Golf club head

• US 7,435,190 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Issued: 10/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti; Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US11/143,500
• Publication Number:
  US 20050272527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350
• US Class Current: 473/345
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/023 Long, oriented fibres, e.g. wound filaments, woven fabrics, mats
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/026 Ratio fibres-total material
• 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

Abstract

A hollow golf club head comprises a main body made of at least one kind of metal material, said main body provided with an opening having a surface area projected onto the head surface in the range of from 15% to 70% of the entire surface area of the head, and a cover member attached to said main body so as to cover said opening, said cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin having a resin content in the range of from 25% to 60%.

Claims

1. A hollow golf club head comprising

a main body made of at least one kind of metal material, said main body provided with a plurality of openings, a total surface area of the openings projected onto the head surface being from 15% to 70% of the entire surface area of the head, and

a plurality of cover members provided apart from each other respectively and attached to said main body using an adhesive agent so as to cover said openings, said cover members made of a fiber reinforced resin, and the plurality of cover members comprising at least two kinds of cover members having different percentage resin contents.

2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the golf club head has a volume in the range of from 300 cm³ to 500 cm³.

3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein

in a standard condition in which the golf club head is grounded on a horizontal surface at a prescribed lie and loft angles thereof,

said openings are provided in at least two zones of a lower zone which is ⅙

or less of a maximum head height from the horizontal surface, an upper zone which is ⅔

or more of the maximum head height from the horizontal surface, and a middle zone which is a zone between the lower zone and the upper zone.

4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the fiber reinforced resin has a resin content in the range of from 30% to 60%.

5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the fiber reinforced resin has a resin content in the range of from 35% to 60%.

6. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein said main body is provided with at least three openings covered with at least three cover members.

7. The golf club head according to claims 1, wherein the head comprises:

a face portion whose front face defines a club face for striking a ball;

a crown portion intersecting the club face at the upper edge thereof;

a sole portion intersecting the club face at the lower edge thereof; and

a side portion between the crown portion and the sole portion which extends from a toe-side edge to a heel-side edge of the club face through the back face of the club head;

wherein

said main body is provided with an upper opening in the crown portion, a lower opening in the sole portion and a middle opening in the side portion.

8. The golf club head according to claim 7, wherein said each opening has the surface area in the range of from 3% to 40% of the entire surface area of the head.

9. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein

the openings comprise an upper opening provided on a crown portion of the head,

the cover members comprise an upper cover member covering the upper opening,

a crown receiving portion is provided around the upper opening, and

the crown receiving portion has a stepped face for contacting and supporting an inner surface of a peripheral portion of the upper cover member.

10. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the fiber of the cover member has an elastic modulus in tension of from 50 to 450 GPa.

11. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein

the cover members are made using a unidirectional prepreg sheet, and

the unidirectional prepreg sheet has fibers aligned at a certain orientation dipped in the resin.

12. The golf club head according to claim 11, wherein

the cover members are made using a plurality of unidirectional prepreg sheets lapped on each other, and

the prepreg sheets comprise

at least one first prepreg sheet having fibers oriented at 90 degrees with respect to a front-back direction of the head and

at least one second prepreg sheet having fibers oriented at 0 degree with respect to the front-back direction of the head.

13. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein

the openings comprise an upper opening provided on a crown portion of the head,

the cover members comprise an upper cover member covering the upper opening, and

the ratio (L1/La) between a head length La corresponding to a maximum length in a front-back direction of the head and a horizontal shortest distance L1 in the front-back direction from the leading edge Le to the upper opening is not less than 0.40.

14. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein

the openings comprise a lower opening provided on a sole portion of the head,

the cover members comprise a lower cover member covering the lower opening, and

the ratio (L2/La) between a head length La corresponding to a maximum length in a front-back direction of the head and a horizontal shortest distance L2 from the leading edge Le to the lower opening is not less than 0.30.

15. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the cover members comprise

an upper cover member covering an upper opening provided on a crown portion of the head,

a lower cover member covering a lower opening provided on a sole portion of the head and

a middle cover member covering a middle opening provided on a side portion of the head, and

the upper and the lower cover members each have the resin content smaller than that of the middle cover member.

16. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the fiber reinforced resin has a resin content in the range of from 25% to 60%.

17. A hollow golf club head comprising

a main body made of at least one kind of metal material, said main body provided with an opening, a surface area of the opening projected onto the head surface being from 15% to 70% of the entire surface area of the head, and

a cover member attached to said main body using an adhesive agent so as to cover said opening, said cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin having a resin content in the range of from 25% to 60%, wherein

the opening comprises an upper opening provided on a crown portion of the head,

the cover member comprises an upper cover member covering the upper opening without a gap in the coverage of the upper opening provided by the upper cover member,

a crown receiving portion is provided around the upper opening, and

the crown receiving portion has a stepped face for contacting and providing uninterrupted support for an inner surface of a peripheral portion of the upper cover member.

18. A hollow golf club head comprising

a main body made of at least one kind of metal material, said main body provided with an opening, a surface area of the opening projected onto the head surface being from 15% to 70% of the entire surface area of the head, and

a cover member attached to said main body using an adhesive agent so as to cover said opening, said cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin having a resin content in the range of from 25% to 60%, wherein

the opening comprises an upper opening provided on a crown portion of the head,

the cover member comprises an upper cover member covering the upper opening, and

the ratio (L1/La) between a head length La corresponding to a maximum length in a front-back direction of the head and a horizontal shortest distance L1 in the front-back direction from the leading edge Le to the upper opening is not less than 0.40.

19. A hollow golf club head comprising

a main body made of at least one kind of metal material, said main body provided with an opening, a surface area of the opening projected onto the head surface being from 15% to 70% of the entire surface area of the head, and

a cover member attached to said main body using an adhesive agent so as to cover said opening, said cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin having a resin content in the range of from 25% to 60%, wherein

the opening comprises a lower opening provided on a sole portion of the head,

the cover member comprises a lower cover member covering the lower opening, and

the ratio (L2/La) between a head length La corresponding to a maximum length in a front-back direction of the head and a horizontal shortest distance L2 from the leading edge Le to the lower opening is not less than 0.30.