U.S. patent application number 10/659648 was filed with the patent office on 2004-05-13 for golf club and practice arrangement.
Invention is credited to Marnocha, Benedict F..
Application Number | 20040092327 10/659648 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31999569 |
Filed Date | 2004-05-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040092327 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Marnocha, Benedict F. |
May 13, 2004 |
Golf club and practice arrangement
Abstract
A golf club has a shaft and a head attached to the shaft. The
head has a ball-striking surface. An aperature is formed in the
surface for allowing light to pass therethrough. A cavity is formed
in the head adjacent the aperature. A light-producing insert is
received within the cavity. A nonlight-producing insert is further
provided for selectively replacing the light-producing insert in
the cavity. A practice arrangement utilizing the golf club further
includes a target which has a surface for reflecting at least a
portion of a light beam produced by the light-producing insert.
Inventors: |
Marnocha, Benedict F.;
(South Bend, IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Barnes & Thornburg
600 One Summit Square
Fort Wayne
IN
46802
US
|
Family ID: |
31999569 |
Appl. No.: |
10/659648 |
Filed: |
September 10, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60409463 |
Sep 10, 2002 |
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60447593 |
Feb 14, 2003 |
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60457804 |
Mar 26, 2003 |
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60471953 |
May 20, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/220 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 69/3685 20130101;
A63B 69/3614 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/220 |
International
Class: |
A63B 069/36 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A golf club, comprising: a shaft; a head attached to the shaft,
said head comprising a ball striking surface, an aperature formed
in the surface for allowing light to pass there through, and a
cavity formed in the head adjacent the aperature; a light-producing
insert configured so as to be operably and removably received
within the cavity; and a non-light-producing insert, configured so
as to be selectively received within the cavity in place of the
light-producing insert.
2. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the non-light-producing insert
is substantially equal in weight to the light-producing insert.
3. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the non-light-producing insert
has substantially the same size, weight and weight distribution as
the light-producing insert.
4. The golf club of claim 1, wherein said ball striking surface
comprises a translucent material disposed over said aperature.
5. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising a prism disposed in
said aperature for transmitting light produced by said
light-producing insert.
6. The golf club of claim 5, wherein said prism columnates a light
beam produced by said light-producing insert such that said light
beam forms a line on a surface between the head and a putting
target.
7. The golf club of claim 6, wherein a portion of said light beam
produced by said light-producing insert is projected directly to,
and is reflected by a surface of the target.
8. The golf club of claim 1, wherein said light-producing insert
comprises a prism to columnate a light beam produced by said
light-producing insert to form a line on a surface between the head
and a target.
9. The golf club of claim 8, wherein a portion of said light beam
produced by said light-producing insert is projected directly to,
and is reflected by a surface of the target.
10. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising a switch for
allowing a user to selectively activate the light-producing
insert.
11. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the aperature is located at
an approximate midpoint of the ball-striking surface.
12. The golf club of claim 1, wherein said light-producing insert
comprises a battery and a laser.
13. The golf club of claim 1, wherein at least one of the
light-producing insert and the nonlight-producing insert is secured
within the cavity by a snap fit.
14. A practice arrangement for putting, comprising the combination
of a golf club and a target, the golf club comprising: a shaft; a
putter head attached to the shaft, said putter head comprising a
ball striking surface, an aperature formed in the surface for
allowing light to pass there through, and a cavity formed in the
putter head adjacent the aperature; a light-producing insert
configured so as to be operably and removably received within the
cavity; and a non-light-producing insert, configured so as to be
selectively received within the cavity in place of the
light-producing insert; and the target comprising a surface for
reflecting at least a portion of a light beam produced by the
light-producing insert to provide a visual indication of
orientation of the putter head relative to the target.
15. The practice arrangement of claim 14, wherein said target
comprises a surface which extends transversely to a target line
defined by the light-producing insert, said surface having a
plurality of regularly-spaced marks thereon.
16. The practice arrangement of claim 14, wherein said target
includes a portion configured to extend into a golf hole to secure
the target in position relative to the hole.
17. The practice arrangement of claim 14, further comprising a
prism disposed in said aperature for transmitting light produced by
said light-producing insert.
18. The practice arrangement of claim 17, wherein said prism
columnates a light beam produced by said light-producing insert
such that said light beam forms a line on a surface between the
putter head and the target.
19. The practice arrangement of claim 14, wherein said
light-producing insert comprises a prism to columnate a light beam
produced by said light-producing insert to form a line on a putting
surface between the putter head and the target.
20. The practice arrangement of claim 14, wherein at least one of
the light-producing insert and the nonlight-producing insert is
secured within the cavity by a snap fit.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is related to and claims priority to
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/409,463, filed on
Sep. 10, 2002, entitled "Laser Putt II," and to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Serial No. 60/447,593, filed on Feb. 14, 2003,
entitled "Laser Putt III," and to U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Serial No. 60/457,804, filed on Mar. 26, 2003, entitled
"Laser Putt IV," and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial
No. 60/471,953, filed on May 20, 2003, entitled "Laser Putt V." The
subject matter disclosed in those applications are hereby expressly
incorporated into the present application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to golf, and more
particularly to a golf club and practice arrangement utilizing
same. More specifically, the invention relates to a golf club, and
practice arrangement utilizing same, that facilitates development
of proper club head aiming technique. It will be apparent to those
of skill in the relevant arts that variations in the specific
designs disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of
the invention.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] One element of a proper golf shot is proper orientation or
aim of the club head. It is important that the club head be
properly oriented relative to the ball during set up. A proper golf
swing or stroke will return the club head to the ball at
substantially the same orientation adopted by the player during set
up. Thus, it is important that the club head be properly oriented
or aimed relative to a target along the desired line of ball flight
or roll.
[0004] The most used club in golf is the putter. The most important
and difficult task to accomplish with a putter is proper aim. In
one embodiment, the present invention facilitates the development
and practice of proper putter aim, one of the most important
fundamentals in putting and one of the most difficult to
master.
[0005] In certain embodiments, the present invention is intended
primarily as a practice device which may be used both indoors and
outdoors. However, the golf club of the present invention may be
used in actual play on a course. This is desirable in that it
eliminates the need to transfer learning from a practice device to
an alternative club used in regulation play. In certain
embodiments, the practice device/golf club of the present invention
is well suited for both purposes, and may be used both to learn
proper aim and alignment of the club, as well as in actual playing
of the game of golf.
[0006] In one embodiment, the present invention includes a golf
club comprising a shaft, a head attached to the shaft, a
light-producing insert, and a nonlight-producing insert. The head
has a ball-striking surface, an aperature formed in the
ball-striking surface for allowing light to pass therethrough and a
cavity formed in the head adjacent the aperature. The
light-producing insert is configured so as to be operably and
removably received within the cavity. The nonlight-producing insert
is configured so as to be selectively received within the cavity in
place of the light-producing insert. In one embodiment, the
nonlight-producing insert is substantially equal in weight to the
light-producing insert and, in certain embodiments, may be
substantially the same size and weight, and have substantially the
same weight distribution, as the light-producing insert.
[0007] In certain embodiments, the ball-striking face of the head
comprises a translucent material disposed over the aperature. A
prism, or lens, may be disposed in the aperature for transmitting
light produced by the light-producing insert. The prism columnates
a light beam produced by the light-producing insert such that the
light beam forms a line on a surface between the head and a target.
In addition to forming a line on a surface, a portion of the light
beam may be projected onto a surface of a target. In certain
embodiments, the prism may be formed as part of the light-producing
insert. In these or other embodiments, the aperature is located in
an approximate midpoint of the ball-striking surface.
[0008] A switch may be provided to allow a user to selectively
activate the light-producing insert.
[0009] The light-producing insert preferably comprises a
battery-powered laser device. The nonlight-producing insert may be
formed of any material having an appropriate size, weight and
weight distribution.
[0010] In a practice arrangement particularly well-suited for
putting, the invention comprises the combination of a golf club and
a target. The subject golf club comprises a shaft, a putter head
attached to the shaft, a light-producing insert, and a
nonlight-producing insert. The putter head comprises a
ball-striking surface, an aperature formed in the surface for
allowing light to pass therethrough and a cavity formed in the
putter head adjacent the aperature. The light-producing insert is
configured so as to be operably and removably received within the
cavity. The nonlight-producing insert is configured so as to be
selectively received within the cavity in place of the
light-producing insert.
[0011] The target comprises a surface for reflecting at least a
portion of a light beam produced by the light-producing insert to
provide a visual indication of orientation of the putter head
relative to the target. The target may comprise a surface which
extends transversely to a target line defined by the
light-producing insert. The surface may have a plurality of
regularly-spaced marks thereon. A portion of the target may be
configured so as to extend into a golf hole to secure the target in
position relative to the hole. In one embodiment, a prism is
provided to columnate a light beam produced by the light-producing
insert such that the light beam forms a line on a putting surface
between the putting head and the putting target. A portion of the
light beam may also be projected directly to, and reflected by, a
surface of the target.
[0012] The concepts disclosed are not limited to use with a golf
club of the exact type illustrated in the drawings, but may be used
with clubs of many shapes, sizes, or dimensions.
[0013] Additional embodiments, features and advantages will become
apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the
following description of the illustrated embodiments exemplifying
the best mode of carrying out the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a golf
club constructed in accordance with the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a golf
club and practice arrangement constructed in accordance with the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 shows a front view of a portion of one embodiment of
a golf club constructed in accordance with the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows a side view of a portion of one embodiment of a
golf club constructed in accordance with the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a top, cross-sectional view of a portion of one
embodiment of a golf club constructed in accordance with the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 6 shows an illustrative example of a nonlight-producing
insert used with the embodiment of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a golf
club constructed in accordance with the present invention. Golf
club 10 includes a shaft 12 and a head 14 which is attached to
shaft 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the golf club head is
specifically designed for use in putting. Head 14 includes a ball
striking surface or "face" 16. An aperature 18 is formed in surface
16 for allowing light to pass from the inside of head 14 through
surface 16, as will be explained in more detail below.
[0021] A prism, or lens, 19 is disposed within aperature 18. Prism
19 columnates a light beam produced by the light-producing insert
so as to cause a portion of the beam to define a line along a
surface in front of head 14. A cavity (see, for example, FIG. 4) is
formed within head 14 for receiving a light-producing insert which
is discussed and illustrated in additional detail in connection
with FIGS. 3-5. Covering aperature 18 is translucent element 20
which may be formed, for example, of clear plastic. The purpose of
element 20 is to provide a smooth surface along that portion of
surface 16 which contacts a golf ball. Element 20 further serves to
protect the light-producing insert discussed in more detail
below.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a golf club 10, as used to practice
alignment for a putting stroke. The arrangement of FIG. 2 includes,
in addition to golf club 10, a target 22 which comprises a surface
24 having a plurality of regularly-spaced marks illustrated, for
example, by marks 26 and 28 spaced thereon. A beam of light,
illustrated by line 30 is produced by the light-producing insert of
club 10 and projected along line 30 to target 22. At least a
portion of the light beam is reflected off surface 24 of target 22
so as to be visible to the user of club 10. As noted above and
discussed in greater detail below, a prism or lens is provided in
the path of the light beam to "columnate" the beam so as to cause a
portion of the beam to define a line along path 30. In addition to
the line, a portion of the light beam is projected as a "dot" or
short vertical line on surface 24, as is illustrated by reference
numeral 32.
[0023] Target 22 is shown inserted into a hole 34 which may be a
hole on a practice green or a regulation green, or another object
in an indoor or outdoor setting. This invention allows the user to
become accustomed to and practiced at aiming the ball striking
surface 16 of club 10 directly at target 22. The regularly-spaced
markings on surface 24 of target 22, which in some embodiments may
extend laterally from hole 34 to a greater extent than shown in
FIG. 2, allow a user to aim at a target other than the center of
the hole, if desired. This is often necessary to accommodate for
irregular or uneven putting surfaces.
[0024] It should be noted that bright sunlight may cause the path
of the light beam along line 30 to be obscured, or to become very
dim. In that event, the dot or short line 32 projected onto surface
24 will still be visible to the user.
[0025] FIG. 3 shows a front view of a portion of one embodiment of
a golf club constructed in accordance with the present invention.
Shown in dashed lines behind translucent material 20 is
light-producing insert 36 which is disposed within a cavity formed
in head 14. Insert 36 includes one or more batteries 38 which power
a light-producing source, such as a laser. The light-producing
source produces a light beam which, in the embodiment illustrated,
is projected from a central portion 40 of insert 36 through
aperature 18 and prism 19, as is illustrated in FIG. 2. The beam is
columnated or split so as to define a line on the
generally-horizontal surface between club head 14 and a target, and
so as also to project at least a portion of the beam onto a
generally-vertical transverse element associated with the
target.
[0026] FIG. 4 shows a side view of a portion of one embodiment of a
golf club constructed in accordance with the present invention.
Double-dashed line 42 represents a light beam produced by
light-producing insert 36, as projected through aperature 18 and
prism 19, and projected along a surface between club 10 and the
target. A portion of the light beam, illustrated by double lines 44
is projected directly toward the target.
[0027] FIG. 5 shows a top, cross-sectional view of a portion of one
embodiment of a golf club constructed in accordance with the
present invention. Light-producing insert 36 is shown disposed
within a cavity formed in head 14. In this embodiment,
light-producing insert 36 includes a laser, illustrated generally
by element 46, powered by batteries 38. Relatively small lasers of
the type which may be used in this invention are generally
available, and are used in hand-held pointing devices, firearm
aiming devices, and other applications. In the embodiment
illustrated, prism 19 is shown as an integral portion of insert 36.
In other embodiments, prism 19 may be separately mounted in
aperature 18.
[0028] FIG. 6 shows an illustrative example of a nonlight-producing
insert 50 used with the embodiment of FIG. 5. In the illustrated
embodiment, insert 50 is substantially the same size and weight,
and has substantially the same weight distribution, as
light-producing insert 36. Insert 50 is designed to replace insert
36. This may be desirable in instances where club 10 is used in
regulation golf play, or other instances in which the user does not
wish to have light-producing insert 36 installed.
[0029] An access cover may be provided in the bottom, rear, or top
of club head 14 to provide ready access to the internal cavity and
to allow for easy interchange of inserts 36 and 50. The access
cover may be secured by screws, or equivalent fasteners. In certain
embodiments, either one or another of the access cover, the
light-producing insert, and the nonlight-producing insert (or any
combination thereof) may be provided with a "snap fit" to
facilitate access to, removal of, and interchangeability of the
inserts.
[0030] With further reference to FIG. 5, wires 52 are shown
extending from insert 36 to an opening in head 16 which receives
shaft 12. Wires 52 are also illustrated in FIG. 3. These wires
extend up through shaft 12 to a switch which may be positioned, for
example, immediately below a grip of club 10. The switch allows a
user to selectively activate light-producing insert 36 to
selectively project light beam 42/44, when desired. In an
alternative embodiment, a switch may be provided, for example, on
the sole or bottom of head 14 and operated by downward pressure on
club 10. Other alternative positions and arrangements of a switch
to activate light-producing insert 36 will be apparent to those of
skill in the art.
[0031] Although the above description refers to particular means,
materials and embodiments, one skilled in the art can easily
ascertain the essential characteristics of the present invention.
Various changes and modifications may be made to adapt to various
uses and characteristics without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention.
* * * * *