Patent Abstract:
The tennis racket for interacting with the tennis ball has the flexible head, the flexible handle, and the string tension mechanism. The tennis racket head form with the handle the flexible spherical joint, with the inner adjustment of the tension, and the angle of the head. The tennis racket handle has flexible gripping to absorb the impact from the incoming tennis ball. The string tension mechanism is operated manually for the adjustment the tension. The structure flexibility of the tennis racket minimizes the injury, and offers more enjoyment of the play.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an interactive tennis racket. Specifically, the present invention relates to the tennis racket with flexible joints and the strings tension mechanism. 
     The tennis racket of the present invention allows one to select the direction of the head angle and the strings tension for users preferences. 
     The tennis racket head is split and assembled with flexible spherical joints, pulleys and flexible balls. Such flexible assembly controls and minimizes the oscillation, shock impact, decreases the muscles stress, and improves the comfort for the player by a dampening effect during the period of such control and minimization. 
     The strings tension in the flexible head assembly results in less vibration and more sufficient impact of the tennis ball. 
     The frame of the head racket is assembled in the nest of the handle and creates the flexible joint that reduces the impact from the striking tennis ball. 
     The flexible handle assembly provides the gripping to control the oscillation, twisting torque from racket frame, and as a result minimizes wrist injures. 
     The strings tension mechanism allows the user to adjust the desired level of the string tension during tennis play. 
     The flexibility of the tennis racket facilitates less muscle stress and offers more enjoyment, and enables a technically oriented pattern of the tennis play. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The optional criteria for the tennis racket is to maximize the performance while minimizing the risk of injury. 
     In general, tennis rackets employ a frame with strings, or a frame, a head, a handle, and strings. Such construction of the tennis racket affects the load to the hand, the arm, and the shoulder of the tennis player. The loads by the incoming tennis ball on the tennis racket results—vibration, shock, and twisting 
     These loads are determinates of the risk for injury. 
     The vibrations result from the strings and from the oscillation of the racket frame. These types of oscillations create an adequate level of resulting energy and require the muscle activation to withhold such reaction. The frame structure has influence on the amplitude of the vibration. Therefore, gripping the handle tighter decreases the oscillation of the energy, but transforms the energy to the forearm muscles and results in lessening the risk of injury. 
     When the tennis ball strikes the tennis racket, a shock develops that causes a reaction in the hand and the arm to the shock. To withstand and remove shock energy, the muscles have to be activated and act as the shock absorber. This reaction results in lessening of the risk of injury. 
     Another reaction is when the tennis ball strikes the center of the tennis racket, and this results in a twisting torque. The muscles react to control this condition and therefore result in lessening the risk of the wrist to injury. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It an object of the present invention to provide an interactive tennis racket, with personalized parameters; the head angle, the hardness of flexible balls, and the strings tension. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the tennis racket, with the selection of the angle of the head in respect to the handle, and can be selected by the user, as desired. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the tennis racket, in which the head is split, and assembled by spherical joints and flexible balls. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the spherical nest, to assemble the head and the handle. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the tennis racket with a flexible head assembly. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the tennis racket with a flexible handle assembly. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the tennis racket with the strings tension mechanism, where the strings are in the contact with a pulley, and in such, a pattern to allow better sliding of the strings in the tension process. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the tennis racket with the retractable handle to apply the torque during the strings tension process. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide the means to apply the dial torque wrench to monitor the level of strings tension. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of the tennis racket of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the tennis racket of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2A  is an enlarged, sectional view of the tennis racket of  FIG. 2  at  2 A, showing the flexible ball assembly of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2B  is an enlarged, sectional view of the tennis racket of  FIG. 2  at  2 B, showing the spherical joint assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is another side view of the tennis racket  FIG. 1 , shown in the tilted position. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the tennis racket  FIG. 1 , showing the bottom segment of the tennis racket head. 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the tennis racket  FIG. 1 , showing the top segment of the tennis racket head. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the tennis racket handle taken across section line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the tennis racket handle. 
         FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the handle of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view the handle of  FIG. 7  taken across section line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9A  is a sectional view of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 10  is a sectional view of the handle of  FIG. 7  taken across section line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 11  is a sectional view of the spherical nest of the tennis racket of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and related appended drawings. 
     Referring to the  FIG. 1 , the tennis racket is provided. The tennis racket includes the head  1 , the handle  2 , the strings tension mechanism  3 , and the strings  4 . 
     The tennis racket in  FIGS. 1-5  is split centrally. On one side is the bottom segment  6  and the other side is the top segment  7 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the bottom segment  6  assembly has an extruded frame shape with inside opening  16 ,  17  and  18 , the pulley  8 , the flexible balls  12 , the string guides, the strings  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the top segment  7  has an extruded frame shape mirroring the bottom segment  6 . There is some elimination of friction, by free rotation of the pulley in the grove and the pattern of strings. 
     The typical spherical joint assembly is explained in  FIG. 2B . The bottom segment  6  has an extruded outer clip  9 , and has an inner spherical surface  21 , an outer spherical surface  22 , the flange  23 , and the groove  29 . The pulley  8  is assembled with the clip  9  for the free rotation in the groove  29 , and has the groove  30  for the strings. The top segment  7  has an extruded an inner clip  14 , and has an inner slot  25 , an outer spherical surface  24 , and the flange  26 . The inner clip  14  is locking in the outer clip  9  within a locking space  27 , which results in a spring effect in the joint. In the top segment  7 , the inner clip  14  is the inner clip  14  is pressed to the bottom outer clip  9 , and with balls  15  results in the flexible frame assembly. 
     The typical assembly of flexible ball  15  with the bottom segment  6 , and top segment  7  is explained in  FIG. 2A . The flexible ball  15  is placed in the bottom nest  12 , and the upper nest  13  is held in by the tension from the spring effect in the spherical joint, as explained above. 
     The tennis racket handle  2  of  FIGS. 1-3  and  FIG. 10  has an extruded housing  49  to accommodate the strings tension mechanism  3 . 
     As shown on in  FIGS. 6-11  and  FIG. 9A , an outer extrusion of the housing  49  forms the protruded cylindrical segment  35 , with an arrayal located on the cylindrical  33  at 66 and 38 degrees. As shown in  FIG. 9A  the protrusion has an inner slot  44  and the outer cylindrical surface  43  forms the flexible joint with the strip  40 . The strip  40  forms the segment with an inner  46  and an outer  47  cylindrical surface. 
     As shown on  FIG. 6 , an inner extrusion of the housing  49  forms the nest  30  for the head and the cylindrical groove  36  as the guide for the tension mechanism  3 . 
     As shown on  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 11 , the housing  49  has the nest to form the spherical joint with the head  1  and the handle  2  of the tennis racket. The head  1  with an outside spherical surface  93  is turning at 90 degrees in the nest  30  so the extrusion  11 ,  13  accommodates the grooves  31  and  32 . The locking position is performed by the tension from the spring disc  96  to the spherical extrusion  95  on the bottom segment  6 , and the top segment  7  of the tennis racket head  1 . The discs are located in the cavity  94 , and centrally rested on the screw shoulder  97 , and loaded by the set screw  98 . 
     In  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 10 , the string tension mechanism  3  is accommodated in the housing  49  of the tennis racket handle  2 . The strings tension mechanism  3  includes the main shaft  50 , the inner shaft  52 , the lower clamp  53 , the middle clamp  57 , the upper clamp  58 , the nut  56 , and the compression spring  55 , and the assembly pins  85 ,  86 ,  87 ,  88 . 
     The main shaft  50  is in a cylindrical shape and has the spherical extrusion  80  for the guide in the groove  36 , has the cylindrical inner hole to fit the inner shaft  52 , and has the inner spherical surface  59  to fit with the middle clamp  57 . The main shaft  50  has the acme thread and the helical slot  72  for the coarse movement. 
     The inner shaft  52  has the outside spherical shape  70  to fit with the upper clamp  58 , and has the hole for the pin  87  to assemble with the middle clamp  57 . On the other side, the inner shaft  52  has the hole for the pin  77  to assemble with the lower clamp  53 , and the socket for the dial torque wrenches. 
     The lower clamp  53 ,  FIG. 10  has arrayal located spherical protrusions  74 , to fit the spring holder  54  into the cavity  75  and the retractable handle  73 . The handle  73 , with the outer spherical surface  82  and further mounted into the groove  76  by the pin  86  for the rotation with the inner shaft  52 . The lower clamp  53  has centrally located the hole to assembly with the inner shaft  52  by the pin  88 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the middle clamp  57  has an outer spherical surface  77 ,  78  to fit the main shaft and the upper clamp  58  and has centrally located the cavity  79  to assemble with the inner shaft by the pin  88 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the upper clamp  58  has the pattern of the hole  71  to fit the strings  4 , the protruded sphere  80  to guide in the groove  36 , to assembly with the inner shaft  52 . 
     With respect to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 10 , as the handle  73  rotates the inner shaft  52 , the pin  87  slides in the helical slot  72 , the nut groove  83 , and activates the main shaft  50  to rotate in the nut  56 . Further rotation of the inner shaft  52  causes an engagement the spherical protrusion  74  into the cavity  75  of the spring holder  54 , and creates the load on the compression spring  55  to the nut  56 , and to the spring holder  54 . The main shaft  50  rotates in the nest of the middle clamp  57 , which results in the upper clamp  58  sliding in the groove  36  of the handle housing  49 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2B  and  FIG. 10 , the strings  4  are arranged in the vertical, the horizontal, the cross pattern, and are mounted in the strings holes  71  of the upper clamp  58 . The strings  4  slide in the groove  30  of the pulley  8  in the guide  10  and they are under the tension as the result of the rotation of an inner shaft  52 . Applying the dial torque wrench indicates the desired level of the strings&#39;  4  tension. Such an arrangement of the strings elements minimizes the friction and maximizes the life of the strings. 
     It should be understood that for foregoing description in only illustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to encompass all such alternatives, modifications and variances that fall within the scope of appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0