Golf Club Head With Hollow Stress-Reducing Features

Abstract

A golf club head comprising a body and a hollow stiffening structure is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face section, a sole section, and a crown section, and defines a hollow interior. The hollow stiffening structure extends within the hollow interior from the crown section to the sole section to reduce stresses placed on the face section during impact with a golf ball. The hollow stiffening structure creates stiffness in a vertical, crown-sole direction of the body, while reducing stiffness in the horizontal, front-rear direction. These two effects combine to increase ball speed and improve other performance metrics from low center through high center ball impact locations, and simultaneously lower CT of the golf club.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A golf club head comprising:
 a body comprising a face section with a face opening, a sole section extending from a lower edge of the face section, a return section extending from an upper edge of the face section, a hosel, a heel end, a toe end, an upper opening, a hollow interior, and an aft end;   a face insert affixed to the body within the face opening;   a crown insert affixed to the body and closing the upper opening; and   a hollow stiffening structure extending from the sole section to the return section within the hollow interior, the hollow stiffening structure comprising at least one interior wall that is suspended within the hollow interior of the body,   wherein the hollow stiffening structure does not make contact with any portion of the face section or the face insert,   wherein the hollow stiffening structure is entirely disposed within 1 inch of a rear surface of the face insert measured along a vertical, front to back plane extending through a geometric center of the face insert, and   wherein no openings are disposed within the interior wall, such that an interior of the hollow stiffening structure does not communicate with the hollow interior of the body.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the return section comprises an elongated upper opening, wherein the sole section comprises an elongated lower opening, wherein an upper end of the hollow stiffening structure is disposed within the elongated upper opening, and wherein a lower end of the hollow stiffening structure is disposed within the elongated lower opening. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the upper end of the hollow stiffening structure comprises an upper opening in communication with an exterior of the golf club head, and wherein the lower end of the hollow stiffening structure comprises a lower opening in communication with the exterior of the golf club head. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 3 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure comprises a heel side connector, a toe side connector, an upper connector, and a lower connector encircling at least one opening. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 4 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure further comprises at least one central connector extending between the upper connector and the lower connector and dividing the at least one opening into a plurality of openings. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure has a rectangular shape. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure has a depth of 0.030 to 0.300 inch. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the golf club head is a fairway wood-type golf club head, wherein the body is composed of a metal alloy, wherein the face insert is composed of a metal alloy, and wherein the crown insert is composed of a composite material. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure is composed of a metal alloy. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 8 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure is composed of a non-metal material selected from the group consisting of plastic and carbon composite. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure has a mass of less than 10 grams. 
     
     
         12 . A golf club head comprising:
 a body comprising a face section with a face opening, a sole section extending from a lower edge of the face section, a return section extending from an upper edge of the face section, a hosel, a heel end, a toe end, an upper opening, a hollow interior, and an aft end;   a face insert affixed to the body within the face opening;   a crown insert affixed to the body and closing the upper opening;   a hollow stiffening structure extending from the sole section to the return section within the hollow interior; and   a weight,   wherein the hollow stiffening structure is entirely disposed within 1 inch of a rear surface of the face insert measured along a vertical, front to back plane extending through a geometric center of the face insert,   wherein the hollow stiffening structure does not make contact with any portion of the face section or the face insert,   wherein the sole section comprises an elongated lower opening,   wherein a lower end of the hollow stiffening structure is disposed within the elongated lower opening,   wherein the lower end of the hollow stiffening structure comprises a lower opening in communication with the exterior of the golf club head, and   wherein the weight is disposed within the lower end of the hollow stiffening structure.   
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising a polymer adhesive, wherein the polymer adhesive fixes the weight within the lower end of the hollow stiffening structure. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 13 , wherein the weight comprises a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten and steel. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an elongated washer with a through-opening and an end portion; and   a retention screw with a head portion and a threaded extension portion,   wherein the sole comprises a port disposed proximate the lower opening,   wherein the threaded extension portion extends through the through-opening to engage the port, and   wherein fully engaging the retention screw within the port fixes the washer to the sole so that the end portion of the elongated washer extends over the lower opening to trap the weight within the lower end of the hollow stiffening structure.   
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , further comprising a retention screw with a head portion and a threaded extension portion,
 wherein the sole comprises an angled port disposed proximate the lower opening,   wherein the port communicates with and extends into an opening in the lower connector,   wherein fully engaging the retention screw within the port causes the threaded extension portion to press against the weight and secure it within the lower end of the hollow stiffening structure.   
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein the weight comprises an indentation sized to receive a portion of the threaded extension portion. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure comprises a heel side connector, a toe side connector, an upper connector, and a lower connector encircling at least one opening. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure has a rectangular shape. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the hollow stiffening structure has a depth of 0.030 to 0.300 inch.