Patent ID: 11925844
Assignee: KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATION
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A  B

Claim 12:
13. A golf club head comprising:
a crown, a sole opposite the crown, a heel end, a toe end opposite the heel end, a front end comprising a leading edge, a rear end, and a skirt extending between the crown and the sole;
a first component formed of a metal and comprising a striking face, a return portion extending rearward from the striking face, and a sole rear extension extending rearward from the return portion;
a second component formed of a non-metal and configured to be secured to the first component to enclose a hollow interior cavity, wherein the second component forms a majority of the crown and wraps around the skirt to form at least a portion of the heel end, the toe end, and the sole;
wherein the striking face comprises a striking face center defining an origin for a coordinate system including an x-axis extending horizontally through the striking face center in a direction extending from the heel end to the toe end when the club head is at an address position, a y-axis extending vertically through the striking face center in a direction extending from the crown to the sole, wherein the y-axis is perpendicular to the x-axis, a z-axis extending horizontally through the striking face center in a direction extending from the striking face to the rear end, wherein the z-axis is perpendicular to both the x-axis and the y-axis;
a front end reference plane tangent to the leading edge and perpendicular to a ground plane, the ground plane being defined as tangent to the sole at the address position;
a rear end reference plane tangent to the rear end and parallel to the front end reference plane;
a midplane perpendicular to the ground plane and located halfway between the front end reference plane and the rear end reference plane;
a YZ plane extending along the y-axis and the z-axis perpendicular to the ground plane;
wherein when viewing the club head from a top view, an intersection of the midplane and the YZ plane divides the club head into a quadrant system having a front-toe quadrant, a front-heel quadrant, a rear-toe quadrant, and a rear-heel quadrant;
a tuning element secured to an interior surface of the second component within the rear-heel quadrant;
wherein the tuning element comprises an adhesive layer, a stiffening layer opposite the adhesive layer, and a damping layer sandwiched between the adhesive layer and the stiffening layer;
wherein the stiffening layer comprises a glass cloth;
wherein the damping layer comprises a thermoplastic elastomer;
wherein the second component comprises a recess formed in an exterior surface of the crown, the recess being located within the rear-heel quadrant;
wherein the recess comprises a recess edge separating the recess from a non-recessed surface of the crown adjacent the recess;
wherein the recess forms a corresponding protrusion extending into the hollow interior cavity from an internal surface of the crown;
wherein the club head comprises a hotspot within the rear-heel quadrant and located proximate the recess, the hotspot being defined as a location of maximum amplitude of a natural frequency when the club head is devoid of the tuning element;
wherein said natural frequency is between 5000 Hz and 6500 Hz;
wherein the tuning element is positioned on the hotspot, the tuning element is configured to damp the maximum amplitude of the natural frequency; and
wherein when the club head comprising the tuning element vibrates at the natural frequency, the maximum amplitude is reduced by at least 2 decibels when compared to a similar club head devoid of the tuning element;
wherein the maximum amplitude of the natural frequency is less than or equal to 65 decibels.