Golf club head with pneumatic insert

Abstract

A golf club head with a pneumatic insert is described herein. The pneumatic insert comprises a membrane enclosing a hollow chamber filled with a pressurized gas. The pneumatic insert occupies at least a portion of the club head cavity and is secured in the cavity by one or more retainers. The pneumatic insert comprises a toe side region and a heel side region connected by a flexure region. The pneumatic insert damps club head vibrations and reinforces portions of the club head, thereby improving club head sound, feel, and ball flight performance.

1 . An iron-type golf club head, comprising:
 a body comprising:
 a front end defining a strike face, 
 a top rail, 
 a sole opposite the top rail, 
 a toe opposite the heel;
 a rear end opposite the front end, the rear end defining a rear wall extending partially between the sole and the top rail; 
 
 a cavity at least partially bounded by the strike face, the top rail, the sole, the heel, the toe, and the rear wall; 
   a pneumatic insert disposed in the cavity, the pneumatic insert defining a compressed state and an operative state and further comprising:
 a membrane enclosing a hollow chamber filled with a pressurized gas; 
 a toe-side region; 
 a heel-side region opposite the toe-side region; 
 a flexure region disposed between and flexibly coupling the toe-side region and the heel-side region; 
 a maximum width measured between a heel side and a toe side of the pneumatic insert; 
   wherein:
 in the compressed state, the maximum width is shorter than the maximum width in the operative state. 
   
     
     
         2 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic insert further comprises:
 a heel-side leg disposed in the heel-side region and defining a heel-side free end,   a toe-side leg disposed in the toe-side region and defining a toe-side free end,   a void disposed in the flexure region and between the heel-side leg and the toe-side leg,   a central aperture disposed in the flexure region opposite the heel-side free end and the toe-side free end and fluidly communicating with the void;   wherein:
 the central aperture and the void cooperate to form a keyhole shape. 
   
     
     
         3 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein a web extends across the central aperture and the void. 
     
     
         4 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the toe-side leg comprises a toe-side intermediate wall,   the heel-side leg comprises a heel-side intermediate wall,   the central aperture defines a penannular wall between the heel-side intermediate wall and the toe-side intermediate wall, and   the keyhole is defined along the penannular wall, the heel-side intermediate wall, and the toe-side intermediate wall.   
     
     
         5 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the pneumatic insert further comprises:
 a central aperture width, measured along a horizontal plane between opposing ends of the central aperture, of 0.20 inch to 1.00 inch;   a void width, measured as the shortest distance between the heel-side leg and the toe-side leg, less than the central aperture width and between 0.125 inch and 0.75 inch.   
     
     
         6 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the membrane further comprises:
 a heel-side membrane, disposed in the heel-side region, defining a heel-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a heel-side sub-chamber,   a toe-side membrane, disposed in the toe-side region, defining a toe-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a toe-side sub-chamber;
 wherein:
 the heel-side sub-chamber and toe-side the sub-chamber are separated by the void, 
 the heel-side sub chamber and the toe-side sub-chamber are connected by a connecting duct extending between the heel-side intermediate wall and the toe-side intermediate wall and disposed within the flexure region; 
 the flexure region is defined along the one or more connecting ducts, the void, the toe-side intermediate wall, and the heel-side intermediate wall. 
 
   
     
     
         7 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the membrane further comprises:
 a heel-side membrane, disposed in the heel-side region, defining a heel-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a heel-side chamber,   a toe-side membrane, disposed in the toe-side region, defining a toe-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a toe-side chamber,   a connecting wall disposed in the flexure region and extending between the heel-side membrane and the toe-side membrane.   
     
     
         8 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 7 , wherein the connecting wall comprises a thin, solid section of the membrane that is independent of the heel-side chamber or the toe-side chamber. 
     
     
         9 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the flexure region comprises a structural discontinuity of the pneumatic insert. 
     
     
         10 . An iron-type golf club head, comprising:
 a body comprising:
 a front end defining a strike face, 
 a top rail, 
 a sole opposite the top rail, 
 a heel, and 
 a toe opposite the heel;
 a rear end opposite the front end, the rear end defining a rear wall; 
 
 a cavity at least partially bounded by the strike face, the top rail, the sole, the heel, the toe, and the rear wall, wherein the rear wall extends partially between the sole and the top rail; 
   a pneumatic insert disposed in the cavity, the pneumatic insert defines a compressed state and an operative state and further comprising:
 a membrane enclosing a hollow chamber filled with a pressurized gas; 
 a toe-side region; 
 a heel-side region opposite the toe-side region; 
 a flexure region disposed between and flexibly coupling the toe-side region and the heel-side region, defining a section of the pneumatic insert that facilitates the transition between the operative state and the compressed state, and 
   wherein:
 at least one maximum dimension of the pneumatic insert is greater in the operative state than in the compressed state. 
   
     
     
         11 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the pneumatic insert further comprises:
 a heel-side leg disposed in the heel-side region and defining a heel-side free end,   a toe-side leg disposed in the toe-side region and defining a toe-side free end,   a void disposed in the flexure region and between the heel-side leg and the toe-side leg,   a central aperture disposed in the flexure region opposite the heel-side free end and the toe-side free end and fluidly communicating with the void;   wherein:
 the central aperture and the void cooperate to form a keyhole shape. 
   
     
     
         12 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein a web extends across the central aperture and the void. 
     
     
         13 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the toe-side leg comprises a toe-side intermediate wall,   the heel-side leg comprises a heel-side intermediate wall,   the central aperture defines a penannular wall between the heel-side intermediate wall and the toe-side intermediate wall, and   the keyhole is defined along the penannular wall, the heel-side intermediate wall, and the toe-side intermediate wall.   
     
     
         14 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the pneumatic insert further comprises:
 a central aperture width, measured along a horizontal plane between opposing ends of the central aperture, of 0.20 inch to 1.00 inch;   a void width, measured as the shortest distance between the heel-side leg and the toe-side leg, less than the central aperture width and between 0.125 inch and 0.75 inch.   
     
     
         15 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the membrane further comprises:
 a heel-side membrane, disposed in the heel-side region, defining a heel-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a heel-side sub-chamber,   a toe-side membrane, disposed in the toe-side region, defining a toe-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a toe-side sub-chamber;
 wherein:
 the heel-side sub-chamber and toe-side the sub-chamber are separated by the void, 
 the heel-side sub chamber and the toe-side sub-chamber are connected by a connecting duct extending between the heel-side intermediate wall and the toe-side intermediate wall and disposed within the flexure region; 
 the flexure region is defined along the one or more connecting ducts, the void, the toe-side intermediate wall, and the heel-side intermediate wall. 
 
   
     
     
         16 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the membrane further comprises:
 a heel-side membrane, disposed in the heel-side region, defining a heel-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a heel-side chamber,   a toe-side membrane, disposed in the toe-side region, defining a toe-side intermediate wall and at least partially enclosing a toe-side chamber,   a connecting wall disposed in the flexure region and extending between the heel-side membrane and the toe-side membrane.   
     
     
         17 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein the connecting wall comprises a thin, solid section of the membrane that is independent of the heel-side chamber or the toe-side chamber. 
     
     
         18 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the flexure region comprises a structural discontinuity of the pneumatic insert. 
     
     
         19 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the pneumatic insert is secured within the cavity without any adhesives or separate coupling members. 
     
     
         20 . The iron-type golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein the membrane comprises a membrane thickness less than 0.050 inch.