Extensible golf club

Abstract

A golf club which includes interconnected segments which can be added to extend the length thus providing an inexpensive alternative to buying new golf clubs. The segments are securely connected to achieve a rigid and sturdy golf club which can grow longer as a child grows taller. The segments preferably have a threaded male/female connection with epoxy applied to the threads followed by the added security of a roll pin inserted into the connection.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This is a continuation application of U.S. Application for Letters Patent Ser. No. 09/351,749, filed Jul. 8, 1999, which is a continuation of U.S. Application for Letters Patent Ser. No. 08/986,895, filed Dec. 8, 1997, now U.S Pat. No. 5,997,412, issued Dec. 7, 1999; both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to a golf club which is extensible in length. This invention allows a child to start playing golf with a short golf club and to simply add new segments to lengthen the club as the child grows rather than buying new, longer clubs.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] Golf is enjoyed as both a competitive sport and as an exercise activity. The age group of people taking up golf has become younger. This is particularly true due to the recent successes of young professional golfers which has made the game popular among children and parents. Manufacturers have responded to this demand by producing golf clubs in a variety of lengths which will accommodate people of all sizes. However, buying a club of a shorter length does not allow a child to use the club for very long. As the young golfer grows, he or she must continually replace the club as it becomes too short. There is accordingly a need for a golf club having an extensible length which can be increased as the child's height increases. This golf club must also be sturdy and rigid in order to provide maximum benefit to the child's game.

[0006] Some U.S. patents which show variations to shafts of golf clubs are Nos. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,029,860; 5,609,336; 5,282,619; 5,328,174; 5,024,438; 5,496,029; 1,650,183; 3,102,726; and 3,424,464. None of the above patents disclose a device which uses a plurality of segments to increase the length of a golf club.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower section of the upper shaft of the club ends with a collar which has a threaded male projection that can fit into a threaded female opening of a spacer segment. The connection is secured by a roll pin which is permanently inserted in a hole in the barrel of the spacer segment and through a hole in the threaded male projection, the end result being the addition of permanent growth or extension which cannot be disassembled. New spacer segments can continually be added by placing the threaded female opening of each new spacer segment over the threaded male projection of the last-attached spacer segment. A roll pin used as described above secures the connection. The upper section of the lower shaft of the club ends with a collar which has a threaded female opening to receive the threaded male projection of the bottom or last-attached spacer segment. This connection is secured with a removable roll pin which can be removed to permit the addition of more spacer segments as the child grows.

[0008] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the threaded male projections are about 3/4 of an inch long and the male/female connections are further secured by the application of an epoxy to the threads prior to connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the golf club embodying the present invention with one spacer segment in place;

[0010] FIG. 2 is an exploded fragmentary view with parts broken away of the upper and lower shaft portions of the invention connected by two spacer segments;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view depicting one spacer segment connecting the upper and lower shafts of the golf club; and.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in partial vertical section illustrating how the upper shaft, eight spacer segments, and the lower shaft are connected when the club is in its maximum extended form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a golf club 10. Broadly speaking, the golf club 10 includes a lower shaft 12, a midsection 14, and an upper shaft 16.

[0014] Upper shaft 16 of golf club 10 has a lower end 18 fitted with a first collar 20. First collar 20 terminates in a threaded male projection 22 (shown in FIG. 2) which has a pin hole 23. FIG. 1 illustrates an upper end 24 of upper shaft 16 covered with a handle 26.

[0015] Lower shaft 12 has an upper end 28 which terminates in a second collar 30. Second collar 30 has a pin hole 31 and a threaded female opening 32 (shown in FIG. 2). FIG. 1 illustrates the club head 34 which is attached to a lower end 36 of the lower shaft 12.

[0016] Midsection 14 is composed of spacer segment 38(a) in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, midsection 14 contains spacer segment 38(a) and spacer segment 38(b). Referring to FIG. 4, the midsection 14 has spacer segments 38(a) through 38(h). Turning to FIG. 2, spacer segment 38(a) has a threaded female opening 40 and a threaded male projection (not shown). Spacer Segment 38(b) has a threaded female opening (not shown) and a threaded male projection 42. Each spacer segment added to the golf club 10 has a similar structure and further includes a pin hole 44 on its threaded male projection, a pin hole 46 on its barrel 48, and a wrench flat 49.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 2, spacer segment 38(a) has a threaded female opening 40 which threadably receives threaded male projection 22. A roll pin 50 is inserted through pin hole 46 of spacer segment 38(a) and pin hole 23 of the threaded male projection 22, thus reinforcing the connection.

[0018] Still referring to FIG. 2, second collar 30 has a threaded female opening 32 for threadably receiving the threaded male projection 42 of second spacer segment 38(b). Threaded male projection 42 has a pin hole 44 through its entire diameter, and second collar 30 has a pinhole 31 which is reflected across the threaded female opening 32 (shown in breakaway) thus permitting a removable roll pin 52 to be inserted when threaded male projection 42 is threadably received by threaded female opening 32. This secures second spacer segment 38(b) to second collar 30 of lower shaft 12.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, each threaded male projection is about 3/4 of an inch in length, and the barrel 48 has a length (l) of about 1 inch. The spacer segments can be of varying sizes and lengths, but preferably they are substantially similar to one another.

[0020] FIG. 2 also illustrates how the spacer segments look when connected to one another. Spacer segment 38(b) has a threaded female opening (not shown) which receives the threaded male projection (not shown) of spacer segment 38(a). A roll pin 54 is inserted through spacer segment 38(b) and the male projection (not shown) of spacer segment 38(a) resulting in a secure connection between the two spacer segments. This connection can be repeated numerous times between many spacer segments. Flat 49 is provides a gripping surface for tightening the connections.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the golf club length can be potentially increased by up to eight spacer segments as shown in FIG. 4 where spacer segments 38(a)-38(h) are interconnected by the same male/female and roll pin connection described above. Spacer segment 38(a) is secured to a first collar 20 by a roll pin 50. Eighth spacer segment 38(h) is secured to a second collar 30 by a removable pin 52.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the connections when the golf club is lengthened by only one spacer segment. An upper shaft 16 is covered by a handle 14. A lower end 18 of upper shaft 16 ends in a first collar 20. An upper end 28 of lower shaft 12 is fitted with a second collar 30. A spacer segment 38(a) has a threaded female opening 40 which threadably receives a threaded male projection 22 of first collar 20. This connection is secured by a roll pin 50. Second collar 30 has a threaded female opening 32 which threadably receives a threaded male projection 56 of spacer segment 38(a). This connection is secured by a removable roll pin 52. Each time a user wishes to lengthen the golf club, he or she can withdraw removable roll pin 52 and add another spacer segment by putting the new spacer segment's threaded female opening over the threaded male projection of the most recently attached spacer segments. The user then connects the new spacer segment's threaded male projection to second collar 30 by way of the above described male/female connection followed by reinsertion of removable roll pin 52.

[0023] It will be appreciated that this unusual feature of adding segments permits a child to use the same golf club for quite some time. Furthermore, club head 34 (FIG. 1) could be any golf head that the user desires, not just the one shown. Placing an amount of epoxy on the male/female connection and inserting a roll pin through that connection provides the same strong, rigid shaft of a one piece golf club. These features save money for the families of children who play golf and give children from a wide range of economic backgrounds the ability to afford quality equipment.

Claims

1. An extensible golf club comprising: a club head; a handle; and a shaft coupled to the club head and the handle, said shaft including a plurality of spacer segments operable to selectively adjust the length of the shaft, said shaft being configured to prevent telescopic adjustment of the length thereof.

2. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 1, said shaft including a normally lower portion coupled to the club head and a normally upper portion coupled to the handle, said spacer segments being adapted to be coupled between the lower portion and the upper portion.

3. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 2, said shaft being non-retractable.

4. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 1, each of said spacer segments including a first end and a second end, said first end of one of said spacer segments being configured to at least partly abut a second end of an adjacent one of said spacer segments.

5. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 1, said spacer segments being interchangeable.

6. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 1; and a locking mechanism for fixing the spacer segments relative to one another.

7. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 6, said locking mechanism selected from the group consisting of thread, epoxy, a pin, and combinations of two or more thereof.

8. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 1, said spacer segments being selectively interconnectable so that multiple spacer segments can be simultaneously used to adjust the length of the shaft.

9. An extensible golf club comprising: a club head; a normally lower shaft attached to the club head; a handle; a normally upper shaft attached to the handle; and a plurality of selectively interconnectable spacer segments for coupling the normally lower shaft to the normally upper shaft, with the distance between the club head and handle being adjustable by varying the number of spacer segments coupled between the shafts.

10. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 9, said spacer segments being non-telescopically coupled to the normally lower shaft.

11. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 9; and a locking mechanism for fixing the spacer segments relative to one another.

12. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 11, said locking mechanism selected from the group consisting of thread, epoxy, a pin, and combinations of two or more thereof.

13. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 9, each of said spacer segments including a first end and a second end, said first end of one of said spacer segments being configured to at least partly abut a second end of an adjacent one of said spacer segments.

14. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 9, said spacer segments being interchangeable.

15. An extensible golf club comprising: a club head; a handle spaced from the club head; a shaft coupled to the handle and the club head; and a plurality of spacers, each being selectively, threadably interconnectable with the shaft to adjust the distance between the club head and handle.

16. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 15, said shaft including a normally lower section and a normally upper section, each of said spacers being couplable to either the upper section or the lower section.

17. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 16, said shaft being non-retractable.

18. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 16, said shaft being non-telescoping.

19. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 15, each of said spacers including a first end and a second end, said first end of one of said spacers being adapted to at least partly abut a second end of an adjacent one of said spacers.

20. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 19, said spacers being interconnectable by a male/female connection.

21. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 20, said spacers being substantially identical to one another.

22. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 15, said spacers being selectively interconnectable so that multiple spacers can be simultaneously used to adjust the distance between the club head and handle.

23. A method of lengthening the shaft of a golf club, said method comprising the steps of: (a) disconnecting a normally upper shaft section from a normally lower shaft section, wherein the upper shaft section is fixed to a handle and the lower shaft section is fixed to a club head; and (b) connecting at least one spacer between the shaft sections.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23, step (a) including the step of unscrewing the shaft sections relative to one another.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24, step (a) including the step of unscrewing a spacer relative to at least one of the shaft sections.

26. A method as claimed in claim 23, step (b) including the step of threadably attaching the at least one spacer to at least one of the shaft sections.

27. An extensible golf club comprising: upper and lower shaft sections cooperatively presenting a common shaft axis along which each of the sections extends; a handle fixed relative to the upper shaft section; a club head fixed relative to the lower shaft section, said club head presenting a center of gravity that is radially offset relative to the lower shaft section, said club head further presenting a generally flat ball-striking surface extending between opposite outermost edges of the club head, with one of the edges being spaced further from the shaft axis than the other; and at least one spacer removably and threadably connectable between the shaft sections to adjust the distance between the handle and the club head, with the shaft sections and the at least one spacer being configured so that the distance between the handle and club head is greater when the at least one spacer is connected between the shaft sections than when the at least one spacer is removed from shaft sections.

28. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 27, said club head being asymmetrical relative to the shaft axis, said ball-striking surface projecting generally radially from the shaft axis.

29. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 27, said ball-striking surface presenting a plurality grooves.

30. An extensible golf club as claimed in claim 29, said grooves being at least substantially parallel relative to one another and spaced inwardly relative to the.