JP3087157U - Golf club grip assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf club grip assembly which eliminates a drawback of a synthetic plastic ferrule or the use of a finishing tape between a lower end of a grip and a golf club shaft, particularly a handle of a putter. . A grip assembly for a handle of a golf club, the grip assembly having an elastic base sleeve (UP) around which an elastic strip (PS) is spirally wound. The lower end of the base sleeve (UP) includes a nipple (24, 48), and the nipple has a circumferential groove (50) facing upward. The lower end of the strip (PS) is pressed into the area of the groove to secure the lower end of the strip to the underlying sleeve (UP).

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

 The present invention relates to an improved grip assembly for golf clubs and other sports equipment that employs a handle that is shocked when impacted.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 It is well known that a shock generated by an impact between a golf club and a golf ball adversely affects muscle tissue and arm joints. The energy generated by such impacts is usually of high frequency and short duration and rapid decay, often known as "impact shock." Holding the golf club grip firmly so that it does not slip in the user's hand contributes to such an impact shock.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

 Applicants have previously developed elastic grips that successfully reduce or eliminate impact shocks to the muscles and arm joints of users such as golf clubs. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 5,797,813, issued to the applicant on August 25, 1998. Such early grips utilize a polyurethane layer bonded to a felt layer that forms an elastic strip that is spirally wound around an underlying sleeve that fits over the handle portion of the golf club shaft. After properly positioning the underlying sleeve on the golf club shaft, a synthetic plastic ferrule, such as that shown at 56 in FIG. 18 of US Pat. No. 5,895,329, secures the grip in place on the handle of the golf club shaft. As a variant, the lower end of the elastic strip is fixed to the lower end of the base sleeve by a fixed length of finishing tape. Installation of ferrules is a laborious task and the use of finishing tape does not give a high quality commercial image.

[0004] The golf club grip assembly of the present invention eliminates the disadvantages of the synthetic plastic ferrules described above, or the use of finishing tape between the lower end of the grip and the handle of the golf club shaft, especially the putter.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 According to the invention, a cap is provided at the upper end, a first groove is formed below the cap, and an elastic base sleeve having a nipple formed at the lower end. The front surfaces of the sleeve and the nipple are flat, and the front face of the nipple is An upper portion has an upwardly directed second circumferential groove formed therein, and an outer portion of the second circumferential groove is constituted by a flexible circumferential lip, and a substrate is provided between a lower portion of the cap and a lower portion of the nipple. A resilient strip is helically wound on the sleeve, the upper portion of the strip is formed with a tip that is received by the first groove of the sleeve, and the lip is adapted to hold the lower end of the strip tightly in the second groove. A golf pattern grip set, expandable outwardly to receive the lower end into the second groove, and an adhesive applied to a lower side of the strip to adhere the strip to the sleeve. To provide the body.

[0006]

[Embodiment of the invention]

 Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a typical prior art golf club grip assembly, in which a golf club C has a shaft 20 with an elastic sliding fit grip G attached to the handle portion of the shaft. Grip G includes a prior art ferrule F that secures its lower end to a golf club shaft. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the enclosed area 2 in FIG. FIGS. 1 and 2 correspond to FIGS. 17 and 18 of US Pat. No. 5,895,329. Ferrule F is made of an inelastic synthetic plastic material. FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a fixed length of finishing tape T wound spirally around the lower end of an elastic strip S and fixing the lower end of such strip to a base sleeve in accordance with the prior art.

[0007] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown an elastic base sleeve U employed in the new grip assembly. Such a sleeve U is similar to that described in US Pat. No. 5,797,813 and includes an integral cap 22. An integral nipple 24 is formed at the lower end of the sleeve. The upper portion of the sleeve U is formed with a groove 26 for receiving the upper end of the polyurethane felt strip S, as described in US Pat. No. 5,797,813. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 13, the strip S is spirally wound around the body of the base sleeve U. Adhesive 27 is applied to the underside of the strip. Referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the upper portion of the nipple 24 is formed with an upwardly directed circumferential groove 36 which, as shown in FIGS. Accept the wrap 38.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the underlying sleeve U after being placed longitudinally on the mandrel M. FIG. FIG. 9 shows the elastic strip S spirally wound around the base sleeve U, starting from the upper end of the base sleeve. FIG. 10 shows the lower portion of the strip S after it has been spirally wound to a position where the horizontally cut lower edge 39 is positioned in horizontal alignment with the lower portion of the nipple groove 36. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11, the lower end portion of the strip is brought into contact with the groove 36 by temporarily expanding a peripheral lip 40 formed outside the groove to insert the lower edge of the strip into the groove. Push into the area by hand. When the lip 40 returns to its original position, the lip securely holds the lower end of the strip to the upper portion of the nipple, as shown in FIGS. The sleeve and strip combination is then removed from the mandrel and fitted into the handle portion of the golf club shaft in a conventional manner.

Referring now to FIGS. 14-22, a golf club grip assembly embodying the present invention, as directed to a putter, is shown. FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show the underlying sleeve UP of the putter. The upper end of such a sleeve is provided with an integral collar 44 and a groove 46 for receiving the upper end of the elastic strip as described in US Pat. No. 5,797,813. A nipple 48 is formed at the lower end of the base sleeve UP, and the nipple is formed with an upwardly directed circumferential groove 50 for receiving a lowermost winding portion 52 of an elastic strip PS similar in structure to the strip S. As is evident from the drawing, the base sleeve is not of an annular shape like the base sleeve U shown in FIG. Instead, the surface 54 of the underlying sleeve is of a flat configuration, consistent with many commonly used putter designs.

[0010] The underlying sleeve UP is shown after being longitudinally placed on a conventional expandable mandrel MP. FIG. 18 shows an elastic strip PS spirally wound around such a sleeve starting from the upper end of the underlying sleeve UP. FIG. 19 shows the lower portion of the strip PS after it has been spirally wound to a position where the horizontally cut lower edge 56 is positioned horizontally aligned with the lower portion of the nipple groove 50. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 20, the lower end of the strip is formed into the groove by temporarily expanding a peripheral lip 58, which forms the outer portion of the circumferential groove, to insert the lower edge of the strip into the groove. Push into the area by hand. When the lip 58 returns to its original position, the lip fixedly holds the lower end of the strip to the upper portion of the nipple, as shown in FIGS.

It should be noted that the provision of the flat surface 54 on the underlying sleeve UP provides significant advantages over the use of the type of annular underlying sleeve shown in FIGS. In particular, it is easier to attach the elastic strip PS to the underlying sleeve UP, since no twist of the circumferential lip is required to insert the lower edge of the strip into the circumferential groove 50. In addition, by providing the nipple 48 with a flat front face 60, a straight vertical line of the elastic strip PS follows over the length of the main body of the underlying sleeve, and hence the putter grip. In this way, the accuracy of the golfer's pat is enhanced. This configuration also makes it easier for the grip manufacturer to fit the finished grip onto the putter shaft.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a golf club manufacturer can quickly and easily attach elastic strips S and PS to a base sleeve with a minimum amount of time and labor. In addition, golf club grip assemblies embodying the present invention provide a much more professional appearance than prior art grips utilizing finishing tape, at a lower cost than when using finishing tape. The grip also eliminates the cost of prior art ferrules and the labor required by golf club manufacturers to install ferrules.

It will be appreciated that various modifications and changes can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical prior art golf club grip assembly.

FIG. 2 illustrates a typical prior art golf club grip assembly.

FIG. 3 illustrates a typical prior art golf club grip assembly.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a base sleeve of the golf club grip assembly embodying the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the base sleeve of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the underlying sleeve after it has been removably positioned on the mandrel.

8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cutaway side view of an elastic strip spirally wound around a base sleeve.

FIG. 10 is a cutaway side view showing the lower portion of the elastic strip wrapped around the lower end of the underlying sleeve.

FIG. 11 is a cutaway side view showing the lower portion of the elastic strip wrapped around the lower end of the underlying sleeve.

FIG. 12 is a cutaway side view showing how the lower end of the elastic strip is held at the lower end of the underlying sleeve.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a base sleeve of the putter grip assembly embodying the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a side view of the base sleeve of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 17-17 in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a cutaway side view showing the elastic strip spirally wound around the upper portion of the underlying sleeve.

FIG. 19 is a cutaway side view showing the elastic strip of FIG. 18 wrapped around a lower portion of a base sleeve.

FIG. 20 is a cutaway side view showing how the lower end of the elastic strip is secured within the nipple of the underlying sleeve.

FIG. 21 is a cutaway side view similar to FIG. 20, showing the elastic sleeve after being secured within the nipple of the base sleeve.

FIG. 22 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 22-22 of FIG. 21.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 shaft 22 integral cap 24 integral nipple 26 groove 27 adhesive 36 nipple groove 38 winding portion 40 lip 44 collar 46 groove 48 nipple 50 groove 54 front surface 56 bottom edge 58 lip 60 front surface

Claims (1)

[Utility model registration claims] 1. A cap at an upper end and a first under a cap.
A resilient base sleeve having a groove formed therein and having a nipple formed at a lower end, wherein the sleeve and the nipple have a flat front surface, and a second circumferential groove formed in an upper portion of the nipple and facing upward; The outer part of the two circumferential grooves is constituted by a flexible circumferential lip, between the lower side of the cap and the lower part of the nipple an elastic strip is helically wound around the underlying sleeve, and the upper part of the strip is A tip is formed that is received by the first groove of the sleeve, and the lip is outwardly expandable to receive the lower end of the strip in the second groove to hold the lower end of the strip tight in the second groove; A golf putter grip assembly, wherein an adhesive is applied to the underside of the strip to adhere the strip to the sleeve.