An Improved Cast Steel Girder Racket Press for Preventing the Warping or Twisting of Lawn Tennis Rackets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1891.
Complete Specification Left, 12th Feb., 1892-Accepted, 12th Mar., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION..
An Improved Cast Steel Girder Racket Press for Preventing the
Warping or Twisting of Lawn Tennis Rackets.
We HENRY BOYD of 2 Abercromby Terrace Paisley Road Glasgow Assistant
Shipyard Manager SAMUEL CHARLES OLDHAM 34 Trevelyan Terrace Belfast
Assistant Shipyard Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
This invention has reference to and comprises a new or improved construction or
arrangement and combination of the parts of a cast steel racket press, for
preventing the warping or twisting of lawn tennis rackets by holding and pressing
the racket between two plane surfaces.
The nature and novelty of the invention consists all as follows:-This improved
racket press consists generally of two cast steel frames or sides, formed to the
shape of a tennis racket, between which the racket is held rigid and pressed, the
pressure being applied all round the frame of the racket. These steel frames
consist of a periphery or rim of continuous girder section having cross arms or
spokes also of girder section. Vertical webs on the rim are carried in a straight
line Between the points at which these cross arms or spokes join the periphery so
that pressure applied in the centre of the frame at the point of intersection of these
arms, or at their extremities is evenly distributed along the intermediate portion of
the rim and so. all round the frame. The pressure is obtained by means of a small
lever which when turned by hand slides up inclined planes and so draws the frames
together by means of a stud or bolt attached to it and also to the lower frame, or
by studs and inclined planes at the extremities of the cross arms.
Dated this 9th day of May 1801
HENRY BOYD.
S. CHARLES OLDHA M.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Cast Steel Girder Racket Press for Preventing the
Warping or Twisting of Lawn Tennis Rackets.
We, HENRY BOYD and SAMUEL CHARLES OLDHAM, both of 34 Trevelyan
Terrace, Belfast, 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:—
The improved racket press in accordance with our invention, we prefer to
designate as a girder racket press inasmuch as it is distinguished by the girder
principle of construction which forms one of the salient features of our improved
device and by means of which, power applied to the arms is uniformly distributed
all round the rims of the device. These latter being made to suit the shape of the
racket, and being plain and not points, will when screwed together catch or clasp
the racket frame all round. This feature forms an important element in our
invention inasmuch as other presses at present on the market only catch at
3 or 4 points as the case may be. The advantage of this improvement which we
are enabled to effect by means of our invention will be obvious to those who are
acquainted with the branch of industry to which our improvements apply.
Although we have in the Provisional Spcification of our invention referred to
same as a cast steel girder racket press, it will be self evident that our improved
device may be constructed of any suitable metal or substance such for instance *
Pi Adl

page_text: malleable cast iron, brass, gun metal, bronze &c. Moreover although in the
Provisional Specification of our invention we have as one of the subordinate
elements therein, when describing the means employed for applying the pressure,
described the employment of a lever &c.
We have found in practice that without departing from the essential features of
our invention a more convenient method of applying the power or pressure com-
prises the following arrangement of parts; that is to say-We employ a screw
with snap head in which. a. groove is cut, into which a catch fits and prevents the
screw drawing out when pressure is applied. On one side of screw there is a
flat" which serves as a neat fit for a similarly shaped hole in the centre of the
boss. This "flat" forms a shoulder at the top which prevents the screw being
withdrawn; said screw is placed through the hole in the centre of boss, then we
apply the thumb screw and burr up the screw thread with result that we have no
loose part, the nut preventing the screw withdrawing one way and the shoulder
preventing it from coming the other. The "flat" on screw also has the advantage
of preventing the screw turning.
In order that our invention may be the better understood we have appended the
accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Figure 1 is a general elevational view of our device,
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line A, B Figure 1,
Figure 3 a detached detail view shewing catch.
In the several views A and A' are the frames, B the thumb screw, C cross bars
or ties, D catch piece referred to above, E the screw above referred to as being
formed with a groove and one flat side &c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim:is:
First In racket presses the girder like principle of construction which we
adopt substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
Second-The means which we employ for applying the pressure or power as
herein described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 11th day of February 1892.
JAMES STEVENSON,
20, High Holborn, W.C., Agent for Applicants.