Source: https://insight.rpxcorp.com/pat/US20150231454A1
Timestamp: 2020-08-14 08:59:10
Document Index: 703677311

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 62', 'Application No. 62', 'Application No. 62', 'Application No. 62']

Patent US 20150231454A1
a body portion having a body height, a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a sole portion, a back portion, and a front portion having a face portion with a front surface, a back surface, a plurality of grooves on the front surface extending between the toe portion and the heel portion, and a substantially uniform thickness extending between the front and back surfaces of less than 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inch) throughout the entire face portion, and a reinforcement section on the back surface aligned with at least one of the grooves of the plurality of grooves and extending lengthwise with the at least one groove; and
an interior cavity extending between the top and sole portions and between the face and back portions, the interior cavity having a cavity height,wherein the interior cavity is at least 50% filled with an elastic polymer material configured to provide structural integrity to the face portion.
Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion with a face portion, a toe portion, a top portion, a sole portion, and a back portion. The golf club head may include an interior cavity. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
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2. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the interior cavity comprises a cavity being at least 50% filled with at least one of a thermoplastic elastomer material or a thermoplastic polyurethane material.
3. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the cavity height comprises a height being at least 50% of the body height.
4. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the cavity height comprises a height being greater than 70% and less than 85% of the body height.
5. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the elastic polymer material comprises a thermoplastic elastomer material injection molded into the interior cavity.
6. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the face portion comprises a plurality of reinforcement sections on the back surface, each reinforcement section being aligned with a corresponding groove of the plurality of grooves and extending lengthwise with the corresponding groove.
7. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the face portion comprises a second thickness extending between a bottom of the at least one groove and the reinforcement section, wherein the second thickness is less than or equal to the first thickness.
8. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the face portion comprises a loft angle between fifteen degrees and seventy-five degrees.
a body portion having a body height, a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a sole portion, a back portion, and a front portion having a face portion with a front surface, a back surface, a plurality of grooves on the front surface extending between the toe portion and the heel portion, a first uniform thickness extending between the front and back surfaces of less than 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inch), a second uniform thickness extending between the back surface and a bottom surface of each groove of the plurality of grooves, and a reinforcement section on the back surface aligned with at least one of the grooves of the plurality of grooves and extending lengthwise with the at least one groove; and
an interior cavity extending between the top and sole portions and between the face and back portions, the interior cavity having a cavity height,wherein the interior cavity is partially or entirely filled with an elastic polymer material, andwherein the first uniform thickness is adjacent to each groove of the plurality of grooves and located at or proximate to the top and sole portions.
10. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein the interior cavity comprises a cavity being partially or entirely filled with at least one of a thermoplastic elastomer material or a thermoplastic polyurethane material.
11. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein the cavity height comprises a height being at least 50% of the body height.
12. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein the cavity height comprises a height being greater than 70% and less than 85% of the body height.
13. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein the face portion comprises a plurality of reinforcement sections on the back surface, each reinforcement section being aligned with a corresponding groove of the plurality of grooves and extending lengthwise with the corresponding groove.
14. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein the elastic polymer material comprises a thermoplastic elastomer material injection molded into the interior cavity.
a body portion having a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a sole portion, a back portion, and a front portion having a face portion with a a plurality of grooves extending between the toe portion and the heel portion with each groove having a depth, a first thickness extending between a front surface and a back surface, a second thickness extending between a bottom surface of at least one groove of the plurality of grooves and the back surface, and a third thickness extending at a periphery of the face portion; and
an interior cavity extending between the top and sole portions and between the face and back portions, the interior cavity being filled with an elastic polymer material,wherein the first thickness comprises a substantially uniform thickness of less than 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inch), andwherein the third thickness comprises a thickness greater than the first thickness.
16. An iron-type golf club head as defined in claim 15, wherein the interior cavity comprises a cavity filled with at least one of a thermoplastic elastomer material or a thermoplastic polyurethane material.
17. An iron-type golf club head as defined in claim 15, wherein the first thickness comprises a thickness less than or equal to a sum of the depth of the at least one groove and the second thickness.
18. An iron-type golf club head as defined in claim 15, wherein the interior cavity comprises a cavity height being greater than 70% and less than 85% of a body height associated with the body portion.
19. An iron-type golf club head as defined in claim 15, wherein the second thickness comprises a thickness greater than or equal to the first thickness.
20. An iron-type golf club head as defined in claim 15, wherein the face portion comprises a chamfer portion at the periphery of the face portion.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/942,515, filed Feb. 20, 2014, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/945,560, filed Feb. 27, 2014, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/948,839, filed Mar. 6, 2014, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/952,470, filed Mar. 13, 2014, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/992,555, filed May 13, 2014, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/010,836, filed Jun. 11, 2014, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/011,859, filed Jun. 13, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/032,770, filed Aug. 4, 2014. This application is a continuation application of U.S. Non-Provisional Application Ser. No. 14/589,277, filed Jan. 5, 2015, which is a continuation application of U.S. Non-Provisional Application Ser. No. 14/513,073, filed Oct. 13, 2014, which is a continuation application of U.S. Non-Provisional Application Ser. No. 14/498,603, filed Sep. 26, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/041,538, filed Aug. 25. 2014. This application is also continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/511,482, filed Dec. 11, 2014, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/501,006 tiled Aug. 29, 2014. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/514,256, filed Jan. 9, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/501,006, filed Aug. 29, 2014. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/515,013, filed Jan. 20, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 29/501,006, filed Aug. 29, 2014. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/515,381, filed Jan. 22,2015, which is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/506,825, filed Oct. 21, 2014. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/512,313, filed Dec. 18, 2014, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/306,825, filed Oct. 21, 2014. The disclosures of the referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 17 depicts one manner in which the example golf club bead described herein may be manufactured.
The golf club head 100 may be an iron-type golf club head (e.g., a 1-iron, a 2-iron, a 3-iron, a 4-iron, a 5-iron, a 6-iron, a 7-iron, an 8-iron, a 9-iron, etc) or a wedge-type golf club head (e.g., a pitching wedge, a lob wedge, a sand wedge, an n-degree wedge such as 44 degrees (°), 48°, 52°, 56°, 60°, etc.). Although FIGS. 3-10 may depict a particular type of club head, the apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein may be applicable to other types of club heads (e.g., a driver-type club head, a fairway wood-type club head, a hybrid-type club head, a putter-type club head, etc.). The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
As illustrated in FIG. 14, the back portion 170 may include a back wall portion 1410 with one or more exterior weight ports along a periphery of the back portion 170, generally shown as a first set of exterior weight ports 1420 (e.g., shown as weight ports 1421, 1422, 1423, and 1424) and a second set of exterior weight ports 1430 (e.g., shown as weight ports 1431, 1432, 1433, 1434, 1435, 1436, and 1437). Each exterior weight port may be associated with a port diameter. In one example, the port, diameter may be about 0.25 inch (6.35 millimeters). Any two adjacent exterior weight ports of the first set of exterior weight ports 1420 may be separated by less than the port diameter. In a similar manner, any two adjacent exterior weight ports of the second set of exterior weight ports 1430 may be separated by less than the port diameter. The first and second exterior weight ports 1420 and 1430 may be exterior weight ports configured to receive one or more weight portions. In particular, each weight portion of the first set 120 (e.g., shown as weight portions 121, 122, 123, and 124) may be disposed in a weight port located at or proximate to fee toe portion 140 and/or the top portion 180 on the back portion 170. For example, the weight portion 121 may be partially or entirely disposed in the weight port 1421. In another example, the weight portion 122 may be disposed in a weight port 1422 located in a transition region between the top portion 180 and the toe portion 140 (e.g., a top-and-toe transition region). Each weight portion of the second set 130 (e.g., shown as weight portions 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, and 137) may be disposed in a weight port located at or proximate to the toe portion 140 and/or the sole portion 190 on the back portion 170. For example, the weight portion 135 may be partially or entirely disposed in the weight port 1435. In another example, the weight portion 136 may be disposed in a weight port 1436 located in a transition region between the sole portion 190 and the toe portion 140 (e.g., a sole-and-toe transition region). As described in detail below, the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may be coupled to the back portion 170 of the body portion 110 with various manufacturing methods and/or processes (e.g., a bonding process, a welding process, a brazing process, a mechanical locking method, any combination thereof, or other suitable manufacturing methods and/or processes).
The first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may have similar or different physical properties (e.g., color, shape, size, density, mass, volume, etc). As a result, the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may contribute to the-ornamental design of the golf club head 100. In the illustrated example as shown in FIG. 11, each of the weight portions of the first and second sets 120 and 130, respectively, may have a cylindrical shape (e.g., a circular cross section). Alternatively, each of the weight portions of the first set 120 may have a first shape (e.g., a cylindrical shape) whereas each of the weight portions of the second set 130 may have a second shape (e.g., a cubical shape). In another example, the first set of weight portions 120 may include two or more weight portions with different shapes (e.g., the weight portion 121 may be a first shape whereas the weight portion 122 may be a second shape different from the first shape). Likewise, the second set of weight portions 130 may also include two or more weight portions with different shapes (e.g., the weight portion 131 may be a first shape whereas the weight portion 132 may be a second shape different from the first shape). Although the above examples may describe weight portions having a particular shape, the apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein may include weight portions of other suitable shapes (e.g., a portion of or a whole sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, pyramid, cuboidal, prism, frustum, or other suitable geometric shape). While the above examples and figures may depict multiple weight portions as a set of weight portions, each set of the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may be a single piece of weight portion. In one example, the first set of weight portions 120 may be a single piece of weight portion instead of a series of four separate weight portions. In another example, the second set of weight portions 130 may be a single piece of weight portion instead of a series of seven separate weight portions. The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
To provide optimal perimeter weighting for the golf club head 100, the first set of weight portions 120 (e.g., weight portions 121, 122, 123, and 124) may be configured to counter-balance the weight of the hosel 155. The second set of weight portions 130 (e.g., weight portions 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, and 137) may be configured to place the center of gravity of the golf club head 100 at an optimal location. Turning to FIGS. 7-9, for example, the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may be located away from the back surface 166 of the face portion 162 (e.g., not directly coupled to each other). That is, the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, and the back surface 166 may be partially or entirely separated by an interior cavity 700 of the body portion 110. As shown in FIG. 14, for example, each exterior weight port of the first and second sets of exterior weight ports 1420 and 1430 may include an opening (e.g., generally shown as 720 and 730) and a port wall (e.g., generally shown as 725 and 735). The port walls 725 and 735 may be integral portions of the back wall portion 1410 (e.g., a section of the back wall portion 1410). Each of the openings 720 and 730 may be configured to receive a weight portion such as weight portions 121 and 135, respectively. The opening 720 may be located at one end of the weight port 1421, and the port wall 725 may be located or proximate to at an opposite end of the weight port 1421. In a similar manner, the opening 730 may be located at one end of the weight port 1435 and the port wall 735 may be located at or proximate to an opposite end of the weight port 1435. The port walls 725 and 735 may be separated from the face portion 162 (e.g., separated by the interior cavity 700). As a result, the center of gravity (CG) of the golf club head 100 may be relatively farther back away from the face portion 162 and relatively lower towards a ground plane (e.g., one shown as 1010 in FIG. 10) with the second set of weight portions 130 being away from the back surface 166 than if the second set of weight portions 130 were directly coupled to the back surface 166. The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
While the figures may depict weight ports with a particular cross-section shape, the apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein may include weight ports with other suitable cross-section shapes. In one example, the weight ports of the first and/or second sets of weight ports 1420 and 1430 may have U-like cross-section shape. In another example, the weight ports of the first and/or second set of weight ports 1420 and 1430 may have V-like cross-section shape. One or more of the weight ports associated with the first set of weight portions 120 may have a different cross-section shape than one or more weight ports associated with the second set of weight portions 130. For example, the weight port 1421 may have a U-like cross-section shape whereas the weight port 1435 may have a V-like cross-section shape. Further, two or more weight ports associated with the first set of weight portions 120 may have different cross-section shapes. In a similar manner, two or more weight ports associated with the second set of weight portions 130 may have different cross-section shapes. The apparatus, methods, and-articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
Referring back to FIG. 10, for example, the golf club head 100 may be associated with a ground plane 1010, a horizontal midplane 1020, and a top plane 1030. In particular, the ground plane 1010 may be a tangential plane to the sole portion 190 of the golf club head 100 when the golf club head 100 is at an address position (e.g., the golf club head 100 is aligned to strike a golf ball). A top plane 1030 may be a tangential plane to the top portion of the 180 of the golf club head 100 when the golf club head 100 is at the address position. The ground and top planes 1010 and 1030, respectively, may be substantially parallel to each other. The horizontal midplane 1020 may be vertically halfway between the ground and top planes 1030 and 1030, respectively.
The first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may be similar in mass (e.g., all of the weight portions of the first and second sets 120 and 130, respectively, weigh about the same). Alternatively, the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may be different in mass individually or as an entire set. In particular, each of the weight-portions of the first set 120 (e.g., shown as 121, 122, 123, and 124) may have relatively less mass than any of the weight portions of the second set 130 (e.g., shown as 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, and 137). For example, the second set of weight portions 130 may account for more than 50% of the total mass from exterior weight portions of the golf club head 100. As a result, the golf club head 100 may be configured to have at least 50% of the total mass from exterior weight portions disposed below the horizontal midplane 1020. The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
In one example, the golf club head 100 may have a mass in the range of about 220 grams to about 330 grams based on the type of golf club (e.g., a 4-iron versus a lob wedge). The body portion 110 may have a mass in the range of about 200 grams to about 310 grams with the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, having a mass of about 20 grams (e.g., a total mass from exterior weight portions). Each of the weight portions of the first set 120 may have a mass of about one gram (1.0 g) whereas each of the weight portions of the second set 130 may have a mass of about 2.4 grams. The sum of the mass of the first set of weight portions 120 may be about 3 grams whereas the sum of the mass of the first set of weight portions 130 may be about 16.8 grams. The total mass of the second set of weight portions 130 may weigh more than five times as much as the total mass of the first set of weight portions 120 (e.g., a total mass of the second set of weight portions 130 of about 16.8 grams versus a total mass of the first set of weight portions 120 of about 3 grams). The golf club head 100 may have a total mass of 19.8 grams from the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively (e.g., sum of 3 grams from the first set of weight portions 120 and 16.8 grams from the second set of weight portions 130). Accordingly, the first set of weight portions 120 may account for about 15% of the total mass from exterior weight portions of the golf club head 100 whereas the second set of weight portions 130 may be account for about 85% of the total mass from exterior weight portions of the golf club head 300. The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
By coupling the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, to the body portion 110 (e.g., securing the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130 in the weight ports on the back portion 170), the location of the center of gravity (CG) and the moment of inertia (MOI), of the golf club head 100 may be optimized. In particular, the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, may lower the location of the CG towards the sole portion 190 and further back away from the face portion 162. Further, the MOI may be higher as measured about a vertical axis extending through the CG (e.g., perpendicular to the ground plane 1010). The MOI may also be higher as measured about a horizontal axis extending through the CG (e.g., extending towards the toe and heel portions 150 and 160, respectively, of the golf club head 100). As a result, the club head 100 may provide a relatively higher launch angle and a relatively lower spin rate than a golf club head without the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively. The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
Referring back to FIGS. 7-9, for example, the body portion 110 may be a hollow-body including the interior cavity 700 extending between the front portion 160 and the back portion 170. Further, the interior cavity 700 may extend between the top portion 180 and the sole portion 190. The interior cavity 700 may be associated with a cavity height 750 (HC), and the body portion 110 may be associated with a body height 850 (HB). While the cavity height 750 and the-body height 850 may vary between the toe and heel portions 140 and 150, the cavity height 750 may be at least 50% of a body height 850 (HC>0.5*HB). For example, the cavity height 750 may vary between 70-85% of the body height 850. With the cavity height 750 of the interior cavity 700 being greater than 50% of the body height 850, the golf club head 100 may produce relatively more consistent feel, sound, and/or result when the golf club head 100 strikes a golf bah via the face portion 162 than a golf club head with a cavity height of less than 50% of the body height. The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein are not limited in this regard.
Turning to FIG. 15, for example, the face portion 162 may include a first thickness 1510 (T1), and a second thickness 1520 (T2). The first thickness 1510 may be a thickness of a section of the face portion 162 adjacent to a groove 168 whereas, the second thickness 1520 may be a thickness of a section of the face portion 162 below the groove 168. For example, the first thickness 1510 may be a maximum distance between the front surface 164 and the back surface 166. The second thickness 1520 may be based on the groove 168. In particular, the groove 168 may have a groove depth 1525 (Dgroove). The second thickness 1520 may be a maximum distance between the bottom of the groove 168 and the back surface 166. The sum of the second thickness 1520 and the groove depth 1525 may be substantially equal to the first thickness 1510 (e.g., T2+Dgroove=T1). Accordingly, the second thickness 1520 may be less than the first thickness 1510 (e.g., T2<T1).
The process 1700 may provide a body portion 110 having the face portion 162, the Interior cavity 700, and the back portion 170 with two or more exterior weight ports, generally shown as 1420 and 1430 (black 1720). The body portion 110 may be made of a second material which is different than the first material. The body portion 110 may be manufacture using an investment casting process, a billet forging process, a stamping process, a computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining process, a die casting process, any combination thereof, or other suitable manufacturing processes. In one example, the body portion 110 may be made of 17-4 PH stainless steel using a casting process. In another example, the body portion 110 may be made of other suitable type of stainless steel (e.g., Nitronic® 50 stainless steel manufactured by AK Steel Corporation, West Chester, Ohio) using a forging process. By using Nitronic® 50 stainless steel to manufacture the body portion 110, the golf club head 100 may be relatively stronger and/or more resistant to corrosion than golf club heads made from other types of steel. Each weight port of the body portion 110 may include an opening and a port wall. For example, the weight port 1421 may include the opening 720 and the port wall 725 with the opening 720 and the port wall 725 being on opposite ends of each other. The interior cavity 700 may separate the port wall 725 of the weight port 1421 and the back surface 166 of the face portion 162. In a similar manner, the weight port 1835 may include the opening 730 and the port wall 735 with the opening 730 and the port wall 735 being on opposite ends of each other. The interior cavity 700 may separate the port wall 735 of the weight port 1435 and the back surface 166 of the face portion 162.
The process 1700 may couple each of the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130 into one of the two or more exterior weight ports (blocks 1730). In one example, the process 1700 may insert and secure the weight portion 121 in the exterior weight port 1421, and the weight portion 135 in the exterior weight portion 1435. The process 1700 may use various manufacturing methods, and/or processes to secure the first and second sets of weight portions 120 and 130, respectively, in the exterior weigh ports such as the weight ports 1421 and 1435 (e.g., epoxy, welding, brazing, mechanical lock(s), any combination thereof, etc.).
A63B 2053/0479 : Wedge-type clubs, details t...