Optimally elastic golf club head
First Claim
1. A golf club head composed of parts which include an elastic shell, a face, and a central part located behind said face and said central part being inside of said elastic shell, elasticity of said head being defined by said shell in cooperation with at least one other member, said at least one other member being chosen from a group having elements consisting of said face, said face being elastic, said central part, said central part being elastic, and combinations of said elements of the group.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A golf club head is composed of elastic substructures having moderate elasticity and consisting of a face, outer shell, and inner structure in which said elastic substructures that cooperate so as to provide larger impulses to the ball at impact, due to combined elastic properties of the club face for hits at all locations on the face. This allows better distance of shots when loft angle and other design details are appropriately chosen. The structure also minimizes variations of angular orientation of the face surface at the point of impact for all such hits. The elastic substructures can take several forms such as an internal elastic support around the periphery of the face structure, an internal support for the central part of the face structure, and an elastic structure attached to the front side of the face structure, an elastic outer shell, and their combinations. The structure also provides adequate strength, and minimum weight such that a maximum amount of concentrated mass can be located in advantageous places as far as practical from the center of gravity of the head so as to realize maximum moments of inertia about the center of gravity.
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Citations
37 Claims
- 1. A golf club head composed of parts which include an elastic shell, a face, and a central part located behind said face and said central part being inside of said elastic shell, elasticity of said head being defined by said shell in cooperation with at least one other member, said at least one other member being chosen from a group having elements consisting of said face, said face being elastic, said central part, said central part being elastic, and combinations of said elements of the group.
- 11. A golf club head comprising a shell having a ball striking face side and an opposite rear side, said shell defining a perimeter of the ball striking face side, said ball striking face side comprising a ball strike surface of a non-metallic member supported on said shell to at least partially carry loads from impact of a golf ball striking said ball striking surface and causing deflection of the said ball striking surface relative to said shell.
- 18. A method of providing a desired coefficient of restitution for impact of a golf ball on a strike face of a golf club head after deflection caused by impact of a said golf ball on any location on said strike face comprising providing an elastic material between the strike face and a golf club head shell to transfer deflection loads from the strike face to said shell.
- 23. A golf club head having a face structure, a ball impact surface on said face structure, a central part structure and a shell structure in which said face structure, central part structure, and shell structure have material and structural design such that said ball impact surface is able to deform elastically in a rearward direction at least 0.02 inch from impact of said ball at approach speed perpendicular to said ball impact surface of 109 miles per hour, at substantially any point on said face structure, the design and materials of said structures selected to thereby allow said face structure to deform and return elastically to increase the momentum transferred to a golf ball when struck by said golf club head with impacts normal to said ball impact surface at substantially all locations of impact of the ball on said ball impact surface and minimize changes in angular orientation of said ball impact surface during all such impacts, as compared with known designs of golf club heads having flexible features, which cannot so deform and return elastically.
Specification