Grooves of golf club heads and methods to manufacture grooves of golf club heads

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9987530-B2
Application number	US-201615236112-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 12, 2016
Priority date	Sep 30, 2011
Publication date	Jun 5, 2018
Grant date	Jun 5, 2018

Abstract

Embodiments of grooves of golf club heads and methods to manufacture grooves of golf club heads are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club head comprising:
a toe end;
a heel end opposite the toe end;
a top rail;
a sole opposite the top rail;
a recess positioned on a front surface of the golf club head; and
a face insert positioned within the recess; wherein
the face insert comprises:
a face insert base; and
a ball striking face plate having a front striking surface and a rear surface, wherein the rear surface is positioned adjacent to a front surface of the face insert base; and
the ball striking face plate covers greater than 91% of the front surface of the face insert base;

wherein the face insert is positioned within the recess using tape, glue, or epoxy; and

a plurality of grooves disposed on the ball striking face plate between the top rail and the sole, each groove of the plurality of grooves extending between the toe end and the heel end; wherein
the depths of the grooves vary in a direction extending between the top rail and the sole and in a direction extending between the heel end and the toe end; and
the deepest portion of at least one groove is defined by a generally planar bottom surface portion of the groove.

2. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate comprises:
a heel portion proximate the heel end of the golf club head;
a toe portion proximate the toe end of the golf club head;
a center portion positioned between the heel portion and the toe portion; wherein
the depths of the grooves located in the center portion of the ball striking face plate are greater than the depths of the grooves in the heel portion and in the toe portion.

3. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate comprises:
a top rail portion proximate the top rail of the golf club head;
a sole portion proximate the sole of the golf club head;
a mid portion positioned between the top rail portion and the sole portion; wherein
the depth of the grooves located in the mid portion of the ball striking face plate are greater than the depths of the grooves in the top rail portion and in the sole portion.

4. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate and the face insert base comprise a copolymer block of polyamide and polyether.

5. The golf club head of claim 4 , wherein:
The face insert comprises a thickness between 0.150 inches and 0.200 inches.

6. The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate comprises a metallic material and the face insert base comprises a copolymer block of polyamide and polyether.

7. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein:
the face insert of the golf club head further comprises an adhesive, disposed in between the ball striking face plate and the face insert base.

8. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate comprises a thickness between 0.013 inches and 0.025 inches.

9. The golf club head of claim 6 , wherein:
the face insert base comprises a thickness between 0.135 inches and 0.200 inches.

10. A golf club head comprising:
a toe end;
a heel end opposite the toe end; a top rail;
a sole opposite the top rail;
a recess positioned on a front surface of the club head; and
a face insert positioned within the recess; wherein
the face insert has a ball striking surface, the face insert comprising
a width measured from a first side near the toe end to a second side near the heel end; and
a length measured from a top end near the top rail to a bottom end near the sole;
wherein
the width is at least 1.68 inches; and
the length spans the entire distance from the sole to the top rail; wherein when positioned within the recess, the top end of the face insert forms a portion of the top rail of the club head, and the bottom end of the face insert forms a portion of the sole of the golf club head;

a plurality of grooves disposed on the ball striking surface between the top rail and the sole, each groove of the plurality of grooves extending between the toe end and the heel end;
wherein
the depth of the grooves vary in a direction extending between the top rail and the sole and in a direction extending between the heel end and the toe end; wherein
the deepest portion of at least one groove is defined by a generally planar bottom surface portion of the groove.

11. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate comprises:
a heel portion proximate the heel end of the golf club head;
a toe portion proximate the heel end of the golf club head;
a center portion positioned between the heel portion and the toe portion; wherein
the depths of the grooves located in the center portion of the ball striking face plate are greater than the depths of the grooves in the heel portion and in the toe portion.

12. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the ball striking face plate comprises:
a top rail portion proximate the top rail of the golf club head;
a sole portion proximate the sole of the golf club head;
a mid portion in between the top rail portion and the sole portion; wherein
the depth of the groove located in the mid portion of the ball striking face plate is greater than the depths of the grooves at the top rail portion and at the sole portion.

13. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the face insert further comprises a back surface adjacent to the recess, wherein cylindrical protrusions extend from the back surface.

14. The golf club head of claim 13 , wherein:
the cylindrical protrusions are complementary to bores located in the recess, wherein the cylindrical protrusions secure the face insert within the recess by a compression fit.

15. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the face insert is secured within the recess using tape, epoxy, or glue.

16. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the face insert comprises a copolymer block of polyamide and polyether.

17. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the width of the face insert is between 1.50 inches and 2.0 inches.

18. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the face insert further comprises a thickness between 0.100 inches and 0.200 inches.

19. The golf club head of claim 10 , wherein:
the face insert further comprises a thickness between 0.100 inches and 0.150 inches.

Assignees

• Karsten Mfg Corp

Inventors

• Jertson Martin R
• Higdon David A
• Serrano Anthony D
• Wood Paul D
• Wang Calvin
• Greer Evan
• Bryant Les
• Chen Xiaojian

Classifications

• A63B53/0466

  wood-type · CPC title

• Y10T29/49

  Method of mechanical manufacture · CPC title

• A63B53/047

  iron-type · CPC title

• A63B53/065

  for putters · CPC title

• A63B53/0487 Primary

  for putters (A63B53/065 takes precedence) · CPC title