Aerodynamic golf club head

• US 10,052,531 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2017
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Burnett, Michael Scott, Albertsen, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): DENNIS, MICHAEL DAVID
• Application Number:
  US15/603,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20170252615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 454 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/01 Special aerodynamic features, e.g. airfoil shapes, wings or air passages
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/006 Surfaces specially adapted for reducing air resistance

Abstract

An aerodynamic golf club head having a crown section that imparts beneficial aerodynamic properties due in part to the location of a crown apex and the curvature of the crown section.

Claims

1. A high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) comprising:

A) a hollow body (110) having a club head volume of at least 400 cc, a face (200), a sole section (300), a crown section (400), a front (112), a back (114), a heel (116), and a toe (118), wherein the hollow body (110) has a front-to-back dimension (FB) of at least 4.4 inches;

B) the face (200) having a top edge (210) and a lower edge (220), wherein a top edge height (TEH) is the elevation of the top edge (210) above the ground plane (GP), and a lower edge height (LEH) is the elevation of the lower edge (220) above the ground plane (GP), wherein a maximum top edge height (TEH) is at least 2 inches;

C) the crown section (400) having a crown apex (410) located an apex height (AH) above a ground plane (GP), wherein;

(i) within a front-to-back vertical section through the crown apex (410) and perpendicular to a vertical plane created by a shaft axis (SA), a portion of the crown section (400) between the crown apex (410) and the face (200) has an apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f);

(ii) within a heel-to-toe vertical section through the crown apex (410) and parallel to the vertical plane created by the shaft axis (SA), a portion of the crown section (400), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), has a heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) that is less than 4 inches at the crown apex (410); and

(iii) within the front-to-back vertical section a portion of the crown section (400)), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), between the crown apex (410) and the back (114) has an apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) that is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410);

(iv) a portion of the crown section (400) has a density less than a portion of the sole section (300); and

D) the high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) has;

(i) a first moment of inertia (MOIy) about a vertical axis through a center of gravity (CG) of the high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) that is at least 4000 g*cm²; and

(ii) a second moment of inertia (MOIx) about a horizontal axis through the center of gravity (CG) that is at least 2000 g*cm².

2. The aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 1, wherein the crown section (400) at the crown apex (410) has a density less than a portion of the sole section (300).

3. The aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 2, wherein a portion of the crown section (400) includes nonmetallic material.

4. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 3, wherein the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) is less than 4 inches on a portion of the nonmetallic material crown section (400) located above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH).

5. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 4, wherein the crown section (400) at the crown apex (410) is nonmetallic material, and less than 10% of the club head volume is above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH).

6. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 5, wherein the crown apex (410) is behind the forwardmost point on the face (200) a distance that is a crown apex setback dimension (412), and the crown apex setback dimension (412) is less than 1.75 inches.

7. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 6, wherein the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) at the crown apex (410) is less than the greatest apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) located above the top edge height (TEH).

8. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 7, wherein within the heel-to-toe vertical section, the heel to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) of a portion of the crown section (400), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), is less than 3.85 inches.

9. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 7, wherein within the heel-to-toe vertical section, the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) is less than 4 inches for all of the crown section (400) located above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH) from the crown apex (410) to a most heelward point on the face (200).

10. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 7, wherein within the front-to-back vertical section, the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) of a portion of the crown section (400) is less than 3 inches.

11. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 7, wherein the apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) at the crown apex (410) is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410), and the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) at the crown apex (410) is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410).

12. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 7, wherein within the front-to-back vertical section, the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) of a portion of the crown section (400) is less than 2.85 inches.

13. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 2, wherein the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) in contact with the crown apex (410) is at least 25% less than the greatest apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH).

14. A high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) comprising:

A) a hollow body (110) having a club head volume of at least 400 cc, a face (200), a sole section (300), a crown section (400), a front (112), a back (114), a heel (116), and a toe (118), wherein the hollow body (110) has a front-to-back dimension (FB) of at least 4.4 inches;

B) the face (200) having a top edge (210) and a lower edge (220), wherein a top edge height (TEH) is the elevation of the top edge (210) above the ground plane (GP), and a lower edge height (LEH) is the elevation of the lower edge (220) above the ground plane (GP), wherein a maximum top edge height (TEH) is at least 2 inches; and

C) the crown section (400) having a crown apex (410) located an apex height (AH) above a ground plane (GP), wherein;

(i) within a front-to-back vertical section through the crown apex (410) and perpendicular to a vertical plane created by a shaft axis (SA), a portion of the crown section (400) between the crown apex (410) and the face (200) has an apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f);

(ii) within a heel-to-toe vertical section through the crown apex (410) and parallel to the vertical plane created by the shaft axis (SA), a portion of the crown section (400), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), has a heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) that is less than 4 inches at the crown apex (410);

(iii) within the front-to-back vertical section a portion of the crown section (400)), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), between the crown apex (410) and the back (114) has an apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) that is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410); and

(iv) wherein the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) at the crown apex (410) is less than the greatest apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) located above the top edge height (TEH).

15. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 14, wherein within the heel-to-toe vertical section, the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) is less than 4 inches for all of the crown section (400) located above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH) from the crown apex (410) to a most heelward point on the face (200).

16. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 14, wherein the apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) at the crown apex (410) is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410), and the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) at the crown apex (410) is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410).

17. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 14, wherein the front-to-back dimension (FB) is at least 4.6 inches, the crown apex (410) is behind the forwardmost point on the face (200) a distance that is a crown apex setback dimension (412), the crown apex setback dimension (412) is less than 1.75 inches, the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) in contact with the crown apex (410) is at least 25% less than the greatest apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), and the high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) has (i) a first moment of inertia (MOIy) about a vertical axis through a center of gravity (CG) of the high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) that is at least 4000 g*cm², and (ii) a second moment of inertia (MOIx) about a horizontal axis through the center of gravity (CG) that is at least 2000 g*cm².

18. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 14, wherein an apex ratio of the apex height (AH) to the maximum top edge height (TEH) is at least 1.13.

19. The high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) of claim 18, wherein the apex ratio is at least 1.2.

20. A high volume aerodynamic golf club head (100) comprising:

A) a hollow body (110) having a club head volume of at least 400 cc, a face (200), a sole section (300), a crown section (400), a front (112), a back (114), a heel (116), and a toe (118), wherein the hollow body (110) has a front-to-back dimension (FB) of at least 4.4 inches;

B) the face (200) having a top edge (210) and a lower edge (220), wherein a top edge height (TEH) is the elevation of the top edge (210) above the ground plane (GP), and a lower edge height (LEH) is the elevation of the lower edge (220) above the ground plane (GP), wherein a maximum top edge height (TEH) is at least 2 inches, and less than 10% of the club head volume is above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH); and

C) the crown section (400) having a crown apex (410) located an apex height (AH) above a ground plane (GP), and the crown apex (410) is behind the forwardmost point on the face (200) a distance that is a crown apex setback dimension (412), and the crown apex setback dimension (412) is less than 1.75 inches, wherein;

(i) within a front-to-back vertical section through the crown apex (410) and perpendicular to a vertical plane created by a shaft axis (SA), a portion of the crown section (400) between the crown apex (410) and the face (200) has an apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f);

(ii) within a heel-to-toe vertical section through the crown apex (410) and parallel to the vertical plane created by the shaft axis (SA), a portion of the crown section (400), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), has a heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) that is less than 4 inches; and

(iii) within the front-to-back vertical section a portion of the crown section (400)), above the elevation of the maximum top edge height (TEH), between the crown apex (410) and the back (114) has an apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) that is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410);

(iv) wherein the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) at the crown apex (410) is less than the greatest apex-to-rear radius of curvature (Ra-r) located above the top edge height (TEH), and the apex-to-front radius of curvature (Ra-f) at the crown apex (410) is less than the heel-to-toe radius of curvature (Rh-t) at the crown apex (410); and

(iv) a portion of the crown section (400) is formed of nonmetallic material, and the nonmetallic portion of the crown section (400) includes the crown apex (410).