BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a weight-adjustable golf club head having a rear sectional lightweight covering in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top elevational view illustrating the weight-adjustable golf club head combined with the rear sectional lightweight covering in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2, illustrating the weight-adjustable golf club head combined with the rear sectional lightweight covering in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring initially to FIGS. 1 through 3, views of a weight-adjustable golf club head in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention are illustrated. Preferably, the golf club head utilized in practicing the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be selected from several types. By way of example, the golf club head utilized in practicing this illustrated embodiment of the present invention is selected from a driver or a wood-type club head.
With reference to FIG. 1, the weight-adjustable golf club head in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a rear lightweight covering designated numeral 1 and a golf club head body designated numeral 2. The rear lightweight covering 1 is designed to connect with a rear portion of the golf club head body 2 so as to constitute the golf club head. Preferably, the rear lightweight covering 1 is made from a relatively low specific gravity metal selected from the group consisting of titanium alloy, Fe-Mn-Al alloy, aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy etc. The rear lightweight covering 1 is designed to have a relatively thin thickness, preferably less than 0.6 mm, so as to reduce the total weight of the golf club head and to minimize the dimensions thereof.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, the golf club head body 2 is made from a relatively high specific gravity metal selected from the group consisting of carbon steel, low-carbon steel, maraging steel, cast iron, nickel-based alloy and structural alloy etc. In this manner, the weight of the golf club head body 2 may be several times higher than that of the rear lightweight covering 1. In this present invention, the ratio may be specifically grown due to the fact that the rear lightweight covering 1 has a relatively thin thickness, preferably less than 0.6 mm. When the rear lightweight covering 1 and the golf club head body 2 are combined, the golf club head body 2 can specifically lower the center of gravity of the golf club head.
Constructions of the rear lightweight covering 1 shall be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3. Preferably, the rear lightweight covering 1 is integrally formed with a rear crown portion 11, a rear wall portion 12 and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 13. The rear crown portion 11 has a crown-connecting periphery (unlabeled) while the rear wall portion 13 has a wall-connecting periphery (unlabeled). The rear crown portion 11 extends downwardly from the rear crown portion 11. To combine the rear lightweight covering 1 with the golf club head body 2, the crown-connecting periphery is integrally formed from the wall-connecting periphery so as to form a first connecting periphery. The crown-connecting periphery has a crown-assembling edge 111 located at a front upper portion of the rear crown portion 11. Correspondingly, the wall-connecting periphery has wall-assembling edges 121 located at upright portions of the rear wall portion 12, and a bottom-assembling edge 122 located at a lower portion of the rear wall portion 12. To reinforce the structure of the rear lightweight covering 1, the reinforcing ribs 13 are provided and protruded on an inner surface thereof, and extended in a front-to-rear direction of the golf club head. In a preferred embodiment, the reinforcing ribs 13 are integrally formed on the inner surface of the rear lightweight covering 1 by means of stamping operation. Preferably, the reinforcing ribs 13 are parallel each other. In an alternative embodiment, the reinforcing ribs 13 are formed by means of an etching process. Accordingly, it would be advantageous that the rear lightweight covering 1 is not susceptible to distortion or crack during impacting a golf ball.
Preferably, the reinforcing rib 13 adjacent to a center portion of the rear crown portion 11 of the rear lightweight covering 1 has a greater length with respect to the front-to-rear direction. Conversely, the reinforcing rib 13 arranged beyond the center portion of the rear crown portion 11 of the rear lightweight covering 1 has a shorter length. The number of the reinforcing ribs 13 provided in practicing the present invention may not affect the elastic deformability of the rear lightweight covering 1.
In an alternative, the reinforcing ribs 13 are provided on an outer surface of the rear crown portion 11 of the rear lightweight covering 1 without departing from the present invention.
Constructions of the golf club head body 2 shall be described in detail with also reference to FIGS. 1 through 3. Preferably, the golf club head body 2 is integrally formed with a striking face 21, a front crown portion 22 and a sole portion 23. In this preferred embodiment, the striking face 21 is integrally connected between the front crown portion 22 and the sole portion 23. By way of example, in an alternative embodiment, the striking face 21 is separately fabricated and then combined with the golf club head body 2. The front crown portion 22 has a crown-connecting periphery (unlabeled) while the sole portion 23 has a sole-connecting periphery (unlabeled). Preferably, the crown-connecting periphery is integrally formed from the sole-connecting periphery so as to form a second connecting periphery. The second connecting periphery of the golf club head body 1 mechanically connects with the first connecting periphery of the rear lightweight covering 1 when assembled. The crown-connecting periphery has a crown-assembling edge 221 located at a rear upper portion of the front crown portion 22, and further extends downwardly to form wall-assembling edges 222. Correspondingly, the sole-connecting periphery has a sole-assembling edge 231 located at a rear portion of the sole portion 23. The golf club head body 2 further includes a hose 124 arranged at a neck portion adjacent the heel so as to receive a club shaft (not shown).
It is apparent from FIG. 1 that the rear lightweight covering 1 occupies a specific volume of the golf club head. Yet further, the rear lightweight covering 1 varies in shape and thickness in adjusting the center of gravity of the golf club head according to the design need. The rear lightweight covering 1, however, shares a lower amount of weight to lower the center of gravity of the golf club head. The golf club head body 2 also varies in weight in adjusting the center of gravity of the golf club head according to the design need. It is also apparent from FIG. 1 that the golf club head body 2 varies in volume or weight but it shares a higher amount of weight of the golf club head.
Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, in assembling operation, the first connecting periphery of the rear lightweight covering 1 is aligned with the second connecting periphery of the golf club head body 2. In this circumstance, the crown-assembling edge 111 of the rear lightweight covering 1 is engaged with the crown-assembling edge 221 of the golf club head body 2; the wall-assembling edges 121 of the rear lightweight covering 1 are engaged with the wall-assembling edges 222 of the golf club head body 2; and the bottom-assembling edge 122 is engaged with the sole-assembling edge 231 of the golf club head body 2. Once assembled, the rear lightweight covering 1 can be securely mounted on the golf club head body 2 to form the weight-adjustable golf club head. The connecting operation in practicing the present invention may be performed by means of welding, braze welding, adhesive or screw-connection. It would be advantage that the stress impacted on the striking face 21 cannot damage the rear lightweight covering 1 due to the fact that such an arrangement separates the entire structure of the rear lightweight covering 1 from the striking face 21 of the golf club head body 2.
Referring again to FIGS. 1 through 3, the rear lightweight covering 1 is designed to have a thickness less than 0.6 mm except the reinforcing ribs 13 so that it performs a high degree of elastic deformability in impacting the golf ball. Additionally, since the rear lightweight covering 1 is made from a relatively low specific gravity metal, the center of gravity of the golf club head is shifted and adjusted in manufacture. It would be advantage that the strength of the rear lightweight covering 1 is increased due to that the reinforcing ribs 13 of the rear lightweight covering 1 extend along the front-to-rear direction of the golf club head in which the stress impacted on the striking face 21 of the golf club head body 2 is transmitted. More importantly, the reinforcing ribs 13 are successful in reinforcing the thin thickness of the rear lightweight covering 1 even though the thickness of the rear lightweight covering 1 is less than 0.6 mm.
It will be apparent from the aforementioned discussions that although it would be advantageous to design the golf club head body by providing the recessed grooves on the crown portion and to provide the sole portion, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,465, thereby lowering the center of gravity, the recessed grooves cannot effectively lower the center of gravity and provide adequate elastic deformability in the crown portion. Referring back to FIG. 1, the rear lightweight covering 1 of the present invention can provide a high degree of elastic deformability in the crown portion of the golf club head body 2. Furthermore, a set of the reinforcing ribs 13 extended in the front-to-rear direction can reinforce the thin thickness of the rear lightweight covering 1 in striking the golf ball.
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to its presently preferred embodiment, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080070721
