Golf club adjustable hosel assembly

• US 9,358,429 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2014
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Vrska, Michael, Spencer, Mark, Hulock, Richard P.
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAU, STEPHEN LUTHER
• Application Number:
  US14/307,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20150367185A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0694 Visual indication, e.g. Indicia
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/02 with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 23/0066 on sports articles, e.g. golf clubs

Abstract

An adjustable assembly includes a golf club shaft, a golf club head having a hosel portion with a hosel opening, a hosel insert, a shaft adapter, and a fastener. The hosel insert is secured to the hosel portion and includes at least one inwardly extending pawl. The adapter extends about a longitudinal axis, and defines a shaft opening. The adapter includes outwardly projecting teeth aligned with the hosel insert. Each tooth includes leading and trailing surfaces. The leading surface is shaped to enable rotational movement of the adapter about the axis with respect to the hosel insert in a first rotational direction. The trailing surface is shaped to selectively engage the pawl to inhibit rotational movement of the adapter with respect to the hosel insert in a second rotation direction that is opposite the first direction. The fastener is releasably coupled to the head and the adapter.

Claims

1. An adjustable assembly comprising:

a golf club shaft having a tip portion;

a golf club head including a body having a crown, a sole, a striking plate and a hosel portion, the hosel portion defining an upper hosel opening;

a hosel insert secured to the hosel portion, the hosel insert including a base element and at least one inwardly extending pawl having a distal end;

a shaft adapter extending about a first longitudinal axis, the shaft adapter defining a shaft opening for engaging the tip portion of the shaft;

the shaft adapter including a plurality of outwardly projecting teeth aligned with the hosel insert, each tooth including a leading surface and a trailing surface, the leading surface shaped to enable rotational movement of the shaft adapter about the first longitudinal axis with respect to the hosel insert in a first rotational direction, the trailing surface shaped to selectively engage the distal end of the pawl to inhibit rotational movement of the shaft adapter with respect to the hosel insert in a second rotation direction, opposite the first rotational direction; and

a fastener releasably coupled to the club head and the shaft adapter, wherein the assembly is adjustable between a plurality of locked positions, each of the plurality of locked positions defining at least one separate loft position, lie position, face angle position, or any combination thereof of the club head with respect to the shaft, wherein the assembly is adjustable between the plurality of locked positions by loosening the fastener, rotating the shaft adapter in a first rotational direction without removing the plurality of teeth of the shaft adapter from the hosel insert, and tightening the fastener.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shaft extends along a second longitudinal axis, and wherein the first and second longitudinal axes are angled with respect to each other.

3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the first and second longitudinal axis define a first angle, and wherein the first angle is within the range of 0.25 to 4 degrees.

4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the first angle is within the range of 0.5 to 2.0 degrees.

5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shaft adapter includes a lower region, an upper region and a central region between the lower and upper regions.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the plurality of outwardly projecting teeth project from the lower region of the shaft adapter.

7. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the outer diameter of the lower region of the shaft adapter is less the outer diameter of the central region.

8. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the plurality of outwardly projecting teeth project from the central region of the shaft adapter.

9. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the lower region of the shaft adapter defines a lower opening, and wherein the fastener is a threaded fastener extending through a portion of the club head and into the lower opening.

10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the base element of the hosel insert is an annular member fixedly secured to the hosel portion.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the at least one inwardly extending pawl is two pawls.

12. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the at least one inwardly extending pawl is three pawls.

13. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the at least one inwardly extending pawl is four pawls.

14. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the at least one inwardly extending pawl is six pawls.

15. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one spring associated with and outwardly biasing the at least one pawl.

16. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of locked positions define a plurality of separate loft positions, and wherein loft angle is defined as the angle between a center striking plate normal vector and a ground plane when the head is in a square face address position.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the plurality of separate loft angles are selected from the group consisting of the range of 8.0 to 10.5 degrees, the range of 8.5 to 11.5 degrees, the range of 9.5 to 12.0 degrees, the range of 12.0 to 14.5 degrees, the range of 12.5 to 15.5 degrees, the range of 14.0 to 17.0 degrees, the range of 16.0 to 19.0 degrees, the range of 16.0 to 18.0 degrees, the range of 18.0 to 20 degrees, the range 20 to 22 degrees, and the range of 22.0 to 24.0 degrees.

18. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of locked positions define a plurality of separate lie positions, wherein each lie position defines a separate lie angle within the range of 50.0 to 66.0 degrees, and wherein lie angle is defined as the angle between the first longitudinal axis and a ground plane when the club head is in a grounded address position.

19. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the distal end of the pawl define a pawl height measured with respect to the first longitudinal axis, wherein the teeth define a teeth height measured with respect to the first longitudinal axis, and wherein at least 20 percent of pawl height overlaps a portion of the teeth height during the rotational adjustment of the shaft adapter with respect to the hosel insert.

20. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shaft adapter includes a shoulder, and wherein the shoulder bears against an upper end of the hosel portion.

21. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the hosel portion includes a hosel flange, and wherein when the assembly is in one of the plurality of locked positions, a lower end of the shaft adapter is spaced apart from the hosel flange.

22. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the hosel portion includes a hosel flange, and wherein when the assembly is in one of the plurality of locked positions, a lower end of the shaft adapter engages the hosel flange.

23. The assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the hosel insert and the shaft adapter generate an audible sound when the shaft adapter is rotated with respect to the hosel assembly in the first rotational direction between the plurality of locked positions.

24. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shaft adapter includes a marker defined by at least one of at least one marking on the shaft adapter, one or more recesses formed in the shaft adapter, and one or more outwardly extending projections on the shaft adapter.