Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/542,057, filed Feb. 5, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention generally relates to golf club parts, and more particularly relates to connectors between golf club shafts and golf club heads, and methods for assembling golf clubs.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The typical way to connect a golf club shaft and a golf club head is to epoxy the tip end of the golf club shaft into a bore formed into the body of the golf club head. Often times, specialty golf shops will assembly the shafts and the golf club heads to customize the clubs for a customer. In selecting club heads and shafts, it is often desirable to try the selected combination prior to purchase. There is also known forms of shaft and head component connections such as that shown in PCT Patent Application No. WO 2004/009186 and U.S. Published Application Nos. 2004/0018887 and 2004/0018886. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art once the present invention is understood, there are significant deficiencies existing in the prior art.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention provides a connector that is used to connect a golf club shaft with a golf club head. The connector includes a first part which mounts to the golf club shaft and a second part which mounts to the golf club head. These two parts can be connected in order to secure the golf club shaft to the golf club head and then released if desired to allow interchangeability. It is a significant advantage of the present invention that the connector of the present invention provides a golf club shop to develop its own professional fitting system and allows these shops to create as many different shaft and club head combinations as may be desired. A further advantage is the present invention allows for combinations of shafts and heads of different shaft component and head components manufacturers.  
         [0005]     Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is an exploded side view of a connector for use in connecting a golf club shaft with a golf club head in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the connector shown in  FIG. 1 , that is shown in association with a golf club shaft and a golf club head in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2A  is side elevation view of one embodiment of a shaft mount for the connector of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 2B  is side elevation view of one embodiment of a head mount for the connector of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the components of the connector of  FIG. 1  being epoxied and mounted to a golf club shaft and a golf club head respectively.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the connector of  FIG. 1  as employed in an assembled golf club in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a tool used to assemble the connector and golf club of  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0013]      FIGS. 6A-6C  are perspective views of the connector and a portion of the golf club of  FIGS. 1 and 2  and tool of  FIG. 5  illustrating steps for aligning the golf club during assembly. 
     
    
       [0014]     While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     Referring to the figures, an embodiment of the present invention has been shown as a connector  10  that is used to removably mount a golf club head  12  to a golf club shaft  14 . The connector  10  includes a shaft mount  16  and a head mount  18  that interconnect and mate with one another.  
         [0016]     The shaft mount  16  includes a sleeve portion  20  that is slidably received onto the tip end  22  of the golf club shaft  14 . The sleeve portion  20  includes a cylindrical bore  24  sized to be closely received upon the shaft tip end  22 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the cylindrical bore  24  can be tapered proximate the bottom to better facilitate insertion of the tip end  22  of the golf club shaft  14  as well as provide a reservoir for epoxy. The shaft mount  16  also includes an interchangeable connector that mates with the head mount  18 , which is shown in the form of a threaded bore  26  which is concentric with the bore  24 . A seating flange  28  is provided for engaging the tip end  22  of the golf club shaft  14  to provide for proper location of the shaft mount  16  with the golf club shaft  14  for dry fitting and/or for epoxying operations.  
         [0017]     The head mount  18  includes a cylindrical stub shaft  30  that is sized to be slidably received into the cylindrical bore  32  which is typically formed into the golf club head  12 . Typically this cylindrical bore  32  will be provided in a projecting sleeve portion  34  that is unitarily formed with the golf club head  12  as a single cast or machined component. The stub shaft  30  may include one or more epoxy receiving grooves  36  for the receipt of epoxy material that is used to bond and secure the stub shaft  30  to the golf club head  12 . The grooves  36  thus provide a receptacle for epoxy material to ensure better and proper securement between the head mount  18  and the golf club head  12 .  
         [0018]     The grooves  36  can be formed on stub shaft  30  in a variety of patterns such as, for example, grooves in concentric circles ( FIG. 2 ), a spiral or corkscrew groove ( FIG. 2B ), axially aligned grooves, and the like. If the spiral or corkscrew pattern of  FIG. 2B  is employed for grooves  36 , it is preferable that the swirl run in the same direction as the threading on threaded bore  26  and threaded shaft  40 . The varying patterns of the grooves  36  can be chosen based on differing construction objectives for the assembled golf club  44  such as, for example, removing undesirable weight, permitting an increase amount of epoxy, granting the epoxy better coverage, and more securely holding the club head  12 . If desired, all or a portion of stub shaft  30  can be abraded to further promote securement between the head mount  18  and the golf club head  12 .  
         [0019]     The head mount  18  also includes a stop flange  38 , which is positioned to be seated against the projecting sleeve portion  34  from the golf club head  12 , that serves to properly locate the head mount  18  relative to the golf club head  12  for dry fitting and/or for epoxying operations.  
         [0020]     The head mount  18  further comprises an interchangeable connector that mates or interconnects with the shaft mount  16 , which is shown in the form of a threaded shaft  40  that is coaxial or concentric with the stub shaft  30 . The threaded shaft  40  projects in an opposite direction from the stop flange  38  and threadingly mates with the threaded bore  26  of the shaft mount  16 .  
         [0021]     As shown by the figures, when threaded bore  26  and threaded shaft  40  are threadably mated, the two components alone prevent and/or prohibit both rotation of and axial displacement of the golf club head  12  relative to the golf club shaft  14 . To augment this result, for right-handed golfers or right-handed golf clubs, the threading on the threaded bore  26  and the threaded shaft  40  are left-hand threading such that during use of an assembled golf club swinging the golf club and hitting the ball tends to tighten the threaded connection rather than loosening it. Likewise, for left-handed golfers and left-handed golf clubs, the threading would be right-hand threads rather than left-hand threads.  
         [0022]     There are many different golf club component manufacturers that manufacture the shaft and that manufacture the head (including wood type heads and iron type heads). Many of the manufacturers have developed standard diameter sizes for the tip end  22  of the shaft and the cylindrical bore  32  of the golf club head  12 . In particular, the standard used by many in the industry is 0.335 inch diameter for woods and 0.370 inch for irons. Therefore, the diameter of the bore  24  and the stub shaft  30  of the connector  10  are sized to closely and slidably fit with these diameters. However, it will be readily appreciated that there is a significant number of manufacturers that do not conform to standards and have sizes that deviate from 0.335 inch for woods and 0.370 inch for irons. This is a great source of headaches when attempting to make customized products using a head of one manufacturer with a shaft of another manufacturer. Accordingly, the present invention also may entail a kit in which different diameter sizes are provided for the cylindrical bore  24  and the stub shaft  30  for each different part of the connector  10  to accommodate the deviators in the industry. However, because the threading and diameter of the threads for the threaded bore  26  and the threaded shaft  40  remain constant even if the sizes of the stub shaft  30  and the cylindrical bore  24  are changed, it is now possible to interconnect golf club components of different manufacturers regardless of whether the shaft and the golf club head have corresponding diameters and are capable of fitting with one another absent the connector of the present invention.  
         [0023]     The kit can also include a tool  46 , such as the wrench depicted in  FIG. 5 , for aligning the golf club shaft relative to the golf club head. In addition the standard features and functions that a typical tool might have, tool  46  includes right-hand hole  48 , left-hand-hole  50 , cut-outs  52 , and edges  54 . Right-hand hole  48  and left-hand hole  50  are each threaded apertures, however, the threading of right-hand hole  48  and left-hand hole  50  progress in opposite directions.  
         [0024]     In use, tool  46  permits the alignment of the golf club components, such as the head mount  18 , the golf club head  12 , the shaft mount  16 , and the golf club shaft  14 , with each other. A series of alignment steps, as shown in  FIGS. 6A, 6B , and  6 C, is illustrative of the alignment process and functionality of tool  46 . If, for example, a golf club assembler desires to construct or fabricate a right-handed golf club, the golf club assembler begins by threadably inserting threaded shaft  40  of stub shaft  30  into right-hand hole  48  as shown in  FIG. 6A . Thereafter, the stub shaft  30  of combined tool  46  and head mount  18  are slidably inserted into cylindrical bore  32  of golf club head  12  and the tool is oriented such that edges  54  are in parallel with golf club face  56  as shown in  FIG. 6B . After edges  54  and golf club face  56  have been aligned, a mark  58  or other indicia is inscribed upon head mount  18  and golf club head  12  as depicted in  FIG. 6C . Notably, since cut-outs  52  have been removed from tool  46 , a marker or other instrument can more easily be brought in close proximity to the head mount  18  or the golf club head  12 .  
         [0025]     Next, with marks  58  having been placed, the stub shaft  30  of combined tool  46  and head mount  18  and are slidably extracted from cylindrical bore  32  of golf club head  12  and the tool  46  is threadably separated from threaded shaft  40 . Continuing, an epoxy is applied to stub shaft  30 , the stub shaft is slidably inserted back into cylindrical bore  32  of golf club head  12 , and the marks  58  on head mount  18  and golf club head  12  are aligned with respect to each other. When the epoxy has dried and the head mount  18  is securely held within golf club head  12 , shaft mount  16  and golf club shaft  14  can also be attached to form assembled golf club  44  that is desirably aligned.  
         [0026]     In one embodiment, employing the alignment procedure, the tool  46  assists a golf club assembler by determining a threading initiation point when aligning the threaded bore  26  relative to the threaded shaft  40 . Knowing and employing the initiation point ensures that the golf club shaft  14  and the golf club head  12  are aligned and congruent when the golf club  44  is assembled. In another embodiment, the tool  46  assists a golf club assembler in aligning the golf club shaft  14  and the golf club head  12 .  
         [0027]     An alignment procedure similar to that of the head mount  18  and golf club head  12  can be employed for the shaft mount  16  and shaft  14 . Such a procedure might be necessary, for example, if a golf club shaft  14  that is non-circular in cross section (e.g., a putter) is used to formulate assembled golf club  44 .  
         [0028]     In employing the present invention it should be noted that the connector  10  increases the axial distance between the golf club head  12  and the golf club shaft  14  as shown or can be appreciated with reference to  FIGS. 2-4  (as opposed to if the golf club shaft was inserted directly into the bore of the golf club head). Accordingly, there is a preferred method for employing the invention to create a customized golf club for a customer. According to this method the head mount  18  is dry fit on the golf club shaft  14  and the head mount  18  is dry fit on the golf club head  12 . With the connector in threaded relation and full abutment, one can then measure how much of the tip end  22  of the golf club shaft  14  needs to be removed for a particular golfer (different people have different vertical heights). Because the tip end  22  of the shaft typically is of constant diameter (e.g. about the last 5″ of the golf club shaft are typically of constant diameter and do not taper), there is the opportunity to trim or remove a portion of the shaft as schematically indicated by dotted line  42  in  FIG. 2 . Therefore, once the proper measurements are made with a dry fit with the connector  10  to determine proper shaft length, the tip end  22  of the golf club shaft  14  can then be trimmed  42  and thereby removed, and thus any increased distance between the golf club shaft  14  and the golf club head  12  by virtue of the connector  10  is eliminated. After the trimming operation, the shaft mount  16  is epoxied onto the golf club shaft  14  and the head mount  18  is epoxied into the golf club head  12  as shown in  FIG. 3 , again with full abutment occurring. Thereafter, the golf club head  12  and the golf club shaft  14  can be screwed together to connect the two components and form an assembled golf club  44  as shown in  FIG. 4 . If desired, the golf club head  12  and the golf club shaft can later be disconnected and either a different head or a different shaft can be employed thereby providing for interchangeability.  
         [0029]     All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.  
         [0030]     The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.  
         [0031]     Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Technology Category: 2