Abstract:
Taught herein is an identification device for golf club head covers comprising an outer shell having a front cover and a back cover; a window for displaying identifying indicia disposed on said front cover; a disk bearing a plurality of identification indicia; means for rotating the disk intermittently so that the identifying indicia are displayed through the window, one indicium at a time, the means being disposed within said outer shell; and means for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover. Since a plurality of different identification indicia can be displayed at a push of a button, a convenient and easy to use identification device for golf club head covers is realized.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to identification devices for golf club head covers, and more particularly, to identification devices by means of which displayed identification indicia can be changed on demand. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    As is well known to those skilled in the art, golf clubs are protected by head covers when not in use. Conventional golf club head covers include a head portion to protect the head of a golf club and a body portion to protect the shaft of a golf club. Generally, the head portion is knitted from good flannel material, while the body portion is fabricated from an elastic material having the shape of a long cylinder. 
         [0005]    When a head cover is put over a golf club, the head of the club is covered completely and so, it is generally difficult to identify the club correctly and easily. To solve this problem, head covers can be permanently marked with various indicia on the outside surface. However, in this way, rather than being interchangeable, one head cover can only be matched to and used with one corresponding club type. This is costly and inconvenient. 
         [0006]    Additionally, head covers can be marked on the outside surface with detachable identification tags. In this way, one head cover can be shared among various clubs. However, it is largely inconvenient to carry multiple identification tags which can be easily misplaced, or lost. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In view of the foregoing, it is one objective of the invention to provide an identification device for golf club head covers having a plurality of indicia marked thereon which indicia can be easily interchanged on demand. 
         [0008]    To achieve the above objective, provided is an identification device for a golf club head cover comprising: an outer shell having a front cover and a back cover; a window for displaying identifying indicia disposed on the front cover; a disk bearing a plurality of identification indicia; means for rotating the disk intermittently so that the identifying indicia are displayed through the window, one indicium at a time, the means being disposed within the outer shell; and means for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover. 
         [0009]    In a one embodiment, the means for rotating the disk comprises a pushbutton; a driving member; and a pushbutton reset apparatus; a plurality of driving teeth is disposed and distributed evenly on the pushbutton; a plurality of driving notches is disposed and distributed evenly on the driving member; the driving teeth can be aligned with the driving notches so as to cooperate in driving the driving member and to rotate the disk intermittently; the pushbutton reset apparatus is disposed between the driving member and the outer shell; a via hole is disposed in a central position of the front cover, the pushbutton projects over the via hole; a plurality of stop blocks is disposed on the inner circumference of the via hole; and the driving member does not rotate circumferentially relative to the disk. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, the means for rotating the disk comprises a pushbutton; a driving member; and a pushbutton reset apparatus; a plurality of driving teeth is disposed and distributed evenly on the pushbutton; a plurality of driving notches is disposed and distributed evenly on the driving member; the driving teeth can be aligned with the driving notches so as to cooperate in driving the driving member and to rotate the disk intermittently; the pushbutton reset apparatus is disposed between the driving member and the outer shell; a via hole is disposed in a central position of the back cover, the pushbutton projects over the via hole; a plurality of stop blocks is disposed on the inner circumference of the via hole; and the driving member does not rotate circumferentially relative to the disk. 
         [0011]    In certain classes of the embodiments, the front cover and the back cover are joined by a plurality of screws. 
         [0012]    In certain classes of the embodiments, the pushbutton reset apparatus comprises a compression spring and a slip member connected to one end of the compression spring. 
         [0013]    In certain other classes of the embodiment, the means for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover is a metal plate having a slit through which a strip of material can be passed and connected back to the golf club head cover. 
         [0014]    Since a plurality of different identification indicia is provided in one convenient and simple to use identification device, and the identification indicia displayed can be changed easily by a user according to demand at a push of a button, the goal set out to accomplished has been realized. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates a top perspective view of an identification device in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates a bottom perspective view of an identification device in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates a top plan view of a disk in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exploded view of an identification device in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  illustrates a top perspective view of an identification device in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  illustrates a bottom perspective view of an identification device in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    With reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , an identification device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention comprises (a) an outer shell consisting of a front cover  1  and a back cover  2  which are connected to each other by a plurality of screws  3 ; (b) means  4  for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover, disposed on the edge of the outer shell; (c) a window  5  for displaying identifying indicia disposed on the front cover  1 ; (d) a disk  6  that can be rotated intermittently; and (e) a rotary driving device connected to the disk  6  set within the outer shell. 
         [0022]    Preferably, the means  4  for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover is a metal protrusion or plate or a plurality of metal protrusions or plates having one or more elongated slits through which a cloth strip attached to a golf club head cover can be passed and secured back onto the golf club head cover by means of a detachable connection such as buckle, Velcro, etc. 
         [0023]    A plurality of identifying indicia  7  is marked and is distributed circumferentially on the disk  6 . A via hole  61  is disposed at the central position of the disk  6 . The via hole  61  includes a pair of restriction slots located at opposite sides of the via hole. 
         [0024]    The identification indicia are displayed orderly through the window on the front cover of the outer shell when the disk is being rotated intermittently, and only one indicium, e.g., a number and/or a letter, can be displayed at a time. 
         [0025]    A rotary driving device rotating the disk intermittently so that the identifying indicia are displayed through the window, one indicium at a time, is connected to the disk  6 . The rotary driving device comprises a pushbutton  8 ; a driving member  9 ; and a pushbutton reset apparatus  10 . A plurality of driving teeth  81  is set and distributed evenly on the lower portion of the pushbutton  8 . A positioning bar  91  that can be inserted into the pilot hole  82  at the lower portion of the pushbutton  8  projects over the top surface of the driving member  9 . A plurality of driving notches  92  that can be geared with the driving teeth  81  is set and distributed evenly in the middle portion of the driving member  9 . An internal cavity  94  that accommodates a slip member  101  at the upper portion of the pushbutton reset apparatus  10  is formed on the bottom surface of the driving member  9 . The bottom peripheral edge of the driving member  9  is flanged, and a pair of stop blocks  93  located opposite relative to each other are set on the flange of the driving member  9 . The two stop blocks are matched respectively with said two restrict slots  62  so that the driving member  9  does not rotate circumferentially relative to the disk  6 . The driving teeth  81  at the lower portion of the pushbutton  8  are geared with the driving notches  92  of the driving member  9  so that the driving member  9  and the disk  6  can rotate intermittently when the pushbutton  8  is pushed externally by a golfer. 
         [0026]    The pushbutton reset apparatus  10  comprises a compression spring  102  and a slip member  101  connected to the front end of the compression spring  102 , and is located between the internal cavity  94  at the bottom surface of the driving member  9  and the central slot  21  on the inner surface of the back cover  2  of the outer shell. A via hole  11  is disposed at the central position of the front cover  1  of the outer shell. The pushbutton  8  projects over the via hole. A plurality of stop blocks  111  for restricting the rotation of the pushbutton  8  is set on the inner circumference of the via hole  11 . 
         [0027]    Under normal conditions, the operation of the rotary driving device is as follows. The top end of the pushbutton  8  projects over the via hole  11 . By pressing the pushbutton  8 , the driving teeth  81  at the lower portion of the pushbutton are geared with and then rotate relative to the driving notches  92  of the driving member  9 . The pushbutton  8  does not rotate under the function of the stop blocks  111 . The driving member  9  is fixed circumferentially relative to the disk  6  through the gear of the two stop blocks  93  by the two restrict slots  62 . This is to say that the driving member  9  and the disk  6  do not rotate circumferentially relative to each other. Therefore, when the pushbutton  8  is pressed down, the driving member  9  and the disk  6  will rotate a certain angle around the central axis of rotation that is also the axis of symmetry of several symmetric elements of the rotary driving device. When the external (human) force applied to the pushbutton  8  is removed, i.e., the pushbutton is released, it bounces under the spring recoil force supplied by the pushbutton reset apparatus  10 , and in the meantime, the driving member  9  and the disk  6  rotate through a certain angle so as to display exactly the next identification indicium in the row through the display window  5  on the front cover of the outer shell. The change of the identification indicia displayed is thereby realized. By repeating the above steps, a different identification indicium disposed on the disk  6  is displayed. 
         [0028]    With reference to  FIGS. 5-6 , an identification device for golf club head cover in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention comprises (a) an outer shell consisting of a front cover  12  and a back cover  13  which are connected to each other by a plurality of screws  14 ; (b) means  15  for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover, disposed on the edge of the outer shell; (c) a window  16  for displaying identifying indicia disposed on the front cover  12 ; (d) a disk  17  that can be rotated intermittently; and (e) a rotary driving device connected to the disk  6  set within the outer shell 
         [0029]    Preferably, the means  15  for connecting the identification device to a golf club head cover is a metal protrusion or plate or a plurality of metal protrusions or plates having one or more elongated slits through which a cloth strip attached to a golf club head cover can be passed and secured back onto the golf club head cover by means of a detachable connection such as a buckle, Velcro, etc. 
         [0030]    A plurality of identifying indicia  18  is marked and distributed circumferentially on the disk  17 . The identification indicia are displayed orderly through the window on the front cover of the outer shell when the disk is being rotated intermittently, and only one indicium is displayed though the window at a time. 
         [0031]    The rotary driving device connected to the disk  17  includes a pushbutton  19 ; a driving member; and a pushbutton reset apparatus. However, as distinguished from the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, a via hole  11  is disposed at the central position of the back cover  13  of the outer shell (rather than the font cover  1  as in the first embodiment), and the pushbutton  19  projects over the via hole. 
         [0032]    A plurality of stop blocks for restricting the rotation of the pushbutton  19  and a plurality of pilot slots are set on the inner circumference of the via hole  11 . The driving member does not rotate circumferentially relative to the disk  17 , the pushbutton  19  is matched with the bottom end of the driving member so as to drive the driving member and the disk  17  rotate intermittently. The pushbutton reset apparatus is a compression spring located between the top end of the driving member and the inner surface of the front cover  12  of the outer shell. 
         [0033]    While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.