1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head with adjustable weighting. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf club head that allows a golfer to modify the placement of mass.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous techniques have been used for weighting golf club heads in order to gain better performance. In persimmon wood club heads, weights were attached to the sole in order to lower the center of gravity. The first metal woods had sufficient weight, however, the weight distribution deterred slightly from performance. The refinement of hollow metal woods with weighting on the sole improved upon the performance of these clubs. An example of such woods were the GREAT BIG BERTHA® HAWK EYE® drivers and fairway woods, developed by the Callaway Golf Company of Carlsbad, Calif., that used a tungsten screw in the sole of each titanium club head body to vary the weight of the golf club head.
Another example is set forth in Helmstetter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,788 for a Weighting System For A Golf Club Head, which discloses using a bismuth material within an internal cavity to add mass to a golf club head, particularly a fairway wood.
Yet a further example is set forth in Evans et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,612 for a Weighting Member For A Golf Club Head, which discloses a weighting device composed of a polymer body with ports to allow for placement of high density members such as tungsten spheres.
Another example of additional weighting of a golf club head is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,309, which discloses the use of three weights fixedly disposed within the interior of a club head to provide a selected moment of inertia for the club head. Yet another example is set forth in British Patent Application Number 2332149 for a Golf Club Head With Back Weighting Member, which discloses a weight pocket in the exterior rear of a wood for placement of epoxy inserts that vary in density.
In irons, weighting of the club head has assumed many variations. One example is perimeter weighting in which the mass is shifted to the perimeter of the club head such as the BIG BERTHA® X-12® irons developed by the Callaway Golf Company and as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,625. An example of additional weighting is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,857 which discloses the placement of tungsten inserts into the rear of an iron.
Another example of additional weighting is the GREAT BIG BERTHA® TUNGSTEN-TITANIUM™ irons, developed by the Callaway Golf Company, which used a screw to attach a tungsten block to the rear and sole of a stainless steel iron as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,010.
Yet another example is the GREAT BIG BERTHA® TUNGSTEN-INJECTED™ HAWK EYE® irons, also developed by the Callaway Golf Company, which feature an internal cavity with tungsten pellets in a solder, as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,290, for a Golf Club And Weighting System. The weighting of putters has varied as with woods and irons.
An example of positioning mass in a golf club head for performance is disclosed in Helmstetter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,983 for a Golf Club Head With Customizable Center Of Gravity, which discloses a method and golf club head which allows a golfer to select a preferred center of gravity location for better ball striking.
A further example of positioning mass for performance is set forth in Helmstetter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,605 for a Hollow, Metallic Golf Club Head With Configured Medial Ridge, which discloses a golf club head with a center of gravity located in vertical alignment with a local zone defined by ridge on a sole of the golf club head.
However, prior technology have been similar in that the weighting means, whether it is a medallion, plug, insert or the like, is a static weight and mass. More precisely, once positioned on the club head, the weight does not change. If a new weight is desired, then the old weight is removed and an entirely new weight means is placed on the golf club head. The weights may be ground to remove mass in order to lower the weight, however, these prior art weights cannot easily have their mass increased by the addition of material.
Further, each of the prior art weighting means have a fixed and unchangeable center of gravity (“CG”) and fixed and unchangeable moments of inertia (“MOI”). The CG cannot be moved and the MOI cannot be increased or decreased without dimensionally changing the prior art weighting means. Thus, the golf industry needs a weighting mechanism that allows for greater flexibility to adjust, the CG, MOI and also the swingweight on a golf club.
One aspect of the present invention is a golf club head having a body and at least one weight member. The body has a face, a crown and a sole. The body also has an arc-like recess extending from a heel end of the body to a toe end of the body. The body also has a cable within the recess. The at least one weight member is attached to the cable and is movable within the arc-like recess to influence the center of gravity and other mass properties of the golf club head.
Another aspect of the present invention is a golf club head with a plurality of recesses. Within each recess is a weight member attached to a cable. The weight member is movable within each recess to influence the 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.
As shown in
The golf club head 20 preferably has a volume from 100 cubic centimeters to 600 cubic centimeters, more preferably from 130 cubic centimeters to 475 cubic centimeters. When designed as a fairway wood, the golf club head 20 preferably has a volume ranging from 130 cubic centimeters to 300 cubic centimeters, and more preferably from 150 cubic centimeters to 275 cubic centimeters. The volume of the golf club head 20 will also vary between fairway woods (preferably ranging from 3-woods to eleven woods). When designed as a driver, the golf club head 20 preferably has a volume ranging from 300 cubic centimeters to 500 cubic centimeters, and more preferably from 350 cubic centimeters to 475 cubic centimeters.
The golf club head 20 preferably has a mass ranging from 90 grams to 250 grams, more preferably from 150 grams to 225 grams, and most preferably from 180 grams to 221 grams. The mass of the golf club head 20 will also vary between fairway woods (preferably ranging from 3-woods to eleven woods) and a driver.
In a preferred embodiment, the body 22 has a crown 24, a sole 26 with a bottom portion 27 and a ribbon portion 28, and a striking plate 30. The body 22 preferably has a hollow interior. The golf club head 20 has a heel end 36, a toe end 38 an aft end 37. A shaft 21, partially shown in
The body preferably has a recess 40, which preferably is an arc-like recess extending from a heel end 36 of the body 22 to a toe end 38 of the body 22. In alternative embodiments, the recess extends along only a portion of body 22. Preferably, the recess 40 is located along the ribbon portion 28 of the sole 26. The recess 40 preferably has a height, “Hr” (shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the body 22 has a cable 42 extending within the recess 40. In a preferred embodiment, the cable 42 is composed of a metal material such as steel, titanium, titanium alloy, brass, tin, aluminum, aluminum alloy or other like materials. The cable 42 preferably has a diameter ranging from 0.1 centimeter to 0.5 centimeter. The cable is preferable connected to the body 22 by a first threaded bolt 49a and a second threaded bolt 49b. The first threaded bolt 49a is secured within a threaded aperture 51a of the body 22 at the heel end 36 of the recess 40. The second threaded bolt 49b is secured within a threaded aperture 51b of the body 22 at the toe end 38 of the recess 40. Preferably, each end of the cable 42, heel end and toe end, has a loop for placement of a bolt 49 therethrough for securing the cable 42 to the body 22. Each of the bolts 49a and 49b is preferably composed of a stainless steel material. Those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize alternative methods of securing the cable 42 to the body 22 within the recess 40.
At least one weight member 50 is preferably secured to cable 42 within the recess 40. The weight member 50 is preferably composed of a high density material having a density greater than the density of a typical club head material, such as steel (density of 7.87 g/cc), or titanium (density of 4.51 g/cc). Preferably, the weight member 50 is composed of tungsten (density of 19.25 g/cc), copper (density of 8.93 g/cc), gold (density of 19.28 g/cc), silver (density of 10.50 g/cc), palladium (density of 12.00 g/cc), platinum (density of 21.47 g/cc) or another similar material. A preferred material for the weight member 30 is tungsten or tungsten alloy. An alternative material is a nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/604,518, filed on Jul. 28, 2003 for a High Density Alloy For Improved Mass Properties In An Article, assigned to Callaway Golf Company of Carlsbad, Calif., and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The weight member 50 preferably has a thickness ranging from 0.2 centimeter to 2.0 centimeters, a height ranging from 0.5 centimeter to 4.0 centimeters and a length ranging from 1.0 centimeter to 5.0 centimeters. More preferably, the weight member 50 has a thickness ranging from 0.5 centimeter to 1.0 centimeters, a height ranging from 1.0 centimeter to 2.0 centimeters and a length ranging from 2.5 centimeter to 4.0 centimeters. The weight member preferably has a mass ranging from 5 grams to 25 grams, more preferably from 7 grams to 20 grams and most preferably 10 grams.
In a preferred embodiment, the golf club head 20 preferably has a three weight members 50a, 50b and 50c. Each of the weight members 50 preferably has a body 53 with an aperture 52 for placement of the cable 42 therethrough.
As shown in
In determining a golfer's ball striking abilities, a method and system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,209 for a Method For Predicting A Golfer's Ball Striking Performance, assigned to Callaway Golf Company of Carlsbad, Calif., which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In an alternative embodiment shown in
Each of the recesses 40a, 40b and 40c has a cable 42a, 42b and 42c extending from one end of the recess 40a, 40b or 40c, to the other end of the recess 40a, 40b or 40c. In a first recess 40a, the cable 42a is preferable connected to the body 22 by a first threaded bolt 49′a and a second threaded bolt 49′b. The first threaded bolt 49′a is secured within a threaded aperture 51′a, not shown, of the body 22 at a heel end of the recess 40a. The second threaded bolt 49′b is secured within a threaded aperture 51′b, not shown, of the body 22 at an aft end of the recess 40a. Preferably, each end of the cable 42a, heel end and aft end, has a loop for placement of a bolt 49 therethrough for securing the cable 42a to the body 22.
Likewise, in a second recess 40b, the cable 42b is preferable connected to the body 22 by a first threaded bolt 49′c and a second threaded bolt 49′d. The first threaded bolt 49′c is secured within a threaded aperture 51′c, not shown, of the body 22 at an aft-heel end of the recess 40b. The second threaded bolt 49′d is secured within a threaded aperture 51′d, not shown, of the body 22 at an aft-toe end of the recess 40b. Preferably, each end of the cable 42b, aft-heel end and aft-toe end, has a loop for placement of a bolt 49 therethrough for securing the cable 42b to the body 22.
Likewise, in a third recess 40c, the cable 42c is preferable connected to the body 22 by a first threaded bolt 49′e and a second threaded bolt 49′f. The first threaded bolt 49′e is secured within a threaded aperture 51′e, not shown, of the body 22 at an aft end of the recess 40c. The second threaded bolt 49′f is secured within a threaded aperture 51′f, not shown, of the body 22 at a toe end of the recess 40c. Preferably, each end of the cable 42c, aft end and toe end, has a loop for placement of a bolt 49 therethrough for securing the cable 42c to the body 22.
Each of the bolts 49 is preferably composed of a stainless steel material. Those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize alternative methods of securing the cables 42a, 42b and 42c to the body 22 within each of the recesses 40a, 40b and 40c.
As shown in
The golf club head 20 preferably has a high coefficient of restitution thereby enabling for greater distance of a golf ball hit with the golf club of the present invention. The coefficient of restitution (also referred to herein as “COR”) is determined by the following equation:
wherein U1 is the club head velocity prior to impact; U2 is the golf ball velocity prior to impact which is zero; v1 is the club head velocity just after separation of the golf ball from the face of the club head; v2 is the golf ball velocity just after separation of the golf ball from the face of the club head; and e is the coefficient of restitution between the golf ball and the club face.
The values of e are limited between zero and 1.0 for systems with no energy addition. The coefficient of restitution, e, for a material such as a soft clay or putty would be near zero, while for a perfectly elastic material, where no energy is lost as a result of deformation, the value of e would be 1.0. The present invention provides a golf club head 20 having a coefficient of restitution ranging from 0.81 to 0.94, as measured under conventional test conditions, and more preferably from 0.825 to 0.85.
As defined in Golf Club Design, Fitting, Alteration & Repair, 4th Edition, by Ralph Maltby, the center of gravity, or center of mass, of the golf club head is a point inside of the club head determined by the vertical intersection of two or more points where the club head balances when suspended. A more thorough explanation of this definition of the center of gravity is provided in Golf Club Design, Fitting, Alteration & Repair.
The center of gravity and the moment of inertia of a golf club head 20 are preferably measured using a test frame (XT, YT, ZT), and then transformed to a head frame (XH, YH, ZH), as shown in
In general, the moment of inertia, Izz, about the Z axis for the golf club head 20 of the present invention will range from 1900 g-cm2 to 4000 g-cm2, preferably from 2000 g-cm2 to 3500 g-cm2, and most preferably from 2500 g-cm2 to 3000 g-cm2. The moment of inertia, Iyy, about the Y axis for the golf club head 20 of the present invention will range from 900 g-cm2 to 1700 g-cm2, preferably from 950 g-cm2 to 1500 g-cm2, and most preferably from 965 g-cm2 to 1200 g-cm2.
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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20060178228 A1 | Aug 2006 | US |