GOLF CLUB HEAD

• US 20140080628A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Sargent, Nathan T., Nielson, Joseph Reeve, Johnson, Matthew David, Greensmith, Matthew, Beach, Todd P., Franz, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,259,625 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/336
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• 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 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• 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 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-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 60/002 Resonance frequency related characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/04 Movable ballast means A63B15/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

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 body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity,

the body having a channel located on the sole and extending generally from a heel end of the body to a toe end of the body, wherein the distance between a first vertical plane intersecting a center of the face and a second vertical plane bisecting the channel is less than about 50 mm over a full length of the channel;

at least one weight member movably positioned within the channel, wherein a position of at least one weight member within the channel is able to be adjusted.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the distance between the first vertical plane and the second vertical plane is less than about 40 mm over a full length of the channel.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the distance between the first vertical plane and the second vertical plane is less than about 30 mm over a full length of the channel.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one ledge extending within the channel from the heel end of the body to the toe end of the body, the at least one ledge including a plurality of locking projections located on an exposed surface of the at least one ledge.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the at least one weight member comprises:

an outer member retained within the channel and in contact with the at least one ledge;

an inner member retained within the channel; and

a fastening bolt that connects the outer member to the inner member.

6. The golf club head of claim 5, wherein the outer member includes a plurality of locking notches adapted to selectively engage the locking projections located on the exposed surface of the at least one ledge.

7. The golf club head of claim 6, wherein the outer member has a length L extending generally in the heel to toe direction of the channel, and wherein each adjacent pair of locking projections are separated by a distance D1 along the at least one ledge, and wherein L>

D1.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising:

a rotatably adjustable sole piece configured to be secured to the sole at one of a plurality of 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.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, 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.

10. The golf club head of claim 8, further comprising a releasable locking mechanism configured to lock the sole piece at a selected one of the rotational positions on the sole.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, 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.

12. The golf club head of claim 8, 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.

13. A golf club head comprising:

a body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity;

the body having a channel located on the sole and extending generally from a heel end of the body to a toe end of the body;

a weight member movably positioned within the channel such that a position of the weight member within the channel is able to be adjusted;

wherein the face includes a center face location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face at the center face location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin;

wherein a maximum x-axis position adjustment range of the weight member (Max Δ

x) is greater than 50 mm and a maximum y-axis position adjustment range of the weight member (Max Δ

y) is less than 40 mm.

14. The golf club head of claim 13, wherein the weight member has a mass (M_WA) and wherein the product of M_WA*Max Δ

x is at least 250 g·

mm.

15. The golf club head of claim 13, wherein the weight member has a mass (M_WA) and wherein the product of M_WA*Max Δ

x is between about 250 g·

mm and about 4950 g·

mm.

16. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the product of M_WA*Max Δ

y is less than 1800 g·

mm

17. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the product of M_WA*Max Δ

y is between about 0 g·

mm and about 1800 g·

mm.

18. The golf club head of claim 13, wherein a center of gravity of the body has a z-axis coordinate (CGz) that is less than about 0 mm.

19. A golf club head comprising:

a body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity;

the body having a channel located on the sole and extending generally from a heel end of the body to a toe end of the body;

a weight member movably positioned within the channel such that a position of the weight member within the channel is able to be adjusted, thereby adjusting a location of a center of gravity of the body;

wherein the face includes a center face location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face at the center face location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin;

wherein adjustment of the weight member provides a maximum x-axis adjustment range of the position of the center of gravity (Max Δ

CGx) that is greater than 2 mm and a maximum y-axis adjustment range of the center of gravity (Max Δ

CGy) that is less than 3 mm.

20. The golf club head of claim 19, wherein the center of gravity of the body has a z-axis coordinate (CGz) that is less than about 0 mm.