BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a head cover, which is used to protect a head of a golf club and a shaft portion adjacent to the head from friction and shocks, and more particularly to a head cover, which is designed to be suitable for the head of a putter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, golfers carry various types of golf clubs which are required in order to play golf. The golf clubs are put into one golf bag such that the head of each club is located at an upper position of the bag and the grip of each club is located at the bottom of the bag. When the golf clubs are carried to a desired place or are put into or taken out of the golf bag, friction or shocks may be caused between the golf clubs. Thereby, the surface of each golf club is prone to be scratched or marred. Therefore, most golfers use head covers so as to protect their golf clubs.
A head cover for a golf club typically includes a head cover part and a shaft cover part extending from the head cover part. The shaft cover part has an opening to permit the ingress and egress of the head. The clubs have different head shapes, according to the type of club (a driver, an iron, a putter, etc.). Thus, head covers also have different shapes, according to the types of clubs.
In the case of the putter, a head has a toe and a heel. A shaft is connected to a portion near the heel to be almost perpendicular to the head. Due to such a shape characteristic of the putter, a head cover for a driver or wood cannot be used for the putter. Thus, a particular head cover for the putter is required. The head cover designed for the putter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,167 and No. 4,898,222.
The head cover disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,167 has the shape of a sleeve that is long so as to receive a head. An opening is provided at an end of the head cover to permit the ingress and egress of the head. The cover is made of an elastic material, and is flexible in a horizontal direction. In order to mount the cover on the putter head, the toe of the head is inserted into the opening, and the end of the cover is pulled such that the opening is made long. Next, the heel of the head is inserted into the opening. In such a state, the cover is released. At this time, the head is put into the cover and the opening returns to its original state. The cover has an advantage in that it stably receives the head. However, the head cover is problematic in that a long time must be taken and much effort must be made to attach or detach the cover to or from the putter head. Further, it is impossible to protect a shaft portion of the club using the cover.
A head cover disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,222 is an “L”-shaped cover wherein a head cover part is integrated with a shaft cover part. The head cover part has an open heel end, and the shaft cover part has a long slot that extends from an opening on a heel side to the end of the shaft cover part. The slot may be easily closed using a Velcro fastener (VELCRO™ fastener). The “L”-shaped cover has advantages in that it is easy to manufacture and the cover is relatively easily attached to or detached from a putter head. However, the heel of the putter, which is received in the cover, protrudes outside through the open heel end of the head cover part, so that the heel may be undesirably scratched or marred. Further, when a pressure is strong, the fastener may become unfastened, so that the cover may be undesirably removed. Thus, the head cover cannot stably receive the head of the putter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a head cover for golf clubs, which is improved to be suitable for a putter. Another object of the present invention is to provide a head cover for golf clubs, which stably receives all of a club head, and is relatively easily attached to or detached from the club head.
In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a head cover for golf clubs, including a first receiving part which receives a club head, and a second receiving part which receives a portion of a shaft adjacent to the head and is integrated with the first receiving part. The first receiving part has a toe end and a heel end, and the second receiving part extends from a heel end of the first receiving part to be perpendicular to the first receiving part. Thus, according to this invention, an external appearance and an internal space of the head cover have an “L” shape.
The toe end and the heel end of the first receiving part are completely isolated from the exterior. The second receiving part has an expandable slot which extends linearly from an end opening to the heel end. A pair of separable fasteners is provided on opposite sides of the slot. The fasteners are magnets or Velcro fasteners. The slot may comprise one or two slots. When the slot comprises two slots, a pivotable cover is realized on a rear portion of the second receiving part by the slots.
The slot is expanded by an opening force. The club head is inserted into the first receiving part through the expanded slot. A toe and a heel of the club head contact the inner surfaces of the closed toe end and heel end of the first receiving part, so that the toe and the heel of the club head do not protrude outside. Thus, the club head can be safely protected. The slot is closed by the fasteners. At this time, the shaft passes through the end opening of the second receiving part, and the portion of the shaft adjacent to the head is safely positioned in the second receiving part.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a head cover for golf clubs, according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a development view of a sheet forming the external appearance of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a view to illustrate the use of the head cover of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a head cover for golf clubs, according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a development view of a sheet forming the external appearance of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 6;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of portion “E” of FIG. 9; and
FIG. 11 is a view to illustrate the use of the head cover of FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same components.
Referring to FIG. 1, a head cover for golf clubs, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, is designated as reference numeral 10. The head cover 10 is made of a flexible material, and includes a first receiving part 11 that accommodates a head of a golf club therein, and a second receiving part 12 that accommodates the portion of a shaft adjacent to the head and is integrated with the first receiving part 11. The first receiving part 11 has a toe end 13 which is completely closed, thereby being isolated from the exterior, and a heel end 14. The second receiving part 12 extends from the heel end 14 of the first receiving part 11 in such a way as to be perpendicular to the first receiving part 11. Thus, the head cover 10 has an “L”-shaped appearance. The second receiving part 12 has an end opening 15 and one slot 16. The shaft of the golf club passes through the end opening 15, and the slot 16 extends linearly from the end opening 15 to the heel end 14. Reference numeral 19 denotes an auxiliary sheet that isolates the heel end 14 from the exterior.
Referring to FIG. 2, the “L”-shaped head cover 10 is formed by a main sheet 17 and the auxiliary sheet 19. The main sheet 17 has a “T” shape, and a hole 18 is formed at a center in a rear portion of the main sheet 17 to provide a smooth curved surface to the heel end 14. The auxiliary sheet 19 is provided to close the hole 18 of the main sheet 17. The main sheet 17 is folded along the imaginary lines in the drawing. Next, facing upper edges 17a-17b, 17a-17c and 17d-17e are sewn to each other, and the auxiliary sheet 19 is sewn to close the hole 18 of the main sheet 17. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, the “L”-shaped head cover 10 having the toe end 13 and the heel end 14 which are closed and isolated from the exterior is obtained. After being folded, side edges 17f-17g and lower edges 17h-17i of the main sheet 17 face each other but are not sewn to each other. Thus, the end opening 15 and the slot 16 of the second receiving part 12 are formed as shown in FIG. 1. Since the sheets 17 and 19 for forming the “L”-shaped head cover 10 are illustrative and not restrictive, various numbers and shapes of sheets may be provided to form the head cover.
As shown in FIG. 3, the head cover 10 is a double-layered structure having an outer covering 20 and an inner liner 21. The outer covering 20 includes the main sheet 17 and the auxiliary sheet 19. The inner liner 21 is sewn along the outer edge of the outer covering 20. Preferably, the material of the liner 21 is more flexible and softer than that of the outer covering 20. The entire internal space S of the head cover 10 extends in the form of an “L”. A head 102 of the golf club is seated in the first receiving part 11. At this time, a toe 102a and a heel 102b of the club head 102 are in contact with the inner surfaces of the toe end 13 and the heel end 14 which are closed. Further, a shaft 101 of the club passes through the end opening 15 of the second receiving part 12, and the portion of the shaft 101 which is adjacent to the head 102 is located in the second receiving part 12.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the slot 16 is closed by a pair of fasteners 22a and 22b which are provided on opposite sides of the slot 16 and are separable from each other. According to this embodiment, the fasteners 22a and 22b are magnets. However, according to another embodiment, the fasteners may comprise a Velcro™ tape, hooks, and other known fastening means, in place of the magnets. Further, according to this embodiment, the fasteners 22a and 22b are located in the liner 21. However, this invention does not limit the arrangement of the fasteners 22a and 22b.
Referring to FIG. 5, the slot 16 is expanded by a force which acts to open the end opening 15 of the second receiving part 12. When a user desires to cover the club head with the head cover 10, the club head 102 is inserted into the first receiving part 11 through the expanded slot 16, and the portion of the shaft 101 which is adjacent to the club head 102 is inserted into the second receiving part 12. Further, when a force for opening the end opening 15 is released, the slot 16 is closed by the magnetic force of the fasteners 22a and 22b (see, the arrows of FIG. 5). When a user desires to remove the head cover 10 from the club head 102, the slot 16 is expanded in the same manner as described above. In such a state, the head cover 10 is removed from the head 102.
FIG. 6 shows a head cover for golf clubs, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the head cover is denoted by reference numeral 30. The head cover 30 includes components 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22a, and 22b that constitute the head cover 10, according to the first embodiment of this invention. The head cover 30 of the second embodiment is different from the head cover 10 of the first embodiment in that two slots 16 are parallelly formed on the head cover 30. The two slots 16 provide a second receiving part 12 of the head cover 30 with a pivotable cover 32. Reference numeral 33 denotes a handle of the cover 32, and reference numeral 34 denotes inwards grooves, which allow the cover 32 to be easily pivoted.
Referring to FIG. 7, the “L”-shaped head cover 30 is formed by a main sheet 17 and an auxiliary sheet 19. The main sheet 17 has a “T” shape, with a recess 18 formed at a center in a rear portion of the main sheet 17. The auxiliary sheet 19 is provided to close the recess 18, and has a cover sheet 35 which extends downwards. The two straight line-shaped slots 16 and the cover 32 of FIG. 6 are formed by two pairs of lower edges 17h-17j and 17i-17k which face each other but are not sewn together after being folded along imaginary lines, as shown in the drawing.
Referring to FIG. 8, the entire internal space S of the head cover 30 extends in the form of an “L”. The head 102 of the golf club is seated in the first receiving part 11. At this time, the toe 102a and the heel 102b of the head 102 are in contact with the inner surfaces of the toe end 13 and the heel end 14 which are closed. Further, the shaft 101 passes through the end opening 15 of the second receiving part 12, and the portion of the shaft 101 which is adjacent to the head 102 is located in the second receiving part 12.
Referring to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, each slot 16 may be closed by fasteners 22a and 22b that are provided on opposite sides of the slot 16. According to this embodiment, the fasteners 22a and 22b are magnets, and are positioned within coverings 23 secured to edges defining each slot 16. However, this invention does not limit the kind and arrangement of the fasteners 22a and 22b.
Referring to FIG. 11, the slots 16 are expanded simultaneously by a force that lifts up the cover 32 of the second receiving part 12. When a user desires to cover the club head 102 with the head cover 30, the club head 102 is inserted into the first receiving part 11 through the slots 16 which are opened simultaneously, and the portion of the shaft 101 that is adjacent to the head 102 is located in the second receiving part 12. Meanwhile, when a force raising the cover 32 is released, the slots 16 are closed by the magnetic force of the fasteners 22a and 22b. When a user desires to remove the head cover 30 from the club head 102, the slots 16 are expanded in the same manner as described above. In such a state, the head cover 30 is removed from the club head 102. The head cover 30 according to this embodiment is easier to attach to and detach from the club head 102, in comparison with the head cover 10 according to the first embodiment.
As described above, the present invention provides a head cover, which is constructed so that a toe end and a heel end of a first receiving part are isolated from the exterior. Thus, a club head received in the head cover is safely protected from external contact or shocks. Further, the present invention provides a head cover, which forms one or two expandable slots on a second receiving part, thus allowing the head cover to be more easily attached to or detached from a putter head.
Patent Application
20070068611
