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US 2024/0367016 A1Published application
Core Apparatus for Manufacturing Straight and Bent Graphite Golf-Club Shafts
AssigneeDJ Golf Engineering Inc.
InventorDavid Kelly
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A bendable core insert configured for manufacturing a golf-club shaft. The bendable core includes a bendable relief tube having a first end attached to a top coupling tube and a second end attached to a bottom coupling tube. The bendable relief tube, the top coupling tube, and the bottom coupling tube have respective channels that are aligned to form a continuous channel through opposing ends of the bendable core insert. The length of the bendable core insert corresponds to a length of a corresponding segment of the golf-club shaft. The bendable relief tube is configured to be bent in one or more directions to define a bend profile of the corresponding segment of the golf-club shaft.
Claims22
A bendable core insert configured for manufacturing a golf-club shaft, the bendable core insert comprising:
- a bendable relief tube having:
- opposing first and second relief-tube ends,
- an inner relief-tube diameter that defines a relief-tube channel that extends along a length of the relief tube, and
- an outer relief-tube diameter;
- a first coupling tube having a first end attached to the first relief-tube end, the first coupling tube having:
- an inner first-coupling-tube diameter that defines a first-coupling-tube channel that extends along a length of the first coupling tube, and
- an outer first-coupling-tube diameter;
- a second coupling tube having a first end attached to the second relief-tube end, the second coupling tube having:
- an inner second-coupling-tube diameter that defines a second-coupling-tube channel that extends along a length of the second coupling tube, and
- an outer second-coupling-tube diameter,
- wherein:
- the relief-tube channel, the first-coupling-tube channel, and the second-coupling-tube channel are aligned to form a continuous channel that extends though opposing ends of the bendable core insert,
- a length of the bendable core insert corresponds to a length of a corresponding segment of the golf-club shaft, and
- the bendable relief tube is configured to be bent in one or more directions to define a bend profile of the corresponding segment of the golf-club shaft.
11 more elements
A method of manufacturing a golf-club shaft, comprising:
- coating a bendable core insert with a polymer material, the bendable core insert comprising:
- a bendable relief tube having:
- opposing first and second relief-tube ends,
- an inner relief-tube diameter that defines a relief-tube channel that extends along a length of the relief tube, and
- an outer relief-tube diameter;
- a first coupling tube having a first end attached to the first relief-tube end, the first coupling tube having:
- an inner first-coupling-tube diameter that defines a first-coupling-tube channel that extends along a length of the first coupling tube, and
- an outer first-coupling-tube diameter;
- a second coupling tube having a first end attached to the second relief-tube end, the second coupling tube having:
- an inner second-coupling-tube diameter that defines a second-coupling-tube channel that extends along a length of the second coupling tube, and
- an outer second-coupling-tube diameter,
- wherein:
- the relief-tube channel, the first-coupling-tube channel, and the second-coupling-tube channel are aligned to form a continuous channel that extends though opposing ends of the bendable core insert, and
- a length of the bendable core insert corresponds to a length of a first segment of the golf-club shaft;
- bending the bendable relief tube in one or more directions to define a bend profile of the first segment of the golf-club shaft;
- coating the bendable core insert with a first polymer material along a length of the bendable core insert, the first polymer material having a thickness that defines an outer diameter of the bendable core insert, the outer diameter of the bendable core insert corresponding to an inner diameter of the first segment of the golf-club shaft;
- attaching a removable mandrel to a second end of the first coupling tube to form a shaft insert assembly, the removable mandrel having:
- a length that corresponds to a length of a second segment of the golf-club shaft, and
- a diameter that corresponds to an inner diameter of the second segment of the golf-club shaft;
- covering the shaft insert assembly with a shaft material that includes a composite material and/or a second polymer material to form a covered shaft insert assembly;
- curing the covered shaft insert assembly;
- and
- after curing, removing the removable mandrel from the second end of the first coupling tube to form the golf-club shaft, the golf-club shaft including the bendable core insert.
20 more elements
A golf-club shaft comprising:
- a shaft tube formed of a shaft material that includes a composite material and/or a polymer material, the tube having a channel and first and second sections;
- and
- a polymer-coated core insert in the channel of the first section, the polymer-coated core insert extending along a length of the first segment, wherein the second section is hollow.
A kit for manufacturing a golf-club shaft, comprising:
- a bendable relief tube having:
- opposing first and second relief-tube ends,
- an inner relief-tube diameter that defines a relief-tube channel that extends along a length of the relief tube, and
- an outer relief-tube diameter;
- a first coupling tube having a first end configured to be attached to the first relief-tube end, the first coupling tube having:
- an inner first-coupling-tube diameter that defines a first-coupling-tube channel that extends along a length of the first coupling tube, and
- an outer first-coupling-tube diameter;
- a second coupling tube having a first end configured to be attached to the second relief-tube end, the second coupling tube having:
- an inner second-coupling-tube diameter that defines a second-coupling-tube channel that extends along a length of the second coupling tube, and
- an outer second-coupling-tube diameter;
- and
- a mandrel releasably attached to the first coupling tube,
- wherein when the first coupling tube is attached to the first relief the first relief-tube end and the second coupling tube is attached to the second relief-tube end, the relief-tube channel, the first-coupling-tube channel, and the second-coupling-tube channel are configured to be aligned to form a continuous channel.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.