In my published patent application GB-A-2356351 for A Grip with a Void I disclose the use of inserts in a grip assembly for a golf club. The grip assembly disclosed in my aforesaid published patent application comprises a head, a grip and a shaft connecting the head and the grip wherein the grip comprises an elongate, thin-walled, tubular, parallel sided, hollow grip member having a cross-sectional dimension substantially greater than the shaft, first and second support members or inserts spacing the grip member from the shaft. One of the support members is in the form of a curvilinear end cap to complete the grip assembly. An important part of the invention was the provision of a circumferential recess in an insert to act as a reservoir for epoxy adhesive used to assembly the shaft, grip member and inserts together. Whilst this worked to some extent it was not entirely satisfactory since the epoxy tended to self-wipe out of the reservoir during assembly. In addition it was found that the resultant annular ring of epoxy resisted concentric distortion during impact with a golf ball.

US-A-5,674, 134 discloses a shaft extender made of graphite material and the main source of grip is annular grooves which must be pre-filled with adhesive. This suffers from the same problem as mentioned above.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved support member for use in grip assemblies.

According to the present invention there is provided a support member for a grip assembly, the support member comprising an elongate tubular body of elastomeric material, the support member including a plurality of

longitudinal channels extending externally and internally of the insert member for the containment of adhesive.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a grip assembly for a sporting implement, the sporting implement comprising a striking face, a grip assembly and a connecting member between the grip assembly and the striking face, the grip assembly comprising an elongate, thin-walled, hollow grip member having a cross- sectional dimension substantially greater than the connecting member, first and second elastomeric support members spacing the grip member from the connecting member whereby a void is formed within the grip assembly, the first and second support members including a plurality of longitudinal channels, the channels being filled with adhesive material thereby to bind the grip member, the connecting member and the support members together.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a grip assembly for a golf club, the golf club comprising a head and a shaft connecting the head and the grip assembly, the grip assembly comprising an elongate, thin-walled, tubular, hollow, grip member having a cross-sectional dimension substantially greater than the shaft, first and second support members of elastomeric material spacing the shaft from the grip member whereby a void is formed within the grip assembly, the first and second support members including a plurality of longitudinal channels, the channels being filled with adhesive thereby to bind the grip assembly, shaft and support members together.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the undernoted drawings wherein: Figure 1 shows a golf club with a grip assembly in accordance with the invention.

Fig 2 shows a cross-scciona view through a grip assembly in accordance with the invention.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a first support mernber or insert inh accordance with the invention.

Figure 4 shows a second support member or insert in accordance with the invention Figure 5 shows a part sectional perspective view of an insert according to the invention.

Figure 6 shows a'retaining ring for a grip assembly in accordance with the invention.

Figure 7 shows a zoning end cap for a grip assembly in accordance with the invention Figure 8 shows the grip assembly of the invention applied to a tennis racquet.

Figure 9 shows the gnp assembly of the invention applied to a cricket bat In Figure I there is shown a sporting implement in the form of a golf club shown generally at 10. Golf club 10 has a head 11 with a striking face 12 and a ho member 13 and generally depicts a golf club of the driver type although the invention is equally applicable to golf clubs of the iron type and putters. A connecting member in the forum of shaft 14 connects between the hosel 13 and a grip assembly 15 in accordance with the invention. Hosel 13 may be omitted and the shaft 14 may be connected direct to head 11. Shaft 14 may be of any configuration and material.

Grip assembly 15 is shown in more detail in Figure 2 which is a part sectional elevation. Grip assembly 15 has a first end 16 and a second end 17 and includes a thin-walled, tubular, cylindrical, parallel sided, hollow grip member 18. From Figure

2 it is seen the grip member 18 has a cross-sectional dimension, in this case a diameter, substantially greater than shaft 14 so that shaft 14 may enter grip member 18 and extend lengthwise thereof. Grip member 18 is supported at the first end 16 by a first support member or insert 19 of elastomeric material and at the second end 17 by a second support member or insert 20 also of elastomeric material. Support members or inserts 19,20 space the grip member 18 from shaft 14 thereby providing a void 21 within grip assembly 15. In addition the inserts 19,20 act to seal the void from the entry of moisture or other extraneous matter. Grip member 18 may be left to provide a hard surface for gripping by the golfer, however, if preferred a soft wrapping 22 of resilient material may be added to complete the grip assembly. In this case a retaining ring 23, shown in perspective view in Figure 6 is added to secure the wrapping 22 at first end 16. A retaining end cap assembly 24 is added to secure the grip assembly at second end 17. This includes a retaining end cap 25, shown in section in Figure 7, an expanding block 26 of elastomeric material and a lock nut 26A. A locking screw (not shown) completes the assembly and when tightened causes the block 26 to expand thereby locking the assembly against the inside of shaft 14. An outwardly extending flange member 25A on end cap 25 extends over insert 20, grip member 18 and soft wrapping 22 to provide a protective skirt therefor and further secure the assembly. An important part of the invention are the inserts illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. Support member or insert 20 shown in perspective view in Figure 3 is seen to comprise an elongate, tubular, in this case, a cylindrical main body member 27 extending from a front face 28 to face 29 of an

upwardly and outwardly extending flange member 30. From the sectional view of Figure 2 flange member 30 is seen to abut grip member 18, wrapping 22 and end cap 25 thereby acting as a locator for these items Support member or insert 19 shown in Figure 4 is similar in construction to Figure 3 except that a conical or tapered portion 31 is added to flange 30. This serves to provide a gradual transition between the substantially large grip member 18 and shaft 14. Flutes or channels 32 are formed around the outside peripheral surface 33 of the inserts and extend longitudinally almost to face 29 of flange 30. In other words the ends of the channels 32 are blocked off just short of face 29. If they did extend to face 29 they would equally be blocked off by flange 30. Therefore the channels on the outside of the insert do not extend for the entire length of the insert. On the other hand flutes or channels 33 on the internal peripheral surface 34 do extend longitudinally along the entire length of the insert as best seen in the sectional view of Figure 2. Thus some of the channels extend for the whole length of the insert and some do not Lands 34 are left between the channels. From the part sectional perspective view of an insert shown in Figure 5 it is seen that the channels on the inside and outside of the insert are stepped relative to each other so that they are not in register. If they were not stepped in this manner and the channels were in register so that they were disposed opposite to each other the thickness 4S of the insert could be seriously compromised such that rupture could easily take place. It can be seen, therefore, that where a channel is formed on the outside surface of the insert the inside surface directly opposite is in contact with the outside surface of the shaft and where a channel is formed on the inside of an insert the surface opposite on the outside of the insert is in contact with the inside of the grip member. According it can be said that the channels B chosen selectively to abut the grip member and the shaft facilitating concentric distortion during impact.

During assembly the channels are filled with a suitable structural adhesive, for example, an epoxy adhesive which may be a two part epoxy and serves to bind together the assembly of the grip member 18 and shaft 14 qnd the insert : The filling of the channels with adhesive maintains the sealing effect of the inserts. In addition to solving the aforementioned problem of wipe-out when using a circumferential reservoir it has been found the adhesive filled longitudinal channels exhibit a surprisingly greater amount of resistance to torque between the shaft and the grip member. Figure 8 shows the grip assembly of the invention applied to a tennis racquet. is racquet 35 comprises a grip assembly 36 in accordance with the ' ; invention, a connecting member 37 connecting to racquet head 38 having a striking face 39. Figure 9 shows the grip assembly of the invention applied to a <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> cricket bat 40. Cricket bat 40 comprises a grip assembly 4'1 in accordance with the invention and a connecting member 42 connecting to blade 43 having a striking face 44. In a practical embodiment of the invention the inserts were made of Thermo ; plastic elastomer or Thermo plastic rubber having a Shore hardness on the scale A of 45-55 ; 55-65 and 65-75. To a certain extent the length of the insert is dependent on the hardness of the material. For example, with a Shore hardness of 55-65 a preferred length would be approximately 28mm. Generally spealsing fie soher the material the longer the insert The ID of the insert would be approx 14.9 mm and OD 21. 8mm.

The diameter of flange 30 is approximately 31 mm. The channels would have a width of between 2 to 5 mm with a depth of approx 0.3mm. The channels could be formed by a small hand held tool and would end approx 3mm from. the flange 30 with a slight radius. The channels need not be 100% straight and, indeed, a slight wavering or deviation from straightness might be advantageous. The grip member 18 could have a length of approximately 280mm and a diameter ranging between 25 and 45mm with a preferred dia. of approximately 30mm. The wall thickness would be between 0.75 and 2. 00mm depending on the material used. Various hard materials may be used for the grip member such as, polypropylene, high density polyurethane, glass reinforced plastics material, light weight metals and metal alloys with a preferred material being carbon fibre or composite mix A slightly hollow not unpleasant noise can be heard on impacting with a golf ball due, it is thought, to the provision of the void within the grip assembly.