Golf club head with weight adjustment

• US 6,306,048 B1
• Filed: 01/22/1999
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Perez, Jose, McCabe, Terrill R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US09/235,805
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 473/324, 473/330, 473/331, 473/332, 473/333, 473/334, 473/335, 473/336, 473/337, 473/338, 473/339, 473/340, 473/345, 473/346, 473/347, 473/348, 473/349, 473/350
• US Class Current: 473/333
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• 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 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

A golf club head includes a plurality of exterior walls which define a hollow interior cavity. The golf club head further includes an interior wall structure extending from one of the walls into the interior cavity. The interior wall structure defines a chamber therein. The chamber contains a flowable weighted material and a lighter weight flowable filler material. Both the weighted and the filler materials can be inserted and removed from the chamber through an aperture in the wall.

Claims

1. A golf club head, wherein the head comprises:

a hollow interior cavity therein;

a first support wall;

a second wall coupled to and extending from the first, support wall into the interior cavity, the second wall defining a chamber therein;

a first flowable material disposed within the chamber, the first material having a first weight; and

a second flowable material disposed within the chamber, and the second material having a second weight less than the first weight;

wherein the second flowable material has a fluid state and a set state, wherein in the set state the second material secures the first material within the chamber.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first material is disposed within a first section of the chamber and the second material is disposed within a second, distinct section of the chamber.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein the second material in the second section of the chamber is disposed between the first material in the first section of the chamber and the support wall.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the first section is a first layer and the second section is a second layer.

5. The golf club head of claim 4, further including a plurality of layers of the first material and a plurality of layers of the second material, wherein the layers of the first material alternate with the layers of the second material.

6. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the support wall is a sole of the head.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the support wall further defines an aperture extending from the interior surface of the support wall to the exterior surface of the support wall, the aperture providing a conduit into the chamber.

8. The golf club head of claim 7, further including a plug disposed in the aperture.

9. The golf club head of claim 7, further including a fastener disposed in the aperture.

10. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein the first material is formed of a plurality of particles and the diameter of each particle is less than the diameter of the aperture.

11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the support wall is a lower wall, and the golf club head further includes an upper wall, a front wall, a rear wall, a toe wall, a heel wall, and a centerline disposed substantially midway between the toe wall and the heel wall.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the chamber is centered with the centerline.

13. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the chamber is disposed between the toe wall and the centerline.

14. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the chamber is disposed between the heel wall and the centerline.

15. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the chamber is disposed adjacent the rear wall of the club head.

16. The golf club head of claim 11, further including three chambers, wherein at least one chamber contains the first material and the second material.

17. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein at least two of the chambers include the first material and the second material.

18. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein the first chamber is disposed between the heel wall and the centerline, the second chamber is centered with the centerline, the third chamber is disposed between the toe wall and the centerline.

19. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the chamber has a cylindrical shape.

20. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the chamber has an arcuate shape.

21. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first material is selected from the group consisting of tungsten, copper, aluminum, a non-toxic metal, and a mixture thereof.

22. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the second material is selected from the group consisting of adhesive, glue, caulking material, a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, epoxy, and a mixture thereof.

23. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the interior cavity surrounding the second wall is filled with a foam material.

26. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the chamber is only a single chamber.

27. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the chamber is substantially vertically elongated.

28. The golf club head of claim 26, wherein the chamber has a cylindrical shape of uniform diameter.

24. A golf club head defining an interior cavity therein, wherein the head comprises:

a first support wall;

a second wall coupled to and extending from the first, support wall into the interior cavity, the second wall defining a chamber therein;

a first flowable material disposed within a first section of the chamber, the first material having a first weight; and

a second material disposed within a second, distinct section of the chamber, the second material having a fluid state and a set state, wherein in the set state the second material secures the first material within the first section of the chamber, and the second material having a second weight less than the first weight.

25. A golf club head comprising:

a body formed of an upper wall, a front wall, a rear wall a toe wall, and a heel wall defining an interior cavity therein and a bottom opening;

a lower wall connected to the body in the opening for closing interior cavity, the lower wall having a side wall member extending therefrom, a top wall disposed on the free end of the side wall member to define a chamber therein, and the lower wall further defining an aperture for providing a conduit into the chamber;

a first flowable material disposed within a first section of the chamber, the first material having a first weight and being formed of a plurality of particles;

a second material disposed within a second section of the chamber, the second material having a fluid state and a set state, wherein in the set state the second material secures the first material within the first section of the chamber, and the second material having a second weight less than the first weight; and

a closure member disposed within the aperture.