Patent Publication Number: US-2015072801-A1

Title: Striking plate for a golf club head

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 102132233, filed on Sep. 6, 2013. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to golf equipment, more particularly to a striking plate for a golf club head. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , Taiwanese Utility Model No. M330106 discloses a striking plate  1  for a golf club head. The striking plate  1  includes a hard alloy layer  11  with an outer surface  111  and a plurality of scoring lines  112  formed in the outer surface  111 . When the striking plate  1  strike a golf ball, friction is produced between the scoring lines  112  and the golf ball so that the dwell time of the golf ball on the striking plate  1  is extended and that a golf player may control the golf ball more precisely. Additionally, the golf ball may produce a spin effect accordingly and the swing path may be modified and optimized. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a method of making a conventional striking plate  1 ′ includes steps of subjecting a hard alloy layer  11 ′ to a texturing treatment to form a plurality of fine ridges on an outer surface  111 ′ of the hard alloy layer  11 ′ so as to roughen the outer surface  111 ′, and then subjecting the outer surface  111 ′ to an indentation treatment to form a plurality of scoring lines  112 ′. Corners (R) are thus defined at junctions of the scoring lines  112 ′ and the roughened outer surface  111 ′. The friction produced between the striking plate  1 ′ and the golf ball is enhanced by the configuration of the scoring lines  112 ′ together with the ridges so as to improve the dwell effect of the striking plate  1 ′ for the golf ball. 
     However, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a plurality of protrusions  113 ′ may form at the corners (R) due to formation of the ridges before formation of the scoring lines  112  so that the predetermined angle of the corner (R) may change. Accordingly, the spin and friction effects produced when the golfball contacts the striking plate  1 ′ may be adversely affected and the striking quality of the striking plate  1 ′ may be reduced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a striking plate for a golf club head which may alleviate the above drawbacks of the prior art. 
     Accordingly, a striking plate for a golf club head of this invention includes a plate body, a plurality of roughened textured surface portions, and a plurality of scoring line portions. The roughened textured surface portions are formed on the plate body and are spaced apart from each other. Each of the roughened textured surface portions includes a plurality of ridges. The scoring line portions are formed on the plate body and arranged alternatingly with the roughened textured surface portions on the plate body. Each of the scoring line portions includes a sunken surface, a surrounding surface extending at an angle from a periphery of the sunken surface and surrounding the sunken surface, and two connecting surface segments each extending from one end of the surrounding surface that is opposite to the sunken surface to connect to a respective adjacent one of the roughened textured surface portions. The sunken surface cooperates with the surrounding surface to define a groove that extends along a line. Each of the connecting surface segments cooperates with the surrounding surface to define a corner. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional striking plate used in a golf club head; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating consecutive steps of a method for making a conventional striking plate used in a golf club head; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a striking plate for a golf club head according to this invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a method for making the preferred embodiment of the striking plate according to this invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram illustrating consecutive steps of the method of making the preferred embodiment of the striking plate according to this invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged view illustrating scoring lines formed in the preferred embodiment of the striking plate according to this invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the preferred embodiment of a striking plate  2  according to this invention is shown to include a plate body  21 , a plurality of roughened textured surface portions  22 , and a plurality of scoring line portions  23 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the plate body  21  is made of a titanium alloy or a tungsten steel, but is not limited thereto. The material for the plate body  21  can be selected according to the specific requirement for making the plate body  21 , such as hardness and processing conditions required for the plate body  21 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the method of making the preferred embodiment of the striking plate  2  according to this invention includes a ridge-forming step and a scoring-line-forming step. In the ridge-forming step, the plate body  21  is processed via an electric arc treatment to form the roughened textured surface portions  22  that are spaced apart from each other on the plate body  21 . Each of the roughened textured surface portions  22  includes a plurality of fine ridges  221 . In the scoring-line-forming step, segments  24  of the plate body  21  that are arranged alternatingly with the roughened textured surface portions  22  are processed using a suitable tool (not shown) to form the scoring line portions  23  on the plate body  21 . The scoring line portions  23  are thus arranged alternatingly with the roughened textured surface portions  22  on the plate body  21 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  5 , and  6 , each of the scoring line portions  23  includes a sunken surface  231 , a surrounding surface  232  extending at an angle from a periphery of the sunken surface  231  and surrounding the sunken surface  231 , and two connecting surface segments  233  each extending from one end of the surrounding surface  232  that is opposite to the sunken surface  231  to connect to a respective adjacent one of the roughened textured surface portions  22 . The sunken surface  231  cooperates with the surrounding surface  232  to define a groove  234  that extends along a line. In this embodiment, the groove  234  does not extend to the periphery of the plate body  21 , i.e., the groove  234  has opposite closed ends. Each of the connecting surface segments  233  cooperates with the surrounding surface  232  to define a corner (α), which is preferably a rounded corner. The spin direction of a golf ball may be adjusted and the friction between the golf ball and the striking plate may be enhanced via the design of the corner (α). 
     In this embodiment, each of the scoring line portions  23  has a width (A) that is measured between a respective adjacent pair of the roughened textured surface portions  22  and that ranges from 1.0 mm to 1.2 mm. The sunken surface  231  has a width (B) ranging from 0.7 mm to 0.9 mm. Each of the connecting surface segments  233  has a width (C) ranging from 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. The grooves  234  defined by the scoring line portions  23  are parallel to each other in the preferred embodiment. 
     Although surfaces of the plate body  21  before the ridge-forming step may not be smooth, the roughened textured surface portions  22  formed via the ridge-forming step have enhanced surface roughness. In other words, the sunken surface  231 , the surrounding surface  232 , and the connecting surface segments  233  have a surface roughness smaller than that of the roughened textured surface portions  22 . 
     In use, the striking plate  2  is assembled to a golf club head (not shown). The dwell effect of the striking plate  2  for the golf ball may be improved due to the roughened textured surface portions  22  and the grooves  234  provided thereon. The flight path of the golf ball struck by the striking plate  2  may be adjusted and optimized due to the grooves  234 . The surface roughness of the plate body  21  of the striking plate  2  is enhanced due to the fine ridges  221  of the roughened textured surface portions  22 , and the friction between the striking plate  2  and the golf ball is increased so as to extend the dwell time of the golf ball on the striking plate  2  and to control the golf ball more precisely. 
     Furthermore, in the striking plate  2  of the present invention, since protrusions are not formed on the corners (α), the aforesaid shortcomings encountered in the prior art may be alleviated. The striking effect of the striking plate  2  of the present invention is accordingly enhanced. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.