U.S. patent application number 11/613831 was filed with the patent office on 2008-02-07 for golf club head.
This patent application is currently assigned to FU SHENG INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to LAI-FA LO.
Application Number | 20080032817 11/613831 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38644545 |
Filed Date | 2008-02-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080032817 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LO; LAI-FA |
February 7, 2008 |
GOLF CLUB HEAD
Abstract
A golf club head including a body and a striking plate is
provided. The body has an opening. The striking plate is disposed
at the opening. The striking plate integrally formed has a striking
surface exposed to the outside, a non-striking surface opposite to
the striking surface, and multiple ribs spread on the non-striking
surface. The thickness of the striking plate is between 1.5-4 mm.
The thickness of each rib is between 0.1-3.5 mm. The ribs intersect
in the region of which the center of a circle is the geometric
center of the non-striking surface and of which the diameter is 20
mm.
Inventors: |
LO; LAI-FA; (TAOYUAN HSIEN,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
J C PATENTS, INC.
4 VENTURE, SUITE 250
IRVINE
CA
92618
US
|
Assignee: |
FU SHENG INDUSTRIAL CO.,
LTD.
TAIPEI
TW
|
Family ID: |
38644545 |
Appl. No.: |
11/613831 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/342 ;
473/346 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0454 20200801;
A63B 53/0408 20200801; A63B 53/0466 20130101; A63B 53/0416
20200801; A63B 53/045 20200801; A63B 53/0458 20200801; A63B
2209/023 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/342 ;
473/346 |
International
Class: |
A63B 53/00 20060101
A63B053/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 4, 2006 |
TW |
95213718 |
Claims
1. A golf club head, comprising: a body, having an opening; and a
striking plate, disposed at the opening, wherein the striking plate
integrally formed has a striking surface exposed to the outside, a
non-striking surface opposite to the striking surface, and a
plurality of ribs spread on the non-striking surface, the thickness
of the striking plate is between 1.5-4 mm, the thickness of each of
the ribs is between 0.1-3.5 mm, and the ribs intersect in the
region of which the center of a circle is the geometric center of
the non-striking surface and of which the diameter is 20 mm.
2. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the
ribs is strip-shaped.
3. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the striking
plate is formed by means of punching, casting, or forging.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan
application serial no. 95213718, filed Aug. 4, 2006. All disclosure
of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a golf club head. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a golf club head
with a striking plate having a plurality of ribs.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] With the popularity of sports in today's society, golf has
become one of the favorite sports widely accepted by the masses,
and more and more people participate in the golf sports, wherein
golf clubs can be classified into wooden clubs, iron clubs,
putters, and so on according to various fields and usage.
[0006] As for the wooden club, a golf club head is usually
fabricated by a body made of a metal material or carbon fiber and a
striking plate integrated with the body as a whole for striking a
golf ball. The golf club head has a specific specification and
limitation in size and weight, so as to provide a desired control
and striking effect when striking the golf ball. Therefore, in
accordance with different requirements in use, in the design of the
golf club head, usually the basic architecture of the body and the
striking plate or the combination constitution thereof must be
changed to achieve the optimal design.
[0007] As far as the coefficient of restitution (COR) of the
striking plate is concerned, the thickness of the golf club head is
in inverse proportion to the COR of the striking plate. In other
words, the less the thickness of the striking plate is, the higher
the COR of the striking plate is. However, the COR region of the
striking plate with uniform thickness is usually in the central
region of the striking plate, and the durability of the striking
plate is degraded as the thickness thereof is reduced. Therefore,
the COR region of the striking plate of the conventional golf club
head is smaller and the striking plate thereof may be easily
damaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, one objective of the present invention is to
provide a golf club head, in which the COR region of the striking
plate is larger and the durability of the striking plate is
better.
[0009] In order to achieve aforementioned or other objectives, the
present invention provides a golf club head, which comprises a body
and a striking plate. The body has an opening. The striking plate
is disposed at the opening. The striking plate integrally formed
has a striking surface exposed to the outside, a non-striking
surface opposite to the striking surface, and a plurality of ribs
spread on the non-striking surface. The thickness of the striking
plate is between 1.5-4 mm. The thickness of each rib is between
0.1-3.5 mm. The ribs intersect in the region of which the center of
a circle is the geometric center of the non-striking surface and of
which the diameter is 20 mm.
[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the ribs
is strip-shaped.
[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the striking
plate is formed by means of punching, casting, or forging.
[0012] Based upon the above description, with the ribs of the
striking plate of the present invention, the strength of the
striking plate of the present invention can be improved, thereby
improving the durability of the striking plate of the present
invention. Furthermore, the non-striking surface of the striking
plate of the present invention is partitioned into a plurality of
sub-regions by the ribs, so the COR region of the striking plate of
the present invention is larger as a whole. Moreover, since the
striking plate of the present invention is integrally formed, the
manufacturing method thereof is simpler and the manufacturing cost
is lower.
[0013] In order to make the aforementioned and other objects,
features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible,
preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in
detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded stereo view of the golf club
head according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the striking plate in
FIG. 1.
[0016] FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic flow views of manufacturing
the striking plate in FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded
stereo view of the golf club head according to an embodiment of the
present invention and FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the
striking plate in FIG. 1. The golf club head 200 of the present
embodiment comprises a body 210 and a striking plate 220. The body
210 has an opening 212. In the present embodiment, the body 210 is
a shell made of a common metal material (such as stainless steel)
and being integrally formed by means of lost-wax casting.
[0018] Definitely, in other embodiments of the present invention,
the body 210 can also made of composite material of metal and high
molecular plastic material or high strength fiber material (such as
carbon fiber). A manufacturing process of the body 210 includes the
following steps. A crown (not shown) is first independently
manufactured by means of, for example, injection molding or thermal
compression molding, and then embedded into other portions of the
metal shell. Furthermore, another manufacturing process of the body
210 includes the following steps. A carbon fiber prepreg is
directly attached on the hollow-out portion of the metal shell and
then heated by the use of a mold and an air bag so as to forming
the body 210.
[0019] The striking plate 220 is disposed at the opening 212 to
compose the golf club head 200 together with the body 210. The
striking plate 220 has a striking surface 222, a non-striking
surface 224, and a plurality of ribs 226. The ribs may be in the
shape of long strips. The striking surface 222 and the non-striking
surface 224 are opposite to each other, the striking surface 222 is
exposed to the outside, and the ribs 226 are spread on the
non-striking surface 224. The thickness D of the striking plate 220
is between 1.5-4 mm, and the thickness H of each rib 226 is between
0.1-3.5 mm. The ribs 226 intersect in the region 224a of which the
center of a circle is the geometric center of the non-striking
surface 224 and of which the diameter is 20 mm. Furthermore, the
thickness H of each rib 226 can be greater than or equal to 0.1 mm
and smaller than or equal to 3.5 mm, and the thickness D of the
striking plate 220 can be greater than or equal to 1.5 mm and
smaller than or equal to 4 mm.
[0020] It should be noted that the ribs 226 of the striking plate
220 can improve the strength of the striking plate 220, thereby
improving the durability of the striking plate 220. Furthermore,
the non-striking surface 222 of the striking plate 220 of the
present invention is partitioned into a plurality of sub-regions
224b by the ribs 226, and each sub-region 224b further reduces the
thickness D of the striking plate 220 due to the strengthening
effect of the ribs 226 thereby improving the capability of
restitution. Therefore, the central portion of each of the
sub-regions 224b is formed into a high COR region, and the high COR
region of the striking plate 220 is larger as a whole.
[0021] In the present embodiment, the material of the striking
plate. 220 is monatomic metal or alloy. It should be noted that the
body 210 and the striking plate 220 can be jointed by means of
embedding and/or welding. Furthermore, before disposing the
striking plate 220, a solder may be coated on the junction of the
body 210 and the striking plate 220 in advance. Afterwards, the
striking plate 220 is disposed at the opening 212 of the body 210
and then welded, such that a welding layer (not shown) connecting
the body 210 and the striking plate 220 is formed after the solder
is melted and cooled down. Additionally, in another embodiment, the
striking plate 220 is disposed at the opening 212 of the body 210
and then the solder is coated on the seam of the junction of the
body 210 and the striking plate 220. After being melted and getting
into the junction, the solder is then cooled down and solidifies
into a welding layer (not shown).
[0022] The method of manufacturing the body 210 of the golf club
head 200 and the method of assembling the body 210 and the striking
plate 220 are described in the above illustration, and then the
method of manufacturing the striking plate 220 is illustrated in
detail below. FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic flow views of
manufacturing the striking plate in FIG. 1. The method of
manufacturing the striking plate 220 in the present embodiment
comprises the steps as follows. First, referring to FIG. 3A, a work
piece 20 is provided, which can be a metal plate. Then, referring
to FIG. 3B, the work piece 20 is processed to form a striking plate
220 with a plurality of ribs 226. In the present invention, the
striking plate 220 can be integrally formed. For example, the
striking plate 220 with the ribs 226 can be formed by means of
punching, casting, or forging.
[0023] In view of the above, the method of manufacturing the golf
club head and the striking plate of the present invention has at
least the following advantages.
[0024] 1. The striking plate of the present invention is provided
with the ribs, thereby improving the strength of the striking plate
of the present invention and the durability of the striking plate
of the present invention.
[0025] 2. The non-striking surface of the striking plate of the
present invention is partitioned into a plurality of sub-regions by
the ribs, so each sub-region further reduces the thickness of the
striking plate due to the strengthening effect of the ribs, thereby
improving the capability of restitution. Therefore, the central
portion of each sub-region is formed into the high COR region, and
the high COR region of the striking plate is larger as a whole.
[0026] 3. Since the striking plate of the present invention is
integrally formed, the manufacturing method thereof is simpler and
the manufacturing cost is lower.
[0027] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *