Hollow golf club head having crown stress reducing feature

• US 8,591,351 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2012
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Albertsen, Jeffrey J., Burnett, Michael Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): HUNTER, ALVIN A
• Application Number:
  US13/543,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20120277030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350
• US Class Current: 473/329
• 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 53/0433 with special sole configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• 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 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

A hollow golf club head incorporating a stress reducing feature including a crown located stress reducing feature. The location and size of the crown stress reducing feature, and their relationship to one another and other club head engineering variables, play a significant role in selectively increasing deflection of the face.

Claims

1. A hollow golf club head (400) comprising:

(i) a face (500) positioned at a front portion (402) of the golf club head (400) where the golf club head (400) impacts a golf ball, opposite a rear portion (404) of the golf club head (400), wherein the face (400) includes an engineered impact point (EIP), a top edge height (TEH), and a lower edge height (LEH);

(ii) a sole (700) positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head (400);

(iii) a crown (600) positioned at a top portion of the golf club head (400);

(iv) a bore having a center that defines a shaft axis (SA) which intersects with a horizontal ground plane (GP) to define an origin point, wherein the bore is located at a heel side (406) of the golf club head (400), and wherein a toe side (408) of the golf club head (400) is located opposite of the heel side (406);

(v) a center of gravity (CG) located;

(a) vertically toward the crown (600) of the golf club head (400) from the origin point a distance Ycg;

(b) horizontally from the origin point toward the toe side (408) of the golf club head (400) a distance Xcg that is generally parallel to the face (500) and the ground plane (GP); and

(c) a distance Zcg from the origin toward the rear portion (404) in a direction generally orthogonal to the vertical direction used to measure Ycg and generally orthogonal to the horizontal direction used to measure Xcg;

(vi) a stress reducing feature (1000) including a crown located SRF (1100) located on the crown (600), wherein;

(a) the crown located SRF (1100) has a CSRF length (1110) between a CSRF toe-most point (1112) and a CSRF heel-most point (1116), a CSRF leading edge (1120) having a CSRF leading edge offset (1122), a CSRF width (1140) that is at least forty percent of the Zcg distance, and a CSRF depth (1150);

(b) the minimum CSRF leading edge offset (1122) is less than the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH); and

(c) the CSRF depth (1150) is at least ten percent of the Ycg distance.

2. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein the minimum CSRF leading edge offset (1122) is at least ten percent of the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH), and the minimum CSRF width (1140) is at least fifty percent of the CSRF leading edge offset (1122).

3. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 2, wherein the minimum CSRF leading edge offset (1122) is at least twenty percent of the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH).

4. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 2, wherein the maximum CSRF leading edge offset (1122) is less than seventy-five percent of the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH).

5. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein

(a) a CSRF toe offset (1114) is the distance measured in the same direction as the Xcg distance from the CSRF toe-most point (1112) to the most distant point on the toe side (408) of golf club head (400) in this direction;

and

(b) the CSRF toe offset (1114) is at least as great as fifty percent of the heel blade length section (Abl).

6. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein the maximum CSRF width (1140) is at least twenty percent of the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH).

7. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein the CSRF depth (1150) is less at the face centerline than at least one point on the toe side (408) of the face centerline.

8. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein the CSRF width (1140) is less at the face centerline than at least one point on the toe side (408) of the face centerline.

9. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein the crown located SRF (1100) has a CSRF wall thickness (1160) that is less than sixty percent of a maximum face thickness (530).

10. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 1, wherein the crown located SRF (1100) has a CSRF leading edge radius of curvature (1124) that is within forty percent of a bulge radius of curvature of the face (500).

11. A hollow golf club head (400) comprising:

(i) a face (500) positioned at a front portion (402) of the golf club head (400) where the golf club head (400) impacts a golf ball, opposite a rear portion (404) of the golf club head (400), wherein the face (400) includes an engineered impact point (EIP) and a top edge height (TEH);

(ii) a sole (700) positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head (400);

(iii) a crown (600) positioned at a top portion of the golf club head (400);

(iv) a bore having a center that defines a shaft axis (SA) which intersects with a horizontal ground plane (GP) to define an origin point, wherein the bore is located at a heel side (406) of the golf club head (400), and wherein a toe side (408) of the golf club head (400) is located opposite of the heel side (406);

(v) a center of gravity (CG) located;

(a) vertically toward the crown (600) of the golf club head (400) from the origin point a distance Ycg;

(b) horizontally from the origin point toward the toe side (408) of the golf club head (400) a distance Xcg that is generally parallel to the face (500) and the ground plane (GP); and

(c) a distance Zcg from the origin toward the rear portion (404) in a direction generally orthogonal to the vertical direction used to measure Ycg and generally orthogonal to the horizontal direction used to measure Xcg;

(vi) a stress reducing feature (1000) including a crown located SRF (1100) located on the crown (600), wherein the crown located SRF (1100) has a CSRF length (1110) between a CSRF toe-most point (1112) and a CSRF heel-most point (1116), a CSRF leading edge (1120), a CSRF leading edge offset (1122), a CSRF width (1140), and a CSRF depth (1150), wherein;

(a) the minimum CSRF leading edge offset (1122) is less than the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH);

(b) the crown located SRF (1100) has a CSRF cross-sectional area (1170), and the CSRF cross-sectional area (1170) is less at a face centerline (FC) than at least one point on the heel side (406) of the face centerline (FC);

(c) the maximum CSRF depth (1150) is at least ten percent of the Ycg distance; and

(d) the crown located SRF (1100) has a CSRF wall thickness (1160) that is less than sixty percent of a maximum face thickness (530).

12. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 11, having a club moment arm (CMA) from the CG to the engineered impact point (EIP) of less than 1.3 inches.

13. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 11, wherein the maximum CSRF leading edge offset (1122) less than seventy-five percent of the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH).

14. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 11, wherein the maximum CSRF width (1140) is at least twenty percent of the difference between the maximum top edge height (TEH) and the minimum lower edge height (LEH).

15. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 11, wherein

(a) a CSRF toe offset (1114) is the distance measured in the same direction as the Xcg distance from the CSRF toe-most point (1112) to the most distant point on the toe side (408) of golf club head (400) in this direction;

and

(b) the CSRF toe offset (1114) is at least fifty percent of the heel blade length section (Abl).

16. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 11, wherein the maximum CSRF width (1140) is at least ten percent of the Zcg distance.

17. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 16, wherein the maximum CSRF width (1140) is at least forty percent of the Zcg distance.

18. The hollow golf club head (400) of claim 11, wherein the CSRF depth (1150) is less at a face centerline than at least one point on the heel side (406) of the face centerline (FC).