U.S. patent application number 10/608456 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-30 for planar-parallactic golf alignment aide.
Invention is credited to Goldsmith, Jason.
Application Number | 20040266542 10/608456 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33540589 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040266542 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Goldsmith, Jason |
December 30, 2004 |
Planar-parallactic golf alignment aide
Abstract
A Planar-Parallactic Golf Alignment Aide is disclosed. Also
disclosed is a device that provides the golfer with a planar
alignment sight line for aligning the club face with the target.
The invention further provides the golfer with a parallactic
alignment sight line for placing his or her head in the proper and
repeatable position in order to eliminate unintentional stance
variations. The aide may be incorporated within the club head and
operate by aligning an aperture or line with the projected image of
that aperture or line to use the phenomena of parallax for head
alignment. The aperture or line is formed in the top of a dome, and
the projected image then appears on a projection surface below the
dome. The device may either be an attachment for a conventional
club head, or may incorporated into the head itself.
Inventors: |
Goldsmith, Jason; (San
Diego, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Karl M. Steins
Steins & Associates
Suite 120
2333 Camino del Rio South
San Diego
CA
92108
US
|
Family ID: |
33540589 |
Appl. No.: |
10/608456 |
Filed: |
June 26, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/238 ;
473/240; 473/249; 473/251 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 69/3685 20130101;
A63B 53/0441 20200801; A63B 60/52 20151001; A63B 53/0487 20130101;
A63B 60/50 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/238 ;
473/240; 473/249; 473/251 |
International
Class: |
A63B 069/36 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A golf club, comprising: a head defined by a face and a top
surface; an alignment assembly comprising a dome attached to said
top surface.
2. The club of claim 1, wherein said dome is further defined by a
top surface, said top surface having a slot formed therein.
3. The club of claim 2, wherein said slot is aligned along a line
that is generally perpendicular to said face.
4. The club of claim 3, wherein said dome is further defined by a
void formed within said dome, said void bounded at its top by said
top surface and at its bottom by a projection surface.
5. The club of claim 4, wherein said projection surface and said
slot are cooperatively arranged whereby incident light upon said
slot creates a projected image of a line on said projection
surface.
6. The club of claim 5, wherein said projection surface, slot and
said projected image are oriented whereby said projected image is
aligned with said slot along a parallactic alignment sight
line.
7. The club of claim 1, wherein said dome is further defined by a
top surface, said top surface having at least a pair of apertures
formed therethrough.
8. The club of claim 7, wherein said apertures are aligned along a
line that is generally perpendicular to said face.
9. The club of claim 1, wherein said dome is defined by a top
surface, said dome top surface being said club head top
surface.
10. The club of claim 9, wherein said top surface is defined by at
least a pair of apertures formed therethrough, said apertures
aligned in a line that is generally perpendicular to said face.
11. The club of claim 9, wherein said top surface is defined by a
slot formed therethrough, said slot defining a line that is
generally perpendicular to said face.
12. An alignment assembly for attachment to a top surface of a golf
club head, comprising: a dome defined by a top surface and a
projection surface, said dome further defined by a slot formed in
said top surface.
13. The assembly of claim 12, wherein said top surface further
comprises at least one darkened portion of said surface adjacent to
said slot.
14. The assembly of claim 13, wherein said projection surface
further comprises a lightened portion.
15. A golf club having head defining a face and a top surface, the
head comprising: parallactic alignment means for defining a
parallactic alignment sight line; and planar alignment means for
defining a planar alignment sight line.
16. The club of claim 15, wherein said planar alignment means
comprises a slot associated with said club oriented perpendicular
to said face.
17. The club of claim 16, wherein said parallactic alignment means
comprises a dome attached to said head top surface, said slot
formed in said dome.
18. The club of claim 17, wherein said parallactic alignment means
comprises a projection surface associated with said head top
surface opposite to said slot.
19. The club of claim 18, wherein said dome comprises a clear dome
having a pair of darkened portions adjacent to said slot.
20. The club of claim 19, wherein said projection surface further
comprises a lightened portion generally opposite to said slot.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to golf technique aids and,
more specifically, to a Planar-Parallactic Golf Alignment Aide.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Golf equipment manufacturers have brought many different
devices to the consumer in order to aid the golfer in improving
their game. There are two general areas emphasized by golf
technique aids--those that assist the golfer in his or her
stance/approach to the ball, and those that assist the golfer in
aligning the club so that the ball will travel in the desired
direction. One example of the former is found in FIG. 1.
[0005] FIG. 1 depicts the prior art golf alignment aid of D'Amico,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,012. The "golf club including positioning aid"
disclosed by D'Amico includes one or more apertures 14 formed
through the shaft 12 or handle of the golf club. In order to
correctly align the body to the club prior to the swing using the
D'Amico, the golfer 16 aligns his/her body such that his or her eye
18 is aligned with one of the apertures 14. When the sight line 20
is correctly aligned, the golfer 16 will be able to see light
through the aperture 14. One problem with the D'Amico device is
that it falls to aid the golfer in aligning the club face to the
desired destination. FIG. 2 is another design intended to assist
the golfer in positioning the head and body relative to the club
and ball.
[0006] FIG. 2 depicts the prior art golf alignment aid of Sykes,
U.S. Pat. No. 3,548,504. The "sighting device for establishing a
line of sight" of Sykes is a protrusion for mounting to the top of
a conventional golf club head. The device 22 has a base 28 mounted
to the head 24. A "far sight section" 30 is located atop the base
28, and a "near sight section" 32 extends upwardly from the far
sight section 30. Similar to D'Amico, with Sykes the golfer aligns
his or her head in the correct position, whereby the near sight
section 32 and far sight section 30 are being viewed from directly
above--in this position, the near sight section 32 will appear to
be a dot that is in the center of a circle (the far sight section
30). As with D'Amico, the Sykes device fails to aid the golfer in
aligning the club face with the hole (or other desired destination
for the ball).
[0007] The face-hole alignment issue is extremely important when
putting, and FIG. 3 depicts a prior putter that assists the golfer
in this alignment. FIG. 3 depicts the prior art golf club alignment
aid known as the "2-ball" head 34 made by Callaway Golf (.TM.). The
2-ball head 34 has a club head 36 defined by a face 40 and a top
surface 42. The top surface has a first ball image 44 and a second
ball image 46 in planar alignment with the planar alignment line
50. Generally speaking, the planar alignment line 50 is an
imaginary line that extends perpendicular to the face 40, and is
assumed to be the direction in which a ball 48 will travel if
struck with the face 40.
[0008] To use the 2-ball club, the user simply aligns the first and
second ball images 44 and 46, respectively, with the actual ball 48
so that the planar alignment line 50 is created by connecting the
centers of the two images 44 and 46 and the ball 48. By doing so,
the golfer is both aligning the center of the face (horizontally)
with the ball 48, as well as aligning the club face 40 with the
hole (or other desired destination for the ball 48). The 2-ball
club head has apparently been successful as evidenced by its wide
popularity with amateur golfers.
[0009] The problem with the 2-ball head 34 is that it does not
really aid the golfer in positioning his or her head and body with
the club or ball so that the golfer's stance and (hopefully) swing
is correct. What is needed is an improved golf club head design
that provides the golfer with a planar alignment tool (i.e. to
align the club face in the direction of the shot), as well as
providing an aid for the stance relative to the ball and club so
that the swing is also improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In light of the aforementioned problems associated with the
prior devices and assemblies, it is an object of the present
invention to provide a Planar-Parallactic Golf Alignment Aide. The
invention should provide the golfer with a planar alignment sight
line for aligning the club face with the target. The invention
should further provide the golfer with a parallactic alignment
sight line for placing his or her head in the proper and repeatable
position (to eliminate unintentional stance variations). The aide
should be incorporated within the club head and operate by aligning
an aperture or line with the projected image of that aperture or
line to use the phenomena of parallax for head alignment. The
aperture or line should be formed in the top of a dome, and the
projected image should appear on a projection surface below the
dome. The device should be an attachment for a conventional club
head, or should incorporated into the head itself.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The objects and features of the present invention, which are
believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the
appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization
and manner of operation, together with further objects and
advantages, may best be understood by reference to the following
description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, of
which:
[0012] FIG. 1 depicts the prior art golf alignment aid of
D'Amico;
[0013] FIG. 2 depicts the prior art golf alignment aid of
Sykes;
[0014] FIG. 3 depicts the prior art golf club alignment aid known
as the "2-ball" head;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side view of a golfer using a planar-parallactic
club head of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
the planar-parallactic club head of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of
the planar-parallactic club head of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a front view of the head of FIG. 6;
[0019] FIG. 8 is a side view of the head of FIGS. 6 and 7; and
[0020] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of yet another alternate
embodiment of the planar-parallactic club head of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] The following description is provided to enable any person
skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the
best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his
invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles
of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to
provide a Planar-Parallactic Golf Alignment Aide.
[0022] The present invention can best be understood by initial
consideration of FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a side view of a golfer using a
planar-parallactic club head 60 of the present invention. As will
be discussed further below, the head 60 provides the golfer with
two alignment aides--a parallactic alignment sight line 62 for
aligning the stance to the ball 48, and a planar alignment sight
line 64 for aligning the club face to the ball and the shot's
destination. Turning to FIG. 5, we can begin to discuss the details
of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
the planar-parallactic club head assembly 60A of the present
invention. The head assembly 60A has a head 66A, which is defined
by a face 68A and a top surface 70, and from which a shaft 26
extends. In this depiction, the club is a putter, although other
clubs may be made that incorporate the planar-parallactic alignment
aide.
[0024] The unique aspect of the planar-parallactic alignment
assembly 80A is a dome 72A attached or otherwise formed atop the
head 66A. The dome 60A has a slot 74A formed in its top surface
75A. The slot 74A is oriented such that it is perpendicular to the
plane of the club face 68A and located horizontally such as to be
aligned with the sweet spot of the face 68A.
[0025] When the golfer's eye 18 is aligned relative to the slot 74A
such that the sight line 20 extends from the eye 18 through the
slot 74A, the golfer will be able to see a illuminated line 76A
projected as an image on the projection surface 78A (which in this
case is the top surface 70 of the head 66A). The phenomena of
parallax operates with the arrangement of the eye 18, slot 74A and
the projected image 76A of the slot 74A on the projection surface
78A. As the eye 18 is moved from side to side relative to the head
66A, the golfer will only be able to actually see the projection
image 76A through the slot 74A when the eye 18 is on the sight line
20 as designed.
[0026] A projection image 76A is employed for alignment with the
slot 74A rather than a permanent mark on the projection surface 78A
in order to provide the most versatility in the device 60A. If the
dome top surface 75A is canted (placed at an angle), relative to
the top surface 70 of the head 66A to allow for a sight line 20 at
an angle that is not perpendicular to the club head top surface 70,
the projection image 76A will move until it is directly
perpendicular to the dome top surface 75A due to the
filtering/focusing action that occurs with incident light at the
slot 74A. This cantable dome will most likely be accomplished by
cutting the slot/aperture at an angle off of vertical (i.e. a
custom club head), depending upon the comfort, style and form of
the golfer. If we now turn to FIG. 6, we can continue to examine
the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of
the planar-parallactic club head assembly 60B of the present
invention. The assembly 60B has a head 66B with a dome 72B mounted
atop it. As with the previous embodiment, the dome 72B has a slot
74B formed in its top and a projected alignment image 76B of the
slot 74B onto the projection surface 78B.
[0028] The slot 74B is aligned relative to the face 68B to create a
planar alignment sight line 64 along its length for alignment
between the ball and the destination of the shot. As discussed
above, the alignment between the slot 74B and projected image 76B
forms the parallactic alignment sight line 62 for indicating to the
golfer where the proper location for his or her eye and head. FIG.
7 provides additional detail of this novel design.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a front view of the head of FIG. 6 along line A-A.
In order to provide greater visibility of the projected image, the
dome 72B is constructed from clear material (such as plastic)
having black portions 84 immediately adjacent and parallel to the
slot 74B. As shown, the projection surface 78B is located at the
bottom of the void 88 formed within the dome 72B. The projection
surface 78B has a white portion 86 inscribed other otherwise
displayed on the projection surface 78B such that the projected
image appears very bright to aid the alignment to it through the
slot 74B. Finally, turning to FIG. 7, we can have a look at another
orientation of the device of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a side view of the head 60B of FIGS. 6 and 7. As
can be seen, the profile of the head 66B and dome 72B is very
sleek. This profile minimizes wind resistance and provides an
aesthetically pleasing package. Other versions may be made,
depending upon the particular purpose for the club and the user's
wishes. An example of another club is shown in FIG. 9.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of yet another alternate
embodiment of the planar-parallactic club head 60C of the present
invention. This version of the head 60 has a dome 72C that is
actually the top of the club head 66C itself. As such, the
additional complexity (and weight constraints) are eliminated by
this design.
[0032] A further distinction in this version of the head 60C is
that the alignment mechanism is a plurality of round apertures 90C,
rather than the slot shown in previous designs. The apertures 90C
are separate from one another, but are arranged in a line that is
generally perpendicular to the face 68C as well as being aligned
with the sweet spot of the club face 68C. This line of apertures
90C, then, combine to form the planar alignment sight line (for
aligning the face 68C to the target).
[0033] Light passing through the apertures 90C will strike the
projection surface 78C, where a projected image 76C (actually a
line of images of the apertures) will be displayed for use to
create the parallactic alignment sight line.
[0034] Although the previously-described embodiments are club heads
with the dome integrated therein it is expected that an
"aftermarket" attachable dome device will be made available for
attachment to a conventional putter or other club.
[0035] Throughout the previous discussions of the various designs,
the term "projected image" is to be considered to be either an
image of the slot, apertures, etc. formed by light passing through
the slot, apertures, etc. and striking the "projection surface"
(refer to this as a light-generated image), or an image that is
actually inscribed on the projection surface that is then simply
illuminated by light passing through the slot, apertures, etc. and
any other ambient light that can strike the inscribed image (refer
to this as an inscribed image). The inscribed image may be a line
made from a fluorescent paint painted onto the projection surface,
for example.
[0036] From the golfer's perspective, both the light-generated
image and the inscribed image versions of the design will appear to
be the same, and both will function to provide the parallactic
alignment line. It should be understood that in order to work best,
the distance between the top surface of the dome and the projection
surface must be at least twice the width or thickness of the slot,
aperture(s), etc., so that the image (either light-generated or
inscribed) can only be seen when the golfer's eyes are properly
aligned.
[0037] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various
adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred
embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that,
within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be
practiced other than as specifically described herein.
* * * * *