GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH FLEXURE

• US 20140080633A1
• Filed: 11/25/2013
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Bezilla, Stephanie, de la Cruz, Noah, Golden, Charles E., Deshmukh, Uday V.
• Granted Patent: US 9,211,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/342
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2053/0491 with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• 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 53/0416 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 53/0425 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 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/06 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/02 Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence

Abstract

A golf club head including a crown, a sole, a hosel, a face and a flexure. The face is configured to provide varying stiffness while minimizing the change in thickness across the face. The flexure provides compliance during an impact between the golf club head and a golf ball.

Claims

1. A golf club head, comprising:

a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;

a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head, comprising a transmittal portion, a flexure and a rear portion;

a side wall extending between the crown and the sole;

a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore; and

a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the transmittal portion at a leading edge,

wherein the flexure is spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface by the transmittal portion, and comprises a front wall, an apex and a rear wall, wherein the front wall extends into a cavity defined by the golf club head and the rear wall extends into the cavity and the front wall and the rear wall are coupled at the apex,

wherein the face comprises an outer layer forming a portion of the ball striking surface, a back layer and a chip insert, and the outer layer and back layer are coupled and define an enclosed cavity and the chip insert is disposed in the enclosed cavity, and

wherein the face has a Face Thickness Ratio of less than about 0.875, wherein the Face Thickness Ratio is defined as a thickness of the outer layer at the geometric face center divided by a thickness of the backing layer at the geometric face center.

2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the thickness of at least a portion of the face varies from a perimeter of the face to the geometric face center of the face, and wherein the thickness varies by less than 2 mm.

3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the material of the chip insert has a higher Young'"'"'s modulus than at least one of the outer layer and the back layer.

4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the chip insert is constructed of a ferrous alloy and the outer layer and the back layer are constructed of a titanium alloy.

5. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the material of the chip insert has a Young'"'"'s modulus that is greater than about 170 GPa.

6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the chip insert has a volume of about 371.45 mm³.

7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the flexure is spaced from the ball-striking surface by a distance that is between 20% and 50% of a CG-Z-fc distance between the geometric face center of the golf club head and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a horizontal Z-axis that extends from the front to the aft of the golf club head.

8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a neutral axis, extending from the geometric face center normal to the ball striking surface rearward, intersects the cavity.

9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein a sum of a height and a width of the flexure is within 30% of a CG-Y-g distance between a ground plane and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a vertical Y-axis.

10. A golf club head, comprising:

a crown defining an upper surface of the golf club head;

a sole defining a lower surface of the golf club head, comprising a transmittal portion, a flexure and a rear portion;

a side wall extending between the crown and the sole;

a hosel extending from the crown and including a shaft bore; and

a face defining a ball-striking surface and intersecting the transmittal portion at a leading edge,

wherein the flexure is spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface by the transmittal portion, and comprises a front wall, an apex and a rear wall, wherein the front wall extends into a cavity defined by the golf club head and the rear wall extends into the cavity and the front wall and the rear wall are coupled at the apex,

wherein a portion of the face comprises an outer layer forming a portion of the ball striking surface, a back layer and a chip insert, and at least one of the outer layer and back layer defines a recess and the chip insert is disposed in the recess, and

wherein the flexure is spaced from the ball-striking surface by a distance that is between 25% and 45% of the CG-Z-fc distance between the geometric face center of the golf club head and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a horizontal Z-axis that extends from the front to the aft of the golf club head.

11. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein a sum of a height and a width of the flexure is within 30% of a CG-Y-g distance between a ground plane and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a vertical Y-axis.

12. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the sum of the height and the width of the flexure is within 20% of a CG-Y-g distance between a ground plane and the center of gravity of the golf club head along a vertical Y-axis.

13. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the transmittal portion is at least 50% of a minimum face thickness.

14. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the transmittal portion decreases from a location adjacent the face toward the flexure.

15. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the front wall and the thickness of the rear wall are different by less than 40% of the thickness of the front wall.

16. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein each of the thickness of the front wall and the thickness of the rear wall is less than 90% of the minimum face thickness.

17. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the apex is different from the greater of the thickness of the front wall and the thickness of the rear wall by less than 30%.

18. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the minimum thickness of the transmittal portion is less than 70% of the maximum thickness of the transmittal portion.

19. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein a thickness of a portion of the sole rearward and within 30.0 mm of the flexure is greater than the minimum thickness of the transmittal portion, and the thickness of the sole rearward and immediately adjacent the rear wall of the flexure is less than the minimum thickness of the transmittal portion.

20. The golf club head of claim 10, wherein a thickness of the sole rearward and immediately adjacent the rear wall of the flexure is less than 70% of the minimum thickness of the transmittal portion.