Golf club head

• US 7,025,695 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2004
• Issued: 04/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Mitsuba, Atsuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US10/809,403
• Publication Number:
  US 20040198533A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473290-291, D21747-753
• 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 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• 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 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/54 with means for damping vibrations

Abstract

A golf club head comprises a face portion having a front face defining a club face for hitting a ball and a back surface, a sole portion extending backwards from a lower edge of the face portion, and a backside wall extending upwards from the sole portion and having a free upper end, wherein the backside wall comprises a portion inclined frontward in order to lower and deepen the center of gravity while mitigating the shock that the user'"'"'s hands get at the time of miss shot.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a face portion having a front face defining a club face for hitting a ball and a back surface;

a sole portion extending backwards from a lower edge of the face portion; and

a backside wall extending upwards from the sole portion and having a free upper end, said backside wall comprising an inclined portion inclined frontward so that a distance of a front surface of the inclined portion from said back surface of the face portion gradually decreases from a lower edge to an upper edge of the front surface of the inclined portion,

wherein said inclined portion has a thickness gradually decreasing from the lower edge to the upper edge of the front surface of the inclined portion so that the minimum thickness (t3) is at least 0.5 times the maximum thickness (t2).

7. The golf club head according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the sole portion has a substantially constant thickness.

8. The golf club head according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said front surface of the inclined portion is inclined at an angle of from 30 to 60 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane when the golf club head is in a measuring state.

9. The golf club head according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a vertical extent of said front surface of the inclined portion is in a range of from 3 to 30 mm when the golf club head is in a measuring state.

10. The golf club head according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the upper end of the backside wall is positioned at a height in a range of from 10 to 30 mm from a horizontal plane when the golf club head is in a measuring state.

2. A golf club head comprising:

a face portion having a front face defining a club face for hitting a ball and a back surface;

a sole portion extending backwards from a lower edge of the face portion; and

a backside wall extending upwards from the sole portion and having a free upper end, said backside wall comprising an inclined portion inclined frontward so that a distance of a front surface of the inclined portion from said back surface of the face portion gradually decreases from a lower edge to an upper edge of the front surface of the inclined portion,

wherein the sole portion has a thickness gradually increasing backwards from the front end of the sole portion.

11. The golf club head according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said inclined portion has a substantially constant thickness.

12. The golf club head according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said inclined portion has a thickness gradually decreasing from the lower edge to the upper edge of the front surface of the inclined portion.

13. The golf club head according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the sole portion has a thickness (t1) at the front end thereof and a thickness (t2) at the rear end thereof, and the ratio (t1/t2) of the thickness (t1) to the thickness (t2) is in a range of from 0.2 to 3.5.

3. A golf club head comprising:

a face portion having a front face defining a club face for hitting a ball and a back surface;

a sole portion extending backwards from a lower edge of the face portion; and

a backside wall extending upwards from the sole portion and having a free upper end, said backside wall comprising an inclined portion inclined frontward so that a distance of a front surface of the inclined portion from said back surface of the face portion gradually decreases from a lower edge to an upper edge of the front surface of the inclined portion,

wherein when said the distance between the front surface of the inclined portion from said back surface of the face portion is measured perpendicularly to the club face, the ratio (L2/L1) of a minimum value (L2) to a maximum value (L1) of the distance is in a range of from 0.1 to 0.7.

4. The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the sole portion has a thickness gradually increasing backwards from the front end of the sole portion.

5. The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the sole portion has a thickness gradually increasing backwards from the front end of the sole portion so that the thickness ratio (t1/t2) of a maximum value (t1) to a minimum value (t2) of the thickness is at most 3.5.

6. The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the sole portion has a thickness gradually increasing backwards from the front end of the sole portion so that the thickness ratio (t1/t2) of a maximum value (t1) to a minimum value (t2) of the thickness is at least 0.2.