Patent Grant
8956244
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head comprising a center of gravity height adjustability assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art discloses various designs with center of gravity adjustments to improve golf club performance, but fails to provide a golf club with designs that efficiently alter center of gravity parameters and consequentially enable the golf club to be swung faster along its path and contribute to an improved impact event with the golf ball.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) has increasingly limited the performance innovations of golf clubs, particularly drivers. Recently, the USGA has limited the volume, dimensions of the head, such as length, width, and height, face compliance, inertia of driver heads and overall club length. Current methods previously used to improve the performance of a driver have been curtailed by limitations on design parameters set by the USGA. An area of driver performance improvement that exists, as of this date, is the potential to adjust the height of the center of gravity. A change in height of the center of gravity would allow the driver club head to travel faster along its path and contribute to an improved impact event with the golf ball, resulting in higher golf ball velocities and consequentially, in longer golf shots.
The purpose of this invention is to effectively incorporate several design features in the golf club head that will enable adjustment of the height of the center of gravity. The recent past has shown that driver designs have trended to include characteristics to increase the driver's inertia values to help off-center hits go farther and straighter. Driver designs have also recently included larger faces, which may help the driver deliver better-feeling shots as well as shots that have higher ball speeds if hit away from the face center. However, these recent trends may also be detrimental to the driver's performance due to the head speed reductions that these design features introduce due to the larger geometries. The design of the present invention allows for higher inertias and robust face design of current drivers in addition to a golf club head design wherein the center of gravity is adjustable.
The main objective of the present invention is to improve the location of the height of the center of gravity. To improve the height of the center of gravity, a golf club head is created which has center of gravity height adjustment assembly. This multiple designs enabling adjustment of the center of gravity can affect the moment of inertial and ultimately the forgiveness of the golf club head.
One aspect of the golf club head of the present invention comprises a body having a crown, a sole, a face and a hosel, wherein the body defines a hollow interior; and a center of gravity height adjustment assembly wherein the center of gravity height adjustment assembly is positioned within the hollow interior of the body. Preferably, the center of gravity of the golf club head can be adjusted along at least one axis by approximately 0.050 inch to 0.100 inch.
Another aspect of the present invention is a golf club head comprising a hollow first piece comprising a face, a first crown portion, a first sole portion, and a hosel, a hollow second piece comprising a second crown portion, a second sole portion, and a rear end, and a tube, wherein at least one of the first piece and the second piece comprises a cutout sized to receive at least part of the tube, wherein the tube is permanently affixed to at least one of the first piece and the second piece within the cutout, wherein the first piece is permanently affixed to the second piece, wherein the tube extends from the sole to the crown, and wherein at least a portion of the golf club head interior is hollow. Though the tube may be solid, in some embodiments, the tube may be hollow and may comprise an upper opening and a lower opening.
In some embodiments, each of the first piece, second piece, and tube may be composed of a metal material, the tube may be welded to at least one of the first piece and the second piece within the cutout, and the first piece may be welded to the second piece. In other embodiments, each of the first piece and the second piece may comprise an opening sized to receive at least part of the tube, the tube may be cylindrical, and each opening may also be semicircular. Some embodiments may further comprise a cover, which may be disposed on the crown and may close the upper opening of the tube. In further embodiments, the cover may be integrally formed with one of the first crown piece and the second crown piece.
In some other embodiments, the golf club head may further comprise a carrier, which may be sized to fit through the lower opening of the tube and within the hollow interior of the tube. The carrier may comprise a first material and a second material, and the specific gravity of the first material may be less than the specific gravity of the second material. In some embodiments, the first material may be located at a first end of the carrier, the second material may be located at a second end of the carrier, and changing the orientation of the carrier within the tube may adjust the location of the center of gravity of the golf club head along a vertical Z axis. In further embodiments, changing the orientation of the carrier may change the location of the golf club head center of gravity by no less than 0.050 inch and no more than 0.100 inch, and more preferably by 0.070 inch. The golf club head may further comprise a cap, which may close the lower opening of the tube and may be removably affixed to the sole of the golf club head.
In some embodiments, each of the first piece and the second piece may comprise approximately 50% of the golf club head, while in alternative embodiments, the first piece may comprise approximately 20% of the golf club head. In some embodiments, the metal material may selected from the group consisting of stainless steel and titanium alloy, while the tube may be composed of a more lightweight material, such as plastic, composite, aluminum, or magnesium.
Another aspect of the present invention is a wood-type golf club head comprising a first piece composed of a first metal material and comprising a face, a first crown portion, a first sole portion, and a hosel, a second piece composed of a second metal material and comprising a second crown portion, a second sole portion, and a rear end, and a tube composed of a third metal material, wherein at least one of the first piece and the second piece comprises a cutout sized to receive at least part of the tube, wherein the tube is welded to at least one of the first piece and the second piece within the cutout, wherein the first piece is welded to the second piece, wherein the tube extends from the sole to the crown, and wherein at least a portion of the golf club head interior is hollow. In some embodiments, each of the first piece and the second piece may be made using a manufacturing method selected from the group consisting of casting, forging, and sheet metal forming. In some embodiments, each of the first, second, and third metal materials may be a stainless steel material, while in other embodiments, each of the first, second, and third metal materials may differ from each other in at least one property.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a golf club head, the method comprising the steps of casting from a first metal material a first piece of the golf club head having a face, a hosel, a first crown portion, a first sole portion, and a first hollow interior, casting from a second metal material a second piece of the golf club head having a second crown portion, a second sole portion, a rear end, and a second hollow interior, casting from a third metal material a hollow tube having an upper opening and a lower opening, welding the hollow tube within one of the first hollow interior and the second hollow interior, and welding the first piece to the second piece to enclose the tube within the golf club head. In some embodiments, each of the first, second, and third metal materials may be a stainless steel material. In other embodiments, each of the first crown portion, the second crown portion, the first sole portion, and the second sole portion may comprise an opening sized to receive at least a portion of the tube, the tube may be welded to the first piece, and at least the lower opening of the tube may be accessible when the first piece is welded to the second piece.
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.
The present invention relates to the design of a golf club head 20 having a body 22, the body having a crown 26, a sole 28, a face 30 and a hosel 32, wherein the body 22 defines a hollow interior 24, and a center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40. The center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40 is positioned within the hollow interior 24 of the body 22. Preferably the center of gravity of the golf club head 20 can be adjusted in a vertical direction by at least approximately 0.050 inch, more preferably at least approximately 0.070, and most preferably at least approximately 0.100 inch. The golf club head 20 of the present invention may be any type of golf club head, but more preferably is a wood such as a driver, a fairway wood, or a hybrid.
As shown in
In the preferred embodiment, the center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40 comprises a tube 42 having a mass of approximately 4.00 grams, a carrier 44 having a mass of approximately 3.90 grams, a slug 48 having a mass of approximately 9.40 grams, a cap 52 having a mass of approximately 4.65 grams, a cap nutplate 50 having a mass of approximately 2.86 grams, and a skid plate 54 having a mass of approximately 2.82 grams. Preferably, the driver type golf club head 20 has a volume of less than 400 cubic centimeters, and the body 22 of the club head 20 is composed of a stainless steel material. In another embodiment, the sole 28 is composed of a metal material and the crown 26 is composed of a non-metal material. Alternatively, the body 22 is composed of a titanium alloy material.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
A preferred design for a golf club head with at least two mass elements is found using the following equation:
D≧0.065(1+M/(Mb−Ma))
wherein D equals the distance between the two mass elements, M equals the mass of the golf club head, Mb equals the mass of weighting element B, and M, equals the mass of weighting element A. A more preferred D is:
D≧0.095(1+M/(Mb−Ma))
Determining the preferred design for a golf club head incorporating a center of gravity height adjustment assembly comprising a tube is shown as:
D≧0.065(1+M/(Mt))
wherein Mt is the mass of the tube and ½ D is the distance from the midpoint of the tube to the center of gravity, wherein the heavy end of the mass is closer to the sole of the golf club head. This distance is shown in
Each of the embodiments of the present invention are may be a driver, fairway wood, or hybrid type golf club head 20 having a volume of less than 400 cubic centimeters, and each may have a body 22 composed of a metal material such as titanium or stainless steel. Alternatively, the embodiments shown herein may have a sole 28 composed of a metal material and a crown 26 composed of a non-metal material.
In yet another alternative embodiment, the golf club head 20 (which may be a driver, fairway wood, or hybrid) may comprise a body 22 having a crown 26 composed of a carbon material, a sole 28 composed of carbon material, a face 30 and a hosel 32, wherein the body 22 defines a hollow 24 interior and a center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40 wherein the center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40 is positioned within the hollow interior 24 of the body 22 and the center of gravity of the golf club head 20 can be adjusted by at least approximately 0.050 inch, and more preferably by 0.10 inch along one of the X, Y, and Z axes, and more preferably along the Z axis. The mass of the crown 26 composed of a carbon material ranges from approximately 2.25 grams or 2.50 grams to 3.50 grams, the mass of the sole 28 composed of a carbon material ranges from 2.50 grams to 3.50 grams or from 3.0 grams to 4.0 grams. In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the center of gravity height assembly 40 is positioned within the hollow interior 24 of the body 22 and the center of gravity of the golf club head 20 can be adjusted along the Z axis by at least 0.050 inch and more preferably by and 0.10 inch.
In another embodiment, the golf club head 20 comprises a body 22 having a crown 26 composed of a tungsten material, a sole 28 composed of a composite material, a face 30 and a hosel 32, wherein the body 22 defines a hollow interior 24 and a center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40 is positioned within the hollow interior 24 of the body 22.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, at least the tube 42 of the center of gravity height adjustment assembly 40 may be integrally formed, e.g., cast, molded, formed, forged, or otherwise created according to a method known to a person skilled in the art, with one or more other parts of the golf club head 20.
Alternatively, and in the embodiment shown in
As shown in
In each of the embodiments disclosed herein, the presence of the height adjustment assembly 40, and the tube 42 in particular, has a positive effect on the sound and feel of the golf club head 20 during performance, and also improves the performance of the face by distributing the stresses of a ball strike across the club head 20. In particular, the tube 42 provides enough structural support to allow the golf club head 20 to have a very thin face with scorelines, while at the same time providing both improved ball speed and a higher CT, particularly in fairway woods. The graphs shown in
The tube 42 also increases the stiffness of the sole 28, and thus reduces the sound made by the sole 28 when the golf club head 20 strikes a golf ball, particularly when the tube 42 is disposed proximate the face 30 of the club head 20. The sole 28 has a sound mode that is split into a higher frequency mode and a lower frequency mode, both of which have lower amplitudes when a tube 42 is located proximate the face 30 as shown in
As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the golf club head 20 of the present invention, specifically the embodiment shown in
In an alternative embodiment, a thin bar instead of using a tube 42 can be used connect the crown and sole, as 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.
The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/797,404, filed on Mar. 12, 2013, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/657,247, filed on Jun. 8, 2012, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/665,203, filed on Jun. 27, 2012, and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/684,079, filed on Aug. 16, 2012, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 13797404 | Mar 2013 | US |
| Child | 13906572 | US |
