US2157415A

US2157415A - Practice golf club

Info

Publication number: US2157415A
Application number: US119997A
Authority: US
Inventors: William L Jones
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1937-01-11
Filing date: 1937-01-11
Publication date: 1939-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 1956-05-09

Description

y 9, 1939- w. L. JONES 2,157,415

PRACTICE GOLF CLUB Filed Jan. 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l &

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PRACTICE GOLF CLUB Filed Jan. 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MAM/w L. Jon E5.

ATTOR'NEY Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRACTICE GOLF CLUB William L. Jones, Los Angeles, Calif. Application January 11, 1937, Serial No. 119,997

10 Claims.

My invention relates to golf clubs, and particularly to golf .clubs for practice of strokes, and the like.

One of the important objects of this invention is to provide a golf club of this class, whereby, when a golf ball is struck properly, the ball will be picked up and retained by the club; and fur ther to provide a club of this class which will hold the ball thus struck until manually released.

Another object of this invention is to provide a golf club of this class which simulates the conventional club in appearance, but one which is not adapted to nor capable of catapulting the ball any appreciable distance even when not struck squarely so asto pick up the ball.

A further object of this invention is to provide novel means whereby the picked up and retained ball may be easily manually released.

Another object is to provide a simple and novel construction embodying the above features and functional advantages.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear hereinafter, I have devised a practice golf club having certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawlugs and -to the characters of reference thereon which form a part of this application, in which:

Fig.1 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a golf club embodying my invention in one form;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, partly in plan, taken at 2-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational section taken at 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top View of my golf club in a slightly modified form, a portion being broken away to facilitate the illustration;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken through 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of the head in another slightly modified form;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section in plan taken at 1-1 of Fig. 6; and,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation, similar to Fig. 6, showing another slightly modified form of construction of my golf club.

The club shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, consists essentially of a head A, shaft B, and a handle C. The head comprises a body I, bottom and top plates 2 and 3 respectively, trap doors 4 and 5, springs 6, cables I, and pulleys 8, 9, and [0.

The golf club is preferably in the form of a driver. The head body I is in the form of a driver head and is provided with a deep horizontal recess l open toward the face of the head. The opening is large enough to receive freely a golf ball D and pocket the same at the rear of the head body. This head body may be made 5 of metal to compensate for the loss of weight by reason of the recess. The head may be cast of soft metal and provided at the bottom and top with the harder metal plates 2 and 3 respectively. At the face of the head body are the trap 10 doors 4 and 5. These doors are preferably identical and are metal plates which are pivoted intermediate their lateral edges on vertical axes back of the face of the body and inwardly from the lateral walls forming the recess. When the doors are closed the free inner edges substantially touch each other. The portions of the door plates outwardly from the pivotal axes engage the faces of the head and form stops for the doors. The recess is sufllciently large as to receive the doorsand allow the ball freely to enter to the rear of the recess. The doors are held in the closed position shown, by springs 6 positioned around the pivot pins for the doors.

When a ball has been struck and lodged in the recess, it may be removed manually by pulling certain cables 1. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, one cable 1' is secured to the door 4 and extends around the pulley 8 located above and at thefar side of the recess, and a cable 7 is secured to the door 5 and extends around the pulley 9 located at the opposite or near side of the recess. These cables I and 1" may be then fastened together, and extend around the pulley Ii], through the hollow shank l of the head, and thence through the interior B of the hollow shaft B.

In the handle C of the club, or at the upper portion of the shaft, is a recess C which has a longitudinal opening at one side. Over this opening is a removable long cover II which is in the form of a plate lever pivoted at its lower end on the handle or shaft at the lower end of the recess. This lever may be pulled outwardly by the thumb nail. At the upper end of the recess is a pulley l2. The cable 7, which extends into the hollow shaft, extends around the pulley l2 and is secured at its free end to the lever. As this cover or lever is opened the cable 1 opens. or draws the doors 4 and 5 inwardly and permits a ball in the recess to be removed. The springs 6 normally tend to close the cover or lever.

If it is desired to provide auxiliary means for closing, or keeping closed, the lever ll, particularly when a ball is struck and the doors 4 and 5 thereby opened, a tension spring [5 may be provided in the shaft. And to keep the cables from becoming tangled when slack, as when a ball is struck and the doors 4 and 5 are opened, a tension spring I! may also be provided in the shaft. The latter spring has less tension than the springs 6 so as not to open the spring doors 4 and 5. These springs l6 and Il may be placed around the cable I, and secured at their adjacent ends, in any suitable manner, to the shaft B. The opposite ends of the springs may be attached to the cable. Thus the cable remains taut at all times.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have provided a thumb lever 2! which is pivotally mounted at the back of the head body and extends upwardly and forwardly therefrom. The free end portion of the lever 2| is connected by cables 22 and 23 to the doors 4 and 5. These cables may extend around pulleys 24. Thus, when the lever is pulled outwardly, the doors 4 and 5 are opened, as referred to above.

In the structure, shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the trap doors may be merely wire retainers 3| and 32 pivotally mounted, as in the case of the doors 4 and 5 described above. Springs 33 are also provided to keep the wire retainers 3| and 32 closed. In this modification, the doors are opened direct- 1y, no auxiliary manual means being provided therefor.

The structure of Fig. 8 is similar to that shown in Fig. 6 except that the doors or retainers are made of spring plates 4| and 42, and are provided at their adjacent portions with semi-circular recesses M and 42*, so that the struck ball may be engaged over a larger surface.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, and certain modifications thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination, and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess, a resiliently closing retaining means on the head for retaining a ball in the recess, a manually operated lever on the club, and pulley and cable means connecting the lever to the ball retaining means for opening the same against the resiliently closing force of the retaining means when the lever is operated.

2. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess, a resiliently closing retaining means on the head for retaining the ball in the recess, a manually operated lever on the club, pulley and cable means connecting the lever to the ball retaining means for opening the same against the resiliently closing force of the retaining means when the lever is operated, and means for keeping taut the cables of the latter means.

3. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess, a resiliently closing retaining means on the head for retaining a ball in the recess, a manually operated lever on the shaft of the club, and cables connecting the lever to the retaining means for opening the same.

In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess, a resiliently closing retaining means on the head for retaining a ball in the recess, a manually operated lever on the back of the head of the club, and cables connecting the lever to the retaining means for opening the same.

5. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess open at its front side, a pair of doors, pivotally mounted intermediate its lateral edges, one at each of the opposite sides of the opening with the free edge of one door adjacent the free edge of the other, the opposite lateral edge of each engaging the front of the head at the side of the opening as a stop, and springs normally closing the doors over the opening.

in. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess open at its front side, a pair of doors, one pivotally mounted at each of the opposite sides of the opening, and extending into the recess at an angle to each other and to the front face of the head, and springs normally holding said doors in said angular positions but allowing the same to be forced farther into the recess by a ball entering the recess.

'7. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess, and means mounted on the head and at the front of the recess thereof, said means being mounted so as to be shifted into the recess of the head by a ball when the same is struck, for successively admitting the ball to the recess and retaining the same therein.

8. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess, means on the head for retaining a ball in the recess, said means being mounted so as to be shifted into the recess for admitting a ball thereinto, and resilient means for closing the retaining means over the recess.

9. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess open at its front side, and a pair of doors, one pivotally and resiliently mounted at each of the opposite sides of the opening, and extending into the recess at an angle to each other and to the front face of the head, and so mounted as to be moved inwardly from said angle positions by a ball entering the recess.

10. In a golf club, a head having a ball receiving recess open at its front side, and a pair of retaining means on the head, one mounted at each of the opposite sides of the opening, and so mounted as to be moved into the recess for successively admitting a ball into the recess and retaining the same therein.

WILLIAM L. JONES.