US2024390747A1PendingUtilityA1
Iron type golf club head
Est. expiryDec 23, 2031(~5.4 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
A63B 53/047A63B 53/0462A63B 53/0454A63B 53/0408A63B 53/042A63B 2209/02A63B 2209/00A63B 60/54A63B 60/00A63B 53/0475
82
PatentIndex Score
0
Cited by
0
References
0
Claims
Abstract
Iron-type golf club heads are disclosed having a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a top-line portion, a front portion, a rear portion, and a striking face. The iron-type golf club heads include a localized stiffened region that is located on the striking face of the club head such that the localized stiffened region alters the launch conditions of golf balls struck by the club head in a way that wholly or partially compensates for, overcomes, or prevents the occurrence of a rightward deviation. In particular, the localized stiffened region is located on the striking face such that a golf ball struck under typical conditions will not impart a right-tending sidespin to the golf ball.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modifiedWe claim:
1 . An iron-type golf club head comprising:
a heel portion; a toe portion; a sole portion; a top-line portion; a striking face having a flat forward-facing ball-striking surface having a loft of 18-64 degrees, a face center, and a rearward-facing surface; and a rear portion opposite the striking face; wherein the striking face has an unsupported region with an unsupported striking face thickness that varies, a heel portion of the unsupported region is located on a heel side of an imaginary center vertical plane that extends perpendicularly to a ground plane and that contains an imaginary line that extends in a direction normal to the striking face at an ideal striking location when the club head is in a normal address position, and wherein a toe portion of the unsupported region is located on a toe side of the imaginary center vertical plane; wherein a face stiffness ratio of a mean point-wise cross sectional bending stiffness of the toe portion of the unsupported region to a mean point-wise cross sectional bending stiffness of the heel portion of the unsupported region, is at least 1.15; and wherein the club head has a relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.030 to 0.000.
2 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the face stiffness ratio is at least 1.2, and the unsupported striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 1.5-2.5 mm.
3 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 2 , wherein the face stiffness ratio is at least 1.25.
4 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the face stiffness ratio is at least 1.3.
5 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 3 , wherein a vertical wall hitting region of the unsupported region of the striking face lies between an imaginary heel side vertical plane and an imaginary toe side vertical plane, where the heel side vertical plane is spaced 20 mm to the heel side and is parallel to the center vertical plane, and the toe side vertical plane is spaced 20 mm to the toe side and is parallel to the center vertical plane, and the following inequality is satisfied:
[
(
∑
n
=
1
N
E
n
t
n
3
)
÷
N
]
÷
[
(
∑
m
=
1
M
E
m
t
m
3
)
÷
M
]
>
D
v
w
;
wherein:
D VW is 1.25,
E n and t n are the effective Young's Modulus value and the unsupported striking face thickness, respectively, for an n th cross-section of the toe portion of the vertical wall hitting region of the striking face,
E m and t m are the effective Young's Modulus value and the unsupported striking face thickness, respectively, for an m th cross-section of the heel portion of the vertical wall hitting region of the striking face, and
N and M have values determined by discretizing a SA TOE HR and a SA HEEL HR within the vertical wall hitting region of the striking face, respectively, into 1 mm×1 mm sections.
6 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 5 , wherein a circular hitting region of the unsupported region of the striking face lies within an imaginary circle drawn on the forward facing ball-striking surface, with the imaginary circle having a radius of 20 mm and having a center located at the ideal striking location, and the following inequality is satisfied:
[
(
∑
n
=
1
N
E
n
t
n
3
)
÷
N
]
÷
[
(
∑
m
=
1
M
E
m
t
m
3
)
÷
M
]
>
D
c
w
;
wherein:
D CW is 1.4,
E n and t n are the effective Young's Modulus value and the unsupported striking face thickness, respectively, for an n th cross-section of the toe portion of the circular hitting region of the striking face,
E m and t m are the effective Young's Modulus value and the unsupported striking face thickness, respectively, for an m th cross-section of the heel portion of the circular hitting region of the striking face, and
N and M have values determined by discretizing a SA TOE HR and a SA HEEL HR within the circular hitting region of the striking face, respectively, into 1 mm×1 mm sections.
7 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 6 , wherein D VW is 1.3 and D CW is 1.5.
8 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 7 , wherein D VW is 1.4 and D CW is 1.65.
9 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the face stiffness ratio is at least 1.37.
10 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 9 , wherein the face stiffness ratio is at least 1.51.
11 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 6 , further comprising at least one tungsten weighting element.
12 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the relative coefficient of restitution is in a range from −0.025 to 0.000, and D VW is 1.3.
13 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 12 , wherein the face stiffness ratio is at least 1.37.
14 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.020 to 0.000.
15 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 14 , wherein the unsupported striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 2 mm or less, and the relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.015 to 0.000.
16 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 15 , further comprising at least one tungsten weighting element.
17 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 15 , wherein the relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.01 to 0.000.
18 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 14 , wherein a portion of the sole portion has a sole thickness of no more than about 2 mm, and the relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.015 to 0.000.
19 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 18 , wherein a portion of the sole portion has a sole thickness of 1.7 mm or less, and the relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.01 to 0.000.
20 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 14 , wherein the top-line portion has a total top-line thickness of no greater than 9 mm.
21 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 14 , wherein the striking face includes a separate striking plate welded to the heel portion and the sole portion.
22 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 21 , wherein a portion of the striking plate has a plate thickness of 2 mm or less.
23 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 14 , wherein the striking face, the heel portion, the toe portion, the sole portion, the rear portion, and the top-line portion are a single unitary cast piece.
24 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 23 , wherein a portion of the sole portion has a sole thickness of no more than about 2 mm.
25 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 23 , wherein the unsupported striking face thickness of a portion of the striking face is 2 mm or less.
26 . The iron-type golf club head of claim 14 , wherein the iron-type golf club head is a cavity back iron golf club head and further comprises a badge coupled to the rearward-facing surface of the striking face and covering majority of the rearward-facing surface, wherein the badge has a variable thickness.
27 . An iron-type golf club head comprising:
a heel portion; a toe portion; a sole portion; a top-line portion having a total top-line thickness of no greater than 9 mm; and a striking face having a flat forward-facing ball-striking surface having a loft of 18-64 degrees, a face center, and a rearward-facing surface; wherein the striking face has an unsupported region with an unsupported striking face thickness that varies, a heel portion of the unsupported region is located on a heel side of an imaginary center vertical plane that extends perpendicularly to a ground plane and that contains an imaginary line that extends in a direction normal to the striking face at an ideal striking location when the club head is in a normal address position, and wherein a toe portion of the unsupported region is located on a toe side of the imaginary center vertical plane; wherein a face stiffness ratio of a mean point-wise cross sectional bending stiffness of the toe portion of the unsupported region to a mean point-wise cross sectional bending stiffness of the heel portion of the unsupported region, is at least 1.20; wherein a vertical wall hitting region of the unsupported region of the striking face lies between an imaginary heel side vertical plane and an imaginary toe side vertical plane, where the heel side vertical plane is spaced 20 mm to the heel side and is parallel to the center vertical plane, and the toe side vertical plane is spaced 20 mm to the toe side and is parallel to the center vertical plane, and the following inequality is satisfied:
[
(
∑
n
=
1
N
E
n
t
n
3
)
÷
N
]
÷
[
(
∑
m
=
1
M
E
m
t
m
3
)
÷
M
]
>
D
v
w
;
wherein:
D VW is 1.25,
E n and t n are the effective Young's Modulus value and the unsupported striking face thickness, respectively, for an n th cross-section of the toe portion of the vertical wall hitting region of the striking face,
E m and t m are the effective Young's Modulus value and the unsupported striking face thickness, respectively, for an m th cross-section of the heel portion of the vertical wall hitting region of the striking face, and
N and M have values determined by discretizing a SA TOE HR and a SA HEEL HR within the vertical wall hitting region of the striking face, respectively, into 1 mm×1 mm sections; and
wherein the club head has a relative coefficient of restitution that is in a range from −0.045 to 0.000.Cited by (0)
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