Iron golf club head with dual intersecting recesses and associated slits

• US 5,437,456 A
• Filed: 04/11/1994
• Issued: 08/01/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Callaway Golf Company (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Callaway Golf Company (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Inventors: Helmstetter, Richard C., Schmidt, Glenn H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, Vincent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Steven B.
• Application Number:
  US08/225,775
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 273/77 A, 273/169, 273/167 A, 273/170, 273/167 F, 273/167 G, 273/167 H, 273/167 K, 273/167 J, 273/78
• US Class Current: 473/291
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/005 Club sets
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• 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 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/54 with means for damping vibrations

Abstract

A golf club head having a body defining a heel, toe, top wall, sole defining a bottom wall, and a front wall defining an upwardly and rearwardly inclined front face, and comprising the body defining a forwardly extending main recess located rearwardly of the front wall; and the body also defining an undercut recess located directly rearwardly of the front wall and extending outwardly from the main recess toward at least three of the following:

i) the top wall

ii) the bottom wall

iii) the toe

iv) the heel;

the body having at least one elongated slit therein extending generally parallel to the front face and spaced rearwardly therefrom, the slit intersecting an outer surface defined by the body.

Claims

1. A golf club head having a body defining a heel, toe, top wall, a bottom wall, and a front wall defining an upwardly and rearwardly inclined front face, and comprising

a) said body defining a forwardly extending main recess located rearwardly of said front wall,

b) said body also defining at least one rearward projection located vertically of said main recess and associated with one of said top and bottom walls,

c) said body having at least one slit therein extending in said rearward projection, the slit intersecting an outer surface defined by the body,

d) there being an undercut recess extending in said rearward projection proximate said front wall, said undercut recess intersecting said slit and said main recess,

e) said rearward projection projecting directly rearwardly of said undercut recess.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein there are at least two of said slits in said rearward projection.

3. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said rearward projection extends rearwardly from lower extent of said front wall.

4. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said rearward projection extends rearwardly from upper extent of said front wall.

5. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said rearward projection extends rearwardly of upper extent of said front wall to form said top wall, there is an additional rearward projection extending rearwardly from lower extent of said front wall to form said bottom wall, there are at least two of said slits, said slits located in at least one of said rearward projections.

6. The golf club head of claim 2 wherein said undercut recess intersects multiple of said slits and said main recess.

7. The golf club head of claim 5 wherein said undercut recess intersects multiple of said slits and said main recess.

8. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said slit extends generally parallel to said front face.

9. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said slit extends generally normal to said front face.

10. The golf club head of claim 6 wherein said slits have one of the following configurations:

extend generally parallel to said front face

extend generally normal to said front face.

11. The golf club head of claim 7 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly from said main recess and adjacent said front wall toward at least two the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel.

12. The club head of claim 7 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly from said main recess and adjacent said front wall toward at least three of the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel.

13. The golf club head of claim 7 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly from said main recess toward all four of the following:

i) said top wall

said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel.

14. The golf club head of claim 13 wherein said undercut recess extends in a loop that is generally parallel to the inclined front face.

15. The golf club head of claim 13 in which certain of said slits extend toward lengthwise extents of said undercut recess.

16. The golf club head of claim 13 in which certain of said slits extend toward said main recess.

17. The golf club head of claim 13 in which said slits terminate endwise in spaced relation from head corners defined by merging of said top wall and toe, said bottom wall and toe, and said bottom wall and heel.

18. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said body is metallic.

19. The golf club of claim 1 wherein said body consists of a metallic casting.

20. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said body defines an iron golf club head.

21. The golf club head of claim 7 wherein one of said rearward projections, from the undercut recess, has substantially greater overall rearward dimension than vertical thickness dimension.

22. The golf club head of claim 5 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly toward said top wall and toward said bottom wall, the depth of the undercut recess toward said top wall being lesser than the depth of said undercut recess toward said bottom wall.

23. The golf club head of claim 22 wherein said undercut recess toward said top wall has a substantially circular cross section adjacent said top wall, and said undercut recess toward said bottom wall has a substantially circular cross section adjacent said bottom wall.

24. Multiple golf club heads in a set, each head having a body defining a heel, toe, top wall, sole defining a bottom wall, and a front wall defining an upwardly and rearwardly inclined front face, and comprising

a) said body defining a forwardly extending main recess located rearwardly of said front wall,

b) and said body also defining an undercut recess located directly rearwardly of said front wall and extending outwardly from said main recess toward at least two of the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel,

c) the undercut recesses in said bodies of the set having increasing rearward angularity in correspondence to increasing rearward angularity of the inclined front faces of the bodies of the set,

d) and there being at least two slits in said body intersecting at least one of the following;

v) top wall

vii) said bottom wall,

e) said slits also intersecting said undercut recess.

25. The invention of claim 24 wherein in each of said bodies, the undercut recess projects toward the top wall and toward the bottom wall as defined, the undercut recess projecting toward the top wall having depth less than the undercut recess projecting toward the bottom wall.