Stringed sports racquet vibration dampener

Abstract

A stringed racquet vibration dampener made of an elastomeric, energy absorbing material having a unitary body construction. The vibration dampener has vertical and horizontal bores extending through the unitary body that fully enclose the racquet strings. The bores are sized to string gauge and spaced according to a string pattern of the racquet. The vibration dampener is permanently installed when the racquet is strung. This new approach provides improved vibration dampening and facilitates maintenance of a proper racket string spacing. The dampener will not move or slip off the racquet during play.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vibration dampener for a stringed sports racquet, comprising:
 a unitary body dimensioned to a desired string spacing of the sports racquet;   a pair of lateral bores defined through the unitary body and extending along an opposed lateral edge of the unitary body;   a pair of vertical bores defined through the unitary body and extending along an opposed vertical edge of the unitary body; and   the pair of vertical bores defined in a spaced apart relation corresponding to a vertical string spacing of the sports racquet.   
     
     
         2 . The vibration dampener of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of horizontal bores are defined in a spaced apart relation corresponding to a horizontal string spacing of the sports racquet. 
     
     
         3 . The vibration dampener of  claim 1 , wherein the unitary body is formed of an elastomeric dampener material, selected from the group consisting of rubber, neoprene, and silicone. 
     
     
         4 . The vibration dampener of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a relief is defined at a junction of each lateral edge and each vertical edge of the unitary body.   
     
     
         5 . The vibration dampener of  claim 4 , wherein the relief is dimensioned to provide a clearance from a weave at an intersection between a horizontal string and a vertical string when the vibration dampener is applied to the sports racquet. 
     
     
         6 . The vibration dampener of  claim 5 , wherein each of the pair of horizontal bores are dimensioned according to a desired gauge of the horizontal string. 
     
     
         7 . The vibration dampener of  claim 6 , wherein horizontal string is received in each of the pair of horizontal bores in a close interference fit. 
     
     
         8 . The vibration damper of  claim 6 , wherein a bottommost horizontal string is received in one of the pair of horizontal bores, and another of the pair of horizontal bores is oriented towards a neck of the racquet. 
     
     
         9 . The vibration dampener of  claim 8 , wherein the vertical string is received in each of the pair of vertical bores in a close interference fit. 
     
     
         10 . The vibration dampener of  claim 5 , wherein each of the pair of vertical bores are dimensioned according to a desired gauge of the vertical string. 
     
     
         11 . The vibration dampener of  claim 10 , wherein the unitary body has a generally rectangular profile and a thickness corresponding to a desired dampening mass.