Patents Examined by Stephen Blau
  • Patent number: 10155145
    Abstract: A set of golf clubs having a degree of adjustability to provide improved distance gapping across the transition from a curved face golf club head to a flat face golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Justin M. Girard, Michael Scott Burnett, Jason Sulak
  • Patent number: 10150017
    Abstract: A ball striking device has a face with a striking surface and a body extending rearwardly from the outer periphery of the face. A channel extends across at least a portion of the sole, and includes a trough defined between front and rear edges and extending in a heel-toe direction. The device further has internal interconnection structure for connection of a shaft to the head. The device may have a hosel connected to the body proximate the heel, with the hosel having the internal interconnection structure adapted for connection of the shaft to the hosel. A bore or access opening may be provided that intersects the channel, to access the interconnecting structure. The device may further include one or more stiffening ribs on the sole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert M. Boyd, Andrew G. V. Oldknow
  • Patent number: 10143902
    Abstract: A flexible grip of elastomeric material for a golf club is disclosed. The grip has a groove or pocket therealong on the inner surface and an aperture through the closed end of the grip coincident with the groove. Upon installation of the grip onto the club shaft, a rigid strip is inserted through the aperture and into the groove or pocket. The thickness of the strip is chosen to cause a raising of the outer surface of the grip to form a rib therealong. The interior groove or pocket is formed by a rib formed on a core or mandrel employed in molding of the grip. Upon removal of the mandrel after molding, the groove or pocket and aperture are left in the grip for receiving the rigid strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: EATON INTELLIGENT POWER LIMITED
    Inventors: Gregory William Cavill, Bill D. Wood
  • Patent number: 10137345
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads with hosel inserts are presented herein. Other embodiments can be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: John A. Solheim, Eric V. Cole, Jeffrey Blankenship
  • Patent number: 10130858
    Abstract: A golf grip for a golf club is disclosed herein. The golf grip includes a closed end, an open end, a composite shell including a laminate composite fiber material, a foam layer, and a shaft cavity. The foam layer is inward of the composite shell. The shaft cavity extends from the open end towards the closed end. The shaft cavity is inward from the composite shell and the foam layer. In embodiments, the golf grip also includes a core tube inward of the composite shell and of the foam layer. The core tube forms a shaft cavity for receiving a shaft of the golf club.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: LAMKIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Robert J. Lamkin, Carl W. Pettersen, Michael Snow
  • Patent number: 10130856
    Abstract: Golf club heads are releasably engaged with shafts so that the club heads and shafts can be readily interchanged and/or so that the shaft position with respect to the club head can be readily changed. Assemblies for connecting the club head and shaft may include: a shaft adapter, a collet, a ferrule, and a club head having an interior chamber. The club head and shaft may be changed by releasing the securing system and exchanging the original parts with different parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Joshua M. Boggs, Raymond J. Sander, Robert M. Boyd, Matthew P. Rubal
  • Patent number: 10124219
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a sole, a recessed sole port in the sole; and a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the sole port and comprising a central body having a plurality of contact surfaces adapted to contact the sole port and being offset from each other along a central axis extending through the central body of the sole piece. The sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the sole port at five or more rotational and axial positions with respect to the central axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said contact surfaces of the central body contacts the sole port to set the axial position of the sole piece. The sole port and/or the sole piece can be generally pentagonal in shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan T. Sargent, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Matthew David Johnson, Matthew Greensmith, Todd P. Beach, Michael Franz
  • Patent number: 10112083
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf clubs with adjustable lie and loft and methods of manufacturing golf clubs with adjustable lie and loft are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Chris L. Jones, John P. Fife, Erik M. Henrikson
  • Patent number: 10112087
    Abstract: The disclosure herein includes a grip and a method of making a grip configured to be grasped by a user. The grip can include a tube with a raised portion that is configured to form a portion of the surface to be grasped by the user. The grip can further include a gripping member that can be coupled to the tube leaving a portion of the raised portion exposed such that the surface to be grasped by the user includes both the raised portion and the gripping member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Inventor: Ben Huang
  • Patent number: 10099103
    Abstract: A golf club head having a damping treatment, such as a viscoelastic polymer, is disclosed. The viscoelastic polymer may be in contact with the rear surface of a striking face of the golf club head. The viscoelastic polymer may have a tangent of delta peak temperature between ?70 degrees Celsius and ?20 degrees Celsius at a 1 Hz frequency. An elastic modulus (E), in megapascals (MPa), of the viscoelastic polymer has a relationship to a striking face thickness (t), in millimeters (mm), defined by Ê??14{circumflex over (t)}+305. The elastic modulus (E), in megapascals (MPa), of the viscoelastic polymer has a relationship to an effective stiffness (S) of the striking face, in gigapascals per meter (GPa/m), defined by Ê??1.16?+258.33. The viscoelastic polymer may cover a portion of the rear surface of the striking face or may substantially fill a cavity of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: ACUSHNET COMPANY
    Inventors: Charles E. Golden, Michael E. Franz, Jonathan Hebreo, Brian Comeau
  • Patent number: 10092801
    Abstract: A putter-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, includes a blade portion comprising a striking face, a top line, and a sole, the striking face including a face center. A rear portion of the club head is in communication with, and rearward of, the blade portion. An alignment element of the club head is rearward of, and recessed toward the sole from, the top line, and the alignment element defines a virtual center line segment oriented in a substantially front-to-rear direction at a height equal to about 21.3 mm to about 21.4 mm. The center line segment is not spaced more than 10 mm from a virtual vertical plane passing through the face center and extending generally perpendicular to the striking face, and a width of the club head is no less than 3.0 in.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Adam K. Sheldon, Mika Becktor
  • Patent number: 10086243
    Abstract: A putter-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, includes a rear portion in communication with, and rearward of, a blade portion and having a rear portion top surface. The club head also includes a projection extending upwardly from the rear portion top surface, the projection having a projection top surface, a heel-ward side surface, a toe-ward side surface, and a rear surface, the projection top surface comprising a generally planar surface. And the club head further includes a sightline formed in the projection top surface and that comprises a groove at least partially filled with a filler material having a visually contrasting appearance to portions of the top surface surrounding the groove, the groove defining a virtual center line segment oriented in a substantially front-to-rear direction at a substantially constant height from a lowermost point of the sole between 16 mm and 26 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Adam K. Sheldon, Mika Becktor
  • Patent number: 10086242
    Abstract: Embodiments of a golf club set with progressive tapered face thickness coordinated with club loft are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventor: Marty R. Jertson
  • Patent number: 10080940
    Abstract: A method of selecting a preferred golf shaft for a player who uses an existing golf shaft, according to one or more aspects of the present invention, may comprise gathering a plurality of empirical data sets, each data set corresponding to an individual golf shaft selected from a plurality of golf shafts; providing a plurality of specification codes, each associated with an individual empirical data set of the plurality of empirical data sets; from the plurality of specification codes, identifying a first specification code associated with the existing golf shaft; gathering feedback associated with the existing golf shaft from the player; and using the feedback to select, from the plurality of specification codes, a second specification code corresponding to the preferred golf shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: SRI SPORTS LIMITED
    Inventors: Dustin J. Brekke, Matthew R. Daraskavich, Nathaniel J. Radcliffe
  • Patent number: 10080934
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a face; a body, the body defining an interior and an exterior; the face and the body together defining a center of gravity, the center of gravity being proximate the face; a coefficient of restitution feature defined in the body; wherein the coefficient of restitution feature defines a gap in the body. A golf club head includes a face and a golf club body; the face and the golf club body defining a center of gravity, the center of gravity defined a distance, ?z, from a ground plane as measured along a z-axis, the center of gravity defined a distance, CGy, from the center face along the y-axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Matthew Greensmith, Matthew David Johnson, Jason Andrew Mata, Kraig Alan Willett, Nathan T. Sargent
  • Patent number: 10076687
    Abstract: A golf club head having a hosel, a hollow interior, and a support ring disposed within the hollow interior and at least partially encircling the hosel is disclosed herein. In particular, the present invention is directed to a fairway wood head comprising a body with a front wall, an upper opening, a return portion between the front wall and the upper opening, a hosel, an interface between the hosel and the heel side of the body, and a support ring, and a composite crown affixed to the body to close the upper opening and define a hollow interior, the support ring contained within the hollow interior and extending along the interface from a heel-most side of the body to the return portion and making contact with an inner surface of the front wall. The support ring reduces the stresses placed on, for example, the crown during hosel bending processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: J. Neil Hall, Romulus M. Tomimbang, Timothy G. Scott
  • Patent number: 10065086
    Abstract: The present invention comprises a golf club head comprising a body having a crown, a sole, a front wall and a hosel, wherein the body defines a hollow interior. The golf club head further comprises a center of gravity adjustment assembly wherein the center of gravity adjustment assembly is positioned within the hollow interior of the body, and allows the center of gravity of the golf club head to be adjusted by at least 0.050 inch, preferably along a vertical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: James A. Seluga, Denver Holt
  • Patent number: 10065087
    Abstract: A set of ball striking devices, such as a set golf clubs, having similar characteristics between clubs within the set of clubs such as length, weight, and lie angle. Characteristics can include lengths and lie angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Raymond J. Sander, Robert M. Boyd, John T. Stites
  • Patent number: 10065083
    Abstract: A golf club head is described having a body defining an interior cavity and comprising a heel portion, a toe portion, and a sole portion positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, and a crown positioned at a top portion. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. A face is positioned at the forward portion of the body. The face has a center face location and includes a center face characteristic time. An off-center location on the face is located at about ?40 mm in a heel direction away from the center face location. The off-center location has an off-center characteristic time of at least 80% of the center face characteristic time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Peter L. Larsen, Kraig Alan Willett, Bing-Ling Chao, John Francis Lorentzen
  • Patent number: 10058745
    Abstract: An adjustable shaft and hosel assembly allows for dependent and independent adjustment of a golf club's face angle, loft angle, and lie angle. The adjustable shaft and hosel assembly comprises a shaft sleeve, a hosel portion, a tubular adjustment piece having non-parallel upper and lower surfaces, and a retention feature that provides an engagement between the tubular adjustment piece and the shaft sleeve to prevent the tubular adjustment piece from becoming detached from the shaft sleeve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: Kevin P. Dacey, Denver Holt