CA2471397A1 - Golf club head with reinforced top region - Google Patents
Golf club head with reinforced top region Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2471397A1 CA2471397A1 CA 2471397 CA2471397A CA2471397A1 CA 2471397 A1 CA2471397 A1 CA 2471397A1 CA 2471397 CA2471397 CA 2471397 CA 2471397 A CA2471397 A CA 2471397A CA 2471397 A1 CA2471397 A1 CA 2471397A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- club head
- region
- top region
- golf club
- face
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/0466—Heads wood-type
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/0437—Heads with special crown configurations
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B53/00—Golf clubs
- A63B53/04—Heads
- A63B53/045—Strengthening ribs
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2209/00—Characteristics of used materials
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2225/00—Miscellaneous features of sport apparatus, devices or equipment
- A63B2225/01—Special aerodynamic features, e.g. airfoil shapes, wings or air passages
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
- Golf Clubs (AREA)
Abstract
A wood styled golf club head has an outer shell enclosing a hollow interior. The outer shell includes a face region which impacts with a golf ball. This face region has a spring effect for higher launch speeds of the golf ball. The shell also includes a top region provided with strengthening ribs. These strengthening ribs reinforce the top region in a direction to resist distortion and to maximize the spring effect on the face region during ball impact.
Description
GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH REINFORCED TOP REGION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wood style golf club head.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over the last few years many new developments have been made in the construction of the heads of what are referred to as golf club woods. As anyone who currently plays the game will appreciate these woods are for the most part made with a lightweight titanium construction.
Unlike prior years they do not have a solid wooden construction but rather have a hollow interior. This allows today's most current "woods" and in particular the driver head to be extremely light in weight at club head sizes which are dramatically increased relative to older traditional club head sizes.
The lightweight and :large size of the new titanium driver heads makes them much easier to swing at high speeds with a great deal of forgiveness.
Another feature which has been added to the most up to date titanium driver heads is what is known in the industry as "spring effect". Spring effect is a feature added to the face of the driver which allows the driver face to actually absorb the golf ball and then rebound throwing the ball off the face at higher than normal launch speeds.
Many golfers ranging from those with low to reasonable and very high club head speeds are benefiting from the spring effect and the large lightweight size of current typically titanium drivers. However, some problems do occur particularly with golfers having extremely fast swing speeds. These golfers hit the ball so hard that distortion occurs in the club head detracting from the full benefit of the spring effect even producing breakage of the club head.
SUNR?PaRY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides a wood style golf club head preferably having a titanium construction.
This golf club head comprises an outer cover or shell enclosing a hollow interior of the club head. The outer shell has various shell regions including a face region, a top region, a bottom region and a side region which integrates the top, bottom and face regions.
The face region is the ball impact surface of the club and is resilient to provide a spring effect when the club head impacts with a golf ball.
Typically, with prior art drivers, the area of the golf club which distorts particularly with extremely high ball impact speeds is the top region of the shell.
According to the present invention, distortion is reduced and even eliminated because the top region is provided with strengthening ribs. These strengthening ribs, preferably in the form of corrugations running from front to back of the top region, reinforce the top region in a direction to resist distortion of the top region and to maximize the spring effect off the face of the club during ball impact.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and features of the present invention will be described in greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view looking down on a wood style golf club head according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a front view showing the top surface of the golf club head of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an outside end view of the club head of Figure 1 slightly before impact with a golf ball; and Figure 4 is an outside end view of the club head of Figure 1 during impact with the golf ball.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION IN WHICH:
Figure 1 shows a golf club head generally indicated at 1. This golf club head is, in the embodiment shown, a driver head. It is to be noted that the concepts discussed herein are equally applicable to other wood style heads including a 3-wood head, a 5-wood head etc. In any of these wood style heads the head has a hollow interior covered by a shell.
Returning to the embodiment shown in the drawings the covering shell forming club head 1 comprises a face region 7, a bottom region 9, a top region 11 and what will be referred to as a sidewall region 13. The sidewall region of the club head shell integrates all of the other regions.
A Nozzle 3 extends up from the inner end of top region 11 to receive the shaft 5 of the golf club.
Again in the preferred embodiment, the covering shell for the club head has a titanium construction which allows it to be lightweight with large volume. This produces a larger than normal face region on the club head which is much more forgiving than for example older smaller steel heads or the much older and much smaller wooden heads.
Although the club head as described above has been referred to as including different shell regions a number of these shell regions may i.n fact be formed by the same piece of titanium. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the club head may be formed of only two or three separate pieces of titanium welded together to form the entire club head.
A prime benefit of the club head shown in the drawings is that the face region 7 has a spring effect also known in the industry as a trampoline effect.
Figure 4 of the drawings demonstrates that when the face of the golf club impacts with the ball the face will deflect slightly rearwardly when it meets the ball. From here as a result of the rapid restitution features of the lightweight springy titanium of the face it will immediately rebound after impact. As such ball speed is produced not only by the speed with which the club head moves into the ball but also by the added spring effect provided by the face region of the driver.
According to known technology an extremely large driver head may be in the order of for example 400 cubic centimeters or more. The head generally weighs about 200 grams or less. It can be swung at a high speed of for example 120 miles an hour or more in which case substantial distortion is produced in the club head.
Most of this distortion occurs in the top region of the covering shell of the club head. A number of detrimental things occur as a result of this distortion. Firstly, the spring effect of the face region is reduced. This happens because the top part. of the shell rather than the face absorbs the impact of the ball. The top part of the shell does not have the same spring effect in producing jump of the ball off of the club head and therefore ball speed decreases.
A second and equally important factor is that after a number of impacts with the golf ball at the high speeds referred to above the distortion in the top region of the shell weakens the top of the club head. This weakening can continue to the point that the head may actually break in this area.
According to the present invention and unlike the prior art, the top shell region 11 of the club head is provided with reinforcing ribs that extend from front to back of the club head i.e., in the direction of impact.
In the preferred embodiment as shown the top region of the shell is corrugated to produce a series of rib forming crests 15 separated by troughs 17. This is best seen in Figure 2 of the drawings. As will be seen in Figure 1 of the drawings thE: crests and troughs extend from directly above the face region 7 all the way to the back of the club head along the top region of the club head.
As will be seen in Figure 4 of the drawings and as a result of the corrugation forming ribs the top region has little, if any, distortion during ball impact. This ensures that the spring effect is essentially maintained within the face region of the club to maximize the spring or trampoline effect of the club. It also substantially enhances the life span of the club head.
Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wood style golf club head.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over the last few years many new developments have been made in the construction of the heads of what are referred to as golf club woods. As anyone who currently plays the game will appreciate these woods are for the most part made with a lightweight titanium construction.
Unlike prior years they do not have a solid wooden construction but rather have a hollow interior. This allows today's most current "woods" and in particular the driver head to be extremely light in weight at club head sizes which are dramatically increased relative to older traditional club head sizes.
The lightweight and :large size of the new titanium driver heads makes them much easier to swing at high speeds with a great deal of forgiveness.
Another feature which has been added to the most up to date titanium driver heads is what is known in the industry as "spring effect". Spring effect is a feature added to the face of the driver which allows the driver face to actually absorb the golf ball and then rebound throwing the ball off the face at higher than normal launch speeds.
Many golfers ranging from those with low to reasonable and very high club head speeds are benefiting from the spring effect and the large lightweight size of current typically titanium drivers. However, some problems do occur particularly with golfers having extremely fast swing speeds. These golfers hit the ball so hard that distortion occurs in the club head detracting from the full benefit of the spring effect even producing breakage of the club head.
SUNR?PaRY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides a wood style golf club head preferably having a titanium construction.
This golf club head comprises an outer cover or shell enclosing a hollow interior of the club head. The outer shell has various shell regions including a face region, a top region, a bottom region and a side region which integrates the top, bottom and face regions.
The face region is the ball impact surface of the club and is resilient to provide a spring effect when the club head impacts with a golf ball.
Typically, with prior art drivers, the area of the golf club which distorts particularly with extremely high ball impact speeds is the top region of the shell.
According to the present invention, distortion is reduced and even eliminated because the top region is provided with strengthening ribs. These strengthening ribs, preferably in the form of corrugations running from front to back of the top region, reinforce the top region in a direction to resist distortion of the top region and to maximize the spring effect off the face of the club during ball impact.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and features of the present invention will be described in greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view looking down on a wood style golf club head according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a front view showing the top surface of the golf club head of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an outside end view of the club head of Figure 1 slightly before impact with a golf ball; and Figure 4 is an outside end view of the club head of Figure 1 during impact with the golf ball.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION IN WHICH:
Figure 1 shows a golf club head generally indicated at 1. This golf club head is, in the embodiment shown, a driver head. It is to be noted that the concepts discussed herein are equally applicable to other wood style heads including a 3-wood head, a 5-wood head etc. In any of these wood style heads the head has a hollow interior covered by a shell.
Returning to the embodiment shown in the drawings the covering shell forming club head 1 comprises a face region 7, a bottom region 9, a top region 11 and what will be referred to as a sidewall region 13. The sidewall region of the club head shell integrates all of the other regions.
A Nozzle 3 extends up from the inner end of top region 11 to receive the shaft 5 of the golf club.
Again in the preferred embodiment, the covering shell for the club head has a titanium construction which allows it to be lightweight with large volume. This produces a larger than normal face region on the club head which is much more forgiving than for example older smaller steel heads or the much older and much smaller wooden heads.
Although the club head as described above has been referred to as including different shell regions a number of these shell regions may i.n fact be formed by the same piece of titanium. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the club head may be formed of only two or three separate pieces of titanium welded together to form the entire club head.
A prime benefit of the club head shown in the drawings is that the face region 7 has a spring effect also known in the industry as a trampoline effect.
Figure 4 of the drawings demonstrates that when the face of the golf club impacts with the ball the face will deflect slightly rearwardly when it meets the ball. From here as a result of the rapid restitution features of the lightweight springy titanium of the face it will immediately rebound after impact. As such ball speed is produced not only by the speed with which the club head moves into the ball but also by the added spring effect provided by the face region of the driver.
According to known technology an extremely large driver head may be in the order of for example 400 cubic centimeters or more. The head generally weighs about 200 grams or less. It can be swung at a high speed of for example 120 miles an hour or more in which case substantial distortion is produced in the club head.
Most of this distortion occurs in the top region of the covering shell of the club head. A number of detrimental things occur as a result of this distortion. Firstly, the spring effect of the face region is reduced. This happens because the top part. of the shell rather than the face absorbs the impact of the ball. The top part of the shell does not have the same spring effect in producing jump of the ball off of the club head and therefore ball speed decreases.
A second and equally important factor is that after a number of impacts with the golf ball at the high speeds referred to above the distortion in the top region of the shell weakens the top of the club head. This weakening can continue to the point that the head may actually break in this area.
According to the present invention and unlike the prior art, the top shell region 11 of the club head is provided with reinforcing ribs that extend from front to back of the club head i.e., in the direction of impact.
In the preferred embodiment as shown the top region of the shell is corrugated to produce a series of rib forming crests 15 separated by troughs 17. This is best seen in Figure 2 of the drawings. As will be seen in Figure 1 of the drawings thE: crests and troughs extend from directly above the face region 7 all the way to the back of the club head along the top region of the club head.
As will be seen in Figure 4 of the drawings and as a result of the corrugation forming ribs the top region has little, if any, distortion during ball impact. This ensures that the spring effect is essentially maintained within the face region of the club to maximize the spring or trampoline effect of the club. It also substantially enhances the life span of the club head.
Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (3)
1. A wood style golf club head comprising an outer shell enclosing a hollow interior of the club head, the outer shell having various shell regions including a face region, a top region, a bottom region and a side region which integrates said face, top and bottom regions, said face region being a ball impact surface of the club and being resilient to provide a spring effect when said club head impacts with a golf ball and said top region being provided with strengthening ribs which reinforce said top region in a direction to resist distortion of said top region and to maximize the spring effect during ball impact.
2. A golf club head as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said ribs extend from front to back of said top region.
3. A golf club head as claimed in Claim 2 wherein said strengthening ribs are provided by corrugations comprising side by side crests and troughs which extend completely across from the front to back of said top region of said golf club head.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2471397 CA2471397A1 (en) | 2004-06-18 | 2004-06-18 | Golf club head with reinforced top region |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2471397 CA2471397A1 (en) | 2004-06-18 | 2004-06-18 | Golf club head with reinforced top region |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2471397A1 true CA2471397A1 (en) | 2005-12-18 |
Family
ID=35645467
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2471397 Abandoned CA2471397A1 (en) | 2004-06-18 | 2004-06-18 | Golf club head with reinforced top region |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2471397A1 (en) |
Cited By (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2477049A (en) * | 2006-07-31 | 2011-07-20 | Karsten Mfg Corp | Golf club head with reinforced crown |
| US8414421B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2013-04-09 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with reinforced crown |
| US8523704B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2013-09-03 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9126084B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2015-09-08 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| EP2539027B1 (en) * | 2010-02-25 | 2015-12-30 | NIKE Innovate C.V. | Alignment indicator for golf club head in the shape of a club head profile |
| US9242152B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2016-01-26 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9314676B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2016-04-19 | Karsten Manufacutring Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US10427012B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2019-10-01 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US10449424B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2019-10-22 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
-
2004
- 2004-06-18 CA CA 2471397 patent/CA2471397A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (20)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9333402B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2016-05-10 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| GB2477049A (en) * | 2006-07-31 | 2011-07-20 | Karsten Mfg Corp | Golf club head with reinforced crown |
| US8414421B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2013-04-09 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with reinforced crown |
| US8425347B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2013-04-23 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club head with reinforced crown |
| US8523704B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2013-09-03 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9126084B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2015-09-08 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US10850173B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2020-12-01 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US10427012B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2019-10-01 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9295886B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2016-03-29 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| GB2477049B (en) * | 2006-07-31 | 2011-09-14 | Karsten Mfg Corp | Golf club head with reinforced crown |
| US9242152B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2016-01-26 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US11565156B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2023-01-31 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9814948B2 (en) | 2006-07-31 | 2017-11-14 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| EP2539027B1 (en) * | 2010-02-25 | 2015-12-30 | NIKE Innovate C.V. | Alignment indicator for golf club head in the shape of a club head profile |
| US10874917B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2020-12-29 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US10449424B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2019-10-22 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US10118075B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2018-11-06 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9314676B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2016-04-19 | Karsten Manufacutring Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US9700768B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2017-07-11 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
| US11684829B2 (en) | 2013-10-02 | 2023-06-27 | Karsten Manufacturing Corporation | Golf club heads with ribs and related methods |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |