Patent Publication Number: US-6991560-B2

Title: Golf club head with a vibration-absorbing structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a head for a golf club, and more particularly to a golf club head with a vibration-absorbing structure. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A conventional golf club head generally has a hollow body which resonates when a player strikes a ball. However, during the striking, the hollow body also has intense vibration that transfers into the player&#39;s hands, that may cause an uncomfortable sensation. For absorbing the vibration, the golf club head is usually provided with a vibration-absorbing structure. However, because the vibration-absorbing material cannot survive under the high temperatures that occur during welding, the vibration-absorbing material must be priorly made and received in a recess defined in the hollow body. Thereafter, the recess is covered with a sealing member secured by fasteners under a high pressure. 
     However, the vibration-absorbing material not only has a high manufacturing cost, it also cannot be tightly adhered in the recess under the high pressure, so the head has an inadequate effect to absorb the vibration. 
     Therefore, the invention provides a golf club head to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the present invention is to provide a golf club head which can effectively absorb vibration during striking of a ball. 
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a golf club head in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematically cross sectional view of the golf club in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematically cross sectional view showing a process of injecting vibration-absorbing material into a recess of the golf club head; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematically cross sectional view of a finished golf club head of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional front view of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematically cross sectional view of the second embodiment of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematically cross sectional view showing the process of injecting vibration-absorbing material into a recess of the golf club head; and 
         FIG. 9  is a schematically cross sectional view of the finished golf club head of the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a golf club head ( 10 ) in accordance with the present invention has a hollow body with a heel, a toe, a top, a bottom, a strike plate, and a rear portion. 
     An elongated recess ( 12 ), wit an L-like cross section, is defined at the bottom of the body and extends to the rear portion of the body. An aperture ( 121 ) is defined through the elongated recess ( 12 ) and is in communication with the interior of the body. The elongated recess ( 12 ) is covered with an L-like strip ( 11 ) integrated with the body by welding. A tab ( 14 ) is formed at the rear portion of the body, and an inlet ( 141 ) is defined through the tab ( 14 ) and is in communication with the recess ( 12 ). 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the recess ( 12 ) is fully filled with vibration-absorbing material ( 15 ) through the inlet ( 141 ) by injecting, and air in the recess ( 12 ) will be discharged from the aperture ( 121 ). Thereafter, a sealing element ( 142 ) with adhesive is engaged with the inlet ( 141 ) for enclosing the recess ( 12 ). A passage ( 1421 ) is longitudinally defined through the sealing element ( 142 ), and the redundant air and adhesive can be discharged from the passage ( 1421 ). After the adhesive has solidified, the part of the tab ( 14 ) protruded from the rear portion of the body is removed to finish the head ( 10 ). Therefore, the head ( 10 ) of the present invention can not only have a pleasant impact sound, but also can absorb vibration when a player strikes a ball. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , in another embodiment of the invention, the head ( 10 ′) also has a hollow body. A recess ( 22 ) is defined at the rear portion of the body and covered with a strip ( 21 ) integrated with the body. An aperture ( 221 ) is defined through a periphery defining the recess ( 22 ) and is in communication with the interior of the body. A tab ( 24 ) is formed at the top of the body, and has an inlet ( 241 ) defined through the tab ( 24 ) and is in communication with the recess ( 22 ). 
     With reference to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the recess ( 22 ) is also fully filled with the vibration-absorbing material ( 15 ) through the inlet ( 241 ), and air in the recess ( 22 ) will be discharged from the aperture ( 221 ). Thereafter, a sealing element ( 242 ) with adhesive is engaged in the inlet ( 241 ) for sealing the recess ( 22 ). A passage ( 2421 ) is longitudinally defined through the sealing element ( 242 ), and the redundant air and adhesive can be discharged from the passage ( 2421 ). After the adhesive has solidified, the part of the tab ( 24 ) protruded from the rear portion of the body is removed to finish the head ( 10 ′). 
     According to the teachings of the invention, it will be known by those skilled in the art that the recess also can be defined at the heel, the toe, the top or other appropriate portions of the body (not shown in these figures), which will not depart from the scope of the present invention. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.