Purses – wallets – and protective covers – Protective cover made of flaccid material – For a golf club
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-20
2001-03-20
Weaver, Sue A. (Department: 3727)
Purses, wallets, and protective covers
Protective cover made of flaccid material
For a golf club
C206S315200, C206S315400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202723
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective cover for a golf club particularly adapted to protect the upper portion of the golf club, namely, the head and shaft of the golf club adjacent the head.
2. Background Discussion
Referring to
FIG. 12
, a golf bag is illustrated, in which golf clubs
1
are received. The golf bag, which is denoted by the reference numeral
21
in
FIG. 12
, is partitioned to receive separately a plurality of golf clubs therein. The golf bag
21
also has a slope at the entrance thereof so that the user can easily and conveniently extract golf clubs
1
from the golf bag
21
upon using those golf clubs. Golf clubs
1
are received in the golf bag
21
while being arranged together in parallel in such a manner that those having a shorter length are received in the front portion of the golf bag
21
whereas those having a longer length are received in the rear portion of the golf bag
21
. Accordingly, the golf clubs
1
can be easily selected upon their use in accordance with their range. Meanwhile, when the user carries the golf bag
21
, golf clubs
1
received in the golf bag
21
may move, so that they come into contact with one another.
Where golf clubs
1
are received in the golf bag
21
in a manner shown in
FIG. 12
, the head
2
of short club adjacent a longer club comes into contact with the shaft
3
of the longer golf club, frequently causing the shaft
3
of the longer golf club to be scratched. As a result, the paint layer on the surface of the shaft
3
being scratched is peeled off. This results in a degradation in the appearance of the golf club. In order to solve such a problem, a head cover illustrated in
FIG. 13
has been proposed. As shown in
FIG. 13
, such a head cover has a head cover portion
4
adapted to enclose the head
2
of a golf club
1
, and a shaft cover portion
5
adapted to enclose the upper portion of the shaft
3
of the golf club
1
. The head cover is put on the golf club
1
before the golf club
1
is received in the golf bag
21
. That is, the head cover is put on the golf club
1
by inserting the head
2
of the golf club
1
into an opening defined at the lower end of the shaft cover portion
5
under the condition in which the golf club
1
is inserted in an inverted state, until the head
2
is enclosed by the head cover portion
4
while the shaft
3
is enclosed by the shaft cover portion
5
.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the shaft
3
of the golf club
1
from being damaged due to its movement occurring while carrying the golf bag, because the head cover encloses the head
2
and shaft
3
. However, the dimensions of the opening of the head cover portion
4
are small relative to the dimensions of the head
2
. Due to such a small dimensions of the opening, considerable effort is required to put the head cover on and take it off the head
2
of the golf club
1
. In other words, it is very difficult to put the head cover on the golf club
1
rapidly, because the user must insert the head
2
of the golf club
1
into the opening of the head cover while widening the opening by hand. Upon taking off the head cover, a strong force is required to extract the head of the golf club through the narrow opening of the head cover.
Furthermore, when the golf club
1
with the head cover thereon is placed into the golf bag
21
, its shaft cover portion
5
may come into contact, at the lower end thereof, with the head covers on other golf clubs already received in the golf bag
21
, or with the upper ends of the partitions
21
a
shown in dotted lines provided in the golf bag
21
. As a result, the head cover portion
5
of the head cover may shift upwardly due to contact of its lower end with such head covers on other golf clubs already received in the golf bag
21
, or with the upper ends of the partitions
21
a
. When the head cover portion
5
of the head cover shifts upwardly at its lower end as mentioned above, the shaft
3
of the golf club
1
is exposed, so that it may come into direct contact with other golf clubs directly or with head covers on such golf clubs. For this reason, this still results in a degradation in the appearance of the golf club shaft due to wear.
FIG. 14
illustrates another conventional head cover. This head cover has a cover body
6
adapted to enclose both the head
2
and the lower portion of the shaft
3
of a golf club. The cover body
6
is longitudinally slitted along the cover body
6
to allow an easy insertion of the head
2
and shaft
3
of the golf club
1
into the head cover. The head cover also has a slide fastener attached to the slitted portion of the cover body
6
. In the case of this head cover, the slide fastener
7
attached to the cover body
6
is open upon putting the head cover on the golf club
1
. Thereafter, the head
2
of the golf club
1
is inserted into the head cover through the widen opening of the head cover. After the insertion, the slide fastener
7
is closed. Thus, the head cover is put on the golf club
1
, so that it protects the head
2
and the lower portion of the shaft
3
. However, this head cover still is inconvenient to use because the slide fastener
7
must be manipulated, opening and closing it every time the head cover is put on, or taken off, the golf club. Typically, the head cover is made of a thick fabric in order to provide a buffering function. For this reason, the head cover is bulky, so that it unnecessarily occupies a great deal of space. This leads to a bulky structure of the golf bag
21
itself. In contrast, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,193 discloses a golf club head cover similar to that depicted in
FIG. 13
with a portion adapted to enclose the head of a golf club, and a shaft cover portion extending downwardly from the head cover portion and serving to enclose the lower portion of the shaft of the golf club. This golf club cover has a different configuration from the head cover of
FIG. 13
, only in that it has a longitudinal slot formed in the shaft cover portion in order to insert conveniently the head and shaft of the golf club into the cover. However, this golf club cover still is inconvenient to use because the insertion of the head and shaft of the golf club into the cover is carried out under the condition in which the slot is widen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an objective of this invention to solve the above mentioned problems involved in the prior art and to provide a protective cover for a golf club having a configuration including a shaft cover which can be easily bent and recovered from the bent state, thereby being capable of being easily put on the golf club and taken off from the golf club, so that the shaft cover not only can prevent the head and shaft of the golf club from being damaged when the golf club comes into contact with other golf clubs, but also can be conveniently used.
This invention has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims which follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled, “DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS,” one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits, which include, but are not limited to, ease of manufacture, convenience of use, and protection for golf clubs.
The first feature of the protective cover for a golf club of this invention is a head cover member adapted to enclose a head of the golf club.
The second feature is a shaft cover member connected to the head cover member and adapted to enclose a portion of a shaft of the club adjacent the head of the golf club. The shaft cover member has a side wall with a slit extending longitudinally along its entire length. Along the side wall is a cutout formed in the shaft cover along the slit, and the user bends the shaft cover about this cutout to open the shaft cover to receive the shaft.
Chapman & Cutler
Weaver Sue A.
LandOfFree
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