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  Grip protectorUSPTO Application #: 20070082749Title: Grip protector Abstract: A protection device for the golf club grips includes a compartment adapted to slideably receive the grip and protect the grip from moisture, precipitation and debris. In one embodiment, multiple compartments are combined to create a useful club tote having a strap for carrying and a clip for attaching to a golf-bag. The device advantageously enables the golfer to carry a partial set of clubs on the fairway or green, or during practice at a driving range, protecting the clubs from moisture, precipitation and debris when the unused clubs rest on the ground or lean against an object when not being used. (end of abstract) Agent: Peter A. Haas, Esquire - Portland, OR, US Inventor: Peter K. Larson USPTO Applicaton #: 20070082749 - Class: 473300000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Golf, Club Or Club Support, Grip The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070082749. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/249,001 filed on Oct. 12, 2005 titled "Grip Protector" by the same, common inventor. BACKGROUND [0002] This invention relates generally to a protective device for shafts and more specifically to a protective sleeve for golf-club grips. [0003] There are an estimated 26-million golfers in the United States and an estimated 55-million golfers worldwide. And, golf, as both a recreational pastime and professional sport, enjoys increasing popularity. [0004] With this increasing popularity there is a growing demand for improved courses, apparel, equipment, and accessories. For example, the current market supports many products designed to enhance play. Certain products are designed to enhance play during inclement weather and, thus, the market is replete with a variety of umbrellas, wind shirts, rain jackets, and other paraphernalia designed to extend the golfer's ability to play in rainy, cold, and windy conditions. [0005] Often, inclement weather causes the golf-club grips to become wet. Golf clubs, like most sports equipment, perform best when they are dry and clean. And, the grips on golf clubs perform best when they are dry and clean because, to maintain good contact with the club, especially during a swing, the golfer relies on a grip that offers tacky and dry interface between the club and the golfer's hands. Wet grips also degrade the impact-absorbing feature of golf club grips. The combined affect of inclement weather and wet grips may result in a poor shot, or in extreme cases, damage to the club or injury to the golfer, other golfers in the group, or spectators as the club unexpectedly and suddenly launches from the hands of the swinging golfer. [0006] The prior art unsuccessfully addresses wet grips. To date, the solution to this bothersome problem includes wiping the grip with a towel. However, this solution is not without problems. For example, during inclement weather maintaining a dry towel in itself is a challenging task. Also, repeated use during inclement weather diminishes the ability of the towel to absorb water. [0007] Moreover, this towel solution is inadequate even when the weather conditions are ideal. For example, many golfers use the towel to clean the club head after a shot. This practice, while quite common, may inadvertently introduce dirt and debris on the grip. [0008] Some golfers frequently use a towel to protect their grips from precipitation, moisture, and debris in numerous situations while golfing. For example, many players golf during rainy or otherwise wet weather. When a golfer takes one club out of the bag for the next shot, the golfer attempts to keep the grip dry before and after the shot. Frequently, the golfer takes two or more clubs from the bag and carries the clubs to the ball in play because the golfer is not sure which club will be optimal. Club selection depends on the lie of the ball, wind, obstacles, and the distance desired. And, several common situations that necessitate the extraction of two or more clubs from the bag include an elevated tee box that is not accessible for a motorized cart and not easily accessible for a pull cart, a shot on a fairway between the tee box and green area when motorized carts--by course rules--are prohibited from leaving the cart path, or an approach shot near the green when the golfer also carries the putter in anticipation of the final stroke. In each of these situations a golfer often uses a towel to cover the grips while they are walking, standing, and--while hitting his shot--the golfer covers the grips of the other clubs as they lay on the ground or against a tree or other object. [0009] Another situation arises when there is no precipitation, but the ground is wet from previous precipitation or watering. In these conditions when a golfer takes more than one club to the ball, a towel covers the grips of the other clubs that they lay on the ground. [0010] Also, golfers use a towel to protect their grips in practice situations where they take two or more clubs to a practice area instead of taking their bag of clubs. While they are hitting practice shots with one club, they typically lean the other clubs against a club stand or lay them on the ground. If there is precipitation or if the ground is wet, they face the same challenges of keeping the grips dry as when they are golfing. [0011] The current method of using a towel to maintain dry grips is problematic because the task of maintaining a dry towel itself is an onerous task, for example. Also, the towel cannot adequately be utilized as a transport device for a small set of clubs. And, placing the towel on the ground enables moisture to penetrate the towel and reach the grips. Further, the towel does not adequately protect the grips from inadvertent contact from foreign objects. [0012] Today's golfer, therefore, needs a solution that eliminates, or at least greatly reduces the exposure of grips to moisture, dirt, and debris. Such a solution should allow the golfer to transport a small quantity of clubs, one or more clubs, for example, from the golf-bag or cart to the location of their ball in play. Such a solution must allow the golfer to place one or more clubs directly on the course surface without causing dirt, moisture, or other debris to adhere to the grip. Such a solution, further, should allow the golfer to handle a small quantity of clubs with the grips protected from rain or other precipitation as the golfer walks about. [0013] Existing protection devices for golf clubs do not offer this needed protection and may be classified as head protection devices, combined head and shaft protection devices, or entire club protection devices. [0014] For example, certain head-protection devices for golf clubs are known including U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,516 ('516)to Chang, U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,814 ('814) to Choe, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,025 ('025) also to Choe. However, each of the devices of the aforementioned patents do not adequately protect the grip from the problems mentioned above. Specifically, Choe '814 discloses a head cover designed for use in the bag and arranged to protect the head regardless of head-size of the club comprising a head-sock with elastic member and an elongated guide sleeve extending from the head-sock. Similarly, Choe '025 discloses a universal head cover connected to a shaft protection part. And, Chang '516 discloses an integrally molded head sheath and neck sleeve. Each of the foregoing does not include or contemplate a protection device for the grip end of the club. [0015] Other devices protect the both the head and shaft-portion of a golf club. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,742 ('742) to Maeng, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,950 ('950) also to Maeng disclose a hingeably coupled cover for the head and shaft of a golf club. And, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,193,063 and 6,431,233 to Malkoff describe a golf club protective cover with a semi-rigid upper enclosure to protect the club head and a sock-like lower enclosure for protection of the club shaft. U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,884 to Flory discloses a golf club combined with shaft protector comprising a hollow, foamed, spongy elastomeric tube with a generally central space for receiving a golf club shaft. Again, each of these aforementioned references does not address or contemplate protection of the grip. [0016] Still other references present devices to protect the entire club. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,280 to Gevas discloses a two-piece golf bag hood for attaching to the top of a conventional or customized golf bag. And, U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,692 to Park discloses a protection device having a flanged tubular insert for placement into the top neck of a golf club protection tube and a y-shaped armature for capturing the head of the club. Both these disclosures utilize existing golf bags as part of the protection system. [0017] U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,987 to Clark presents a golf club protection system including a plurality of tubes for insertion into a golf bag. Each generally hollow tube has an open free end (at the grip end) and a closed head end, and intermediate to the two ends the system includes a partition so the ends can be removed to facilitate insertion and extraction of the club. [0018] Moreover, the marketplace, such as sporting-good stores, golf pro-shops, and big-box retailer, plus an observed lack of suitable devices on many golf courses demonstrates a long-felt need that is not being addressed. Today's golfers do not have any devices adapted to protect the golf-club grip other than the inadequate, but traditional, towel. [0019] Thus, there remains a need for a golf club protection device that solves the problems unique to the grip-end of the club. Moreover, such a protection device ideally suited to the rigors of use would be readily storable, resist moisture penetration, be of light-weight construction, be durable, resist tearing and punctures, provide a surface suitable for featuring a brand name, logo, or other indicia of origin or serve as advertisement for promotional purposes, be readily cleanable, be easy to use, convenient to carry, inexpensive to produce, ergonomic, and easy to store when not in use, for example. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0020] To overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and to solve heretofore-unidentified problems and address a gap left by existing technology and create a new market segment, the present invention comprises a golf-club grip protection device that is ideally suited to the rigors of use. The present invention is readily storable, resists moisture penetration, is of light-weight construction, is durable, resists tearing and punctures, provides a surface suitable for featuring a brand name, logo, or other indicia of origin or serve as advertisement for promotional purposes, is readily cleanable, is easy to use, is convenient to carry, is inexpensive to produce, is ergonomically designed, and is easy to store when not in use, for example. [0021] In one exemplary embodiment, the present invention comprises a protective device for a golf-club grip, the device comprising: a substantially tubular sleeve body comprising at least one sidewall adapted to form a compartment, the body having an opening at one end, and the body being adapted to slideably receive the golf-club grip. Optionally, the device includes a generally rectilinear cross section or a generally elliptical cross section. And, the device has at least one sidewall comprising an exterior surface having a fastening means for connecting the device to a complimentary fastening means on a second device. The device optionally has a clip-type fastening means for enabling the device to attach to a golf bag. The device further comprises a strap means for enabling a golfer to easily carry the device. And, the device further comprises a spacer means adjacent to and coupled to the at least one sidewall. [0022] In another exemplary embodiment, the present invention includes a protective device for a golf-club grip. The device comprises: a first substantially tubular sleeve body comprising at least one side-wall adapted to form a compartment, the body having an opening at one end, and the body being adapted to slideably receive the golf-club grip; and a second sleeve body adapted to form a second compartment having a first opening and an oppositely spaced second opening, the second sleeve body arranged to engage the first sleeve body by an engaging means. In addition, the protective device includes engaging means comprising a pivot element positioned adjacent to the open end of the first sleeve and intermediate to the first opening of the second sleeve to enable pivotable rotation through at least about 180 degrees. Optionally, the device includes engaging means comprising a telescoping member element positioned adjacent to the open end of the first sleeve and intermediate to the first opening of the second sleeve to enable slideable movement between the first and second sleeve. Alternatively, the device includes engaging means comprising a first fastening element arranged about a first exterior perimeter of the first sleeve body, the first fastening element adapted to selectively receive a mating binding element; and a second fastening element arranged about a second exterior perimeter of the second sleeve body and adapted to selectively receive the mating binding element. In another form, the device further comprises a plurality of sleeve bodies wherein at least one sleeve body includes an engaging means. And, the protective device includes engaging means comprising a pivot element positioned adjacent to the open end of the first sleeve and intermediate to the first opening of the second sleeve to enable pivotable rotation through at least about 180 degrees. Or, the protective device has engaging means comprising a telescoping member element positioned adjacent to the open end of the first sleeve and intermediate to the first opening of the second sleeve to enable slideable movement between the first and second sleeve. Continue reading... Full patent description for Grip protector Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Grip protector patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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