Iron type golf club head
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
- a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion;
wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin;
wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;
wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;
wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar;
wherein the first channel has a first channel depth comprising a vertical distance between the ground plane and an uppermost point of the first channel, with an average of the first channel depth within the central region being from about 5 mm to about 25 mm.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Iron-type golf club heads are disclosed having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a front portion, a rear portion, and a striking face. The iron-type golf club heads include a flexible boundary structure (“FBS”) that is provided at one or more locations on the club head. The flexible boundary structure may comprise, in several embodiments, a slot, a channel, a gap, a thinned or weakened region, or other structure that enhances the capability of an adjacent or related portion of the golf club head to flex or deflect and to thereby provide a desired improvement in the performance of the golf club head.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar; wherein the first channel has a first channel depth comprising a vertical distance between the ground plane and an uppermost point of the first channel, with an average of the first channel depth within the central region being from about 5 mm to about 25 mm.
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2. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar; wherein the first channel has a first channel length L1; wherein the body has a sole length LB; and wherein a ratio of the first channel length to the sole length satisfies the following inequality;
0.35<
L1/LB<
0.67.
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3. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar; wherein the first channel defines a first channel depth H1 that comprises the vertical distance from the ground plane to the uppermost point of the first channel; wherein the body defines a body height HCH that comprises the vertical distance from the ground plane to the uppermost point of the body; and wherein a ratio of an average value of the first channel depth H1 within the central region to the body height HCH satisfies the following inequality;
0.07<
H1AVG/HCH<
0.50.
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4. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm,wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar; wherein the first channel defines a first channel centerline and the face portion defines a face plane, and wherein projections of the first channel centerline and the face plane onto the ground plane define a face to channel distance D1; wherein the sole portion defines a sole width D3; and wherein a ratio of an average value of the face to channel distance D1 within the central region to an average value of the sole width D3 within the central region satisfies the following inequality;
0.15<
D1/D3<
0.71.
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5. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;wherein the sole bar defines a first channel extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion and having a first channel opening located on a bottom surface of the sole bar; wherein the body defines an interior cavity, and wherein the body has a volume V that satisfies the following inequality;
10 cc<
V<
120 cc.
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6. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion, the body further defining a rear void; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB, such that 0.05<
TFS/TSB<
0.4;wherein the sole portion includes a slot extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion, the slot defining a portion of a path that extends through the sole portion and into the rear void. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A clubhead for an iron-type golf club, comprising:
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a body having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, and a face portion, wherein said sole portion extends rearwardly from a lower end of said face portion, the body further defining a rear void; wherein the face portion includes an ideal striking location that defines the origin of a coordinate system in which an x-axis is tangential to the face portion at the ideal striking location and is parallel to a ground plane when the body is in a normal address position, a y-axis extends perpendicular to the x-axis and is also parallel to the ground plane, and a z-axis extends perpendicular to the ground plane, wherein a positive x-axis extends toward the heel portion from the origin, a positive y-axis extends rearwardly from the origin, and a positive z-axis extends upwardly from the origin; wherein the body includes a central region in which −
25 mm<
x<
25 mm;wherein the sole portion that is contained within the central region includes a forward sole region located adjacent to the face portion and a sole bar located rearward of the forward sole region, with the forward sole region defining a wall having a minimum forward sole thickness TFS and the sole bar defining a body having a maximum sole bar thickness TSB; wherein the sole portion includes a slot extending in a substantially heel-to-toe direction of the sole portion, the slot defining a portion of a path that extends through the sole portion and into the rear void, the path including; a lower path portion having a length of at least 1 mm and defining a lower path angle that is within 30°
of being parallel with said face plane;an intermediate path portion having a length of at least 1 mm and defining an intermediate path angle that is within 30°
of being perpendicular to said face plane; andan upper path portion having a length of at least 1 mm and defining an upper path angle that is within 30°
of being parallel with said face plane. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification