IMPROVE- MENTS IN PRESSES FOR LAWN TENNIS BATS OR THE LIKE
Year: 1885

page_text: I WILLIAM OLIVER EVELYN MEADE-KING of Riding Mill in the County of
Northumberland do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PRESSES FOR LAWN TENNIS BATS OR THE LIKE" to be as follows:
.
My Invention has for its object to provide an inexpensive and efficient press for
placing over lawn tennis bats and the like when out of use to prevent them from
warping. According to my Invention I provide two strips preferably of hard wood
and at or towards each end I make holes through which a screw passes at each end
each such screw screwing into a nut provided for each screw at the end of the
strips. A spring is placed between the strips at each end to press them apart when
the screws are relaxed so as to leave the press open for the entrance of the bat.
These springs may conveniently be spiral springs or they may consist of pieces of
stout India rubber tubing encircling the portion of each screw between the strips.
The screws may be hinged or centred at their one end and provided with a thumb
nut at their other end and the holes through which they pass in the strips may be
alotted and extend through the ends of the strips so that the said screws can be
turned parallel with the strips to give compactness for transport.

page_text: I WILLIAM OLIVER EVELYN MEADE-KING of Riding Mill in the County of
Northumberland Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention has for its object to provide an inexpensive and efficient press for
placing over lawn tennis bats and the like when out of use to prevent them from
warping. I will explain my Invention with reference to the accompanying
drawing.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation,
Figure 2 in longitudinal section and
Figure 3 in plan a press constructed according to my Invention.
I provide two strips A A² preferably of hard wood and at or towards each end
I make holes a a' through which a screw (provided with a thumb piece at the
head) passes at each end, each such screw screwing into a nut C provided for each
screw in each of the holes a² and secured firmly in the said holes.
An India rubber spring D is placed between the strips at each end to press
them apart when the screws are relaxed so as to leave the press open for the
entrance of the bat. The springs can conveniently be cut off from stout India
rubber tubing and they are passed over the screws B so as to surround the portion
of the screws between the strips A A' and act as protectors to prevent injury to
the bat by the screws. e are metal plates at the top of the holes a in the strip A
for the collars b of the screws B to bear against when the said strip A is made of
wood. In place of the screws being made to screw into nuts it will be evident
that I may use screws fixed at one end to one of the strips and passing through
the other strip and provided at the protruding end with a fly nut.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
A press for lawn-tennis bats and the like consisting of two strips with screws at
each end and an India rubber spring between the said strips and surrounding the
said screws, as and for the purposes herein before explained and as illustrated by
the accompanying Drawings.