Golf club head with rebound control insert

• US 5,674,132 A
• Filed: 10/16/1995
• Issued: 10/07/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dale Fisher
• Original Assignee: Dale Fisher
• Inventors: Fisher, Dale P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Passaniti, Sebastiano
• Application Number:
  US08/543,813
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• Field of Search: 473/324, 473/329, 473/332, 473/340, 473/288, 473/290, 473/251, 473/342, 473/347, 473/349, 273/DIG. 8, 273/DIG. 3, 273/DIG. 10
• US Class Current: 473/290
• 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 53/0425 the face insert comprising two or more different materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/047 iron-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0487 for putters A63B53/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/62 specially adapted for clubs, e.g. head covers , connector means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 273/08 Urethane

Abstract

A golf club providing improved control of distance and direction of a golf ball impacted by the club includes a resilient insert having a controlled rebound factor fitted into a recess provided in the face of the club head. In the preferred embodiment, the insert comprises one or more thin laminations, each having an intrinsic rebound factor and thickness selected to yield in combination an overall composite ball-impacting rebound factor that may be varied over a relatively wide range of rebound factors, preferably which are an approximately linear function of desired travel range of the impacted ball. Also in the preferred embodiment, the inserts are made of a material in which the hardness may be varied somewhat independently from rebound factor, thus allowing construction of a club having a desired ball-impacting feel as well as selected rebound factor.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising a body having a front face and a resilient pad affixed to said front face of said body, said pad having an outer surface defining an intended ball impact region and having a rebound factor (RF) selected from a first plurality of values and a thickness selected from a second plurality of values so as to provide in combination with said body a controlled composite rebound factor (CRF) for a golf ball impacted by said club head, said composite rebound factor being related to the distance from an intended target by a pre-determined relationship.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said resilient material is further defined as having a hardness or durometer value (DV) selected from a plurality of values.

3. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said pre-determined relationship between said CRF and said intended target distance is further defined as being a single valued function of said intended target distance.

4. The golf club head of claim 3 wherein said function is further defined as being quasi-linear.

5. The golf club head of claim 4 wherein said resilient pad is further defined as being an insert fitted into a recess provided in the front face of said golf club head.

6. The golf club head of claim 5 wherein said insert has side walls which cooperate with side walls of said recess to help maintain said insert at a fixed location within said recess.

7. The golf club head of claim 6 wherein said insert has a wedge-shaped plan view.

8. The golf club head of claim 1 wherein said resilient pad is further defined as being made from a polymer.

9. The golf club head of claim 8 wherein said polymer is further defined as being an elastomer.

10. The golf club head of claim 9 wherein said elastomer is further defined as being polyurethane.

11. A golf club head including a body having an upper wall surface, a lower sole surface and having a front face adapted to impact a golf ball, said face having formed therein a recess in which is fitted a rebound control insert structure comprising at least a first insert made of a resilient material having a rebound factor (RF) selected from a first plurality of values and a thickness selected from a second plurality of values so as to provide in combination with said body a controlled composite rebound factor (CRF) for a golf ball impacted by said club head, said composite rebound factor being related to the distance from an intended target by a pre-determined relationship.

12. The golf club head of claim 11 wherein said recess is further defined as extending through said upper wall surface of said head.

13. The golf club head of claim 12 wherein said recess is further defined as extending through said lower, sole surface of said club head.

14. The golf club head of claim 13 wherein said recess is further defined as having angled side walls.

15. The golf club head of claim 13 wherein said insert structure is further defined as having substantially the same plan view shape as that of said recess, whereby said recess may wedgingly and resiliently receive said insert structure.

16. The golf club head of claim 11 wherein said rebound control insert structure is further defined as comprising a laminated stack of inserts including said first insert and at least one additional insert.

17. The golf club head of claim 16 wherein each of said inserts is further defined as having a hardness or durometer value (DV) selected from a third plurality of values.

18. The golf club head of claim 17 wherein each of said inserts of a selected RF is further defined as having a thickness (T) selected from a fourth plurality of values, whereby the composite rebound factor (CRF) of a ball impacted by the insert region of the club head may be adjusted to a selected one of CRF'"'"'s for given RF'"'"'s.

19. The golf club head of claim 18 wherein at least one of said inserts in said laminated stack may have any of said thickness, hardness or rebound factor values different from the corresponding value for another of said inserts in said laminated stack, whereby the composite rebound factor and perceptible hardness of said laminated structure may be independently varied.

20. A series of golf clubs, each of said clubs comprising;

a. a shaft,

b. a club head including a body having a front face with an intended golf ball impact region, and

c. at least one insert formed of a resilient material, said insert being disposed at said impact region of said club head and having a composite rebound factor selected from a first plurality of values, said composite rebound factor being determined by the intrinsic rebound factor characteristic of the particular material of which said insert is made, and by the thickness of said insert in combination with the characteristics of said body, said composite rebound factor values being related to different intended distances to a target by a quasi-linear relationship.

21. The series of golf clubs of claim 20 further defined as including at least one putter.

22. The series of golf clubs of claim 20 further defined as including at least one wood.

23. The series of golf clubs of claim 20 further defined as including at least one iron.

24. The series of golf clubs of claim 20 wherein said insert is further defined as having a hardness or durometer value (DV) selected from a second plurality of values.

25. A series of golf clubs, each of said clubs having in the head thereof at least one resilient insert forming a ball impacting region of the face of said club head, wherein each of said inserts is formulated from a material to effect a pre-selected and reproducible intrinsic rebound factor (RF), and the thickness of each of said inserts is selected to yield in combination with said intrinsic rebound factor a resultant, composite rebound factor (CRF) of a ball impacted by the insert region of said club, said composite rebound factor being related to the distance from an intended target by a pre-determined relationship.

26. The series of golf clubs of claim 25 further defined as including at least one putter.

27. The series of golf clubs of claim 25 further defined as including at least one wood.

28. The series of golf clubs of claim 25 further defined as including at least one iron.

29. The series of claim 25 wherein said insert is further defined as having a hardness or durometer DV value selected from a plurality of values.