The object of the present invention is a portable racket stringer as defined in the preamble of claim 1 and a method as defined in the preamble of claim 6 for manufacturing the drinking straw.

The portable racket stringer according to the invention for stringing various kinds of sport rackets, like tennis rack ets, squash rackets and badminton rackets, is a portable and light weight solution, to be easily and inexpensively manufactured. The invention is hereinafter referred also as a "stringer".

Sports rackets have usually an oval frame which is covered with crisscrossing strings, generally made of nylon. Today The rackets are mainly stringed with a single length string, when using just one long string, or two lengths string, one length for the columns and one for the rows.

In general, the sport racket stringing machine requires a tool for tensioning the string, a clamp keeping the string tension during moving the tensioning tool for another row of the string and a frame support bracket, which prevents the frame from warping and damaging during the tensioning of the strings.

Presently most of the sport racket stringing machines are immobile machines fixed to the table. These machines are complicated and heavy requiring lots of space and they are expensive. Some machines are utilizing weights to achieve the needed tension to the string and some machines requires electricity making the machines very complicated. These ma chines have to be calibrated time to time to maintain the accurate tensioning to the strings.

Another problem with above the mentioned prior art string ing machines is also that they are difficult to use, and they are not very user friendly. Most often the machine use requires trained personnel and sometimes it is hard to find a stringer services, they are expensive, or you have to wait long time because of the job queue.

One prior art; U.S. Pat. No. 5120056 presents an alterna tive mobile stringing tool to solve the problems of conven tional heavy stringing machines. This stringing tool com prises a tool support bracket, string clamps and a tension ing tool developed from commercial clamp device. However, this stringing tool is very hard to operate, since the ten sioning of the strings is been made under the sport racked oval frame, which for example makes it concise to string the racked and operate in both side of the frame, especial ly when crisscrossing the strings. And for the same reason, the support bracket cannot be attached to a table, which option would help the stringing operation when the table is available .

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks of prior art technology and to provide an inexpensive, compact, simple and portable solu tion for stringing the sport rackets having for example a one or two length string design. The purpose is also to in troduce new type of a sport racket stringing tool, and a method for stringing the sport rackets. The material of the stringing tool is advantageously light and durable materi als like plastic and steel. Also, the support bracket is small, light and easily adjustable to different sport rack et sizes,

The object of the invention is a portable racket stringer tool, which comprises a support bracket, a floating clamp and a tensioning clamp which comprises a clamp body, a string grip-per, a clamp arm, a clamp head, a tension gauge, a tension trigger, and a tension releaser. For stringing a sport racket, the tensioning clamp is arranged to be placed sideward of the racket frame.

The portable racket stringer according to the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 1 and the method for stringing a sport racket is characterized by what is disclosed in the characteriza tion part of claim 6. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims.

An advantage of the invention is that the stringing tool is portable and lightweight and easily to carry everywhere. It doesn't require electricity or even a table to perform per fect sport racked stringing. The weight of the stringing tool is less than one kilogram. Advantageously, the support bracket with the sport racket can also be attached easily to a table, when the stringing operation is even more effi cient and easier.

Another advantage is that the manufacturing cost of the stringing tool is inexpensive and therefore it is afforda- ble also others than just professional sport racked string ing professionals.

Yet another advantage and use of the invention is, that the stringing process is easy to perform when the space in both sides (below and above) of the racket frame oval is free. Especially the crisscrossing phase of the stringing process requires adequate free space in both sides of the sport racket frame.

Another advantage is also the easy stringing process. Any one can learn quickly how string a sport racket and you don't have to be a professional. Anyone, for example a player can accomplish the sport racket stringing

In the following, the invention will be described in great er detail by the aid of some embodiments and by referring to the attached simplified drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 presents the portable stringing tool, as viewed obliquely from above and from the side, and while stringing the sport racket,

Fig. 2 presents the portable stringing tool, as viewed from the side Fig. 3 presents a top view of the portable stringing tool in FIG. 2,

Fig. 4 presents the top view of the portable stringing tool while stringing the sport racket, and Fig. 5 presents the support bracket with the racket at tached on the table, as viewed obliquely from above and from the side.

Figure 1 presents the portable stringing tool, as viewed obliquely from above and from the side, and while stringing the sport racket 4 strings 4s. In this embodiment the rack et 4 is not attached to the table from the support bracket

4.

The portable racket stringer tool actually comprises three separate components: a support bracket 2, a floating clamp 3 and a tensioning clamp 1.

The portability brings the stringing of rackets 4 to a new level. As seen in the figure, the stringing can be made an ywhere and, in any position, suitable for the stringer.

Figures 2 and 3 presents the tensioning clamp 1 from the side view and from the top view. The tensioning clamp 1 comprises a clamp body 8, a string gripper 11, a clamp arm 6, a clamp head 5, a tension gauge element 9, a tension trigger 7, and a tension releaser 14. The gauge element comprises a scale 9b, which indicates the string 4s tension level when stringing.

The tensioning clamp 1 operation is somewhat similar than in commercial clamp tools. When pumping the tension trigger 7 the clamp body 8 is moving essentially through the clamp arm 6 away from the clamp head 5. The mechanism friction element prevents the clamp body moving towards the clamp head 5 thought there is a tensioning force towards the clamp head 5. The clamp head 5 comprises a string guide 5a and a head handle 5b. The string guide 5a has a slot for the string 4s to be guided to the string gripper 11. The string guide 5a part of the clamp head 5 supports onto the racket frame 4f when stringing the racket 4. While string ing the racket 4 a stringer can have good hold from the head handle 5b. The releaser 14 releases the tension mecha nism.

The gauge element 9, which comprises a calibrated spring, essentially indicates the tension level of the string to be tensioned. The tension level can be easily read from the scale 9b.

Figure 4 presents the top view of the portable stringing tool while stringing the sport racket 4 strings 4s, in this figure main strings of the racket 4. The tensioning clamp 1 is placed substantially horizontally sideward of the racked frame 4 so that the tensioning clamp 1 is also substantial ly outside of the racket oval frame 4f. The clamp head 5 of the tensioning clamp 1 is essentially pressed and supported against the outer surface of the sport racket 4 frame 4f. The string 4s is attached to the string gripper 11, which comprises metallic gripping elements for gripping the string 4s. The string gripper 11 is attached to the clamp body 8. The string 4s is tensioned by pumping the tension trigger 7 when the clamp body 8 moves outwards away from the clamp head 5 and the racked frame 4f straining the string 4s. Gauge element 9 scale 9b indicates the string 4s tension level. The floating clamp 3 will be attached to the tensioned string 4s for keeping the tension in the string 4s when releasing the tension from the string 4s by the tension releaser 14. After that the tensioning clamp 1 can be moved to tensioning the next main string on opposite side of the racked 4 frame 4f. Figure 5 presents the support bracket 2 with the racket 4 attached on the table 15, as viewed obliquely from above and from the side. The support bracket 2 comprises a bar 2a, a groove 2c and two lock knobs 2b. The support bracket 2 is small and very light, but still strong enough to sup port the racket frame 4f against warping when tensioning the racket 4 strings 4s. Both lock knobs 2b can be slid along the groove 2c of the support bracket 2 to be adjusted onto the inner surface of the sport racket 4 frame 4f. When both lock knobs 2b are supported the frame 4f they will be tightened and locked to the bar 2a of the support bracket 2.

The support bracket 2 is attached to the table 15 with a stand 12 and a clamp 13. The bar 2c of the support bracket 2 is attached to the food 12a of the stand 12 with a screw 12c. The support bracket 2 can easily be unattached from stand 12 if the stinger prefers to do stringing without the stand 12 and the table 15. The stand 12 can be attached to the table 15 permanently with screws or temporarily with the clamp commercially available, as seen in the figure.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that differ ent embodiments of the invention are not limited to the ex ample described above, but that they may be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. What is essential is that the stringing tool is portable, small and light and giving enough space above and below the sport racket frame to accomplish the stringing efficiently. Thus, for example, the shapes and dimensions of the stringing tool can be dif ferent to what is described in the embodiments. It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that the portable stringing tool according to the invention can also be made from another rigid materials than mentioned in the embodiments. For example, the body of the tensioning clamp can be for example aluminum or composite material.