Golf club head having a multi-material face

• US 8,758,161 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2013
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Golden, Charles E., Hartwell, Bradford Hughes, de la Cruz, Noah, Deshmukh, Uday V., Morin, John, Mulherin, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US13/962,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20130324303A1
• Time in Patent Office: 320 Days
• Field of Search: 473287-292, 473324-350
• US Class Current: 473/329
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/02 with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/042 the face insert consisting of a material different from that of the head
• 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 53/0462 characterised by tapering 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: A63B 60/002 Resonance frequency related characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence

Abstract

A golf club with a multi-material face is disclosed herein. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention has a striking face that forms a pocket, wherein the pocket is filled with a secondary material having a lower density to improve the performance of the golf club head. The multi-material face disclosed in accordance with the present invention may generally have a characteristic time slope of greater than about 5 and less than about 50, wherein the characteristic time slope is determined based on the various data points collected according to the United States Golf Association'"'"'s (USGA'"'"'s) Characteristic Time (CT) test.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a striking face provided near a forward portion of said golf club head; and

a body portion, at least partially comprised out of a titanium material, connected to an aft portion of said striking face further comprising a crown, a sole, and a skirt;

said titanium material has a density of greater than about 4.0 g/cm³, and

wherein said striking face at least partially comprises a composite type material having a thickness of greater than about 0.2 mm and less than about 2.0 mm;

wherein said composite type material has a density of less than about 2.7 g/cm³.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said composite type material has a strain to failure percentage of greater than about 1.5% and less than about 10.0%.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein said strain to failure percentage is greater than about 2.0% and less than about 8.0%.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said strain to failure percentage is about 2.5%.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said composite type material portion of said striking face portion is protected by a cover layer.

6. The golf club head of claim 5, wherein said cover layer has a Vickers hardness of greater than about 100.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said golf club head has a first peak frequency occurring at greater than about 3,500 Hertz and less than about 4,500 Hertz.

8. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein said first peak frequency occurs at greater than about 3,750 Hertz and less than about 4,250 Hertz.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein said first peak frequency occurs at about 4,000 Hertz.

10. The golf club head of claim 7, wherein said golf club head of has a total sound power output of greater than about 0.1 watt.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein said total sound power output is greater than about 0.125 watt.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein said total sound power output is greater than about 0.15 watt.

13. A golf club head comprising:

a striking face provided near a forward portion of said golf club head; and

a body portion, at least partially comprised out of a first material, connected to an aft portion of said striking face further comprising a crown, a sole, and a skirt, said first material has a density of greater than about 4.0 g/cm³,

wherein said striking face at least partially comprises a second material having a thickness of greater than about 0.2 mm and less than about 2.0 mm;

wherein said second material has a density of less than about 2.7 g/cm³, and

wherein said striking face has a characteristic time slope of greater than about 5 and less than about 50.

14. The golf club head of claim 13, wherein said characteristic time slope is greater than about 10 and less than about 45.

15. The golf club head of claim 14, wherein said characteristic time slope is greater than about 15 and less than about 20.

16. The golf club head of claim 13, wherein said second material is a composite type material having a strain to failure percentage of greater than about 1.5% and less than about 10.0%.

17. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein said strain to failure percentage is greater than about 2.0% and less than about 8.0%.

18. The golf club head of claim 17, wherein said strain to failure to percentage is about 2.5%.

19. The golf club head of claim 16, wherein said composite type material portion of said striking face portion is protected by a cover layer.

20. The golf club head of claim 19, wherein said cover layer has a Vickers hardness of greater than about 1000.