Golf club head with sound damping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10427018-B2
Application number	US-201615172042-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2016
Priority date	Jun 22, 2015
Publication date	Oct 1, 2019
Grant date	Oct 1, 2019

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns embodiments of a badge and golf club head having a badge therein that can dampen the impact sound made when a hitting surface (a.k.a., face) of the golf club head impacts a golf ball. In one embodiment, a golf club head includes: a face portion surrounded by a topline portion, a toe portion, a sole portion and a heel portion, the face portion having a front striking surface and a back surface; and a badge coupled to the back surface of the face portion, the badge including a planar main body portion and at least one structural member extending outwardly from the main body portion, wherein the at least one structural member includes a lower portion and an upper portion disposed between the topline portion and lower portion, and wherein the at least one structural member has a maximum height, above the main body portion, at the lower portion and a minimum height at the upper portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club head comprising:
a face portion surrounded by a topline portion, a toe portion, a sole portion and a heel portion, the face portion comprising a front striking surface and a back surface;
a backbar portion extending upwardly from the sole portion behind the face portion;
a rear cavity located behind the face portion and defined by inner peripheral walls of the topline portion, the toe portion, the sole portion, and the heel portion; and
a badge coupled to the back surface of the face portion, the badge comprising a main body portion and at least one structural member extending outwardly from the main body portion, wherein the at least one structural member comprises an upper portion and a lower portion disposed between the topline portion and the sole portion, and wherein the at least one structural member has a maximum height above the main body portion in the range of 8 to 20 millimeters (mm) at the lower portion and a minimum height in the range of 2 to 8 mm at the upper portion;
wherein:
the badge is disposed within the rear cavity;
the main body portion of the badge further comprises a toe-side peripheral edge that is sized and shaped to conform to an inner peripheral wall of the toe portion;
the main body portion of badge further comprises a heel-side peripheral edge that is sized and shaped to conform to an inner peripheral wall of the heel portion;
the backbar portion includes at least one recess configured to receive the lower portion of the at least one structural member of the badge and a damping material; and
the damping material is disposed within the at least one recess of the backbar portion and between the lower portion of the at least one structural member of the badge and the backbar portion.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the rear cavity includes a lower cavity portion and no portion of the badge occupies the lower cavity portion.

3. The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein the at least one structural member comprises:
a first structural member located adjacent the toe portion, wherein the first structural member comprises a first lower portion coupled to the backbar portion and a first upper portion disposed between the topline portion and the first lower portion, and wherein the first structural member has a maximum height above the main body portion at the first lower portion and decreases in height from the first lower portion toward the first upper portion; and
a second structural member located adjacent the heel portion, wherein the second structural member comprises a second lower portion coupled to the backbar portion and a second upper portion disposed between the topline portion and the second lower portion, and wherein the second structural member has a maximum height above the main body portion at the second lower portion and decreases in height from the second lower portion toward the second upper portion.

4. The golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the first and second structural members are each oriented substantially vertically when the sole portion of the golf club head is grounded.

5. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein:
the first structural member is disposed behind the face portion at a first antinode of the face portion; and
the second structural member is disposed behind the face portion at a second antinode of the face portion.

6. The golf club head of claim 3 , wherein:
the damping material is a first damping material and is disposed between the first lower portion and the backbar portion; and
the golf club head further comprises a second damping material disposed between the second lower portion and the backbar portion.

7. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein the first and second damping materials each comprise double-sided tape that fixes the first and second lower portions, respectively, to the backbar portion.

8. The golf club head of claim 3 , wherein the first and second structural members are oriented substantially in a “V” configuration with respect to one another when the sole portion of the golf club head is grounded.

9. The golf club head of claim 8 further comprising a bridge structure disposed between and coupling the first lower portion to the second lower portion.

10. The golf club head of claim 8 , wherein:
the first structural member has a maximum width at the first lower portion and gradually decreases in width from the first lower portion toward the first upper portion; and
the second structural member has a maximum width at the second lower portion and gradually decreases in width from the second lower portion toward the second upper portion.

11. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the first structural member has a first cutout portion therein; and
the second structural member has a second cutout portion therein.

12. The golf club head of claim 8 , wherein the badge has a mass of less than 15.0 grams.

13. The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein the badge has a mass of no more than 12 grams.

14. The golf club head of claim 13 , wherein a maximum thickness of the face portion is no more than 3.6 mm.

15. The golf club head of claim 14 , wherein at least a portion of the front striking surface is formed of a separate striking plate, wherein the separate striking plate is formed from a low in carbon steel.

16. A golf club head comprising:
a face portion surrounded by a topline portion, a toe portion, a sole portion and a heel portion, the face portion comprising a front striking surface and a back surface;
a backbar portion extending upwardly from the sole portion behind the face portion; and
a rear cavity located behind the face portion and defined by inner peripheral walls of the topline portion, the toe portion, the sole portion and the heel portion; and
a badge coupled to the back surface of the face portion and disposed within the rear cavity, the badge comprising:
a main body portion;
a first structural member located adjacent the toe portion and extending outwardly from the main body portion away from the face portion; and
a second structural member located adjacent the heel portion and extending outwardly from the main body portion away from the face portion, wherein the first and second structural members each has a maximum height above the main body portion in the range of 8 to 20 millimeters (mm) and a minimum height in the range of 2 to 8 mm;

wherein the rear cavity includes a lower cavity portion and no portion of the badge occupies the lower cavity portion.

17. The golf club head of claim 16 , wherein:
the first structural member comprises a first lower portion coupled to the backbar portion and a first upper portion disposed between the topline portion and the first lower portion, and wherein the first structural member has the maximum height above the main body portion at the first lower portion and decreases in height from the first lower portion toward the first upper portion; and
the second structural member comprises a second lower portion coupled to the backbar portion and a second upper portion disposed between the topline portion and the second lower portion, and wherein the second structural member has the maximum height above the main body portion at the second lower portion and decreases in height from the second lower portion toward the second upper portion.

18. The golf club head of claim 17 further comprising a bridge structure disposed between and coupling the first lower portion to the second lower portion.

19. The golf club head of claim 17 , wherei

Assignees

• Taylor Made Golf Co

Inventors

• Taylor Scott
• Issertell Jason

Classifications

• A63B53/047

  iron-type · CPC title

• A63B60/52

  with slits · CPC title

• A63B60/54 Primary

  with means for damping vibrations · CPC title

• A63B2053/0408

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A63B2060/002

  Human Necessities · mapped topic