Golf club head having stiffening members and variable face thickness
First Claim
1. A golf club head comprising:
- a body comprising a front wall having a front opening, a sole section extending from a lower edge of the front wall, a return section extending from an upper edge of the front wall, an upper opening, and an aft end opposite the front wall, the return section disposed between the front wall and the upper opening;
a crown section affixed to the body to close the upper opening and define a hollow body interior;
a striking plate insert affixed to the body to close the front opening, the striking plate insert comprising an interior surface facing the hollow interior, a geometric center, a face boundary, a central thickness region having a first thickness, a first intermediate thickness region having a second thickness, and a second intermediate thickness region having a third thickness; and
at least one stiffening member disposed within the hollow body interior and extending from the return section to the sole section,wherein the central thickness region is defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between the geometric center and 25% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary,wherein the first intermediate thickness region is defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between 26% and 59% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary,wherein the second intermediate thickness region is defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between 60% and 90% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary,wherein the third thickness is greater than the first thickness and the second thickness,wherein no portion of the at least one stiffening member is spaced further than 0.500 inch from the interior surface along a vertical plane extending perpendicular to the striking plate insert,wherein no portion of the at least one stiffening member makes contact with the striking plate insert during impact with a golf ball,wherein the at least one stiffening member reduces stress placed on the striking plate insert during impact with a golf ball,wherein the golf club head has a volume of 200 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters,wherein the golf club head has a coefficient of restitution ranging from 0.82 to 0.89, andwherein the golf club head has a characteristic time of less than 257 μ
s.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A golf club head comprising a body, a variable face thickness pattern, and a plurality of solid metal stiffening rods, and which satisfies the equation Vballnorm≥0.0356x+140.82, is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face, a sole, and a return section, and defines a hollow interior. Each of the rods extends from the return section to the sole within the hollow interior proximate the face to reduce stresses placed on the face during impact with a golf ball. The rods are all located within 1 inch of a rear surface of the face measured along a plane normal to the center of the face, and are spaced a distance of 0.500 to 2.00 inch from one another within the hollow interior. The variable face thickness pattern preferably comprises a plurality of concentric rings, with a center ring having a thickness that is less than a thickness of an intermediary ring.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A golf club head comprising:
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a body comprising a front wall having a front opening, a sole section extending from a lower edge of the front wall, a return section extending from an upper edge of the front wall, an upper opening, and an aft end opposite the front wall, the return section disposed between the front wall and the upper opening; a crown section affixed to the body to close the upper opening and define a hollow body interior; a striking plate insert affixed to the body to close the front opening, the striking plate insert comprising an interior surface facing the hollow interior, a geometric center, a face boundary, a central thickness region having a first thickness, a first intermediate thickness region having a second thickness, and a second intermediate thickness region having a third thickness; and at least one stiffening member disposed within the hollow body interior and extending from the return section to the sole section, wherein the central thickness region is defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between the geometric center and 25% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary, wherein the first intermediate thickness region is defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between 26% and 59% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary, wherein the second intermediate thickness region is defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between 60% and 90% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary, wherein the third thickness is greater than the first thickness and the second thickness, wherein no portion of the at least one stiffening member is spaced further than 0.500 inch from the interior surface along a vertical plane extending perpendicular to the striking plate insert, wherein no portion of the at least one stiffening member makes contact with the striking plate insert during impact with a golf ball, wherein the at least one stiffening member reduces stress placed on the striking plate insert during impact with a golf ball, wherein the golf club head has a volume of 200 cubic centimeters to 470 cubic centimeters, wherein the golf club head has a coefficient of restitution ranging from 0.82 to 0.89, and wherein the golf club head has a characteristic time of less than 257 μ
s. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A golf club head comprising:
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a cast titanium alloy body comprising a front wall having a front opening, a sole section extending from a lower edge of the front wall, a return section extending from an upper edge of the front wall, an upper opening, and an aft end opposite the front wall, the return section disposed between the front wall and the upper opening; a carbon composite crown section affixed to the body to close the upper opening and define a hollow body interior; a forged titanium alloy striking plate insert welded to the body to close the front opening, the striking plate insert comprising an interior surface facing the hollow interior, a geometric center, a face boundary, a central thickness region defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between the geometric center and 25% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary, a first intermediate thickness region defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between 26% and 59% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary, a second intermediate thickness region defined as an area of the striking plate insert located between 60% and 90% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary, and a boundary thickness region defined as an area of the striking plate located between 90% and 100% of a radial distance from the geometric center to the face boundary; and first and second solid titanium alloy rods disposed within the hollow body interior, wherein each of the first and second solid titanium alloy rods extends from the return section to the sole section and is co-cast with the body, wherein no portion of either of the first and second solid titanium alloy rods makes contact with the striking plate insert during impact with a golf ball, wherein no portion of either of the first and second solid titanium alloy rods is spaced further than 0.250 inch from the interior surface along a vertical plane extending perpendicular to the striking face section, wherein the first solid titanium alloy rod is spaced from the second solid titanium alloy rod a distance of 0.500 inch to 2.00 inches along a y-axis extending parallel with the striking face section, wherein the second intermediate thickness region has a thickness greater than the thicknesses of the central thickness region, the first intermediate thickness region, and the boundary thickness region, and wherein the golf club head has a coefficient of restitution ranging from 0.83 to 0.883. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification