Games using tangible projectile – Golf – Practice device attachable to body
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-07
2003-04-22
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Golf
Practice device attachable to body
C473S277000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06551196
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As golfers have searched vainly for the perfect golf swing over the last 150 years in the history of this game, teachers and engineers have sought and designed teaching aids that hopefully will improve the golfer's swing to hit the ball more consistently and further.
One such tool is a golf swing training system shown in the Ballard, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,885. The Ballard system includes a shoulder guiding device 122, 130, and 135 and a hip saddle 112 that straps around the pupil's hip area. The thrust of the Ballard system is the provision of a lateral slide 90 on the base that permits the belt and the golfer's hips to slide from two to six inches during the back swing, the down swing, and follow through. The slide 90 has a pair of rollers 87 and 88 that ride on a linear rail 61 that is parallel to the target line. Pivotal movement of the saddle is accommodated by a shaft 57 that permits the saddle to pivot about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the target line to accommodate the player's tendency to raise one hip relative to the other. The sliding carriage is pivotally mounted on the base about a horizontal axis shown in FIG. 5, parallel to the target line and biased by a spring 51 that appears to accommodate the downward movement of the hips during the golf swing.
The slide 90 carries a first pivot 94, as seen in FIG. 9, upon which a link 99 is pivotal having another pivot 93 at its distal end to which the hip saddle 91 is connected. At the address position illustrated in FIG. 15, the slide 90 is positioned centrally on the rail 61 by springs 84 and 85, hip saddle 91 faces the ball, and the pivoting link 99 is parallel to the target line. During the back swing as depicted in FIG. 16, the slide 90 slides linearly away from the target compressing spring 84, and the belt pivots 45 degrees about the pivot 94, causing the user's spine to shift backwardly a substantial distance rearwardly from the ball.
During the down swing, the belt pivot 93 and the slide 90 slide toward the target back to substantially the address position described above. Thereafter, during the follow through, the link 99 rotates counter-clockwise from its address position and actually throws the golfer toward the golf ball a substantial distance during the follow through. At the same time, the slide 90 compresses spring 85, causing a substantial lateral shift of the hips during the follow through compressing spring 85, as depicted in FIG. 17.
The lateral shifting of the saddle in the Ballard system during both the backswing and the downswing is not believed by most teaching professionals to be an appropriate teaching methodology.
The Remington, U.S. Pat. No. 1,530,519, shows a golf training apparatus designed to prevent any vertical or upward motion during golf swing. The golfer is restricted to pivoting his body around the fixed axis.
The Hara, U.S. Pat. No. 2,611,610, shows a mechanical system that holds the shoulders, hips and feet in position during the swing.
Another Hara, U.S. Pat. No. 2,755,091, shows a teaching device that restricts the golfer's hip movement to rotary motion about a single axis, as does the device shown in the Abel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,571.
The Sheldon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,438, shows a hip training device for golfers that gives a warning signal when hip rotation departs from a single axis.
The Anselmo, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,909, has similar deficiencies to the Sheldon system.
The Jenks, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,626,151, and 2,737,432, show golf training systems which coordinate body movement with some lateral movement of the hips.
The following patents also show swing training device as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,797 referred to above.
Inventor
Patent No.
Issue Date
Strong
4,691,924
Sept. 8, 1987
Bambrick
1,854,392
Apr. 19, 1932
Boldt
3,415,523
Feb. 10, 1968
Oppenheimer
3,876,212
Apr. 8, 1975
Morris
3,895,366
Jul. 15, 1975
Oppenheimer
3,917,281
Nov. 4, 1975
Oppenheimer
4,034,991
Jul. 12, 1977
Beckish
4,071,251
Jan. 31, 1978
Oppenheimer
4,211,418
Jul. 8, 1980
Kiehl
4,326,718
Apr. 27, 1982
Vuick
4,659,084
Apr. 21, 1987
The multiple pivot mechanism that connects the belt to the base inhibits lateral movement of the hips during the back swing and down swing. The belt is connected to the base by an expandable link pivotally connected at one end to the base and pivotally connected at its other end to the belt, both about generally vertical axes. As the golfer initiates the back swing, the belt pivots about the second axis as the link pivots in the opposite direction about the first axis. The link, as it rotates, expands somewhat as the spine travels in a clockwise arc about the pivot axis to the rear and inside of the right hip socket. As the golfer initiates the downswing, the link collapses and moves to a position almost parallel to the target line but somewhat outward from the address position. In the ball impact position, the link is collapsed between the belt and the base substantially parallel to the target line. The extension of the link during the backswing is what encourages the left hip to move clockwise and the spine to travel on the appropriate arc.
During the follow through, the link swings counter-clockwise allowing the right hip to move counter-clockwise and the spine to trace the appropriate arc which is an arc generally about the axis outside and to the rear of the left hip socket. After the follow through with the link collapsed and generally parallel to the target line, the golfer is encouraged to step forward toward the target by the expandable link which permits extension of the belt toward the target as the golfer takes an extra step with the rear leg over the forward leg toward the target encouraging an exceptional follow through.
In patent application, U.S. Ser. No. 09/440,846, Filed: Nov. 16, 1999, a golf swing training system is disclosed that guides the golfer's hip rotation during the backswing and downswing and the follow through which, with repetition, enables the golfer's muscle memory to repeat the desired hip rotation on the golf course without the training system. This hip rotation concept involves the pivotal motion of the hips during the backswing and downswing about a generally vertical axis behind and outside of the right hip socket(for right-handed golfers). During the follow through, the pivotal axis for the hips switches to a generally vertical axis outside and behind the left hip socket. This dual axis hip pivot automatically teaches the golfer the proper weight transfer from the right side to the left side.
Two of the principal advantages of that training system is that it eliminates undesirable hip sway and pivoting around a single axis that is taught in several prior swing training systems, such as the ones described in the Background of the Invention. Hip sway is the lateral or sliding movement of the hips in a plane parallel to the target line—and this motion is difficult for the golfer to control because the rear sway during the backswing requires a perfectly timed forward sway in the downswing to position the club properly at impact.
A further feature of that system is that it encourages without demanding the forward step of the rear leg over the forward leg after the follow through. This step teaches the golfer the proper total weight transfer to the left and is a valuable training tool. In fact, top professional golfers, such as present senior player Gary Player actually use this step while on the golf course.
Toward these ends, that golf swing training system includes a floor mounted base and a pelvic belt that wraps around the golfer's hips and guides the golfer's pivot during the backswing and follow through. The multiple pivot mechanism that connects the belt to the base inhibits lateral movement of the hips during the backswing and downswing. The belt is pivotally connected at a point B at one end to the base and pivotally connected at a point A at its other end to the belt, both about generally vertical aces. As the golfer initiates the backswi
Kossnar Dennis J.
Kossnar Stephanie P.
Maust Daniel A.
Allen, Esq. Dillis V.
John W. Deabler, Inc.
Legesse Nini F.
Sewell Paul T.
LandOfFree
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