Golf club head

• US 9,623,291 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2016
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Greensmith, Matthew, Beach, Todd P., Sargent, Nathan T., Willett, Kraig Alan, Dipert, Joshua J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno, Benjamin
• Application Number:
  US15/159,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20160263450A1
• Time in Patent Office: 334 Days
• Field of Search: 473314, 473305, 473334-339, 473341, 473345, 473346
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/02 Joint structures between the head and the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/022 allowing adjustable positioning of the head with respect to the shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/023 adjustable angular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/025 lie angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about an axis parallel to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/026 loft angle only, i.e. relative angular adjustment between the shaft and the club head about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the intended line of play when the club is in its normal address position
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/027 about the longitudinal axis of the shaft only
• 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 53/045 Strengthening ribs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0454 Strengthening ribs on the rear surface of the impact face plate
• 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 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
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/52 with slits

Abstract

A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. In some embodiments, the crown includes a lattice-like structure having thin regions surrounded by a web of relatively thicker regions. In some embodiments, the club head includes one or more stiffening tubes attached between the sole and the crown to improve the acoustic performance of the golf club head.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a crown and a sole;

a face coupled to the club head body, such that the club head defines a hollow interior region between the face, the crown, and the sole; and

an elongated stiffening member permanently secured within the hollow interior region of the golf club head and having a first end coupled to the crown, a second end coupled to the sole, and an elongated intermediate portion spanning across the hollow interior region from the first end to the second end;

wherein the intermediate portion is suspended within the hollow interior region such that the intermediate portion does not contact any portion of the crown or the sole;

wherein the stiffening member is co-formed with the club head body;

wherein the first mode frequency of the golf club head, generated upon impact with a golf ball, is greater than 2,800 Hz; and

wherein the stiffening member increases the stiffness of the golf club head and increases the frequency of sound vibrations produced by the golf club head when striking a golf ball.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises a hollow tube.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises a solid rod.

4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member comprises an elongated beam extending lengthwise between the crown and the sole.

5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member has a cross-sectional diameter that is less than a length between the first and second ends.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the club head body comprises a skirt portion between the crown and the sole, and the stiffening member does not contact the skirt portion.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member is not under a compression or a tension load when the golf club head is not in use.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a majority of the crown is convex such that the crown bulges outward away from the interior portion of the body.

9. The golf club head of claim 8, further comprising two or more stiffening members each being attached within the hollow interior region of the golf club head and having a first end attached to the crown and a second end attached to the sole.

10. The golf club head of claim 8, further comprising three or more stiffening members each being attached within the hollow interior region of the golf club head and having a first end attached to the crown and a second end attached to the sole.

11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member defines a length between the first and second ends, and a maximum cross-sectional dimension perpendicular to the length, and the length is at least three times longer than the maximum cross-sectional dimension.

12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the length is at least four times longer than the maximum cross-sectional dimension.

13. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the second end of the stiffening member is coupled to a port in the sole adapted to receive an attachable and detachable member below the stiffening member.

14. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the crown comprises a forward crown portion and a rearward crown portion, and the rearward crown portion comprises a lattice-like structure that includes a plurality of thin regions that are surrounded by a web of thick regions, the thick regions being relatively thicker than the thin regions.

15. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly that is operable to adjust at least one of the loft angle or lie angle of a golf club formed when the golf club head is attached to a golf club shaft via the head-shaft connection assembly.

16. The golf club head of claim 15, further comprising at least one weight member that is attachable and detachable to the club head body.

17. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising at least one adjustable weight member that is securable to the club head body over a range of positions.

18. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the stiffening member has an outer diameter of from about 2 mm to about 7 mm.

19. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a striking face, with the club head body defining an interior cavity;

at least one elongated stiffening member positioned within the interior cavity and connecting the crown to the sole, wherein the at least one elongated stiffening member having a first end attached to a first internal surface and a second end attached to a second internal surface, and an elongated intermediate portion spanning across the interior cavity from the first end to the second end;

wherein the intermediate portion is suspended within the interior cavity such that the intermediate portion does not contact any portion of the crown or the sole and the at least one stiffening member does not contact a skirt portion;

wherein the at least one stiffening member is co-formed with the club head body;

wherein a majority of the crown is convex such that the crown bulges generally outward away from the interior portion of the body;

an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly that is operable to selectively adjust at least one of a loft angle and a lie angle of the golf club head, wherein the adjustable head-shaft connection assembly includes a shaft sleeve that is receivable within a hosel opening of the club head body; and

at least one weight member that is attachable and detachable to the club head body;

wherein the first mode frequency of the golf club head, generated upon impact with a golf ball, is greater than 2,800 Hz.

20. The golf club head of claim 19, wherein the at least one stiffening member has an outer diameter of from about 2 mm to about 7 mm.

21. The golf club head of claim 19, further comprising two or more stiffening members positioned within the interior cavity and connecting the crown to the sole, wherein the two or more stiffening members having a first end attached to a first internal surface and a second end attached to a second internal surface.

22. The golf club head of claim 19, further comprising three or more stiffening members positioned within the interior cavity and connecting the crown to the sole, wherein the three or more stiffening members having a first end attached to a first internal surface and a second end attached to a second internal surface.

23. The golf club head of claim 19, wherein the at least one stiffening member is formed of a titanium alloy.

24. The golf club head of claim 19, wherein the at least one stiffening member is formed of a polymer-fiber composite material.

25. A golf club head comprising:

a club head body having a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a striking face, with the club head body defining an interior cavity;

two or more titanium rods positioned within the interior cavity and connecting the crown to the sole, wherein each of the two or more titanium rods having a first end attached to a first internal surface connected to the crown and a second end attached to a second internal surface connected to the sole, and each of the two or more titanium rods having elongated intermediate portions spanning across the interior cavity from the first end to the second end;

wherein the two or more titanium rods are co-formed with the club head body;

wherein the two or more titanium rods have a cross-sectional diameter that is less than a length between the first and second ends;

wherein a majority of the crown is convex such that the crown bulges generally outward away from the interior cavity of the body; and

at least one weight member that is attachable and detachable to the club head body;

wherein the first mode frequency of the golf club head, generated upon impact with a golf ball, is greater than 2,800 Hz.

26. The golf club head of claim 25, wherein the two or more titanium rods have an outer diameter of from about 2 mm to about 7 mm.

27. The golf club head of claim 25, wherein the golf club head has a CG with a head origin x-axis (CGx) coordinate between about −

10 mm and about 10 mm and a head origin y-axis (CGy) coordinate between about 10 mm and about 50 mm, and a head origin z-axis (CGz) less than 2 mm;

wherein the club head has a head mass of between 180 and 210 grams and a club head volume of between 250 cm³ and 460 cm³.

28. The golf club head of claim 25, further comprising an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly that is operable to selectively adjust at least one of a loft angle and a lie angle of the golf club head, wherein the adjustable head-shaft connection assembly includes a shaft sleeve that is receivable within a hosel opening of the club head body.