Abstract:
A golf putter head including a face portion having an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion; a sole portion; a top portion extending rearward from an upper edge of the face portion, the top portion having a front edge and a rear edge; a rear portion extending downward from the rear edge of the top portion to the sole portion; and a transition portion for joining the face portion with the sole portion, wherein the face portion is a maintained at a predetermined distance above the sole portion and the sole portion is positioned rearward of the face portion.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/738,499 filed Nov. 21, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to golf clubs, and, more specifically, to a putter having an improved club head design for improved putting accuracy. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Background Art 
         [0005]    The field of golf has enjoyed perhaps the greatest proliferation of equipment improvements available to its avid participants of any hobby or pastime. The popularity of professional golf has heightened not only participation by tremendously increasing numbers of golfers, but has also consequently spurred the development and introduction of very sophisticated equipment designs and materials. 
         [0006]    The golf club putter in general has been the recipient of great inventive effort directed toward the achievement of the ultimate putter design. One such effort is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,089 invented by Bonneau which teaches an inverted mass relieved putter head in the form of a general block of metal having a conventional striking face with mass relieved portions behind the face of the putter head club. A plug of heavy metal is centered at the center of gravity to add stiffness with emphasis on the use of exotic materials for proper head weight. 
         [0007]    A customizable golf putter head with a face insert is taught by Anderson in U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,694. The face member has a cavity formed in its rear surface to receive a weighted face insert. In a recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,782, Tang discloses a putter head having a body preferably formed of stainless steel, the body including a face portion, a crown portion, a sole portion and an aft mass portion to achieve novel inertial properties. An alignment means for aiming a golf ball during putting is also provided. 
         [0008]    A golf club with interchangeable sole is taught by Lu in U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,540. This allows for customizing the club head with selected ground-engaging sole plates to more closely match ground and grass conditions. An adjustable golf putter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,652 by Westbrook teaching a novel energy transmitting head composition which transmits vibrational energy upon contact with a golf ball. A unique layered design of high density elastomer, PVDF, carbon fiber, polyester resin and aluminum is disclosed. 
         [0009]    Another golf putter head design is disclosed by Caiozzo in U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,035. This golf putter head includes an arcuate cavity extending from the back surface of the hitting face and a semi-circular rear section attached to and extending back from the front section. A keyhole-shaped cutout formed into the semi-circular lip for weight/balance redistribution is also provided. Still another golf putter head is disclosed by Bolanos in U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,052 teaching a club head body having a center of mass, the center of effort located on the striking face in axial alignment with the center of mass to define an axis of effort extending through the club head body. 
         [0010]    A balanced putter with top spin facility is disclosed by Baker in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,290. This club head includes a member securable to the exterior surface of the club head formed of a material different from the material constituting the club head itself, the member having an arcuate configuration for striking the ball. 
         [0011]    Hettinger, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,931 teaches a bimetallic golf club head having a weighted body for lowering the center of gravity of the club head itself in order to achieve an increase in the vertical gear effect upon impact with a golf ball. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,035, a balanced golf club putter taught by Hannon includes two chambers that increase the proportion of heel and toe mass relative to the center mass and decreases the cross sectional area of head material to increase vibration transmitted upon the shaft upon ball impact. 
         [0012]    Another golf club head design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,857 as taught by Cochran includes a golf club head having a high radius of gyration formed of steel and having tungsten embedded inserts added to the heel and toe areas of the club head itself. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,871, Fisher teaches a golf putter head design with interchangeable rebound control inserts which are readily interchangeable to provide higher or lower rebound factors depending upon the speed of the green. 
         [0013]    Colucci, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,372 teaches a putter head which includes three long plastic insert sighting lines to assist a golfer in lining up the club head with the intended target. The patent to White, U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,913, teaches a golf club putter head having a removable blade forming a front striking surface in a fashion such that the blade may be adjustably positioned longitudinally with respect to the body of the putter head. Two protrusions are provided on the bottom surface which position the blade above the grass surface. 
         [0014]    Despite the plethora of golf putter designs in the art, there is a continuing need for a golf putter having improved weighting, improved contact with the golf ball resulting in a truer roll of the golf ball and improved feel and aerodynamics. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf putter having improved weighting, improved contact with the golf ball resulting in a truer roll of the golf ball and improved feel and aerodynamics. Additionally, the configuration of the face portion with respect to the sole portion advantageously prevents scuffed putts. That is, since the bottom edge of the face portion is raised above the sole portion, there is less chance that the golfer will catch the face on the ground as he swings through the putt. 
         [0016]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a golf putter head including a face portion having an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion; a sole portion; a top portion extending rearward from an upper edge of the face portion, the top portion having a front edge and a rear edge; a rear portion extending downward from the rear edge of the top portion to the sole portion; and a transition portion for joining the face portion with the sole portion, wherein the face portion is a maintained at a predetermined distance above the sole portion and the sole portion is positioned rearward of the face portion. 
         [0017]    The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes are possible without departing from the principles set forth herein. There are many applications of this design. 
         [0018]    The above is a brief description of some deficiencies in the prior art and advantages of the present invention. Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, drawings and claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    The invention will become more clearly understood from the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a side view illustrating golf putter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a side view in the direction of the face of the golf putter illustrating a golf putter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is a top view illustrating a golf putter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is a side view in the direction of the back side of the golf putter illustrating a golf putter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0024]    The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein. 
         [0025]    Referring now to the drawings, and initially to  FIG. 1 , a golf putter head  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The putter head  10  in accordance with the present invention includes several components or portions that are common to virtually all golf club putters. For example, putter head  10  includes a face portion  12 , a shaft member  22  for attaching to a putter shaft, a sole portion  24  and top and rear portions  28 ,  30 , respectively. However, the configuration of the several components of the putter head  10  in accordance with the present invention provides several advantages to the golfer. 
         [0026]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the face  12  is positioned at a predetermined height above the sole portion  24 . Additionally, sole portion  24  is positioned rearward of face  12  and the two are connected by a transition portion  26 . Transition portion  26  is sloped at an angle such that a lower face portion  16  is connected to a first end of the transition portion  26  and a second end of the transition portion  26  is connected to a leading edge  34  of sole portion  24 . Furthermore, the height of the sole portion, the position of the sole with respect to the face, and the angle at which the transition portion is sloped are variables that may all be changed to customize the putter to the particular golfer. The transition portion  26  may be concave, convex, straight, or any other shape known to one having ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0027]    An upper face portion  14  is connected to a top portion  28  of the putter club head  10 . A shaft joining member  22  is connected to the top portion  28  and is configured to connect to a putter shaft (not shown). The shaft joining member  22  may be positioned at any angle x (best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 ) relative to the top portion  28  to accommodate various golfer heights. 
         [0028]    Extending rearwardly from rear portion  30  are one or more weighted cylinders  32 . In one embodiment, the weighted cylinders  32  are provided to add additional stability to the putter head upon impact with a golf ball. It is envisioned that other embodiments of the present invention will not include the weighted cylinders  32 . 
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a side view in the direction of the face of the golf putter head  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, shaft joining member  22  is connected to and extends from top portion  28 , and may be oriented at any one of a plurality of angles x with respect to the top portion  28 . 
         [0030]    Also best shown in  FIG. 2  is the width y of the face portion  14 . Preferably, the width y of the face portion  14  is in the range of approximately one-quarter inch to approximately five-sixteenths of an inch. The length and width of the face  14  can be modified so that the golfer makes best contract contact with the ball. Additionally, the face  14  may be configured to give the golf ball a slight amount of loft as the putter strikes the ball. That is, the face of the putter is designed and manufactured such that the face of the putter is not perpendicular with the ground upon contact with the golf ball. The face of the putter head can have a loft angle within a range of about positive 10° to about −10° or any loss or negative loft which can be effective. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the face of the putter may be perpendicular to the ground, thereby imparting no loft on the golf ball as it is struck. 
         [0031]    The face portion  14  includes a heel portion  18  and a toe portion  20 . Preferably, the golfer will strike the golf ball at a point in the middle section of the face portion  14  equidistant between the heel portion  18  and the toe portion  20 . As described above, the addition of the weighted cylinders  32  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) will assist in stabilizing the putter in the event that the golfer does not strike the ball equidistant between the heel portion  18  and the toe portion  20 . The weighted cylinders  32  are preferably formed of brass. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is a top view illustrating a golf putter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The top surface  28  is illustrated in a particular configuration. However, it is envisioned that the shape and/or configuration of the top surface  28  may be any shape and/or configuration as is known to one having ordinary skill in the art. Weighted cylinders  32  are illustrated extending rearward from rear portion  30 . Although the cylinders are illustrated in place, it is contemplated that no cylinders are necessary. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a side view in the direction of the back side of the golf putter illustrating a golf putter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0034]    The putter face may be formed as a straight section or may have a radius formed on it. The face can be radius from the heel portion to the toe portion. The configuration of the sole portion and the face in accordance with the present invention ensures that the majority of the putter head weight will be below the face portion. In one embodiment wherein the sole portion is set back from the face and lower than the face portion, the center of gravity is lowered in relation to the face and contact point. This also creates a vertical gear perfect to induce roll on the ball sooner after impact, thereby minimizing any skidding which typically occurs with other putters. 
         [0035]    Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiment and these variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.