U.S. patent application number 09/827813 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-16 for golf club head.
Invention is credited to Anderson, Donald A..
Application Number | 20010014629 09/827813 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27578755 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010014629 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Anderson, Donald A. |
August 16, 2001 |
Golf club head
Abstract
A golf club head has a main body portion formed by an investment
casting of material such as stainless steel, beryllium copper,
titanium, and aluminum. The face plate of the head is formed of a
forged metal, such as forged carbon steel, this plate being welded
to the face portion of the casting to form an integral assembly
therewith. The forged metal faceplate affords a more solid impact
and feel to the club which provides better control. Also, it has
very high strength. Preferably, the head consists of cast stainless
steel, and the face plate of forged stainless steel, both steels
being of the same composition.
Inventors: |
Anderson, Donald A.;
(Huntington Beach, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AKIN, GUMP, STRAUSS, HAUER & FELD
711 LOUISIANA STREET
SUITE 1900 SOUTH
HOUSTON
TX
77002
US
|
Family ID: |
27578755 |
Appl. No.: |
09/827813 |
Filed: |
April 6, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09827813 |
Apr 6, 2001 |
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09450299 |
Nov 29, 1999 |
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09450299 |
Nov 29, 1999 |
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08926328 |
Sep 5, 1997 |
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08926328 |
Sep 5, 1997 |
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08259624 |
Jun 14, 1994 |
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08259624 |
Jun 14, 1994 |
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07937178 |
Aug 31, 1992 |
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5255918 |
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07937178 |
Aug 31, 1992 |
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07897005 |
Jun 11, 1992 |
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5261664 |
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07897005 |
Jun 11, 1992 |
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07806348 |
Dec 13, 1991 |
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5261663 |
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07806348 |
Dec 13, 1991 |
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07549973 |
Jul 9, 1990 |
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5094383 |
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07549973 |
Jul 9, 1990 |
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07492973 |
Mar 13, 1990 |
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5024437 |
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07492973 |
Mar 13, 1990 |
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07364698 |
Jun 12, 1989 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/345 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0458 20200801;
A63B 2209/00 20130101; A63B 53/0466 20130101; A63B 53/04 20130101;
A63B 60/00 20151001; A63B 53/0416 20200801; A63B 53/047
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/345 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/04 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A "wood" type golf club head, comprising: a face plate formed of
forged metal; and a main body portion formed of cast metal of the
shape of a wood type golf club, the main body portion including an
opening positioned within a ball striking region of the main body
portion, and extending generally around the periphery of a front of
the main body portion; wherein the forged face plate is joined to
the cast main body portion to cover the opening; and wherein the
forged face plate and the cast main body portion form a solidly
integrated golf club head.
2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the cast main body
portion includes a hosel.
3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the forged face plate is
welded to the cast main body portion along the perimeter of the
forged face plate.
4. The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the forged face plate is
curved.
5. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the forged face plate and
the cast main body portion are formed of substantially the same
metal.
6. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the forged face plate and
the cast main body portion are formed of steel.
7. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the forged face plate and
the cast main body portion are formed of beryllium copper.
8. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the forged face plate and
the cast main body portion are formed of titanium.
9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the combination of the
forged face plate and cast main body portion imparts a more solid
impact and feel then an entirely cast club head.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of a previously filed
application having a Ser. No. of 09/450,299 which is a continuation
of Ser. No. 08/926,328, filed Sep. 5, 1997, which is a continuation
of Ser. No. 259,624 filed Jun. 14, 1994; which is a continuation of
Ser. No. 937,178 filed Aug. 31, 1992; which is a
continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 897,005 filed Jun. 11, 1992; which
is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 806,348 filed Dec. 13, 1991;
which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 549,973 filed Jul. 9,
1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,383, which is a continuation-in-part
of Ser. No. 492,973, filed Mar. 13, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No.
5,024,437, issued Jun. 18, 1991; which his a continuation-in-part
of Ser. No. 364,698, filed Jun. 12, 1989, now abandoned. All of
such applications and resulting patents are hereby incorporated
herein by reference.
STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR
DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] 1. Field of the Invention
[0005] This invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly
to an improved face plate construction for a golf club head.
[0006] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0007] The heads of golf clubs are generally formed in a one piece
casting of durable materials such as stainless steel, beryllium
copper, aluminum, etc. A head of this type is described in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,021,047 issued May 3rd, 1977 to R. J. Mader. The use of
face plates made of a different material than that of the main body
of the club head has been used in the prior art in both irons and
"wood" type drivers which are often made of cast metal. Such prior
art club heads are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,140 issued Dec
20, 1988 to Yamaguchi, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,558 issued Aug.
13, 1985 to Yoneyama; U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,072 issued Nov. 16, 1965
to Burr; and British patent no. 1.227.948 issued Apr. 15, 1971 to
Haines, et al. In the heads of all of these prior art patents, the
face plate is of a plastic material such as a resin or a carbon
fiber composite. It has been found that the use of a forged metal
for the face plate of the club head results in a more solid impact
and feel which provides better control. However, forged metal is
not amenable to casting which mitigates against its use for forming
the entire head. Also forged metal tends to have a high density
which would make for a club head having excessive weight.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The golf club head of the present invention provides an
improvement over prior art heads in that it utilizes a face plate
of forged metal. This end result is achieved without greatly
increasing the cost or weight of the driving head by forming the
main body of the head in an investment casting of a material such
as stainless steel, beryllium copper, titanium, or aluminum and
then attaching a face plate of a forged metal selected from the
class consisting of forged carbon steel, forged stainless steel,
forged beryllium copper, and forged titanium by suitable means such
as welding.
[0009] It has been found that forged metal face plates have an
inherently greater strength than cast metal face plates with a more
uniform hardness over the hitting area of the plate. This is in
view of the low porosity, high density and homogeneous grain
structure of such a material which makes for a more solid plate. On
the other hand, cast metal is desirable for the main body of the
club head in view of its lighter weight which tends to keep down
the overall weight of the club head. It is essential that the face
plate be solidly attached to the main body of the head by means
such as welding to make for a solidly integrated head
structure.
[0010] It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a
golf club head having a face plate of a forged metal which gives
solider impact and feel to provide better control;
[0011] Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the
description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings
of which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of
the invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the first embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a top plan view illustrating the face plate
employed in the first embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the first embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of
the invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the second embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the second
embodiment;
[0019] FIGS. 8-10 are sections taken in elevation to show plate and
head attachment; and
[0020] FIG. 11 is an enlarged section showing welding and
finishing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a first embodiment of the invention
is illustrated. Face plate 11, which is fabricated of a material
selected from the class consisting of forged carbon steel, forged
stainless steel, forged beryllium copper, and forged titanium, has
a lip portion 11a formed thereon. The main body 12 of the club head
is formed by the investment casting of a material, such as
stainless steel, beryllium copper, titanium, aluminum, etc. Main
body portion 12 has a slot 12a formed therein and a recessed
portion 12b which matingly receives face plate 11 with lip portion
11a fitting into slot 12a. Face plate 11 is solidly integrated with
main body portion 12 by weld joints 14 formed along the perimeter
of the face plate. In this manner, the face plate is solidly
integrated with the casting.
[0022] Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, a second embodiment of the
invention is illustrated, this embodiment being a "wood"-type
driver. The main body portion 12, as for the previous embodiment,
is formed by investment casting from a material such as stainless
steel, beryllium copper, titanium, aluminum, etc. The face plate
11, as for the previous embodiment, is fabricated of forged metal
selected from the same class of materials as for the first
embodiment. The face plate 11 is abutted against the front surface
of the casting and solidly joined thereto along weld joints 14,
which run along the perimeter of the face plate thereby integrating
the face plate with the casting.
[0023] For best results, both the head and the face plate consist
of the same high strength material, i.e., stainless steel. One such
steel is 17-4 PH forged stainless steel. This facilitates best weld
connection of these parts and resistance to separation upon
repeated sharp impacts with golf balls. See in this regard FIGS.
8-11, showing connection of these parts.
[0024] In FIG. 8, the peripheral slot 12b is shown formed in a
thickened portion 12c of the cast stainless steel head which
projects forwardly. See arrow 15. The slot and thickened portion
12c extend in a loop about the open end of the head, which is
hollow at 16. Thickness "t" of the main wall extent of the head,
rearward of 12c, is typically within the range 0.50 and 0.070
inches, except that the sole plate is typically between 0.085 and
0.100 inches. Head looping lip 12d overhangs the slot 12b, which is
generally L-shaped in cross section. See FIG. 11.
[0025] FIG. 9 shows the forged stainless steel plate 11 looping
periphery 11a closely fitted into the looping slot 12b; and FIG. 11
also shows this as well as the plate wall 11b abutting the looping
ledge 12e which constitutes one wall of the slot.
[0026] FIG. 11 also shows weld material 14 applied to the elements
12d and 11a, and penetrating the clearance between 11a and 12d.
After grinding, as along finish line 17, the looping peripheral
edge of the head and plate is forwardly convexly rounded, as at 20
in FIG. 10, some weld material remaining, as in the clearance. A
high strength, rigid connection is thereby effected between the
high strength, compatible stainless steel elements 11 and 12, with
element 11 being forged for extremely high strength and resistance
to failure as by crack formation, and resistance to deformation, in
use.
[0027] Forged plate 11 is preferably of uniform thickness, within
the range 0.090 and 0.130 inches, and is thicker than sole plate
13.
[0028] The method of forming the high strength head includes the
steps:
[0029] a) casting a golf club head main body consisting of
metal,
[0030] b) forging a golf club head face plate consisting of
metal,
[0031] c) weld connecting the forged place plate to the front of
the head main body to conform to the front periphery of the
body.
[0032] Further, the a) step typically includes forming a lip 12d at
the periphery of the head main body, and the c) step includes weld
connecting the periphery 11a of the forged face plate to the lip
12d; and including grinding the weld, the lip and the plate
periphery to form a forwardly convex and smooth head surface
bounding the periphery of the plate.
[0033] While the invention has been described and illustrated in
detail, it is to be clearly understood this is intended by the way
of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of
limitation, the spirit and scope of the invention being limited
only by the terms of the following claims.
* * * * *