Golf club having swivel facilitating means

• US 5,259,617 A
• Filed: 01/17/1992
• Issued: 11/09/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tsai C. Soong
• Original Assignee: Tsai C. Soong
• Inventors: Soong, Tsai C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US07/821,809
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 273/80.2-80.8, 273/80 B, 273/193 R, 273/193 B, 273/194 R, 273/77 R, 273/77 A, 273/80 R, 273/79, 273/186.1, 273/186.2
• US Class Current: 473/305
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/0081 Substantially flexible shafts; Hinged shafts

Abstract

A golfclub is disclosed as having a shaft connecting a golf head at one end to a handle at the other end. The golf head has a hitting face arranged for contact with a golfball, and is connected to the end of the shaft by a hinge having its pivot axis arranged so that the hitting face is always perpendicular to the direction of movement of the golf head during swinging of the golfclub. A wire is arranged within the shaft being connected at some point within the handle of the golfclub and to the golf head adjacent the pivotal axis therefor. The neutral axis of the shaft and the wire define the two long legs of a four-bar linkage formed as a parallelogram which includes as the short legs, the distance between the hinge axis and the connection of the wire to the golf head, and the distance of the connection of the wire at the other end thereof to the handle and the adjacent end of the neutral axis. By virtue of this arrangement, for any swing amplitude of the golfclub during play, the plane of the hitting face will always be perpendicular to the direction of the movement of the golf head.

Claims

1. A golf club comprising:

a head device having a hitting face providing an impact surface arranged for striking a ball during play,

a shaft having two ends with a handle at one end and said head device at the other end thereof, said head device being turnably joined to said other end of said shaft, and

a wire device operatively connected to both said head device and said shaft;

said wire device allowing said shaft to bend in a direction generally opposite to the intended direction of a struck golf ball during a downswing, wherein a general shaft curvature is defined;

said wire device having means for turning said head device in a direction generally opposite to the direction of the general curvature of the shaft as viewed from the plane of movement of said head device being projected to the swing plane of the golf club when said shaft is being bent due to the swinging of the golf club during a downswing and just prior to the impact of the hitting face with a golf ball.

2. A golf club according to claim 1 wherein said wire device comprises at least a wire having opposite end, one end of which is connected to said head device, the other end being connected to said shaft.

3. A golf club according to claim 2 wherein said shaft has a neutral axis, said neutral axis and said wire constituting the two opposite sides of a four-bar linkage of an approximate parallelogram and being arranged for maintaining said hitting face of said head device in an approximate parallel position with respect to the axis of said handle as said shaft is being bent due to the swinging of the golf club.

4. The golf club according to claim 2 wherein said shaft is hollow and has a neutral axis and said wire is approximately parallel to said neutral axis and runs along the inside wall of said shaft on the side there most compressed during bending of said shaft due to the swinging of the golf club.

5. The golf club according to claim 2 wherein said wire device comprises at least a torque device which exerts a torque on said head device to place tension on said wire.

6. The golf club according to claim 2 including means operatively associated with said wire for adjusting the inclination angle of said hitting face.

7. The golf club according to claim 5 wherein the golf club is formed with an opening and said means operatively associated with said wire being adapted for adjusting the inclination angle of said hitting face through said opening.