Golf putter with vibration dampening and golf ball pickup and release
First Claim
1. In a golf club that has a club head and a shaft extending to said club head, the improvement comprising:
- ball pickup means, including a concave recess formed in a rear portion of said club head with said concave recess including a slotted aperture formed in said rear portion of said club head and opening rearwardly; and
,detent means for engaging a golf ball and gripping the golf ball against a first portion of said concave recess, whereby the golf ball may be picked up from a ground surface;
said detent means securing a golf ball at a ball pickup position, and further including means for transferring a golf ball from said ball pickup position through said slotted aperture to a ball release position in which a golf ball is supported free of frictional engagement at an upper portion of said club head.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A golf club that enables a golfer to retrieve a ball from the ground as well as from a cup includes a club head having a front striking surface. A ball pickup structure includes a concave recess extending into a rear end surface of the body, the concave recess having a generally cylindrical conformation and an axis generally parallel to the striking surface. A pair of resilient fingers are secured to the rear end surface of the body and spaced apart to straddle the concave recess. The fingers include curved interior surfaces disposed in confronting relationship to the concave recess. The fingers and the concave recess together define a lower opening having a longitudinal (front-to-back) dimension slightly less than a golf ball diameter The lower opening may be placed superjacent to a golf ball and the head urged downwardly so that the ball moves relatively upwardly into the lower opening. The distal ends of the fingers flex outwardly to permit the ball to pass into the lower opening and move upwardly, the distal ends of the fingers asserting a gripping effect, whereby the user may retrieve and lift the ball. A thin lip extends rearwardly from the upper surface of the club head into the concave recess. The lip defines an upper opening that is narrower than the concave recess in the front-to-back dimension, and serves as a positional stop for the ball pickup structure. A ball lodged in the pickup position may be impinged against the ground, urging the ball relatively upwardly so that the lip and the distal ends of the fingers support the ball in freely releasable fashion.
104 Citations
20 Claims
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1. In a golf club that has a club head and a shaft extending to said club head, the improvement comprising:
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ball pickup means, including a concave recess formed in a rear portion of said club head with said concave recess including a slotted aperture formed in said rear portion of said club head and opening rearwardly; and
,detent means for engaging a golf ball and gripping the golf ball against a first portion of said concave recess, whereby the golf ball may be picked up from a ground surface; said detent means securing a golf ball at a ball pickup position, and further including means for transferring a golf ball from said ball pickup position through said slotted aperture to a ball release position in which a golf ball is supported free of frictional engagement at an upper portion of said club head. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. In a golf club that has a club head and a shaft extending to said club head, the improvement comprising:
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ball pickup means, including a concave recess formed in a rear portion of said club head; and
,detent means for engaging a golf ball and gripping the golf ball against a first portion of said concave recess, whereby the golf ball may be picked up from a ground surface; said concave recess including a slotted aperture formed in said rear portion of said club head and opening rearwardly; said slotted aperture including a lower end, and said detent means including resilient finger means extending substantially across said slotted aperture at said lower end; said resilient finger means including a pair of resilient fingers extending in opposed, converging relationship, said resilient fingers disposed to impinge a golf ball against an interior surface portion of said aperture and retain the ball in said aperture in a pickup position; further including positional stop means for delimiting the upper extent of said pickup position, said positional stop means including a curved lip extending into said slotted aperture at an upper end portion thereof, said lip disposed to impinge on an upper portion of a golf ball disposed in said pickup position. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. In a golf club that has a club head and a shaft extending to said club head, the improvement comprising:
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ball pickup means, including a concave recess formed in a rear portion of said club head; and
,detent means for engaging a golf ball and gripping the golf ball against a first portion of said concave recess, whereby the golf ball may be picked up from a ground surface; said detent means including means for vibration absorption and acoustic dampening; said means for vibration absorption and acoustic dampening including a substantial mass of deformable, resilient material secured to said club head; said mass comprising a pair of resilient fingers operatively associated and positioned with respect to said concave recess to engage a golf ball.
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Specification