Golf club head having a multi-material face

• US 8,864,602 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Curtis, Andrew J., de la Cruz, Noah, Deshmukh, Uday V., Golden, Charles E., Hartwell, Bradford Hughes, Morin, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US13/936,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20130296071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 473324-350, 473287-292
• 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 53/0408 characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/042 the face insert consisting of a material different from that of the head
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0425 the face insert comprising two or more different materials
• 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 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/46 Measurement devices associated with golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like for measuring physical parameters relating to sporting activity, e.g. baseball bats with impact indicators or bracelets for measuring the golf swing

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;

a body portion connected to an aft portion of said striking face further comprising a crown, a sole, and a skirt,

wherein at least one of said striking face, said crown, said sole, and said skirt is made out of a second material having a second density;

wherein a remainder portion of said striking face, said crown, said sole, and said skirt is made out of a first material having a first density;

wherein said second density is less than said first density; and

wherein said second material is a composite type material having a strain to failure percentage of greater than about 1.0% and less than about 10.0%.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said strain to failure percentage is greater than about 2.0% and less than about 8.0%.

3. The golf club head of claim 2, wherein said strain to failure percentage is about 2.5%.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said striking face is made out of said second material.

5. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said crown is made out of said second material.

6. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said sole is made out of said second material.

7. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said skirt is made out of said second material.

8. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said first density is greater than about 4.0g/cm³ and said second density is less than about 2.7 g/cm³.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein said first material is a titanium type material.

10. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein said first density is between about 4.0g/cm³ and about 5.0 g/cm³.

11. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein said golf club head has a first peak frequency occurring between about 3,500 hertz and about 4,500 hertz.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein said first peak frequency occurs between about 3,750 hertz and about 4,250 hertz.

13. The golf club head of claim 12, wherein said first peak frequency occurs at about 4,000 hertz.