Adjustable Golf Club Head Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf clubs with adjustable loft settings face challenges in inconvenient production and use, as well as the lack of audible or tactile feedback during adjustments, making it difficult for users to accurately change loft settings.
Innovation Solution
A golf club design featuring a locking mechanism with intermeshing conical teeth and a spring biasing system that provides audible and tactile feedback through slip gears, allowing for easy adjustment between loft settings while ensuring secure locking in each position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking mechanism with intermeshing teeth is used to secure the head in loft settings, then the reliability of locking is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is divided into discrete components: the head with female teeth, the hosel with male teeth, and a separate spring assembly. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while working together to achieve reliable locking without excessive overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking teeth are designed with conical geometry rather than traditional rectangular or circular profiles. The conical shape provides self-aligning characteristics and smooth engagement/disengagement, improving reliability while maintaining simpler manufacturing processes compared to precision-machined flat or circular teeth.
2Ease of operation
If a spring biasing system is added to provide locking force, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded mechanism automatically provides locking force without requiring external power sources or complex control systems. The spring self-regulates the locking pressure, and the conical teeth self-align during engagement, reducing the need for additional actuators or control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring provides periodic pulsing action during the locking process, where the conical teeth engage in a sequential manner as the head rotates. This periodic engagement pattern allows for smooth, controlled locking without requiring continuous force application or complex timing mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If audible and tactile feedback mechanisms are implemented, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conical locking teeth inherently provide feedback through audible clicking and tactile pulsing during engagement. This natural feedback mechanism eliminates the need for separate electronic sensors or indicators, as the locking action itself generates the feedback signals that inform the user of the current loft setting.
Solution Approach 2:
While not literally using color changes, the patent employs visual indicators (such as colored bands or markings) on the head or hosel that become visible or change appearance as the head rotates to different loft settings, providing an additional visual feedback channel that complements the audible and tactile feedback.
4Ease of manufacture
If conical locking teeth are used instead of traditional teeth, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the manufacturing precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The conical teeth are designed with specific angular parameters (cone angle, tooth width, spacing) that are optimized for both manufacturing ease and engagement precision. By carefully selecting these parameters, the design achieves reliable locking while allowing for simpler manufacturing processes compared to precision-machined flat or circular teeth.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances user experience by providing clear audible and tactile feedback during adjustments, simplifying the process of changing loft settings and ensuring secure locking, thus improving usability and marketability.
Implementation Method 1
biasing means that provides a locking force that seeks to move the head and hosel apart and, in doing so, causes the head to remain locked in one or other of a selection of loft settings; the biasing force is provided by a spring
Implementation Method 2
the head has a series of locking teeth and the hosel has a series of locking teeth, these being arranged such that they intermesh to lock the head in any of the loft settings; the two series of locking teeth are in a male-female engagement wherein the teeth of the hosel are male and the teeth of the head are female
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club or part thereof may include a ball-strike head 1, a hosel 2 having a shank 5 that extends along at least part of, and that engages with, the head, biasing means (eg a spring 9) that provides a locking force that seeks to move the head 1 and hosel apart 2 and, in doing so, causes the head to remain locked in one or other of a selection of loft settings 4. The club or part thereof being such that hand force can be applied to move the head 1 inwards to overcome the locking force to free the head to be turned into another of the loft settings 4. The arrangement is such that subsequent reverse movement of the head will cause it to be locked in that other setting.