Golf club head

• US 10,463,925 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2018
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Greensmith, Matthew, Beach, Todd P., Sargent, Nathan T., Willett, Kraig Alan, Dipert, Joshua J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno, Benjamin
• Application Number:
  US16/123,504
• Publication Number:
  US 20190134470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• Field of Search: 473346, 473345, 473348, 473349, 473350, 473342, 473334-339, 473314, 473332
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/022 allowing adjustable positioning of the head with respect to the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/025 lie angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about an axis parallel to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/026 loft angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/027 about the longitudinal axis of the shaft only
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/045 Strengthening ribs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0454 Strengthening ribs on the rear surface of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0458 with non-uniform thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/002 Resonance frequency related characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. In some embodiments, the crown includes a lattice-like structure having thin regions surrounded by a web of relatively thicker regions. In some embodiments, the club head includes one or more stiffening tubes attached between the sole and the crown to improve the acoustic performance of the golf club head.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a crown portion, a sole portion, a rear portion, and a striking face having a variable thickness, the club head body defining an interior cavity;

a first stiffening member and a second stiffening member permanently secured within the interior cavity and connecting the crown portion to the sole portion; and

wherein the first stiffening member and the second stiffening member are aligned adjacent to the striking face and provide structural support to the club head body, and

wherein at least a portion of the crown comprises a composite material.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first stiffening member and the second stiffening member are co-formed with the club head body.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first stiffening member and the second stiffening member comprise a metallic alloy or a composite material.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the first stiffening member and the second stiffening member are tubular members.

5. The golf club head of claim 4, further comprising an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly joined to the golf club head body and operable to adjust at least one of the loft angle or lie angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly.

6. The golf club head of claim 5, wherein the first stiffening member and the second stiffening member have a combined mass of approximately 8 grams or less.

7. The golf club head of claim 6, wherein the first stiffening member and the second stiffening member each have a cross-sectional dimension that is between about 2 mm to about 7 mm.

8. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having an upper portion, a lower portion, a rear portion, a striking face having a variable thickness, a heel portion, and a toe portion, the club head body defining an interior cavity;

a first tubular member and a second tubular member permanently secured within the interior cavity and connecting the upper portion to the lower portion, the first tubular member and the second tubular member providing structural support to the club head body; and

wherein the first tubular member extends upward from a toe side of the lower portion to a toe side of the upper portion,

wherein the second tubular member extends upward from a heel side of the lower portion to a heel side of the upper portion,

wherein the first tubular member and the second tubular member are positioned away from the rear portion of the golf club head body, and

wherein the upper portion comprises a composite material.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein the first tubular member and the second tubular member comprise a metallic alloy or a composite material.

10. The golf club head of claim 9, further comprising one or more weights supported by the lower portion and configured to adjust a center of gravity of the golf club head.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, further comprising an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly joined to the golf club head body and operable to adjust at least one of the loft angle or lie angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the first tubular member and the second tubular member are co-formed with the club head body.

13. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the first tubular member and the second tubular member are aligned adjacent to the striking face.

14. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the first tubular member and the second tubular member are solid tubular members.

15. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the first tubular member and the second tubular member are hollow tubular members.

16. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having an upper portion, a lower portion, a rear portion, a heel portion, a toe portion, and a striking face, with the club head body defining an interior cavity;

two or more stiffening members positioned within the interior cavity and connecting the upper portion to the lower portion, wherein each of the two or more stiffening members having a first end attached to a first internal surface connected to the upper portion and a second end attached to a second internal surface connected to the lower portion, and each of the two or more stiffening members having elongated intermediate portions spanning across the cavity from the first end to the second end;

an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly that is operable to adjust at least one of the loft angle or lie angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly;

wherein the two or more stiffening members are permanently secured to the club head body and positioned away from the rear portion of the club head body; and

at least one weight member that is attachable to the club head body;

wherein the two or more members have a cross-sectional dimension that is less than a length between the first and second ends and the cross-sectional dimension is between about 2 mm to about 7 mm;

wherein the golf club head has a CG with a head origin x-axis (CGx) coordinate between about −

10 mm and about 10 mm and a head origin y-axis (CGy) coordinate between about 10 mm and about 50 mm, and a head origin z-axis (CGz) less than 2 mm;

wherein a combined mass of the two or more members is approximately 8 grams or less;

wherein the length between the first and second ends of at least one of the two or more members is at least three times longer than a maximum cross-sectional dimension.

17. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein the lower portion has a recess for receiving the at least one weight member, and the lower portion is formed with at least one lower portion rib in contact with a portion of the recess.

18. The golf club head of claim 17, wherein at least a portion of the upper portion is non-metallic.

19. The golf club head of claim 18, wherein the upper portion has an average thickness between about 0.6 mm and about 1.0 mm.

20. The golf club head of claim 18, wherein the upper portion has at least two upper portion ribs proximate the striking face.