Badminton Patents

There have been many patents related to shuttlecock design. Not surprisingly most relate to synthetic shuttles. Below is a small sampling of interesting patents, primarily filed with US Patent Office. There are many more available from patent offices around the world. Note that many of these ideas were never commercially successful and that many of these were also patented in multiple countries. William Charles Carlton pioneered much of the development of modern rackets and synthetic shuttlecocks. Here are some of his inventions through the years.

US2626805- Shuttlecock and Method of Making, 1950. Carlton examines one-piece moldings.
US2626806- Shuttlecock, 1950. Carlton's early ideas for skirt design.
USD163367- Shuttlecock. 1950. Alternate pattern for skirt molding
USD163368- Shuttlecock, 1950. Molded skirt
US2626807- Molded Shuttlecock, 1951. Carlton's pioneering work on synthetic shuttles.
US2632647- Shuttlecock. 1952. One-Piece molded skirt.
CA496289A- Shuttlecock Construction, 1953. Addresses stiffness of the skirt for synthetics.
GB686044A- An improvement in Shuttlecock Construction., 1953. One-piece molded skirt with airfoils.
GB686403A- Shuttlecock and Method of Making, 1953. Tooling for producing the skirt.
GB689532A- An Improved Shuttlecock, 1953. Rib design with continuous circular skirts.
GB751577A- A Method of Manufacturing a Shuttlecock, 1956. Attaching the skirt to a base.
CA558195A- Shuttlecock, 1958. Injection molding of skirt.
US2860879- Shuttlecock. 1959. Focuses on the base.
CA592439A- Spigotted End Shuttlecock, 1960. Head design and attachment to skirt.
GB828370A- Shuttlecock, 1960. Rubber base.
GB861649A- An Improved Shuttlecock, 1961. Use ribs to control spin.
GB869881A- Shuttlecock, and Methods of Making It, 1961. Addresses skirt collapse.
GB907700A- An Improved Shuttlecock, 1962. Add flutes for spin.
GB908684A- An Improved Shuttlecock and Skirt Structure Therefor, 1962. Details of the skirt.
GB670147A- An Improved Shuttlecock., 1962. Early synthetic skirt design.
US3313543- Shuttlecock with Blade-Like Stems, 1964. This is very much like the Carlton nylon shuttles that were used widely in the 60's and 70's as they were about the first to fly acceptably.
GB978388A- A Shuttlecock, 1964. Angular details of skirt.
GB996695A- Shuttlecock, 1965. Molded skirt with many sections.
GB1099400A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1968. Titanium Frame
GB1112028A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames and Methods of Manufacturing same, 1968. Tubular steel frame.
GB1112029A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1968. Tubular metal frame.
GB1112030A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1968. Tubular metal frame.
GB1113707A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames and Methods of Manufacturing same, 1968. Tubular metal frame with dual shaft.
US3560128A- Shuttlecock and method of Making the Same, 1968. Press-On molded base.
US3431626A- Method of Making a Racket Frame, 1969. Tubular metal with flared holes.
US3548484A- Method of Preparing for Stringing the Frame of a Games Racket, 1969. Add grommets to holes in tubular frame.
US3431626- Method of Making a Racket Frame. 1969. Tubular steel frame with "Y" shaped throat.
CA817815A- Metal Racket Frames, 1969.One-piece tubular frame.
GB1166078A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1969. Discusses an early grommet concept.
GB1198800A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1970. Flanged hole details
GB1201649A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1970. Use of carbon fibers in the frame.
GB1207662A- Improvements in or Relating To Racket Frames, 1970. T Joint and tubular frame with varied thickness.
US3548484- Method of Preparing for Stringing the Frame of a Games Racket. 1970. Introduces grommets.
US3556524- Method of Manufacturing Rackets. 1971. Tubular steel frame.
CA873489A- Racket Frames, 1971Plastic frame reinforced with carbon fiber.
CA878126A- Method of Manufacturing Metal Racket Frames, 1971.Tubular frame construction.
GB2325417A- A Shuttlecock., 1996. Discusses how to keep balloon from being damaged.
GB2312855A- An improved Shuttlecock., 1997. Add a balloon inside the skirt.
GB2343125A- A Shuttlecock., 2000. Balloon is used to distort the skirt.
GB2353482A- Shuttlecock Having Flaps to Improve Air Resistant, Spin, and Turnover Properties., 2001. Examines how to get synthetic shuttle to fly more like feathered.
US6227991- Shuttlecock. 2001. Skirt has a bladder inside to adjust speed.
US6431938- Inflatable Balloon Assembly, 2002. Carlton's work on an adjustable shuttlecock using a bladder inside the skirt.
US2004077442A1- Shuttlecock, 2004. Flaps to control spin.
GB2476971A- An Improved Shuttle for Badminton , 2011. Triangular plates are connected to minimal number of ribs.

There were of course many other designers also involved with Badminton dating back to the early days of the sport.

US227884- Toy Shuttlecock. 1880. Very early shuttlecock design using feathers attached to hollow ball.
GB190525803A- An Improved Shuttlecock. 1905. Shuttle emits a "musical or other note or sound" when struck.
GB191304606A- Improvements in and Related to Shuttle-cocks. 1913. Some early work looking at attachment of feathers to a base.
US1393407- Shuttlecock device for use in Games. 1921. Feathered skirt with various base designs.
US1541828- Tennis racket and the Like. 1925. Channelized metal frame with dual shaft.
US2171223- Racket for Tennis and Batting Games and method of Manufacturing Same. 1939. Dual-shaft tubular design
US2247486- Shuttlecock. 1940. Skirt design from folded sheet and attachment to base.
CA388507A- Badminton Shuttlecocks. 1937. Explores multiple skirt designs.
US2218593- Shuttle for Game of Badminton. 1938. Molded skirt with round holes.
US2163236- Badminton Bird. 1939. Solid skirt with round holes and vanes.
US2302845- Shuttlecock. 1941. Unusual skirt design made from one-piece folded sheet.
US2311243 - Boundary Line Marker for Grass Badminton Courts. 1941. Painted wooden slats held by spring system allowing for ground expansion/contraction.
US2556029- Plastic Shuttlecock. 1951. Synthetic feathers mounted similarly to natural feathers.
US2742289- Game Racket Construction. 1956. One-piece tubular metal head with dual shaft.
US3086777- Racket for Lawn-Tennis and Similar Games. 1963. Pinched tubular frame with dual shaft and welded crossbar at throat.
US3752479- Shuttlecock or Butterfly Adjustable in Range or Speed. 1973. Adjustable speed via feathers attached to molded skirt
WO8400306A1- A Shuttlecock. 1983. "Introverted" skirt design forming a more-or-less spherical shape.
US4593905A- Racquet stringing system with string tension indicating means. Focuses on tennis but same principle could apply to other rackets.1986.
US4657262- Shuttlecocks. 1987. Focuses on ability to adjust speed.
US4995619- Shuttlecock. 1991. Bellows-like base with various skirt designs.
US5265886- Shuttlecock. 1993. Feathered skirt with 4 feathers and a base that makes audible noise when hit.
US5282618- Racket with Improved Shock-Absorbing means. 1994. Conical shock absorber.
US5620180- Grip of Badminton Racket. 1997. Grip incorporates partial shock-absorber.
US4995619 A - Shuttlecock. 1999. Hollow head with ability to make noise while flying.
US6315687- Adjustable Shuttlecock. 2001. More for use with football rather than badminton.
US6752138 - Shuttlecock Launcher and Method for Launching. 2004. Mechanical launcher using rotating traction wheels.
US6709353- Racquet Sport Game and Shuttlecock for use Therewith. 2002. Spiral skirt design and radically different game of badminton involving goals.
USD587324 S- Badminton Racket. 2009. T-joint design.
EP2687273A1- Artificial Feather for Shuttlecock, Shuttlecock for Badminton and Manufacturing Method for Artificial feather and Shuttlecock. 2012. Rather than use molded skirt, look at creating synthetic feather.
US8261729 - Shuttlecock Launching Apparatus. 2012 Mechanical launcher and feeder.
EP2236176 - Shuttlecock for Badminton. 2012. Conventional design but using artificial feathers made from fabric.
WO2013005044A1- Shuttlecock. 2013. Cup-shaped skirt attached to base by a central post.
US20140011615- Stringing Means for a Badminton Racket. 2014.
US20140261364A1 - Shuttlecock Launching Method and Apparatus. 2014. Mechanical launch with feeder.
US20140335980 - Shuttlecock and Manufacturing Method Thereof. 2014. Design that allows replacement of feathers.
US09440130 - Shuttlecock and Manufacturing Method Thereof. 2016. Separate posts to hold feathers.
US09448031 - Shuttlecock Launching Method and Apparatus. 2016. Mechanical launch with feeder.
US10124231 - Shuttlecock Launching Apparatus. 2018. Basis for the Black Knight Trainer. Mechanical feeder using wheels.
US10065096 - Shuttlecock and Artificial Feather Thereof. 2018. Synthetic materials but individual feathers rather than molded skirt.

Page maintained by Stan Bischof. Last updated 16 Nov 2019 15:17