Abstract:
A golf club display hanger having a golf club engaging member configured to support the weight of a golf club after the golf club engaging member is inserted through a deformable hole in the golf club&#39;s handle. After the golf club engaging member is inserted through the deformable hole, the display hanger engages an interior portion of the golf club. The golf club display hanger and golf club combination can be hung from a stationary hanging support member.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates generally to display hangers and particularly relates to display hangers for use in the display of individual golf clubs. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Most golf clubs comprise an elongate shaft, a head portion disposed on one end of the shaft, and a tubular rubber handle, which is closed at one end and open at the other, disposed on the other end of the shaft. During manufacturing, this rubber handle is attached to the shaft by feeding one end of the shaft into the open end of the handle. In order to facilitate this process, the closed end of the handle can include a hole which allows air to escape from the interior of the handle as the shaft is fed into the open end of the handle. 
     After assembly, golf clubs are generally shipped to retailers who traditionally display the golf clubs on free-standing display racks located on a showroom floor. These display racks generally rest on a floor surface and contain individual slots, each of which is dimensioned for receiving the handle and shaft of a golf club. The golf clubs are displayed, head-end up, by inserting the handle-portion of each golf club to be displayed into one of these slots. 
     This method of displaying golf clubs has several disadvantages. First, because these display racks are free-standing, they take up a significant amount of space. Second, the display racks are structurally complex and thus are relatively expensive to manufacture. Finally, because the display racks do not allow for individual labeling of the golf clubs, the display racks do not allow the user to easily display and promote several different models of golf clubs at the same time. 
     Therefore, there is a need in the art for a golf club display apparatus that is compact, inexpensive to manufacture, and that allows for individual labeling of the golf clubs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The golf club display hanger of the present invention includes a display member, a golf club engaging member, and a hanging member. The golf club engaging member is dimensioned so that it may be removably inserted through a deformable hole in a golf club&#39;s handle so that it frictionally engages the interior of the golf club. After the engaging member is inserted into the deformable hole, the display hanger&#39;s hanging member may be attached to a stationary hanging support member, such as a display rod, so that the golf club is neatly suspended, shaft-end up, from the display hanger and display rod. The display member may include display indicia that describe and promote the displayed golf club. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved display hanger for displaying golf clubs. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved display hanger for displaying golf clubs that is compact. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved display hanger for displaying golf clubs that is cost-effective to manufacture. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved display hanger that allows for the individual labeling of golf clubs. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved display hanger that can be used to suspend a golf club in a handle-end up configuration. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved display hanger that can engage an interior portion of a golf club&#39;s handle and, as a result of this engagement, support the weight of the golf club. 
    
    
     Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the included drawings and the appended claims. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a plurality of golf club display hangers according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as used to display a corresponding plurality of different golf clubs on a common display rod. 
     FIG. 2A is a front view of a preferred embodiment of a golf club display hanger according to this invention. 
     FIG. 2B is a front view of a second preferred embodiment of a golf club display hanger according to this invention. 
     FIG. 3A is a partial front view of an alternative embodiment of a golf club display hanger according to this invention having a bulbous retaining member. 
     FIG. 3B is a partial front view of an alternative embodiment of a golf club display hanger according to this invention having a spherical, bulbous retaining member. 
     FIG. 3C a partial front view of an alternative embodiment of a golf club display hanger according to this invention having an arrow-head shaped retaining member. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a golf club display hanger according to the present invention used in conjunction with the shaft and handle of a golf club. This figure shows that the golf club (shown in cross-section) may be attached to the golf club display hanger (not shown in cross-section) by moving the golf club display hanger relative to the golf club from position  1  to position  2  (shown partially in phantom lines). 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     General Configuration and Operation 
     FIG. 1 shows a plurality of golf club display hangers  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as they are used to neatly display a corresponding plurality of different golf clubs  20  on a common display rod  30 . As shown in FIG. 2A, a golf club display hanger  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a single-piece element, but may be understood to include “member” portions, namely a display member  11 , a hanging member  16  extending from one end of the display member  11 , and a golf club engaging member  12  extending from the other end of the display member  11 . 
     The Display Member  11   
     The display member  11  is preferably planar, but may be of any other suitable configuration, and preferably includes a surface suitable for displaying display indicia  15 , which may be included as part of the display hanger  10 . The display indicia  15  may be any sort of indicia, but preferably describe and promote a golf club displayed by the golf club display hanger  10 . The display indicia  15  may be displayed on the display member  11  in any of the many ways known in the art. For example, the display indicia  15  may be printed on an adhesive label, which may then be affixed to the display member  11 . Additionally, the display indicia  15  may be printed, drawn, painted, engraved or molded directly onto the display member  11 . 
     The Golf Club Engaging Member  12   
     As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the golf club engaging member  12  includes a retaining member  14  that is dimensioned for engaging a golf club. As shown in FIGS. 2A,  2 B, and  4 , the retaining member  14  is conical in one embodiment, but as shown in FIGS. 3A-3C, the retaining member  14  may be bulbous, spherical, arrow-head shaped, or any other shape suitable for insertion into a deformable hole in the handle of a golf club. If the retaining member  14  is conical, the retaining member will have a base end and a tip end, and the diameter of the base end will be larger than the diameter of the tip end. Regardless of the shape of the retaining member, the maximum diameter of the retaining member will preferably be less than about ¼ of an inch for a typical club. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the golf club engaging member  12  may also include a through-shaft  13  that connects the display member  11  to the retaining member  14 . As will be described in more detail later in reference to FIG. 4, this through-shaft  13  is preferably configured to fit, at least in part, through a deformable hole  24  in the end of a golf club handle  22 . The through-shaft  13  is also preferably configured to extend partially into an interior chamber  26  defined by the handle  22  and shaft  21  of a golf club  20  as will be described later. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the through-shaft  13  is cylindrical and has a diameter of less than ⅛ of an inch. However, the through-shaft  13  may be of any suitable size or shape. 
     The Hanging Member  16   
     As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the golf club display hanger  10  also includes a hanging member  16  for suspending the golf club display hanger  10  from a display. Although this hanging member  16  is preferably configured in the form of a hook, the hanging member  16  may be in the form of an eyelet, an aperture, a rod, a member with an adhesive surface, or any other configuration which would allow the golf club display hanger to be suspended from a display. 
     Structure of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention 
     Two preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In these embodiments, the display member  11  is substantially planar, the retaining member  14  is substantially conical, the through-shaft  13  is substantially cylindrical, and the hanging member  16  is substantially in the form of a hook. The display member  11  is substantially rectangular in shape and has a top portion and a bottom portion opposite to the top portion. The hanging member  16  is attached to the top portion of the display member  11 , and a first end of the through-shaft  13  is attached to the bottom portion of the display member  11 . A second end of the through-shaft  13  is attached to the base portion of the substantially conical retaining member  14 . As is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the diameter of the through-shaft  13  is preferably smaller than the diameter of the base portion of the retaining member  14 . As is shown in FIG. 4, the diameter of the base portion of the retaining member  14  is preferably larger than the maximum width of a deformable hole  24  in a golf club&#39;s handle  22  to result in interference therebetween. 
     Use of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention 
     FIG. 4 demonstrates the use of a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the golf club display hanger  10  is initially moved into a first position (Position  1  in FIG. 4) in which the golf club engaging member  12  is adjacent to the handle  22  of a golf club  20 , and in which the axis of the through-shaft  13  is both aligned with the deformable hole  24  defined by the handle  22  and parallel to the axis of the golf club&#39;s shaft  21 . The golf club display hanger  10  is then moved so that retaining member  14  passes through the deformable hole  24  and into an interior chamber  26  defined by the golf club&#39;s handle  22  and shaft  21 . After this motion is complete, golf club display hanger  10  is brought to rest in a second position (Position  2  in FIG. 4) in which the retaining member  14  may engage an interior portion of the golf club. 
     As the golf club display hanger  10  is moved from position  1  to position  2 , deformable hole  24  stretches to accommodate the passage of the base portion of the retaining member  14  through the deformable hole  24 . After the retaining member&#39;s base portion passes through the deformable hole  24 , the deformable hole  24  contracts so that the diameter of the deformable hole  24  is again smaller than the diameter of the retaining member&#39;s base portion. This may be thought of as providing a “snap-fit” connection.) Because of this, when the golf club display hanger  10  is in position  2 , a portion of the golf club&#39;s handle  22  overlaps a section of the retaining member&#39;s base portion. As a result, when the golf club display hanger is lifted upwardly, a downwardly-facing interior portion of the golf club&#39;s handle  22  rests on an upwardly facing exterior surface portion of the base portion of the retaining member  14 . Such an interference configuration allows a user to freely suspend the golf club  20  from the golf club hanging member  12  as shown in FIG.  1 . The user may then display the golf club by hooking hanging member  16  over a display rod  30  as shown in FIG.  1 . If desired, the user may affix display indicia  15  to the display member to describe or promote the golf club  20  while the golf club  20  is on display. The user may later remove the golf club display hanger  10  from the golf club  20  by withdrawing the golf club engaging member  12  from within the deformable hole  24 . 
     Alternate Configurations 
     As described above, the structural configuration of the various components of the golf club display hanger of the present invention may vary. By the same token, the interface between the golf club display hanger  10  and the golf club  20  to be displayed may also vary. For example, the retaining member  14  may be dimensioned to engage an interior portion of the golf club&#39;s shaft  21  rather than an interior portion of the golf club&#39;s handle  22 . Similarly, the golf club engaging member  12  may include a retaining member  14  that has a maximum diameter that is less than the maximum diameter of the through-shaft  13 , or, alternatively, the golf club engaging member  12  may include only a through-shaft  13  and no retaining member. In such a configuration, the weight of the golf club may be supported by the frictional engagement between the through-shaft  13  and the deformable hole  24 . Additionally, the golf club engaging member  12  may be configured to collapse before insertion through the deformable hole  24  and expand once inserted into the deformable hole  24 . 
     CONCLUSION 
     While this invention has been described in specific detail with reference to the disclosed embodiments, it will be understood that many variations and modifications may be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the appended claims.