US 7,153,220 ยท Granted 2006-12-26
The Reversible Weight Patent That Lets Golfers Tune Their Club Mid-Round
Imagine a golf club where you could flip a weight cartridge inside the head to instantly change how the club feels and plays. This patent describes a clever lid with different-sized weights that can snap into the club head in two different directions, letting golfers customize their shot in seconds without tools.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a golf club head design where a weighted lid with multiple protrusions fits into a recessed pocket in the club body. What's protected here is the specific geometry that allows this lid to be flipped and reinstalled in at least two different orientations, with at least one protrusion having a different weight than the others. This dual-orientation design shifts the club's center of gravity depending on which way the lid is installed.
Why it matters
This patent gives golfers and club manufacturers a way to adjust performance characteristics without redesigning the entire club or requiring multiple clubs. By making the weight member reversible and symmetric, players can adapt their equipment for different course conditions or swing styles during play. This kind of adjustability appeals to serious golfers who want precision tuning and to manufacturers who can sell clubs with customization as a selling point.
Real-world use
A golfer playing in windy conditions could flip the weight cartridge in their driver between holes to shift the club's sweet spot and reduce slice tendencies, all without leaving the course.
Original USPTO abstract
A golf club head includes a body having at least one recessed portion for securely receiving at least one weight member. The weight member includes a lid with a plurality of protrusions respectively received in receiving portions of the recessed portion. At least one of the protrusions has a weight different from those of other protrusions. The lid has a symmetric shape the same as that of the recessed portion of the body, allowing the lid to be mounted in the recessed portion in one of at least two orientations that correspond to at least two different locations of a center of gravity of the golf club head, thereby allowing rapid change in the center of the gravity of the golf club head.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 7,153,220
- Filing date
- 2004-11-16
- Grant date
- 2006-12-26
- Assignee
- Fu Sheng Industrial Co., Ltd.
- Inventor(s)
- LO LAI-FA
- CPC class
- A63B53/04
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