Golf club head having a displaced crown portion

• US 20060079349A1
• Filed: 10/12/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Radcliffe, Nathaniel J., Wallans, Michael J., Horacek, Robert J., Hooley, Brad S., Rae, John J., Garner, Trent E., Stone, Daniel J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,651,414 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/345
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/023 Long, oriented fibres, e.g. wound filaments, woven fabrics, mats
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type

Abstract

A hollow wood-type golf club head having an increased weight budget and improved mass characteristics at minimum structural mass is disclosed. The club head has a striking face portion, a sole portion, a skirt portion, and a crown portion having a total surface area. A hosel portion joins the club head for connecting a shaft to the club head. The crown portion has a major crown portion and a minor crown portion, the major portion having greater surface area than the minor portion, and the major portion being displaced vertically lower relative to the minor crown portion. The major crown portion may have a generally concave curvature and the minor crown portion may have a generally convex curvature such that the major crown portion is in effect inverted with respect to the minor crown portion. The major crown portion may be upwardly inclined from the heel to the toe of the head. The head may exhibit a parabolic top view silhouette.

Claims

1. A hollow wood-type golf club head comprising:

a striking face portion;

a sole portion;

a skirt portion;

a crown portion having a major crown portion and a minor crown portion, said major crown portion defining a major surface area and said minor portion defining a minor surface area, said major surface area being greater than said minor surface area, said major surface area defining a generally concave first contour and said minor surface area defining a generally convex second contour, said head having a volume greater than about 280 cm³.

2. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein said volume is less than about 400 cm³.

3. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 wherein said volume is greater than about 300 cm³.

4. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 3 wherein said volume is less than about 400 cm³.

5. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein the minor crown portion peripherally surrounds the major crown portion.

6. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 further comprising a generally parabolic tail edge.

7. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 further comprising a return portion having a length L_r between about 1 cm and about 4 cm.

8. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 7 wherein L_r varies along the transverse direction of the head.

9. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 comprising a heel end and a toe end and wherein the major crown portion is generally upwardly inclined toward said toe end.

10. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 comprising a transverse midpoint, a heelmost extent, a toemost extent, and at least one point located on said major surface area that is vertically lower than a remainder of said major surface area, wherein said at least one point is located between said heelmost extent and said transverse midpoint.

11. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance of Hf_max; and

about 95% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

12. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance of 0.8 Hf_max; and

about 80% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

13. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance of 0.65 Hf_max; and

about 60% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

14. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance of 0.5 Hf_max; and

about 30% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

15. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance, d, ranging from 0 to Hf_max; and

about 95% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=Hf_max, about 80% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=0.8 Hf_max, about 60% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=0.65 Hf_max, and about 30% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=0.5 Hf_max.

16. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance of 0.8 Hf_max; and

about 85% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

17. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said wood head at a vertical distance of 0.65 Hf_max; and

about 70% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

18. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said wood head at a vertical distance of 0.5 Hf_max; and

about 50% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

19. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance of 0.35 Hf_max; and

about 25% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane.

20. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein:

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance, d, ranging from 0 to Hf_max; and

about 95% or more of said major surface area resides below said datum plane when d=1.0 Hf_max, about 85% or more of said major surface area resides below said datum plane when d=0.8 Hf_max, about 70% or more of said major surface area resides below said datum plane when d=0.65 Hf_max, about 50% or more of said major surface area resides below said datum plane when d=0.5 Hf_max, and about 25% or more of said major surface area resides below said datum plane when d=0.35 Hf_max.

21. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 having a plurality of vertical cross sections, each of said cross sections intersecting said major crown portion longitudinally and having a perimeter length, L_p, defining an enclosed sectional area, A_x, wherein L_p/A_x for each of said cross sections is greater than about 0.65.

22. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 21 having a transverse midpoint, said major crown portion having a heel-most extent and a toe-most extent, wherein L_p/A_x has a maximum variance of about 0.03 for said plurality of vertical cross sections taken in a region spanning from said midpoint to said toemost extent.

23. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 21 having a transverse midpoint, said major crown portion having a heel-most extent and a toe-most extent, wherein L_p/A_x has a maximum variance of about 0.07 for said plurality of vertical cross sections taken in a region spanning from said midpoint to said toemost extent.

24. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 1 wherein a part of said head has a higher specific strength than the rest of said head.

25. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 24 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said crown portion.

26. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 24 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said major crown portion.

27. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 24 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said minor crown portion.

28. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 24 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said skirt portion.

29. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 24 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said sole portion.

30. A hollow wood-type golf club head comprising:

a striking face portion;

a sole portion;

a skirt portion;

a crown portion having a major crown portion and a minor crown portion, said major crown portion comprising a first contour, said minor crown portion comprising a second contour;

wherein

a plurality of vertical cross sections intersect said golf club head, each of said cross sections having a perimeter length L_p defining an enclosed sectional area A_x, L_p/A_x for each of said cross sections exceeding about 0.65.

31. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30, wherein said first contour is generally concave and said second contour is generally convex.

32. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30 having a transverse midpoint, said major crown portion having a heel-most extent and a toe-most extent, wherein L_p/A_x has a maximum variance of about 0.03 for said plurality of vertical cross sections taken in a region spanning from said midpoint to said toe-most extent.

33. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30 having a transverse midpoint, said major crown portion having a heel-most extent and a toe-most extent, wherein L_p/A_x has a maximum variance of about 0.07 for said plurality of vertical cross sections taken in a region spanning from said midpoint to said toe-most extent.

34. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30, wherein the major crown portion is entirely visible from an address position.

35. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30 wherein said head has a volume greater than about 280 cm³.

36. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 35 wherein said volume is less than about 400 cm³.

37. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30, wherein the minor crown portion peripherally surrounds the major crown portion.

38. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30 further comprising a generally parabolic tail edge.

39. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 30 further having a return portion having a length L_r between about 1 cm and about 4 cm.

40. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 39 wherein L_r varies along the transverse direction of the head.

41. A hollow wood-type golf club head comprising:

a striking face portion;

a sole portion;

a skirt portion;

a crown portion having a major crown portion and a minor crown portion, wherein;

the striking face portion has a maximum height, Hf_max;

a horizontal datum plane intersects said head at a vertical distance, d, ranging from 0 to Hf_max; and

about 95% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=Hf_max, about 80% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=0.8 Hf_max, about 60% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=0.65 Hf_max, and about 30% or more of the major surface area resides below the datum plane when d=0.5 Hf_max.

42. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 41, wherein the major crown portion is entirely visible from an address position.

43. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 41 wherein said head has a volume greater than about 280 cm³.

44. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 43 having a volume less than about 400 cm³.

45. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 41, wherein the minor crown portion peripherally surrounds the major crown portion.

46. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 41 further comprising a generally parabolic tail edge.

47. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 41 further comprising a return portion having a length L_r between about 1 cm and about 4 cm.

48. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 47 wherein L_r varies along the transverse direction of the head.

49. A hollow wood-type golf club head comprising:

a striking face portion;

a sole portion;

a skirt portion;

a crown portion having a major crown portion and a minor crown portion, said major crown portion defining a major surface area, said minor portion defining a minor surface area, said major surface area being greater than said minor surface area, said major surface area defining a generally concave first contour, said minor surface area defining a generally convex second contour, wherein a part of said head has a higher specific strength than the rest of said head.

50. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 wherein said head has a volume greater than about 280 cm³.

51. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 50 wherein said volume is less than about 400 cm³.

52. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49, wherein the minor crown portion peripherally surrounds the major crown portion.

53. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 further comprising a generally parabolic tail edge.

54. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 further comprising a return portion having a length L_r between about 1 cm and about 4 cm.

55. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 54 wherein L_r varies along the transverse direction of the head.

56. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 having a heel end and a toe end and wherein the major crown portion is generally upwardly inclined toward said toe end.

57. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said crown portion.

58. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said major crown portion.

59. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said minor crown portion.

60. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said skirt portion.

61. The hollow wood-type golf club head of claim 49 wherein said part of said head comprises at least a part of said sole portion.