US1703581A - Golf club - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 26, 1929. I 1303.581

) A. GAVIN GOLF CLUB Filed Feb. 23, 1926 Patented Feb: 26,, 1929.

ALPHONSUS GAVIN, or donnrmnn,

NEVADA, ASSIGNOR TO NOVAK CLUB INC., 01?

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ,A CORPORATION OF NEVADA.

can own.

Application filed February 28, 1926. Serial No. 90,118.

The present invention relates particularly to adjustable golf clubs wherein the spoon or blade may be adjusted to various angles with respect to the shaft and thereby impart to the club as a whole the properties which go to make up the distinguishing characteristics of several different types of golf clubs.

It is an object of this invention to devise an adjustable head golf'club which will not differ greatly in appearance from the ordinary non-ad ustable club.

It is a further object of this invention to devise a pivoting and locking mechanism for an adjustable golf club which will permit the manufacture of such clubs in weights not greater than that of standard clubs.

Further objects of the invention will ap-. pear from the following description in which I have set forth the preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood that the scope of the invention is to be determined from the appended claims and the state of the prior art.

A satisfactory embodiment of the'invenings forming part of the specification and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the lower end portion of a golf club, constructed in accordance with my invention and showing a portion of the invention by dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a front end elevation of Figure 1 with parts thereof broken away to disclose the construction and relation of other parts. Figure 3 is a detail rear or inner end elevation of the blade.

,Figure 4 is a detail front elevation of the base member and showing the lock pin in place. v

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of Figure 4 and taken at right angles thereto and with the lock pin removed, and I Figure 6 is a detail perspective of the lock pin.

The shaft 5 is of ordinary construction. A metallic ferrule 6 has its upper end adapted to be fixedly connected to the shaft 5 and is provided with an axially screw threaded bore 7 in its lower end portion. There is also provided a'base member 0 including a screw tion is illustrated in the accompanying drawvupstandin threaded shank portion 8 which is screwed into the screw threaded bore 7 of the furrule,

the threads of the bore and the shank being i left handed so as to prevent accidental turning or unscrewing of the shank in the use of the club. The head 9 of base a is arranged at the lower end of the shank 8 and is provided-with an oblong inner side 10 which conforms substantially in size to the surface of the inner end 11 of the blade 12 and provides a bearing and supporting surface for v the said inner end 11. A centrally disposed socket 13 in the inner side 10 is adapted to receive the head 14 of a tailpiece disposed substantially centrally of the inner end 11 of the blade 12 and a reduced neck 15 of the said tailpiece which integrally connects the head 14 with the blade 12. The socket 13 is extended downwardly as at 15' and is undercut at this portion, as indicated at 17,

for the reception of a segment of the head 14 after the said head 14 and neck 15 are introduced into the socket and then moved downwardly, or toward the outer end of the head, all of which is shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, where it will be observed that the provision of the under cut 17 operates to prevent outward movement of the blade by locking the head 14, the tailpiece being so proportioned that the neck 15 and head 14 thereof snugly fit within the socket and the undercut ortion.

The blade 12 is additionally secured by an g rib 18 located on the inner end portion and upper side of the blade and disposed so as groove 19 on the lower face of an overhang 20 disposed at the upper end of the head. In this way the blade is additionally held against accidental outward movement. The tailpiece is so disposed as to permit blade 12 to beturned angularly, and the adjacent surfaces of the undercut portion 19 and of the rib 18 are curved so that these surfaces bear one upon the other throughout the turning movement of. the blade. When the blade is turned for a distance sufficient to disengage the rib 18 from the undercut 19 the blade may be readil detached from the head by a movement w ich retracts the engaged porto nicely fit Within an'undercut tion of head it from the undercut 17 into socket l3, and then by imparting a further wall of bore 7 bears upon the inner end of.

lock pin 2% and thereby holds the lock pin rigid when the teeth 22 thereof interlock with the teeth 21 of rib 18. in this way the blade 12 is positively held against turning or angular movement, but a slight turn of shaft I 5 retracts the inner end wall of bore 7 from the adjacent end of the lock .pin and allows axial nioveinent thereof when the blade is turned manually in either direction, it being observed that the teeth 21 and 22 are so constructed as to permit of the teeth2l underriding the teeth 22 when axial movement of lock pin 24 is permitted,

llhe markings of a scale of degrees may be formed on the front face of overhang 20, as indicated by 26', and a middle line 27 on blade 12 immediately below the scale, so that the operator may readily adjust blade 12 to the angle required. A. ring or other suitable stop 28 is preferably arranged in a groove 29 in the inner end portion of the lock pin 2% and by its presence prevents accidental displacement of the lock pin 24 when the blade is detached from the base a.

It is pbvious that the above club incorporates many novel and desirable features. As the axis of the pivotal connection is inclined to the sole of the head, a change'in the angle of the strikingiface is accompanied by a corresponding change in the lie of the head. By lie I refer to the generalangle which the sole makes with respect to the shaft. In Fig.

' position the 3 the striking face is shown at substantial the correct angle for the midiron In this pivotal axis is about directly above the sole. Therefore as the loft is varied to about the correct value for a driving iron,

' there will be substantially no variation in the lie. However, as the loft is changed to that of a niblick the angle of lie will be correspondingly increased to the correct value of a club of this character. As the pivotal axis is placed above the end of the sole neither the body portion nor the rib 18 need be made excessively wide in order to obtain a Wide variation of lofts.

The club has added utility in the fact that the pivotalconnection may be locked or released me rely-by rotation of the shaft, This construction makes possible an adjustable club in which the movable parts are entirely mos sai will also be observed that the location of the rib 18 and thefiared portion 2-3 of thelock 10 provide an interlocking engagement of sufany blow which may be imparted by the blade when the club is in use.

I claim:

A golf club having a head member provided with a striking face, a shaft, a body member secured to said shaft, and means for pivotally connecting said head and body member, said means including a projection on one of said members adapted to fit into a slot in the other member, said projection having an enlarged integral head interfitting a groove in said slot, and means for locking said head to the body member,

2. golf club having a blade provided with a striking face, a shank portion, a handle connected to the shank portion, said shank portionv having a recess, a projection on said blade interlocking in. said recess, anarcuate recess in the shank above said first named recess, and an arcnate segment on said blade adapted to be received in said arcuate recess.

3. A. golf club having a blade provided with a striking face, a shank portion, a handle connected to the shank port-ion, said shank portion havin a recess, a projection on said blade interloching in said recess, an arcuate recess in the shank above said first named recess, an 'arcuate segment on said blade.

adapted to fit within said arcuate recess, and means operable upon rotation of said handle for locking said blade with respect to the shank. r

{4. A golf club having a blade provided [with a striking face, a shank portion, means for pivotally securing said blade to the shank portion for adjustment about an axis normal to the shaft of the club, an arcuate segment on the blade engaging a recess in the shank portion, and means operable upon'a-xial rotation of the shaft to fix the position of the blade with respect to the shank portion.

I 5. A golf club having'a blade provided to theshaft of the club, an arcuate segment on the blade engaging a recess in the shank portion, a movable lockingpin disposed within the shank, and means operable upon rotation 80 ficient strength to withstand the reaction of r of the handle of theclub to force said pin into locking engagement with said segment.

6. A golf club comprising a blade portion and a shank portion, a projection on one of said portions pivotally engaging said other portion, ing a radius of curvature substantially greater than the radius of the projection, a recess in the shank portion adapted to receive said segment, a pin movably mounted within the shank, and means for forcing said pin into locking engagement with said serrated portion. Y

7. A golf club comprising a blade portion and a shank portion, a projection on oneof said portions pivotally engaging said other portion, a serrated segment .on the blade having a radius of curvature substantially greater than the radius of the projection, arecess in the shank portion adapted to receive said segment, a pin movably mounted within the shank, a handle connected to the shank portion, and means operable upon axial rotation of the handle with respect to the blade for forcing said pin into locking engagement with the serrated segment.

8. A golf club comprismg a blade portion, a shank portion, means for oining said blade to said shank portion along a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the shank portion,

a projection onone of the portions for pivotally connecting said portions together, an

arcuate'segment carried by said blade portion contiguous with said plane and having a radius substantially greater than the radius of said projection, said shank portionbeing recessed to receive said segment portion, .a pin movably mounted within a bore provided in the shank portion, a handle connected to the shank portion, and means operable upon axial rota-tion of he handle relative to the blade to force said pin into locking engagement with the arcuate segment portion.

9. In an adjustable golf club, a base member including a shank having an open-ended bore, a head extending downwardly and outwardly from one end of the shank and having in one face thereof a socket and further hav ing an undercut overhang adjacent to the shank and extending beyond the socketed face of the head, a blade having an integral tailpiece disposed upon the inner end thereof and turnably mounted within the socket. of the head, a serrated rib at the inner end portion of the upper side of the blade disposed within the undercut of the head, a lock pin slidably fitted in the bore of the shank and having an end portion engaging the serrations of the rib, and .a handle adjustably connected to .the shank and adapted when in one position of adjustment to bear upon the lock .pin and jjmld the same against movement within the ore.

I 10. In an adjustable golf club, a base mema serrated segment on the blade havthe inner end portion of the upper side of the blade disposed within the curved undercut of the head, a'lock pin slidably fitted in the bore of the shank and having a flared Serrated end portion engaging the serrations of the rib, and a shaft adjustably connected to the shank and adapted when in one position of adjustment to bear upon the lock pin and gold the same against movement within the ore. v

11. In an adjustable olf club, a base member including a screw t readed shank having an open-ended bore, a head extending downwardly and outwardly from one end of the shank and having in one face thereof an elongated socket, a portion of which is undercut, the said head further having a curved undercut overhang adjacent to the shank and extending beyond the socketed face of the head, a blade having an integral tailpiece disposed upon the inner end thereof and including an' enlarged head arranged within the undercut of the socket and a reduced neck turnable upon the side wall of the socket, a curved serrated rib at the inner end portion of the upper side of the blade disposed within-"the curved undercut of the head, a lock pin slidably fitted in the bore of the shank and having .a flared serrated end portion engaging the serrations of the rib, a shaft, a ferrule secured to the shaft and having an internally screw threaded bore receiving shank, the inner end of said bore being adapted to bear upon the lock pin to hold the same against movement within the bore of the shank when the said ferrule is screwed down upon the projection on one of said members serving as means for pivotally connectingsaid memhere together, a serrated arc'uatesegment on said blade having a 'radius substantially greater than the radius of said projection and interlocking a recess in said shank, and

means slidable with respect to said second mentioned member adapted to he forced into locking engagement With said serrated portion.

13. A golf club comprising a blade member, a handle, a member secured to the lower end of said handle, a projection on one of said members servingns meens for pivotally connecting said members together, a serrated arcuate segment on said blade having a, radius substantially greater than the radius of said projection, and means slidubly disposed with respect to said second mentioned ,memher adapted to be forced into locking engagement with said serrated portion, said means being actuated upon rotation of said handle.

ALPHUNSUS GAVIN,

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