U.S. patent application number 13/165357 was filed with the patent office on 2011-12-29 for putter head.
This patent application is currently assigned to BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Wataru BAN, Tadahiro NARITA.
Application Number | 20110319189 13/165357 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45353058 |
Filed Date | 2011-12-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110319189 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
NARITA; Tadahiro ; et
al. |
December 29, 2011 |
PUTTER HEAD
Abstract
A putter head includes a head main body having a depressed
portion and a face insert disposed within the depressed portion so
that the face insert is mounted in a face surface of the head main
body. The face insert includes at least one low hardness portion
and at least one high hardness portion. The face insert has a
boundary face between the at least one low hardness portion and the
at least one high hardness portion which is inclined relative to a
back-to-forth direction of the putter head. The boundary face may
decline toward the rear or may rise toward the rear. The face
insert may comprise a plurality of the low hardness portions and a
plurality of the high hardness portions so that the low and high
hardness portions are arranged vertically in multiple layers. The
sectional shapes taken perpendicularly to the back-to-forth
direction of the high hardness portion and the low hardness portion
may be substantially of a right triangle. The face insert may
comprise a surface layer and groove portions on a front face
thereof.
Inventors: |
NARITA; Tadahiro;
(Chichibu-shi, JP) ; BAN; Wataru; (Chichibu-shi,
JP) |
Assignee: |
BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO.,
LTD.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
45353058 |
Appl. No.: |
13/165357 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0445 20200801;
A63B 53/0458 20200801; A63B 2209/00 20130101; A63B 53/0416
20200801; A63B 60/54 20151001; A63B 53/0425 20200801; A63B 53/0487
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/340 |
International
Class: |
A63B 53/04 20060101
A63B053/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 29, 2010 |
JP |
2010-147856 |
Claims
1. A putter head comprising: a head main body; and a face insert
mounted in a face surface of the head main body, the face insert
comprising at least one low hardness portion and at least one high
hardness portion, wherein the face insert has a boundary face
between the at least one low hardness portion and the at least one
high hardness portion which is inclined relative to a back-to-forth
direction of the putter head.
2. The putter head according to claim 1, wherein the face insert
comprises a plurality of the low hardness portions and a plurality
of the high hardness portions so that the low hardness portions and
the high hardness portions are arranged in multiple layers along a
direction from a top side to a sole side of the putter head.
3. The putter head according to claim 2, wherein the face insert
further comprises a surface layer of synthetic resin or metal on a
front face of the face insert.
4. The putter head according to claim 2, wherein each of the
plurality of the high hardness portions is separated from a front
face of the face insert by the low hardness portions so that two
low hardness portions adjacent to the high hardness portion are
combined with each other before a front edge of the high hardness
portion and the plurality of the low hardness portions are
continuous with each other.
5. The putter head according to claim 2, wherein the face insert
comprises groove portions formed in a front face of the face
insert, the groove portions reaching each front edge portion of the
plurality of the high hardness portion which recedes relative to
each front face of the plurality of the low hardness portions.
6. The putter head according to claim 1, wherein the boundary face
declines toward the rear.
7. The putter head according to claim 1, wherein the boundary face
rises toward the rear.
8. The putter head according to claim 1, wherein the head main body
has a depressed portion in which the face insert is disposed so
that a side surface around the face insert is apart from a side
surface of the depressed portion.
9. The putter head according to claim 8, further comprising a
viscoelastic material applied between the side surface of the face
insert and the side surface of the depressed portion.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Application claims priority from Japanese Patent
Application No. 2010-147856 filed Jun. 29, 2010, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a putter head for a putter
for golf, and more particularly, relates to a putter head including
a face insert mounted in a face surface of a head main body
thereof.
[0003] The putter for golf is a club for use mainly for hitting a
ball on a green to roll the ball toward a cup. The putter head may
be constructed so as to soften a feeling of putting by mounting a
face insert in a face surface thereof.
[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
2007-117635 describes an invention that the face insert is
constructed of a high hardness portion and a low hardness portion
whereas the high hardness portion is formed such that a thickness
thereof decreases gradually from its central portion to its
peripheral portion. A putter head using this face insert has a
characteristic that the feeling of putting is soft and a putting
sound is high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a putter
head which ensures an excellent straight advancement of a hit
ball.
[0006] To achieve the above-described object, according to the
present invention, there is provided a putter head having a head
main body and a face insert mounted in a face surface of the head
main body, the face insert having at least one low hardness portion
and at least one high hardness portion, in which the face insert
has a boundary face between the at least one low hardness portion
and the at least one high hardness portion which is inclined
relative to a back-to-forth direction of the putter head.
[0007] The face insert may include a plurality of the low hardness
portions and a plurality of the high hardness portions so that the
low hardness portions and the high hardness portions can be
arranged in multiple layers along a direction from a top side to a
sole side of the putter head.
[0008] The face insert may further include a surface layer of
synthetic resin or metal on a front face of the face insert.
[0009] Each of the plurality of the high hardness portions may be
separated from a front face of the face insert by the low hardness
portions so that two low hardness portions adjacent to the high
hardness portion can be combined with each other before a front
edge of the high hardness portion and the plurality of the low
hardness portions can be continuous with each other.
[0010] The face insert may have groove portions formed in a front
face of the face insert, the groove portions reaching each front
edge portion of the plurality of the high hardness portion which
recedes relative to each front face of the plurality of the low
hardness portions.
[0011] The boundary face may decline toward the rear.
[0012] The boundary face may rise toward the rear.
[0013] The head main body may have a depressed portion in which the
face insert is disposed so that a side surface around the face
insert can be apart from a side surface of the depressed
portion.
[0014] The putter head may further include a viscoelastic material
applied between the side surface of the face insert and the side
surface of the depressed portion.
[0015] In the face insert of the putter head of the present
invention, because the boundary face between the low hardness
portion and the high hardness portion is inclined relative to the
back-to-forth direction of the putter head, the spin such as
overspin and backspin of the hit ball can be improved.
[0016] When the low hardness portions and the high hardness
portions are arranged vertically in multiple layers as mentioned
above, even if there are variations in ball hitting position in a
vertical direction, variations of the spin improvement mentioned
above can be eliminated.
[0017] When the surface layer of synthetic resin or metal is
provided on the front face of the face insert as mentioned above,
the feeling of putting a ball can be adjusted by selecting material
of the synthetic resin. Additionally, it is easy to form an entire
surface of the face with an even appearance.
[0018] In cases in which a low hardness portion above the high
hardness portion and a high hardness portion under the high
hardness portion are combined with each other before a front edge
of the high hardness portion such that both the low hardness
portions are continuous with each other as mentioned above, the
same advantage can be secured.
[0019] By forming the groove portions in the front face of the face
insert as mentioned above, spin becomes likely to be applied to a
ball.
[0020] When the face surface of the head main body is provided with
the depressed portion and the face insert is disposed within this
depressed portion, by providing a gap around the face insert and
applying viscoelastic material therein, there is an effect of
preventing deformation of the face insert containing differences in
hardness and having an inclined boundary face therein from being
suppressed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1(A) is an exploded perspective view of a putter head
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 1(B) is a front view of the putter head of FIG.
1(A);
[0023] FIG. 1(C) is a sectional view taken along the line C-C of
FIG. 1(B);
[0024] FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of
FIG. 1(A);
[0025] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a face insert of a putter head
according to another embodiment;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the face insert of a putter
head according to another embodiment;
[0027] FIG. 5(A) is a perspective view of the face insert of a
putter head according to another embodiment;
[0028] FIG. 5(B) is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of
FIG. 5(A);
[0029] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the face insert of a putter
head according to another embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the face insert of a putter
head according to another embodiment;
[0031] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the face insert of a putter
head according to another embodiment;
[0032] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the face insert of a putter
head according to another embodiment;
[0033] FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the face insert of a putter
head according to another embodiment;
[0034] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a putter head according to
another embodiment;
[0035] FIG. 12(A) is a front view of a putter head according to
another embodiment; and
[0036] FIG. 12(B) is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of
FIG. 12(A).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0037] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0038] FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate a putter head 1 according to a first
embodiment. This putter head 1 is provided with a depressed portion
2H in the front face (face surface) of a head main body 2 and a
face insert 3 is disposed within this depressed portion 2H.
According to this embodiment, the head main body 2 is made of
metal. A front face of the face insert 3 is flush with a front face
of the head main body 2 around the depressed portion 2H.
[0039] The depressed portion 2H and the face insert 3 are of a
substantially rectangular shape which is horizontally long. The
depth of the depressed portion 2H is entirely even and the
thickness of the face insert 3 is entirely even. However, they may
be provided partly with a deep portion or a thick portion or may be
provided partly with a shallow portion or a thin portion.
[0040] The lateral and vertical widths of the face insert 3 are
slightly smaller than those of the depressed portion 2H and there
is a slight gap 4 between top, bottom, right and left side faces 3S
of the face insert 3 and the peripheral face 2S of the depressed
portion 2H. Preferably, the width of this gap 4 is 0.1 to 1 mm,
particularly 0.2 to 0.8 mm. Regarding the size of the face insert
3, the vertical width is preferred to be 16 to 30 mm, particularly
18 to 25 mm, the lateral width is preferred to be 50 to 150 mm,
particularly 70 to 100 mm and the thickness is preferred to be 2 to
10 mm, particularly 3 to 6 mm. However, they are not limited to
these values.
[0041] As shown in FIG. 2, this face insert 3 includes high
hardness portions 3a, each having a rear face of the insert, and
low hardness portions 3b, each having a front face of the insert,
which are stacked alternately vertically (i.e., along the direction
from a top side to a sole side of the putter head) into multiple
layers. In this embodiment, four layers of the high hardness
portions 3a and four layers of the low hardness portions 3b are
provided such that the high hardness portion is located up and the
low hardness portion is located down in each layer, thereby
totaling eight layers. This total number of layers is preferred to
be 20 or less, particularly 6 to 14.
[0042] In this embodiment, the sectional shapes taken
perpendicularly to the back-to-forth direction of the high hardness
portion 3a and the low hardness portion 3b are substantially of a
right triangle. A front end of the high hardness portion 3a reaches
the front face of the face insert 3. A boundary face between the
high hardness portion 3a and the low hardness portion 3b is an
inclined face which declines toward the rear. The declining
gradient .theta. of this inclined face is preferred to be
20.degree. to 86.degree., particularly 30.degree. to 84.degree.. As
a result, as compared to ordinary putters, the degree of backspin
(i.e., inverse rotation) when a ball is hit is reduced and straight
advancement is improved.
[0043] As material of the high hardness portion 3a, hard plastic or
synthetic resin such as polyester, nylon and urethane and metal
such as aluminum, titanium, copper and alloys thereof are
preferable. As material of the low hardness portion 3b, materials
having elasticity such as thermoplastic elastomer and rubber are
preferable. The face insert 3 may be produced by connecting the
high hardness portion 3a and the low hardness portion 3b together
by bonding or welding. Alternatively, it is permissible to dispose
the high hardness portion 3a within a mold and insert-mold the low
hardness portion 3b by injecting corresponding material into the
mold.
[0044] The face insert 3 is disposed within the depressed portion
2H with a left side face in FIG. 2 as a front side of a putter
face, and its opposite side is bonded to a deep wall face of the
depressed portion 2H with adhesive. Although as the adhesive,
epoxide-based adhesive, rubber-based adhesive and the like are
preferred, it is not limited to these adhesives. It is possible to
use a double-faced tape.
[0045] A putter is constructed by connecting a shaft to a hosel
portion 1h of the putter head 1 having the above-described
construction. When a ball is putted with this putter (a ball on the
green is putted with a face surface), the face surface of the
putter strongly pushes an upper area of the ball so that overspin
is likely to be applied to the ball because of the above-mentioned
inclined face, whereby straight advancement of the hit ball is
improved.
[0046] According to the present invention, as shown in a face
insert 3A of FIG. 3, a surface layer 3c of thin synthetic resin may
be provided on an entire front face of the face insert by bonding
or welding. As synthetic resin of this surface layer 3c, an
elastomer is preferable. The thickness of the surface layer 3c of
synthetic resin is preferred to be 0.2 to 1.0 mm. The other
configuration of FIG. 3 is the same as FIG. 2 and the same
reference numerals indicate the same portions. By providing this
synthetic resin surface layer 3c, the entire front face of the face
insert 3A has a uniform appearance. Furthermore, the hardness of
the surface of a face insert can be a desired one.
[0047] According to the present invention, as shown in a face
insert 3B of FIG. 4, the front end of a high hardness portion 3d
may be separated from the front face of the face insert 3B, and a
low hardness portion 3e above the high hardness portion 3d and a
high hardness portion 3e under the same high hardness portion 3d
may be combined with each other before a front edge of the high
hardness portion 3d such that both the low hardness portions are
continuous with each other. This face insert 3B also has a uniform
appearance because its face surface is constructed uniformly of the
low hardness portion 3e. In the meantime, the high hardness portion
3d has the same structure as the high hardness portion 3a except
that it is of a trapezoidal shape in cross section, lacking the
front end of the high hardness portion 3a. The low hardness portion
3e has the same structure as the low hardness portion 3b except
that the low hardness portions 3e adjacent vertically are combined
with each other.
[0048] According to the present invention, as shown in a face
insert 3C of FIG. 5, the face surface may be provided with
horizontally long groove portions 3g. The groove portions 3g are
provided except near the right end and the left end of the face
insert 3C. Additionally, the face inserts 3A, 3B, 3C may be
provided with the groove portions. The face insert 3C is formed by
providing the groove portions 3g in the face insert 3B of FIG. 4
such that they reach the front ends of the high hardness portion
3d. The groove portion 3g has a trapezoidal shape in which the
vertical width of an inlet of the groove portion 3g is large while
the vertical width of the deepest portion of the groove portion 3g
is the smallest. Provision of the groove portions 3g facilitates
application of spin to a ball. The other configuration of the face
insert 3C is the face insert 3B and the same reference numerals
indicate the same portions.
[0049] The vertical width of the inlet of the groove portion 3g is
preferred to be 0.3 to 1.6 mm, particularly 0.4 to 0.8 mm, and the
depth of the groove portion is preferred to be 0.05 to 1.1 mm,
particularly 0.07 to 0.5 mm. Although the grooves may have only the
same cross section, they may have multiple kinds of cross
sections.
[0050] In the above-described embodiments, the face insert is so
constructed that the high hardness portions and the low hardness
portions are provided as a set vertically in multiple layers.
However, as shown in a face insert 3D of FIG. 6, it is permissible
to provide each of a high hardness portion 3h and a low hardness
portion 3i. Both the high hardness portion 3h and the low hardness
portion 3i are of a right triangle and the rectangular
parallelepiped face insert 3D is formed by bonding or welding
together faces corresponding to the inclined faces of the
respective right triangles.
[0051] Because the thickness of the low hardness portion 3i in the
back-to-forth direction of the head (width in a right-to-left
direction of the low hardness portion 3i in FIG. 6) decreases
toward the top of the head, when a ball is hit with a putter having
this face insert 3D, a higher position of the head can apply a
stronger repelling force to the ball, and thereby, overspin is
applied to the ball easily.
[0052] Although according to the above-described embodiments, the
boundary face between the low hardness portion and the high
hardness portion is inclined such that it descends toward the rear
of the head, conversely, the boundary face may be inclined such
that it rises toward the rear of the head.
[0053] A face insert 3' of FIG. 7 is obtained by turning the face
insert 3 of FIG. 2 upside down. A face insert 3C' of FIG. 8 is
obtained by turning the face insert 3C of FIG. 5 upside down. The
other configurations of both cases are the same as FIG. 2 and FIG.
5 and the same reference numerals indicate the same portions.
Furthermore, the face inserts may be obtained by turning the face
inserts 3A, 3B, and 3C upside down.
[0054] When a ball is hit with a putter having the face inserts 3',
3C', back spin becomes likely to be applied to the ball due to an
effect in which the loft angle is increased by the inclined face,
thereby preventing the ball from rolling easily.
[0055] In a face insert 3E of FIG. 9, with a high hardness portion
5a having the highest hardness being disposed on a bottom thereof,
a medium high hardness portion 5b, a medium low hardness portion 5c
and a low hardness portion 5d are disposed in order thereabove such
that the hardness decreases sequentially. The top faces of the high
hardness portion 5a, the medium high hardness portion 5b and the
medium low hardness portion 5c are of a quarter-circle curve which
projects upward and forward. The bottom faces of the medium high
hardness portion 5b, the medium low hardness portion 5c and the low
hardness portion 5d are of quarter-circle curve which recedes
relative downwardly and backwardly. The face insert 3E is of a
rectangular parallelepiped shape like the above-described face
inserts. The boundary faces between the high hardness portion 5a to
the low hardness portion 5d becomes higher toward the rear.
[0056] In a face insert 3F of FIG. 10, a high hardness portion 6a,
a medium high hardness portion 6b, a medium low hardness portion 6c
and a low hardness portion 6d are arranged such that the hardness
decreases in a sequence from the bottom to the top. The high
hardness portion 6a and the low hardness portion 6d have a
trapezoidal cross section and the medium high hardness portion 6b
and the medium low hardness portion 6c have a parallelogram cross
section. The face insert 3F is of a parallelogram shape like the
above-described respective face inserts. The boundary faces between
the high hardness portion 6a to the low hardness portion 6d rise
toward the rear.
[0057] When a ball is hit with a putter having the face inserts 3E,
3F of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, back spin becomes likely to be applied to
the ball, because of an increased loft angle. In particular, when
the green has unkempt grass, a putting distance can be easily
controlled by using the putter having the face inserts 3E, 3F, and
straight advancement of the hit ball can be improved. Although the
boundary face rises toward the rear in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10,
conversely, the boundary face may be decreased toward the rear.
[0058] Although referring to FIG. 1, the gap 4 is formed around the
face insert 3, it is possible to dispose viscoelastic material 8
such as rubber, elastomer, or synthetic resin in this gap as shown
in FIG. 11. As shown in a putter head 1' of FIG. 12, it is possible
to construct the face insert 3 so as to fit to the depressed
portion 2H without any gap 4.
[0059] Other configurations in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are the same as
FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals indicate the same portions.
Provision of the gap 4 or the viscoelastic material 8 eliminates
generation of residual stress in the face insert, thereby ensuring
an effect that rebound characteristics of the face insert are
obtained as designed.
* * * * *