The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/591,773, filed on Jan. 27, 2012, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/716,689, filed on Oct. 22, 2012, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable iron-type golf club head. More specifically, the present invention relates to an iron-type golf club with features that allow for the adjustment of the principal moment of inertia angle, including an adjustable weight cartridge and a lightweight face.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art discloses various types of golf club heads having preferred moments of inertia characteristics. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,455, entitled “Inertially tailored golf dub heads,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,905, entitled “Methods for designing golf club heads,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein, are both related to methods for designing inertially tailored golf club heads. The prior art does not, however disclose optimized, adjustable irons that permit a user to tailor the moment of inertia or center of gravity characteristics of his or her club.
Furthermore, traditional iron-type golf clubs include faces made of metal materials, and usually the same material as the rest of the iron body. This reduces the amount of discretionary weight available to manufacturers, which they otherwise would be able to use to adjust characteristics of the golf club head like moment of inertia and center of gravity location.
The present invention provides an iron-type golf club with features that allow for the adjustment of mass properties such as one or more moment of inertia angles, the location of the center of gravity, and the weight of the golf club head.
One aspect of the present invention is an iron-type golf club head comprising a weight cartridge that adjusts the mass properties of the iron. In particular, changing the orientation of the weight cartridge with respect to the head changes one or more of the mass properties of the head. The weight cartridge may also affect the overall weight of the head. In some embodiments, the cartridge includes one or more sole surface features that affect the interaction of the head with the turf during play. In each of the embodiments disclosed, the weight cartridge is detachable and can be semi-permanently affixed to the golf club head.
Another aspect of the present invention is an iron-type golf club head comprising a body having a top portion, a sole portion, a heel, a toe, a face, and a rear cavity located proximate the sole portion, and a weight cartridge composed of at least one high density material and at least one low density material, wherein the weight cartridge has an asymmetric shape along at least one axis, wherein the weight cartridge is sized to fit within the rear cavity, and wherein changing the orientation of the weight cartridge within the rear cavity changes at least one principal moment of inertia angle or location of the golf club head center of gravity. The weight cartridge may have a middle portion and two end (portions, one or both of which may be disposed at an angle with respect to the middle portion.
In some embodiments, the middle portion may be composed of a low density material such as composite and one or both of the end portions may be composed of a high density material such as tungsten alloy. In other embodiments, the middle portion may be composed of a high density material such as tungsten alloy and one or both of the end portions may be composed of a low density material such as composite. In some embodiments, the weight cartridge may be removably secured within the rear cavity with a mechanical fastener or a semi-permanent adhesive material. In some embodiments, the weight cartridge affects interaction of the golf club head with turf during play, and replacing the weight cartridge with a second weight cartridge having a different shape or profile may change the interaction of the golf club head with the turf during play.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a golf club head comprising a body comprising a top rail, a sole, a hosel, a heel, and a toe, a face plate composed of a lightweight material having a first density, and a weight insert, wherein the body is composed of a metal material having a second density that is greater than the first density. In some embodiments, the lightweight material may be a composite, the body may be composed of steel, and the weight insert may be composed of a tungsten alloy. In other embodiments, golf club head may comprise a recess sized to receive the weight insert, which may be permanently or removably fixed within the recess, and the recess may be located proximate or in the sole. In some embodiments, the golf club head may be an iron-type golf club head, such as a wedge. In some further embodiments, the heel may be squared and the toe may be flat, such that the golf club head has a low center of gravity. In other embodiments, the face plate may comprise grooves, which may be co-molded in the face plate from a metal material, such as titanium, if the face plate is composed of a plastic or composite material.
Another aspect of the present invention is an iron-type golf club head comprising a metal body comprising a sole, a top rail, a heel, a toe, and a hosel, a composite face plate comprising a plurality of grooves, and a tungsten weight insert, wherein the sole comprises a recess sized to receive the weight insert, and wherein the weight insert is welded within the recess. In some embodiments, the toe and heel may be squared. In other embodiments, the plurality of grooves may be co-molded with the face plate from a titanium alloy. In other embodiments, the body may be composed of a steel material, and the body may also have a low center of gravity.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is an iron-type golf club head comprising a steel body comprising a sole, a top rail, a heel, a toe, and a hosel, a composite face plate comprising a plurality of grooves, and a high-density weight insert, wherein the sole comprises a recess sized to releasably receive the weight insert, and wherein the plurality of grooves is co-molded with the face plate from a titanium alloy. The weight insert may be composed of a tungsten alloy, and may be secured within the recess with a screw. In alternative embodiments, the weight insert may be composed of multiple materials, such that changing the orientation of the weight insert within the recess alters one or more mass properties of the golf club head.
Having briefly described the present invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A preferred embodiment of the iron-type golf club head 10 of the present invention is shown in
As shown in
The magnitude of the angle α affects the change in MOI and CG in the golf club head 10 when the weight cartridge 20 is adjusted or replaced with a weight cartridge 20 having a different material configuration. In order to adjust MOI angle and CG location in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mechanical fastener 30 is loosened and the weight cartridge 20 is flipped so that the end portions 24, 26 point upwards toward the top portion 11 instead of downwards towards the sole portion 12. Alternatively, the weight cartridge 20 may be removed and replaced with a weight cartridge 20 having a different material composition or a different angle α between the end portions 24, 26 and the middle portion 22. In another embodiment, the weight cartridge 20 may be adjusted so that the end portions 24, 26 point towards the heel portion 13 or toe portion 14 of the golf club head 10.
Through the use of one or more of the weight cartridges 20 disclosed herein, the adjustment of the moment of inertia angle leads to a greater increase in the forgiveness of the iron-type golf club head 10 than a change to the draw/fade bias of the iron, without requiring a change to the overall structure of the golf club head 10. The location of the weight cartridge 20 near the sole 12 of the golf club head 10 also is preferably designed to affect the interaction of the golf club head 10 with turf during play. The cavity 16 preferably extends into the sole 12, and the weight cartridge 20 preferably is shaped so that it interacts with the sole 12 of the golf club head 10, such that turf interaction is altered by changing the orientation of the weight cartridge 20 or replacing it with a different weight cartridge 20 having a different shape or turf interaction profile.
Traditional golf clubs, and particularly iron-type golf clubs such as the prior art club shown in
In particular,
The golf club head 10 shown in
From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention and will readily understand that while the present invention has been described in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and other embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes, modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which is intended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the following appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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61591773 | Jan 2012 | US | |
61716689 | Oct 2012 | US |