction unit, an angle formed between the forearm and the striking face measured from the side adjacent to the body of the player will be increased to about 180°. As a result, the striking face and the forearm are in alignment even if the wrist is not turned. Therefore, in the case of a backhand drive, it is difficult to make the opposite striking face right to the front, and the power of returning a cross shot to a straight shot is weakened. The lower palm area P 3  of the palm is pressed against the comfortable portion to facilitate the control and stabilization of the racket. When the upper palm area P 2  of the palm is pressed against the multifunction unit, the joint portion P 4  is also prevented from being uncomfortably pressed against the edge of the striking face. Further, before playing a forehand drive, the ball-striking portion may be positioned in a vertical direction (i.e., the rubber sheets are lower than the handle) as a ready position. At the point of striking the ball, the multifunction unit is press-driven by the thumb to make the ball-striking portion change into a horizontal direction (i.e., the rubber sheets are at the same level as the handle). When a backhand drive is played, the angle of the return varies greatly. When a forehand drive is played, it is easy to make the striking face right to the front with no need to narrowly twist the wrist, and the foot movement and turning of the waist are also reduced. Meanwhile, as most of the handle portion is vertically projected outside the racket portion, the racket blade may not thrust against the palm in the case of a backhand grip, nor thrust against the palm and thumb when a forehand grip is adopted. Further, a portion of the multifunction unit may also be vertically projected outside the striking face so as to reduce the weight of the ball-striking portion. In addition, an end of the bottom layer portion adjacent to the ball-striking portion is provided with a groove adapted for accommodating the forefinger in a backhand grip. The inclined portion may also be provided with a groove extending from the top to a position near the bottom so as to enable the fingers to steadily grip the inclined portion. 
         [0044]    It should be understood that screws, in addition to the adhesives, may be adopted to make the bottom layer portion more firmly connected to the ball-striking portion. Further, an additional connection portion may be provided to make the comfortable portion firmly connected to the inclined portion. 
         [0045]    It should be understood that the rapid switching unit of the handle portion in the table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention may be a cylinder of any shape with a plane top portion adapted for the height of the finger, and may also be further connected to the bottom layer portion. The comfortable portion of the handle portion may also be a regular cylinder, or a cylinder or platform with rounded corners and fillets, or a cube with smooth surfaces. 
         [0046]    Moreover, the multifunction unit may not only be disposed inclined to the vertical projection of the major axis of the inclined portion of the palm curved set on the striking face nor disposed inclined to the central axis of the striking faces of the racket portion, but also disposed inclined to the striking face. The multifunction unit may also be a protrusion of any shape with rounded corners and smooth surfaces while connected via the gripping connection portion to the striking face of the racket portion. 
         [0047]    In addition, a user accustomed to the left-hand is merely a mirror image of the above right-handed user.