U.S. patent application number 13/340045 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-19 for putter head.
This patent application is currently assigned to BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Wataru BAN, Tadahiro NARITA.
Application Number | 20120184392 13/340045 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46491180 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120184392 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
NARITA; Tadahiro ; et
al. |
July 19, 2012 |
PUTTER HEAD
Abstract
A putter head includes a head main body having a recess portion
in a face surface of the putter head, and a face insert disposed in
the recess portion. The face insert has a slit extending upward
from a bottom face thereof In the bottom face, the slit may extend
from the vicinity of a toe-side end thereof to the vicinity of a
heel-side end thereof A bottom end of the slit may be located on a
rear edge of the face insert. A ceiling face of the slit may be in
a shape of an arch from the toe side to the heel side. The slit may
be filled with a viscoelastic material.
Inventors: |
NARITA; Tadahiro;
(Chichibu-shi, JP) ; BAN; Wataru; (Chichibu-shi,
JP) |
Assignee: |
BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO.,
LTD.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
46491180 |
Appl. No.: |
13/340045 |
Filed: |
December 29, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0416 20200801;
A63B 53/0425 20200801; A63B 53/0487 20130101; A63B 60/52 20151001;
A63B 53/0458 20200801; A63B 53/042 20200801; A63B 2209/00
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/340 |
International
Class: |
A63B 53/04 20060101
A63B053/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 13, 2011 |
JP |
2011-004939 |
Claims
1. A putter head having a face surface, comprising: a head main
body; and a face insert disposed on the head main body as the face
surface, wherein the face insert has a slit extending upward from a
bottom surface thereof, and wherein the face insert has a front
face portion positioned on a face-surface side relative to the slit
and a rear face portion on a backward side relative to the slit,
the front and rear face portions being connected to each other
through toe and heel sides of the face insert.
2. The putter head according to claim 1, wherein in the bottom face
of the face insert, the slit extends from the vicinity of a
toe-side end thereof up to the vicinity of a heel-side end
thereof.
3. The putter according to claim 1, wherein the slit is deepest at
a central portion in a toe-to-heel direction of the face insert,
and the slit becomes shallower gradually or step by step toward the
toe side and the heel side from the central portion thereof.
4. The putter head according to claim 1, further comprising a
viscoelastic material disposed in the slit of the face insert.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Application claims priority from Japanese Patent
Application No. 2011-4939 filed Jan. 13, 2011, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a putter head of a golf
club, and more particularly to a putter head containing a face
insert mounted in a face surface of a head main body thereof.
[0003] The putter in golf is a club for use mainly for hitting a
ball on a green to roll the ball toward a cup. Japanese Patent
Application Publication No. 2007-117635 describes a putter head
including a face insert for a face surface thereof in order to
soften a feeling of putting a golf ball.
[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-62008
describes a putter head including a synthetic resin integrated with
a bottom portion of the face surface of the putter head to enable a
player to easily apply top spin to the ball. However, because the
synthetic resin foam has a high temperature dependency, a degree of
top spin applied to the ball varies considerably depending on the
temperature.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a putter
head in which when a ball is putted, back spin is reduced compared
to an ordinary putter and the top spin can be applied to the ball
easily while the temperature dependency of easiness of applying the
top spin is low.
[0006] According to the present invention, there is provided a
putter head having a face surface thereof comprising: a head main
body; and a face insert disposed on the head main body as the face
surface, wherein the face insert has a slit extending upward from a
bottom surface thereof, and wherein the face insert has a front
face portion positioned on a face-surface side relative to the slit
and a rear face portion on a backward side relative to the slit,
the front and rear face portions being connected to each other
through toe and heel sides of the face insert.
[0007] In the bottom face of the face insert, the slit may extend
from the vicinity of a toe-side end thereof up to the vicinity of a
heel-side end thereof.
[0008] The slit may be deepest at a central portion in a
toe-to-heel direction of the face insert, and the slit may become
shallower gradually or step by step toward the toe side and the
heel side from the central portion thereof.
[0009] The putter head may further comprise a viscoelastic material
disposed in the slit of the face insert.
[0010] The face insert of the putter head of the present invention
includes the slit extending upward from the bottom surface,
thereby, when this putter hits a ball, a bottom portion of the
front face portion of the face insert is retracted to suppress back
spin while facilitating the top spin to be applied easily.
Accordingly, straight advancement of the hit ball is improved. In
addition, a player can apply different degrees of top spin to the
ball by hitting it by the center portion or the toe and heel
portions of the face insert.
[0011] When the front face portion and the rear face portion of the
face insert are connected at the toe and heel sides of the face
insert, the face insert can have high strength and durability
properties.
[0012] Accordingly, the slit preferably extends from the vicinity
of the toe-side end of the bottom face to the vicinity of the
heel-side end thereof.
[0013] When the slit is filled with a viscoelastic material, a
hitting sound and a feeling of hitting the ball can be
adjusted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1(a) is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment
of a putter head according to the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 1(b) is a front view of the putter head of FIG.
1(a).
[0016] FIG. 1(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C
of FIG. 1(b).
[0017] FIG. 2 is a front view of the face insert shown in FIGS.
1(a) to 1(c).
[0018] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of
FIG. 2.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV
of FIG. 3.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the face insert in which
a viscoelastic body is charged in a slit thereof.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a face
insert in a putter head according to the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a face
insert in a putter head according to the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a face
insert in a putter head according to the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 9(a) is a cross-sectional view in a face to back
direction showing an example of a face insert in a putter head
according to the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 9(b) is a cross-sectional view in a face to back
direction showing an example of a face insert in a putter head
according to the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a
putter head according to the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 11(a) is a front view of still another embodiment of a
putter head according to the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 11(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line
B-B of FIG. 11(a).
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] Embodiments of a putter head according to the present
invention will be described in detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
[0030] A putter head 1 as the first embodiment of the present
invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. This putter head 1
includes a head main body 2 having a recess portion 2H in the front
face or face surface thereof and a face insert 3 disposed within
this recess portion 2H. According to this embodiment, the head main
body 2 is made of such a metal as aluminum alloy, titanium alloy,
copper alloy, or stainless steel. The face insert 3 is made of such
a synthetic resin as polyester, nylon, urethane or such a metal as
aluminum alloy, copper alloy, or stainless steel. A front face of
the face insert 3 is aligned with the front face of the head main
body 2 around the recess portion 2H.
[0031] The recess portion 2H and the face insert 3 are of a
substantially rectangular shape which is horizontally long. The
depth of the recess 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
conversely may be provided partly with a shallow portion or a thin
portion.
[0032] The lateral and vertical widths of the face insert 3 are
slightly smaller than those of the recess portion 2H and there is a
slight gap 4 between top, bottom, right and left side faces 3S of
the face insert 3 and a peripheral face 2S of the recess portion
2H. Preferably, the width of this gap is 0.3 to 1.5 mm, and more
preferably 0.4 to 1.0 mm. Regarding the size of the face insert 3,
a vertical width H.sub.0 is 16 to 30 mm, particularly 18 to 25 mm,
a lateral width W.sub.o is preferred to be 50 to 150 mm,
particularly 70 to 100 mm, and a thickness thereof is preferred to
be 2 to 10 mm, and more preferably 3 to 8 mm. However, they are not
limited to these values.
[0033] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, this face insert 3 has a
slit 3a which is cut in upward from a bottom face thereof. In the
bottom face of the face insert 3, the slit 3a extends from the
vicinity of a toe-side end thereof up to the vicinity of a
heel-side end thereof. The slit 3a does not reach any side faces on
the toe side and the heel side of the face insert 3. A front face
portion on a forward (face) side relative to the slit 3a and a rear
face portion on a backward side relative to the slit 3a are
continuous to each other through the toe-side end portion and the
heel-side end portion of the face insert 3. Bottom faces of the
toe-side end portion and the heel-side end portion of the face
insert 3 are flush with the bottom faces of the front face portion
and the rear face portion of the face insert 3.
[0034] This slit 3a is deepest in the vicinity of the center in a
toe-to-heel direction (right-to-left direction in the front view of
the putter head), while it becomes shallower gradually toward the
toe side and the heel side from the vicinity of the center.
According to this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a ceiling
face of the slit 3a is of a substantially semi-elliptical arch.
[0035] In this embodiment, preferably, a length W.sub.1 in the
toe-to-heel direction of the slit 3a is 80 to 98% the length in the
toe-to-heel direction of the face insert 3, and more preferably 85
to 90%.
[0036] According to this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the
slit 3a is formed perpendicularly when the face surface is set
perpendicularly to the ground. A width t.sub.2 (slit thickness) in
the back-to-forth direction of the slit 3b is even throughout the
entire length thereof. According to this embodiment, a thickness
t.sub.1 of the front face portion on a face side relative to the
slit 3a is smaller than a thickness t.sub.3 of the rear face
portion, and although the slit 3a may be located slightly on the
face side with respect to a center in the thickness direction of
the face insert 3, the slit 3a may be located at the center.
Preferably, the ratio of the thickness t.sub.2 of the slit 3a with
respect to a total thickness (t.sub.1+t.sub.2+t.sub.3) of the face
insert 3 is 10 to 50%, and more preferably 25 to 45%, and the ratio
of the thickness t.sub.1 is preferred to be 10 to 50% and more
preferably 25 to 40%.
[0037] This slit 3a may be formed easily by cutting a sheet metal
for the face insert 3. When forming the face insert 3 with
synthetic resin, the slit 3a may be formed at the same time when
the face insert is molded with a convex portion corresponding to
the slit 3a prepared in an injection mold using a core or the like.
The face insert 3 is disposed within the recess portion 2H such
that a left side face in FIG. 3 acts as the forward side of the
face of the putter, and bonded to the wall surface on the deep side
of the recess portion 2H with adhesive. Although as the adhesive,
epoxy base adhesive, rubber base adhesive and double-sided adhesive
tape are preferably used, the present invention is not restricted
to these examples.
[0038] By connecting a shaft to a hosel part 1h of the putter head
1 having such a configuration, the putter is constructed. When
putting a ball with this putter (hitting the ball on a green with
the face surface), the front face portion (forward side relative to
the slit 3a) of the face insert 3 is slightly retracted. As a
result, the top spin is easily applied to the ball, whereby the
straight advancement of the hit ball being improved. Furthermore,
the characteristic of deformation of the front face portion of the
face insert 3 is hardly affected by a change in temperature, so
that easiness of applying the top spin hardly depends on the
temperature.
[0039] According to the present invention, as illustrated in FIG.
5, the slit 3a may be filled with a viscoelastic body 3b. As the
viscoelastic material, rubber, elastomer, soft synthetic resin and
the like are available. By filling the slit 3a with viscoelastic
material, a hitting sound and a feeling of hitting the ball can be
adjusted. This viscoelastic material hardly affects the deformation
characteristic of the front face portion of the face insert, so
that the easiness of applying the top spin hardly depends on the
temperature.
[0040] In the face insert 3 of the above-described embodiment, the
ceiling face of the slit 3a is foamed in the shape of a
semielliptical arch from the toe side to the heel side, and this
arch shape lowers in height consecutively from the vicinity of the
center in the toe-to-heel direction toward the heel side (i.e., the
slit 3a becomes shallower gradually). However, like a face insert
3A in FIG. 6, the ceiling face may be descended by step from the
vicinity of the center in the toe-to-heel direction toward the heel
side. Furthermore, while the depth of the slit 3a may be constant
along the toe-to-heel direction around the center in the
toe-to-heel direction thereof like a face insert 3B in FIG. 7, the
slit 3a may be formed to be shallower gradually (or by step) toward
the toe side and the heel side in areas near the toe and the
heel.
[0041] According to the present invention, like a face insert 3D in
FIG. 8, the slit 3a may be provided with shallow grooves 3d which
communicate with an end face on the toe side of the face insert 3D
and an end face on the heel side thereof Preferably, a depth
H.sub.2 of the shallow groove 3d is 20% or less a height H.sub.0 of
the face insert 3D, more particularly to 15% or less. If H.sub.2 is
increased excessively (e.g., if H.sub.2 is set equal to the
aforementioned H.sub.1), a repelling force of a ball when hitting
the ball drops. If H.sub.2 is set to 20% or less (including 0%)
H.sub.0, the repelling force of the ball increases, and
consequently, a distance over which the ball rolls is
increased.
[0042] According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9(a), a
face insert 3E may have a slit 3a inclined forward such that its
upper portion is located nearer the face side. In contrast, as
shown in FIG. 9(b), a face insert 3f may have a slit 3a inclined
backward.
[0043] Although the front surface of the face insert is flat
according to this embodiment, a plurality of horizontally-extending
grooves may be provided in parallel. Preferably, a width (distance
between the top and the bottom) of each groove may be 0.3 to 1.6 mm
and a depth of the groove is preferred to be 0.05 to 1.1 mm.
[0044] Although the gap 4 is formed around the periphery of the
face insert 3 as illustrated in FIGS. 1(b) and 1(c), a viscoelastic
material 8 such as rubber, elastomer, synthetic resin, may be
disposed in this gap. Like a putter head 1' illustrated in FIG. 11,
the face insert 3 may be formed to be fit to the recess portion 2H
without any gap 4.
[0045] Other configurations of FIGS. 10 and 11 are the same as in
FIG. 1 and like reference numerals indicate like components.
Provision of the gap 4 and the viscoelastic material 8 between the
side face 3S of the face insert 3 and the peripheral face 2S of the
recess portion 2H ensures an advantage that the repulsion
characteristic of the face insert is realized as designed.
* * * * *