Set of woods with face thickness variation based on loft angle

• US 6,506,127 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Issued: 01/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Callaway Golf Company (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Callaway Golf Company (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Inventors: Boyce, Ronald C., Galloway, J. Andrew, Hocknell, Alan, Helmstetter, Richard C., Aguinaldo, Homer E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sewell, Paul T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Legesse, Nini F.
• Application Number:
  US09/683,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20020052247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 473/290, 473/291, 473/342, 473/345, 473/350, 473/349, 473/329
• US Class Current: 473/290
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/005 Club sets
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0412 Volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0441 with visual indicators for aligning the golf club
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0458 with non-uniform thickness of the impact face plate
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B21J 5/00 Methods for forging, hammering, or pressing for working sheet-metal or metal tubes, rods, or profiles B21D; for working wire B21F; Special equipment or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B21K 17/00 Making sport articles, e.g. skates
• CPC Class Codes: C22F 1/183 of titanium or alloys based thereon
• CPC Class Codes: C23F 1/00 Etching metallic material by chemical means manufacture of printing surfaces B41C; manufacture of printed circuits H05K
• CPC Class Codes: C23F 1/26 for etching refractory metals

Abstract

The present invention is directed at varying the thickness of a striking plate of a golf club head according to the loft angle of the golf club head. The thickness of the striking plate is greater for lower loft angles, such as seven, eight and nine degrees loft angle drivers, as compared to ten, eleven and twelve degrees loft angle drivers. The striking plate may have a variable face thickness with the thickest region near the center.

Claims

1. A method for designing a set of drivers including a driver with a loft angle of seven degrees, a driver with a loft angle of nine degrees, a driver with a loft angle of eleven degrees and a driver with a loft angle of twelve degrees, each of the drivers of the set of drivers having the same or substantially the same club head volume, striking plate surface area, shape and appearance, and each of the club heads of the drivers of the set of drivers is composed of a titanium material, the method comprising:

designing the driver with a loft angle of seven degrees and the driver with a loft angle of nine degrees to each have a central region of a striking plate with a thickness ranging from 0.099 inch to 0.111 inch, and a thinner concentric region around the central region;

designing the driver with a loft angle of eleven degrees and the driver with a loft angle of twelve degrees to each have a central region of a striking plate with a thickness ranging from 0.093 inch to 0.105 inch and a thinner concentric region around the central region;

wherein the drivers with loft angles of seven degrees and nine degrees have a central region thickness that is greater than the drivers with loft angles of eleven degrees and twelve degrees, and wherein the central region of the striking plate of each of the drivers is the thickest region of the striking plate;

wherein all of the drivers of the set of drivers have a coefficient of restitution that ranges from 0.80 to 0.93 under standard USGA conditions, and wherein the face area of the striking plate of each of the drivers of the set of drivers ranges from 4.00 square inches to 7.50 square inches.