KR20140025522A - Golf grip - Google Patents

Abstract

Weighted grips for golf clubs are disclosed. The weight is preferably a metal comprising iron and its alloys, in particular copper and its alloys such as steel, brass and bronze, tungsten and its alloys, in particular tungsten, aluminum and its alloys, ceramics and conductive alloys, which are concentric with the grip. It may take the form of a cylindrical shape and is wrapped in a moldable composition that forms a grip. In other embodiments, this weight may be at or near the end of the grip. Other shapes, forms and positions of the weight are disclosed as well as the combination of the weight and the grip formed from the moldable composition with the heavy filler therein. The combination of grip and golf club is also disclosed.

Description

Golf Club Grip

The present invention relates to a balanced golf grip and a golf club comprising the balanced golf grip.

Golf games require the use of golf clubs to hit golf balls, among other things.

Golf clubs are formed by the club's head or impact element, intended for collision with a golf ball. This head can take many shapes and can be formed of different materials, whereby the head has different weights. This head is connected to the shaft for conveying the swing to the head. These shafts themselves can also be formed of other materials, such as compositions such as wood, metal, and polymer filled with graphite fibers. The length of the shaft may also vary with the player depending on the player's height and physical ability. All these varieties are introduced into the balance variability for club and head combinations.

There is a golf grip at the end of the shaft opposite the head. This grip is held by golfers to swing the club. The current rules of golf require that this grip does not include any contours that help position the golfer's hands on the grip (except that is made for putters). Therefore, most existing golf grips are circular in cross section and coaxial with the axis of the shaft (although the cross section is generally reduced in size from the end of the grip towards the exposed portion of the shaft).

Up to the present invention, it has never been taken into account that the imbalance due to diversity in club head and shaft combinations can be balanced by golf grips, but the present invention provides a variety of ways in which golf grips can be modified to compensate for this imbalance. Initiate them.

In one embodiment, the present invention applies weight in the golf grip to compensate for imbalance caused by the clubhead and shaft.

In another embodiment, the weight is applied to the composition of the grip that is formed by including a heavy filler into the composition to increase the weight of the grip.

In another embodiment, the metal weight is included in the grip, in such a way that the grip wraps, but away from the shaft, and is coaxial with the axis of the shaft.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the metal weight is associated near the end of the grip while lying on and away from the end of the shaft without enclosing any part of the shaft.

The weight is preferably a metal comprising iron and its alloys, in particular copper and its alloys such as steel, brass and bronze, tungsten and its alloys, aluminum and its alloys, ceramic alloys such as ceramics.

In yet another embodiment, the metal weight associated near the end of the grip can extend into the interior space formed by at least the end of the hollow shaft. In this embodiment, the metal weight extending into the inner space in the end of the shaft may be exposed or alternatively covered by the composition of the grip. In either embodiment, it is important that the metal weight or the outer surface of the composition covering the metal weight never contact the inner circumference of the shaft.

In another embodiment, a grid or lattice of metal may be injected by the material forming the grip with the grid or lattice formed into the dividing cylinder.

In yet another embodiment, all or one or more of the above embodiments may be used in combination to form the golf grip of the present invention.

These and other embodiments of the invention will be better understood from the accompanying drawings and the preferred embodiments.

To date, no consideration has been given to the fact that the imbalance due to diversity in club head and shaft combinations can be balanced by golf grips, but the golf grip according to various embodiments of the present invention has the effect of compensating for this imbalance. have.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a golf grip according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a metal weight is included concentrically on the end of a shaft of a golf club,
2 is a schematic view taken along line AA of FIG. 1,
3 is a perspective view of one form of a heavy weight used in the golf grip of FIG.
4 is a schematic view according to a plan view of the weight of FIG. 3,
5 is a schematic diagram of a golf grip according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a weight is included near the end of the grip, but over apart from the shaft;
6 is a cross-sectional view of the grip shown in FIG. 5,
7 is a view of the outer shape of the grip of FIG.
8 is a schematic view of the weight shown in FIG.
9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the weight shown in FIG. 8, FIG.
10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the heavy weight of FIG. 9, FIG.
FIG. 11 is a top view of the weight of FIG. 9 showing an indication disposed thereon; FIG.
12 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, in which a weight is provided with a plurality of through holes, or openings, through which a moldable material of the grip can flow;
FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grip including the weight of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a grip including the weight of FIG. 12; FIG.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a variant embodiment of a central opening illustrating a rectangular cross section to help parallel the weights with respect to the grip, FIG.
FIG. 16 is a variant of the shape of the opening shown in FIG. 15, and
17 is a partial cross sectional view through the finished grip illustrating the expansion of the weight into the end of the hollow shaft.

1 illustrates a golf club shaft 10, one end of which is attached to a head (not shown) and the other end of which is attached to a golf grip 12. The material constituting the golf grip 12 may be any moldable material, such as natural or synthetic rubber or polymer having the elastic and shock absorbing properties of rubber or the like. Such materials are usually combined with fillers to reduce the amount of more expensive rubber or polymer. The present invention also contemplates the inclusion of a heavy filler into the material of the grip 12 to increase the weight of the grip. It is preferred to mold the grips from the composition having a density of 1.1-1.8 g / cc, preferably 1.4-1.8 g / cc. The inventors have found that a composition employing a filler of barium sulfate and fine silicate achieves the desired density of 1.4-1.8 g / cc. However, the particulate filler supply is low, productivity is low, and weight is not concentrated on the grip desired to achieve the balancing function of the present invention. In addition, the outer surface of the grip is preferably such that the golfer's hand does not slip during the swing, so the outer surface of the grip provides a textured hand 13 that helps to hold it by the golfer (FIG. 5). And FIG. 7) are sometimes provided.

When assembled on the golf club shaft 10, the golf grip 12 is circumferential of the hollow shaft 10 with the golf grip intersecting over the end 14 of the shaft 10 as shown at 16 in FIG. 1. Is expanding. Although the inventors have described hollow metal shafts, it is well known in the art to provide hollow or solid shafts depending on the nature of the composition for the shaft, such as wood, metal, graphite-filled polymers and the like.

In one embodiment of the invention, the weight 18 is positioned in the mold to be at least partially, or otherwise fully encapsulated, by the constituent material of the golf grip 12, as shown in FIG. 1. This weight may take the form of a cylindrical tube as shown in FIG. 1, or preferably two halves 20, 21 (FIG. 3) to facilitate placement of the weight in the final position in the mold and the molded grip. It may be composed of). The thickness of the cylindrical half 20 may be similar to 0.039 inches or may be 2 and 3/4 inches long. These values are for weights composed of mild steel. When the density of the metal used is higher, such as tungsten, these thicknesses and lengths will be heavier per volume. If one or more embodiments disclosed herein are used in combination, it is within the scope of the present invention to raise the weight of the golf grip to 92 +/- 3 grams, preferably at least 95 grams or more. The inner diameter of the weight is such that the inner wall of the weight 18 (or the interior of the assembled halves 20, 21) has a golf club shaft 10 such that it has a grip material coating configuration thereon as shown in FIG. It must be larger than the outer diameter of). This makes it easier to install the grip 12 over the shaft 10, does not involve the surface of the weight 18 in direct contact with the shaft 10, and cushions the grip 12. The mass of weight 18 may be varied to balance variability affecting the balance of the golf club by the size and weight of the golf club head (not shown) and golf club shaft 10.

In other embodiments, the weight 18 (or halves 20, 21) may be provided with holes therein to allow the material of the grip 12 to penetrate the weight. These holes may be single or multiple through holes of any shape (eg, circular, oval, square, hexagonal, etc.) but are preferably circular or square. In some respects, these holes are so many as the weight 18 begins to resemble a grid or grid and so many layers of heavy material are positioned or wound to form the final weight. Provision of the holes, or grid / lattice structure, ensures intimate contact of the material with the weight 18. Of course, adhesives, surface roughness and other supports may also be employed in combination to ensure intimate bonding of the weight to the constituents of the grip 12.

The weights disclosed herein are preferably formed from metals and suitable metals include iron and its alloys including steel and other dense irons. Although lead and gold have a viable density of candidates, the price of gold and environmental treatment of lead reduce their potential as suitable metals. Tungsten and its alloys are particularly preferred for use as the material of choice for the weighted golf grip of the present invention. Tungsten has a high density of 17 g / cubic centimeter (cc). When used in the embodiments described herein, the weighted golf grips of the present invention are made 40% to 90% heavier than conventional golf grips. This additional weight helps to balance the golf club to which it is mounted. As preferred metals, tungsten alone or alloys thereof are mentioned, but the use of equivalent weights of non-tungsten containing metals is also within the scope of the present invention. In such cases, the amount of non-tungsten containing metal will be greater in order to approach even weight of tungsten or weight of tungsten alloy. Such metals include, for example, copper and alloys thereof, such as brass and bronze, iron and alloys thereof including other grades of steel, aluminum and alloys thereof, ceramics and cermets.

In a variant embodiment, the weight may be placed at the very end of the golf club, thereby providing the most meaningful balance per unit weight during the swing of the golf club. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the weight 30 is disposed at the very end of the grip 12 and at least partially at its top surface can be seen. It is also within the scope of the present invention that the weight 30 is completely covered to be invisible. This covering may be the molding composition itself, or may be a separate piece disposed over the weight 30, which is connected to or surrounded by the grip composition. This weight can also be made of the same materials as disclosed herein, but preferred is made of tungsten alone or tungsten and its alloys. A single cubic centimeter of tungsten will result in a weight of 17 grams at the extreme end of the grip 12. This weight 30 is a stud 39 that can be expanded within the material of the grip 12 as well as providing an opening 32 (FIG. 9) through which the grip material 33 can flow. Can take a variety of forms, including the provision of. Not only does the opening 32 and the stad 39 secure the weight 30 to the grip 12, but as shown in FIG. 6, the flange 34 can be seen in a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 6. As such, it may be formed in the weight 30 in such a way as to be covered by the grip 12. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the boundary 35 of the grip material extends between the end of the shaft 10 and the weight 30.

Another embodiment of the weight 30 as shown in FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 12. 12 illustrates another embodiment of a weight 130, which has a plurality of openings or holes. These openings 131, 132, 133, 134 are present in such a way that the moldable material of the grip can penetrate through the weight 130 to safely hold the weight 130 in a desired position within the grip during molding of the grip. do. These openings 131, 132, 133, 134 may have a non-circular structure, or they may be circular in cross section. Although four openings have been described, these openings may be more or smaller, for example two, three, four, five or more. These openings are preferably arranged uniformly about the axis of weight 130 to avoid introducing unintended changes in weight distribution. However, intentional introduction of heavy weights with non-uniform distribution of agglomerates is also within the scope of the present invention. One or more openings may include a mark, such as slot 144 (FIG. 12) to assist in the orientation of weight 130 within a predetermined location within the mold. On the other hand, or in addition to the slot 144, the central opening itself of various forms (the central opening 160 of Figure 15 is a square, the central opening 170 of Figure 16 is a triangle), which is the mold of the grip With regard to possible materials, and / or with respect to the position of the grip on the shaft, it can serve as a directional element of the weight. This is particularly desirable when the marking or design is implemented on the exposed portion of the weight and it is desirable to point towards such marking or design. It may also be useful when the mass of mass is not evenly distributed and it is desirable to direct the non-uniform mass in a particular direction relative to the grip and / or shaft.

Although various forms have been described, it will be appreciated that any shape that can serve as a directional element can be used. Non-limiting examples of such shapes include rectangles such as rectangles, trapezoids and rectangles, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, octagons, etc., as well as circles with flat portions, or circular with keyholder shaped expansion slots. During molding of the moldable grip composition, it may be associated with the fragrance element to direct the spindle to the weight relative to the grip.

As can be seen in the partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 13, the moldable material of the grip extends through the openings to position and securely hold the weight 130 relative to the grip. A central opening or vent 140 is also included in this weight, which vent may extend through the moldable material 141 to help install the grip on the shaft of the golf club. The vent 140 and vent 141 work in concert to allow any trapped air to escape from the grip. This allows air to be captured during the installation of the grip when the shaft is full in cross section, or when the shaft is already attached to the clubhead, or when manufacturing a new golf club or replacing an existing grip on the club. Particularly preferred in some situations.

As can be seen from the partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 13 and the perspective view of FIG. 14, the outer exposed surface 136 of the weight 130 is substantially smaller than that shown in the embodiment of FIG. 5. This is due to the stepped nature of the weight 130 as compared to the weight 30. This allows more moldable composition to be seen at the distal end of the grip (opposite the clubhead) and can itself form a place for installation of marks such as the grip maker's name, golf club maker, or particular golf course or tissue. have.

However, as described above, the weight 30 or the weight 130 may be completely covered by a moldable composition or a sandwiching agent disposed on the weight so that the weight is not visible at all.

Indication 150 may also be located on or in the moldable composition of the grip itself, as can be seen from FIG. 14. The display 150 may be the name of the grip maker, the brand, the design, the name of the golf club maker, or the like.

In addition, the outer surface of the grip may be provided with divisions, embellishments and markings as can be seen at numbers 151 and 152 of FIG. In addition, these division markings can serve a functional purpose with an arrow 153 or other marker and can be used to assist in the alignment of the grip when installing the grip on the shaft of the golf club. As can be seen in FIG. 7, a second marking, ie an arrow, is shown at the bottom of the grip 13, which also ensures that the grip is not twisted when the grip 13 is installed on the shaft 10. Can be used by the grip installer in cooperation with arrow 153. On the other hand, or in addition to the markings 153, 154, additional arrows or markers may be present 180 ° away from the markings 153, 154 to help align the grip 13 on the shaft 10. good. When merely decorative, the markings have no functional purpose.

Nevertheless, in each embodiment, it is desirable to employ a weight at or near the extreme end of the grip to generate meaningful parallel values. This weight may also provide a place for markings such as the owner's initials, club logo, and the like, as seen in FIG. However, as compared to conventional framed caps, weight 30 (or 130) is 850% heavier than such framed caps.

When the weight is made of a less dense material such as aluminum or its alloys, it may be necessary to increase the mass of such light material to the extent that the total mass cannot occupy the space between the end of the shaft and the end of the grip. . In such a case, the weight 30 or 130 may be forced to expand into the space enclosed by the shaft when the grip is installed on the shaft. In this embodiment, as can be seen in FIG. 17, the tail of the weight will extend into the end of the shaft. This tail may be bare metal or may be covered by a molding composition, which unites with the rest of the grip. However, in any of the embodiments, the bare metal of the tail or molding composition covering the tail may contact the inner surface of the shaft as it may result in undesirable deformation of the weight of the shaft and the direct grip from the club striking the ball. It is important not to. Therefore, it is desirable to always have a gap between the weight and the shaft.

Although the present invention has been disclosed through numerous embodiments, these embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the present invention. It is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

10: shaft 12: grip
30: heavy weight 32: opening
130: heavy object 131, 132, 133, 134: opening
144: slot

Claims (27)

A golf club grip having a weight therein, the golf club grip comprising: a moldable composition molded against a metallic weight; And a weight at least partially encapsulated by the moldable composition. The grip of claim 1, wherein the weight is at least one selected from the group consisting of iron and alloys thereof, tungsten and alloys thereof, copper and alloys thereof, aluminum and alloys thereof, ceramics and conductive alloys. The grip of claim 1, wherein the weight is cylindrical in shape. 4. The grip of claim 3, wherein the weight is formed in two halves. The grip of claim 1, wherein the weight is at the extreme end of the grip. 6. The grip of claim 5, wherein the weight has an opening therein. The grip of claim 3, wherein the weight is in one form selected from the group consisting of a grid and a grid. The grip of claim 2, wherein the moldable composition has a density in the range of 1.1-1.8 g / cc. The grip of claim 8, wherein the weight is at least 92 +/- 3 grams. Golf club combined with the grip of claim 8. A golf club grip having a weight at the extreme end of the grip, the weight being formed from tungsten or an alloy thereof. The grip of claim 11, wherein the grip is formed of a moldable composition having a density in the range of 1.1-1.8 g / cc. 13. The grip of claim 12, wherein the weight has at least one opening through which the molding composition extends. The grip of claim 13, wherein the weight has at least two openings through which the molding composition extends. The grip of claim 13, wherein the weight has at least four openings through which the molding composition extends. The grip of claim 15, wherein the openings are uniformly disposed about the axis of the weight. The grip of claim 13, wherein the weight has a flange and the flange is captured by the moldable composition. 13. The grip of claim 12, wherein the grip has a weight of at least 92 +/- 3 grams. Golf club combined with the grip of claim 18. Formed into a moldable composition having at least one weight at least partially encapsulated by the moldable composition and having a density in the range of 1.1-1.8 g / cc;
The weight is at least one selected from the group consisting of iron and its alloys, tungsten and its alloys, copper and its alloys, aluminum and its alloys, ceramics and conductive alloys; And
A golf club grip with a weight of at least 92 +/- 3 grams. 21. The grip of claim 20, wherein the weight is at or near the end of the grip and is formed of a metal selected from tungsten and its alloys. The grip of claim 20, wherein the weight has a density of at least 17 g / cc. 21. The grip of claim 20, wherein the weight is formed from at least one flange or opening to be captured by the moldable composition. 21. The grip of claim 20, further comprising at least one element facing the weight relative to at least one of the grip or shaft. 25. The grip of claim 24, wherein the at least one element is selected from the group consisting of a slot in the weight, a flat faced opening in the weight, and a keyholder opening in the weight. 21. The grip of claim 20, having at least one element on an outer surface of the grip for aligning the grip with respect to the shaft. 27. The grip of claim 26, wherein at least one device is an arrow.

Images