IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND ADJUSTING LAWN TENNIS NETS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Osmond of The Priory Lee Road in the County
of Kent for an invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING
AND ADJUSTING LAWN TENNIS NETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Osmond at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th March 1882.
JOHN OSMOND of The Priory Lee Road in the County of Kent
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND ADJUSTING LAWN TENNIS NETS."
In holding and adjusting the nets used for lawn tennis it is necessary to have
at each end of the net a steady pole, and it is of advantage to have in the middle
a strut which holds the net so as to present along its upper edge the proper
curvature. My invention relates to means of attaining these objects. I make each
end pole either as a tube or tubular in its upper part and fix it to a cross bar that
rests on the ground. At each end of this cross bar I joint by its radius a piece of
metal which has the form of an arc of a circle and which when pressed into the
ground forms an anchor preventing the cross bar and pole from being pulled
forwards or upwards by the strain of the net. I also provide in front of the pole
an oblique strut which butts upon a foot projecting forwards from the pole. I
cover the pole with a plate having through it a hole and I attach to the end of the
net rope a short piece of chain which can be passed as far as required into the
hollow of the pole through the hole in its covering plate. When it is so passed in,
the chain holds by any one of its links catching against the edge of the hole and
the net rope can thus be drawn in to the required length and held. At the middle
of the net I place an upright having at its top three pegs arranged in form of a
triangle and pass a bight of the net rope partly round these pegs so that it is
held by them from slipping lengthwise. The net rope thus held at its middle at
the proper height, can be more or less strained by the chains at its ends as above
described so as to give it the desired curvature.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Osmond in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th September 1882.
"IMPROVEMENTS
JOHN OSMOND of The Priory Lee Road in the County of Kent.
IN APPARATUS FOR HOLDING AND ADJUSTING LAWN TENNIS NETS."
In holding and adjusting the nets used for lawn tennis it is necessary to have at
each end of the net a steady pole, and it is of advantage to have in the middle a
strut which holds the net so as to present along its upper-edge the proper
curvature. My invention relates to means of attaining these objects. I make
each end pole either as a tube or tubular in its upper part and fix it to a cross bar
that rests on the ground. At each end of this cross bar I joint by its radius a
piece of metal which has the form of an arc of a circle and which when pressed
into the ground forms an anchor preventing the cross bar and pole from being
pulled forwards or upwards by the strain of the net. I also provide in front of
the pole an oblique strut which butts upon a foot projecting forwards from the
pole. I cover the pole with a plate having through it a hole and I attach to the
end of the net rope a short piece of chain which can be passed as far as required
into the hollow of the pole through the hole in its covering plate. When it is so
passed in, the chain holds by any one of its links catching against the edge of the
hole and the net rope can thus be drawn in to the required length and held. At
the middle of the net I place an upright having at its top three pegs arranged in
form of a triangle and I pass a bight of the net rope partly round these pegs so
that it is held by them from slipping lengthwise. The net rope thus held at its
middle at the proper height, can be more or less strained by the chains at its ends
as above described so as to give it the desired curvature.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Fig 1 is a side view and Fig 2 a front view of a pole according to my invention
for supporting one end of a lawn tennis net. A is the pole which may be tubular
throughout or only in its upper part. Its lower end is fixed to a cross bar C that
rests on the ground and has jointed to each end of it an anchor D consisting
of a curved piece of metal that can be pushed into the ground. It is
preferred to make the curvature of the anchor to a radius greater than the
length of the arm by which it is jointed to the cross bar it may be even double
as shewn in Fig 3 as this gives a firmer hold. A foot E projects forwards
from the base of the pole and an oblique strut F is jointed to this foot and to the
pole, so that the strut and the foot can be folded up against the pole for
convenience of transport. The end of the bar B which is attached to the foot E
hooks into a hole at the base of the pole, and its hooked end holds a ring attached
to the lower corner of the net G. The upper corner of the nut has attached to it
a piece of chain H, by which it can be drawn tight, the loose end of the chain
being then dropped into the hollow of the pole so that the chain is held by catching
against the edge of the hole at the top of the pole which is suitably notched for
that purpose. The form of the top of the pole may be somewhat modified as
shewn in the part section Fig 4 and plan Fig 5. In this case a hollow boss K
projects upwards and has a notch cut across it to engage the links of the chain
the loose end of which is dropped into a hole at the side of the boss. Fig 6 is a
side view and Fig 7 a front view of the upright placed about the middle of the
net. At the top of this upright are the three pegs or studs L over which is passed

page_text: the bight of the net rope, that is to say over the two upper lateral studs and under.
the lowest middle stud.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, I claim :-
First. For preventing the end pole of a lawn tennis net from being pulled
upwards or forwards the use of curved anchors D pivotted to the base of the pole,
substantially as herein described.
Second. In combination with a lawn tennis pole A. the cross bar C the anchors D,
the bar B and foot E and strut F substantially as and for the purposes herein set
forth.
Third. For holding the upper corner of a lawn tennis net, the use of a chain H
engaged at the top of the pole and having its loose end accommodated in the
hollow of the pole, substantially as herein described.
Fourth. For supporting the middle of a lawn tennis net, the use of an upright
with pegs or studs engaging a bight of the net rope, substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof I the said John Osmond have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Sixteenth day of August in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-two.
JNO. OSMOND. (L.S.)