Abstract:
A golf clubhead heater, including, a support for enclosing a golf clubhead, and a heater which is supported by the support and operable to transfer heat to a gas inside the clubhead, such as to raise the pressure of the gas and thereby to reduce the amount of deformation of a face of the clubhead on impact with a golf ball at a given speed.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) from a patent application filed in the UK patent office as application number GB 1202506M on Feb. 14, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of golf. In particular, it relates to a golf clubhead heater, and a golf clubhead containing a gas. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    One of the characteristics of a golf clubhead is its coefficient of restitution (COR). The COR is important because it effects the distance that a golf bail will travel when struck by the club, in particular a driver. Usually, a player will want to drive the ball as far as possible, and will want to maximize the ratio of the ball speed to the clubhead speed, this sometimes being referred to as the “smash factor”. 
         [0004]    COR is a measure of the efficiency of the transfer of energy during impact, and is represented by a ratio with a value, between 0 and 1. A COR of zero implies that all the energy is lost on impact between the clubhead and the ball. Conversely, a COR of 1 indicates that all the energy is transferred from the club to the ball on impact, with no loss of energy to the outside. Neither of these extreme scenarios is achievable in practice, but in general, the greater the COR of the clubhead, the faster the ball will he propelled for a given impact speed. Hence, it is desirable for a clubhead to have a COR as close to 1 as possible. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    It is an aim of the present invention to provide an improved golf clubhead and related equipment for maximizing the COR. 
         [0006]    According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf clubhead heater, comprising: a support for enclosing a golf clubhead: and a heater which is supported by the support and operable to transfer heat to a gas inside the clubhead, such as to raise the pressure of the gas and thereby to reduce the amount of deformation of a face of the clubhead on impact with a golf ball at a given speed. Raising the pressure of the gas inside the clubhead has the beneficial effect of increasing the coefficient of restitution (COR) of the clubhead. 
         [0007]    The support may be configured to generally conform to the shape of the clubhead for effective transfer of heat to the gas. By ensuring the support is close to the clubhead, heat losses are minimized and the gas will reach the desired pressure as quickly as possible. 
         [0008]    The support may be a natural or synthetic fabric, for example in the form of a “blanket”. Such materials have good thermal qualities and are inexpensive and readily available. They can be made to look similar to known golf club covers commonly used to protect clubheads from accidental damage. 
         [0009]    The heater may be electrical wires configured to be heated by an electrical source, for example a battery. Such wires provide an energy-efficient means for heating and are flexible enough to conform to the shape of the clubhead. 
         [0010]    The support may include magnets configured to attract one another to hold the support in conformance with the clubhead. This means of attachment of the support to the clubhead allows for easy and rapid removal of the clubhead heater when the player is ready to use the golf club. 
         [0011]    The gas may be argon. Argon is particularly suitable because it is inert under most conditions and is inexpensive. 
         [0012]    According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf clubhead, comprising a body including: a chamber configured to hold a gas; a valve for charging/discharging the gas; and a thee for striking a golf ball, wherein the amount of deformation of the face on impact with the ball at a given speed may be reduced by increasing the pressure of the gas. 
         [0013]    The golf clubhead may include a dividing wall, arranged to divide the chamber to form a further chamber adjacent the face. The further chamber contains the gas and may be made smaller, or larger, than the remainder of the chamber to alter the dynamic characteristics of the clubhead. 
         [0014]    The clubhead may be formed of titanium or titanium alloy. 
         [0015]    The valve may include a burst disc for relieving pressure, thereby preventing potential damage to the clubhead and injury to the player. 
         [0016]    The chamber may comprise a gas-tight liner inside the body. The liner may provide desirable dynamic properties to the clubhead. 
         [0017]    The gas may be argon. Argon is particularly suitable because it is inert under most conditions and is inexpensive. 
         [0018]    According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf ball heater, comprising: an enclosure, including at least one cavity for holding at least one golf ball; and a heater which is supported by the enclosure and operable to heat the at least one golf ball. Heating a golf ball has the beneficial effect of increasing its COR. 
         [0019]    The golf ball heater may be configured to hold and heat any appropriate number of golf balls; for example, a set of three balls may be convenient for a player. 
         [0020]    The heater may comprise electrical wires, the wires being configured to be heated by an electrical source. 
         [0021]    According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf equipment system, comprising: a golf clubhead heater and a golf clubhead, as described above. 
         [0022]    The golf equipment system may include a golf ball heater, as described above. 
         [0023]    According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of conditioning a golf clubhead, comprising the steps of: providing a golf clubhead, comprising a body including: a chamber holding a gas; and a face for striking a golf ball; providing a golf clubhead heater, comprising: a support for enclosing the clubhead; and a heater which is supported by the support; fitting the clubhead heater to the clubhead; and using the heater to apply heat to the clubhead in order to increase the pressure of the gas and thereby to reduce the amount of deformation of the face of the clubhead on impact with a golf ball at a given speed. 
         [0024]    The gas may be argon. Argon is particularly suitable because it is inert under most conditions and is inexpensive. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0025]    Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: 
           [0026]      FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  show sectional views of golf clubheads. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  shows to heater configured for use with the golf clubheads of  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b.    
           [0028]      FIG. 3  shows a sectional view of a golf ball heater. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 1   a,  a golf club comprises a clubhead  101  connected to a conventional golf club shaft  105 . In this embodiment, the golf club is a driver, but the present invention is also suitable for other types of golf club. 
         [0030]    The clubhead  101  comprises a body  103  which includes a face  107  configured for striking a golf ball (not shown) and a chamber  109  for containing a fluid, in this embodiment a gas. A valve  111  is provided for charging/discharging the chamber  109 . The valve  111  includes an optional safety burst disc (not shown) arranged to prevent overpressure in the chamber by bursting at some predetermined pressure level. 
         [0031]    In this embodiment, the gas is argon. 
         [0032]    In this embodiment, the clubhead  101  is made of titanium alloy. 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 1   b,  in this embodiment, a portion of the chamber  109  adjacent the face  107  is divided from the rest of the chamber  109  by a wall  113 , to form a further chamber  115 . In this embodiment, it is this further chamber  115  which holds the gas. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the golf clubhead heater  201  comprises a support  203  and a beating element  205  which is supported by the support, and a battery pack  207 , which in this embodiment, is connected to the heating element  205  by a connector  209 . 
         [0035]    The support  203  is flexible so that it will conform to the general shape of the above-mentioned clubhead  101 . The support  203  is lined with magnets  211  configured to attract one another, thereby closing the clubhead heater  201  around the clubhead  101  to maintain the heating element  205  in dose proximity to the clubhead  101 . 
         [0036]    In this embodiment, the support  203  comprises a fabric material. 
         [0037]    In this embodiment, the heating element  205  comprises an electrical heating element, optionally heated wires. 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a golf ball heater  301  comprises an enclosure  303  including a plurality of cavities  305 , each of which is configured to hold a golf ball  307 . A heating element,  309 , is arranged in the enclosure  303  and in this embodiment, is connected to a battery pack (not shown) by a connector  311 . 
         [0039]    In this embodiment, the enclosure  303  comprises a case. 
         [0040]    In this embodiment, the heating element  309  comprises an electrical heating element, optionally heated wires. 
         [0041]    Turning now to aspects related to the operation of the inventive features, the chamber  109  of the golf clubhead  101  is charged with argon gas, via the valve  111 , to a pressure of about 1 bar, i.e. atmospheric pressure. 
         [0042]    During a game or practice session, a player fits the clubhead heater  201  to the clubhead  101 . Preferably there is a snug fit to ensure the efficient transfer of heat to the gas in the chamber  109 . The player then connects the battery pack  207  to begin to heat the electrical heating wires  205 . The resultant heating of the clubhead  101  and gas causes a rise in the pressure of the gas in the chamber  109 . Once the desired gas pressure has been reached, the player removes the clubhead heater  201  from the clubhead  101 , in preparation for his shot. 
         [0043]    The greater gas pressure in the chamber  109  has the effect of stiffening the face  107  of the body  103  of the clubhead  101 . In other words, the COR is increased. When the face  107  strikes a golf ball, the face  107  will experience a relatively smaller degree of inward deflection, or no inward deflection, and less energy will be lost in the impact, with the desirable result that the golf ball will travel a greater distance than if the gas pressure had not been increased. 
         [0044]    Optionally, the player ma heat one or more golf balls using the golf ball heater  301 , the elevated temperature having, the effect of increasing the COR of a ball. Preferably, the battery pack  207  used with the clubhead heater  201  is also used with the golf ball heater  301 . 
         [0045]    Thus, the claimed invention offers improved performance of the golf club during, a game or practice session. The addition of the golf ball heater  301  gives the player a complete system with which he may improve his overall golfing performance. 
         [0046]    In an embodiment of the invention, the clubhead is formed from a material other than titanium alloy, for example steel, carbon fiber composite, or even wood. 
         [0047]    In an embodiment of the invention, a suitable gas other than argon is used in the chamber  109 , for example air or nitrogen. 
         [0048]    It will be understood that the present invention has been described in relation to its preferred embodiments and may be modified in many different ways without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.