METHOD OF ANALYSIS FOR KINETIC PROPERTIES OF GOLF CLUB HEAD AND GOLF CLUB THEREFOR

• US 20100160072A1
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation, Bridgestone Sports Co Limited (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co Limited (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsunaga, Hideo, Wada, Kozue
• Granted Patent: US 8,229,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/324
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/32 Golf
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0487 for putters A63B53/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/42 Devices for measuring, verifying, correcting or customising the inherent characteristics of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like, e.g. measuring the maximum torque a batting shaft can withstand
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 5/0023 Measuring of sport goods, e.g. bowling accessories, golfclubs, game balls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/23 using finite element methods [FEM] or finite difference methods [FDM]

Abstract

The accuracy or computation speed of analysis of a club head using the finite element method is improved. In a method of analysis of a golf club head, a model of the golf club head represented by a set of elements including tetrahedral solid elements 30 is prepared on a computer, nodes 32 are provided at the vertexes and on at least one side of the tetrahedral solid element, and the kinetic properties of the golf club head are computed by the finite element method in which the elements and nodes of the model are used and the nodes are made output points of computation. At this time, in at least some of the tetrahedral solid elements, the number of nodes provided per one element is made not fewer than ten.

Claims

1. A method of analysis of the kinetic properties of a golf club head, comprising the steps of:

preparing a model of a golf club head represented by a set of elements including a tetrahedral solid element on a computer;

providing nodes at the vertexes and on at least one side of the tetrahedral solid element; and

computing the kinetic properties of the golf club head by the finite element method in which the elements and nodes of the model are used and the nodes are set as output points of computation,

wherein, in at least some of the tetrahedral solid elements, the number of nodes provided per one element is not fewer than ten.

2. The method of analysis according to claim 1, wherein the aspect ratio of the tetrahedral solid element is not lower than 1.0 and substantially not higher than 8.0.

3. The method of analysis according to claim 1, wherein the node provided on the side is placed at the midpoint of side.

4. The method of analysis according to claim 1, wherein at least one of constituent materials or constituent parts in the model is divided into some sets, and any of the sets is represented by a set of shell elements having at least three nodes.

5. The method of analysis according to claim 1, wherein the model has an aspect ratio of tetrahedral solid element of not lower than 1.0 and not higher than about 1.5 in the face region of the golf club head.

6. The method of analysis according to claim 5, wherein the aspect ratio is not lower than 1.0 and not higher than about 1.3 in the face region of the golf club head.

7. The method of analysis according to claim 1, wherein the aspect ratio of the shape of each of all tetrahedral solid elements included is not lower than 1.0 and not higher than about 4.5.

8. The method of analysis according to claim 5, wherein a volume ratio, which is a ratio of the maximum volume to the minimum volume of tetrahedral solid element, is not lower than 1 and not higher than about 10 in the face region of the golf club head.

9. The method of analysis according to claim 8, wherein the volume ratio is not lower than 1 and not higher than about 8.

10. A golf club having a golf club head analyzed or designed by using the method of analysis described in claim 1.