Racket press and cover

Claim 1

A combined press and cover for a stringed racket comprising a rounded shell consisting of two shell halves substantially equal in size and made substantially entirely of plastic material, said shell halves each having an upper wall and a lower wall which are generally parallel to each other and a curved marginal wall connecting said upper and lower walls together to marginally confine the head of a racket, said upper and lower walls extending inwardly from said marginal walls to completely cover the strings of a racket with each shell half having an edge at the inner terminus of the upper and lower walls thereof forming a mouth in which the racket head may be inserted, said edges having overlapping portions fitting together when the shell halves are closed to form an enclosure to reduce the rIsk of moisture entering said enclosure, a pivot connection at one end of said mouths pivotally connecting said shells together to allow opening and closing of said shells, said pivot connection comprising an oriented polypropylene plastic strap hinge molded into said marginal walls and flexing when the shell halves are opened and closed to provide pivoting action, said hinge including a strap portion extending between said shell halves and parallel thereto which strap portion has a stress treated neck section molecularly oriented in the direction of bending when closing and opening said shell halves to provide a long life hinge, said shell halves forming an opening at the end of said mouths opposite said pivot connection for receiving the neck of a stringed racket, means at said opening for releasably retaining said shell halves closed, and said upper and lower plastic walls having indentations adjacent said marginal walls arranged in opposed upper and lower pairs of indentations which are very slightly resiliently yieldable to engage the frame of a racket to inhibit warping thereof, each shell half having at least two opposed pairs of said indentations.