IP Library Granted Patent US 8,647,217
Granted Patent B2
US 8,647,217 · App. 13/480,531 · Granted Feb 11, 2014

Golf club head

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,647,217
App. No.
13/480,531
Granted
Feb 11, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

A hollow golf club head comprises a main body member provided with a face opening and a sole opening, a face member brazed/soldered to the main body member to close the face opening, and a sole member brazes/soldered/welded to the main body member to close the sole opening. The main body member has a thin front edge part of the sole opening and a thick heat blocking part between the thin front edge part and the face portion. The sole member has a front edge part connected to the sole opening's front edge part and a thicker sole reinforcing part positioned backward thereof. The thicknesses of the sole member's front edge part and the sole opening's front edge part are not less than 0.5 mm and less than 2.5 mm. The thicknesses of the sole reinforcing part and the heat blocking part are 2.5 to 10.0 mm.

Claims (54)

1. A golf club head having a hollow structure and having

a face portion provided in its front surface with a club face for hitting a ball and

a sole portion extending to a lower edge of the face portion and forming a bottom surface of the head, wherein

the golf club head is composed of

a main body member separately provided with a face opening opened in the face portion and a sole opening opened in its sole portion side,

a face member fixed to the main body member by brazing or soldering so as to close the face opening, and

a sole member fixed to the main body member by brazing, soldering or welding so as to close the sole opening,

said main body member comprises

a sole opening's front edge part forming a part extending from a front edge of the sole opening toward the face portion, and

a heat blocking part forming a part between the sole opening's front edge part and the face portion and having a thickness larger than a thickness of the sole opening's front edge part,

said sole member comprises

a sole member's front edge part connected to the sole opening's front edge part and forming a face-side part of the sole member, and

a sole reinforcing part forming a part extending from the sole member's front edge part toward the back side of the head and having a thickness larger than a thickness of the sole member's front edge part,

the thickness of the sole member's front edge part and the thickness of the sole opening's front edge part are not less than 0.5 mm and less than 2.5 mm, and

the thickness of the sole reinforcing part and the thickness of the heat blocking part are 2.5 to 10.0 mm.

2. The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein

the width of the sole opening's front edge part measured perpendicularly to a longitudinal direction of the sole opening's front edge part is 5.0 to 10.0 mm.

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

the thickness of the heat blocking part is 1.2 to 8.0 times the thickness of the sole opening's front edge part.

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

an area of the sole member's front edge part projected on the outer surface of the club head is 10 to 30% of an area of the sole member projected on the outer surface of the club head.

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

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

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

an area of the sole member's front edge part projected on the outer surface of the club head is 10 to 30% of an area of the sole member projected on the outer surface of the club head.

7. The golf club head according to claim 6 , wherein

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

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

a length of the sole opening's front edge part measured in a heel-and-toe direction of the head is in a range of from 70 to 90% of a maximum width of the sole member occurring in the heel-and-toe direction.

9. The golf club head according to claim 8 , wherein

a length of the heat blocking part measured in the heel-and-toe direction is more than said length of the sole opening's front edge part.

10. The golf club head according to claim 8 , wherein

a length of the sole member's front edge part measured in the heel-and-toe direction is substantially equal to said length of the sole opening's front edge part.

11. The golf club head according to claim 10 , wherein

a length of the sole reinforcing part measured in the heel-and-toe direction is substantially equal to said length of the sole member's front edge part.

12. The golf club head according to claim 10 , wherein

said front edge of the sole opening is curved describing an arc convex toward the face portion, and

the sole opening's front edge part, the sole member's front edge part and the sole reinforcing part are also curved therealong.

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

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

14. The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein

the thickness of the heat blocking part is 1.2 to 8.0 times the thickness of the sole opening's front edge part.

15. The golf club head according to claim 14 , wherein

an area of the sole member's front edge part projected on the outer surface of the club head is 10 to 30% of an area of the sole member projected on the outer surface of the club head.

16. The golf club head according to claim 15 , wherein

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

17. The golf club head according to claim 14 , wherein

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

18. The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein

an area of the sole member's front edge part projected on the outer surface of the club head is 10 to 30% of an area of the sole member projected on the outer surface of the club head.

19. The golf club head according to claim 18 , wherein

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

20. The golf club head according to claim 1 , wherein

the specific gravity D 1 of the main body member, the specific gravity D 2 of the face member and the specific gravity D 3 of the sole member satisfy the following condition D 3 >D 1 >D 2 .

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 May 25, 2012
From: NISHIO, MASAYOSHI
To: SRI SPORTS LIMITED
Reel/Frame 028270/0619 →