Laser-contrasted golf club head and manufacturing process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11504585-B2
Application number	US-202217678779-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2022
Priority date	Jun 15, 2020
Publication date	Nov 22, 2022
Grant date	Nov 22, 2022

Abstract

A golf club head having a laser-generated features to create contrast on the club face of the golf club head. The club face includes a central region, a toe region, and a heel region. The central region includes a first plurality of laser-generated features that provide a height-intersection coverage of the central region, a width-intersection coverage of the central region, and a surface-area coverage of the central region. The toe region includes a second plurality of laser-generated features that provide a height-intersection coverage of the toe region, a width-intersection coverage of the toe region, and a surface-area coverage of the toe region. The heel region includes a third plurality of laser-generated features that provide a height-intersection coverage of the heel region, a width-intersection coverage of the heel region, and a surface-area coverage of the heel region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a golf club head having a crown, a sole, and a club face, the method comprising:
applying a coating to the club face of the golf club head such that the coating covers a central region of the club face, a toe region of the club face, and a heel region of the club face;
generating, by one or more lasers, a first plurality of laser-generated features on the central region of a club face, wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features provides at least two of a height-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 80%, a width-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 80%, or a surface-area coverage of the central region of at least 25%;
forming a second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the second plurality of laser-generated features are different from the first plurality of laser-generated features and do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features; and
forming a third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region of the club face, wherein the third plurality of laser-generated features are different from the first plurality of laser-generated features and do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features; and
the third plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the second plurality of laser-generated features provides width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 80% and a surface-area coverage of the toe region of at least 10%; and
the third plurality of laser-generated features provides width-intersection coverage of the heel region of at least 80% and a surface-area coverage of the heel region of at least 10%.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features has a maximum width between about 30% to 50% of a maximum width of the club face.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the central region has a maximum width that is between 30% to 50% of a maximum width of the club face.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein:
the second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face extend in a heel-to-toe direction and do not extend into the central region of the club face; and
the third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region extend in a heel-to-toe direction and do not extend into the central region of the club face.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the width-intersection coverage of the central region by first plurality of laser-generated features is substantially the same as a width-intersection coverage of the toe region by the second plurality of laser-generated features and a width intersection coverage of the heel region by the third plurality of laser-generated features.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the width-intersection coverage of the central region by the first plurality of laser-generated features is at least 90%.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features, the second plurality of laser-generated features, and the third plurality of laser-generated features are offset from a lower perimeter of the club face by an offset distance between 2-5 mm.

10. A method for manufacturing a golf club head having a crown, a sole, and a club face, the method comprising:
applying a coating to the club face such that the coating covers a central region, a toe region of the golf club head, and a heel region of the golf club head;
generating, by one or more lasers, a first plurality of laser-generated features on the central region of a club face, wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features provide a width-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 80% and a surface-area coverage of the central region of at least 25%;
forming a second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the second plurality of laser-generated features are different from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, and are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features; and
forming a third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region of the club face, wherein the third plurality of laser-generated features are different from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, and are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features;
wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features create a contrast with the second plurality of laser-generated features and the third plurality of laser generated features.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein:
the second plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 90%;
the second plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the central region;
the third plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the heel region of at least 90%; and
the third plurality of laser-generated features do not extend into the central region.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising forming a fourth plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the fourth plurality of laser-generated features provides a width-intersection coverage of the toe region of at least 80%.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the laser-generated features of the first plurality of laser-generated features are lines extending in the heel-to-toe direction.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising forming, in the central region, a laser-generated band that is contoured to match a shape of a lower boundary of the club face, the band being offset from a perimeter of the club face by an offset distance between 2-5 mm.

15. A method for manufacturing a golf club head having a crown, a sole, and a club face, the method comprising:
applying a coating to the club face such that the coating covers a central region, a toe region of the golf club head, and a heel region of the golf club head;
generating, by one or more lasers, a first plurality of laser-generated features on the central region of a club face, wherein the first plurality of laser-generated features provide a width-intersection coverage of the central region of at least 90%, a surface-area coverage of the central region of at least 15%, and a maximum width between about 30% to 50% of a maximum width of the club face measured in a heel-to-toe direction;
forming a second plurality of laser-generated features on the toe region of the club face, wherein the second plurality of laser-generated features are different from the first plurality of laser-generated features, do not overlap with the first plurality of laser-generated features, and are spaced apart, in a heel-to-toe direction, from the first plurality of laser-generated features; and
forming a third plurality of laser-generated features on the heel region of the club face, wherein the third plurality of laser-generated features are different from the first plurality of laser-generated features,

Assignees

• Acushnet Co

Inventors

• Luttrell Stephanie
• Jacobson Vincent
• Wolfe Kevin

Classifications

• A63B53/0441

  with visual indicators for aligning the golf club · CPC title

• A63B2071/0694

  Visual indication, e.g. Indicia · CPC title

• C23C14/028

  Physical treatment to alter the texture of the substrate surface, e.g. grinding, polishing · CPC title

• A63B53/0416 Primary

  Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert · CPC title

• A63B2209/00

  Characteristics of used materials · CPC title