U.S. patent application number 10/407153 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-09 for golf club head of iron or wood type.
This patent application is currently assigned to Skis Rossignol S.A.. Invention is credited to Fagot, Jacques.
Application Number | 20030190975 10/407153 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28052105 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030190975 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fagot, Jacques |
October 9, 2003 |
Golf club head of iron or wood type
Abstract
Head (1) of a golf club of the "wood" or "iron" type, having a
wall forming the striking face (2), at least one wall adjacent the
wall forming the striking face (2), namely in particular the wall
of the sole (3), and which also comprises an elastic leaf (12) one
end (13) of which is fixed to one of the walls (6) adjacent the
wall forming the striking face (2), and the free other end (14) of
which presses the preload against the back face (11) of the wall of
the striking face (2).
Inventors: |
Fagot, Jacques; (Saint Jean
De Moirans, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BURR & BROWN
PO BOX 7068
SYRACUSE
NY
13261-7068
US
|
Assignee: |
Skis Rossignol S.A.
Voiron
FR
|
Family ID: |
28052105 |
Appl. No.: |
10/407153 |
Filed: |
April 3, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/346 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0416 20200801;
A63B 53/0466 20130101; A63B 53/047 20130101; A63B 53/0433 20200801;
A63B 60/00 20151001; A63B 60/54 20151001; A63B 53/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/346 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 4, 2002 |
FR |
02.04199 |
Claims
1. A head of a golf club of the "wood" or "iron" type, having a
wall forming the striking face fixed to the rest of the head, at
least one wall adjacent the wall forming the striking face, namely
in particular the wall of the sole, and which also comprises an
elastic leaf one end of which is fixed to one of the walls adjacent
the wall forming the striking face, and the free other end presses
the preload against the back face of the wall of the striking
face.
2. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic
leaf if based on metal, on carbon or on glass composite.
3. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic
leaf is screwed, welded or bonded to the wall adjacent the wall
forming the striking face.
4. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the free end
of the elastic leaf is curved.
5. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the free end
of the elastic leaf bears at, or in close proximity to, the sweet
spot on the striking face.
6. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic
leaf is fixed to the wall of the sole.
7. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, and which is of the
"wood" type.
8. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, and which is of the
"iron" type.
9. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, and which comprises
means for adjusting the force with which the leaf bears against the
back face of the wall of the striking face.
10. A method of manufacturing a golf club head as claimed in one of
claims 1 to 9, and which consists: first of all, before fitting the
plate that forms the wall of the striking face on the head, in
fixing one end of the metal leaf to a wall adjacent the wall of the
striking face, then secondly, in fitting the wall of the striking
face, elastically deforming the metal leaf, then in fixing the
plate that forms the wall of the striking face to the head.
11. The method of manufacturing a golf club head as claimed in one
of claims 1 to 9, and which consists: first of all, in producing a
hollow head comprising the crown, lateral, rear walls and the wall
comprising the striking face, then secondly, in fitting the sole to
which one end of the elastic leaf has already been fixed, on its
interior wall, in such a way that the other end of the elastic leaf
comes into contact with the wall of the striking face, experiencing
a preload, then finally in fixing the wall of the sole to the head.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates to the field of golf. It is aimed more
specifically at a novel structure of the head of a golf club of the
"wood" or "iron" type. The invention makes it possible to optimize
the trampolining effects of the striking face.
PRIOR ART
[0002] In general, golf clubs the heads of which are initially made
of solid wood before they were made even of hollow metal or of
composite are known as "woods".
[0003] The invention protects the type of clubs known as woods the
interior of which is hollow. The striking face of these woods is
relatively weakly inclined with respect to the vertical, which
means that such clubs are dedicated to the taking of long
shots.
[0004] More specifically, the head of a "wood" has an internal
cavity delimited by various walls. One of these walls forms the
striking face. Among the walls adjacent the one forming the
striking face are the wall forming the sole and the side walls and
a crown wall. The rear of the cavity is closed off either by a rear
wall, which may be of various shapes, or by the prolongation of the
various adjacent faces.
[0005] The invention is also of benefit to clubs known as "irons".
The head of an "iron" comprises a striking wall the front face of
which forms the actual striking surface and the rear face of which
may possibly be situated at the end of a cavity in the case of
irons said to have "peripheral weighting".
[0006] As is known, and this is true of woods and irons, the
striking face is the face which makes impact with the ball. This
impact preferably occurs at the center of the striking face, also
known as the sweet spot, so as to minimize the vibration
transmitted up the shaft and so as to optimize the trajectory of
the ball.
[0007] Given the forces exerted at the time of impact, the striking
face has a tendency to deform, and the lesser its thickness, the
more it will do so. This deformation toward the inside of the
cavity of the head generates a trampolining effect which
contributes to accelerating the ball. It is known that the official
regulations laid down by golfing federations are seeking to limit
this trampolining effect, so as to prevent performance from being
excessively influenced by the mechanical properties of the
hardware, for example by mounting the striking face with a certain
latitude for movement relative to the head, by inserting elastic
elements, as described in document U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,453.
[0008] Various constructional steps have already been proposed in
order to make progress in this direction. Thus, a certain number of
solutions consist in equipping the inside of the cavity with an
element able to block the deformation of the striking face, after a
predetermined deformation travel. Such solutions are described in
particular in documents U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,081, JP 81 502 30, JP
2001-238988, U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,547 and U.S. Pat. No.
5,499,814.
[0009] These solutions make it possible only to limit the
deformation of the striking surface but have no influence on the
trampolining effect. In addition, the disadvantages associated with
these solutions lie in the fact that the deformation of the
striking face is altered abruptly when the back of the striking
face comes into contact with the element placed for that purpose in
the cavity. This discontinuity in the deformation of the striking
face may cause certain vibrations to arise.
[0010] It has also been proposed for the back of the striking face
to be equipped with elements in the form of bridges forming
springs, so as to modify the intrinsic stiffness of the striking
face. Such a solution is described in particular in document JP-110
42 302. Such a construction is relatively complicated because it
combines the bending effect with the warping effects of a leaf
constrained at its ends. The deformation and therefore the elastic
effect of such an embodiment are very random.
[0011] Other devices have also been proposed to influence the
deformation of the striking face. Thus, it is possible for the head
to be equipped with a free mass, which is kept in contact with the
back face of the striking face by a resilient device. Upon impact
with the ball, this additional mass detaches from the striking face
and moves toward the back of the head. This "beater" effect
transfers some of the energy of the impact to the additional mass.
These devices have the disadvantage of generating significant
vibration and have no real influence on the trampolining effect,
because the latter is determined solely by the inherent
characteristics of the striking face, once the additional mass
detaches therefrom. Such devices are described for example in
documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,637, JP 05269224, JP 02-131788.
[0012] One of the objectives of the invention is to give the
striking place an ability to deform which is relatively controlled
in spite of the fact that the thickness of the striking face is
relatively small.
[0013] Another objective of the invention is to give the club head
a structure that allows the deformation of the striking face to be
adjusted, while at the same time being easy to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The invention therefore relates to a head of a golf club of
the "wood" or "iron" type. In a known way, such a head has a wall
which forms the striking face, fixed to the rest of the head, and
at least one wall adjacent the wall forming the striking face.
Among these adjacent walls are, in particular, the sole wall and
the lateral and crown walls, and a rear wall in the case of
woods.
[0015] According to the invention, the head is one which also
comprises an elastic leaf one end of which is fixed to one of the
walls adjacent the wall forming striking face, and the free other
end of which bears with preload against the back face of the wall
of the striking face.
[0016] In other words, the head according to the invention includes
a spring-forming leaf which is firmly fixed, for example by
screwing or welding, to the sole or alternatively the lateral walls
or the crown wall in the case of a wood. The other end of this leaf
exerts load on the internal face of the wall of the striking face
without being fixed to this wall. In that way, during the
deformation movements of the striking face, the end of the spring
leaf remains in contact with the back of the striking face, and
therefore produces a continuous and progressive effect. The region
of contact between the leaf and the striking face can move slightly
without generating excessive stresses in the actual wall of the
striking face. As the spring leaf is fixed only at one of its ends,
its stiffness is practically constant regardless of its
deformation.
[0017] In addition, such a device, by limiting the vibrations of
the striking face, makes it possible to correct the sound resulting
from impact of the ball on the club.
[0018] To improve the properties of this contact, it is possible to
make provision for the free end of the elastic leaf to be curved,
so that contact between the leaf and the striking face is
tangential.
[0019] In practice, it will be preferable for the free end of the
elastic leaf to bear in close proximity to the optimum point of
impact on the striking face. To put it another way, the metal leaf
exerts a force behind the sweet spot.
[0020] For an iron with peripheral weighting which therefore has an
open cavity, the constrained end of the leaf may be fixed to the
bottom part forming the sole or to the upper or lateral flange
contributing to the peripheral weighting. In the case of a wood,
this end may be fixed to any one of the walls delimiting the closed
cavity. The elastic leaf may be made of metal or of glass composite
or alternatively still of carbon.
[0021] The club head according to the invention may be produced
using various methods. Thus, a first method of manufacture may
consist:
[0022] first of all, before fitting the plate that forms the wall
of the striking face on the head, in fixing one end of the metal
leaf to a wall adjacent the wall of the striking face,
[0023] then secondly, in fitting the wall of the striking face,
elastically deforming the metal leaf,
[0024] then finally in fixing the plate that forms the wall of the
striking face to the head.
[0025] In other words, it is by fixing the plate that forms the
wall of the striking face to the head that the metal leaf is placed
under tension.
[0026] In an alternative form of embodiment designed specifically
for woods, the method may consist in:
[0027] first of all, in producing a hollow head comprising the
crown, lateral, rear walls and the wall comprising the striking
face,
[0028] then secondly, in fitting the sole to which one end of the
elastic leaf has already been fixed, in such a way that the other
end of the elastic leaf comes into contact with the wall of the
striking face, experiencing a preload,
[0029] then finally in fixing the wall of the sole to the head.
[0030] In other words, in this alternative form, it is while the
sole is being fitted that the elastic leaf is deformed to exert the
characteristic force on the back of the striking face.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0031] The way of achieving the invention and the advantages that
stem therefrom will become clearly apparent from the description of
the embodiments which follow, with support from the attached
figures in which:
[0032] FIG. 1 is a brief perspective view of a head of a golf club
of the "wood" type.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a view in section of the head of FIG. 1, on the
roughly vertical plane II-II'.
[0034] FIG. 3 is a view in section of the head of FIG. 1, on the
roughly horizontal plane III-III', mid-way up the head.
[0035] FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views similar to FIG. 2, showing
the way in which the head according to the invention is mounted,
according to two alternative forms of embodiment.
[0036] FIGS. 6 and 7 are vertical sections through the heads of two
clubs of the "iron" type, produced according to two different
embodiments.
EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0037] As already mentioned, the invention relates to a golf club
head (1). FIG. 1 depicts a head of the "wood" type. Such a head
comprises a striking face (2), a sole (3), lateral faces (4, 5), a
crown face (6) and a back wall (7) defined in the continuity of the
lateral faces (4, 5), of the crown face (6) and of the sole (3).
The striking face is fixed rigidly to the rest of the head, for
example by welding around its periphery. This head (1) also
comprises a hosel (8) intended to accommodate, inside a housing
(9), the shaft of the club.
[0038] Traditionally, the striking face (2) has a horizontally
scored surface. The point (10) situated on the striking face and
corresponding to the optimum point of impact is generally known as
the sweet spot.
[0039] In the form illustrated in FIG. 2, it can be seen that the
sole (3) has a metal leaf (12) fixed by one of its ends (13), for
example by screwing. This screwing may be done as in the embodiment
illustrated through the sole by at least one screw visible on the
external face of the sole (3).
[0040] The screw-fastening system may also allow the tension with
which the elastic leaf bears against the back (11) of the wall
comprising the striking face (2) to be adjusted via a slot made in
the sole (3) (not depicted).
[0041] Nonetheless, this end (13) of the leaf (12) may be fixed on
the internal face of the sole (3) by other means, particularly by
welding or by bonding. This elastic leaf (13) is made of a
relatively elastic material, typically spring steel, or of an
aluminum alloy of the Zicral.RTM. type, or alternatively of
Kevlar.RTM., carbon or glass composite.
[0042] This leaf (12) has another end (14) which is free and comes
into contact with the interior face of the wall forming the
striking face (2). In the form illustrated, the end (14) of the
leaf (12) is curved so that contact between the leaf (12) and the
back surface (11) of the wall of the striking face (2) is
tangential with respect to the curvature of the end (14) of the
leaf. Such a construction allows the end (14) to slide slightly
with respect to the wall (11) of the striking face (2).
[0043] It can be seen that the region (15) of contact between the
end (14) of the leaf (12) and the wall of the striking face (2) is
situated near the sweet spot (10), that is to say behind the ideal
point of impact of the ball.
[0044] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the elastic leaf (12) may have a
certain width that may vary according to the influence that the
stiffness of the leaf is to have on the performance of the head. In
an embodiment which has not been depicted, the leaf may have
several points of contact.
[0045] Thus, in alternative forms, not depicted, the leaf may be
wider than is illustrated in FIG. 3. The region (15) of contact
between the leaf (12) and the wall (11) of the striking face (2)
may also be curved in both directions, so that contact takes place
over a region that is narrower than the overall width of the leaf.
In general, the stiffness and deformation properties of the leaf
can be tailored by using geometries and structures designed
according to the need.
[0046] As regards its stiffness properties more specifically, it is
important that the leaf (12) exert a permanent force on the wall of
the striking face (2), even when the striking face is unstressed.
Put another way, the leaf (12) is preloaded and exerts force.
[0047] FIG. 4 illustrates a method of manufacturing a head
according to the invention. Thus, the leaf (22) may first of all be
fixed to the plate (23) that is intended to form the sole. Once the
plate comprising the striking face (2) has been fitted to the rest
of the head (1), the plate (23) is fitted, deforming the leaf (22),
and this generates the preloading force characteristic of the
invention. The plate (23) is then secured, for example by welding,
to the rest of the head (1).
[0048] In another alternative form of embodiment, the leaf (32) is
first of all screwed or more generally fixed to the plate (23)
forming the sole. This securing may take place either after the
plate (23) has been fixed to the head or alternatively beforehand,
in the same way as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the sole is not
formed from a separate plate, but forms an integral part of the
rest of the head (1), the leaf (22) is then fixed by screwing or
welding to the internal wall forming the sole (23).
[0049] As illustrated in FIG. 5, before the striking face (2) is
fitted, the leaf (32) is in its state of rest, without preload. As
the striking face (2) is fitted, the leaf (32) is deformed and
pushed back into the cavity. The striking face (2) is then welded
or more generally fixed to the rest of the head in such a way that
the leaf (32) exerts the characteristic preloading force.
[0050] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the use of the invention on clubs
of the "iron" type. More specifically, the club head (40)
illustrated in FIG. 6 has a wall (43) bearing the striking face
(42) situated forward. This head (40) also comprises a rear cavity
(48) the end of which consists of the back face (41) of the wall
(43). The end (41) of the cavity (48) is delimited peripherally by,
at the bottom, the sole (44) and a peripheral band the top part
(45) of which is illustrated in FIG. 6. According to the invention,
the leaf (49) may be fixed by one of its ends (46) to the upper
face of the sole (44), the other end (47) of the leaf (49) bears
with preload against the back face (41) of the wall (43).
[0051] The arrangement of the leaf (49) can be altered as
illustrated in FIG. 7 in which it can be seen that the leaf (59) is
fixed by its end (56) to the top part (45) of the peripheral
band.
[0052] It will be noted that the golf club head according to the
invention has the advantage that the characteristic leaf exerts a
permanent force on the striking face which influences the
deformation of this striking face as soon as it impacts with the
ball. This influence is continuous and can be adjusted through the
choice of the leaf geometry.
* * * * *