U.S. patent application number 10/244786 was filed with the patent office on 2003-11-20 for grip for a golf club.
Invention is credited to Chu, Hong-Sung.
Application Number | 20030216192 10/244786 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21688546 |
Filed Date | 2003-11-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030216192 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chu, Hong-Sung |
November 20, 2003 |
Grip for a golf club
Abstract
A grip for a golf club includes a unitary inner layer tube with
a butt cap and a tip ring, made of a resilient polymeric material,
and adapted to be disposed around one end of the golf club. An
outer layer is disposed around and is adhered to the inner layer
tube, and includes a flexible sheet member having two opposite
longitudinal ends along an axial direction of the inner layer tube.
The sheet member is adhered to the inner layer tube by wrapping the
sheet member, in a flat form, around the inner layer tube solely
along a circumferential direction relative to an axis of the inner
layer tube until one of the longitudinal ends reaches the other one
of the longitudinal ends between the butt cap and the tip ring of
the inner layer tube. The outer layer includes a plurality of
anti-slip stitches thereon.
Inventors: |
Chu, Hong-Sung; (Taipei
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John F. Gulbin
Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch LLP
685 Third Avenue
New York
NY
10017-4024
US
|
Family ID: |
21688546 |
Appl. No.: |
10/244786 |
Filed: |
September 16, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/300 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/14 20130101;
A63B 60/16 20151001; A63B 60/14 20151001; A63B 60/00 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/300 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 15, 2002 |
TW |
091206941 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A layered composite grip for a golf club, comprising: a unitary
inner layer tube with a butt cap and a tip ring, made of a
resilient polymeric material, and adapted to be disposed around one
end of the golf club; and an outer layer disposed around and
adhered to said inner layer tube, said outer layer including a
flexible sheet member having two opposite longitudinal ends along
an axial direction of said inner layer tube, and two opposite
transverse ends extending between said longitudinal ends, said
sheet member being adhered to said inner layer tube by using a
cementing material and by wrapping said sheet member, in a flat
form, around said inner layer tube solely along a circumferential
direction relative to an axis of said inner layer tube until one of
said longitudinal ends reaches the other one of said longitudinal
ends between said butt cap and said tip ring of said inner layer
tube, said outer layer including a plurality of anti-slip stitches
thereon.
2. The grip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resilient polymeric
material is selected from a group consisting of rubbers and
elastomers, said inner layer tube being a molded body.
3. The grip as claimed in claim 2, wherein said molded body is a
close-celled foam.
4. The grip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flexible sheet
member is made of a material which is selected from a group
consisting of natural leathers, synthetic leathers,
polyurethane-coated material, and fabric materials.
5. The grip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said anti-slip stitches
include embroidery stitches.
6. The grip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sheet member
includes a plurality of sheet segments which are connected to each
other, and at least one seam between said sheet segments, said
anti-slip stitches being disposed along said seam.
7. The grip as claimed in claim 6, wherein said seam extends from
one of said transverse ends to the other one of said transverse
ends.
8. The grip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said anti-slip stitches
include a plurality of stitch lines intersecting each other.
9. The grip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outer layer further
includes a plurality of ventilation elements formed therein.
10. The grip as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ventilation
elements are formed by embossing said sheet member.
11. The grip as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ventilation
elements are formed by cutting said sheet member.
12. The grip as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ventilation
elements are formed by hot pressing said sheet member.
13. The grip as claimed in claim 9, wherein said outer layer has an
outermost surface and an inner surface opposite to said outermost
surface, said ventilation elements including through holes
extending through said outermost surface and said inner
surface.
14. The grip as claimed in claim 13, wherein said ventilation
elements further include blind holes extending solely through said
outermost surface.
15. The grip as claimed in claim 9, wherein said outer layer has an
outermost surface and an inner surface opposite to said outermost
surface, said ventilation elements including grooves extending in
said outermost surface.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent
Application No. 091206941, filed on May 15, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a grip for a golf club, more
particularly to a layered composite grip having an anti-slip outer
layer with stitches so as to provide the comfortable feel of a
single whole-sheet fabric, leather, or leather-like material, an
anti-slip effect, and better hem finishing.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Conventional molded golf grips can be classified into four
main types, namely, buffed rubber, unbuffed rubber, cord and
plastic grips. The buffed rubber grip has a broken, scaly and
porous surface to simulate the feel of leather. The unbuffed rubber
grip has an unbroken smooth surface and is made to simulate the
look of leather. The cord grip is a combination of the scaly
surface of the buffed rubber grip and the cotton fibers of woven
fabric. The plastic grip has a surface resembling the unbroken
surface of the unbuffed rubber grip. On the whole, golfers prefer
grips with the feel and appearance of fabric and leather.
[0006] Other conventional grips are of the strip type. In the strip
type, a strip of natural leather or polyurethane-coated synthetic
leather is wrapped spirally around an underlying tube or a shaft of
a golf club. This type of grip suffers from the drawbacks that
installation is difficult and that the strip tends to unravel
through use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to
provide a layered composite grip for a golf club which has an outer
layer formed from a single sheet of leather, synthetic leather or
fabric, and having stitches thereon so as to provide a new surface
texture.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
layered composite grip for a golf club which provides the
comfortable feel of a single whole-sheet fabric, leather or
leather-like material, an anti-slip effect, and better hem
finishing.
[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
layered composite grip for a golf club which has an outer layer
formed from a plurality of sheets of different materials and
provided with different stitch patterns so as to enhance the
appearance of the grip and provide greater flexibility in the
design of the grip.
[0010] Accordingly, a layered composite grip for a golf club of the
invention includes a unitary inner layer tube and an outer layer.
The inner layer tube is formed with a butt cap and a tip ring, is
made of a resilient polymeric material, and is adapted to be
disposed around one end of the golf club. The outer layer is
disposed around and is adhered to the inner layer tube. The outer
layer includes a flexible sheet member having two opposite
longitudinal ends along an axial direction of the inner layer tube,
and two opposite transverse ends extending between the longitudinal
ends. The sheet member is adhered to the inner layer tube by using
a cementing material and by wrapping the sheet member, in a flat
form, around the inner layer tube solely along a circumferential
direction relative to an axis of the inner layer tube until one of
the longitudinal ends reaches the other one of the longitudinal
ends between the butt cap and the tip ring of the inner layer tube.
The outer layer includes a plurality of anti-slip stitches thereon
for purposes of hem finishing, enhanced appearance, and
interconnection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first preferred
embodiment of a layered composite grip for a golf club according to
the present invention when installed on a shaft of a golf club that
is shown in part;
[0013] FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the first preferred
embodiment taken along line A-A of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an outer layer of the
first preferred embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 2A is a schematic view showing an inner layer tube of
the first preferred embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of the
first preferred embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of another modified
form of the first preferred embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a modified form of the outer
layer of the first preferred embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another modified form of the
outer layer of the first preferred embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the second preferred
embodiment of a layered composite grip for a golf club according to
the present invention when installed on a shaft of a golf club that
is shown in part;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of
the second preferred embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of another modified
form of the second preferred embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a modified outer layer of the
second preferred embodiment; and
[0024] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of another modified outer layer
of the second preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Before the present invention is described in greater detail,
it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same
reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and 2A, the first preferred
embodiment of a layered composite grip 1 for a golf club according
to the present invention is shown to include an inner layer tube 3
and an outer layer 4. The inner layer tube 3 is disposed around one
end of a shaft 20 of the golf club adjacent to a butt end thereof.
In this embodiment, the inner layer tube 3 has an inner surface 30
adhered to the shaft 20 using a double-sided adhesive tape 21 and a
solvent. The inner layer tube 3 is a unitary molded body with a
butt cap 33 at the top and a tip ring 34 at the bottom, and is made
of a resilient polymeric material, such as a rubber material or an
elastomer. Examples of the resilient polymeric material include
natural rubber, rubber composites, thermoplastic rubber (TPR),
thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and polyurethane (PU). The inner
layer tube 3 may be a molded or milled foam body, such as a
close-celled foam.
[0027] The outer layer 4 is disposed around and is cohesively
bonded to an outer surface 31 of the inner layer tube 3 using a
cementing material 6, such as chloroprene rubber, resin, etc. The
outer layer 4 includes a single flexible sheet member formed from a
material selected from the group consisting of natural and
synthetic leathers, PU coated leather, and fabric materials, and
having two opposite longitudinal ends 4a along an axial direction
of the golf club, and two opposite transverse ends 4b extending
between the longitudinal ends 4a. The outer layer 4 further has an
outermost surface 40 and an inner surface 41 opposite to the
outermost surface 40. It is noted that the outer layer 4 has a
surface area substantially equivalent to that of the inner layer
tube 3 between the butt cap 33 and the tip ring 34. The outer layer
4 includes a plurality of anti-slip stitches 5 thereon. The
anti-slip stitches 5 in this embodiment include transverse stitch
lines 51 extending along the transverse ends 4b, and longitudinal
stitch lines 52 extending along the longitudinal ends 4a. The
anti-slip stitches 5 further include a plurality of zigzag stitch
lines 53 intersecting each other and extending across the outermost
surface 40 so as to further reduce slippage and to form a desired
decorative pattern on the outermost surface 40.
[0028] Referring further to FIGS. 3 and 4, in alternative forms,
the anti-slip stitches 5 include multi-thread embroidery stitches
50, 50' formed by single thread stitching or multiple thread
stitching. The stitches 50' are pick stitches that extend into the
outer layer 4 to a level shallower than that of the stitches 50.
The anti-slip stitches 5 can be made by hand sewing or machine
sewing using threads of cotton, polyester, rayon, nylon or other
suitable materials. The threads can be treated in a conventional
manner to resist water, abrasion, mildew, perspiration stains, and
ultraviolet rays, and to strengthen elasticity thereof, thereby
enhancing the anti-slip characteristic of the outer layer 4 and the
adaptability of the outer layer 4 to outdoor environments.
[0029] During manufacture of the grip 1, the anti-slip stitches 5
can be formed on the outer layer 4 before or after the outer layer
4 is cohesively bonded to the inner layer tube 3 depending on the
stitching methods used to form the anti-slip stitches 5. In this
embodiment, the anti-slip stitches 5 are formed on the outer layer
4 prior to bonding the outer layer 4 to the inner layer tube 3. It
is noted that the outer layer 4 is cohesively bonded to the inner
layer tube 3 by cementing and by wrapping the outer layer 4, in a
flat form, around the inner layer tube 3 solely along a
circumferential direction relative to the shaft 20 of the golf club
until one of the longitudinal ends 4a reaches the other one of the
longitudinal ends 4a between the butt cap 33 and the tip ring 34 of
the inner layer tube 3.
[0030] Alternatively, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the outer layer 4
can be formed by two or more sheet segments 42. The anti-slip
stitches 5 include one or more stitch lines 54 provided between and
interconnecting adjacent sheet segments 42 such that one or more
seams 7 are formed between adjacent sheet segments 42 and extend
from one of the transverse ends 4b to the other one of the
transverse ends 4b. In this embodiment, the stitch lines 54 are
zigzag stitch lines, and can include elastic stitches, link
stitches and the like.
[0031] In the present invention, the arrangement of the anti-slip
stitches 5 provides various advantages in addition to contributing
to the single-sheet fabric, leather or leather-like feel and
anti-slip characteristic of the grip 1. For instance, the
transverse and longitudinal stitch lines 51, 52, which are provided
along the edges of the outer layer 4, serve to trim, hem-finish,
and prevent fraying of the edges of the sheet material. The
intersecting stitch lines 53, which can be in any desirable form of
stitches, can be used to form decorative stitch patterns on the
outer layer 4. The stitch lines 54 permit joining of sheet segments
42 of the same or different materials to give a new appearance and
texture to the grip 1 and to enhance the comfortable feel of the
grip 1. In addition, different forms of stitches, such as feather
stitches and scallop stitches, can be used to form the transverse
and longitudinal stitch lines 51, 52 along the transverse and
longitudinal ends 4b, 4a of the sheet member of the outer layer 4
to further enhance the single-sheet fabric, leather, or
leather-like comfortable feel of the outer layer 4 and the
anti-slip characteristic of the outer layer 4, and to improve
traction.
[0032] FIG. 7 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of the
grip 1 of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the
previous embodiment mainly in that the outer layer 4 of the grip 1
further includes a plurality of ventilation elements 43 formed in
the outer layer 4. The ventilation elements 43 can be formed by
cutting, embossing or hot pressing the flexible sheet material of
the outer layer 4, and can be in the form of holes and/or grooves.
With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, which show modified forms of the
second preferred embodiment, the ventilation elements 43 include
through holes 431 extending through the outermost surface 40 and
the inner surface 41, and blind holes 432 extending solely through
the outermost surface 40. The through holes 431 and the blind holes
432 can have varying widths, depths and shapes, and are formed in
the outer layer 4 by cutting or hot pressing prior to bonding the
outer layer 4 to the inner layer tube 3. The ventilation elements
43 further include reticulating grooves 434 formed by hot pressing
the outer layer 4 to create any desirable design, or reticulating
grooves 434 with pores 433 formed by embossing the outer layer 4 to
resemble the grain of an animal skin or hide, as shown in FIG. 11.
Preferably, the outer layer 4 in this embodiment is formed from an
air-permeable material 44 with capillary holes (see FIG. 8), such
as natural leather or a porous material 45 coated with a
polyurethane membrane 46 (see FIG. 9) such that, with the provision
of the ventilation elements 43, the outer layer 4 has a
substantially spongy structure. The spongy structure permits
squeezing of the outer layer 4 to help remove water that are
channeled into the ventilation elements 43 when the grip 1 becomes
wet from perspiration or when the golfer plays in the rain, thereby
facilitating quick drying of the outer layer 4. In addition, the
ventilation elements 43 on the outer layer 4 create a relatively
rugged surface on the outer layer 4 to further improve traction and
reduce slippage. The ventilation elements 43 can be arranged in
floral patterns for embellishment purposes, as shown in FIG.
10.
[0033] In sum, the present invention has the following
advantages:
[0034] 1. As the outer layer includes the anti-slip stitch lines
and the ventilation elements, the grip of this invention has the
comfortable feel of fabric, leather, and leather-like material, a
good anti-slip effect, and provides better traction and better hem
finishing.
[0035] 2. As the outer layer is made of a flexible sheet material,
pieces of different materials can be joined together by stitch
lines to form an integral outer layer. Besides, different stitch
patterns can be formed on the outer layer to provide a variety of
visual effects.
[0036] 3. Given the above, there is greater flexibility in the
manufacture and design of grips for golf clubs.
[0037] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *