US20010007835A1

US20010007835A1 - Modular golf club system and method

Info

Publication number: US20010007835A1
Application number: US09/796,142
Authority: US
Inventors: George Baron
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-12-24
Filing date: 2001-02-28
Publication date: 2001-07-12

Abstract

A modular golf club anchoring system and method for rapidly and conveniently custom fitting individual clubs is suitable for all standard clubs with minimum preparation. A standard hosel may be pre-prepared both to receive and to prevent from rotation a first interconnectable means, by complementary interacting surfaces of such hosel and means. A standard shaft may be pre-prepared to accomplish the same with a second interconnectable means, by adhesive bonding, mechanical fit, or a combination thereof. Shaft and head may be rapidly and removably joined by connecting the two interconnectable means after inserting therebetween wedge means which will interact with the interconnectable means to act like a collet as the connection is tightened, thereby translating the compressive longitudinal forces into expansive transverse forces securing the shaft from separation or further, unwanted rotation. After trial by the intended user, the club head and shaft may be quickly separated by simply unscrewing the shaft from the hosel, and a different head or shaft quickly assembled for another trial. In short order, a user may be custom fitted for each club of a set, and depart with the exact clubs to which he was fitted. An additional benefit is that the area of expansive transverse forces is converted into a node area which substantially eliminates the transmission of vibratory shock forces from club head to shaft.

Description

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/220,627 filed Dec. 23, 1998 and entitled “Modular Golf Club System And Method.” [0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to modular golf clubs and to methods for rapidly and inexpensively securing and removing club heads and shafts, not only for the conventional manufacture of fixed heads and shafts but also for custom fitted and interchangeable heads and shafts. The present invention allows golfers to be inexpensively fitted to each club, and to conveniently change such fittings as a golfer's physical skill or physical condition changes with the passage of time. It also relates to methods and means for significantly reducing shock-induced vibration transmitted to the hands of the user.

The problem of how to attach a club head to a shaft is, of course, almost as old as the game of golf itself, dating from the time that something other than a one-piece club was first utilized. In the intervening years, a number of inventors have tried a number of different ways of securing heads and shafts, with various degrees of success. One of the earliest patents to attempt to address the problem of how to supply custom made clubs from standard components is that of U.S. Pat. No. 1,601,770 to Reach and Reach. The solution provided by these patentees was to have an extended upwardly tapered bore in an extended hosel; a sleeve whose outer surface tapered to correspond to the tapered bore of the hosel and whose inner surface tapered oppositely; and a club shaft which tapered downwardly to mate with the inner taper of the sleeve. The shaft of course would fit loosely in the hosel without the sleeve; the sleeve would then be “forced firmly” into place, i.e., drive fitted and screwed to the wooden head perpendicularly to the bore at the base of the bore, and then wrapped. In an alternative embodiment, a sleeve of soft metal would be employed, and an expanding screw inserted into the base of the sleeve.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,932,902 to McDowell discloses a split shaft with a rubber socket “vulcanized” around the lower end of the shaft. The lower end of the bore in the neck of the club head is flared to form a recess and an annular shoulder, an expansion member is inserted through the upper end of the shaft and seated within the lower split end of the shaft, with the upper end of the expansion member being tapered to seat snugly first above the split portion of the shaft and the shoulder of the neck. The jaws of the expansion member are forced outwardly to expand the split end of the shaft to fill the recess, by means of a screw threaded through the upper end of the expansion member and tightened by a long-handled tool through the top of the shaft.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,081,087 to Redd discloses a bolt in the shaft projecting beyond the shaft to engage a receiving threaded hosel in the shank. The exact means of securing the head of the bolt within the shaft appears not to be disclosed.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,517 to Petruccelli appears directed only to means for making lighter-weight golf clubs. The preferred embodiment discloses a hollow glass fiber shaft, reinforced by a stiff solid rod of plastic, and a metal tube, one end of which receives the shaft and the other end of which is bent and flattened. An indentation is placed in the metal tube, shaft, reinforcing rod assembly to secure the same, prior to having other parts welded thereto and being placed in a mold for receiving an injection of plastic such as polyurethane. It is not seen how such a design could permit heads and shafts to be readily interchanged.

Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,355, for an improved connection of lower hosel weight and greater head weight, would appear to disclose a permanent connection.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,029 to Heath discloses a golf club design with a shaft extendable in length, via telescoping shaft portions; the method of attaching the club head to the shaft does not appear to be disclosed.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,435 to Kawasaki is directed to interchangeable heads and shafts. The head and shaft are secured by screwing a bolt through the bottom of the club head and into threads internal to the shaft.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,645 to Baumann discloses a connecting device for a golf club putter, consisting of two co-axial, differently-sized cylinders separated by a flange. The cylinders are to be permanently fixed by gluing them into place in the putter head and shaft.

It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that most of the prior art is directed to means for permanently affixing club heads and shafts, as opposed to secure but changeable means. Even those few which have attempted to resolve the problems solved by the present invention have done so with only limited success, at best, or in the course of resolving one set of difficulties have introduced additional difficulties previously unknown. Typical of the latter is the Kawasaki '435 approach: one may readily interchange head and shaft, but only specialized, very expensive heads and shafts. As disclosed by the '435 patent, the Kawasaki approach requires each head to have machined into it a highly-specialized hexagonal-shaped hole, which specialized hole not only increases in diameter toward the top of the hole but which progressively changes from hexagonal to circular; the connecting piece for the head and shaft likewise progresses from hexagonal to circular, in the opposite direction. As difficult as marking the connecting piece—an external workpiece—in this manner would be, it would be far more difficult still to machine the hole of the club head—an interior workpiece—in a complementary manner. Additionally, the connecting piece apparently must be permanently epoxied into place in the club shafts; it would appear that the Kawasaki approach would require the golfer to retain each shaft in his collection and change only the head of each shaft.

Worse still, from the dedicated golfer's point of view, the Kawasaki solution will add a considerable amount of weight to the club head, which will be concentrated in the heel of the club head. While the location of the additional weight can be compensated for by adding still more weight at the toe, if such additional weighting is not desired, there is nothing that Kawasaki can do to eliminate or reduce the undesired weighting. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the Kawasaki approach, one can only change to a new club head which has also been specially, and expensively, machined to be complementary with the specially machined connecting pieces.

Still another approach is that offered by Zevo Golf, utilizing a method apparently developed by Sean Toulon. This approach is centered on the use of a set of 48 interchangeable aluminum hosels that screw into the wood heads quickly and easily during a fitting session. Each hosel has one of eight different lies and one of six different face angles, which allow up to 48 different combinations for each interchangeable head and shaft. However, as understood by applicant, the Zevo system does not deliver to the customer a fitted golf club which can be changed as the player's skills or condition changes; rather, the interchangeable hosels (and shafts and heads) comprise only a “fitting set” to be used repeatedly by the fitter for other customers. Once the custom fitter and the customer have agreed on the specifications, a full set of permanently-attached clubs is ordered and produced to those specifications, based only upon custom fitting to woods and five-irons. Not only does the customer not get an individually-fitted club for each in his set, but he must await manufacture and shipment of his only partially-custom fitted clubs, and such clubs are expensive: $350 to $550 per driver, $125 to $350 per iron.

In summary, applicant is aware of no other system for custom fitting golf clubs which (a) is adaptable to virtually all existing golf clubs, (b) allows custom fitting of each and every golf club in a set, (c) does not change the weight of the final club to any significant degree, (d) allows the user to purchase the exact same clubs he has been fitted to, (e) can deliver the user's final clubs the same day of the fitting session, (f) is affordable, and (g) permits any club in the set to have its shaft or head readily changed in the event the customer's abilities or preferences should change.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a means or system which is adaptable to virtually all present golf heads in manufacture today. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a means or system for custom fitting golf clubs which adds no appreciable weight to the final, individually-fitted club.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means or system for delivering to the end user the exact same clubs to which he or she was fitted; to deliver them the same day of fitting; and to deliver them at an economical price.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a modular means or system by which a custom fitted club, or set of clubs, may be readily interchanged in the future in the event of a change in the user's abilities or preferences or of a change of users.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such means or systems in combination with means to significantly reduce the shock vibrations which are normally transmitted from club head to shaft with standard clubs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, standard or conventional shafts, hosels and heads may be utilized, and readily interchanged whenever desired. In use, a custom fitter would have a number of pre-prepared shafts and heads to quickly assemble, or disassemble and re-assemble, various combinations as desired. Upon determining the desired combination, the combination may be removably secured and delivered to the customer in short order.

To prepare any standard or conventional shaft, hosel and head, it is preferred to slightly enlarge the hole in the hosel for receiving the shaft. Preferably, at least a two-piece interconnecting means or anchoring system is utilized, one piece for the hosel and one piece for the shaft. Although the arrangement for hosel and shaft may be reversed, it is convenient to insert a threaded member having a sloped shoulder and one or more mechanical upsets into a recess in the hosel adapted to receive such upsets, and a complimentary member having mating threads and an oppositely sloped shoulder in the shaft. Since all prepared shafts will mate with all prepared heads, no convenience will be lost by permanently securing the shaft portion of such interconnecting means to each shaft. Similarly, it is convenient to epoxy the hosel portion of the interconnecting means to the hosel; with a mechanical fit therebetween, such adhesive is not necessary to prevent undesired rotation, but is a convenient way of preventing such means from falling out of the head should a head be inverted before final assembly. Thus prepared, it is an easy and convenient matter for a custom fitter to rapidly connect any desired shaft to any desired head, and to interchange the same until the most desirable combination for each particular club is found. Each such optimized club may be immediately delivered to the customer and immediately used thereafter, or, if an extra margin of security is preferred, the optimized club can be quickly disassembled, epoxy applied to the areas where shaft and head overlay, the club promptly reassembled and delivered to the customer. In the latter event, the customer should wait a few hours to use the finished club, until the epoxy adhesive has properly cured.

At a later date, should the user desire to change either club heads or shafts, the club may be quickly disassembled for such change. A club which has had the extra step of applying epoxy may also be quickly changed, by the additional step of cutting away the epoxy bond between club head and hosel. An additional benefit of the present invention is that it significantly reduces the shock vibration which is normally transferred from the club head to the shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of the separate components, shaft and club head and interconnectable means. [0022]
FIG. 2 is a drawing, partially in cross-section of the hosel, and pictorially depicting an assembled interconnectable means interior to the shaft. [0023]
FIG. 3 is a pictorial representation of an assembled golf club head and shaft. [0024]
FIG. 4 is a drawing, partially in cross-section, of the union between a club head hosel and a golf club shaft. [0025]
FIG. 5 is an exploded drawing of a preferred embodiment of an interior interconnectable means of the present invention. [0026]
FIG. 6[0027] a-c illustrates a preferred embodiment for solid shafts which cannot be hollowed out.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

It is to be understood that the detailed description which follows is of the preferred embodiment only, and that a number of modifications and variations of the principles of the invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art once these principles have been fully understood. [0028]
The present invention will allow a customer to travel to a custom-fitting shop or other properly equipped establishment, be custom fitted to each and every club of a desired set, and receive his finished clubs—the exact same clubs to which he was fitted—the very same day, i.e., at the conclusion of the fitting session. When installed in a completed club or set, the present invention can not be seen; the finished clubs will have an appearance identical to standard clubs without the invention; and the weight of the clubs will be almost identical. [0029]
FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of separate, standard components of a conventional golf club—in this instance, one of the type having a hollow shaft. The primary components of a golf club are, of course, the [0030] club head 1 with hosel 2 and shaft 3. Many conventional clubs are manufactured to such close tolerances that it is often difficult to insert the shaft into the hosel. If a given brand's shaft does not easily slip into its intended hosel, it is preferred to slightly enlarge the receiving hole in the hosel, as with a reaming tool, for example. It is then expedient to prepare the hosel for receiving first interconnectable means 4, which may be best seen in FIG. 5. If such first interconnectable means is of the type having one or more mechanical upsets 5, it is convenient to prepare a complementary receiving area 6 in the hosel to receive the mechanical upset(s). This may take any desired form, e.g., a rectangular slot across most or a portion of the interior diameter of the hosel, but it has been found particularly convenient to prepare the receiving area as a pair of cylindrical holes 7 separated approximately 180° from each other about an imaginary center of the hosel receiving area. Such an arrangement is particularly convenient to prepare; an elegantly simple little device, comprised of four small cylinders, with an opposing pair being hollow and serving as drill guides, will permit the quick and precise placement of, in this embodiment, the preferred pair of cylindrical holes.
A first interior interconnectable means, as more clearly may be seen in FIG. 5, having in this embodiment a pair of complementary mechanical upsets, may then be placed into the receiving areas of the hosel. As explained before, for convenience in handling multiple such prepared club heads and hosels, such first interconnectable means may optionally be permanently attached, as by adhesive bonding. [0031]
It is also to be understood that the order of preparing hosel and shaft is inconsequential to this invention. Referring to FIG. 5, one form of second interconnectable means [0032] 8 is depicted, having a deformed area 9. It is convenient to prevent rotational movement between the shaft and such second interconnectable means by a mechanical fit also. An inward protrusion or dimple 10 may be formed interiorly of the shaft, to interact with the aforementioned deformed area of said second interconnectable means. Alternatively, and preferably, said interconnectable means may have a plurality of deformed surfaces to receive and interact with a plurality of interior protrusions or dimples on the shaft. For still greater security, such area or areas may alternatively be formed as a concave groove or grooves, as depicted by element 11. In either embodiment, it may be found preferable to insert the second interconnectable means into the hollow shaft before creating such dimple or dimples. For additional security against falling out prior to final assembly, such interconnectable means may be adhesively bonded, but ordinarily the dimple(s) in the shaft will be of sufficient depth that the friction between dimple and groove (or other deformed area) will be sufficient to prevent an unintended longitudinal displacement of the interconnectable means during handling.
Thus having a prepared club head and hosel and a prepared shaft—i.e., with first and second interconnectable means interior thereto and secured at least against rotational movement—the club is ready for assembly and trial. All the user need do is to insert into the space between the first and second interconnectable means, some form of device for translating the compressive longitudinal forces generated by connecting the interconnectable means and rotating the shaft about the head, into a transverse force between the shaft and the hosel portion of the club head. Such a device may take many different forms. A preferred form is a plurality of wedge means [0033] 12; it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that as the distance between the first and second interconnectable means decreases after such means engage the wedge means, the wedge means will be forced radially outward toward the interior wall of the shaft. As additional force is applied—which may be done simply by continuing to rotate the shaft with respect to the head—still greater force will be exerted upon the shaft, which in turn will exert a radially-outward force upon the interior surface of the club head hosel. Shortly, the components will be secured, and the assembled club may then be tried by the customer. Should a different head or shaft be desired, the assembled club may be quickly disassembled, simply by rotating the components in the opposite direction, and a different head or shaft quickly assembled into the next “try” club. When the golfer and fitter have agreed on a particular combination of components, that particular club—be it iron or driver—may be immediately delivered to the customer, and the process repeated for the next club.
Some users may prefer to loosely assemble the overall interconnectable means in each shaft, as illustrated in FIG. 2. [0034]
Alternatively, for additional security against separation, the assembled club with the final selection of chosen components may be quickly disassembled, epoxy adhesive applied to the interacting surfaces of shaft and hosel, and the club reassembled and delivered to the customer. In almost all geographical locations, the epoxy will cure overnight and the customer may utilize his doubly-secure club the next day. [0035]
The disclosed preferred wedge means [0036] 12 comprises a pair of stiff wedges, each preferably with an inner surface 13 at least roughly comparable to the central portion of one of the interconnectable means. It is also preferred that an outer surface 14 of such preferred wedge means comprises a surface at least roughly comparable to the interior surface of the member upon which it exerts an outward force; so doing will distribute the forces over a larger area than would be the case were the parts to interact over essentially just a line or point of interaction. Thus, if the aforementioned central portion of the interconnectable means is formed as a threaded cylinder, it will be preferable for an inner surface thereof to be concave, and of a radius of curvature roughly comparable to that of the threaded cylinder of said interconnectable means. Similarly, when the surface against which said wedge or collet means exerts a transverse force is likewise cylindrical, it is preferred for an outer surface of said wedge to be similarly formed, i.e., convex and of radius roughly comparable to the radius of the member upon which it exerts an outward force. It is also preferred, but not essential, for at least one end 15 of such preferred wedge means to have a taper 16, again roughly comparable to the surface upon which it acts, in order to eliminate any possibility of binding between such wedge means and its co-acting surface, which might prevent a secure connection.
It is to be understood that such wedge means may take many different forms, and may be constructed out of many different materials, without departing from the principles of the present invention. As one such example, such wedge means could be formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, and shaped like a doughnut; the compressive longitudinal forces upon assembly would create sufficient outward, transverse forces through such a toroid as to securely hold the parts together. However, as it cannot be determined in advance how many years the wedge will need to hold the club together, and since most resilient materials eventually lose their ability to translate compressive longitudinal force into transverse expansive forces, it is preferred to utilize less yieldable types of material, thereby making the removable connection satisfactory indefinitely. [0037]
Other forms which such wedge means may take are: a plurality of ball bearings; long, tapered roller bearings; a pair of semi-circular wedges; or a single, split ring of nearly circular cross-section, i.e., a split toroid. Many other forms will be equally suitable, the only requirements being that they interact compatibly with the shape of the interconnecting means, and that they be capable of translating compressive longitudinal forces into expansive transverse forces over an indefinitely long period of time. [0038]
An additional benefit of the present invention is its capacity not only to significantly reduce the shock vibrations which are ordinarily transmitted from club head to shaft, but its capacity to virtually eliminate such vibrations. This is thought to be attributable to the wedge means, i.e., the device which, interacting with the interconnectable means, acts to translate the compressive longitudinal forces into expansive transverse forces. Without such devices—i.e., in a standard club—the lower end of a standard shaft is not only free to vibrate like a bell, but the connection between shaft and hosel is such as to transmit the shock-induced vibration from the club head to the shaft very efficiently, and the shaft then very efficiently transmits its induced vibrations to the hands of the user. With a wedge means at the lower end of the shaft, a node is effectively created at the very point (or area) that the shaft is (in effect) being ‘struck’ by the club head. As is appreciated by students of music, striking a vibratory instrument—a hollow chime, or a solid triangle, for example—at a node point will produce only a dull thud rather than the expected, long-lasting vibratory tone; this is because node points are highly inefficient at transmitting the energy received into vibrational energy along the length of the device in question. Although solid shafts may not literally ‘ring like a bell’, it is unquestioned that they too are efficient vibrators, e.g., the musical triangle, with its solid cross-section. [0039]
While any form of wedge means may be efficiently employed to create at least a node point, it is thought that the greater the area of contact between such wedge means and its surrounding surface, the lesser the vibrations that can be imparted to the shaft. Thus vibration-reducing considerations would seem to urge a selection of forms of interconnectable means and wedge means which will maximize the node or null area. Since the preferred embodiment of this invention described herein adds only about five grams of weight to a club with a hollow shaft, a user could maximize the node area by utilizing as many wedge means of the type depicted in FIG. 5 as possible, and still have added a total weight of less than seven grams. Very few golfers, if any, can detect such slight additional weight. [0040]
It is also to be understood that the particular form or shape of the interconnectable means actually selected need not have inclined surfaces at each interacting surface; one will suffice, and the other may be square - or blunt-shouldered, without departing from the principles of this invention. [0041]
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that what has been described heretofore are methods and apparatus suitable for golf clubs of the type having hollow shafts. However, not all golf clubs today utilize such hollow shafts; many employ not only solid shafts, but such shafts of materials that cannot support a small cylinder being hollowed out of the lower end. If such shafts can support the torsion required to assemble clubs of this invention, then only a short [0042] cylindrical tube 17 need be added. To prepare club heads and shafts of this type, one would need to enlarge the hole in the hosel to a clearance sufficient to receive the shaft and surrounding mounting tube. The tube may be of a length so as to be completely hidden by the hosel, or it may be long enough to protrude slightly above the top of the hosel. In either event, the mounting tube is to be attached to the shaft, whether by epoxy adhesive or other suitable means, and one of the interconnectable means attached to the interior of the mounting tube instead of the interior of a hollow shaft. When using a mounting tube, it is preferred to use as short an interconnectable means as possible, in order to minimize the length of the mounting tube and to minimize the length of the mounting tube and to minimize the weight being added.
Should the shaft be of a material that will not withstand the torsional forces generated in the assembly/disassembly process, it is preferred to select a length of mounting tube which will extend above the hosel for a distance sufficient to permit it to be gripped by a tool for tightening and untightening the shaft and head. Alternatively, if esthetic considerations will permit, a many-sided nut may be welded onto one end of the mounting tube, and the club rapidly assembled or disassembled with the aid of a standard wrench. [0043]
Other alternate forms of the present invention will suggest themselves from a consideration of the apparatus and procedures hereinabove disclosed. Accordingly, it should be clearly understood that the systems and techniques described in the foregoing explanations and depicted in the foregoing drawings are intended as exemplary embodiments only of the invention and not as limitations thereto. [0044]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A modular golf club system for custom fitting standard individual golf clubs to individual golfers, comprising:

a club head having a hosel, said hosel being adapted to non-deformably receive first interconnectable means interior thereto and having means to prevent rotation between said hosel and said first interconnectable means, and

shaft means adapted to non-deformably receive second interconnectable means interior thereto and having means to prevent rotation between said shaft means and said second interconnectable means,

whereby said club head and said shaft means may be rapidly and removably connected by connecting said first and second interconnectable means.

2. The modular golf club system of

claim 1

, further comprising means for preventing the longitudinal separation of said club head and said shaft means until desired.

3. The modular golf club system of

claim 2

, further comprising additional means for preventing the longitudinal separation of said club head and said shaft means until desired.

4. The modular golf club system of

claim 1

, wherein said club head and said shaft means may be removably connected by rotational movement between said club head and said shaft means.

5. The modular golf club system of

claim 1

, wherein said means to prevent rotation between said hosel and said first interconnectable means comprises mechanical fit means.

6. The modular golf club system of

claim 1

, wherein said means to prevent rotation between said shaft means and said second interconnectable means comprises mechanical fit means.

7. The modular golf club system of

claim 1

, wherein said means to prevent rotation between said shaft means and said second interconnectable means comprises adhesive means therebetween.

8. The system of

claim 3

, wherein said additional means for preventing undesired separation of said club head and said shaft means comprises adhesive means therebetween.

9. The system of

claim 2

, wherein said separation preventing means comprises threaded means oriented so as to tighten the connection between said club head and said shaft means, for right-handed clubs, when said club head is rotated clockwise with respect to said shaft means.

10. The system of

claim 2

, wherein said separation preventing means comprises threaded means oriented so as to tighten the connection between said club head and said shaft means, for left-handed clubs, when said club head is rotated counterclockwise with respect to said shaft means.

11. A method for custom fitting conventional golf clubs to individual golfers, comprising the steps of:

removably and non-deformably connecting to first interior interconnecting means a club head having a hosel, said hosel having means to prevent rotation therebetween;

non-deformably connecting second interior interconnecting means to shaft means having means to prevent rotation therebetween; and

removably connecting said first and second interconnecting means, and testing the fit of said golf club to an individual.

12. The method of

claim 11

, further comprising the step of replacing at least one component of said club with a different component based upon said test of said fit.

13. The method of

claim 11

, further comprising the step of removably securing said components into an assembled golf club.

14. The method of

claim 13

, further comprising the step of applying removable adhesive means between said hosel and said shaft means.

15. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising the step of delivering said assembled golf club to said fitted individual.

16. A modular golf club system for custom fitting standard individual golf clubs to individual golfers, comprising:

shaft means adapted to non-deformably receive second interconnectable means adjacent thereto and having means to prevent rotation between said shaft means and said second interconnectable means,

17. The modular golf club system of

claim 16