IP Library Granted Patent US 7,695,378
Granted Patent B2
US 7,695,378 · App. 11/543,908 · Granted Apr 13, 2010

Golf club head

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,695,378
App. No.
11/543,908
Granted
Apr 13, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

A hollow golf club head comprises a main body made of a metal material and being provided with at least one opening, and a cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin and attached to the main body so as to close the opening, wherein the cover member comprises an outline including a wavy part extending in a waveform.

Claims (31)

1. A hollow golf club head comprising

a face portion whose front face defines a club face for hitting a golf ball,

a crown portion intersecting the club face at an upper edge thereof,

a sole portion intersecting the club face at a lower edge thereof,

a side portion between the crown portion and the sole portion which extends from a toe-side edge to a heel-side edge of the club face through a back face of the club head,

a main body made of a metal material and having the face portion, the sole portion and at least one opening, said at least one opening being an upper opening formed in at least a part of the crown portion, and

a cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin and attached to the main body so as to close the opening, wherein

the cover member comprises an outline including a wavy part extending in a cyclical waveform having a periodic oscillation, and the wavy part has a length that includes not less than 1.5 cycles of the waveform,

the main body has a support portion being provided around the opening for supporting an inner surface of a periphery of the cover member, and

the edge of the opening comprises an outline including a wavy edge part extending in a cyclical waveform having a periodic oscillation, and the wavy edge part has a length that includes not less than 1.5 cycles of the waveform, wherein

the phases of the wavy part of the cover member are substantially synchronized with the phases of the wavy edge part of the opening so that a width of the support portion is substantially constant at all regions of the wavy part of the opening.

2. A hollow golf club head having a face portion comprising a front face that defines a club face for hitting a golf ball, a crown portion intersecting the club face at the upper edge thereof, a sole portion intersecting the club face at the lower edge thereof and a side portion between the crown portion and the sole portion which extends from a toe-side edge to a heel-side edge of the club face through a back face of the head, the head comprising:

a main body made of a metal material and being provided with at least one opening extending from the crown portion to the side portion,

a cover member made of a fiber reinforced resin and attached to the main body so as to close the opening,

the cover member comprising a base portion covering the opening in the crown portion,

a subsidiary portion extending from the base portion so as to cover the opening in the side portion and

a boundary between the base portion and the subsidiary portion,

wherein a wavy part extending in a waveform is provided on the outline of the subsidiary portion so as to extend in the side portion, and wherein the wavy part comprises

a pair of lower peaks being close to the sole portion and

an upper peak between the lower peaks being close to the crown portion, and

a ratio (Lo/Lt) is not less than 0.25 and less than 1.0, wherein

“Lo” is a length of subsidiary portion from the boundary to the outline of the subsidiary portion at the position of the upper peak and

“Lt” is an average length of the subsidiary portion at the positions of lower peaks.

3. The golf club head according to claim 2 , wherein

a support portion is provided around the opening for supporting an inner surface of a periphery of the cover member, and

the edge of the opening includes a wavy edge part extending in a waveform.

4. The golf club head according to claim 3 , wherein a phase of the wavy part of the cover member is substantially synchronized with a phase of the wavy part of the opening.

5. The golf club head according to claim 2 , wherein the wavy part extends on the back face of the side portion.

6. The golf club head according to claim 2 , wherein said each lower peak is provided at both sides of a vertical plane being parallel to a front-rear direction through a center of gravity of the club head.

7. The golf club head according to claim 2 , wherein a distance M 1 along the boundary between the lower peaks is in the range of from 20 to 60 mm.

8. The golf club head according to claim 4 , wherein a width of the support portion is substantially constant at all regions of the wavy part of the opening.

Assignments (3)
MERGER Recorded Apr 17, 2018
From: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
To: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
Reel/Frame 045959/0204 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 12, 2018
From: SRI SPORTS LIMITED
To: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
Reel/Frame 045932/0024 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 6, 2006
From: NAKANO, TAKASHI
To: SRI SPORTS LIMITED
Reel/Frame 018384/0784 →