GB2042905A

GB2042905A - Non-slip Grips for Handles

Info

Publication number: GB2042905A
Application number: GB8006072A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-02-23
Filing date: 1980-02-22
Publication date: 1980-10-01
Also published as: GB2042905B

Abstract

A grip for a handle more particularly the handle of an item of sports equipment such as a squash racquet comprising a first flexible portion 3 intended to be secured permanently to the handle and to form the foundation for releasably receiving and securing a second flexible portion 4 which is absorbent and forms a gripping surface. The first portion may be strip like and wound in helical fashion around the handle and may comprise the hooked part of a touch and close fastener. The second flexible portion may also be strip like or tubular and is preferably of terry towelling. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Non-slip Grips for Handles The invention relates to handles and more particularly to non-slip grips for handles.

Articles of sports equipment such as tennis racquets and squash racquets are normally formed with a handle having a hand grip of leather or plastics permanently secured to the handle. As such leather or plastics grips lack the ability to absorb moisture and are thus often slippery in use it is common practice for users to fit to the handles of their racquets an absorbent grip of textile material e.g. towelling which is secured to the handle by means of an adhesive.

Once such a grip has become soiled by use it is stripped from the handle, discarded, and replaced.

In practice frequent replacement of soiled grips with new grips is required.

It is an object of the invention to provide a replaceable grip for a handle which may be periodically removed from the handle, laundered, and then repositioned on the handle for further use.

According to the invention there is provided a replaceable grip for a handle comprising a first portion intended to be secured permanently to the handle and to form a foundation for releasably receiving and securing a second portion which forms a gripping surface. The second portion may be of an absorbent textile material and is preferably washable. It is also preferred to releasably secure the first and second portions together by means of a fastener of the touch and close kind. As is well known such fasteners usually comprise a first part having a plurality of hooks and a second part consisting of a plurality of loops which in use engage the hooks to secure the two parts together.Thus one of the parts of the touch and close fastener will be attached to or will constitute the first portion of the grip and the other part of the touch and close fastener will be secured to or will be integral with the second portion of the grip.

In a first embodiment the back surface of one part of a touch and close fastener is pre-coated with an adhesive so that it can be permanently secured to the handle of a sports racquet. The first portion is in the form of a long strip for example 20 millimeters wide which can be wound round the handle of the racquet in helical form leaving a gap of for example 5 millimetres between adjacent turns. As an alternative to the helical form it would be possible to secure the first portion of the grip to the handle in one or more lengthwise strips. Furthermore as an alternative to glueing, the first portion could be secured to the handle by nailing or stapling.

The second portion of the grip comprises a strip of textiles material which may be 40 millimetres wide and which may be of towelling having centrally disposed on its rear side a relatively thin strip of material forming the second part of the touch and close fastener. The second part may be arranged to extend continuously over the length of the second portion of the grip or alternatively it may be provided at intervals along the second portion or alternatively again may be disposed only at each end of the second portion and is either sewn or permanently secured by an adhesive to the second portion or alternatively is formed integrally with the textile material e.g.

interwoven such that the second part and the textile material are back to back. The gripping surface of the second portion is preferably made from amoisture absorbent textile material such as cotton or wool which may if desired be blended with other fibres to improve its wearing characteristics. This textile material may be woven or knitted or otherwise manufactured so that it is strong and resilient and gives good absorbency and is washable. Preferably the textile material is also dye-fast so that if desired it can be dyed for decoration or printed with advertising material.

The second portion of the grip is attached to the first portion by winding it in helical form around the first portion such that the two parts of the touch and close fastener intermesh. Since the second portion of the grip is wider than the first portion each turn of the second portion will overlap the previous turn.

When the second portion has become soiled by use it may be removed from the handle and laundered so that it may be reused.

In a second embodiment the second portion of the removable grip is tubular and is preferably made from an elasticated material to ensure that it is a snug fit on the handle. I prefer that the first portion, which as in the first example is arranged to be permanently secured to the handle, carries the hooked part of a touch and close fastener whereby in use the hooks engage the interior surface of the tubular second portion. Surprisingly I have found that it is not essential for the second portion to carry the looped second part of the touch and close fastener since sufficient grip is generated by the hooks engaging the tubular second portion, at least when the tubular portion is made from a textile material such as towelling.

Indeed the provision of the looped second part of a touch and close fastener on the interior of the tubular second portion could render assembly of the tubular second portion on the handle difficult.

Accordingly from another aspect my invention is a removable grip for a handle comprising a tubular sleeve of an absorbent material and which is adapted in use to grip the handle. Preferably the absorbent material is a textiles material such as towelling. Advantageously the absorbent material is resiliently stretchable, e.g. is elasticated, in the radial direction so that in use the sleeve is radially tensioned when positioned on a handle and is thus a snug fit on the handle. Optionally, I can provide a first portion arranged to be permanently secured to the handle to form a foundation for releasably receiving and securing the tubular sleeve. Preferably the first portion carries the hooked component of a touch and close fastener but in this case I prefer the hooks to engage directly the absorbent material of the sleeve.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the handle part of a squash racquet with a removable hand grip partly positioned thereon.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the handle grip removed, and Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of hand grip removed from its associated handle.

In the drawings and referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 thereof there is shown the handle end 2 of a squash racquet 1 having wound thereon in a helical fashion a strip 3 of the hooked part of a touch and close fastener, the strip 3 being secured to the handle by means of an adhesive, e.g. a pressure sensitive adhesive precoated on the rear face of the strip. As is shown in Figure 1 of the drawings the strip 3 is overlaid by a further strip 4 of terry towelling which is wound in helical fashion over the strip 3 to form a continuous moisture absorbent and thus non-slip handle surface. The rear surface of the towelling strip 4 is formed or otherwise provided with a layer 5 being the looped part of a touch and close fastener so that it will engage the hooks on the strip 3 to hold the towelling strip 4 firmly in place on the racquet handle.When however the towelling becomes soiled in use it can be detached readily from the handle for laundering and can then be repositioned on the handle for further use.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings there is shown a second embodiment of removable hand grip which is generally similar to that described above and comprising a knitted towelling sleeve 6 which is elasticated in the radial direction so that the sleeve is a snug fit on the handle 2 of the racquet. It has been found that it is not necessary to face the interior surface of the sleeve with the looped component of a touch and close fastener and is preferred with the corresponding strip 4 of the embodiment of Fig. 1 since sufficient grip is generated between the hooks of the foundation layer 3 and the interior surface of the towelling sleeve to hold the sleeve 6 firmly in position during use. The sleeve is nevertheless easily removable for laundering.

It will thus be appreciated that it may be possible to modify the embodiment of Figure 1 by omitting the backing strip 5 from the strip 4, depending on the nature of the material from which the strip 4 is formed.

Claims

1. A grip for a handle comprising a first flexible portion intended to be secured permanently to the handle and to form a foundation for releasably receiving and securing a second flexible portion which is absorbent and forms a gripping surface.

2. A handle grip according to claim 1, wherein the second portion is of textiles material.

3. A handle grip according to claim 2, wherein the second portion is of towelling.

4. A handle grip according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first portion comprises a first part of a fastener of the touch and close kind.

5. A handle grip according to claim 4, wherein the second portion comprises the second part of the touch and close fastener.

6. A handle grip according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the first part of the touch and close fastener comprises a plurality of hooks and the second part comprises a plurality of loops.

7. A handle grip according to any preceding claim, wherein the first portion is arranged to be secured to the handle by means of an adhesive.

8. A handle grip according to any preceding claim, wherein the first portion is in the form of a strip adapted to be wound round the handle in helical form.

9. A handle grip according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first portion is in the form of one or more strips adapted to be secured to the handle in lengthwise fashion.

10. A handle grip according to any preceding claim, wherein the second portion of the grip comprises a strip adapted to be wound round the handle in helical form.

11. A handle grip according to claim 10, wherein the second part is arranged to extend continuously over the length of the second portion.

12. A handle grip according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the second portion is a tubular sleeve.

13. A handle grip according to claim 12, wherein the tubular sleeve is resiliently stretchable in the radial direction so that in use the sleeve is a snug fit on the handle.

14. A handle grip according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the tubular sleeve is of elasticated towelling, the interior surface of which is arranged to engage directly the hooked part of a touch and close fastener on the first portion.

1 5. A handle grip for the handle of an article of sports equipment substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, either one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.