GOLF CLUB HEAD

• US 20120122601A1
• Filed: 12/29/2011
• Published: 05/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Beach, Todd P., Willett, Kraig Alan, Sargent, Nathan T., Franz, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,876,622 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/248
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0633 without electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/02 with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/023 Long, oriented fibres, e.g. wound filaments, woven fabrics, mats
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/027 about the longitudinal axis of the shaft only
• 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 53/042 the face insert consisting of a material different from that of the head
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0425 the face insert comprising two or more different materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• 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 53/0487 for putters A63B53/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/06 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/54 : with means for damping vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3635 : with sound-emitting source

Abstract

A golf club head comprises a sole, a recessed sole port in the sole; and a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the sole port and comprising a central body having a plurality of contact surfaces adapted to contact the sole port and being offset from each other along a central axis extending through the central body of the sole piece. The sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the sole port at five or more rotational and axial positions with respect to the central axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said contact surfaces of the central body contacts the sole port to set the axial position of the sole piece. The sole port and/or the sole piece can be generally pentagonal in shape.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the club head body; and

a rotatably adjustable sole piece configured to be secured to the sole at five or more rotational positions with respect to a central axis extending through the sole piece, wherein the sole piece extends a different axial distance from the sole at each of the rotational positions.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein adjusting the sole piece to a different one of the rotational positions changes the face angle of the golf club head independently of the loft angle of the golf club head when the golf club head is in the address position.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a releasable locking mechanism configured to lock the sole piece at a selected one of the rotational positions on the sole.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a screw adapted to extend through the sole piece and into a threaded opening in the sole of the club head body.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the adjustable sole piece is generally pentagonal and can be secured to the sole at five discrete selectable positions.

6. The golf club head of claim 5, wherein the adjustable sole piece comprises an annular side wall that comprises at least five wall segments that are substantially symmetrical with one another relative to the central axis of the sole piece.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole piece has a convex bottom surface, such that when the sole piece is at each rotational position the bottom surface has a heel-to-toe curvature that substantially matches a heel-to-toe curvature of a leading contact surface of the sole.

8. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein the bottom surface of the sole piece is substantially spherical.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole piece comprises five or more indicators that correspond to the five or more rotational positions, each indicator indicating an adjustment to the face angle of the golf club head that corresponds with a respective rotational position.

10. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the sole comprises a marker adjacent to the sole piece, and in each of the rotational positions one of the indicators is aligned with the marker to indicate in which of the rotational positions the sole piece is secured.

11. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the club head body; and

a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be secured on the sole at five or more discrete rotational positions with respect to an axis extending through the sole piece, wherein adjusting the rotational position of the sole piece changes the face angle of the golf club head independently of the loft angle of the golf club head when the golf club head is in the address position.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein adjusting the rotational position of the sole piece changes the face angle of the golf club head between about 0.5 and about 12 degrees.

13. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein adjusting the rotational position of the sole piece changes the face angle of the golf club head between at least five different values.

14. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the sole piece has a convex bottom surface, such that when the sole piece is at each rotational position the bottom surface has a heel-to-toe curvature that substantially matches the heel-to-toe curvature of a leading surface portion of the sole.

15. A golf club head comprising:

a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head;

a recessed sole port in the sole; and

a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the sole port and comprising a central body having a plurality of surfaces adapted to contact the sole port and being offset from each other along a central axis extending through the central body;

wherein the sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the sole port at five or more rotational and axial positions with respect to the central axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said surfaces of the central body contacts the sole port to set the axial position of the sole piece.

16. The golf club head of claim 15, further comprising at least two platforms extending downwardly from a roof of the sole port, wherein the plurality of surfaces of the central body are adapted to contact bottom surfaces of the platforms, and wherein at each rotational position at least two of said surfaces of the central body contact the bottom surfaces of the platforms to set the axial position of the sole piece.

17. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein the plurality of surfaces comprises at least five groups of two or more of the surfaces, the groups of surfaces being offset from each other along the central axis, and wherein the sole piece is positionable at least partially within the sole port at five or more discrete rotational positions, each of which aligns one of the groups of surfaces with the platforms.

18. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein the sole port and the sole piece are each generally pentagonal when viewed from the bottom of the golf club head.

19. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein the sole piece further comprises a bottom wall and an outer rim extending substantially axially upwardly from a perimeter of the bottom wall, the outer rim comprising five substantially symmetrical segments arranged in a substantially pentagonal shape.

20. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein the face angle of the golf club head is adjustable to five or more different values, each of the face angle values being associated with one of the five or more rotational and axial positions of the sole piece.