Golf training clubs

Details Golf training clubs Golf training clubs

1995-11-07

1998-12-01

Kim, Harry C.

Joints and connections

With indicator or inspection means

403 92, 403102, 403157, 473219, 473231, F16D 700

Patent

active

058428089

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to golf clubs, and more specifically to training clubs designed to assist in the training and practising of golfers.
Achieving a good "swing" with a golf club, and in particular a driver, requires great skill, and perfecting a swing requires much practice. One major requirement is that the action should be smooth and free from any jerkiness. To assist golfers in achieving this, training clubs have been proposed in which the shaft is not rigid, so that it bends during a swing which is jerky.
More particularly, training clubs have been proposed in which the shaft incorporates a spring-loaded joint or hinge, so that for a swing within acceptable limits of smoothness the shaft remains straight, but for a swing which exceeds those limits, the shaft "breaks" at the joint. The club is generally constructed as a pair of half-shafts attached to a self-contained hinge structure. (The term "half-shaft" is used for convenience, but the location of the hinge is preferably closer to the head than the handle of the shaft.)
At least three specific designs for such clubs have been proposed, in Reineking U.S. Pat. No. 2,497,237. Koch & Koch U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,585 (Koch I), and Koch & Koch U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,748 (Koch II). In all these designs, the hinge is of a fork type; one hinge member has a pair of arms forming a fork, the other hinge member has a single arm (or tongue) which is received within the fork, and a pivot pin passes transversely through all three arms. The single arm terminates in a generally circular arc with a depression in it, and the other member has an axial bore containing a spring-loaded detent element which bears against the circular arc and engages in the depression in that arc. The two members include shanks by which they are attached to the two half-shafts of the club.
In this type of design, the hinge provides a single degree of freedom for the breaking of the shaft. The hinge pivot axis is oriented so that the shaft will not break under the acceleration of a properly executed swing, but if the club is jerked transversely or is twisted during the swing, then the shaft will break. This arrangement is well adapted for the prevention of a number of common swing faults.
The Reineking hinge is constructed so that it will hinge in only one direction, whereas the Koch hinges are constructed so that they will hinge in both directions (ie forward and backward). This distinction, though significant for the use of clubs incorporating the hinges for swing practice, is not relevant for present purposes.
The present invention is concerned with the sensitivity of hinges of this general type. It is clearly desirable for the sensitivity--ie the force which is necessary to "break" the hinge--to be accurately controlled.
In Koch I, the sensitivity of the hinge can be adjusted by changing the tension of the spring loading the detent element. The hinge member with the bore containing the spring is threaded, and a screw (termed an "adjusting screw") engages in the bore to hold the spring in place. This adjustment screw can be adjusted for initial setting. Once the screw has been adjusted, the two half-shafts of the club are attached to the two shanks of the hinge, sealing the screw against any further access. The adjustment provided by Koch I is thus a factory setting.
A fixed setting for the hinge force therefore has to be chosen as a compromise. An expert golfer who wants to improve their swing will already have a good swing, so for the club to be useful, it must have a low force setting which will allow the club to break even for a quite reasonable swing. A beginner, however, is likely to have a very poor swing at first. It is desirable that when such a player reaches a reasonable standard, the club should cease to break, and for this, the setting should be fairly substantial. Otherwise, the club will continue to break even with a substantial improvement in swing, and the beginner will become discouraged. It is therefore desirable that the club should have an adjustable setting or bre

REFERENCES:
patent: 1990281 (1935-02-01), Grelle
patent: 2497237 (1950-03-01), Reineking
patent: 4146340 (1979-03-01), Smith, Jr.
patent: 4854585 (1989-08-01), Koch et al.
patent: 5195748 (1993-03-01), Koch et al.
patent: 5255994 (1993-10-01), Stein
patent: 5454568 (1995-10-01), Richardson
patent: 5489100 (1996-02-01), Potter

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