Table Tennis Racket or Like Racket Played by Hand Controlled by Fingers and Palm
A table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm is described. The racket includes a handle portion with a palm curved set and a racket portion constituted by a ball-striking portion and a gripping connection portion. The ball-striking portion has a striking face and an opposite striking face. The palm curved set, intersecting the striking face at an angle and obliquely joined to the gripping connection portion, is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face. Therefore, the present invention may achieve the following beneficial effects. The effective usable region of the two striking faces of the racket are enlarged. It is possible to strike a ball from different angles and with different forces. The probability that the fingers contact the ball is also reduced. Moreover, a user does not need to forcibly twist the wrist, so the requirements on gesture are lowered.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand, and more particularly to a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm adapted for different users.
2. Related Art
A table tennis racket or like racket played by hand for tennis, badminton, softball, or the like generally includes a racket for striking a ball and a handle. In use, the handle is gripped by the palm of a user, and the ball is struck out by the racket portion with a force exerted by the arm. Central axes of such handle and racket generally overlap. The handle, protruding from striking faces of the racket, is slim and smooth, suitable for being gripped by hand. However, as the ball is struck out by the racket from different directions and with different forces, the user also needs to return the ball with different forces, from different directions, and at different angles. Thereby, with regard to table tennis, shake-hand and pen-hold rackets are provided and have their own advantages to cater for different user preferences and dominance of the left or right hand. It is difficult to hold the shake-hand racket with the forehand striking face right to the front, unless the user twists the waist and does side bends, rotates the body along with the footsteps, or narrowly twists the wrist backwards. It is also difficult to hold the pen-hold racket with the backhand striking face downward even if the user does narrowly twist the wrist. Although other non-mainstream rackets have individual advantages, they are usually inferior to the shake-hand and pen-hold rackets. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,147,110, a table tennis racket also including a handle and a racket is disclosed. The handle is disposed inclined to the striking faces of the racket. The bottom and top end of the inclined handle are respectively disposed on two sides of the racket. Such racket may enhance the forehand striking force and enlarge the forehand usable area of the racket at the cost of a reduced backhand force and usable area. Meanwhile, the user needs to appropriately coordinate the wrist and the body when using the backhand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn order to eliminate the above technical defects, the present invention is directed to a table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm. Such racket is convenient for playing both forehand and backhand, capable of enhancing forehand and backhand forces, flexible to use, and capable of reducing the physical stress on the user and lowering the adjustments on gesture.
Therefore, the following technical solutions are provided. Such table tennis racket or like racket played by hand includes a handle portion with a palm curved set and a racket portion constituted by a ball-striking portion and a gripping connection portion. The ball-striking portion has a striking face and an opposite striking face. The palm curved set, intersecting the striking face at an angle and obliquely joined to the gripping connection portion, is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face.
The handle portion further includes a rapid switching unit and a multifunction unit.
The rapid switching unit is disposed on one side of the gripping connection portion between the palm curved set and the opposite striking face of the racket portion and protrudes from the opposite striking face. The multifunction unit is disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and protrudes from the striking face.
The palm curved set is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face of the racket portion.
The palm curved set includes a bottom layer portion, an inclined portion, and a comfortable portion. The bottom layer portion protrudes from the opposite striking face. The inclined portion has a bottom connected to the bottom layer portion, and a top end further away from the opposite striking face relative to the bottom and intersecting the striking face at an angle. The comfortable portion is disposed on a side surface of the top end of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face.
The bottom layer portion of the palm curved set is a cylinder. A bottom surface of the cylinder connected to the racket portion is a plane, an opposite top surface connected to the inclined portion is an inclined surface at an angle of 15° to 70° from the striking face of the racket portion, and a skew angle formed between a long side of the bottom surface and a central axis of the racket portion is 10° to 75°.
The inclined portion is a smooth elliptical cylinder with a bottom portion and a slightly smaller top portion adapted for the palm to grip. An inclined angle formed between a side surface of the inclined portion adjacent to the center of the opposite striking face and the bottom surface of the inclined portion is 30 to 70°. Two side surfaces at the minor axis of the inclined portion are planes, and the bottom of the inclined portion is connected to the inclined top surface of the bottom layer portion. The comfortable portion, disposed on the side surface at the minor axis of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face, is a cylinder with a curved surface.
The rapid switching unit is a triangular prism disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the opposite striking face, and positioned on one side of the inclined surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set adjacent to the opposite striking face of the racket portion. A top surface of the rapid switching unit and a vertical surface thereof adjacent to an edge of the gripping connection portion are connected by a smooth curved narrow surface, and a major axis of the smooth narrow surface is disposed inclined to the central axis of the racket portion.
The rapid switching unit may also be a cylinder of any shape with a plane top portion adapted for the height of the finger, and further connected to the bottom layer portion.
The multifunction unit is a cylinder with a plane bottom portion connected to the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and a curved top portion. An inclined angle formed between the multifunction unit and the long side of the bottom surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set is 45° to 90°. Alternatively, the multifunction unit is not only disposed inclined to the long side of the bottom surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set, but also disposed intersecting the striking face at an angle. The multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face. Major axes of the multifunction unit and the bottom layer portion respectively rotate counterclockwise by −30° to 80° and clockwise by 10 to 75° from the central axis of the striking face. Or, the multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face and intersecting the striking face at an angle.
The palm curved set, the rapid switching unit, and the multifunction unit are fixed to each other by screws or nails or bonded by adhesives, or are integrally formed.
The above technical solutions may achieve the following beneficial effects:
1. enlarging the effective usable region of the two striking faces of the racket portion;
2. adapted to strike a ball at different angles and with different forces;
3. reducing the probability that the fingers contact the ball; and
4. making it unnecessary for a user to forcibly twist the wrist, and thus lowering the requirements on gesture.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
The present invention is illustrated below with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The rapid switching unit 14 is a triangular prism disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the opposite striking face, positioned on one side of the inclined surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set adjacent to the opposite striking face of the racket portion, and protrudes from the opposite striking face. A top surface of the rapid switching unit and a vertical surface thereof adjacent to an edge of the gripping connection portion are connected by a smooth curved narrow surface 142. In addition, an inclined angle formed between a major axis of the smooth narrow surface and the central axis of the striking face of the racket portion is 59°. That is, as shown in
In particular, the shape and size of a racket are designed according to ergonomics. The sizes of the palm curved set 12, the rapid switching unit 14, and the multifunction unit 16 of the handle portion are varied depending on the sizes of the hand.
It should be understood that screws, in addition to the adhesives, may be adopted to make the bottom layer portion more firmly connected to the ball-striking portion. Further, an additional connection portion may be provided to make the comfortable portion firmly connected to the inclined portion.
It should be understood that the rapid switching unit of the handle portion in the table tennis racket or like racket played by hand according to the present invention may be a cylinder of any shape with a plane top portion adapted for the height of the finger, and may also be further connected to the bottom layer portion. The comfortable portion of the handle portion may also be a regular cylinder, or a cylinder or platform with rounded corners and fillets, or a cube with smooth surfaces.
Moreover, the multifunction unit may not only be disposed inclined to the vertical projection of the major axis of the inclined portion of the palm curved set on the striking face nor disposed inclined to the central axis of the striking faces of the racket portion, but also disposed inclined to the striking face. The multifunction unit may also be a protrusion of any shape with rounded corners and smooth surfaces while connected via the gripping connection portion to the striking face of the racket portion.
In addition, a user accustomed to the left-hand is merely a mirror image of the above right-handed user.
Claims
1. A table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm, comprising a handle portion with a palm curved set and a racket portion constituted by a ball-striking portion and a gripping connection portion, wherein the ball-striking portion has a striking face and an opposite striking face, and the palm curved set, intersecting the striking face at an angle and obliquely joined to the gripping connection portion, is completely mounted on the side of the opposite striking face.
2. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1, further comprising a rapid switching unit and a multifunction unit.
3. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rapid switching unit is disposed on one side of the gripping connection portion between the palm curved set and the opposite striking face of the racket portion and protrudes from the opposite striking face; and the multifunction unit is disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and protrudes from the striking face.
4. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the palm curved set comprises a bottom layer portion, an inclined portion, and a comfortable portion; the bottom layer portion protrudes from the opposite striking face; the inclined portion has a bottom connected to the bottom layer portion, and a top end further away from the opposite striking face relative to the bottom and intersecting the striking face at an angle; and the comfortable portion is disposed on a side surface of the top end of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face.
5. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottom layer portion of the palm curved set is a cylinder; a bottom surface of the cylinder connected to the racket portion is a plane, an opposite top surface connected to the inclined portion is an inclined surface at an angle of 15° to 70° from the striking face of the racket portion, and a skew angle formed between a long side of the bottom surface and a central axis of the racket portion is 10° to 75°.
6. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inclined portion is a smooth elliptical cylinder with a bottom portion and a slightly smaller top portion adapted for the palm to grip; an inclined angle formed between a side surface of the inclined portion adjacent to the center of the opposite striking face and the bottom surface of the inclined portion is 30° to 70°; two side surfaces at the minor axis of the inclined portion are planes, and the bottom of the inclined portion is connected to the inclined top surface of the bottom layer portion; and the comfortable portion, disposed on the side surface at the minor axis of the inclined portion adjacent to the striking face, is a cylinder with a curved surface.
7. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rapid switching unit is a triangular prism disposed on the gripping connection portion on the side of the opposite striking face, and positioned on one side of the inclined surface of the bottom layer portion in the palm curved set adjacent to the opposite striking face of the racket portion; a top surface of the rapid switching unit and a vertical surface thereof adjacent to an edge of the gripping connection portion are connected by a smooth curved narrow surface, and a major axis of the smooth narrow surface is disposed inclined to the central axis of the racket portion.
8. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 7, wherein the rapid switching unit is a cylinder of any shape with a plane top portion adapted for the height of the finger, and further connected to the bottom layer portion.
9. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the multifunction unit is a cylinder with a plane bottom portion connected to the gripping connection portion on the side of the striking face and a curved top portion; the multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face; major axes of the multifunction unit and the bottom layer portion respectively rotate counterclockwise by −30° to 80° and clockwise by 10° to 75° from the central axis of the striking face, or the multifunction unit is disposed inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the bottom layer portion on the side of the opposite striking face and intersecting the striking face at an angle.
10. The table tennis racket or like racket played by hand controlled by fingers and palm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the palm curved set, the rapid switching unit, and the multifunction unit are fixed to each other by screws or nails or bonded by adhesives, or are integrally formed.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 5, 2007
Publication Date: Dec 16, 2010
Inventor: Kwok Kit Tang (Hongkong)
Application Number: 12/293,553
International Classification: A63B 59/04 (20060101);