Patents Examined by Alvin A. Hunter
  • Patent number: 11724163
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are various embodiments of a golf club head having improved mass distribution characteristics. The golf club head includes a body and a face positioned at a forward portion of the body. The golf club head also includes one or more mass elements positioned at predetermined locations about the head. The mass elements assist in achieving a desired relationship between the moment of inertia about a center of gravity x-axis and the moment of inertia about a center of gravity z-axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Peter L. Larsen, Joseph Henry Hoffman
  • Patent number: 11701559
    Abstract: A golf club head that is capable improving on the inertia properties of a golf club head all while also improving the Center of Gravity (CG) location is disclosed herein. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention achieves a relative low Moment of Inertia (MOI) about the Z-axis (MOI-Z) as well as a relatively low MOI about the Shaft-axis (MOI-SA).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Thomas Orrin Bennett, Stephen S. Murphy, Peter L. Soracco, Charles E. Golden
  • Patent number: 11701555
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention are directed to golf club having a crown, a sole, a face, and a primary alignment feature hard tooled into the golf club head. In some embodiments the golf club has a primary alignment feature comprising a line delineating a transition between at least a portion of the crown having an area of contrasting shade or color with a shade or color of the face. The primary alignment feature is hard tooled into the golf club head with the face of the golf club body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Vincent Greaney, Andrew Kickertz, Todd P. Beach, Craig Richard Slyfield, Christopher John Harbert
  • Patent number: 11697050
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having a front portion including a face portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, and a bottom portion. An inner side of the face portion may have a center portion, an outer wall portion at least partially surrounding the center portion, and a plurality of inner wall portions connecting the center portion to the outer wall portion. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Bradley D. Schweigert, Michael R. Nicolette, Caleb S. Kroloff
  • Patent number: 11691057
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body having a recessed channel formed in an outer surface. A weight assembly that includes a weight at least partially disposed within the recessed channel, a cover extending at least partially over the recessed channel, and a fastener coupling the cover to the body. The fastener is adapted to retain the weight in the recessed channel only indirectly by the cover. The weight is slidably engaged with the cover and the cover is positionable in at least an unlocked configuration whereby the cover is raised at least partially out of the recessed channel and the weight is selectively slidable within the recessed channel, and a locked configuration whereby the cover is at least partially disposed within the recessed channel and the weight is secured within the recessed channel. The weight moves with the cover between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Thomas Orrin Bennett, Mitchell E. Bac, Tyrone Northcutt, Takeshi Casey Funaki
  • Patent number: 11691053
    Abstract: A golf club connecting apparatus for securely connecting a golf club shaft and a club head having a hosel portion is disclosed. The apparatus could be advantageously employed with various types of golf clubs. The apparatus comprises a hosel adapter, a shaft adapter, and at least one fastener, for example, a nut. The hosel adapter is configured to insert into the hosel portion such that the hosel adapter is positioned within the cylindrical sleeve of the hosel portion. The shaft adapter is securely affixed to the terminal end of the golf club shaft, wherein the shaft adapter is configured to insert into the hosel adapter via a longitudinal bore. The fastener is configured to threadably engage to the hosel adapter via the plurality of threads, thereby securing the club head and the golf club shaft together by inserting the shaft adapter into the hosel adapter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Inventor: Chunxi Miao
  • Patent number: 11691055
    Abstract: A golf club head with an improved Center of Gravity (CG) location is disclosed. More specifically, the present invention relates to a metalwood type golf club head with improved performance via shifting the CG towards a location that reduces spin, at the same time, without sacrificing launch angle and the forgiveness of the golf club head. This golf club head may generally have a unique construction capable of achieving a low and forward CG location that is less than 40 mm from the face center along a Z-axis, a CG height that is no more than 2 mm above the neutral axis, and a MOI-Y of greater than about 4,000 g-cm2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Acushnet CAmpanv
    Inventors: Richard L. Cleghorn, Peter L. Soracco, Ryuichi Sugimae
  • Patent number: 11684833
    Abstract: A head of a golf club that comprises a ball striking face. The ball striking face has a top ridge, a leading edge, a heel edge, and a toe edge. The top ridge has a first base length and the leading edge has a second base length that is less than the first base length. The heel edge extends from the top ridge to the leading edge and slants at a first angle, relative to the top ridge, towards the toe edge. The toe edge extends from the top ridge to the leading edge and slants at a second angle, relative to the top ridge, towards the heel edge. The leading edge is arcuate and defines a leading edge radius of curvature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Inventor: Richard H. Walsh
  • Patent number: 11684832
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads with apertures and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a golf club head comprises a face portion, a back portion generally opposite the face portion, a heel portion extending between the face portion and the back portion, a toe portion opposite the heel portion and extending between the face portion and the back portion, and a crown portion extending between the face portion, the back portion, the heel portion, and the toe portion, the crown portion comprising a plurality of crown aperture. The crown portion comprises a first region and a second region, wherein the first region is nearer to the face portion than the second region, the first region and the second region are separated by a bell-shaped curve. The bell-shaped curve is located a distance D1 from the face portion and the second region comprises a recess portion. The plurality of crown apertures is defined within the recessed portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: John A. Solheim, Eric J. Morales, Erik M. Henrikson, Eric V. Cole, Paul D. Wood, Bradley D. Schweigert, Marty R. Jertson, Tyler A. Shaw
  • Patent number: 11684828
    Abstract: Golf clubs and/or golf club heads include a club head body defining an interior chamber, structure for engaging a shaft with the body, and/or a shaft engaged with the body. The club head body may have an overall length of at least 4.5 inches and an overall breadth of at least 4.2 inches. In other examples, the club head body may have an overall length of at least 4.6 inches and a ratio of the overall breadth dimension to the overall length dimension of 1 or less. If desired, the ratio of the head breadth to head length dimensions may be in a range from at least 0.94 to 1 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: John T. Stites, Gary G. Tavares
  • Patent number: 11679311
    Abstract: A golf club head formed of an alloy of steel that is capable of improving the center of gravity (CG) location while maintaining traditional external dimensions of the golf club head. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention achieves a relatively low CG while maintaining traditional external dimensions by reducing the amount of mass contributed by the crown, the striking face, and the hosel, and strategically reallocating this mass within and/or proximate the sole of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Thomas Orrin Bennett, Mitchell E. Bac
  • Patent number: 11679312
    Abstract: A putter-chipper golf club may include: a body 110 including a coupling groove portion 110a having a through-hole formed therein; a variable face 120 disposed on one side of the body 110 and configured to function as a putter face or a chipper face; a spring 130 disposed on the circumference of a part of the coupling protrusion portion 120a; and a face cap 150 disposed adjacent to the spring 130. When the coupling groove portion 110a of the body 110 and the coupling protrusion portion 120a of the variable face 120 are disengaged from each other by pulling the variable face 120 from the body 110 toward one side, the golf club may be switched to a putter or a chipper through rotation of the variable face 120.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: DRG KOREA CO., LTD
    Inventor: Byung Yong You
  • Patent number: 11666807
    Abstract: A golf club comprises a shaft, a golf club head fixed to one of ends of the shaft, and a grip attached to the other of the ends of the shaft and defining a grip end. The golf club head comprises a head main body and at least one weight. The head main body includes a plurality of ports for attaching the at least one weight. Each weight can be attached to and detached from each port so that the position of the center of gravity of the head can be changed by changing the position between the ports. The difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of linear distances from the grip end to the center of gravity of the weights when attached to the respective ports is not more than 20 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kosuke Tachibana, Takashi Nakamura
  • Patent number: 11666805
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a face portion including a hitting face for striking a ball, a sweet spot on the hitting face, a toe, a back face opposite the hitting face, and a first thin-walled region formed by being recessed the back face. In a front view of the face portion viewed from a direction orthogonal to the hitting face, the first thin-walled region is provided in a toe-upper region that is a region above and on a toe side with respect to the sweet spot, the first thin-walled region is provided outside a region having a radius of 5 mm centered on the sweet spot, and an area of the first thin-walled region is in a range from 15% to 70% of an area of the toe-upper region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kiyofumi Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 11666806
    Abstract: Golf club heads are provided for selectively increasing or optimizing the coefficient of restitution (COR) at likely impact locations on the striking face of the golf club heads, while simultaneously maintaining characteristic time (CT) below a threshold value in those likely impact locations. By analyzing historical impact locations of a large cross-section of golfers, golf club head COR values can be increased or optimized in preferential locations on the striking face, such as using weighting factors for a predefined set of locations on the striking face. Therefore, instead of increasing COR uniformly across the face and/or increasing COR at impact locations on the face where golfers are unlikely to strike the golf ball, the sweet spot of the golf club head can be increased at the impact locations where golfers typically strike the golf ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Story, Matthew Greensmith, Christopher John Harbert, Matthew David Johnson
  • Patent number: 11648449
    Abstract: A removable cover for a lacrosse stick of the type having an elongated hollow shaft having an outer surface and an inner surface and an interior channel extending therethrough and a free end portion with an open end which serves as a handle portion of said lacrosse stick. The cover includes an end cap configured and dimensioned to be removably mountable in a friction fit manner on the free end portion of the hollow shaft. The end cap has a head portion and an elongated, resilient hollow body portion attached to said head portion and insertable into the open end of the free end portion of the hollow shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Inventor: Vincent Pfeifer
  • Patent number: 11648447
    Abstract: Embodiments provide a lacrosse head having a pocket stringing system that includes attachment members that allow for rapid, direct attachment of a pocket to the head. A lacrosse head may include cleats protruding from the sidewalls at a rearward portion of the pocket area nearest the juncture, sidewall hooks protruding from the sidewalls at a forward portion of the pocket area forward of the rearward portion, and scoop hooks protruding in the forward direction from the front face of the scoop. Each cleat may have a rearwardly-projecting arm and a forwardly-projecting arm. Each sidewall hook may have a rearwardly-projecting arm. A first scoop hook may tension a pocket toward a first sidewall hook on a first sidewall, and a second scoop hook may tension the pocket toward a second sidewall hook on a second sidewall, so as to form a ball channel in the pocket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: Wm. T. Burnett IP, LLC
    Inventors: Austin Scott Brown, Michael F. O'Brien
  • Patent number: 11642578
    Abstract: In general, aspects of this invention relate to blade-type iron golf clubs or golf club heads. The blade-type golf club head may comprise a body forged of a metal material. The body may include a hosel, a top surface, a sole, a heel, a toe, a ball striking surface, and a rear surface opposite the ball striking surface. The rear surface may have an upper blade portion and a lower muscle portion with the upper blade portion separated from the lower muscle portion by a blade interface. The lower muscle portion may have a muscle portion surface are that includes a heel muscle surface area measured from the ball striking centerline to the heel and a toe muscle surface area measured from the ball striking centerline to the toe. The toe muscle surface area may make up at least 60% of the muscle portion surface area. The mass distribution of the lower muscle portion moves the center of gravity of the club head closer to the face center location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew G.V. Oldknow, Nathaniel J. Radcliffe
  • Patent number: 11642579
    Abstract: A golf club head has a face portion, a crown portion, and a sole portion. The golf club head includes a weight member that is configured to be wound, a first wound portion around which a first part of the weight member is to be wound, and a second wound portion that is disposed apart from the first wound portion and around which a second part of the weight member is to be wound. In the golf club head, a position of a center of gravity of the golf club head is adjusted by changing a weight ratio of the first part to the second part. At least either the first wound portion or the second wound portion may be rotatable in a reel-in direction and a reel-out direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Naruhiro Mizutani
  • Patent number: 11633650
    Abstract: A composite golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The composite golf club head has a carbon fiber composite body and a striking face. The carbon fiber composite body is formed by multiple carbon fiber prepreg materials or multiple composite prepreg materials including carbon fiber with stacking, a positive pressure, a vacuum negative pressure, and heating. The striking face is made of a carbon fiber composite or metal material, and is fixedly glued to a front opening portion of the carbon fiber composite body. A weight of the carbon fiber composite body is reduced. Center of gravity and moment of inertia can be adjusted easily according to striking distances or feel of striking of different golf club heads for enhancing a striking performance of the composite golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: O-TA PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chi-Wen Ling, Wei-Hsiang Chou, Fang-Yu Liu