U.S. patent number 3,909,004 [Application Number 05/431,597] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-30 for putter having circular level.
Invention is credited to Tony J. Vella.
United States Patent |
3,909,004 |
Vella |
September 30, 1975 |
Putter having circular level
Abstract
The putter has a head with a thin front wall and an arcuate
bottom wall. A circular level is mounted on a support which is
cantilevered rearwardly from the front wall.
Inventors: |
Vella; Tony J. (Rockford,
IL) |
Family
ID: |
23712645 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/431,597 |
Filed: |
January 8, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/241; 33/263;
33/379 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
53/0487 (20130101); A63B 69/3685 (20130101); A63B
53/0441 (20200801) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
53/04 (20060101); A63B 69/36 (20060101); B63B
053/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/162B,163R,164,167-175,194R,194A ;33/174F,377-382,263 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
328,823 |
|
May 1930 |
|
GB |
|
1,463,777 |
|
Nov 1966 |
|
FR |
|
Other References
"Golf World"; Apr. 2, 1965; pg. 28..
|
Primary Examiner: Apley; Richard J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An improved putter including a shaft having one end adapted to
be held by a golfer, and a putter head fixed to the other end of
the shaft, characterized by said putter head having:
a front wall defining an elongate, generally planar, ball-engaging
face;
a bottom wall having a convex arcuate lower surface from the toe to
heel portion of the club head;
said walls having an L-shaped cross-section in the central area of
the putter head intermediate the ends thereof, without any material
contiguous to the central area of the back side of the front wall
and without any reinforcing flange at the top of the front
wall;
an enlargement at each end of the putter head above the bottom wall
and behind the front wall to provide mass to the club head, each
enlargement extending upwardly approximately to the top of the
front wall;
a shaft mounting block between said enlargements above the bottom
wall and behind the front wall;
the shaft being fixed to the shaft mounting block at a location so
that the center of percussion is at the midpoint of the
ball-engaging face;
a circular level having a sensitivity in the range of about 100 to
240 minutes per one-tenth inch of movement, the circular level
being operatively aligned with the ball-engaging face to indicate
when the face lies at a pre-selected angle to the horizontal and
with the shaft to indicate when the axis of the shaft is at a
pre-selected angle to the vertical; and
a rearwardly-extending support cantilevered rearwardly from the top
of the front wall for holding the circular level at said alignment
and for permanently mounting the circular level on the putter head
behind the front wall adjacent the top thereof and midway between
the ends of the putter head, and the support having a width
substantially less than the length of the top of the front
wall.
2. An improved putter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the circular
level has cross-lines in a cross-hatched configuration.
3. An improved putter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the
ball-engaging face lies in a plane parallel to the axis of the
shaft; and arcuate lower surface of the bottom wall is disposed
90.degree. from the ball-engaging face.
Description
BACKGROUND
The invention pertains generally to the art of games and more
particularly to the game of golf.
Putting is a very important part of the game of golf. Various
apparatus have been previously provided to aid a golfer in his
putting. For example, levels have been provided on putter heads as
shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,618, issued Feb. 28, 1967 to J. L.
Liljequist. The purpose of that level was to indicate the slope of
the green and this necessitated a flat bottom for the putter head.
The flat bottom, however, sometimes interfered with the putting
action. Most putters are constructed with a face that is disposed
at a rearwardly inclined angle of 2.degree. or 3.degree. from the
vertical and with considerable mass behind the face at the center
of percussion.
SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a golf club, and more particularly
to an improved putter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved
putter with a bottom wall shaped to have minimized drag during
putting.
Another object is to provide an improved putter having an upright
front wall and a level to assure that the front wall is always
positioned upright for putting operation.
Still another object is to provide an improved putter with a
relatively thin front wall.
Yet another object is to provide an improved putter in accordance
with the foregoing object but with a center of percussion at the
center of the head.
It is another object to provide an improved putter in accordance
with the foregoing object and with a unique mounting arrangement
for a level at the center of the head.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved
putter with a two-dimensional level to maintain the face at a
pre-selected angle to the horizontal and the shaft at a
pre-selected angle to the vertical.
These, and other objects and advantages of the present invention,
will become apparent as the same becomes better understood from the
following detailed descriptions when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a putter constructed in accordance
with the present invention and having portions of the shaft broken
away;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the putter head;
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the putter head;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 3;
and
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the putter head.
DESCRIPTION
Reference is now made more particularly to the drawings which
illustrate the best presently known mode of carrying out the
invention and wherein similar reference characters indicate the
same parts throughout the several views.
In FIG. 1 there is shown an improved putter, generally designated
10, including a shaft 12 having a handle 14 at one end and a putter
head 16 at the other end. The putter head 16 is preferably made of
brass and includes a shaft mounting block 17 which has an opening
18 into which the shaft is received.
As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the putter head 16 has a relatively
thin front wall 22 which defines an elongate, planar, ball-engaging
face 24 at the front side of the putter. In the embodiment
illustrated, face 24 lies in a plane parallel to the axis of the
shaft 12. A bottom wall 26 is generally of uniform thickness and
has an arcuate lower surface 28 to minimize the drag while putting.
Lower surface 28 is disposed 90.degree. from the ball-engaging face
24, as shown in FIG. 4. As can be seen from the drawing, walls 24
and 26 form an L-shaped cross-section in the central area of the
putter head without any material behind the central area of the
front wall 22. This means that the location where the ball would
ordinarily be struck is a thin front wall without any backing. It
has been found that this configuration provides a greater roll to
the ball caused either by the vertical front wall or by a slight
resiliency in the front wall 22 upon impact. In any event, the thin
front wall 22 provides a more pleasing sound upon striking a ball
than the dull "thud" provided by a putter with considerable mass
behind the point of impact.
To provide sufficient mass to the putter head 16, first and second
members 32, 34 are provided at either end of the putter head. In
the preferred embodiment illustrated, members 32, 34 are generally
cylindrical in shape and are located above the bottom wall 26 and
behind the front wall 22. Member 32 is alongside shaft mounting
block 17 as shown on the drawing. These members are formed
integrally with the walls 22, 26 and extend only to the back side
of the bottom wall 26 and to the top edge of the front wall 22. The
size of members 32, 34 and the location of the opening 18 is
selected so that the center of percussion is at the longitudinal
center of the putter head 16. The center of percussion is indicated
by the arrow 36 shown in FIG. 2.
A circular level, generally designated 40 is mounted on the putter
head 16 and is operatively aligned with the ball-engaging face 24
to indicate when the face lies in a vertical plane. The level 40 is
also operatively aligned with the shaft 12 to indicate when the
axis of the shaft is at a pre-selected angle to the vertical,
usually 15.degree.. The level 40 may be constructed in any manner
to achieve an accurate circular level, and may, for example, be
constructed in accordance with the method described in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,061,920, issued Nov. 6, 1962 to L. A. Johnson. Level 40 has
four ceramic cross-lines 41-44 arranged in a tic-tac-toe
configuration. In this manner, lines 41 and 42 cooperate with a
bubble 46 to indicate when the axis of the shaft 12 is at said
pre-selected angle. Similarly, lines 43 and 44 cooperate with the
bubble 46 to indicate when the ball-engaging face 24 lies in a
vertical plane.
In accordance with the present invention, the level 40 has a
diameter of 15 to 151/2 millimeters and a sensitivity of 180
minutes per one-tenth inches movement of the bubble 46. The
cross-lines 41-44 define a centering square have a dimension of
0.187 inch on each side. Similar levels have a sensitivity in the
range of about 100 to 240 minutes per one-tenth inch of movement
are also suitable for use in the present invention.
The level 40 is preferably mounted at the top of the front wall so
that the bubble 46 is about at the same level as the top of the
golf ball to be putted. To mount the level 40, a rearwardly
extending support 52 is cantilevered rearwardly from the top of the
front wall 22 at the longitudinal center thereof. Support 52 is
ring-shaped and encompasses the body of the level 40. Preferably,
the support 52 extends no further rearwardly than the back side of
the bottom wall 26 and may terminate frontwardly thereof as in the
illustrated embodiment.
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has herein been
illustrated and described, this has been done by way of
illustration and not limitation, and the invention should not be
limited except as required by the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *