U.S. patent application number 10/274812 was filed with the patent office on 2003-06-26 for golf club head with high strength insert.
This patent application is currently assigned to Spalding Sports Worldwide, Inc.. Invention is credited to Kennedy, Thomas J. III, Mahaffey, Steven J..
Application Number | 20030119602 10/274812 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24463733 |
Filed Date | 2003-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030119602 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kennedy, Thomas J. III ; et
al. |
June 26, 2003 |
Golf club head with high strength insert
Abstract
An iron type golf club head includes a forged body having a
striking face area containing a recess and a high strength insert
secured within the recess with an outer surface of the recess being
flush with a non-recessed portion of the striking face area. The
bottom of the body portion extends rearwardly and upwardly to
define an undercut area in the bottom portion behind the insert.
Owing to the recess and the undercut area, the weight of the body
is distributed around the perimeter and toward the bottom to
increase the moment of inertia and decrease rotation of the club
head.
Inventors: |
Kennedy, Thomas J. III;
(Wilbraham, MA) ; Mahaffey, Steven J.;
(Belchertown, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAW OFFICE OF LAWRENCE E LAUBSCHER, JR
1160 SPA RD
SUITE 2B
ANNAPOLIS
MD
21403
US
|
Assignee: |
Spalding Sports Worldwide,
Inc.
Chicopee
MA
|
Family ID: |
24463733 |
Appl. No.: |
10/274812 |
Filed: |
October 21, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10274812 |
Oct 21, 2002 |
|
|
|
09615034 |
Jul 13, 2000 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/342 ;
473/349; 473/350 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/047 20130101;
A63B 60/00 20151001; A63B 2209/00 20130101; A63B 53/04 20130101;
A63B 53/0416 20200801 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/342 ;
473/350; 473/349 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/04 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A golf club head of the iron type, comprising (a) a body having
top, bottom, toe, and heel portions and a striking face area
containing a recess; (b) an insert secured within said recess, an
outer surface of said insert being substantially flush with a
non-recessed portion of said striking face area; and (c) said body
bottom portion extending rearwardly and upwardly to a location
below the top portion of said body and spaced from a rear surface
of said insert to define an undercut area in said bottom portion
behind said insert, the thickness of said rearwardly extending
bottom portion at the rear of said insert being less that the
thickness of said insert, whereby weight is distributed around the
perimeter of the body and toward the bottom portion thereof to
increase the moment of inertia and decrease rotation of the club
head.
2. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein said upwardly
extending bottom portion terminates in a top wall which is below a
vertical midpoint of said body.
3. A golf club head as defined in claim 2, wherein said top wall
extends between said toe and heel portions of said body.
4. A golf club head as defined in claim 3, wherein said top wall
has a convex configuration.
5. A golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein said body
portion is formed of a forged metal.
6. A golf club head as defined in claim 5, wherein said insert is
formed of a high strength metal.
7. A golf club head as defined in claim 6, wherein said insert is
formed of hardened steel.
8. A golf club head as define in claim 7, wherein said insert is
connected with said body by welding.
9. A golf club head of the iron type, comprising a body having top,
bottom, toe, and heel portions and a striking face arranged between
said top, bottom, toe and heel portions, said body bottom portion
extending rearwardly and upwardly to a location below the top
portion of said body and spaced from a rear surface of said
striking face portion to define an undercut area in said bottom
portion behind said striking face portion, the thickness of said
rearwardly extending bottom portion at the rear of said striking
face portion being less than the thickness of said striking face
portion, whereby weight is distributed around the perimeter of the
body and toward the bottom portion thereof to increase the moment
of inertia and decrease rotation of the club head.
10. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein said upwardly
extending bottom portion terminates in a top wall which is below a
vertical midpoint of said body.
11. A gold club head as defined in claim 10, wherein said top wall
extends between said toe and heel portions of said body.
12. A golf club head as defined in claim 11, wherein said top wall
has a convex configuration.
13. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein said body is
formed of a cast metal.
14. A golf club head as defined in claim 9, wherein said body is
formed of a forged metal.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/615,034 filed Jul. 13, 2000.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The majority of golf club heads of the iron type are made of
metal, and many have recesses for receiving an insert for the
striking face. In addition, golf club irons are either blades or
have a cavity back defined by redistributing the weight of the club
head around the perimeter thereof. Perimeter weighted clubs are
recognized as increasing the moment of inertia, which increases
head stability and lessens head rotation that imparts side spin on
the ball. Accordingly, with perimeter weighted clubs, a golfer can
hit a straighter shot, even when the ball is not struck in the
center or "sweet spot" of the club face.
[0003] Metal golf club irons are generally forged or cast in a
mold. Forged club heads are generally softer and provide a greater
feel to the golfer, while cast club heads are harder because they
can be formed of a higher strength metal than forged club heads.
The present invention relates to an improved perimeter weighted
club head including an insert for the striking face which is formed
of a high strength material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0004] It is known in the patented prior art to provide golf club
heads with inserts for the striking face as shown by the U.S. Pat.
No. 5,827,131 to Mahaffey and Anderson U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,024,437,
5,094,383, 5,344,140, and 5,261,664. The Mahaffey patent, for
example discloses a laminated lightweight insert for golf club
heads of both the wood and iron type. The Anderson patents disclose
iron type golf club heads having a cast metal head and a forged
insert for the striking face. While these prior heads perform
satisfactorily, they do not afford the golfer with the desired feel
when striking a golf ball.
[0005] Also known in the art are perimeter weighted, cavity back
style golf club irons as shown by the U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,795 to
Schmidt. As shown therein, an iron golf club head has a first
recess extending rearwardly of the striking face and an undercut
recess which extends toward the top and bottom wall of the head
behind the striking face. Such a head is an improvement over the
prior perimeter weighted heads but still lacks a concentration of
weight toward the bottom of the head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention
to provide an iron type golf club head including a body having top,
bottom, toe and heel portions and a striking face area containing a
recess. An insert is secured within the recess, with an outer
surface of the insert being flush with a non-recessed portion of
the striking face area. The bottom portion of the body comprises
the sole of the club head. It extends rearwardly and upwardly from
the lower portion of the striking face area in spaced relation from
the rear surface of the insert to define an undercut area in the
sole behind the insert. The weight of the club head is thus
distributed around the perimeter of the body and toward the sole to
increase the moment of inertia and decrease rotation of the club
head when it strikes a golf ball.
[0007] According to a further object of the invention, the
thickness of the sole behind the insert is less than the thickness
of the insert. The upwardly extending portion at the rear of the
sole terminates in a top wall which is below the vertical midpoint
of the body to concentrate the weight of the head toward the
bottom. The sole top wall extends between the toe and heel portions
of the body and has a convex configuration.
[0008] The head body portion is formed of a forged metal such as
carbon steel and the insert is formed of a high strength metal such
as hardened steel or a rolled sheet material. With such a
combination of materials, the golf club head provides improved feel
to the golfer and the high strength insert provides maximum
distance to the flight of the golf ball.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0009] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in
the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the iron type golf club head
according to the invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a left side view of the head of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a rear plan view of the head of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 4A is a sectional view of the head taken along line 4-4
of FIG. 1
[0014] FIGS. 4B and 4C are sectional views of alternate
embodiments, respectively, of the head taken along line 4-4 of FIG.
1;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of
the iron type golf club head according to the invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the head of FIG. 5 taken along
line 6-6;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a front plan view of a further embodiment of the
iron type golf club head according to the invention; and
[0018] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the head of FIG. 7 taken along
line 8-8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the golf club head 2 according to the
invention includes a frame or body 4 having toe 4a, heel 4b, top 4c
and bottom 4d portions and a striking face area 6 containing a
recess 8. An insert 10 is secured within the recess, preferably by
welding although other conventional connection methods may be used.
The outer surface 10a of the insert is substantially flush with a
non-recessed portion 6a of the striking face area.
[0020] The body 4 is preferably formed of a forged metal such as
carbon steel having an amorphous microstructure and the insert is
formed of a high strength material such as hardened steel. One
example of a hardened steel is a high chrome content steel known as
alpha Maraging steel. Alternatively, the insert can also be formed
of a rolled sheet material or a forged metal.
[0021] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the bottom portion 4d of the
body comprises the sole of the club. The bottom portion extends
rearwardly 4e from the front of the club and upwardly 4f to a
location below the top portion 4c of the body and spaced from the
rear surface of the insert. The sole thus defines an undercut area
12 in the bottom portion of the body behind the insert. The
thickness t of the body at the intersection of the rearwardly
extending sole bottom portion 4e and the upwardly extending sole
bottom portion 4f is less than the thickness of the insert. Thus,
if the thickness of the insert is between 1.0 and 4.0 mm, and
preferably between 2.0 and 2.5 mm, the thickness t is less than the
insert thickness. The forward surface of the upwardly extending
sole bottom portion 4f is preferably parallel to the rear surface
of the insert so that the width of the undercut area defined
between the insert 10 and the portion 4f is constant.
Alternatively, the forward surface of the upwardly extending sole
bottom portion 4f may be angled inwardly as shown in phantom in
FIG. 4A so that the width of the undercut area tapers toward the
bottom thereof.
[0022] The top wall 4g of the upwardly extending sole bottom
portion 4f extends between the toe and heel portions of the body
and has a convex configuration as shown in FIG. 3. The top wall is
arranged below the vertical midpoint of the body so that the weight
of the body is concentrated toward the bottom portion of the body.
Since the body contains a recess, weight is also distributed about
the perimeter of the body. This weight distribution increases the
moment of inertia of the club head and decreases rotation of the
head when it is used to strike a golf ball.
[0023] FIGS. 4B and 4C illustrate alternate arrangements of
rearwardly extending sole bottom portion 4e of the body. In both
embodiments, the bottom portion of the insert extends closer to the
bottom of the body than in the embodiment of FIG. 4A and the
thickness of the rearwardly extending sole bottom portion 4e is
less than in the embodiment of FIG. 4A.
[0024] In the embodiment of FIG. 4B, a lip 4h is provided in the
rearwardly extending sole bottom portion 4d to provide a surface
against which the back of the insert abuts. Immediately behind the
insert, the thickness t of the rearwardly extending sole bottom
portion is less than the thickness of the insert. Thus, the deepest
portion of the undercut 12 is immediately behind the insert. In the
embodiment of FIG. 4A, the deepest portion of the undercut is at
the junction of the rearwardly extending sole bottom portion 4e and
the upwardly extending sole bottom portion 4f.
[0025] In the embodiment of FIG. 4C, the lip 4h is more pronounced
and extends upwardly into the undercut to provide a greater surface
against which the insert abuts. The thinnest portion of the
rearwardly extending sole bottom portion is right behind the lip
4h. The thickness t at this location is less than the thickness of
the insert.
[0026] In FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown a further embodiment of the
invention wherein the insert 110 extends between the top 104c and
bottom 104d of the head as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the
insert 110 is adhesively secured to the body or welded thereto,
with the weld line extending around the perimeter of the insert. As
in the embodiments of FIGS. 4B and 4C, the deepest portion of the
undercut is immediately behind the insert. This is due to the fact
that the thinnest portion of the rearwardly extending sole bottom
portion is directly behind the insert, with the thickness t at this
location being less than the thickness of the insert.
[0027] In FIGS. 7 and 8, there is shown a further embodiment of the
invention wherein the golf club head has a unitary construction and
is preferably formed of a cast metal. The body 204 is similar in
configuration to the body of FIGS. 1-3 and thus has toe 204a, heel
204b, top 204c, and bottom 204d portions. In lieu of an insert, the
body has an integral striking face 210. The head bottom portion
includes a rearwardly extending sole bottom portion 204e and an
upwardly extending sole bottom portion 204f which extends between
the toe and heel portions to define an undercut region 212 behind
the striking face 210. The top wall 204g of the upwardly extending
sole bottom portion 204f has a convex configuration and is below
the vertical midpoint of the body. The thickness t of the sole
bottom portion 204e behind the striking face at the bottom of the
undercut portion is less than the thickness of the striking
face.
[0028] The iron type golf club head of the invention provides
improved feel to the golfer because the forged body is softer and
thus provides feedback to the golfer when a ball is struck. Maximum
distance in the flight of the ball is obtained by using the higher
strength insert. The perimeter weighting of the club provides a
larger "sweet spot" in the club striking face so that less
precision is required when hitting the ball. The concentration of
weight toward the bottom of the head increases the trajectory of
the ball and enables the golfer to get the ball airborne from
difficult lies. By reducing the thickness of the sole behind the
striking face insert, more weight is available for re-distribution
toward the perimeter of the club and/or rearward in the sole.
[0029] While the club head of the invention has been described as
comprising separate body and striking face insert components, it
will be appreciated that the body and striking face can be formed
as an integral unit, either cast or forged. The integral head would
have the same appearances as in the drawings, except that the
striking face would not comprise a separate element.
[0030] While in accordance with the provisions of the patent
statute the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have
been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications
may be made without deviating from the inventive concepts set forth
above.
* * * * *