GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH A BODY-CONFORMING WEIGHT MEMBER

• US 20180178093A1
• Filed: 02/22/2018
• Published: 06/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Inventors: LACEY, Sam G., NIVANH, Dan S., RADCLIFFE, Nathaniel J., BREKKE, Dustin J.
• Granted Patent: US 11,278,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/02 with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres
• 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 53/0466 wood-type
• 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

Abstract

A golf club head includes a main body having a top portion, a bottom portion, a striking face, and an interior surface. A weight member is coupled to the interior surface of the main body. In an imaginary vertical plane that passes through the weight member, the interior surface of the main body comprises a first point and a second point. An imaginary line passes through the first point and the second point. A first imaginary boundary line and a second imaginary boundary line, both passing through the weight member and being perpendicular to the imaginary line, pass through the first point and the second point, respectively. Between the first point and the second point, the interior surface of the main body has an irregularity factor of at least 1.2 and the weight member comprises a distribution factor of at most 1.0 and a conformity factor of at most 0.07.

Claims

1. A hollow-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:

a volume no less than 250 cc;

a main body comprising;

a top portion;

a sole portion including an exterior surface and interior surface having an irregularly-contoured portion that includes abrupt changes in curvature;

a striking face having a face center;

a peripheral golf club head edge;

an overall club-head width measured in a heel-toe direction; and

an overall club-head length measured in a forward-rearward direction; and

a discrete weight member having a bottom surface coupled to the irregularly-contoured portion of the interior surface of the sole portion such that both the bottom surface and the top surface of the weight member generally conform to the irregularly-contoured portion, the weight member comprising a density of at least about 3 g/cc, a projection area, in a top plan view, of at least about 2 cm², wherein a majority of the mass of the weight member is located in a three-dimensional space, bounded, in a top plan view, between the peripheral golf club head edge and an imaginary boundary inwardly offset from the peripheral edge by a distance of 0.3 times the overall club head length.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight member further comprises a weight-member width in the heel-toe direction wherein a ratio of the weight-member width to the overall club-head width is at least 0.3.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the sole portion of the main body comprises a material having an elongation of at least about 10%.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a total club-head mass wherein a ratio of the mass of the weight member to the total club-head mass is at least 0.04.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a total club-head mass between about 150 g and about 225 g.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight member comprises a plurality of peripheral recesses.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the weight member comprises a first position locator and the interior surface of the main body comprises a second position locator, the first and second position locators being complementary to each other.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a primary natural frequency between about 3000 Hz and about 4500 Hz.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a moment of inertia, Izz, of at least about 4500 g*cm².

10. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising an overall height, wherein at least 75% of the mass of the weight member is positioned between a first imaginary horizontal plane that is spaced from the ground plane by a distance of 0.03 times the overall height of the golf club head and a second imaginary horizontal plane that is spaced from the ground plane by a distance of 0.25 times the overall height of the golf club head.

11. A hollow-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:

a main body comprising;

a top portion;

a sole portion including an exterior surface and interior surface having an irregularly-contoured portion that includes abrupt changes in curvature;

a striking face having a face center;

a peripheral golf club head edge;

an overall club-head width measured in a heel-toe direction; and

an overall club-head length measured in a forward-rearward direction; and

a discrete weight member having a mass, a top surface, and a bottom surface coupled to the irregularly-contoured portion of the interior surface of the sole portion such that the bottom surface of the weight member generally conforms to the irregularly-contoured portion, the weight member comprising a projection area, in a top plan view, of at least about 2 cm²,

wherein;

a majority of the mass of the weight member is located in a three-dimensional space, bounded, in a top plan view, between the peripheral golf club head edge and an imaginary boundary inwardly offset from the peripheral edge by a distance of 0.3 times the overall club head length; and

the bottom surface of the weight member comprises a first position locator and the interior surface of the sole portion of the main body comprises a second position locator, the first and second position locators being complementary to each other.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the weight member further comprises a weight-member width in the heel-toe direction wherein a ratio of the weight-member width to the overall club-head width is at least 0.3.

13. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the sole portion of the main body comprises a material having an elongation of at least about 10%.

14. The golf club head of claim 11, further comprising a total club-head mass wherein a ratio of the mass of the weight member to the total club-head mass is at least 0.04.

15. The golf club head of claim 11, further comprising a total club-head mass between about 150 g and about 225 g.

16. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the weight member comprises a plurality of peripheral recesses.

17. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the bottom surface of the weight member comprises a first position locator and the interior surface of the main body comprises a second position locator, the first and second position locators being complementary to each other.

18. The golf club head of claim 11, further comprising a primary natural frequency between about 3000 Hz and about 4500 Hz.

19. The golf club head of claim 11, further comprising a moment of inertia, Izz, of at least about 4500 g*cm².

20. The golf club head of claim 11, further comprising an overall height, wherein at least 75% of the mass of the weight member is positioned between a first imaginary horizontal plane that is spaced from the ground plane by a distance of 0.03 times the overall height of the golf club head and a second imaginary horizontal plane that is spaced from the ground plane by a distance of 0.25 times the overall height of the golf club head.