Patents on the soles of your shoes...: June 2023

Monday, June 26, 2023

Oh, patents! Vibration damper for tennis rackets (5)

Lacoste invented a small spool-looking device to dampen the vibrations produced by the strings of a tennis racket when a ball is hit. Lacoste noted that vibration frequency depends in part on the size and tension of the strings, and in general that tennis players dislike rackets that vibrate too much. Lacoste also noted that vibration frequency could be heard when the ball hits the strings, as sounds could be more or less, sharp or flat.

The French patent, FR1398833A, titled Amortisseur de vibrations pour raquettes de tennis ou jeux analogues (Vibration damper for tennis rackets or similar games) was awarded to Jean René Lacoste on April 5th 1965. The invention comprises a small spool made of rubber, or similar elastomeric material, known for its vibration dampening properties. The spool is loosely positioned between upright and cross strings, close to the throat of the racket, so as to avoid disrupting the game.

The scope of the invention extended to variations in the embodiment of the vibration damper. Indeed, to date, numerous ornamental variations of the vibration damper exist (as shown in the image below). Variations also exist in the ways in which the damper is attached to the racket strings.

The patent Figures 1 and 2 are included below. The patent Figure 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the vibration damper, installed between the cross strings 8 and 9 (also cross-sectioned), and the uprights 6 and 7 as shown in Figure 2. The Figure 2 is a sectional view of the damper according to II-II in Figure 1. Both Figures 1 and 2 show the spool damper 1 with a central opening 2, and flanges 4 and 3, connected to the hub 5.

Below, the image of an assortment of marketed vibration dampers, displaying some of the ornamental variation, embodying this invention. The dampers are positioned everywhere on the racket for display purposes. Just one damper would be used for a game of tennis.

Reference

Lacoste

www.lacoste.com/us/

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Oh, patents! Lacoste improvements to sports caps (4)

Lacoste invented two improvements for sports caps: extra ventilation and an adjustable headband. These improvements are recited in the French patent, FR1259571A, titled Perfectionnement apporté aux casquettes et notamment aux casquettes de sport (Improvements to caps, in particular to sports caps). The patent was awarded on March 18th 1960, to Jean René Lacoste.

The patent Figures 1 and 2 were extracted and included on the right. The Figure 1 is a perspective view of the inside of the cap. The Figure 2 is a perspective view of the outside of the cap. The cap comprises triangle-shaped material 2a and 2b, connected at the top of the cap, under a button 1. The triangles 2a and 2b are seamed together with ribbons 3, leaving a radial opening 7 for ventilation on each side, in addition to more traditional eyelets 8 positioned on each triangle.

The cap further comprises a headband 5, attached to the visor 4, at the front, and connected to the base of the triangles 2a and 2b. However, the headband is open. One end of the headband 5a is connected to a loop-side velcro strip 6a. At the other loose end of the headband 5b, a hook-side velcro strip 6b is connected, enabling adjustment of the band according to the circumference of the user’s head.

The scope of the invention extends to other modes of adjusting the two ends of the headband 5a and 5b, according to the circumference of a user’s head. The scope of the invention also extends to additional modes of providing more ventilation, as shown in the image of the below-marketed Lacoste cap.

Reference

Lacoste
https://www.lacoste.com/us/

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Oh, patents! Lacoste Mah-Jong game table (3)

Jean René Lacoste crossed the Atlantic, from France to the United States, and back, on more than one occasion to participate in the US Open Tennis Championships. The long five-day voyages at sea are thought to have given him much time to think about his inventions. In any event, Lacoste was inspired by the Chinese game of Mah-jong, which was both a popular form of entertainment onboard the large transatlantic liners, and a fad from China that had taken over the United States in the 1920s.

Inspired enough to invent a new game table specifically for playing Mah-Jong, and incidentally suitable for other card games, Lacoste filed a patent for his Mah-jong invention, as early as 1924, when he had just turned 20. The French patent FR603811A, titled Table de jeu de mah-jong utilisable pour jeu de cartes (Game table for Mah-Jong suitable for card games) was filed on December 24, 1924, and awarded almost 100 years ago, on April 23^rd 1926, to Jean René Lacoste.

The invention was designed to facilitate racking tiles, and the secure storage of game tiles when not in use. The scope of the invention extended beyond Mah-jong to other card games, which could also be stored in the table's compartments. A portable (i.e., hinged foldable) embodiment of the invention is also described in this patent.

The Figure 1 is extracted from the patent. The Figure 1 depicts the top view of the square game tabletop (1). The game tabletop (1) is equipped with slightly angled edges (2) on all four sides, as well as pegs (11) for attaching markers in front of each player.

A second smaller gameboard proper (6) is placed on an elevated frame, separating the tabletop (1) from the gameboard (6). The frame between the gameboard (6) and the tabletop (1) is designed to create a space for compartments that accommodate the storage of Mah-jong tiles and other game accessories. Compartments that might be accessed by lifting the gameboard (6). The gameboard (6) further comprises hinged edges (10), on all four sides, that might be raised up, or lowered, thus forming stable tile racks for each of the players.

Below a set of Wind tiles: East, South, North, and West, depicting various ethnicities.

References

Heinze, A. (2021). Mahjong: A Chinese game and the making of American Culture. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Lacoste

https://www.lacoste.com/

Watson, T. (2014). Tile set materials. The Mahjong Tile Set 2014-2017.
https://www.themahjongtileset.co.uk/tile-set-materials/

Monday, June 19, 2023

Juneteenth 2023

Juneteenth, short for June 19th, variously called the other Independence Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, or Liberation Day, is also a Federal Holiday. A Federal Holiday, since June 17th 2021, when President Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. To be precise, June 19th refers back to 1865, when the first military orders were given to proclaim the emancipation of slaves in Galveston, Texas. Orders given to implement Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Emancipation, dated January 1st 1863, just a few months prior to ratification of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, on December 6th 1865, formally abolishing slavery across the US.

In 2023, in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, Juneteenth is not only a celebration of the past, but also an opportunity to re-commit to a more just and equitable society for all. As President Biden proclaimed on June 16th 2023:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States […] call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and condemn the history of slavery in our Nation and recognize how the impact of America’s original sin remains. I call on every American to celebrate Juneteenth and recommit to working together to eradicate systemic racism and inequity in our society wherever they find it. [Biden, 06-16- 2023]

Happy Juneteenth 2023!

References
Black Lives Matter

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Library of Congress – Juneteenth - General Order #3 delivered by Major General Gordon Granger.
https://tinyurl.com/557fsz5b

Library of Congress – The Emancipation Proclamation.

https://tinyurl.com/4pwf8555

Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/475

13th Amendment – Abolition of Slavery.
https://tinyurl.com/mr2b236x

Biden (June 16, 2023). Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance 2023.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/06/16/a-proclamation-on-juneteenth-day-of-observance-2023/

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Oh, patents! Lacoste ball-throwing device (2)

To practice varying tennis strokes, without a professional trainer throwing strategically placed balls, Jean René Lacoste invented a ball-throwing device, which was commercially produced by the British Dunlop company. The device was designed to throw balls at selected intervals, speed, and trajectory. The preferred embodiment of the invention was semi-automatic with someone (even a child) cranking the spring-loaded ejection of tennis balls, previously fed into a tubular shoot. The YouTube video included below shows historical footage of Jean René Lacoste, demonstrating both the operation and use of his patented ball-throwing invention.

The ball-throwing device was patented in a family of four patents, in France, the United States, Germany and the UK. The patents were all filed in 1927, and granted the following year, except the US patent, which was granted in 1930.

FR648809 - Lance-balles

US1777976A - Ball-throwing device

GB291044A - An improved ball-throwing device

DE484221C - Vorrichtung zum Werfen von Baellen

The British abstract comprising a short description of the Figure 1 drawing is appended below, together with the patent Figure 1, showing a side view of the Lacoste ball-throwing device.

Projecting-apparatus.-A device for throwing tennis or like balls comprises a blade spring that is coiled round and projects from a continuously rotating shaft, is stressed by engagement with a stop and, upon release, strikes and projects a ball, that is supported at a distance from the top. A blade spring g is rotated in counterclockwise direction by a crank d, is flexed by contact with a stop h and, on slipping past the stop, strikes and projects the lowermost ball of a series of balls contained in a tubular supply shoot l. The stop h and shoot l are carried by a plate i pivoted to a stand a. The speed of delivery of the ball is varied by adjusting the position of the stop h, and the trajectory is varied by rotating the plate i relatively to the stand. [Abstract GB291044A]

Reference

Lacoste

https://www.lacoste.com/

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Trademarked - The Lacoste Crocodile (1)

The famous French tennis player, Jean-René Lacoste (1904-1996), seven-times Grand Slam winner, first became known as “The Crocodile” in the American Press of the 1920s, due to the combination of tenacity and fierceness of his game. He was the best male tennis player of the late 1920s, on both sides of the Atlantic, once he beat Bill Tilden, the reigning American champion.

What is less known about Jean-René Lacoste is that he was also an inventor, who was granted more than 30 patents for inventions that truly changed the world of tennis and sports fashion. Indeed, before following his passion for playing tennis, and becoming a successful tennis player, Lacoste was a polytechnicien, an engineer with a dynamic drafting board, who got into Polytechnique, France’s most competitive and prestigious engineering school. Thus, all of Lacoste’s inventions were seriously technical. Whether related to new light metal tennis rackets, ball-throwing practice machines, or the combination of technical comfort and elegance in sports fashionwear (on and off the courts), Lacoste’s inventions were both transformative and enduring.

Even the well-known Lacoste Crocodile logo, now found on all Lacoste fashionwear, was a significant game-changer, as it was one of the first visible logos found on clothing of the 1920s. A humorous appropriation of the nickname the press had given him, stitched directly onto the front left side of his jackets, making Jean-René Lacoste immediately recognizable, while also ushering in a brilliant marketing trend.

The Lacoste crocodile trademark is active as ever, posting 10-figure revenues for the Lacoste company that was originally founded in 1933. The below Lacoste crocodile trademark was registered on Aug. 15th 2006, at the USPTO Trademark Database, with the serial No. 78713877. The trademark is owned by Lacoste Alligator S.A. Corporation Switzerland. The claimed Lacoste crocodile mark is described as follows:

“The color(s) green, white and red is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a stylized representation of an alligator or crocodile. The mark is green, with a red mouth and white dots and white eyes."

Reference

Lacoste

https://www.lacoste.com/us/