Patent Application
20100175797
The present invention relates to golf club accessories, and in particular, to golf club head covers.
Golf club head covers are known in the prior art and are very popular with golfers due to their benefits. For example, the appearance and color of golf club head covers vary tremendously. Therefore, they help the golfer immediately recognize his golf clubs when his golf bag has been placed down next to the golf bags of other golfers. Also, golf club head covers prevent the heads from banging against each other while in the golf bag. This helps prevent damage to the heads from gouges and nicks.
Despite these benefits many golfers decide not to use golf club head covers. A major reason they give is that prior art head covers retain moisture on the heads for an unacceptable length of time. Because the heads are not allowed to dry quickly, the golfer is forced to play with a wet club head. This can detrimentally affect the out come of his shot. Additionally, if the head is not allowed to dry quickly it can suffer rust damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,013 owned by the Faytex Corp. is incorporated by reference herein. The '013 patent discloses a shoe liner having a knit layer of a hydrophobic material and a knit layer of a hydrophilic material. ‘Hydrophobic’ refers to a property of a material that identifies it as lacking an affinity for moisture, such as non-moisture absorbing polyester. In contrast ‘hydrophilic’ refers to a property of a material, such as moisture absorbing nylon, having a strong affinity for moisture.
In the '013 patent the hydrophobic material is a polyester knit layer in the hydrophilic material is a nylon knit layer. In addition, an air chamber of monofilament yarns is maintained between the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic materials. The non-moisture absorbing polyester layer allows moisture to flow through to the nylon layer were the moisture is absorbed by the nylon layer. From the nylon layer, the moisture then passes through to the shoe upper where it then evaporates into the atmosphere.
The product disclosed in the '013 patent is currently sold by the Faytex Corp. under the federally registered trademark DRI-LEX.
It is known that moisture management properties of a fabric can be customized in polyester-cotton-blended fabrics. As stated above, untreated polyester is hydrophobic. However, it is known that polyester can be chemically treated with a hydrophilic agent so that it becomes hydrophilic (i.e., so that it can absorb water). The treated hydrophilic polyester is then able to absorb water yet it still has four times less water retention capacity than cotton. The treated polyester-cotton blended fabric can be utilized to make a very comfortable garment for the wearer. For example, the cotton part of the polyester-cotton-blended fabric absorbs water and sweat from the wearer by wicking. The polyester part, now being hydrophilic in nature, absorbs water from the cotton and transfers it directly to the atmosphere, approximately four times faster than the cotton would by itself. This brings comfort to the wearer, as the body remains dry and cool.
In contrast, in the case of a 100% cotton fabric, sweat absorption is good. However, its transfer to the atmosphere is slow. Hence, the fabric will not dry easily and will be uncomfortable to wear.
What is needed is a better golf club head cover.
The present invention provides a golf club head cover for covering and quickly drying a wet golf club head. Condensed water on the golf club head is wicked through a hydrophobic layer and is then absorbed by a hydrophilic outer layer that covers the hydrophobic layer. Moisture is retained by the hydrophilic outer layer until it evaporates. In a preferred embodiment a hydrophilic inner layer surrounds the golf club head. The hydrophobic layer covers the hydrophilic inner layer. Condensed water in the hydrophilic inner layer is wicked through the hydrophobic layer and is absorbed by the hydrophilic outer layer until it evaporates. In a preferred embodiment the hydrophilic inner layer is a polyester blend where the polyester part has been chemically treated with a hydrophilic agent so that it can absorb water.
As seen in the preferred embodiment shown in
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Operation of the first preferred embodiment can be explained by reference to
A second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A third preferred embodiment is shown in
While the above description contains many specifications, the reader should not construe these as limitations on the scope of the invention, but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations are within its scope. For example, although it was described above how the optimum hydrophilic material is nylon and the optimum hydrophobic material is polyester, other materials could be substituted. Other possible hydrophilic materials include wool, cotton, linen, rayon, viscose and acetate. Likewise, other possible hydrophobic materials include acrylic and modacrylic. Accordingly the reader is requested to determine the scope of the invention by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples which have been given.
