GOLF CLUB HEAD OR OTHER BALL STRIKING DEVICE HAVING STIFFENED FACE PORTION
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A golf club head comprising:
- a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof;
a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel;
a first stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face between a first location and a second location, the first location positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and the second location is positioned toward a lower toe quadrant of the face with respect to the first location, the first stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to a first area of the face between the first location and the second location; and
a second stiffening member extending rearward from the inner surface of the face and providing locally increased stiffness to a second area of the face spaced from the first area,wherein the first stiffening member provides a greater degree of stiffness to the face relative to the second stiffening member.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, has a head that includes a face configured for striking a ball and a body connected to the face, the body being adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel thereof. The face includes one or more stiffening members or other structures on the inner surface of the face to provide locally increased stiffness to particular areas of the face. Certain stiffening members may provide greater stiffness than other stiffening members, allowing the face to be configured for areas of greatest stiffness and greatest COR tailored to common impact patterns.
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Citations
78 Claims
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1. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; a first stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face between a first location and a second location, the first location positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and the second location is positioned toward a lower toe quadrant of the face with respect to the first location, the first stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to a first area of the face between the first location and the second location; and a second stiffening member extending rearward from the inner surface of the face and providing locally increased stiffness to a second area of the face spaced from the first area, wherein the first stiffening member provides a greater degree of stiffness to the face relative to the second stiffening member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; and a stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face such that a central longitudinal axis of the stiffening member extends between a first point and a second point, the first point positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and the second point is positioned toward a lower toe quadrant of the face with respect to the first point, the stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to the face, wherein the stiffening member has an overall width measured parallel to the face that is greater at the first point and the second point than an overall width at a center of the stiffening member. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; and a stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face such that a central longitudinal axis of the stiffening member extends between a first point and a second point, the first point positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and the second point is positioned toward a lower toe quadrant of the face with respect to the second point, the first stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to the face, wherein the stiffening member provides areas of locally increased stiffness to the face proximate the first point and the second point that are larger than an area of locally increased stiffness provided proximate a center of the stiffening member. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof, the face having an upper heel quadrant, an upper toe quadrant, a lower heel quadrant, and a lower toe quadrant; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; a first stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and providing locally increased stiffness to areas of the face, the first stiffening member extending across the inner surface of the face such that a majority of a surface area of the first stiffening member is located in the upper heel quadrant and the lower toe quadrant; and a plurality of second stiffening members extending rearward from the inner surface of the face and providing locally increased stiffness to areas of the face. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; and a stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face such that a central longitudinal axis of the stiffening member extends between a first point and a second point, wherein the stiffening member extends across a center of the face between the first point and the second point, wherein the first point is positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face and the second point is positioned in the lower toe quadrant of the face substantially opposite the first point, the stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to the face, wherein the inner surface of the face has a first concave portion located on a first side of the stiffening member and a second concave portion located on a second side of the stiffening member, wherein the first and second concave portions each have a concave thickness profile, having a face thickness that is greatest proximate the first point and the second point and lowest proximate a midpoint between the first point and the second point. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; and a plurality of stiffening members extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and providing locally increased stiffness to the face, the stiffening members arranged to create at least two radiating formations, wherein the stiffening members of each radiating formation radiate from a central point spaced from a center point of the face. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof, the inner surface of the face having a toothed structure distributed across a majority thereof, the toothed structure comprising at least one row of indents extending across at least a portion of the inner surface; and a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face; and a stiffening member connected to an inner surface of the face at a first contact location and a second contact location, the stiffening member comprising a first leg connected to the face and extending substantially perpendicular to the face at the first contact location, a second leg connected to the face and extending substantially perpendicular to the face at the second contact location, and an arm extending between the first and second legs, the arm being spaced from the inner surface of the face, wherein the stiffening member provides locally increased stiffness to the face such that areas of the face surrounding the first and second contact locations have locally greater stiffness relative to other areas of the face spaced from the contact locations. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; and an elongated stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face such that a central longitudinal axis of the stiffening member extends between a first point and a second point, the first point positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and the second point is positioned toward the lower toe quadrant of the face with respect to the first point, the stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to the face, wherein the stiffening member includes an annular ring surrounding an enclosed internal area, wherein the annular ring is thicker than the enclosed internal area. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A golf club head comprising:
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a face configured for striking a ball with an outer surface thereof; a body connected to the face, the body adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel of the body and having a toe opposite the heel; a first stiffening member extending rearward from an inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face from a first location to a second location, the first location positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and the second location is positioned toward the lower toe quadrant of the face with respect to the first location, the first stiffening member providing locally increased stiffness to the face, and wherein the first stiffening member includes a curved surface that faces the heel; and a second stiffening member extending rearward from the inner surface of the face and extending across the inner surface of the face from a third location to a fourth location, the third location positioned in an upper heel quadrant of the face, and wherein the second stiffening member includes a curved surface that faces the toe. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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Specification