Patents Examined by William Pierce
  • Patent number: 10258842
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a metallic section, a polymeric section, and an adhesive material. The metallic section defines an opening and the polymeric section extends over the opening. The adhesive material is disposed between the metallic section and the polymeric section to form an adhesive joint therebetween. The adhesive joint has an adhesive retaining strength configured to inhibit the polymeric section from being detached from the metallic section when the adhesive material is at least partially cured. The metallic section and the polymeric section are also mechanically engaged with one another to form a mechanical joint therebetween having a mechanical retaining strength configured to inhibit the polymeric section from being detached from the metallic section. The adhesive retaining strength of the adhesive joint, alone, is greater than the mechanical retaining strength of the mechanical joint, alone, only when the adhesive material is at least partially cured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventor: Raymond J. Sander
  • Patent number: 10213665
    Abstract: The invention provides a golf club head with a lid or cover enclosing a recess such as a channel for an adjustable weight. A golf club head can include a multi-position weight track or other channel or concavity to house a feature such as an adjustable weight mechanism. The club head has a lid that covers the channel, which—when closed—provides an outer surface of the golf club head that does not collect dirt or make whistling sounds when used and thus removes distractions and maintains the club head's intended weight distribution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Cobra Golf Incorporated
    Inventors: Cameron J. Day, Andrew Curtis, Bryce Hobbs, Douglas E. Roberts, Sean Tang
  • Patent number: 10150016
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a golf club body including a crown, a sole, and a skirt connected between the crown and the sole, the golf club body including a front including a leading edge and a back including a trailing edge, and a hosel connected to the golf club body; a face connected to the front of the golf club body, the face including a geometric center, the golf club head including modifiable boundary conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Matthew Greensmith, Andrew James, Jason Andrew Mata, Matthew David Johnson, David Anderson, Brandon H. Woolley
  • Patent number: 10130849
    Abstract: Ball striking devices, such as golf clubs, have a head that includes a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball, and a body connected to the face and extending rearwardly from the face, with the body having a crown, a sole, a heel side, and a toe side, such that the face and the body combine to define an enclosed internal cavity. A damping member is connected to the body and includes a post extending inwardly into the cavity from an inner surface of the body, a first arm extending from the post toward the heel side of the body, and a second arm extending from the post toward the toe side of the body. The damping member is configured to produce a mass damping effect upon an impact on the face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: David N. Franklin, Michael Wallans
  • Patent number: 10071291
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body, a first polymeric insert, and a second polymeric insert. The body includes a face, a sole, and a rear wall that collectively define an undercut volume. The first polymeric insert is provided within the undercut volume to define a sealed cavity within the undercut volume; and, the second polymeric insert is secured to the body and defines an open cavity extending from the rear wall toward the face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Matt Daraskavich, Brian J. Kammerer, Michael Pinto
  • Patent number: 9993699
    Abstract: A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, includes a face having a ball striking surface, an inner surface opposite the ball striking surface, and a body connected to the face and extending rearward from the face. The head has a deformation limiting member located behind the face and having an end spaced a distance from the inner surface of the face. The face and the deformation limiting member are adapted such that an impact of the ball on the ball striking surface causes deformation of the face toward the deformation limiting member. When the deformation of the face is sufficient to cause the inner surface of the face to engage the deformation limiting member, the deformation limiting member exerts a force on the face to resist further deformation of the face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventor: Eric A. Larson
  • Patent number: 9943735
    Abstract: A putter type golf club head having a frontal face formed with ball striking, land areas in a repeating patter between the toe and heel and complementary recesses between the land areas. The land areas are smaller than the recesses at the midpoint of the striking face and are progressively larger away from the midpoint on the face providing a progressively larger ball contact area the further the land area is displaced from the midpoint of the striking face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Inventor: Guerin D. Rife
  • Patent number: 9937410
    Abstract: A tile-on-shape puzzle game is disclosed using a plurality of unique shape designs having one or more tile projections disposed on one or both faces of the shape. The tile projections are adapted to fit in a recess on a play tile. Optional play cards are used to provide clues or shape designations and scores. Shapes are played to form a puzzle, with each player selecting where to place a shape, thereby forming a unique puzzle each time the game is played. Tiles must fill every play space on a shape to form a word or numerical/shape sequence. Gameplay may be varied based on age and skill level, such as limiting the word or sequence direction to left-right, up-down, diagonal, or a combination thereof, or forming pathways with the puzzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Inventor: Thomas H. Greenawalt
  • Patent number: 9937389
    Abstract: A golf club head according to this invention is a wood type golf club head including a face portion, a crown portion, and a sole portion. A plurality of grooves are formed in the face portion. The depth of the plurality of grooves is less than 0.025 mm. A film having a thickness not more than the depth is formed on the face portion by a surface treatment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD
    Inventors: Tomonori Kitagawa, Wataru Ban
  • Patent number: 9931546
    Abstract: A golf club 2 includes a head 4, a shaft 6, a grip 8, a first member m1 detachably attached, a second member m2 detachably attached, and a tool 102. A minimum force required to detach the first member m1 from the tool 102 in a connection state of the tool 102 and the first member m1 is defined as F1. A minimum force required to detach the second member m2 from the tool 102 in a connection state of the tool 102 and the second member m2 is defined as F2. The force F1 is greater than the force F2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
    Inventor: Naruhiro Mizutani
  • Patent number: 9914026
    Abstract: A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, has a face with a striking surface configured for striking a ball where the face has multiple thickness regions. The face has a center region, an upper region, a lower region, a toe region, and a heel region. The upper and lower regions have a ramped thickness extending from a center region to an upper and lower edge of the face. The heel and toe regions have a constant face thickness and have a thickness less than the other regions. Additionally, the club head body has a channel extending across a portion of the sole. The channel may be recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole and have a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole. The channel may have a cross-sectional profile that is asymmetric with a front wall and a rear wall where the front wall is longer than the rear wall. The channel may also have a center thickness that is different than a thickness at the heel and toe sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Joshua M. Boggs, Kevin Harper, Eric A. Larson, Michael T. Prichard, Hiromitsu Akiyama, Yoshimasa Fujita
  • Patent number: 9914045
    Abstract: A casino table game and method of play using between eight and twelve dice, which game is played on a game surface including a dice throw box, a first roll wagering area for wagering on the highest ranking and greatest number of like kind indicia dice resulting from a first dice roll, a first and second roll wagering area for wagering on the actual number of like kind indicia dice that will result from the first dice roll or a first and second dice roll, a large payout wagering area for wagering that most or all of the dice will result with the same indicia face up, and a second roll wagering spot for the players to pay an ante in order to be eligible to wager on the results of a second dice roll, which game provides exciting play with the additional possibility of winning a jackpot or lottery-sized payout.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Global Innovative Gaming, LLC
    Inventors: Kerry J. Lambert, Norman G. Berkowitz
  • Patent number: 9908016
    Abstract: A golf club head comprising a body, a variable face thickness pattern, and a plurality of solid metal stiffening rods, and which satisfies the equation Vballnorm?0.0356x+140.82, is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face, a sole, and a return section, and defines a hollow interior. Each of the rods extends from the return section to the sole within the hollow interior proximate the face to reduce stresses placed on the face during impact with a golf ball. The rods are all located within 1 inch of a rear surface of the face 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. The variable face thickness pattern preferably comprises a plurality of concentric rings, with a center ring having a thickness that is less than a thickness of an intermediary ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers
  • Patent number: 9901789
    Abstract: A golf club head according to this invention is a wood type golf club head including a face portion, a crown portion, and a sole portion. A plurality of grooves are formed in the face portion. The depth of the plurality of grooves is less than 0.025 mm. Each pitch between adjacent grooves of the plurality of grooves ranges from 0.1 mm (inclusive) to 1 mm (inclusive).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomonori Kitagawa, Wataru Ban
  • Patent number: 9895581
    Abstract: A head 2 includes a head body h1, a face part Fp1, and a connecting part Cn1. The face part Fp1 includes a face surface f1 and a face back surface f2. The connecting part Cn1 connects the face back surface f2 of the face part Fp1 and the head body h1 to each other. The connecting part Cn1 may be provided at a position separated from a peripheral edge of the face back surface f2. The peripheral edge of the face back surface f2 may be separated from the head body h1. The face part Fp1 may include a face middle region R1 and a face peripheral region R2. The connecting part Cn1 may be provided only in the face middle region R1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
    Inventor: Masahide Onuki
  • Patent number: 9889349
    Abstract: 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 or a return section, and also defines a hollow interior. Each of the plurality of stiffening members extends from the crown section or return section to the sole section to reduce stresses placed on the face during impact with a golf ball. The stiffening members preferably are preloaded, and may be tightened using a tool. Each of the stiffening members has a midsection that is preferably selected from the group consisting of a solid metal rod, a hollow metal tube, and a spring, and each preferably is composed of a titanium alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Callway Golf Company
    Inventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers, Patrick Dawson
  • Patent number: 9861865
    Abstract: A golf club head having good forgiveness and playability includes a body having an interior cavity, favorable aerodynamic profile and favorable CG location. The club head may include a crown having a peripheral edge located low relative to a ground plane, stepped down crown and overlying shroud, generally flat sole, inverted aft skirt section, aft cavity, cantilevered lightweight shroud, and/or two interior chambers, one of which may have an external opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher John Harbert, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Robert Nunez, Nathan T. Sargent, Christian Reber Wester
  • Patent number: 9849355
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a main body having a topline and an opposing sole. The main body includes a striking face extending between the topline and sole, and a rear face in opposed relation to the striking face. A sole body is proximate the rear face and extends at least partially along the sole. A peripheral flange extends at least partially about the rear face and is of a flange height, HF, relative to the rear face. A truss protrudes from the rear face and includes a at least a first truss arm which is of a first truss arm height, HT1, relative to the rear face, wherein the difference between HF and HT1 is less than about 0.25 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Phillip C. Seagram
  • Patent number: 9839819
    Abstract: A head h1 includes a crown c1, a sole s1, a face f1 and a hosel h1. The crown c1 includes a recess part RE1, a back part 100 positioned at a back of the recess part RE1, and a step surface ST1 positioned at a front of the back part 100 and positioned above a virtual extension surface HF1 of the back part 100. At least a part of the recess part RE1 extends in a toe-heel direction. At least a part of the step surface ST1 extends in the toe-heel direction. At least a part of the recess part RE1 may extend in a front-back direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Naruhiro Mizutani, Phil Seagram, Keith Dolezel, Mika Becktor
  • Patent number: 9821199
    Abstract: A golf club head comprising a body and a plurality of metal tubes is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face section, a sole section, and a return section, and also defines a hollow interior. Each of the plurality of metal tubes extends from the return section to the sole section to reduce stresses placed on the face during impact with a golf ball. The body and the metal tubes preferably are composed of a titanium alloy or stainless steel. After the metal tubes are inserted into apertures in the return section and the sole section of the body, each metal tube is mechanically attached to the body using a tool that causes the ends of each metal tube to flare outwards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: James A. Seluga, Matthew Myers, Bradley C. Rice