Contoured golf club face

• US 5,830,084 A
• Filed: 10/23/1996
• Issued: 11/03/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
• Original Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
• Inventors: Kosmatka, John B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiu, Raleigh W.
• Application Number:
  US08/735,601
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 473/324, 473/349, 473/350, 473/345, 473/330
• US Class Current: 473/349
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0454 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 53/0462 characterised by tapering thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3635 with sound-emitting source

Abstract

A contoured golf club face provides increased structural integrity for a given weight and size is described and shown along with a method for its design. The contoured golf club face includes a vertical stiffening region, a tapered horizontal stiffening region, four similar contoured quadrants of increasingly thinning material toward the center of each quadrant, and thickening regions at face/sole and face/crown intersection regions. The thicknesses of adjoining regions are gradually blended to provide a smooth contoured surface. The present golf club face is light weight, is structurally resistant to impact deformation, is resistant to initial and long-term failure, has its mass center located at its sweet spot, exhibits inertial axes which are aligned with vertical and horizontal axes (i.e. primary club force directions: ball impact force and club centrifugal force directions), and produces acoustical tones. A club incorporating the present contoured golf club face may be provide a certain first acoustical sound when used to hit a ball with a certain first specific area of the face (e.g. the sweet spot or sweet spot region) and to provide a different second acoustical sound when used to hit a ball with an area of the face other than that first area (e.g. other than the sweet spot or sweet spot region). Thus, the present invention may be used to provide an educational tool for use in teaching and/or learning to consistently impact a ball on the optimal region of the club face.

Claims

1. A golf club face comprising

a vertical stiffening region located along a vertical central axis of the face, wherein the vertical stiffening region has a first thickness, and

a horizontal stiffening region located along a horizontal central axis of the face, wherein the horizontal stiffening region has a thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the vertical central axis to a second thickness distal from the vertical central axis, wherein the first thickness is thicker than the second thickness.

2. The golf club face of claim 1 further comprising

a face/crown stiffening region located along a face/crown intersecting edge of the face, wherein the face/crown stiffening region ha s a thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the vertical central axis to a third thickness distal from the vertical central axis, and

a face/sole stiffening region located along a face/sole intersecting edge of the face, wherein the face/sole stiffening region has a thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the vertical central axis to a third thickness distal from the vertical central axis, wherein the first thickness is thicker than the third thickness.

3. The golf club face of claim 2 further comprising

four thinned regions, wherein one thinned region is located in a quadrant, wherein each quadrant has a first edge defined by the vertical stiffening region, a second edge defined by the horizontal stiffening region, and third and fourth edges defined by circumferential edges of the face,

wherein each of the thinned regions has a fourth thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the first edge, from first and second thicknesses proximal the second edge, and from first and third thicknesses proximal the third and fourth edges, to the fourth thickness, wherein the first, second, and third thicknesses are thicker than the fourth thickness.

4. The golf club face as in claim 3 wherein each of the thinned regions is tuned to vibrate at a certain specific frequency when vibrationally excited by the golf club face hitting a golf ball.

5. A golf club head comprising a golf club face as in claim 3.

6. A golf club comprising a golf club head as in claim 5.

7. The golf club of claim 6 wherein the golf club head emits a first acoustical tone upon hitting a golf ball with the sweet spot region of the golf club face and a second acoustical tone upon hitting a golf ball with a region of the golf club face other than the sweet spot region.

8. A golf club head comprising a golf club face which comprises

a vertical stiffening region located along a vertical central axis of the face wherein the vertical stiffening region has a first thickness,

a horizontal stiffening region located along a horizontal central axis of the face wherein the horizontal stiffening region has a thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the vertical central axis to a second thickness distal from the vertical central axis, wherein the first thickness is thicker than the second thickness,

a face/crown stiffening region located along a face/crown intersecting edge of the face, wherein the face/crown stiffening region has a thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the vertical central axis to a third thickness distal from the vertical central axis,

a face/sole stiffening region located along a face/sole intersecting edge of the face, wherein the face/sole stiffening region has a thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the vertical central axis to a third thickness distal from the vertical central axis, wherein the first thickness is thicker than the third thickness, and

four thinned regions, wherein one thinned region is located in a quadrant, wherein each quadrant has a first edge defined by the vertical stiffening region, a second edge defined by the horizontal stiffening region, and third and fourth edges defined by circumferential edges of the face, wherein each of the thinned regions has a fourth thickness which tapers from a first thickness proximal the first edge, from first and second thicknesses proximal the second edge, and from first and third thicknesses proximal the third and fourth edges, to the fourth thickness, wherein the first, second, and third thicknesses are thicker than the fourth thickness, and wherein each of the thinned regions is tuned to vibrate at a certain specific frequency when vibrationally excited by the golf club face hitting a golf ball.

9. The golf club head of claim 8 wherein each thinned region vibrates as a frequency distinct from the others.

10. A method of designing a golf club face comprising the step of assigning given thicknesses to areas of the club face according to stress levels expected to be experienced by the areas when a force is exerted against the ball hitting surface of the face wherein said thicknesses gradually increase in areas expected to experience higher stress levels and decrease in areas expected to experience lower stress levels thereby resulting in a contoured surface.