Patents Examined by William Pierce
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Patent number: 9814947Abstract: A golf club head comprising a body and a plurality of carbon tubes is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face section, a sole section with a protrusion extending upward and a crown section. The body defines a hollow interior. Each of the plurality of carbon tubes extends from the crown section to the protrusion of the sole section.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2015Date of Patent: November 14, 2017Assignee: Callaway Golf CompanyInventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers
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Patent number: 9776058Abstract: A golf club head comprising a body and a plurality of stiffening members and satisfying the equation Vballnorm?0.0356x+140.82 is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face section, a sole section, and a crown or return section, and defines a hollow interior. Each of the plurality of stiffening members extends from the crown or return section to the sole section within the hollow interior to reduce stresses placed on the face section during impact with a golf ball. The stiffening members are all located within 1 inch of a rear surface of the face section measured along a plane normal to the center of the face, and are spaced a distance of 0.500 to 2.00 inch from one another within the hollow interior.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2016Date of Patent: October 3, 2017Assignee: Callaway Golf CompanyInventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers
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Patent number: 9770637Abstract: The present disclosure is a game that has a mixer positioned at a first location on a gaming area and a plurality of balls randomly dispersed throughout the gaming area. In response to a command, a player on a team collects one or more of the plurality of balls, the score is incremented based upon the balls collected, the player throws the collected ball(s) into the mixer, and the mixer disperses the ball(s) back into the gaming area.Type: GrantFiled: February 5, 2015Date of Patent: September 26, 2017Assignee: Aim 4 Pie, LLCInventor: Carol Johnson Cranford
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Patent number: 9757629Abstract: A golf club head comprising a body and a plurality of stiffening members is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face section, a sole section, and a crown section, and defines a hollow interior. Each of the plurality of stiffening members extends from the crown section to the sole section to reduce stresses placed on the face section during impact with a golf ball. The stiffening members are all located within 0.500 inch of a rear surface of the face section measured along a plane normal to the center of the face, and within 1 inch of the center of the face section along a horizontal axis parallel to the face section.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2016Date of Patent: September 12, 2017Assignee: Callaway Golf CompanyInventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers
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Patent number: 9744412Abstract: A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, has a face with a striking surface configured for striking a ball and an elongated channel extending across a portion of the sole in a heel to toe direction. The channel is recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole. The channel may have a width defined in a front to rear direction and a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole, wherein the channel comprises a center portion extending across a center of the sole, a heel portion extending from a heel end of the center portion toward the heel, and a toe portion extending from a toe end of the center portion toward the toe. The channel may have a wall thickness that is greater in the center portion of the channel than in at least one of the heel and toe portions.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2015Date of Patent: August 29, 2017Assignee: KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATIONInventors: Joshua M. Boggs, Eric A. Larson
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Patent number: 9744410Abstract: A shaft insert (or external connecting segment) with greater flexibility than the substrate shaft allowing for a more flexible zone in an area of separation between two separated portions of the substrate shaft. The flexible connection is intended to be installed between two segments of the separated substrate shaft primarily on a golf putter with the flexible connection within 5 inches of the base of the club in total compliance with USGA (United States Golf Association) Rule 2, Appendix II. 2. b. requiring any change from the continuous shaft be within 5 inches of the club base. The shaft flex connection is designed to be symmetrical around its cross section with equal flexibility and torsional displacement in all directions in compliance with USGA Rule 2, Appendix 2. c. requiring golf shafts to be equally flexible with equal torsional displacement in all directions.Type: GrantFiled: February 5, 2016Date of Patent: August 29, 2017Inventor: John Thomas Foster
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Patent number: 9731171Abstract: A golf club includes a golf club head having a sole, a crown, and a face. The golf club head defines a bore that has an outer cylindrical portion and a stop extending radially inward from the outer cylindrical portion. An elongate member is insertable within the bore. The elongate member includes a body portion and a protrusion extending radially outward from the body portion. The elongate member is rotatable within the bore between a first angular position and a second angular position, where the elongate member can be freely withdrawn from the bore while in the first angular position and is restrained from being freely withdrawn from the bore while in the second angular position. The stop is at least partially disposed in a path of the protrusion as the elongate member is rotated between the first angular position and the second angular position.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2014Date of Patent: August 15, 2017Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing CorporationInventor: Joshua Boggs
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Patent number: 9724583Abstract: A bowling aiming apparatus, configured to be used with a bowling lane, includes a frame and a target suspended from the frame. The frame includes two legs which lie parallel to one another within opposite troughs of the bowling lane and extend along a longitudinal direction of the troughs. The frame further includes two uprights, each coupled to a respective leg, such that the uprights are parallel to one another and perpendicular to the legs. The frame further includes a crossbar assembly coupled to the uprights and arranged perpendicularly to the uprights and perpendicularly to the legs. The crossbar assembly spans a width of the bowling lane. The target is suspended from the crossbar assembly, and is positioned on the crossbar assembly such that at least a portion of the target is arranged in a line of sight of a bowler using the bowling lane.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2014Date of Patent: August 8, 2017Inventor: Douglas Van Dyke
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Patent number: 9719753Abstract: An apparatus including a plurality of coaxially nesting tubes, a stowed position and extended position, a respective spring-loaded retainer located on a first end of at least some of the tubes, an outer edge of the retainer is coupled to a control aperture that retains the outer edge coincident with an outside annular edge of the respective tube and wherein release of the control aperture causes a spring to urge the outer edge radially outwards into the recess of the second end of the next adjacent outside tube and a rod having a control button on one end and a tapered tip on the opposing end, the rod is located inside and coaxial with the tubes with the button external to the tubes, the rod disengages the control aperture during deployment thereby causing the control button to abruptly pop outwards from the end of the outer most tube.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2013Date of Patent: August 1, 2017Assignee: Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc.Inventor: Kevin Parsons
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Patent number: 9717979Abstract: Card handling devices comprise a card handling zone. A card infeed tray is configured to pass cards to the card handling zone and a separate card output tray is configured to receive cards from the card handling zone. A control system of the card handling device comprises at least one electronic signal processor, at least one memory device in electrical communication with the electronic signal processor, and a computer program stored in the memory of the memory device. The computer program is programmed to cause the control system to selectively control at least one of a card infeed system, the card handling zone, and a card output system of the card handling device and to receive an input from a user input to selectively perform at least one of a shuffling operation, a sorting operation, and a dealing operation using the card handling device.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2012Date of Patent: August 1, 2017Assignee: BALLY GAMING, INC.Inventors: Attila Grauzer, Ernst Blaha, Peter Krenn, Paul K. Scheper
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Patent number: 9687726Abstract: A bowling pin setting system with a reconfigurable array of bowling pin retention mechanisms with a contracted configuration with two rows of five pin retention mechanisms and an expanded configuration wherein the pin retention mechanisms are disposed in an equilateral triangle. The array of pin retention mechanisms can be movable, such as by operation of a gantry or pivotable arms, between a pin setting position above a pin deck and a retracted position removed from above the pin deck. A bowling pin assembly and loading system with a pivoting magazine and at least one pin loading magazine can receive bowling pins from the pin deck, assemble the pins into an organized format, and load them into the array of pin retention mechanisms.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2015Date of Patent: June 27, 2017Inventors: Tod S. Lyter, Clarence Leighton, Richard Arsenault
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Patent number: 9677843Abstract: An apparatus including a plurality of coaxially nested tubes, a respective spring-loaded retainer located on a first end of some tubes, each retainer having an outer edge wherein release of the control aperture causes a spring of the retainer to urge the outer edge radially outwards into the recess of the second end of the next adjacent outside tube; and a control rod having a button on one end and a tapered tip on the opposing end, the control rod engages the control aperture of each of the tubes in the stowed position to retain the outer edge of the respective retainers in the retracted position and as the plurality of tubes are extended, the tapered end of the control rod disengages the control aperture thereby causing the button to abruptly pop outwards from the marginal edge of the outer most tube.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2013Date of Patent: June 13, 2017Assignee: Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc.Inventor: Kevin Parsons
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Patent number: 9677844Abstract: An expandable or telescoping police baton embodies a cylindrical sleeve within which is slidably disposed cylindrical shaft. The sleeve and shaft are aligned with a slot and a pin to prevent rotation of the shaft within the sleeve. The baton also includes a shock absorbing assembly positioned on the shaft.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2014Date of Patent: June 13, 2017Assignee: Starkey Industries, LLCInventor: Gary L. Pelkey
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Patent number: 9597558Abstract: A golf club head comprising a body and a plurality of carbon tubes is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face section, a sole section and a crown section. The body defines a hollow interior. Each of the plurality of carbon tubes extends from the crown section to the sole section.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2015Date of Patent: March 21, 2017Assignee: Callaway Golf CompanyInventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers
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Patent number: 9561406Abstract: A golf club head includes a face, a crown, a sole, and defines a bore that is configured to receive and to selectively retain an elongate weight. The bore is aligned on a longitudinal axis that intersects the face. An elongate weight is insertable into the bore in either a first orientation or a second orientation, with a first end of the weight making initial entry into the bore when inserted in the first orientation, and a second end of the weight making initial entry into the bore when inserted in the second orientation.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2014Date of Patent: February 7, 2017Assignee: NIKE, Inc.Inventor: Joshua Boggs
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Patent number: 9561411Abstract: A golf club head includes a head body having a crown portion, a face portion, and a sole portion; at least one regular weight member configured to be detachably attached to the sole portion; and a cover kit configured to be detachably attached to the sole portion. The cover kit includes a cover provided with a decoration and configured to cover at least a portion of the sole portion, and optionally includes at least one auxiliary weight member configured to be attached to the cover. A weight of the cover kit is the same as the weight of the regular weight member. The sole portion is configured to selectively be in one of a first mode in which the regular weight member is attached, and a second mode in which the cover kit is attached.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2015Date of Patent: February 7, 2017Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.Inventor: Naruhiro Mizutani
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Patent number: 9555319Abstract: An improved game surface for a table game system includes a random number generator for identifying one or more numbers relevant to determining an outcome of a game of chance. The table game surface includes a game layout, including a plurality of player positions and a plurality of wagering areas corresponding to different possible outcomes. Each wagering area includes at least one illumination source associated therewith that can be switched between an on condition and an off condition. Each at least one illumination source may be configured to switch to the on condition when the wagering area with which it is associated is a winning outcome.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2014Date of Patent: January 31, 2017Inventor: Mark H. Jones
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Patent number: 9545548Abstract: Some embodiments include a golf club head with an arcuate port structure and tuning element. Other embodiments for related golf club heads and methods are also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2015Date of Patent: January 17, 2017Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing CorporationInventors: David L. Petersen, Ryan M. Stokke
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Patent number: 9539484Abstract: A golf teaching tool to provide instant user feedback, while explaining and encouraging proper ball impact. The golf teaching tool includes a rectangular plate with a cutout section. The golf teaching tool is placed on a playing surface with the cutout section pointed towards an intended target. A golf ball is placed on the playing surface within the cutout section and subsequently hit. Sound, impact, ball flight and movement of the golf teaching tool due to the golf club hitting the golf teaching tool, or no movement of the golf teaching tool provide the user immediate feedback regarding the correctness of the swing.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 2015Date of Patent: January 10, 2017Inventor: Dennis M. O'Donovan
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Patent number: 9539499Abstract: A table game apparatus in which a number of players can participate and comprising a display device having an updateable electronic display of a track, a table including a playing surface and an electronic card reader positioned relative to the table and a set of playing cards divided into a number of suits wherein in use said playing cards are drawn sequentially, then read by the electronic card reader to control the display on the display device.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2014Date of Patent: January 10, 2017Inventor: Anthony James Brown