Golf Club Head or Other Ball Striking Device Having Impact-Influencing Body Features
First Claim
1. A wood-type golf club head comprising:
- a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball;
a body connected to the face and defining an enclosed volume between the face and the body, the body having a sole configured to confront a playing surface in use;
an inwardly recessed channel located on the sole of the body, wherein the channel is elongated and oriented generally parallel to a bottom edge of the face; and
an insert mounted within the channel, the insert comprising a resiliently deflectable base member and a rigid outer member connected to the base member and forming at least a portion of an outer surface of the insert.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A ball striking device, such as a golf club, includes a head with a face having an outer surface configured for striking a ball, a body connected to the face, an elongated, inwardly recessed channel located on the body and extending across a portion of the body, and an insert mounted within the channel. The insert includes a resiliently deflectable base member that engages the channel to retain the insert within the channel and a rigid outer member connected to the base member and forming at least a portion of the outer surface of the insert, where the outer member is made from a different material than the base member. Additionally, the insert has an outer surface that is substantially flush with at least one immediately adjacent surface of the body.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A wood-type golf club head comprising:
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a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball; a body connected to the face and defining an enclosed volume between the face and the body, the body having a sole configured to confront a playing surface in use; an inwardly recessed channel located on the sole of the body, wherein the channel is elongated and oriented generally parallel to a bottom edge of the face; and an insert mounted within the channel, the insert comprising a resiliently deflectable base member and a rigid outer member connected to the base member and forming at least a portion of an outer surface of the insert. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11)
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9. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the response force is configured to force the bottom edge of the face outwardly upon impact of the ball on the face.
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12. A golf club head comprising:
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a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball; a body connected to the face; an elongated, inwardly recessed channel located on the body and extending across a portion of the body; and an insert mounted within the channel, the insert comprising a resiliently deflectable base member, wherein the insert engages the channel to retain the insert within the channel. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A golf club head comprising:
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a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball; a body connected to the face; an elongated, inwardly recessed channel located on the body and extending across a portion of the body; and an insert mounted within the channel, the insert comprising a base member that engages the channel to retain the insert within the channel and a rigid outer member connected to the base member and forming at least a portion of an outer surface of the insert, wherein the outer member is made from a different material than the base member. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A golf club head comprising:
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a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball; a body connected to the face; an elongated, inwardly recessed channel located on the body and extending across a portion of the body; and an insert mounted within the channel and engaging the channel to retain the insert within the channel, wherein the insert has an outer surface that is substantially flush with at least one immediately adjacent surface of the body. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A wood-type golf club head comprising:
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a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball; a body connected to the face and defining an enclosed volume between the face and the body, the body having a sole configured to confront a playing surface in use and a keel positioned along a center of the sole and extending rearward from the channel across at least a portion of the sole, wherein the keel is configured to be a lowest surface of the body in use, and at least a portion of the keel is raised with respect to adjacent surfaces of the sole, the keel having a tapered width that increases from the face toward a rear of the body; an inwardly recessed channel located on the sole of the body and extending transversely across the keel, wherein the channel is elongated between a first end and a second end and is defined by two sides extending between the first and second ends, and the channel is oriented generally parallel to the bottom edge of the face, the channel comprising a trough inwardly recessed from the body and two curvilinear depending side walls extending from the trough to the body at the sides of the channel, the channel further comprising a slot located in the trough; and an insert positioned within the channel and having a substantially flat outer surface and an inner surface contoured for surface-to-surface engagement with the trough and the side walls of the channel, the insert comprising a flexible rubber base member, a metallic plate member connected to the base member by a mating connection and forming at least a major portion of the outer surface of the insert, and a flexible rubber projection integrally formed with the base member, the projection extending from the base member and received within the slot to retain the insert within the channel, wherein the insert has an elongated length equal to the width of an adjacent section of the keel.
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48. A ball striking device comprising:
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a face having a ball striking surface configured for striking a ball; a body connected to the face; an elongated, inwardly recessed channel located on the body and extending across a portion of the body; and an insert mounted within the channel, the insert comprising a resiliently deflectable base member and a rigid outer member connected to the base member and forming at least a portion of an outer surface of the insert, wherein the outer member is made from a different material than the base member, wherein the outer surface of the insert is substantially flush with at least one immediately adjacent surface of the body, wherein the base member engages the channel to retain the insert within the channel.
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Specification