Golf putter alignment system

Abstract

A golf putter alignment system for viewing an orientation of a putter face relative to a putting line. A mirrored viewing surface is retained at a viewing angle by a selective, adjustable mounting system with an engaging portion, a pivot joint for angular adjustment, and a sliding joint for lateral position adjustment. The pivot joint can be a sleeve joint with an outer sleeve pivotable about a longitudinal axis relative to a core member. The sliding joint can be formed with the viewing surface slidable in relation to an elongate member, such as by being retained by a housing that is slidable in relation to the elongate member. A scope surface with an alignment scope can be retained in spaced relation to the viewing surface. In embodiments, the viewing surface can be disposed within the putter head, and a block of transparent material can have a face forming the putter face.

Claims

1. A golf putter alignment system for providing a golfer with a view of an orientation of a putter face of a putter head of a golf putter relative to a putting line, the golf putter alignment system comprising: a putter head with a putter face; a mirrored viewing surface disposed within the putter head wherein the mirrored viewing surface is retained in a plane at a viewing angle of approximately 45 degrees in relation to a plane of the putter face to establish a line of sight from a position above the putter head to a path orthogonal to the orientation of the putter face; wherein the putter head comprises a block of transparent material with a substantially triangular cross section with a first face comprising at least a portion of the putter face, a second face comprising a scope surface, and a third face juxtaposed with the mirrored viewing surface wherein the block of transparent material comprises a solid block of a single crystal of material comprising sapphire (Al2O3), wherein the putter head comprises the block of transparent material and a lower wall, wherein the mirrored viewing surface is disposed on the lower wall, and wherein the lower wall is formed from a single crystal of grown Sapphire (Al2O3) formed separately from the block of transparent material; an alignment scope disposed on the scope surface wherein the alignment scope comprises a crosshair scope with a circular portion and orthogonally disposed crosshairs that meet at a center of the circular portion and wherein the crosshair scope is laterally centered on the scope surface; a sight line disposed on the viewing surface wherein the sight line is disposed in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the putter face; and a putter shaft fixed to the putter head.

2. The golf putter alignment system of claim 1 wherein the crosshair scope is applied to the block of transparent material by etching, frosting, or scoring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the accompanying drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an alignment system as disclosed herein mounted to a golf club putter;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the alignment system of FIG. 1, again mounted to a golf putter;

(4) FIG. 3 is a view in front elevation of the alignment system of FIG. 1 mounted to a golf putter;

(5) FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of the alignment system of FIG. 1 mounted to a golf putter in an adjusted disposition;

(6) FIG. 5 is a view in front elevation of the alignment system of FIG. 1 mounted to a golf putter in an alternatively adjusted disposition;

(7) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein the alignment system is directly incorporated into a golf putter;

(8) FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the golf club putter with an alignment system of FIG. 6; and

(9) FIG. 8 is a rearward perspective view of the golf club putter with an alignment system of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(10) The golf putter alignment system disclosed herein is subject to a variety of embodiments, each within the scope of the invention. However, to ensure that one skilled in the art will be able to understand and, in appropriate cases, practice the present invention, certain preferred embodiments of the broader invention revealed herein are described below and shown in the accompanying drawing figures.

(11) Looking more particularly to the drawings, an embodiment of the golf putter alignment system is indicated generally at 10 in FIG. 1. There, the alignment system 10 is shown mounted to a golf putter 100, the golf putter 100 having a putter head 112 retained by a putter shaft 114. The putter head 112 has a putter face 116 for striking putts. A sight line 118 is centrally disposed on the putter head 112 with an orientation perpendicular to the plane of the putter face 116.

(12) The putter face 116 presents a substantially planar ball striking surface disposed in a plane of orientation. The plane of orientation has a vertical alignment angle measured by the orientation of the plane with respect to vertical and a horizontal alignment angle measured by the orientation of the plane with respect to a desired target line of a golf ball on initial impact with the putter face 116.

(13) The vertical alignment angle of the putter face 116, which may alternatively be referred to as the loft of the putter face 116, at and through impact determine the launch angle and spin of the golf ball. The effective loft applied to the putted ball will be the result of the static loft of the putter face 116 and the shaft lean at impact. The desired vertical alignment angle or launch angle of the putter face 116 at impact may vary depending on the golfer, the design of the putter 100, the actual putting situation, and other factors. For instance, a flat launch angle and initial top spin of the putted ball might be preferred by certain golfers on fast greens so that a delofting of the putter face 116 may be sought while another situation, such as on a slow or soft green, may warrant a vertical alignment angle at or even above the static loft of the putter face 116.

(14) While the desired vertical alignment angle of the putter face 116 may vary from golfer to golfer and putting situation to situation, it is nearly universally true that the putter face must be perpendicular to the desired target line at impact for a putt to be struck true to that target line and to have the best opportunity to be made. To that end, most putters 100, like the example depicted, have one or more sight lines 118 or other alignment mechanisms designed to assist the golfer in aligning the putter face 116 perpendicularly to the desired target line at impact. However, as discussed hereinabove, the ability to align putts using such standard sight lines 118 and the overall perception of the orientation of the putter 100 suffers from a number of shortcomings, including the skewing effect deriving from the tilting of the golfer's head and other factors.

(15) The golf putter alignment system 10 disclosed herein enables the establishment of the desired vertical and horizontal alignment angles at setup and the confirmation of the same through impact with the goal of improving putting accuracy and permitting a holing of putts with greater efficiency. Pursuant to the depicted embodiment of the invention, a mirrored viewing surface 18 is selectively and adjustably retained relative to the putter 100 for providing a line of sight 20 from the golfer's eyes while standing over the putter 100 and the putt that is reflected along a target line. As taught herein, the location and orientation of the mirrored viewing surface 18 in relation to the putter 100 can be adjusted, including to move the mirrored viewing surface 18 longitudinally in relation to the putter shaft 114 and to adjust the angular disposition of the mirrored viewing surface 18 in relation to the putter 100 and thus the golfer's line of sight 20 about vertical and horizontal axes of rotation. The path and orientation of the line of sight 20 can thus be readily adjusted to facilitate accurate setup of the golfer and the putter 100 in relation to an intended target line and to provide accurate feedback with respect to putter orientation and movement at and through impact with a golf ball.

(16) In the embodiment of the putter alignment system 10 of FIGS. 1 through 5, the viewing surface 18 is retained by a housing 30. The mirrored viewing surface 18 can be of any type capable of providing a reflection to permit a reflected line of sight 20. Accordingly, the viewing surface 18 could be formed by a mirror, a highly polished surface, or some other structure capable of providing a reflection. The housing 30 has a peripheral wall 32 and a lower wall 26 that together define an inner volume of the housing 30. The housing 30 has an open top and an open front. The open top of the housing 30 is bounded by the peripheral wall 32, and the open front has an upper boundary formed by a lower edge of the peripheral wall 32 and a lower boundary formed by a leading edge of the lower wall 26. The upper edge of the peripheral wall 32 resides in a plane. In certain embodiments, the viewing surface 18 could be formed from a polishing or other treatment of the surface of the lower wall 26 to provide a reflection.

(17) The lower wall 26 in this embodiment is formed as a panel of material. The lower wall 26 could alternatively be a surface of a block or other structure. The lower wall 26 is disposed at a viewing angle, such as approximately forty-five degrees)(45, in relation to the peripheral wall 32 and the plane in which the upper edge of the peripheral wall 32, the edge of the peripheral wall distal to the lower wall 26, resides.

(18) A scope surface 22 is retained in a plane parallel to, potentially substantially coplanar with, the upper edge of the peripheral wall 32. The lower wall 26 is thus disposed at the viewing angle relative to the scope surface 22. The scope surface 22 is translucent, preferably transparent. The scope surface 22 could be formed from a panel of transparent material, or the scope surface 22 could be the surface of a block of transparent material. Such a block of transparent material forming the scope surface 22 could, for example, occupy all or substantially all of the inner volume of the housing 30.

(19) A crosshair alignment scope 25 is applied to the transparent or translucent scope surface 22. The crosshair scope 25 could be applied in any manner. By way of non-limiting examples, the crosshair scope 25 could be applied by printing, by etching, frosting, scoring, by decal application, or by any other method or combination thereof. The crosshair scope 25 has a circular portion 34 and orthogonally disposed crosshairs 24 that meet at the center of the circular portion 34 with one crosshair 24 aligned with a plane perpendicular to the surface of the lower wall 26 and a second crosshair 24 aligned with a plane parallel to the surface of the lower wall 26. The crosshair scope 25 is laterally centered on the scope surface 22 and in relation to the housing 30.

(20) The housing 30 and the mirrored viewing surface 18 retained thereby are selectively and adjustably affixed to the shaft 114 of the putter 100 by a mounting system. The mounting system has an engaging portion for selectively attaching to the shaft 114, a pivot joint 35 for permitting adjustment of the angular orientation of the housing 30 and the viewing surface 18 relative to the shaft 114, the putter head 112, and the putter 100 in general, and a sliding joint 36 for permitting adjustment of the lateral position of the housing 30 and the viewing surface 18 relative to the shaft 114, the putter head 112, and the putter 100 in general.

(21) The engaging portion is in this embodiment formed by a clip member 28. The clip member 28 is configured to engage the shaft 114 securely to retain the alignment system 10 in place relative to the putter 100. In the depicted embodiment, the clip member 28 engages the shaft 114 in a snap-fit engagement. All or a portion of the clip member 28 could be of high-friction material or coated with a high-friction material, such as a rubberized coating, to resist displacement in relation to the shaft 14 and the golf club 10 in general. A clamping or other securing mechanism, such as a setscrew or any other securing mechanism, can be incorporated for fixing the clip member 28 and, derivatively, the alignment system 10 in place.

(22) The pivot joint 35, which can be best understood with reference to FIG. 2, establishes a pivotable connection between the housing 30 and the engaging portion and thus in relation to the putter 100 to permit adjustment of the angular orientation of the housing 30 and the viewing surface 18 relative to the shaft 114. In this embodiment, the pivot joint 35 comprises a sleeve joint wherein an outer sleeve 37 is pivotable about a longitudinal axis thereof relative to a core member 39. In this embodiment, the outer sleeve 37 and the core member 39 are frictionally engaged. The core member 39 depicted has resilient formations therealong to permit the pivotable but frictional engagement of the outer sleeve 37 relative to the core member 39.

(23) With continued reference to FIG. 2, the sliding joint 36 permits the housing 30 and the viewing surface 18 to be adjusted laterally relative to the shaft 114, the putter head 112, and the putter 100 in general. In the depicted embodiment, the sliding joint 36 is formed by an elongate member, also indicated at 36, with the housing 30 slidable therealong. The elongate member 36 has a non-round cross-section thereby to maintain the housing 30 and the viewing surface 18 in a given orientation relative thereto. In this case, the non-round cross-section comprises having the elongate member 36 formed with four longitudinal ridges that travel longitudinally along the elongate member 36 in what essentially forms a plus sign shaped cross-section. The housing 30 and the viewing surface 18 retained thereby can thus be slid laterally in relation to the putter head 112, the shaft 114, and the putter 100 in general by sliding along the elongate member 36.

(24) Under this construction, a golfer using the alignment system 10 can be provided with a true line of sight 20 with multi-point visual alignment of the orientation of the putter face 116 in relation to a target line and a golf ball 200 thereby to enable the golfer to better align and strike putts along the desired target line. As can be perceived, for instance, by further reference to FIG. 2, a golfer looking directly down onto the golf putter head 112 and the alignment system 10 will readily be able to perceive and confirm the multi-point alignment of the crosshair scope 25, including the orthogonally-disposed crosshairs 24, the putter head 112, including with the sight line or lines 118 thereof, the golf ball 200, and the actual orientation of the putter head 112 in relation to the desired target line from the remote vantage point provided by the viewing surface 18. As may be desirable or necessary, the orientation and lateral position of the alignment system 10 in relation to the putter head 112 and the putter 100 in general can be readily adjusted. For instance, the lateral position of the alignment system 10 can be adjusted by use of the sliding joint 36 to ensure lateral alignment of the crosshair scope 25 in relation to the sight line or lines 118 of the putter head 112. Further, as is suggested by FIGS. 4 and 5, for instance, the line of sight 20 provided by the mirrored viewing surface 18 of the alignment system 10 can selectively be adjusted by adjusting the angle of the alignment system 10 and the viewing surface 18 by use of the pivot joint 35, such as to adjust the viewing surface 18 to a neutral position as in FIG. 3, to a negatively canted disposition as in FIG. 4, or to a positively canted position as in FIG. 5.

(25) While the viewing surface 18 is in this example fixed in relation to the housing 30, the disposition of the viewing surface 18 can be readily adjusted by adjusting the disposition of the housing 30 by use of the engaging portion, the pivot joint 35, and the sliding joint 36. It will be understood that, while the viewing surface 18 is fixed in relation to the housing 30 in the depicted embodiment, manifestations of the invention with a viewing surface 18 adjustable in relation to the housing 30 are possible and within the scope of the invention except as may be expressly excluded by the claims.

(26) An alternative embodiment of the alignment system is again indicated generally at 10 in FIGS. 6 through 8. There, the alignment system 10 again has a mirrored viewing surface 18 retained at an angle in relation to a putter head 112 of a putter 100. Here, however, the viewing surface 18 and the alignment system 10 in general are integrated into the putter head 112. The lower wall 26 relative to which the reflective surface 18 is retained can comprise a surface of a panel of material or of a posterior block of material. The lower wall 26 and the viewing surface 18 are aligned in lateral orientation with the putter face 116 and are maintained at a given vertical viewing angle, such as forty-five degrees, relative to the vertical orientation of the putter 100 such that the line of sight 20 of the golfer looking into the viewing surface 18 from a position directly above the putter head 112 will be reflected by the viewing surface 18 to travel along a path orthogonal to the actual orientation of the putter face 116. It will again be noted that the angle at which the viewing surface 18 is disposed may vary to accommodate, for example, different users and putter designs. With this, the golfer can be precisely apprised of the orientation of the putter face 116 relative to a desired path of travel of a struck golf ball 200.

(27) A scope surface 22 is retained in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the putter face 116. Accordingly, a plane of the scope surface 22 is disposed at the viewing angle, such as forty-five degrees, relative to the reflective surface 18. The scope surface 22 is translucent, preferably transparent. The scope surface 22 could be formed on a panel of transparent material, or the scope surface 22 could be the surface of a block of transparent material. In this example, the scope surface 22 comprises the upper surface of a solid block of transparent material with a right triangular lateral cross-section with a first leg of the triangle forming the putter face 116, a second leg of the triangle forming the scope surface 22, and the hypotenuse of the triangle disposed in juxtaposition with the reflective surface 18.

(28) A crosshair alignment scope 25 is applied to the transparent or translucent scope surface 22. The crosshair scope 25 could be applied in any manner. By way of non-limiting examples, the crosshair scope 25 could be applied by printing, by etching, frosting, scoring, by decal application, or by any other method or combination thereof. The crosshair scope 25 has a circular portion and orthogonally disposed crosshairs 24 that meet at the center of the circular portion 34 with one crosshair 24 aligned with a plane perpendicular to the surface of the lower wall 26 and a second crosshair 24 aligned with a plane parallel to the surface of the lower wall 26. The crosshair scope 25 is laterally centered on the scope surface 22 and in relation to the putter face 116. A further sight line 118 is disposed on the viewing surface 18 traveling in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the putter face 116.

(29) In certain embodiments of the alignment system 10, the scope surface 22 comprises the upper surface of a solid block of a single crystal of material, such as a single crystal Sapphire. The single crystal of material has a right triangular lateral cross section with a first leg of the triangle forming the putter face 116, a second leg of the triangle forming the scope surface 22, and the hypotenuse of the triangle disposed in juxtaposition with the viewing surface 18. The single crystal could be formed from a single Sapphire of natural origin. However, the present inventor has appreciated that a single crystal of material forming the solid block could be formed from a single crystal of laboratory-grown sapphire (Al.sub.2O.sub.3). Advantageously, such a single crystal of grown Sapphire demonstrates exceptional hardness and durability. Furthermore, as a single crystal, the anterior block of material forming the scope surface 22 and the putter face 116 is perfectly uniform in performance. Just as advantageously, the single crystal can be cut or formed with a substantially perfectly flat putter face 116. The grown sapphire crystal can be crafted to have substantially perfectly consistent optical properties. With this, the putter face 116 can be employed to strike golf balls in an entirely consistent and accurate manner.

(30) In each embodiment, the material forming the lower wall 26 could be chosen from a variety of materials within the scope of the present invention. For example, it could be formed from any one of a variety of metals including brass or an aluminum, steel, or other metal alloy. In certain embodiments, it may be necessary or desirable to form the lower wall 26 also from a single crystal of grown Sapphire, which could be integral with or formed separately from the anterior block of material forming the scope surface 22 and the putter face 116.

(31) Under the construction of FIGS. 6 through 8, the golfer using the alignment system 10 can be provided with a true line of sight 20 with multi-point visual alignment of the orientation of the putter face 116 in relation to a target line and a golf ball 200. The golfer can then align and, ideally, strike putts along the desired target line. As can be perceived, for instance, by further reference to FIG. 7, a golfer looking directly down onto the golf putter head 112 and the alignment system 10 will readily be able to perceive and confirm the multi-point alignment of the crosshair scope 25, including the orthogonally-disposed crosshairs 24, the putter head 112, including with the sight line or lines 118 thereof, the golf ball 200, and the actual orientation of the putter head 112 in relation to the desired target line from the remote vantage point provided by the viewing surface 18. The alignment system 10 provides the golfer with the added advantage of an integral alignment mechanism 10 within the putter head 112 itself and directly within the golfer's viewing area. The golfer is thus able to view the alignment of the putter head 112 and the intended target line simultaneously. As a result, the golfer is also better able to align his or her body relative to the intended target line to ensure a proper putting stroke and to confirm proper putter orientation during setup and through the putting stroke without a need for adjustments or attachments. Golf putters 100 incorporating the alignment system 10 can be manufactured and used in compliance with the Rules of Golf.

(32) From the foregoing, it will be clear that the present invention for a golf putter alignment system has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments. These, however, merely exemplify the broader invention revealed herein. Certainly, those skilled in the art can conceive of alternative embodiments. For instance, those with the major features of the invention in mind could craft embodiments that incorporate those major features while not incorporating all of the features included in the preferred embodiments.

(33) With this in mind, the following claims shall define the scope of protection to be afforded to the inventor, and those claims shall be deemed to include equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. A plurality of those claims may express or be interpreted to express certain elements as a means for performing a specific function, at times without the recital of structure or material. As the law demands, any such claims shall be construed to cover not only the corresponding structure and material expressly described in the specification but also equivalents thereof.