An Improved Device for Scoring or Marking when Playing the Game of Lawn-tennis.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 4th May, 1887
Complete Left, 4th Feb., 1888
Complete Accepted, 9th Mar., 1888
An Improved Device for Scoring or Marking when Playing the
Game of Lawn-tennis.
I, FRANK PERRY, of Wilderness Hill, Margate, in the county of Kent, Proprietor
of Sanatorium, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
My invention relates to a device to be used while playing the game of lawn tennis
for scoring or marking the strokes and the games played, by colours and figures or
letters simultaneously.
For this purpose 1 employ a cubical block four of the sides of which are each
coloured differently and are marked respectively with the figures or letters which are
generally used to represent the strokes won when playing lawn tennis; the remaining
two sides of the cubical block are colored differently and are each provided with a dial
and a hand or index, the said dial being suitably marked off into divisions and figured
so as to allow of the games won by each side or set of players being indicated by the
hands or indexes on the dials.
Each side or set of players is provided with one of my scores which is placed just
beyond the back line of the court and, as the game proceeds, the strokes are scored or
marked by turning the cube over; when a game has been won by either side it is
scored or marked on the proper dial.

page_text: An Improved Device for Scoring or Marking when Playing the
Game of Lawn-tennis.
1, FRANK PERRY, of Wilderness Hill, Margate, in the county of Kent, Proprietor
of Sanatorium, 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 relates to a device to be used while playing the game of lawn-tennis
for scoring or marking the strokes and the games played by colours or by figures or
letters or by colours and figures or letters simultaneously.
For this purpose I employ a cubical block or rectangular prism four of the sides of
which are each coloured differently and are marked respectively with the figures or
letters which are generally used to represent the strokes won when playing lawn
tennis; the remaining two sides of the block or prism are colored differently and are
each provided with a dial and a hand or index, the said dial being suitably marked off
into divisions and figures so as to allow of the games won by each side or set of
players being indicated by the hands or indexes on the dials.
1
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
how it can be carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawing, in
which
Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device for scoring or marking when playing
the game of lawn tennis, and
Figure 2 is a developed view of the same.
Similar letters in both the figures indicate similar parts.
u, b, c and d indicate the four sides of the device which may each be colored
differently, say for example red, white, blue, and black; these sides may also be con-
veniently marked as follows, namely, the side a may be marked with a large figure 15
and with a small figure 40, the side with a large figure 30 and a small letter A, the
side c with a large figure 40 and a small figure 15 and the side d with a large letter A
and a small figure 30, the said figures and letters being those generally used to
represent the strokes won when playing lawn tennis.
e and are the sides of the device which are provided with dials 9, 9 as shown and
with hands or indexes h, h; the dials 9, 9 are marked off into divisions numbered
from 0 to 6 in order to allow the games won by each side or set of players being
indicated by the hands or indexes h, h.
A ring or collar of india rubber or the like is advantageously placed between each
of the hands or indexes h and the ends or sides e and to prevent the hands from
working loosely.
When playing lawn tennis each side or set of players is provided with one of my
devices or scores which is placed in a suitable position just beyond the back line of the
court, or in any position on the court convenient to the players, and as the game

page_text: proceeds, the strokes are scored or marked by turning the device over, for example, if
the devices are to be used on a table at which a person is seated who is intended to
take the scores as soon as one player has won his first stroke one of my devices is
placed on the table with the large figure 15 towards the players; at the same time
the small figure 15 will be presented towards the scorer and the score will thus be
exhibited to him as well as to the players and the colour of the side will also serve to
indicate the score.
On the said player winning his second stroke the device is turned over so as to
exhibit the large figure 30 and a different color to the players and the small figure 30
and a different color to the scorer and so on until the end of the game, it being
understood that the scores of the other player will be exhibited by another of my
devices in a similar manner.
When a game has been won by either side it is scored or marked on one of
the dials g by moving the index h.
It will be obvious that the scores can be represented by colours alone, the use of
figures being dispensed with, or by figures alone without colours.
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 :-
1. A device to be used for scoring or marking when playing the game of lawn-
tennis and consisting of a rectangular prism having different colours or figures and
letters, or both, on four of its sides and a dial and pointer on each of its other sides
substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
2. The improved device for scoring or marking when playing the game of lawn-
tennis substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing.
Dated the 4th day of Fabr 1990
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.