Golf club head with audible vibration attenuation

• US 5,605,511 A
• Filed: 12/06/1994
• Issued: 02/25/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
• Original Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
• Inventors: Helmstetter, Richard C., Schmidt, Glenn H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, Charles W.
• Application Number:
  US08/350,335
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 273/169, 273/78, 273/167 H, 273/167 F, 473/430, 473/329, 473/332, 473/341, 473/347, 473/348, 473/349, 473/350, 473/334
• US Class Current: 473/324
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/005 Club sets
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/021 the shaft axis being forwardly offset relative to the striking face of the head
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• 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 53/0458 with non-uniform thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• 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 one or more of the following:

i) the top wall

ii) the bottom wall

iii) the toe

iv) the heel;

and structure on said front wall and located forwardly of the main recess for attenuating audible vibration created when a golf ball is struck by the front face.

Claims

1. 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

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 one the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel,

c) and means on said body and openly exposed to said undercut recess for attenuating audible vibration created when a golf ball is struck by said front face.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said front wall has a rear side and said means is bonded to said rear side and openly exposed to said recess.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said means include a thin plate and adhesive material securing said plate to said rear side of the front wall, and in spaced relation to said undercut recess.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said thin plate has a periphery, and said front wall has a shallow re-entrant recess at said rear side receiving said plate, closely adjacent said periphery.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein said thin plate has an enlarged central portion and two wings projecting oppositely generally toward the toe and heel respectively of the head.

6. The golf club head of claim 3 wherein said means includes a tape, with said adhesive material at opposite sides of the tape to adhere to the thin plate and to adhere to said rear side of the front wall.

7. The golf club head of claim 3 including a re-entrant recess in said rear side of the front wall, the recess and said plate and tape having corresponding peripheries.

8. The golf club head of claim 7 including a ridge on said rear side of the front wall and projecting rearwardly at said periphery of the recess.

9. The golf club head of claim 7 wherein the thin plate and tape define a medial enlarged portion, and wing portions projecting oppositely from said medial portions and toward the head, toe, and heel, respectively, the plate being metallic.

10. The golf club head of claim 7 including indicia on the plate and facing said main recess.

11. The combination of claim 1 wherein said undercut recess extends about said means in spaced relation thereto.

12. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means includes a thin plate and adhesive material securing said plate to said body.

13. The golf club head of claim 12 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly from said main recess and adjacent said front wall in spaced relation to said thin plate toward at least two the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel.

14. The club head of claim 12 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly from said main recess and adjacent said front wall in spaced relation to said thin plate toward at least three of the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel.

15. The golf club head of claim 12 wherein said undercut recess extends outwardly from said main recess and in spaced relation to said thin plate toward all four of the following:

i) said top wall

ii) said bottom wall

iii) said toe

iv) said heel.

16. The golf club head of claim 15 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.

17. The golf club head of claim 16 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, and rearward of the uppermost level of said front wall.

18. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein said undercut recess proximate said heel and proximate the toe decreases gradually in depth in an upward direction.

19. The golf club head of claim 15 wherein said undercut recess extends in a loop that is generally parallel to the inclined front face.

20. The combination of claim 12 wherein said thin plate defines an area between 20% and 65% of the area of the rear side of the front plate subtended by both said main and undercut recesses.

21. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said body has 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.

22. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head has rearward projection with upward thickening between said bottom wall and said main recess, and rearwardly of said undercut recess that extends toward said bottom wall.

23. The golf club head of claim 22 wherein said head has rearward projection with downward thickening between said top wall and said main recess, and rearwardly of said undercut recess that extends toward said top wall.

24. The golf club head of claim 22 wherein said body is a one-piece casting, and defines an iron golf club head.

25. The golf club head of claim 22 wherein said rearward projection from the undercut recess has substantially greater overall rearward dimension than vertical thickness dimension.

26. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said head has rearward projection with downward thickening between said top wall and said main recess, and rearwardly of said undercut recess that extends toward said top wall.

27. The golf club head of claim 26 wherein said rearward projection from the undercut recess has substantially greater overall rearward dimension than vertical thickness dimension.

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

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

30. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said undercut recess projects outwardly to an extent w₁, and has front to rear thickness t₁, where 0.5t₁ <

w₁ <

1.5_t.