AU670560B2 - Golf club set - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PATENT OF ADDITION

(ORIGINAL)

r r r r Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATION KARSTEN SOLHEIM DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys Level 10, 10 Barrack Street Sydney, 2000, New South Wales GOLF CLUB SET Invention Tite: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: -1- 2007U/DYS 0209q/DYS/POA la BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to golf clubs and is an improvement or modification of the invention which is the subject of Australian Patent Application No. 10861/92.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Although a golfer controls the swinging of a golf club, at the moment of impact the club head acts as though it were a free mass moving at a particular velocity. Most of the energy of this moving mass is transferred to the golf ball in about half of a millisecond with the result being that the ball, which is compressed against the face of the club, will spring clear as it returns to its spherical configuration. Maximum energy transfer and desirable gold ball flight direction and trajectory are achieved when the golf club head impacts a golf ball on the "sweet spot" of Sthe club. The sweet spot of a golf club head is a point on the face of the club head which is in general alignment with the center of gravity of the golf club.

e• It is very difficult even for highly skilled and S experienced golfers to consistently impact a golf ball on the sweet spot of a gold club, and when the sweet spot is missed the golf club will tend to twist, the face of the club will move from a position of being square with the intended o°°:e flight path of the ball. When this happens, the amount of eiergy transferred to the golf ball will be less than maximum which results in a loss of distance. Also such twisting, or turning, of the golf club face will cause the golf ball to deviate from an ideal flight path.

To minimize the effects of mis-hitting a golf ball, modern golf club design has produced a class of game improvement golf clubs which are sometimes referred to as cavity back, or perimeter weighted clubs. As the name suggests, such clubs are formed with a central hollow, or cavity, in the back surface thereof, and the metal which would otherwise be located in the cavity is redistributed in predetermined proportions to strategic locations on the club heads. A relatively large mass is concentrated in the sole of these game improvement clubs to Slower the center of gravity. This makes it easier for a golfer to get the center of gravity of the club head below the center of gravity of a golf ball at the moment of impact for producing a properly airborne and solidly hit ball. In addition, relatively large concentrations of mass are located in the heel and toe areas of the cavity back club to minimize the effects S of hitting a golf ball on the toe or heel of the club head.

When toe or heel hits occur, the club head will twist about the center of gravity. Such twisting, as mentioned above, results in less than a maximum transfer of energy to the golf ball at impact and deviations from the intended flight path of the ball will occur. By designing the golf club head with relatively large concentrations of mass in the toe and heel areas of the club head, the moment of inertia is increased so that the golf club will resist twisting movements in response to laterally 2 off-center hits, in the directions of the toe and heel of the club head.

Many prior art golf clubs have been designed with mass concentrations in the sole, toe and heel areas of the club head in attempts to achieve optimum weight distribution benefits.

The degree of success in achieving these design objectives varies from one club head to another in that the club's performance relies, along with other design parameters, on the proportions of the mass concentrations and the locations of those concentrations.

In a prior art design of mine, which is fully disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,621,813, I removed metal from the central area at the back edge of the sole of the golf club head where it forms a junction with the lower edge of the back surface thereof. The removed metal was relocated to strategic areas in the toe and heel portions of the club head. This redistribution of material resulted in improved resistance to S"twisting as a result of lateral mis-hitting of the club, i.e., in the direction of the hoe or heel of the club and this improvement was made without any change in the total weight of the club head. Further, this improvement was made without sacrificing any other desirable characteristics of the golf club in that the relocated material was taken from a non-crucial area of the golf club head.

In most modern golf club designs, including mine as set forth in the hereinbefore disclosed U.S. Patent, considerably more than half of the golf club head mass is located in the lower part of the golf club head. As described above, the reason for this is to take advantage of the benefits derived 3 from toe and heel mass concentrations and sole weighting. I have found that although minimizing the effects of mis-hits in the direction of the toe or heel of the club head is a major consideration in the design of the golf club heads, the effects of mis-hits in vertical directions relative to the center of gravity should not be overlooked.

As is the case with twisting movements of the club head resulting from mis-hits in the direction of the toe or heel, the club head will react to mis-hits in vertical directions by movements that may be described as tilting or tipping movements. When the impact point of the golf ball on the face of the club head is high on the face, above the sweet spot, that impact causes the club head to tilt about the center of gravity and such tilting will be in a direction which increases the loft angle of the club. This occurs due to the o inertia of the mass concentration at the sole of the club head which causes the lower end of the club head to move forwardly under the ball in an arcuate path about the center of gravity.

This movement is amplified by the relative lack of mass in the :upper end of prior art golf clubs which results in a relatively small moment of inertia that provides very little resistance to tilting motion.

S. Similarly, when the impact point is low on the face of the golf club head, below the sweet spot, the lack of mass in the upper end of the club head provides a small moment of inertia and thus a very low resistance to tilting of the golf club head in a direction that reduces the loft angle of the club. In other words, the top end of the golf club head moves forwardly over the top of the ball in an arcuate path about the 4 center of gravity.

To the best of my knowledge, no prior art golf clubs have been designed to provide mass concentration in the top part of iron type golf club heads with those concentrations being located and of sufficient magnitude to effectively minimize the hereinbefore described tilting problem.

A particular prior art golf club design is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,011,151 which issued to Anthony J. Antonious on April 30, 1991. The club head disclosed in this patent had some of the mass, which is referred to as toe counterweight, located above a theoretical longitudinal axis of the club head.

The longitudinal axis is defined as bisecting the face of the club head and is shown as extending between the heel and toe of the club head. The toe counterweight is a relatively large mass concentration which blends smoothly with the mass of the sole so that the counterweight appears to be an upwardly sweeping extension of the sole. At least 25% and preferably 33% of the mass of the toe counterweight is disclosed as being located above the longitudinal axis to shift the center of gravity upwardly and toward the toe which maximizes the energy transfer when a golf ball is hit off- center toward the toe.

Although the design of this prior art golf club appears to provide improved resistance to the club tilting problem, it is believed that less than the maximum benefit is achieved in that Sthe toe counterweigit does not extend all the way to the top of the toe but ends abruptly at a point below the top. This golf club design is further disclosed as having the top ridge at the upper end of the club of increased mass to provide a top counterweight. However, the cross-sectional configuration of -6the top ridge is of substantially rectangular conventional design and does not derive the maximum benefit from the mass located in that area.

Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved set of golf clubs which are configured to minimize the tilting motion of the club heads resulting from vertically miss-hit golf balls, and to otherwise provide a club head design with overall improvement of the club head balance.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an improved correlated set of iron-type golf clubs, each club having a head which includes a face for impacting a golf ball, aback surfce spaced rearwardly from the face, a heel portion, a toe portion and a sole, the improvement comprising: a) a top ridge extending longitudinally along the upper end of the head between the heel portion and the toe portion thereof said top ridge extending linearly to the junction of the top ridge and the heel portion, so that there is no protuberance at the heel end of the 15 top ridge which extends rearwardly relative to the back surface of the club head, and b) an upper toe protuberance at the toe end of said top ridge, said upper toe o protuberance extending rearwardly relative to the back surface of the club head being of enlarged Sconfiguration relative to said top ridge to provide a mass concentration at the toe end of said top ridge.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an iron-type golf :club comprising: a) a head having a face for impacting a golfba, a back surface in rearwardly spaced relationship with the face, a heel portion, a toe portion and a sole; b) a top ridge extending longitudinally along the upper end of the head between 25 the heel portion and the toe portion thereof said top ridge extending linearly to the junction of the top ridge and the heel portion, so that there is no protuberance at the heel end of the top ridge which extends rearwardly relative to the back surface of the club head, and c) an upper toe protuberance at the toe end of said top ridge, said upper toe protuberance extending rearwardly relative to the back surfce of the club head being of enlarged configuration relative to said top ridge to provide mass concentration at the upper toe end of said top ridge.

OdIV NOSMOD M.Vva~Y OROTggg 1 TM.Z ff:LT 96. 90/20 0209q/DYS/POA 7 The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will be more full understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1. is a perspective view of an iron golf club head with the illustrated head being a 3-iron of the golf club set which is the subject of Australian Patent Application No. 10861/92; Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the toe end of the club head shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3. is a top view of the club head of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a 5-iron of the golf club set which is the subject of Australian Patent Application No. 10861/92; Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the toe end of the club head shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a top view of the club head of Fig. 7; Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 9; •Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken alcng the line 12-12 of Fig. 9; Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a 9-iron of the golf club set which is the subject of Australian Patent Application No. 10861/92; Fig. 14 is an elevational view of the toe end of the club head shown in Fig. 13; 0209q/DYS/POA 8 Fig. 15 is a top view of the club head of Fig. 13; Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line 16-16 of Fig. Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line 17-17 of Fig. Fig. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line 18-18 of Fig. Fig. 19 is a perspective view of an iron golf club head showing the improvement or modification which is the subject of the present invention; Fig. 20 is an elevational view of the toe end of the club head shown in Fig. 19; Fig. 21 is a top view of the club head of Fig. 19; Fig. 22 is a sectional view taken along the line 22-22 of Fig. 21; Fig. 23 is a sectional view taken along the line 23-23 of Fig. 21; and Fig. 24 is a sectional view taken along the line 24-24 of Fig. 21.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Figs. 1-6 show various views of a number 3-iron of the type which is the subject of Australian Patent Application No. 10861/92 with the 3-iron being identified in its entirety by the reference numeral 20. The head 20 is provided with the usual parts and therefore has a hosel 22 which is connected in a conventional manner to a shaft 24. The hosel is integral with the head proper which has an impact face 26, a back surface 28, a heel portion 30, a toe portion 32, and a sole 34. The club head 20 is shown as being

C

e of the type often referred to as a cavity back club as is therefore formed with a cavity 36 in the back surface 28. The cavity 36 is defined on its lower side by the sole 34, on its opposite ends by the heel and toe portions 30 and 32 respectfully, and on its upper side by a top rail 38.

As is known, a cavity-back type golf club head design allows the club head material, which would otherwise be located in the cavity, to be relocated to strategic locations on such club heads to provide sole weighting, heel-toe weighting and in general, to improve the overall balance of the golf club head.

By locating a mass concentration in the sole, the club head's center of gravity will be lowered and the theory is that this will make it easier for a golfer to get the center of gravity of the club head below the center of gravity of a golf ball and thereby produce a solidly hit golf ball at a proper launch Sangle.

Heel-toe weighting, or balance, is employed to provide golf clubs with the ability to resist twisting as a result of laterally off-center hitting of a golf ball. Twisting is the movement, in the direction indicated by the arrow 40 in Fig. i, of the club head into an out-of-square position relative to the intended flight path of a golf ball. Such twisting results S whenever a ball is struck on the toe or heel of the club head, laterally off-center. As is customary in the design of cavity-back golf clubs, the club head 20 of the present invention is provided with a first lower mass concentration 42 at the heel end of the sole 34 and a second lower mass concentration 44 at the toe end of the sole. These lower mass concentrations 42 and 44 provide an increase in the moment of 9 inertia and thereby provide the club head 20 with the ability to resist twisting movements.

In addition to twisting, another form of unwanted head movement will occur as a result of vertically off-center hitting of a golf ball, and this type of movement will hereinafter be referred to as tilting, or tipping, of the golf club head. Whenever a golf ball is hit high or low on the face of the club head, a titling movement will occur and such tilting will be in the direction indicated by the arrow 46 in Fig. i.

T.he golf club head 20 is configured to enhance the resistance of the head to both the twisting and tilting movements discussed above. This is accomplished by redistributing the club head material to further strategic locations on the club head 20. In addition *oe..

to redistribution of the club head material which would otherwise be in the cavity 36 as discussed above. A significant indentation is made at 48 in the center of the trailing edge 50 of the sole 34 and in the area of the back surface 28 which is proximate thereto. Such an indentation 48 is in accordance with my previous invention as set forth in the hereinbefore referenced U.S. Patent No. 4,621,813.

sees The golf club head 20 is provided with an increased mass concentration in the top rail 38 and a mass concentration in the form of an upper protuberance 52 at the heel end of the top too.

rail and another upper protuberance 54 at the toe end of the top rail. The upper heel protuberance 52 and the lower heel mass concentration 42 cooperate to increase the total mass at the heel 30 of the head 20 and the upper toe protuberance 54 10 and the lower toe mass concentration 44 cooperate to increase the total mass provided at the toe 32 of the club head Such increased mass concentrations improve the heel-toe balance of the club head 20 and thus the club head's resistance to twisting movements as described above.

In addition, the increase mass in the top rail 38 and the upper heel and toe protuberances 52 and 54 cooperate with the lower heel and toe mass concentrations 42 and 44 to balance the club head 20 vertically and thereby increase the moment of inertia so that the club head 20 can better resist tilting movements of the type described above.

The top rail 38 and the upper heel and toe protuberances 52 and 54 are of special S configuration to maximize the benefit derived from the head material that is relocated to provide the mass concentrations in those areas.

As seen best in Figs. 3 and 4, the upper heel protuberance 52 is preferably in the form of a cantilever protrusion having a top surface 56 which forms an obtuse angle with respect to the face 26 of the club head 20. The top surface 56 is also the top surface of the rail 38 and the upper toe protuberance 54 and extends from the top end of the face 26 rearwardly of the club head 20. The upper heel protuberance 52 further Sincludes a rear surface 58 that depends angularly from the rearmost edge of the top surface 56 and forms an acute included angle therewith so that the rear surface 58 slopes inwardly toward the front face 26 of the club head 20. These angularly related surfaces provide the upper heel. protuberance 52 with the herein before discussed cantilever configuration which 11 locates a maximum amount of the club head material as high and as far back from the club face as is possible and practical.

Thb movement of inertia of a body with respect to any axis is the sum of the products obtained by multiplying each elementary mass by the square of its distance from the axis.

Therefore, the importance of locating the mass in the top ridge and in the upper heel and toe protuberances as high as possible on the golf club head 20 is readily apparent. Inertia also is effected by locating the material as far back from the club face as possible. Locating the head material in such a set back position relative to the face of the club head will result in the center of gravity of the club head being similarly located in a set back position relative to the face. The center of gravity acts like a mass concentration and the Sgreater its distance from the face of the club head, the greater is the movement of inertia. This effects the club head's ability to resist twisting and tilting movements and improves the overall balance of the club head.

Figs. 3 and 5 best show the preferred special cantilever configuration of the top rail 38 as including the top surface 56 which extends rearwardly of the club's face 26 and forms an obtuse included angle therewith. A rear surface 60 depends angularly from the rearmost edge of the top surface 56 and forms an acute included angle therewith so that the rear surface 60 slopes inwardly toward the front face 26 of the club head 20. As was the case with the upper heel protuberance 52, the top rail 38 is preferably of a cantilever configuration to locate a maximum amount of the club head material as high and as far back from the club face as is possible and practical.

12- The upper toe protuberance 54 is located at the corner junction of the top ridge 38 and the upper end of the toe surface 62 of the club head, and is preferably of cantilever configuration as mentioned above. The top surface 64 of the upper toe protuberance 54 is of curvilinear shape formed jointly by the toe end of the top surface 56 and the upper end of the toe surface 62. The curvilinear shape of the top surface 64 along with the rearward extension of that surface provides the upper toe protuberance 54 with a hood-like configuration.

The rear surface 66 of the upper toe protuberance extends angularly and inwardly from the rearmost end of the top surface 64 toward the face of the club head 20 and forms an acute included angle with respect to the top surface 64. The rear surface 66 follows the curve of the top surface and thus the upper toe protuberance 54 is of rearwardly extending cantilever shape with respect to both the toe end 32 of the club head as e well as to the top rail 38.

As seen best in Fig. 2, the rearwardly extending hooded configuration of the upper toe protuberance 54 provides the club head with a unique characteristic feature. The back edge 68 of the toe surface 62 of the club head 20 is indented at toward the face 26 of the club head 20. As is the case with the indentation 48 provided in the back edge of the sole 34, the area of the indention 70 is a non-critical area and the lack of mass concentrations in both of those indentations areas 48 and 70 will not detract from club head performance.

Reference is now made to Figs. 7 12 wherein a number golf club head 72 of a correlated golf club set is shown. As seen, the golf club head 72 is formed with the same 13 0209q/DYS/POA 14 increased mass concentrations as the hereinbefore described 3-iron golf club head 20. Therefore, in addition to the usual parts, the club head 72 has the upper heel protuberance 52, enlarged mass concentration in the top rail 38 and the upper toe protuberance 54. The 5-iron golf club head 72 is identical in all respects to the 3-iron golf club head 20 with the exception of the loft angle which is different as is well known in the art.

Figures 13-18 show still another golf club head 74 of the correlated set of golf clubs. The head 74 is a 9-iron and is formed with the same increased mass concentrations as the above described 3 and 5 irons. Similarly the 9-iron golf club head 74 is identical to the 3 and 5 irons 20 and 72 with the exception of the loft angle.

ooo Figures 19 to 24 show a golf club head according to the oooo improvement or modification of the present invention. Like Sreference numerals have been used to describe like parts to the golf clubs described earlier. The modified golf club S is in essence the same as that described earlier except that the heel protrusion has been or is substantially eliminated. Thus in the modified form the mass S concentration is towards the tow end of the club.

0 In the modified form of club head the top rail 38 extends in generally linear fashion from the toe end protuberance 54 until it is adjacent the neck of the hosel 22. There is no significant protrusion at the heel of the club.

Thus in this particular modified form of golf club head there is only an enlarged mass concentration in the top rail 38 and upper toe protuberance 54.

0209q/DYS/POA 15 While the principles of the invention have been made clear in an illustrated embodiment, there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement and so forth which are particularly adapted for specific purposes without departing from those principles. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace any such modifications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.

0* o

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Claims (3)

1. An irupived correlated set of iron-typo golf clubs, each club having a head which Iu~ludes a face for impacting a golf ball, a back surface spaced rearwardly from the Thee, a heel portion, aL too portion and a solo, the improvement comprising: a) a top ridge extending longitudinally along the upper end of the headt between the lbeel. portion and the toe portion thereof said top ridge extending linearly to the junction of the top ridge and the heel portion, so that there is no protuberance at the heel end of the top ridge. which extends rearwardly relative to the back surface of the club head, and b) an upper toe protuberance at the toe end of snid top ridge, said upper Toe protuberance ex~tending rearwardly relafive to the back sur~ace of the club head being of enlarged configluaion. relatie to said top ridge to provide a mmass corncentration at the Toe end of said tup ridge.

2. 'he improvement of claim 1 wherein said top ridge is of rearwi dly extending cantilever configuration for positioning The miass thereof high on the head and ia set back relationship with respect to the face of the head,

203. The 1mprovement of claim 2 wherein said top ridge comnprises: a top surface which wtends rearwardly from the face of the bead and is disposed to form an obtuse includcd angle thcrcwith- and b) a rear surfae which depends angularly from the rearmost edge of said top muface and slope& inwardly to-ward the face of the head, said rear surface being disposed to form an acute included angle with said top surface. 4. The improvement of claim, 1 wherein said upper toe protuberance is of cantilever ronlignraiion and emtend., rearwardly from the corner junction of said top ridge and the Toe of the head for positioning the mass concentration thereof in a high position on the head and in set back relationship with the f'ce thereof. The imProvement of claim 4 whci cia said upper toe protuberance comprises: odly SOS1110D 531.iva OdlY UUT9 XS1O'SIY s g To. rr-4r 96. LNIIUrU *Ajr/ut^M- -17- a) a top curvilinear surfce positioned at the corner junction formed by said top ridge and the toe, portion of the head and extending rearwardly therefrom; and b) a rear surface extending angularly from the rearnost edge of said top curvilinear surface and sloping inwardly toward the face of the head, said rear surface being configured to conform to the shape of said top cantilever surface and disposed to form an acute included angle therewith. 6. An iron-type golf club comprising: a) a head having a face for impacting a golf ball, a back surface in rearwardly spaced relationship with the face, a heel portion, a toe portion and a sole; b) a top ridge extending longitudinally along the upper end of the head between the heel portion and the toe portion thereof said top ridge extending linearly to the junction of the top ridge and the heel portion, so that there is no protuberance at the heel end of the top ridge which extends rearwardly relative to the back surface of the club head, and c) an upper toe protuberance at the toe end of said top ridge, said upper toe protuberance extending rearwardly relative to the back surface of the club head being of enlarged configuration relative to said top ridge to provide mass concentration at the upper toe end of said .4 S top ridge. 7. An iron-type golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said top ridge is of cantilever configuration and extends rearwardly relative to the face of said head for positioning the mass thereof high on said head and in set back relationship with the face thereof 8. An iron-type golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said top ridge comprises: 25 a) a top surface which extend rearwardly from the face of said head and forms on obtuse included angle therewith; and b) a rear surface which depends angularly from the rearmost edge of said top surface and slopes inwardly toward OdIV NOSMOD0 SaI;iva 0S0TZ9 Z T9, Sf:LT 96. 90/0 0209q/DYS/POA 18 the face of said head, said rear surfaces being disposed to form an acute included angle with said top surface. 9. An iron-type golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said upper toe protuberance is of cantilever configuration and extends rearwardly from the corner junction of said top ridge and the toe of said head for positioning the mass concentration thereof in a high position on said head and in set back relationship with the face thereof. An iron-type golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said upper toe protuberance comprises: a) a top curvilinear surface positioned at the corner junction formed by said top ridge and the top portion of said head and extending rearwardly therefrom; and oo r b) a rear surface extending angularly from the rearmost edge of said top curvilinear surface and sloping V. inwardly toward the face of said head, said rear surface being configured to conform to the shape of said top curvilinear surface and disposed to form an acute included angle therewith. 11. An iron-type golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said sole of said head has a trailing edge that extends e ~between the heel and toe portions of said head, said trailing edge being indented centrally thereof toward the S face of said head and having the lower part of said back surface adjacent said indented railing edge configured to conform to said indented trailing edge by sloping upwardly and inwardly therefrom toward the face of said head. 12. An iron-type golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said toe of said head has a back edge which is indented centrally toward the face of said head. 0209q/DYS/POA 19 13. An iron-type golf club substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 19 to 24 of the the accompanying drawings. DATED this 9th day of February, 1993. KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATION By Their Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE 4G** 4 .4 V. 4 0* C* I S S 3*. S I. S *V S S S *4 9t** Is S. S S* 0209q/DYS/POA ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A correlated set of golf clubs the heads of which each have a top ridge that extends longitudinally along the upper part of the head between the heel and toe ends thereof with enlarged mass concentrations being formed to provide upper protuberances at the toe end of the ridge. The top ridge and the toe protuberance are especially configured to locate mass concentrations high on the heads and set back from the striking faces thereof to provide the club heads with an improved ability to resist twisting of the club heads upon laterally off-center impacts with a golf ball and to resist tiling of the club heads upon vertically off-center impacts with a golf ball. o• o**