US20200030673A1

US20200030673A1 - Golf club head

Info

Publication number: US20200030673A1
Application number: US16/217,593
Authority: US
Inventors: Akinori Sasamoto; Ming-Fu SU
Original assignee: Callaway Golf Co
Current assignee: Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp
Priority date: 2018-07-27
Filing date: 2018-12-12
Publication date: 2020-01-30
Also published as: JP6716665B2; TW202007424A; TWI671100B; JP2020014824A; CN110772767A

Abstract

A golf club head includes a striking plate, a base block, a connecting unit and a bottom plate. The striking plate includes a bottom end and a top end. The base block is disposed separately from and extending away from the bottom end of the striking plate. The connecting unit is connected to the striking plate and the base block. The bottom plate is formed as a separate piece from the striking plate and the base block, and is connected to the bottom end of the striking plate and the base block. The base block and the bottom plate cooperatively form a sole portion of the golf club head and define a recess therebetween.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 107126067, filed on Jul. 27, 2018.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a golf club head, and more particularly to a golf club head having a bottom plate that is formed as a separate piece to provide an improved striking effect.

BACKGROUND

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional golf club head 1 includes a striking plate 11 that includes a plate body 111 having a striking face 12, a top portion 112 extending from a top end of the plate body 111 away from the striking face 12, and a bottom portion 113 connected to and extending from a bottom end of the plate body 111 away from the striking face 12. The extension of the bottom portion 113 is longer than that of the top portion 112. By virtue of the bottom portion 113 that is designed to be heavier than the top portion 112, and the plate body 111 and the bottom portion 113 together forming a L-shaped structure, the center of gravity of the golf club head 1 can be lowered, thereby improving launch angle and backspin imparted onto a golf ball when the striking plate 11 hits the golf ball.
However, the golf club head 1 having such configuration is usually customized based on the requirements of golf players. In particular, in manufacturing the golf club head 1, the shape and weight of each part of the striking plate 11, as well as the center of gravity of the golf club head 1, need to be accurately designed so as to meet the custom-made requirements, which may incur high manufacturing cost. Therefore, those skilled in the art endeavor to develop a golf club head with an improved striking effect (such as having a low center of gravity to impart a high launch angle and low backspin onto a golf ball during play), which can be manufactured using a simple method with low manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a golf club head that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the golf club head includes a striking plate, a base block, a connecting unit and a bottom plate. The striking plate includes a bottom end and a top end. The base block is disposed separately from and extends away from the bottom end of the striking plate. The connecting unit is connected to the striking plate and the base block. The bottom plate is formed as a separate piece from the striking plate and the base block, and is connected to the bottom end of the striking plate and the base block. The base block and the bottom plate cooperatively form a sole portion of the golf club head and define a recess therebetween.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment (s) with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional perspective view of a conventional golf club head;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of a golf club head of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the first embodiment of the golf club head;

FIG. 4 is a partly sectional perspective view of the first embodiment of the golf club head;

FIG. 5 is a sectional schematic view showing a second embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a sectional schematic view showing a third embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional schematic view showing a fourth embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a first embodiment of a golf club head of the present disclosure, which may be a driver club head, a fairway club head, a wedge club head or a hybrid-type golf club head, includes a striking plate 2, a base block 3, a connecting unit 4 and a bottom plate 5.
The striking plate 2 includes a bottom end 208 and a top end 209. The base block 3 is disposed separately from and extends away from the bottom end 208 of the striking plate 2. The connecting unit 4 is connected to the striking plate 2 and the base block 3. The bottom plate 5 is formed as a separate piece from the striking plate 2 and the base block 3, and is connected to the bottom end 208 of the striking plate 2 and the base block 3. The base block 3 and the bottom plate 5 cooperatively form a sole portion of the golf club head and define a recess 320 therebetween.
Particularly referring to FIG. 4, the striking plate 2 further includes a plate body 21 having a striking face 211, a bottom bent portion 28 and a top bent portion 29 disposed opposite to the bottom bent portion 28. The bottom bent portion 28 has the bottom end 208, and is bent and extends from the plate body 21 away from the striking face 211 and toward the base block 3. The top bent portion 29 has the top end 209, and is bent and extends from the plate body 21 away from the striking face 211. In this embodiment, the plate body 21 further has a rear face 212 opposite to the striking face 211, and the connecting unit 4 connects to the rear face 212, the top bent portion 29 and the base block 3.
The base block 3 includes a base portion 31 that is connected to the bottom plate 5, and an extending portion 32 that extends from the base portion 31 toward the plate body 21 of the striking plate 2 and that is spaced apart from the bottom plate 5. The recess 320 is formed among the base portion 31, the extending portion 32 and the bottom plate 5.
In certain embodiments, the extending portion 32 of the base block 3 and the bottom plate 5 are spaced apart by a distance of less than 6 mm, so as to avoid the distance becoming too large to affect the center of gravity of the golf club head. In addition, the extending portion 32 of the base block 3 and the plate body 21 of the striking plate 2 may be spaced apart by a distance ranging from 1 to 6 mm.
With the plate body 21 spaced apart from the extending portion 32, ability of the golf club head to dynamically loft a golf ball during play may be improved. As such, when the golf ball is hit by the striking plate 2 of the golf club head, the golf ball may travel for a farther distance and roll more freely upon landing on a fairway (i.e., having a high launch angle and a low backspin).
In certain embodiments, the bottom plate 5 has a thickness ranging from 1 to 4 mm. The bottom plate 5 may be connected to the base block 3 and the bottom end 208 of the striking plate 2 through soldering, which is a simple and low-cost method.
In certain embodiments, the bottom plate 5 is made from a material different from those of the striking plate 2 and the base block 3. That is, the bottom plate 5 may cooperate with the base block 3 so as to optimize the center of gravity of the golf club head. Examples of the material suitable for making the bottom plate 5 of this disclosure may include, but are not limited to, composite fiber, iron, stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminium alloy, martensite and combinations thereof.
Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure is shown to have a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment, and differs in that, in the second embodiment, the golf club head further includes a weight block 6 connected to the extending portion 32 of the weight block 3 and is disposed in the recess 320 (i.e., extending from the extending portion 32 downwardly toward the bottom plate 5). Depending on the user's requirements, the weight block 6 may be adjusted to slightly alter the center of gravity of the golf club head transversely or longitudinally, or to change the overall weight of the golf club head, thereby optimizing the striking effect. In certain embodiments, the weight block 6 is spaced apart from the bottom plate 5 by a distance of less than 6 mm. It is noted that, in this embodiment, the connecting unit 4 is not shown for the sake of brevity.
Referring to FIG. 6, a third embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure is shown to have a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment, and differs in that, in the third embodiment, the connecting unit 4 has a connecting part 41 and a cover part 42. The connecting part 41 is connected to the top end 209 of the striking plate 2, forms a crown portion of the golf club head that is disposed opposite to the sole portion, and cooperates with the base block 3 to define an opening 401. The cover part 42 interconnects the connecting part 41 and the base block 3 to cover the opening 401. In certain embodiments, the cover part 42 is connected to the connecting part 41 using an adhesive. The cover part 42 may be made from a material different from the connecting part 41. The connecting unit 4, the base block 3 and the striking plate 2 may be made from the same metal material through casting. The striking plate 2, the base block 3, the connecting unit 4 and the bottom plate 5 cooperatively define a hollow space thereamong so that the golf club head may be formed into a driver club head, fairway club head, or a hybrid club head.
Referring to FIG. 7, a fourth embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure is shown to have a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment, and differs in that, in the fourth embodiment, the striking plate 2 includes a surrounding portion 22 connected to the connecting unit 4 and the bottom plate 5, and defining an opening 220. The plate body 21 is connected to the surrounding portion 22 (such as through soldering) to cover the opening 220. The surrounding portion 22 has the top end 208 and the bottom end 209 respectively at two opposite sides thereof. The striking plate 2, the base block 3, the connecting unit 4 and the bottom plate 5 cooperatively define a hollow space thereamong. In certain embodiments, the plate body 21 may be made from a metal material different from that of the connecting unit 4 so as to optimize the striking effect.
In summary, by virtue of the bottom plate 5 that is formed as a separate piece from the striking plate 2 and the base block 3, and that is spaced apart from the base block 3 for cooperatively lowering the center of gravity, and further by virtue of the base block 3 spaced apart from the striking plate 2, the golf club head of this disclosure can provide excellent striking effect.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A golf club head, comprising:

a striking plate that includes a bottom end and a top end;

a base block that is disposed separately from and extending away from said bottom end of said striking plate;

a connecting unit that is connected to said striking plate and said base block; and

a bottom plate that is formed as a separate piece from said striking plate and said base block, and that is connected to said bottom end of said striking plate and said base block,

wherein said base block and said bottom plate cooperatively form a sole portion of said golf club head and define a recess therebetween,

wherein said base block further includes a base portion that is connected to said bottom plate, and an extending portion that extends from said base portion toward said striking plate and that is spaced apart from said bottom plate, said recess being formed among said base portion, said extending portion and said bottom plate.

2. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said striking plate further includes:

a plate body having a striking face,

a bottom bent portion which has said bottom end and which is bent and extends from said plate body away from said striking face and toward said base block, and

a top bent portion which has said top end, which is disposed opposite to said bottom bent portion, and which is bent and extends from said plate body away from said striking face.

3. The golf club head as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plate body further has a rear face opposite to said striking face, said connecting unit connecting to said rear face of said plate body, said top bent portion and said base block.

4. The golf club head as claimed in claim 2, wherein said extending portion of said base block extends toward said plate body of said striking plate.

5. The golf club head as claimed in claim 4, wherein said extending portion of said base block and said bottom plate are spaced apart by a distance of less than 6 mm.

6. The golf club head as claimed in claim 4, wherein said extending portion of said base block and said plate body of said striking plate are spaced apart by a distance ranging from 1 mm to 6 mm.

7. The golf club head as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a weight block connected to said extending portion of said base block and disposed in said recess.

8. The golf club head as claimed in claim 7, wherein said weight block is spaced apart from said bottom plate by a distance of less than 6 mm.

9. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said striking plate further includes a surrounding portion that is connected to said connecting unit and said bottom plate, and that defines an opening, and a plate body that is connected to said surrounding portion to cover said opening, said surrounding portion having said top end and said bottom end respectively at two opposite sides thereof.

10. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting unit includes a connecting part and a cover part, said connecting part being connected to the top end of the striking plate, forming a crown portion of said golf club head, and cooperating with said base block to define an opening, said cover part interconnecting said connecting part and said base block to cover said opening.

11. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom plate has a thickness ranging from 1 to 4 mm.

12. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom plate is made from a material different from those of said striking plate and said base block.

13. The golf club head as claimed in claim 7, wherein said weight block extends from said extending portion downwardly towards said bottom plate.