COLOR-CODED PRACTICE BAND FOR A TENNIS RACKET

Abstract

A practice band to surround or replace the existing grip of a (e.g., tennis) racket so that a visual indication is provided as to where the hand or hands should be correctly positioned with respect to the grip by a player who is practicing a variety of (e.g., tennis) strokes. According to a preferred embodiment, the practice band is provided with a series of parallel-aligned stripes having different colors to correspond with the different positions around the grip to which the player's hand or hands should be rotated depending upon the stroke to be practiced. The practice band is also provided with printed indicia that is applied over the stripes to identify the different strokes to which the colored stripes of the band correspond.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a practice band to either surround or replace the usual grip of a tennis racket. According to a preferred embodiment, the practice band includes a series of parallel-aligned stripes having colors and printed indicia which provide a visual indication to one who plays the game of tennis where to place his hand or hands with respect to the grip while practicing different tennis strokes.

2. Background Art

A variety of strokes (e.g., forehand, backhand, serve, volley and slice) must be mastered for one to become proficient at the game of tennis. Many instructors believe that a tennis racket should be rotated in the hand of a player such that the position of the player's hands around the grip of the racket will change depending upon a particular stroke. For one wishing to practice his tennis strokes, finding a means to quickly and easily indicate the correct positions of the player's hand or hands around the grip can be difficult. That is to say, an easy-to-use practice aid would be desirable to help a player practice and learn the correct position for his hand or hands around the grip of his tennis racket for each of the strokes that are commonly associated with the game of tennis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, a practice band is disclosed to either surround or replace the usual grip at the handle of a tennis racket so that a visual indication can be provided to one practicing the game of tennis to identify where his hand or hands should be positioned with respect to the grip in order to practice a variety of tennis strokes. According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the practice band is pushed into removable surrounding engagement with the existing grip of the racket. The practice band is preferably manufactured from a resilient, stretchable material so as to make a tight fit around the grip without having to alter the grip. As one alternative, the practice band may he a stiff sleeve to slide over and around the grip. As another alternative, the practice band may be a flat strip that is wrapped around and adhesively bonded to the grip similar to a sticker.

A series of parallel-aligned stripes having different colors run lengthwise along the practice band. The colored stripes are located on the band to indicate the correct position to which the player's hand or hands should be rotated around the grip depending upon the stroke to be practiced. Indicia is printed on each of the stripes to identify to the player the particular strokes corresponding to the colors of the stripes. The practice band also carries a marking to enable the middle of the band to be accurately aligned with the middle of the grip around which the band is located. The practice band may surround the entire length of the grip (between the knob at one end of the handle and the neck of the racket adjacent the opposite end of the handle) or only a portion of the grip so that the indicia printed on the colored stripes will not be covered by the player's hand and the band is less likely to wear out from prolonged use.

As a second preferred embodiment, the practice band may be formed as a replacement for the usual grip of the tennis racket. In this case, the practice band is affixed over and around the racket handle during manufacture so as to become part of the racket. The band is provided with a series of parallel-aligned stripes that are positioned to lie side-by-side and run lengthwise along the handle. The stripes are provided with different colors and printed indicia identical to those described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a conventional tennis racket with the grip thereof to be surrounded by a removable color-coded practice band according to a first preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 shows one side of the practice band of FIG. 1 having a series of colored stripes and printed indicia and being located in surrounding engagement with the existing grip of the tennis racket;

FIG. 3 shows the opposite side of the practice band shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show an alternate embodiment where the practice band is sized to surround only a portion of the existing grip of the tennis racket;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show another alternate embodiment where the practice band is a flat strip that is wrapped over and around the existing grip of the tennis racket;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a second preferred embodiment for a practice band including a series of colored stripes and printed indicia to replace the usual grip lying over the handle of a tennis racket; and

FIGS. 10-13 show a player's hands rotated to different ones of the colored stripes and printed indicia of the practice band of FIGS. 1-3 corresponding to different tennis strokes to be practiced by the player.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, there is shown a practice band 1 to surround the existing grip 3 which covers a handle of a conventional tennis racket 5 having a head 7 and a neck 6 extending between the grip 3 and head 7. According to a preferred embodiment of this invention, the practice band 1 is color-coded to provide an immediate visual indication to one practicing the game of tennis with respect to different positions at which the grip 3 of the racket 5 should be grasped in the hand (or hands) of the player depending upon a particular stroke to be practiced. That is to say, it is often desirable to rotate the grip 3 within a player's hand so that the head 7 of the racket 5 will be correspondingly rotated as is necessary to best return a tennis ball that is hit to the player. With a variety of different strokes to be practiced, it is not always apparent to many (especially beginners) precisely how far to rotate the grip 3 and where to position the player's hand with respect to the grip.

The color-coded practice band 1 overcomes this problem by providing a visual indication to the player where his hand should be positioned on the grip 3 of the racket 5 while practicing any one of a variety of different strokes. After sufficient practice, the player will be better able to automatically position his hand as needed during play without the aid of the practice band 1.

The practice band 1 herein described may be manufactured from a variety of materials. However, it is preferable that the practice band 1 be made from a flexible, resilient material that is capable of being stretched, such as rubber, or the like. In this manner, the practice band 1 may be stretched and pulled over the existing grip 3 of the racket 5. In this same regard, following practice, the practice band 1 may be removed from the grip 3 without altering the grip or affecting the play of the racket. That is, the practice band 1 can be stretched and pulled off the grip 3 when it is not being used. The resilient nature of the practice band 1 creates a tight friction fit by which to hold the band 1 in place on the grip of the racket 5. Therefore, the position of the practice band I is not likely to change (i.e., rotate) with respect to the grip 3 during practice.

By way of modification, the practice band 1 may be a relatively stiff sleeve that is dimensioned to slide over and around the grip 3 for practice and slide off the grip after practice. As an option, the sleeve may have an eight-sided configuration (as shown in FIG. 1) to match the shape of the grip 3.

As previously disclosed, the practice band 1 is color-coded to provide visual position indications to which the player's hand (or hands) will be rotated to grasp the grip 3 while practicing different strokes. The particular colors selected to designate the hand positions is a matter of choice. However, the colors should be arranged so that adjacent colors can be easily distinguished from one another by the player. To further assist the player in learning the correct grip, printed indicia may be applied to the practice band 1 and used in combination with the different colors. The printed indicia will identify the name of the stroke or strokes that can be practiced as the grip 3 of the racket 5 is rotated from position to position in the hand of the player. The indicia is preferably printed over or embossed into the colors and located at the upper end of the practice band 1 closest to the neck 6 of the racket so that the indicia will not be covered by the hand of the player.

The colors which designate the hand positions are arranged in parallel stripes that run lengthwise along the practice band 1. The colored stripes are applied such that when the practice band 1 is pulled or slid over and around the grip 3 of the racket 5, the colors will be visible on opposite sides of the grip 3. In order for the practice band 1 to be initially and accurately positioned in surrounding engagement with the grip 3 of the tennis racket 5, a special marking 20 is applied to enable the middle of the practice band 1 to be aligned with the middle of the grip 3.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2, a first colored stripe 8 on one side of the practice band 1 having a first color and corresponding printed indicia is indicative of the position of the player's hand to practice a one-handed backhand. A second colored stripe 10 of the practice band 1 having a second color and indicia is indicative of the positions of a right-handed player's hands to practice a two-handed backhand. A third colored stripe 12 of the practice band 1 having a third color and indicia is indicative of the player's hand position to practice either one of a serve, volley or slice. A fourth colored stripe 14 of the practice band 1 having a fourth color and indicia is indicative of the player's hand position to practice a forehand.

Certain areas of the practice band 1 are not needed to practice any common tennis stroke. The corresponding colored stripes (16-1 on the side of the practice band 1 shown in FIG. 2) which are not used to designate a hand position are provided with a fifth color (e.g., black or white).

Turning now to FIG. 3, a sixth colored stripe 18 is located on the side of the practice band 1 which lies opposite to the side shown in FIG. 2. The color stripe 18 has a sixth color and indicia which are indicative of the positions of a left-handed player's hands to practice a two-handed back hand. The unused areas (colored stripes 16-2 and 16-3) at the side of the practice band 1 shown in FIG. 3 (which run along the opposite sides of the color stripe 18) are, as previously described, provided with the fifth color.

FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings show an alternate embodiment for the practice band 1 described while referring to FIGS. 1-3. The practice band 25 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is identical to the practice band 1, except that the practice band 25 is shorter. That is, once installed around the grip 3 of the tennis racket, the practice band 25 will lie entirely at one end of the handle closest to the neck 6 of the racket. In this case, the practice band 25 will be spaced away from the knob 27 at the opposite end of the handle of the racket. By virtue of the foregoing, the hand or hands of the player can grasp the grip 3 but not the practice band 25 while practicing one or more tennis strokes. Thus, the practice band 25 of FIGS. 4 and 5 will not wear out as quickly and may have a longer life expectancy than the practice band 1 shown in FIGS. 1-3.

The practice band 25 is provided with a series of parallel-aligned colored stripes 28-33 which run lengthwise therealong. The colored stripes 28-33 have different colors which may be identical to the colors of the colored stripes 8, 10, 12, 16, 16 and 18 of the practice band 1. Moreover, printed indicia (identical to that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) may be applied to the practice band 25 and used in combination with the color stripes 28-33 to help the player quickly and easily visually identify the correct position for his hand or hands around the grip 3 depending upon the shot to be practiced. The relatively short length of practice band 25 allows the grip 3 to be held without covering up the colored stripes 28-33 or the indicia printed thereon.

Turning to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings, another removable practice band 35 is shown as an alternative to the practice bands 1 and 25 earlier described when referring to FIGS. 1-5. In this case, the practice band 35 is formed from a flat strip 36 that is manufactured from plastic, leather, paper, or the like. The flat strip 36 is wrapped around the grip 3 of the racket so that opposite ends of the strip can be laid over one another and fastened together to establish the practice band 35. To accomplish the foregoing, a layer of adhesive 37 covers one or both of the opposite ends of the strip 36. Rather than covering one or both ends of the flat strip 36 with the adhesive 37, an entire face (e.g., the bottom) of the strip may contain an adhesive layer, whereby an adhesive-backed sticker is available. The flat strip (i.e., sticker) 36 is simply wrapped around and adhesively bonded to the grip 3 to establish the practice band 35. Once practice has concluded, the practice band 35 is pulled (i.e., torn) off the grip 3 by breaking the adhesive bond between the band and the grip.

The stick-on practice band 35 of FIGS. 6 and 7 includes colored stripes either standing alone or in combination with printed indicia identical to those described for the practice bands 1 and 25 of FIGS. 1-5. Thus, the practice band 35 advantageously provides the player with an immediate visual indication for the position of his hand or hands with respect to the grip 3.

FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings show another preferred embodiment of this invention to help the player identify the positions for his hand or hands with respect to the grip 38 of a tennis racket while practicing different strokes. FIGS. 1-7 illustrate removable practice bands 1, 25 and 35 to be positioned in surrounding engagement with the existing grip of a tennis racket. The practice bands 1, 25 and 35 are removably attached to the racket without having to alter the original grip.

In the case of FIGS. 8 and 9, a practice band 40 is a replacement for the usual grip. That is to say, the practice band 40 becomes the grip which surrounds the handle during manufacture and is not removable from the racket. Hence, the practice band 40 cannot be inadvertently separated from the handle of the racket and lost.

The practice band 40 provides a dual purpose for use as both the grip and as a practice aid to be substituted for the conventional single purpose grip. In this same regard, the band 40 can be used with the racket during normal play after practice has been concluded. More particularly, the practice band 40 includes a series of parallel-aligned colored stripes 42-47 which run lengthwise and side-by-side one another along the handle of the racket around which the conventional grip would otherwise be wrapped. The band 40 on which the stripes 42-47 are located is made from leather or any other suitable grip material.

The stripes 42-47 have different colors which may be identical to the colors of the stripes 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 of the practice bands 1 and 25 shown in FIGS. 2-5. What is more, printed indicia (also identical to that shown in FIGS. 2-5) may be applied (e.g., printed on or embossed into) the practice band 40 and used in combination with the colors of the colored stripes 42-47 to help the player quickly and easily visually identify the correct position for his hand or hands around the practice band 40 depending upon the stroke to be practiced.

The practice bands 1, 25, 35 and 40 described while referring to FIGS. 1-9 may all be used in a similar manner to help the player correctly position his hands around the grip of the tennis racket to practice a particular stroke. Turning in this regard to FIGS. 10-13 of the drawings, one of the practice bands (e.g., that designated 1 in FIGS. 1-3) is described for use during practice.

The knuckle of the forefinger is commonly used by many players and instructors as a reference point to be aligned with different locations on the grip of a tennis racket for practicing different tennis strokes. Thus, the grip 3 of the racket 5 is rotated in the player's hand until the player's knuckle is located over the colored stripe of the practice band 1 having the color and printed indicia corresponding to the stroke to be practiced. By way of example, to practice a two-handed backhand, a right-handed player rotates the grip as shown in FIG. 10 until the knuckles of his hands lie over the corresponding color stripe 10. To practice a forehand, the player rotates the grip as shown in FIG. 11 until the player's knuckle lies over the corresponding colored stripe 14. To practice a one-handed backhand, the player rotates the grip as shown in FIG. 12 until the player's knuckle lies over the corresponding colored stripe 8. To practice any one of a serve, volley or slice, the grip is rotated as shown in FIG. 13 until the player's knuckle lies over the corresponding colored stripe 12. However, it is to be understood that other reference points (e.g., the notch between the thumb and forefinger) of the hand can be aligned with any of the colored stripes of the practice band 1.

The color-coded practice bands of this invention have been described as having particular application for use on a racket for playing the game of tennis. However, the teachings of this invention can also be applied to other rackets associated with other sports such as, but not limited to, badminton, squash, racquetball and the like.

Claims

1. A combination comprising:

a racket having a head at one end to hit an object by one of a variety of strokes and a grip at the opposite end to be held in the hand of a user; and

a band to be located over and in surrounding engagement with at least some of the grip of the racket, said band having a set of visual indicators corresponding to different positions around said grip at which said grip is to be held in the hand of the user depending upon a particular stroke chosen by which to hit the object with the head of the racket.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the set of visual indicators of said band are different colors, said colors being indicative of respective ones of the variety of strokes and the corresponding positions around said grip at which said grip is to he held in the hand of the user to hit the object with the head of the racket.

3. The combination recited in claim 2, wherein said different colors are arranged in parallel-aligned stripes running along said band.

4. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the set of visual indicators of said band is printed indicia indicative of respective ones of the variety of strokes and the corresponding positions around said grip at which said grip is to be held in the hand of the user to hit the object with the head of the racket.

5. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the set of visual indicators of said band are different colors and printed indicia, said colors and said printed indicia each being indicative of respective ones of the variety of strokes and the corresponding positions around said grip at which said grip is to be held in the hand of the user to hit the object with the head of the racket.

6. The combination recited in claim 5, wherein said different colors are arranged in parallel-aligned stripes running along said band, and said printed indicia is located over said colored stripes.

7. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the set of visual indicators includes a designation on said band by which the center of said band is aligned with the center of said grip when said band is located over and in said surrounding engagement with said grip.

8. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said band is a flat strip that is adapted to be wrapped around the grip of the racket so as to lie in said surrounding engagement therewith.

9. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein said flat strip has first and opposite ends and an adhesive located on at least one of said first and opposite ends to hold said ends together when said flat strip is wrapped around said grip.

10. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein said flat strip is a sticker that has a layer of adhesive by which to attach said sticker in said surrounding engagement with said grip.

11. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said band is manufactured from a flexible stretchable material so as to be pulled over and held by means of friction in said surrounding engagement with said grip.

12. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the set of visual indicators is positioned on said band and said band is sized with respect to said grip so that the hand of the user does not cover the set of visual indicators of said band when the grip is held in the hand of the user.

13. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said racket is a tennis racket.

14. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the grip of said racket has eight sides and said band also has eight sides, the eight sides of said hand lying adjacent respective ones of the eight sides of said grip when said band is located over and in said surrounding engagement with said grip.

15. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said band is a stiff sleeve to slide on and off the grip of the racket.

16. A racket having a head at one end to hit an object by one of a variety of strokes and a grip at the opposite end to be held in the hand of a user, said grip having a set of visual indicators formed thereon and corresponding to different positions around said grip at which said grip is to be held in the hand of the user depending upon a particular stroke chosen by which to hit the object with the head of the racket.

17. The combination recited in claim 16, wherein the set of visual indicators of said grip includes different colors, said colors being indicative of respective ones of the variety of strokes and the corresponding positions around said grip at which said grip is to be held in the hand of the user to hit the object with the head of the racket.

18. The combination recited in claim 17, wherein the different colors of said set of visual indicators are arranged in parallel-aligned stripes running along the grip of the racket.

19. The combination recited in claim 18, wherein the set of visual indicators of said grip also includes printed indicia indicative of respective ones of the variety of strokes at which said grip is to be held in the hand of the user to hit the object with the head of the racket, said printed indicia being applied over said parallel-aligned stripes.

20. The combination recited in claim 16, wherein said grip is fixedly attached to the opposite end of the racket.