Golf clubs and golf club heads

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10357693-B2
Application number	US-201414290750-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 29, 2014
Priority date	Nov 30, 2011
Publication date	Jul 23, 2019
Grant date	Jul 23, 2019

Abstract

Golf club heads include a golf club head body, a ball striking face, and a shaft engaging member configured to engage a golf club shaft with the golf club head body. Additionally, the shaft engaging member may be configured to engage the golf club head body and the shaft below a center of gravity of the golf club head, and/or the shaft engaging member may have rotational locking structure that can be locked in a plurality of positions. Further, the golf club head may include a face member and a rear member, where the rear member is configured to transfer energy and/or momentum to the face member, particularly on off-center hits.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club head comprising:
an iron-type golf club head body having connecting structure, the golf club head body comprising:
a face member including a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball and a rear side opposite the striking surface of the face, the face member having a heel edge and a toe edge;
a rear member connected to the rear side of the face member and being spaced from the rear side of the face member;
an engagement member rigidly engaging the face member and the rear member to form a joint that permits the rear member to transfer momentum to the face member upon an impact of the ball on the striking surface, wherein the engagement member forms a point of rigid engagement between the face member and the rear member, and wherein the joint is oriented vertically and is laterally aligned with a center of gravity of at least one of the face member and the rear member, and wherein the joint is located only in a central area of the face member; and
a resilient member separating the rear member from the rear side of the face member, wherein the resilient member engages the rear member and the rear side of the face member, and portions of the resilient member are positioned between the joint and the heel edge of the face member and between the joint and the toe edge of the face member, and wherein the resilient member is configured to transfer momentum between the face member and the rear member; and

a shaft engaging member engaged with the connecting structure of the golf club head body, wherein the shaft engaging member is configured to be engaged with a golf club shaft to connect the shaft to the golf club head body.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the resilient member comprises a first portion positioned toward the heel edge from the joint and a second portion positioned toward the toe edge from the joint.

3. The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein the first portion and the second portion are continuous with each other.

4. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the resilient member includes at least one gap permitting the engagement member to rigidly engage the face member and the rear member through the resilient member.

5. The golf club head of claim 1 , further comprising a second engagement member rigidly engaging the face member and the rear member to further define the joint that permits the rear member to transfer momentum to the face member upon an impact of the ball on the striking surface, wherein the second engagement member forms a second point of rigid engagement between the face member and the rear member, wherein the second engagement member further forms the joint, and wherein the second engagement member is separate from and laterally aligned with the engagement member.

6. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the face member further comprises a perimeter weighting member extending rearwardly from the face and at least partially defining a rear cavity, and wherein the resilient member and the rear member are at least partially positioned within the rear cavity.

7. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the shaft engaging member is engaged with the connecting structure at a location completely below a center of gravity of the golf club head body.

8. A golf club head comprising:
an iron-type golf club head body having connecting structure, the golf club head body comprising:
a face member including a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball and a rear side opposite the striking surface of the face, the face member having a heel edge and a toe edge;
a rear member connected to the rear side of the face member and being spaced from the rear side of the face member;
an engagement member rigidly engaging the face member and the rear member to form a joint that permits the rear member to transfer momentum to the face member upon an impact of the ball on the striking surface, wherein the engagement member forms a point of rigid engagement between the face member and the rear member, and wherein the joint is oriented vertically and is laterally aligned with a center of gravity of at least one of the face member and the rear member, and wherein the joint is located only in a central area of the face member; and
a resilient member separating the rear member from the rear side of the face member, wherein the resilient member engages the rear member and the rear side of the face member, and portions of the resilient member are positioned between the joint and the heel edge of the face member and between the joint and the toe edge of the face member, and wherein the resilient member is configured to transfer momentum between the face member and the rear member; and

a shaft engaging member engaged with the connecting structure of the golf club head body, wherein the shaft engaging member is configured to be engaged with a golf club shaft to connect the shaft to the golf club head body, wherein the connecting structure and the shaft engaging member have complementary rotational locking structure to rotationally lock the shaft engaging member with the connecting structure, and wherein the rotational locking structure is adjustable, such that the shaft engaging member is configured to be engaged with the connecting structure in at least a first rotational position and a second rotational position with respect to the golf club head body, wherein a loft angle of the golf club head in the first position is different from the loft angle of the golf club head in the second position.

9. The golf club head of claim 8 , further comprising a second engagement member rigidly engaging the face member and the rear member to further define the joint that permits the rear member to transfer momentum to the face member upon an impact of the ball on the striking surface, wherein the second engagement member forms a second point of rigid engagement between the face member and the rear member, and wherein the second engagement member further forms the joint, and wherein the second engagement member is separate from and laterally aligned with the engagement member.

10. A golf club head comprising:
an iron-type golf club head body having connecting structure, the golf club head body comprising:
a face member including a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball and a rear side opposite the striking surface of the face, the face member having a heel edge and a toe edge;
a rear member connected to the rear side of the face member and being spaced from the rear side of the face member;
an engagement member rigidly engaging the face member and the rear member to form a joint that permits the rear member to transfer momentum to the face member upon an impact of the ball on the striking surface, wherein the engagement member forms a point of rigid engagement between the face member and the rear member, and wherein the joint is oriented vertically and is laterally aligned with a center of gravity of at least one of the face member and the rear member, and wherein the joint is located only in a central area of the face member; and
a resilient member separating the rear member from the rear side of the face member, wherein the resilient member engages the rear member and the rear side of the face member, and portions of the resilient member are positioned between the joint and the heel edge of the face member and between the joint and the toe edge of the face member, and the resilient member is configured to transfer momentum between the face member and the rear member; and

a shaft engaging member engaged with the connecting structure of the golf club head body, wherein the shaft engaging member is configured to be engaged with a golf

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Franklin David N
• Cardani Jason
• Oldknow Andrew G V
• Sander Raymond J

Classifications

• A63B60/54

  with means for damping vibrations · CPC title

• A63B2053/0462

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A63B2053/0479

  Wedge-type clubs, details thereof · CPC title

• A63B53/047

  iron-type · CPC title

• A63B2053/0454

  Human Necessities · mapped topic