Perimeter weighted iron type club head with centrally located geometrically shaped weight

A perimeter weighted iron type golf club head having a recess or cavity back and peripheral mass with an improved weight configuration formed of a raised geometric shaped mass weight member within the cavity spaced from the peripheral mass and located at the center of percussion of the golf club head.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to perimeter weighted golf club heads, and 
more particularly to recessed or cavity back, iron type perimeter weighted 
golf club heads having an improved weight distribution configuration. 
Perimeter weighted golf club heads represent attempts to maximize weight 
distribution adjacent the outer periphery of a club head to maximize 
energy transfer to a golf ball which is struck off of the center of 
percussion (CP). To this end, the peripheral weighted club heads are 
formed with a peripheral mass located around the rear perimeter of the 
club head which forms a recess or cavity on the back of the club head. 
Whereas these club head designs work quite well when a ball is miss-hit 
off of the center of percussion (CP), there is often a lack of sufficient 
energy transfer to a ball which is struck precisely on the center of 
percussion (CP) because of the lack of weight in that area. This results 
in a loss of feel and/or control of these type of shots. 
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,386, I have provided a perimeter weighted 
golf club head having a rounded concentric weight member centrally located 
behind the center of percussion (CP) and formed completely within the 
cavity and spaced from the cavity side walls formed by the peripheral mass 
on the club head. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an improved golf club head having the 
advantages of peripheral weighted club heads and which also enhances the 
shot making ability of the club head when a ball is struck at the precise 
center of percussion (CP). Like the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 
4,915,386, the present invention provides a mass directly behind the 
center of percussion (CP) and spaced from the peripheral mass within the 
cavity on the rear of the club head. The centrally located solid mass uses 
any one of a number of geometric shapes which are positioned directly 
behind the center of percussion (CP) and raised from the rear surface of 
the club head within the cavity. Such shapes include, but are not limited 
to squares, triangles, diamonds, trapezoids, parallelograms, semi-circles 
and a number of other polygon shaped elements. Like the aforementioned 
patent, the structure provides a more solid feel when a golf ball is 
struck directly at the center of percussion (CP) because of the additional 
weight located at that point, thereby producing improved feel and greater 
accuracy resulting in a golf ball's traveling further and straighter for a 
given energy transfer provided by a specific golf swing. 
Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a peripheral 
weighted golf club head which permits a golfer to achieve improved feel, 
control, accuracy and optimum distance when a golf ball is struck by the 
club head at the precise center of percussion (CP). 
These and other objects will become apparent with reference to the 
accompanying drawings and following specification which illustrate the 
embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiments of the present 
invention are illustrated. Wherever possible, the same or like reference 
numerals are used throughout the drawings to refer to same or like parts. 
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of a golf club head 10 of the 
present invention. The club head 10 is a conventional, peripheral weighted 
iron type club head including a heel 12, toe 14, hosel 16 and ball 
striking face 18 having a loft angle of at least 12 degrees and a 
complementary rear face 20. The club head includes a center of percussion 
shown on the ball striking face 18 which is located at approximately the 
center of the club head, the exact position being precisely controlled by 
the weight distribution of the club head itself. The center of percussion 
(CP) represents the spot at which a golf ball would be struck to provide 
maximum energy transfer to the ball by the club head thereby producing 
golf shots which provide not only maximum distance but a more precise 
control producing a tighter pattern at the ultimate location where the 
golf ball comes to rest. The club head includes a peripheral mass 22 
formed around the perimeter of the club head 10 which, in combination with 
the rear face 20, forms a cavity 24. A geometrically shaped mass 28 in the 
form of a raised square is positioned on the rear face 20 directly behind 
the center of percussion (CP) and located directly within the center of 
the cavity and spaced from the peripheral mass 22. The geometrically 
shaped mass 28 extends rearwardly from the rear face 20. 
By regulating the overall weight distribution of the club head, the normal 
weight parameters of these type of iron type club heads can be maintained. 
However, by locating the geometrical mass directly behind the center of 
percussion (CP), the efficiency of the energy transfer from the club head 
to the golf ball is increased because of the additional weight directly 
behind the center of percussion (CP) when the ball is hit directly on the 
center of percussion (CP). If the golf ball is struck off of the center of 
percussion (CP) and closer to the peripheral mass 22, there is still 
greater energy available to produce more acceptable golf shots. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of a golf club head 100 of the 
present invention which is essentially identical to the embodiment shown 
in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the geometric weight member 128 takes the 
shape of a raised octagon. See FIG. 4 which shows the weight member 128 
spaced from the peripheral mass 122 and located within the cavity 124 in 
the same manner as described with respect to the embodiment of FIG. 1. As 
shown in FIG. 4, the rear raised surface 127 of weight member 128 extends 
rearwardly from the rear face of the club head to at least substantial 
alignment with the rearmost surface 121 of the upper surface portion of 
the peripheral mass 122 of the club head. It will be appreciated that the 
various size and shapes of the geometrical members which form the mass 
within the cavity allow the weight to be precisely distributed and 
located, thereby enabling a golfer to experiment to find a club head 
construction which maximizes the energy transfer developed by his own 
particular swing. 
FIG. 5 illustrates a third embodiment of a golf club head 200 of the 
present invention in which the geometrically shaped mass 228 is triangular 
in shape. 
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a fourth embodiment of a golf club head 300 of the 
present invention wherein the mass 328 within the cavity and directly 
behind the center of percussion (CP) is diamond shaped. 
FIG. 8 illustrates a fifth embodiment of a golf club head 400 of the 
present invention including a trapezoidal shaped mass 428 located within 
the cavity and having parallel opposite side walls. 
FIG. 9 illustrates a sixth embodiment of a golf club head 500 of the 
present invention using an arcuate shaped mass 528 including a flat side 
530 parallel to and spaced from the outer peripheral mass 522 of the club 
head 500. 
FIG. 10 illustrates a seventh embodiment of a club head 600 of the present 
invention wherein the mass 628 is formed of a pair of raised triangles 
having adjacent or juxtaposed apex members. In this regard, it will be 
appreciated that the invention contemplates a plurality of similar shaped 
geometric masses disposed within the cavity and located behind the precise 
center of percussion (CP) on the club head. 
FIG. 11 illustrates an eighth embodiment of a golf club head 700 of the 
present invention including a trapezoidal shaped mass 728 wherein none of 
the sides of trapezoid are parallel. 
FIG. 12 illustrates a ninth embodiment of a golf club head 800 of the 
present invention including a trapezoidal shaped mass 828 wherein the 
upper and lower bases are parallel to each other and the sides are 
disposed at complementary angles. 
FIG. 13 illustrates a tenth embodiment of a golf club head 900 of the 
present invention including a mass 928 which is centrally located within 
the cavity and covers substantially the entire cavity surface. 
As shown in the drawings, each of the weight members shown in the drawings 
have side walls (see, e.g., wall 530 in FIG. 9) that extend from the rear 
face of the club head in the same direction as the side walls of the 
peripheral mass. In addition, the extremities of each of the weight 
members, as shown, are spaced radially about the center of percussion of 
the club head. 
It will be appreciated that the improved golf club head has been described 
with respect to various specific embodiments of geometrically shaped 
center masses, but that changes and modifications may be made without 
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the 
appended claims. For example, other embodiments are contemplated using a 
variety of shapes of masses within the cavity including polygons of 
various numbers of sides and regular and irregular geometric shapes such 
stars, cresents and/or other designs.