RACKET

Abstract

A racket includes a rigid support, a foam core covering the rigid support, and two panels covering the foam core. The rigid support includes a first frame and a second frame connected to the first frame. The first frame has a plurality of through holes. The foam core includes a foam body made up of a plurality of foam particles and a foam handle. The foam body covers the entire first frame and fills up the through holes, and the foam handle covers the entire second frame, wherein one of the panels is bonded to the foam core and covers the entire top surface of the foam core, and the other panel is bonded to the foam core and covers the entire bottom surface of the foam core.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a racket, and more particularly to a pickleball racket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, rackets used in pickleball are made of wood, fibers (fiberglass, or carbon fiber), or composite materials. The common composite material rackets are made by sandwiching a honeycomb panel between two rubber sheets or foam sheets to form a racket body. This racket body is then embedded in a racket frame with a handle. The frame is typically made of polypropylene, fiberglass, carbon fiber or aluminum.

The manufacturing process of the conventional composite material rackets is laborious and inefficient due to its structure. Therefore the object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a racket that comprises a rigid support, a foam core covering the rigid support and two panels covering the foam core. The rigid support includes a first frame and a second frame connected to the first frame, the first frame has a plurality of through holes. The foam core has a foam body and a foam handle made up of a plurality of foam particles. The foam body covers the entire first frame and fills up all the through holes, and the foam handle covers the entire second frame, wherein one of the two panels is bonded to a top surface of the foam core and covered the entire top surface, and the other panel is bonded to a bottom surface of the foam core and covered the entire bottom surface.

In one embodiment, the two panels of the racket of the present invention cover an entire periphery of the foam core together. Preferably, all the peripheral edges of the two panels are connected. More preferably, the location where all the peripheral edges of the two panels meet is located at the periphery of the foam core.

In one embodiment, each panel of the racket has a foam skin and a non-foam plastic film formed on an entire outer surface of the foam skin, and wherein an entire inner surface of the foam skin of one of the panels is bonded to the entire top surface of the foam core, and the entire inner surface of the foam skin of the other panel is bonded to the entire bottom surface of the foam core.

In one embodiment, the first frame and the second frame of the rigid support of the racket are integrally formed, and the intersection between the first frame and the second frame is configured to form a reinforced structure.

In one embodiment, the first frame of the rigid support of the racket includes a plurality of interconnected ribs, and these ribs form those through holes.

In one embodiment, the ribs of the racket are hollow.

In one embodiment, the rigid support of the racket includes an upper portion and a lower portion that can be joined together.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the second frame of the racket is greater than the thickness of the first frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the racket of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the A-A axis of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial exploded view of a rigid support of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a racket for batting, particularly for playing pickleball. FIG. 1 shows the racket of the present invention comprises a foam core 1 with two panels 2 sandwiching the foam core 1. The foam core 1 is made up of a plurality of foam particles 100 clustered together (see FIG. 5). The foam core 1 includes a foam body 11 and foam handle 12. The foam core 1 is integrally formed, preferably made of expanded polypropylene (EPP), but it can also be made of alternative materials such as expanded polyethylene (EPE), expanded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polyolefin (EPO, a blend of polystyrene and polyethylene, and further crosslinked and foamed), or other materials. The foam expansion ratio of the foam core can be selected from 10 times to 45 times.

In one preferred embodiment, the production process of the foam core 1 involves a pre-expansion operation on polypropylene (PP) plastic pellets, causing the PP plastic pellets to undergo initial expansion and become expanded/foamed polypropylene beads (EPP beads). Then, a predetermined quantity of the expanded/foamed polypropylene beads is introduced into a mold cavity of a mold (not shown in the figure). The mold cavity has a predetermined shape resembling a racket. The expanded/foamed polypropylene beads inside the mold cavity are then heated so that the polypropylene foam beads not only re-expand into polypropylene foam particles (see foam particles 100 in FIG. 5), but the surface of each polypropylene foam particle stick together due to the heat absorption, thus clustering and forming the foam core 1 in the shape of the racket.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1, the two panels 2 are one piece, and one of the panels 2 is bonded to the foam core 1 and covers the entire top surface of the foam core 1, while the other panel 2 is bonded to the foam core 1 and covers the entire bottom surface of the foam core 1.

FIG. 2 shows the racket of the present invention comprising a racket body 110 and a handle 120. The interior of the racket body 110 is the foam body 11 of the foam core 1, and the exterior of the racket body 110 is the first portion 201 of the foam body corresponding to the two panels 2. The interior of the handle 120 is the foam handle 12 of the foam core 1, and the exterior of the handle 120 is the second portion 202 of the foam handle 12 corresponding to the two panels 2.

FIG. 3 shows the handle 120 is wrapped with an anti-slip tape 23 to provide a comfortable grip and excellent anti-slip resistance.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the two panels 2 cover the entire periphery of the foam core 1 together, meaning, the entire surface of the foam core 1 is covered by the two panels without being exposed. Preferably, the location where the entire peripheral edge 210 of the two panels 2 are joined together (i.e., where the seam 211 is) are located around the periphery of the foam core 1. The peripheral edge 210 of the two panels 2 can be either connected or overlapped.

The two panels 2 can be made of either the same or different materials. In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the two panels 2 comprises a foam skin 22 and a non-foam plastic film 21 formed on an entire outer surface of the foam skin 22, and wherein an entire inner surface of the foam skin 22 of one of the panels 22 is bonded to the entire top surface of the foam core 1, and the entire inner surface of the foam skin 22 of the other panel 2 is bonded to the entire bottom surface of the foam core 1. Wherein, the non foam plastic film 21 can be formed on the entire outer surface of the foam skin 22 using plastic coating method, but not limited to such method.

The non-foam plastic film 21 has a predetermined rigidity to provide an optimal hitting surface. In one embodiment, the non foam plastic film 21 can be made of high-density, medium-density, or low-density plastic materials. The plastic materials can be selected from Polyethylene (PE), or polypropylene (PP) or Surlyn® resins. The foam skin is preferably selected from a soft and easily compressed foam polyethylene (EPE) material, but it is not limited to this. For example, foam polypropylene (EPP) material can also be used.

In one embodiment, the two panels 2 are heat laminated to the foam core 1, so that there is no adhesive between the two panels 2 and the foam core 1. However, the two panels 2 can also be laminated to the foam 1 using adhesive. Additionally, a bonding material can be used to replace the aforementioned adhesive, such as a copolymer with a mixture of some PE (polyethylene) material and some PP (polypropylene) material.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the non-foam plastic film 21 of the two panels 2 is 0.5 mm. Before the two panels are heat laminated to the foam core 1, the thickness of the foam skin 22 on the top surface of the panels 2 is approximately 1 mm. However, after being heat laminated onto the foam core 1, the thickness of the foam skin 22 on the top surface of the panels 2 becomes approximately ⅓ to ¼ mm due to compression. At this point, the thickness of the foam skin 22 is less than the thickness of the non-foam plastic film 21.

In one embodiment, a rigid support 3 as shown in FIG. 6 can be placed inside the aforementioned mold cavity so that the foam core 1 has a rigid support 3 inside. The rigid support 3 includes a first frame 31 and a second frame 32 connected to the first frame 31, and the first frame 31 has a plurality of through holes 312. As shown in FIGS. 8-9, the foam body covers the entire second frame 32 and fills up all the through holes, the foam handle 12 covers the entire second frame 32. Preferably, these through holes 312 are completely filled with the material of the foam core 1 (namely, the aforementioned foam particles 100).

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the first frame 31 and the second frame 32 are integrally formed, and the intersection 33 between the first frame 31 and the second frame 32 is configured to form a reinforced structure. The reinforced structure enhances the structural strength of the intersection 33, reducing the chance of it breaking from this point.

In one embodiment, the rigid support 3 provides the racket with excellent structural strength, and can be made from non-foam plastic materials.

In another embodiment, the rigid support 3 can be made from either polypropylene (PP) or glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene. Alternatively, other materials such as glass fiber-reinforced nylon or polyethylene may also be used.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6-7, the first frame 31 includes a plurality of interconnected ribs 311, and these ribs 311 form the aforementioned through holes 312. Preferably, the through holes 312 are in polygonal shape, but they can also be circular or elliptical. More preferably, these through holes 312 form a honeycomb structure.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the aforementioned ribs 311 are hollow. Preferably, each rib 311 has a groove 310 within, and the grooves are in interconnected.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7-9, the rigid support 3 includes an upper portion 3a and a lower portion 3b that can be joined together.

The aforementioned structure of the racket of the present invention, especially the integrally formed foam core 1 and the rigid support 3, helps reduce manual labor in assembly during the manufacturing process, while enhances quality, save energy and reduces carbon emissions.

Claims

1. A racket, comprising: a rigid support, comprising a first frame and a second frame connected to the first frame, wherein the first frame has a plurality of through holes;a foam core, made up of a plurality of foam particles, comprising a foam body and a foam handle, wherein the foam body covers the entire first frame and fills up all the through holes, the foam handle covers the entire second frame; andtwo panels, bonded to a top surface of the foam core and a bottom surface of the foam core respectively, and covered the entire top surface and the entire bottom surface respectively.

2. The racket of claim 1, wherein the two panels cover an entire periphery of the foam core together.

3. The racket of claim 2, wherein a peripheral edge of one of the panels and a peripheral edge of the other panel are all connected but does not overlap.

4. The racket of claim 3, wherein the intersection between the peripheral edges of the two panels is located at the periphery of the foam core.

5. The racket of claim 4, wherein each panel comprises a foam skin and a non-foam plastic film formed on an entire outer surface of the foam skin, and wherein an entire inner surface of the foam skin of one of the panels is bonded to the entire top surface of the foam core, and the entire inner surface of the foam skin of the other panel is bonded to the entire bottom surface of the foam core.

6. The racket of claim 1, wherein the first frame and the second frame of the rigid support are integrally formed and the intersection between the first frame and the second frame is configured to form a reinforced structure.

7. The racket of claim 6, wherein the first frame of the rigid support includes a plurality of interconnected ribs, and these ribs form those through holes.

8. The racket of claim 7, wherein the ribs are hollow.

9. The racket of claim 8, wherein the rigid support includes an upper portion and a lower portion that can be joined together.

10. The racket of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the second frame is greater than the thickness of the first frame.