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  Web micropattern grip surfaceUSPTO Application #: 20070082750Title: Web micropattern grip surface Abstract: A web micropattern grip surface for use on a grip, and particularly a grip for a golf club, wherein the pattern is defined by upstanding ridges. The ridges have components of extension that extend both longitudinally on the grip and circumferentially around the grip. In one embodiment, neighboring ridges may be parallel. Ridges are oriented to intersect forming a web pattern. The density of ridge elements and the width and height of the ridge elements is selected to provide drag on the hand or object gripping the grip, preferably in both the longitudinal and circumferential directions, and to give the grip a velvety feel. Various shape web pattern are defined by intersecting webs that surround and define geometric shape areas including parallelogram, polygon, honeycomb and rounded shapes. (end of abstract) Agent: Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen - New York, NY, US Inventor: Timothy Rose USPTO Applicaton #: 20070082750 - 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 20070082750. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is based upon and claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/726,074, filed Oct. 12, 2005, to which a claim of priority is hereby made, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/810,505, filed Jun. 1, 2006, to which a claim of priority is hereby made. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention herein is to produce a microsurface grip pattern with similar functional characteristics to the grip pattern in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/332,993, which is incorporated herein by reference. [0003] Hand grips on golf clubs and other objects have a circumference which is grasped in a user's hand. Typically, the circumferential surface is at least in part rounded or curved, and may also include flat areas. [0004] Gripping the grip tightly enough should prevent movement of the grip longitudinally along a long axis and/or circumferentially around the axis. The grip surface should be comfortable for the person holding the grip. Further, it would be beneficial for the grip surface to enable removal of moisture, oil, perspiration, etc. from the person's hand when holding the grip, and have a surface which allows the grip to be held with the least amount of hand pressure. [0005] There are various designs of hand grips, of which golf grips are an example, which are designed to accomplish at least some of these functions. Some grips have a smooth surface, which is difficult to hold when force is applied to the grip or to the object including the grip, including force applied either around the axis of the grip, that is torsional force, or force applied longitudinally along the axis. A smooth grip must be held more tightly than a roughened grip, thus compromising the performance of a golf club or like products. The surface of the grip may be roughened, for example due to the inherent roughness of a particular material used or due to some treatment of the grip surface. [0006] In most golf grips, the surface is engraved with a pattern that is of a format much larger than the pattern embodiments of the present invention. Such surfaces create a bite or an ability for a golfer's hand to grip against the grip surface with some degree of success. Yet, the engraving patterns do not provide a "drag", "friction", or "resistance" against the skin when lightly grasped and the grip is rotated, or pulled from the user's hand as when the golf club is swung. [0007] As another example, ribs or grooves may be formed at spaced intervals on the grip and may be oriented either circumferentially, longitudinally, obliquely or spirally on the grip; and parallel, oblique to each other or intersecting; or in combinations of all of these. [0008] In another example, there may be molded or otherwise formed protrusions as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,234 and U.S. Application Publication No. 2003/0088946A1. [0009] Arranging elements on the grip to resist slippage in the longitudinal direction may provide good feel and drag circumferentially, but not longitudinally. Arranging the elements circumferentially may provide good feel and drag longitudinally, but not circumferentially. [0010] The micropattern invention concerns surface pattern characteristics that provide multidirectional feel and drag against the hand gripping the grip due to the web style patterns. Such patterns provide a desirable feel because of the connected webbing mesh. The gaps or depressions in the pattern allow the pattern ridges to somewhat flex back and forth against the skin to create the drag. Patterns as shown in FIG. 5 hereof, wherein the thickness of the ridges are not consistent, but rather vary and have wider areas, minimize the flexing of the ridges, as that web is more structural and strong. This type of pattern still provides a similar feel and drag to other micropatterns, which is caused by the skin of the user's hand dipping slightly in and out of the fine depressions of the pattern as the hand moves across the surface of the grip. This more structural type of web pattern allows surface moisture on the grip or on the user's hand, like perspiration to be trapped in the depressions which keeps the grip surface moisture minimized and the grip from becoming too slick during play. [0011] An objective of the designer of a golf grip surface, and other grips, is to have the grip create a "drag" on the gripping hand, so that when the grip is securely gripped, and torsion is thereafter applied to the grip by use of the object to which the grip is attached, as occurs when a golf club is swung and a golf ball is hit for example, the drag resists the torsion and also prevents the grip from slipping from the hand along the axis direction. With light gripping hand pressure (which is made possible by the invention), a golfer will yield the best performance of the golf club and improve his game. As taught by golf professionals, the habit of gripping a golf club grip with light, yet secure hand pressure, largely contributes to the consistency, and accuracy of a golfer's swing, thus allowing the golfer to maximize the performance of his game. In contrast, if a grip surface does not create resistance or drag against the skin like the present invention, a golfer would naturally squeeze the grip harder, thus preventing his swing from being fluid, or natural, which would negatively impact his swing, and ultimately his game. Golfers also like a "velvety" feel on the grip, which provides a comfortable feel, not too slick and not too coarse or rough, which restricts how a grip surface is to be formed for achieving desirable drag. [0012] The majority of golf grips currently being sold are buffed grips. This means that they have a surface that has been sanded. This buffed grip provides a velvety feel or "drag" similar to the effect of the invention to the user. However, particularly when a rubber material grip is sanded, the sealed surface skin of the rubber of the grip is removed and the pores of the rubber are exposed to air, sweat, moisture, and oil from the hands. The grip actually absorbs elements from the environment and from the hand, eventually making the originally velvety feel grip later feel hard or slick, and the velvety feel is lost. In most cases, by the time a golf club is purchased from a retailer and a golfer has begun playing with it, the grip has lost most of its velvety feel before it first goes into play. If a purchaser wants a velvety feel of the grip at least when he purchases the clubs, the loss of the velvety feel of the grip of one club can negatively impact the sale of the golf club and even of a set of golf clubs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] The invention concerns a surface pattern on a grip, particularly a golf grip, that is quite fine and which is called a micropattern. A general definition of micropattern follows the description below of elements and features of such a pattern. [0014] The microsurface gripping pattern or micropattern may be defined as an array of upstanding ridges in the grip material, and in the versions here, the ribs may be comprised of multi-directional lines, arches, enclosing geometric shapes, like polygons, circles, ovals or the like, and the ridges form a web-like pattern of intersecting ribs. No matter what are the shapes of the ridges in the micropattern, the ridges include ridge sections or elements that extend at least somewhat longitudinally, that is, these ridge element components extend longitudinally, and other sections that extend at least somewhat circumferentially, that is, these ridge element components extend circumferentially. [0015] The grip is preferably of rubber, TPE (thermo plastic elastomer), or another elastomeric material. [0016] In one preferred embodiment, the micropattern is a continuous pattern of sets of intersecting ridge elements, which define a series of closed polygons. The polygons are of almost any shape, which is determined by the orientations of the ridges. The polygons may be square, rectangular, parallelepiped, more than four sided, like hexagonal, rounded, or circular or oval, etc. The ridge patterns and the polygons they define may be uniform or non-uniform in shape, so long as they satisfy the above stated characteristics and dimensions. Ridge elements may extend longitudinally along the length direction of the grip, or circumferentially around the grip, or in an oblique direction between longitudinal and circumferential, and wrap spirally around the grip, including combinations of some of these, and the elements may have the directional components noted above. [0017] The pattern of ridges features individual upraised or protruding ridge elements of a height of about 0.005-0.040 inch and for linear ridges, a line width of the ridge sections of about 0.003 to 0.040 inch. For non-linear or non-uniformly thick ridges, the widths vary, but they are preferably not thinner than about 0.003 to 0.040 inch, and are thicker than that along some elements of the ridge. [0018] The web micropattern includes ridge elements that are spaced apart to define gaps between neighboring, but spaced apart ridge elements. The distance from a ridge to the nearest neighboring ridge would not be greater than about 0.080 inch. A gap width of greater size might cause the preferred feel of the grip to be lost. [0019] Dimensions and shapes of a fine micropattern of ridges are described above. The above stated numerical values are examples and provide a sense of the fineness of the micropattern. Any of the dimensions can be varied within the concept of the invention to affect the performance criteria. [0020] Although there is no single required shape or orientation of the ridge elements, their shapes and orientations are selected so that the web micropattern produces drag both in the circumferential and longitudinal directions. To achieve this, the micropattern has ridges extending with a component along the longitudinal direction of the grip and ridges extending with a component along circumferential direction thereof. Preferably, at least some or even all of ridges run obliquely to both those directions. In addition, one set of the ridges intersects another set of the ridges. [0021] The number of ridge elements and pattern repeats over a particular area of the grip surface is not as significant as the fineness and density of the pattern and the height of the ridge elements and/or the depths of the polygons or other geometric shapes between the ridge elements. The micropattern may extend over and cover all of the grip or only a part, depending on the grip designer's preference. Continue reading... Full patent description for Web micropattern grip surface Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Web micropattern grip surface 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. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Web micropattern grip surface or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Micropattern grip surface Next Patent Application: Golf club head having a high-degree elastically deformable structure Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Web micropattern grip surface patent info. 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