GOLF CLUB HEAD

• US 20160263450A1
• Filed: 05/19/2016
• Published: 09/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Greensmith, Matthew, Beach, Todd P., Sargent, Nathan T., Willett, Kraig Alan, Dipert, Joshua J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,623,291 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/022 allowing adjustable positioning of the head with respect to the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/025 lie angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about an axis parallel to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/026 loft angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/027 about the longitudinal axis of the shaft only
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown 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 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 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. In some embodiments, the crown includes a lattice-like structure having thin regions surrounded by a web of relatively thicker regions. In some embodiments, the club head includes one or more stiffening tubes attached between the sole and the crown to improve the acoustic performance of the golf club head.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a crown and a sole;

a face coupled to the club head body, such that the club head defines a hollow interior region between the face, the crown, and the sole; and

an elongated stiffening member positioned within the hollow interior region and having a first end coupled to the crown, a second end coupled to the sole, and an elongated intermediate portion spanning across the hollow interior region from the first end to the second end;

wherein the stiffening member increases the stiffness of the golf club head and increases the frequency of sound vibrations produced by the golf club head when striking a golf ball.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises a hollow tube.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises a solid rod.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises an elongated beam extending lengthwise between the crown and the sole.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member has a cross-sectional diameter that is less than a length between the first and second ends.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the club head body comprises a skirt portion between the crown and the sole, and the intermediate portion is suspended within the hollow interior region such that the stiffening member does not contact the skirt portion.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the intermediate portion does not contact any portion of the crown or the sole.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises an I-beam.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises a conical shape.

10. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member defines a length between the first and second ends, and a maximum cross-sectional dimension perpendicular to the length, and the length is at least three times longer than the maximum cross-sectional dimension.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the length is at least four times longer than the maximum cross-sectional dimension.

12. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first end of the stiffening member is coupled to an otherwise unsupported area of the crown.

13. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the second end of the stiffening member is coupled to an otherwise unsupported area of the sole.

14. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member is coupled to a concave portion of the golf club head to increase the stiffness of the concave portion, wherein the concave portion is a portion of the club head body having an external surface that curves, bulges or otherwise projects generally inwardly toward the hollow interior region of the club head.

15. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the second end of the stiffening member is coupled to a port in the sole adapted to receive an attachable and detachable member below the stiffening member.

16. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the crown comprises a forward crown portion and a rearward crown portion, and the rearward crown portion comprises a lattice-like structure that includes a plurality of thin regions that are surrounded by a web of thick regions, the thick regions being relatively thicker than the thin regions.

17. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly that is operable to adjust at least one of the loft angle, lie angle, or face angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly.

18. The golf club head of claim 17, further comprising at least one weight member that is attachable and detachable to the club head body.

19. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising at least one adjustable weight member that is securable to the club head body over a range of positions.

20. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first mode frequency of the golf club head, generated upon impact with a golf ball, is greater than 2,800 Hz.