U.S. patent application number 13/314389 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-14 for multiple material iron-type golf club head.
This patent application is currently assigned to CALLAWAY GOLF COMPANY. Invention is credited to DENVER HOLT, JAMES A. SELUGA.
Application Number | 20120149493 13/314389 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46199920 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120149493 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SELUGA; JAMES A. ; et
al. |
June 14, 2012 |
MULTIPLE MATERIAL IRON-TYPE GOLF CLUB HEAD
Abstract
A multiple material iron-type golf club head is disclosed
herein. The iron-type golf club head comprises a cast body, which
may be composed of steel, and a face, which may be forged or
stamped from a metal material, preferably steel, and then welded to
the cast body.
Inventors: |
SELUGA; JAMES A.; (SAN
DIEGO, CA) ; HOLT; DENVER; (CARLSBAD, CA) |
Assignee: |
CALLAWAY GOLF COMPANY
CARLSBAD
CA
|
Family ID: |
46199920 |
Appl. No.: |
13/314389 |
Filed: |
December 8, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61422946 |
Dec 14, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/342 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2209/00 20130101;
A63B 53/0458 20200801; A63B 53/042 20200801; A63B 53/047 20130101;
A63B 53/0475 20130101; A63B 53/0416 20200801; A63B 60/00
20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/342 |
International
Class: |
A63B 53/04 20060101
A63B053/04 |
Claims
1. An iron-type golf club head comprising: a cast body composed of
an iron-alloy material; and a face composed of a steel material,
wherein the face is welded to the cast body.
2. The iron-type golf club head of claim 2, wherein the face is
forged.
3. The iron-type golf club head of claim 2, wherein the face is
stamped from the steel material.
4. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein the cast body
is composed of 17-4 steel.
5. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein the cast body
is composed of SDH-825 Nickel stainless steel.
6. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein the face is
composed of 1020 carbon steel.
7. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein the face has a
constant thickness.
8. The iron-type golf club head of claim 1, wherein the face has
variable thickness.
Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/422,946, filed on Dec. 14, 2010.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a multiple material iron.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a multiple
material iron with a cast body and a forged or stamped face welded
to the cast body.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0004] Prior art multiple material irons include Callaway's Legacy
Forged Iron, which was created for the Japanese market. This prior
art iron included a cradle that was forged in its entirety, which
is a complicated and expensive process that involves machining the
forged piece to finish it for assembly. As such, there is a need
for an iron that can be made inexpensively but will still have
superior performance characteristics.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The multiple material iron of the present invention has a
reduced number of forged components, and thus is made relatively
inexpensively, but is still able to obtain the "forged feel"
desired by golfers and have the performance of a cavity back cast
iron.
[0006] One embodiment of the present invention is an iron-type golf
club head comprising a cast body and a face, wherein the face is
welded to the cast body. The body may be composed of an iron-alloy
material such as steel, and more particularly 17-4 steel or high
density 8.25 (SDH-825 Nickel) stainless steel. The face may be
composed of a metal material, and may be forged or stamped from a
sheet of the metal material. The face may be composed of steel, and
more specifically a soft, 1020 carbon steel. The face may have a
constant thickness or a variable thickness.
[0007] Having briefly described the present invention, the above
and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be
recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following
detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is an exploded, side profile view of an embodiment of
the iron-type golf club head of the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a top profile view of the embodiment shown in FIG.
1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the multiple material iron-type golf
club head 10 of the present invention comprises a cast cradle or
body 20 and a face 30 that is welded to this cast body 20. The
materials used to form the cast body 20 and the face 30 may include
an optimal combination to create golf club head having a good feel
that performs optimally and is durable.
[0012] The ability to cast the cradle without a face on the body
allows for the continued used of a 360.degree. undercut 40 in the
body 20, as shown in FIG. 3. Welding the face 30 to the body 20
allows for more complex face 30 designs and also allows for
different materials to be used to make the face 30. The body 20 and
the face 30 may be composed of metal materials such as iron alloys,
titanium, titanium alloys, magnesium, tungsten, nickel alloys, and
composite. In one embodiment, the body 20 is composed of a material
including nickel. In another embodiment, the body 20 is composed of
17-4 steel.
[0013] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
body 20 is cast from a high density metal, specifically SDH-825
Nickel stainless steel, and the face 30 is composed of a soft steel
material, specifically 1020 carbon steel, and then welded to the
body 20. The face 30 may be stamped from a plate of steel material,
but in the preferred embodiment the face 30 is forged to allow for
the face 30 to have different face thickness designs, including,
but not limited to, elliptical thickness rings. The face 30 of the
preferred embodiment further includes 20 degree v-shaped grooves.
Once the golf club head 10 is assembled, it can be tested for
performance and feel.
[0014] The golf club head 10 of the present invention may include
variable face thickness, such as the thickness patterns disclosed
in U.S. Pat. Nos., 5,163,682, 5,318,300, 5,474,296, 5,830,084,
5,971,868, 6,007,432, 6,338,683, 6,354,962, 6,368,234, 6,398,666,
6,413,169, 6,428,426, 6,435,977, 6,623,377, 6,997,821, 7,014,570,
7,101,289, 7,137,907, 7,144,334, 7,258,626, 7,422,528, 7,448,960,
7,713,140, and 8,012,041, the disclosure of each of which is
incorporated in its entirety herein.
[0015] From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the
pertinent art will recognize the meritorious advancement of this
invention and will readily understand that while the present
invention has been described in association with a preferred
embodiment thereof, and other embodiments illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, numerous changes, modifications and
substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope of this invention which is intended to be
unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following
appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the invention in
which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in
the following appended claims.
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