Golf club head and method of manufacture

• US 5,232,224 A
• Filed: 08/18/1992
• Issued: 08/03/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert L. Zeider
• Original Assignee: Robert L. Zeider
• Inventors: Zeider, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, STEVEN B
• Application Number:
  US07/932,713
• Time in Patent Office: 350 Days
• Field of Search: 273/167 H, 273/167 K, 273/80.1-80.8, 273/169, 273/173, 273/167 F, 273/167 G, 273/167 J
• US Class Current: 473/345
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• 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

Abstract

A golf club head of the metal-wood type is made from several components welded together along parting lines. A head base has a sole plate formed integrally with a heel, toe and back wall for the club, and has open front and upper faces across which a face plate and crown plate, respectively, are welded. The base, face plate and crown plate are all stamped sheet metal parts. A hosel tube projects upwardly at a desired lie angle from the base through an opening in the crown plate. The various parts are held together at selected loft and lie angles in suitable holding fixtures before being welded in place, so that heads can be custom made with different head geometries using the same basic tooling.

Claims

1. A golf club head, comprising:

a plurality of components welded together in assembled relation to define a hollow golf club head of the metal-wood type;

the components comprising a head base having a sole plate, heel, toe and back wall for said club head, the base having an open front face and a substantially flat open top face, the open front face having a lower edge and spaced side edges each comprising flat, forwardly-facing edges, the side edges terminating at a junction with the open top face, a face plate welded across the open front face of said base, a crown plate having a smooth upper surface with no protrusions welded across the open top face of said base, and a hosel tube secured to project upwardly from the crown plate at any one of a range of possible angles to the crown plate;

the flat side and lower edges at the open front face comprising means for being machined to a selected loft angle;

the crown plate having an opening at its outer peripheral edge adjacent the heel of said base;

the hosel tube extending through said opening into the interior of the head, the opening being of predetermined dimensions greater than the diameter of said hosel tube by a predetermined amount to leave a clearance between the opening and hosel tube to allow a predetermined amount of tilting of said hosel tube for angular adjustment of the hosel tube prior to welding to the head;

The hosel tube being welded around its periphery to the opening in the crown plate at the selected angle; and

the base, face plate and crown plate all comprising stamped sheet metal parts.

2. The head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crown plate is substantially flat and fits flat against the open top face of the base.

3. A method of making a golf club head of the metal wood type, comprising the steps of:

stamping a head base from sheet metal material, the head base comprising a sole plate formed integrally with a heel, toe and back wall and having an open front face and a substantially flat open top face, the open front face having a lower edge and spaced side edges each comprising a flat, forwardly-facing edge, the side edges each terminating at a junction with the open top face;

stamping a face plate to conform to the shape and dimensions of the open front face of the base;

stamping a crown plate to conform to the shape and dimensions of the open top face of the base, said crown plate having a smooth upper surface with no protrusions;

machining the side and lower edges of the open front face to a selected loft angle;

securing the face plate to the open front face of the base at the selected loft angle;

adjusting the angle of a hosel tube relative to the top face of the base to a selected angle within a predetermined range, and positioning the hosel tube to project into the base at the selected angle; and

securing the crown plate and hosel tube to the base with the crown plate extending across the open top face of the base and the hosel tube projecting upwardly from the crown plate at the selected angle.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of stamping the crown plate comprises forming an opening of larger dimensions than the hosel tube diameter at the peripheral edge of the crown plate adjacent the heel of said base, and the steps of securing the crown plate and hosel tube comprises holding the hosel tube at any selected lie angle with a predetermined range to the base, welding the hosel tube in place, and welding the crown plate to the base and hosel tube.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of securing the face plate to the base comprises holding the base and face plate together at a selected loft angle in a holding fixture and tack welding around the junction between the parts.

6. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of machining the open front face comprises machining the side and lower edges to a selected loft angle in the range from 7°

to 22°

.

7. A golf club head, comprising:

a head base having a sole plate, heel, toe and back wall for a hollow golf club head of the metal-wood type, the base having an open front face and an open top face each having a flat peripheral edge, the peripheral edge of the front face facing forwardly and having opposite sides meeting the peripheral edge of the open top face at the heel and toe of the base to form a pair of corner junctions which are substantially co-planar;

the forwardly-facing peripheral edge of the front face comprising means for machining the open front face to a selected loft angle in a range from 7°

to 22°

;

a face plate welded across the open front face of the base at the machined loft angle;

a crown plate having a smooth upper surface with substantially no protrusions welded across the open top face of the base;

the crown plate having an opening at its outer peripheral edge adjacent the heel of said base;

a hosel tube extending through said opening into the interior of the head at a selected angle to a position spaced from the sole plate, the opening being of dimensions greater than the diameter of the hosel tube by a predetermined amount and comprising means for allowing a predetermined amount of tilting of said hosel tube for adjustment of the angle of said hosel tube prior to attachment to the head, the hosel tube being welded to the head around the periphery of the crown plate opening at the selected angle.