Golf club head

• US 20030144079A1
• Filed: 01/15/2003
• Published: 07/31/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yonex Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Yonex Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Yoneyama, Kosaku
• Granted Patent: US 6,840,872 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/346
• 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 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• 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

Abstract

There is provided a golf club head having a face plate of high strength and high resilience and having an excellent directional stability of the ball trajectory. The golf club head comprises a thick-walled portion 3 at the center of the face plate 2, at least four narrow ribs 4a and 4b, each formed with thickness not substantially exceeding the thickness of the thick-walled portion and extending radially from the thick-walled portion toward the perimeter of the face plate, and thin-walled portions 5 formed between said thick-walled portion and said narrow ribs.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising a hollow head body and a face plate made of a lightweight highly resilient metal and attached to the front face of said head body,

wherein said face plate comprises a thick-walled portion at the center thereof, at least four narrow ribs, each formed with thickness not substantially exceeding the thickness of the thick-walled portion and extending radially from said thick-walled portion toward the perimeter of the face plate, and thin-walled portions formed between said thick-walled portion and said narrow ribs.

2. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said narrow ribs comprise a plurality of generally horizontal narrow ribs and a plurality of generally vertical narrow ribs.

3. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said golf club head has a volume in the range of 300 cc to 460 cc.

4. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the number of said narrow ribs is in the range of 6 to 14.

5. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said radially extending narrow ribs each has an approximately uniform lateral width perpendicular to the radial direction.

6. A golf club head as claimed in claim 2, wherein the horizontally extending narrow ribs each has a substantially equal thickness as said central portion, and the vertically extending narrow ribs are each formed to progressively decrease in thickness from said central portion toward the perimeter.

7. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said thin-walled portions are each formed to progressively decrease in thickness from said central portion toward the perimeter.

8. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said thin-walled portions, each delimited between the adjacent two of said narrow ribs, have an approximately equal radial angle from the center of the face plate.

9. A golf club head as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said central thick-walled portion has a substantially rectangular shape, which has a vertical and a horizontal sides of about ⅓

the vertical and horizontal lengths of the head body, respectively, measured along the lines passing through the center thereof.

10. A golf club head as claimed in claim 9, wherein said central thick-walled portion has a thickness of about 2.5 mm.