FR3056410A1 - DEVICE FOR MEASURING GAME PARAMETERS AND RACKET COMPRISING SUCH A DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

This device (1) for measuring game parameters for a racket sport, such as tennis, squash or badminton, comprises a body containing at least one game data sensor, the body having grooves adapted to receive ropes of a rope of a racket. The body also has reliefs (102, 104) compatible with the detachably fixing of the measuring device (1) in a cavity of an end (7) of the handle of a racket, so that the measuring device (1) can be removably attached to the string of a racket or the handle of a racket.

Description

® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number: 3,056,410 (to be used only for reproduction orders)

©) National registration number: 16 59324

COURBEVOIE © Int Cl ⁸ : A 63 B 60/46 (2017.01), A 63 B 49/00

A1 PATENT APPLICATION

©) Date of filing: 09.29.16. (© Priority: (© Applicant (s): BABOLAT VS Société anonyme - FR. @ Inventor (s): GAUTHIER FABIEN. ©) Date of public availability of the request: 30.03.18 Bulletin 18/13. ©) List of documents cited in the preliminary search report: See the end of this booklet (© References to other related national documents: ©) Holder (s): BABOLAT VS Société anonyme. ©) Extension request (s): (© Agent (s): LAVOIX.

DEVICE FOR MEASURING GAME PARAMETERS AND RACKET COMPRISING SUCH A DEVICE.

FR 3 056 410 - A1 _ This device (1) for measuring game parameters for a racket sport, such as tennis, squash or badminton, comprises a body containing at least one game data sensor, the body having grooves adapted to receive strings of a string of a racket. The body also has reliefs (102, 104) compatible with the detachably fixing of the measuring device (1) in a cavity of one end (7) of the handle of a racket, so that the measuring device (1) can be detachably selectively attached to the string of a racket or in the handle of a racket.

Device for measuring game parameters and racket comprising such a device

The invention relates to a device for measuring game parameters for a racket sport. The invention also relates to a racket comprising such a measuring device.

In the context of recent developments in the equipment of sports rackets, in particular tennis, with sensors adapted to collect data on the game, in particular the type of strokes, the striking speed or even the centering of the ball, it is known to equip a racket with a measuring device most often integrated in the handle of the racket, in a removable or irremovable manner. It is also known to equip the rackets with sensors which can be fixed on any part other than the handle, for example the racket head or the string. However, these different attachment techniques have the disadvantage of the incompatibility between the different types of rackets, manufacturers selling systems specific to one or more of their racket models. It is to these drawbacks that the invention intends to remedy by proposing a new device for measuring playing parameters for a racket sport, allowing better adaptability to all types of rackets.

To this end, the invention relates to a device for measuring game parameters for a racket sport, such as tennis, squash or badminton, comprising a body containing at least one game data sensor, the body having grooves adapted to receive strings of a racket string. This device is characterized in that the body also has reliefs compatible with the detachably fixing of the measuring device in a cavity at one end of the handle of a racket, so that the measuring device can be fixed from selectively removable on the string of a racket or in the handle of a racket.

Thanks to the invention, the measuring device can be fixed either in the handle of a racket in which it will be held stationary, or on the string of a racket of another type in place of the anti- usual vibrator, the user does not need any effort to adapt.

According to advantageous but not compulsory aspects of the invention, such a device can incorporate one or more of the following characteristics, taken in any technically admissible combination:

- The body has an external shape whose cross section corresponds to the cross section of a cavity at one end of the handle of a racket.

- The body has recessed or projecting reliefs adapted to cooperate with elastic members of a cavity at one end of the handle of a racket, adapted to exert a holding force on the measuring device.

The invention also relates to a racket comprising a handle, the end of which comprises a hollow element forming a cavity at the end of the handle, and a measuring device as mentioned above. This racket is characterized in that the cavity of this hollow element defines reliefs cooperating with the reliefs of the measuring device compatible with the fixing of the measuring device in the cavity so as to keep the measuring device in position during play.

According to advantageous but not compulsory aspects of the invention, such a racket can incorporate one or more of the following characteristics, taken in any technically admissible combination:

- The hollow element comprises at least a first elastic member adapted to exert a holding force on the measuring device.

- The first elastic member (s) can be actuated by a user to release the device for measuring the hollow element.

- The first elastic member (s) are terminated by the reliefs cooperating with the reliefs provided on the body of the measuring device.

- The hollow element comprises at least one additional elastic member adapted to press the measuring device against the reliefs provided on the elastic member or members.

- The first elastic member (s) can be actuated by a user to release the reliefs of the first elastic member (s) from the reliefs of the measuring device, and the additional elastic member is adapted to cause the measuring device to protrude by one edge 'hollow element when the reliefs of the first elastic member (s) are released from the reliefs of the measuring device.

- The additional elastic member has an inclined end cooperating with the measuring device and suitable for, when actuating a single tongue, make the measuring device protrude in an inclined manner relative to the edge of the hollow element.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the light of the description which follows, of a measuring device and of a racket in accordance with the invention, made by way of nonlimiting example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a measuring device according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view, from another angle, of the measuring device of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tennis racket on the string of which is fixed the measuring device of Figures 1 and 2;

- Figure 4 is a side view of the device of Figures 1 and 2, attached to the string of the racket of Figure 3;

- Figure 5 is a perspective view of an end element of a tennis racket according to the invention;

- Figure 6 is a perspective view, from another angle, of the end member of Figure 5;

- Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the measuring device of Figures 1 and 2 and the end element of Figures 5 and 6;

- Figure 8 is an assembled view of the measuring device and the end element of Figure 7;

- Figure 9 is a section along plane IX, of the measuring device and the end element of Figure 8;

- Figure 10 is a perspective view of an end element of a racket according to a second embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 11 is a perspective view from another angle of the end element of Figure 10;

- Figure 12 is a perspective view of a measuring device according to the second embodiment of the invention adapted to be inserted into the end element of Figure 10.

FIG. 1 represents a device 1 for measuring game parameters for a racket sport. In the present example, the device 1 is adapted to the measurement of playing parameters for tennis. Alternatively, the device 1 can also be adapted to measure playing parameters for other types of string racket sport, such as badminton or squash.

The device 1 comprises a body 10 containing at least one game data sensor. The device 1 comprises an electronic cell 12 containing said at least one sensor as well as other elements essential to the operation of the device 1, such as a memory, a processor, a wireless communication module, etc. The sensor can be an accelerometer. The electronic cell can advantageously include several sensors, in particular a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial angular speed sensor and a vibration sensor. The device 1 can also include buttons 14 making it possible to initiate and stop the measurements or to implement other functionalities of the device 1.

The body 10 includes reliefs compatible with the removable mounting of the device 1 on the stringing of a racket R shown in FIG. 3. These reliefs are formed by grooves 100 adapted to receive strings 3, seen in cross section in FIG. 4, stringing the racket R. The grooves 100 comprise beads 100A making it possible to retain the strings 3 in the grooves 100. The grooves 100 have a rounded bottom 100B whose radius of curvature is substantially equivalent to the radius of the strings 3.

The grooves 100 are provided two in number and provided parallel to each other. The measuring device 1 can in this case be easily removably attached to the string of the racket R in a similar manner to an anti-vibrator, without the user feeling any change in his usual game.

According to the invention, the body 10 of the measuring device 1 also has reliefs compatible with the removable fixing of the device 1 in a cavity at one end of the handle of a second racket R ’. This aspect is more precisely represented in FIGS. 5 to 9.

The racket R ’comprises a handle 5 shown partially in FIG. 9, which is extended by a hollow section of octagonal shape, and terminated by a hollow end element 7 fixed on the octagonal section. Element 7 forms a cap, also called a "buttcap", which is generally stapled to the end of the octagonal section. The end element 7 delimits a cavity 7A which comprises shapes cooperating in complementarity with shapes of the measuring device 1 and adapted to hold the measuring device 1 in position during the game. In the example shown, the measure 1 has an external shape with a generally octagonal cross section, complementary to the shape of the cross section of the cavity 7A.

These forms also include elastic members 70 provided on an internal side 2 of the end element 7, and adapted to exert a holding force F1 on the measuring device 1, as shown in FIG. 9. The members elastic 70 are formed by tongues made in one piece with the wall of the end element 7 and which diverge therefrom in the direction of the internal cavity 7A of the end element 7. The tongues 70 are terminated by reliefs 701 projecting cooperating with recessed reliefs 102 provided on the body 10 of the device 1. The protruding reliefs 701 are oriented generally perpendicular to the tongues 70, while the recessed reliefs 102 are formed in withdrawal from the external surface of the body 10.

The cooperation between the reliefs 701 and 102 makes it possible to lock the measuring device 1 in position in the end element 7.

At their free end, the elastic members 70 also include protruding reliefs 703 adapted to cover the external face 104 of the device 1, as shown in FIG. 9. This makes it possible to create additional support for the measuring device 1. The reliefs 102 and the surface 104 form the reliefs of the device 1 compatible with its mounting in the cavity 7A provided with the reliefs 701 and 703.

The tabs 70 can be actuated by a user to release the measuring device 1 from the end element 7. The user moves aside the tabs 70 according to the arrows F2 in FIG. 9, so as to release the protruding reliefs 701 and 703 of the raised reliefs 102 and of the upper face 104, so that the device 1 can be extracted from the end element 7. According to an embodiment not shown, the racket R 'can comprise a single tongue 70 .

The end element 7 comprises a third elastic member 72, located in the cavity 7A, and adapted to press the measuring device 1 against the protruding reliefs 103 of the tongues 70. The third elastic member 72 is in the form of 'an elastic band passing through the cavity 7A and hung on two opposite sides of the end element 7. The elastic member 72 exerts a force F3 against a lower face 106 of the device 1.

The third elastic member 72 also allows the measurement device 1 to protrude from an edge 74 of the end element 7 when the tongues 70 are spaced apart and the projecting reliefs 701 and 703 are released from the hollow reliefs 102 and the upper face 104. This allows the user to more easily grasp the measuring device 1 and extract it from the end element 7 with his fingers.

The recessed reliefs 102 are provided on an enlarged part 108 of the body 10, while the grooves 100 are provided on a narrow part 110 of the body 10.

According to an embodiment not shown of the invention, the reliefs of the body 10 can be protruding, while the reliefs of the cavity 7A can be hollow.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 10. In this embodiment, the elements common to the first mode have the same references and operate in the same way. In this embodiment, the racket R ’comprises two elastic members 76, projecting from the internal wall of the hollow end element 7, and of bent shape. The free end of the elastic members 76 comprises an inclined part 76a in the free state, that is to say in the unassembled configuration of the measuring device 1. When the measuring device 1 is mounted, the end 76b of the inclined part is pushed towards the inside of the end element 7, which generates a deformation of the members 76 and, by reaction, an elastic force.

In addition, the ends 76b have a shape inclined at a non-zero angle a with respect to the outer edge 74. This inclined shape allows, by actuating only one of the tongues 70, identified by a mark 77 coinciding with a corresponding mark 111 on the device. measuring 1, the measuring device 1 partially out of the end element 1 with an inclined positioning aligned with the inclined shape of the ends 76b. Thus, a user has access to an edge of the measuring device 1 to perform, for example, a recharging by USB cable, and then directly return to position the measuring device 1. If the user wishes to completely disassemble the measuring device 1 , action on the second tab 70 is necessary.

According to an optional aspect, represented in FIGS. 10 and 11, and compatible with the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 9, the end element 7 can incorporate two additional elastic elements 78 capable of exerting a thrust on the measuring device 1 in direction of the edge 74 of the end element 7.

According to another optional aspect, the end element 7 and the measuring device 1 can comprise a keying system including two notches 79 present on the end element 7 and two fingers 112 present on the measuring device 1, enabling the correct mounting of the measuring device 1 to be located in the end element 7.

According to an embodiment not shown, the measuring device 1 can also be mounted in a hollow end of the handle of any other racket and be retained there by any suitable means.

The invention is not limited to the shapes of the measuring device and of the end element shown in the figures, and can be implemented with a measuring device of external shape with polygonal, elliptical cross section, etc.

Claims (11)

1. Device for measuring (1) game parameters for a racket sport, such as tennis, squash or badminton, comprising a body (10) containing at least one sensor (12) of game data, the body (10) having grooves (100) adapted to receive strings (3) of a string of a racket (R), characterized in that the body (10) also has reliefs (102, 104) compatible with the detachably fixing the measuring device (1) in a cavity (7A) at one end (7) of the handle (5) of a racket (R '), so that the measuring device (1) can be detachably selectively attached to the line (3) of a racket (R) or in the handle (5) of a racket (R '). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the body (10) has an external shape whose cross section corresponds to the cross section of a cavity (7A) of one end of the handle (5) of a racket (R '). 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the body (10) has recessed reliefs (102, 104) or projecting adapted to cooperate with elastic members (70) of a cavity (7A) of a end of the handle (5) of a racket (R '), adapted to exert a holding force (F1) on the measuring device (1). 4. Racket (R ') comprising a handle (5) the end of which comprises a hollow element (7) forming a cavity (7A) at the end of the handle (5), and a measuring device (1) according to l 'One of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cavity (7A) of this hollow element (7) defines reliefs (701,703) cooperating with the reliefs (102, 104) of the measuring device (1) compatible with the fixing of the device measuring device (1) in the cavity (7A) so as to keep the measuring device (1) in position during the game. 5. Racket according to claim 4, characterized in that the hollow element (7) comprises at least a first elastic member (70) adapted to exert a holding force (F1) on the measuring device (1). 6. Racket according to claim 5, characterized in that the first elastic member (s) (70) can be actuated (F2) by a user to release the measuring device (1) from the hollow element (7). 7. Racket according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the first elastic member (s) (70) are terminated by the reliefs (701, 703) cooperating with the reliefs (102, 104) provided on the body ( 10) of the measuring device (1). 8. Racket according to claim 7, characterized in that the hollow element (7) comprises at least one elastic member (72; 76) additional adapted to press (F3) the measuring device (1) against the reliefs (703) provided on the first elastic member (s) (70). 5 9. Racket according to claim 8, characterized in that the first elastic member (s) (70) can be actuated (F2) by a user to release the reliefs (701,703) of the first elastic member (s) (70) from the reliefs (102, 104) of the measuring device (1), and in that the additional elastic member (72; 76) is adapted to make the measuring device (1) protrude from an edge (74) of the hollow element (7 ) when the 10 reliefs (701, 703) of the first elastic member (s) (70) are released from the reliefs (102, 104) of the measuring device (1). 10. Racket according to claim 9, characterized in that the additional elastic member (76) has an inclined end (76b) cooperating with the measuring device (1) and adapted for, when actuating a single tongue (70) do 15 extend beyond the measuring device (1) at an angle to the edge (74) of the hollow element (7). 7/7 2/7 3/7