Wood golf club

• US 20020022535A1
• Filed: 06/28/2001
• Published: 02/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: K.K. Endo Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: K.K. Endo Seisakusho
• Inventors: Takeda, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 6,878,073 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/346
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• 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 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

A wood golf club called a metal wood which suppresses the deformation of a head body at the time of impact, thereby effectively elastically deforming a face to thereby elongate a travelling distance of a ball. An outer shell of a head 1 is constructed of metallic shell members, thus defining a hollow interior 11 inside the head 1. A tabular reinforcing member 20 is provided nearly along a cross-sectional area of the hollow interior 11 defined in a toe-to-heel direction, a preset distance away from the face 2. Thus, the deformation of a sole 4 and a crown 5 can be suppressed, while permitting the sufficient elastic deformation of the face 2.

Claims

1. A wood golf club which comprises:

a head having a face on a front, said head defining a toe at one end of the face and a heel at the other end thereof, having an outer shell made of metallic shells, defining a hollow interior;

a shaft connected to a heel side of the head; and

one or more reinforcing members provided separately inside said outer shell of the head, each of said reinforcing members being tabular, projecting toward the hollow interior, so formed that it is provided nearly along a cross-sectional area of said hollow interior defined in a toe-to-heel direction, a preset distance away from the face to define a preset space therebetween,

wherein each reinforcing member is frame-shaped and makes up 20% or more of the cross-sectional area of the hollow interior in a toe-to-heel direction.

2. A wood golf club according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcing member is positioned rearwardly of a shaft connecting portion of said head, in a range of ±

20% of a distance defined from the face to a rearmost side of the head, with an intermediate position between the face to the rearmost side of the head being assumed to be a reference position.

3. A wood golf club according to claim 1, wherein said outer shell of the head consists of a face shell member that forms a front portion of the head and a body shell member that constructs a rear portion thereof, while said reinforcing member is formed by providing a plate member between the face shell member and the body shell member.

4. A wood golf club according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said reinforcing members are provided so that they are arranged from front to back of the head.

5. A wood golf club according to claim 4, wherein said outer shell of the head consists of the face shell member that forms the face, a first body shell member located rearwardly of the face shell member and a second body shell member located rearwardly of the first body shell member, while said reinforcing members are formed by providing the plate member between the face shell member and the first body shell member, and between the first body shell member and the second body shell member, respectively.

6. A wood golf club according to claim 4, wherein said outer shell of the head consists of the face shell member that forms the face, a first body shell member located rearwardly of the face shell member and a second body shell member located rearwardly of the first body shell member, while said reinforcing member is formed integrally with said first body shell member.

7. A wood golf club according to claim 1, wherein said metallic shells and reinforcing member are formed by forging process.