Patents Examined by Sebastiano Passaniti
  • Patent number: 11413512
    Abstract: A golf club fitting apparatus and a method for fitting using the apparatus are provided. The golf club fitting apparatus may be attached to a golf club and provide fitting information including effective lie angle and effective loft angle. The golf club fitting apparatus includes a lower surface that contacts a butt end of a grip, an upper surface opposite the lower surface, and a side surface connecting the upper and lower surfaces. An angle indicator is disposed at a predetermined angle relative to a shaft axis of the golf club so as to rest in a neutral position when the golf club is in a normal address position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Don T. Cameron, Nicholas C. Wade
  • Patent number: 11406879
    Abstract: A golf club includes a reinforcing member installed on an inner circumferential surface of a shaft near a tip-side end portion and extends in an axial direction of the shaft to straddle an upper end of a cylindrical portion. The reinforcing member has a cylindrical shape configured by laminating prepregs obtained by impregnating carbon fibers being reinforcing fibers with a matrix resin. The reinforcing member is provided with: a first bias layer located at the innermost side in a radial direction; a second bias layer laminated on an outer side of the first bias layer (16A) in the radial direction, an orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers having an opposite direction to the first bias layer; and a straight layer laminated on the outer side of the second bias layer in the radial direction, an orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers being parallel to the axial direction of the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Kitazaki, Masayoshi Kogawa, Yoh Nishizawa, Norihiko Nakahara
  • Patent number: 11400349
    Abstract: A golf club head with plate-like, heel and toe side internal stiffeners is disclosed herein. Each stiffener has a planar portion extending approximately parallel with a portion of the striking face, and is entirely disposed within an interior cavity of the golf club head. The heel side stiffener is connected to top, sole, and heel walls of the club head, with a toe-side edge unconnected to any other portion of the head, and the toe side stiffener is connected to the top, sole, and toe walls of the club head, with a heel-side edge unconnected to any other portion of the head. The toe and heel side edges may have large concavities that distribute mass away from the geometric face center and toward the heel and toe sides of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: Patrick C. Davis, Michael J. Murphy
  • Patent number: 11400350
    Abstract: Disclosed golf club heads include a body defining an interior cavity, a face, a sole, a crown, and a hosel. Certain embodiments include a weight channel positioned in the sole and defining a path along the sole. Some embodiments include a weight member positioned in the weight channel that is configured to be adjusted to any of a range of selectable positions to adjust mass properties of the golf club head. A fastener may be configured to secure the weight member in any of the selectable positions, while the fastener itself, regardless of where the weight member is positioned along the path, may be secured to the body at a fixed location that is independent of the position of the weight member along the path. Additional discretionary mass elements may be added to the weight member, such as at its ends, to further adjust mass properties of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Story, Nathan T. Sargent, Justin D. Kleinert
  • Patent number: 11370012
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a striking face including a face center, a top portion, a sole including a leading edge and a trailing edge, and a rear side opposite the striking face. The rear side includes a channel configured to permit bending at least a portion of the sole to cause plastic deformation to change a bounce angle defined as an angle between a virtual sole line and a virtual ground plane when the golf club head is orientated in a reference position where the golf club head is addressed to hit a golf ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Patrick Ripp, Keith Dolezel
  • Patent number: 11358038
    Abstract: Aspects of this disclosure relate to a golf club head which includes a wood type golf club head body including a ball striking face portion at a front side thereof, a rear side opposite the front side, a crown portion, and a sole portion. Further, the sole or crown or rear portion of the golf club head body may be configured so that the golf club head body includes a bump portion which protrudes from the sole or crown or rear portion and an indented portion which recedes into the sole or crown or rear portion and creates a recess in the sole or crown or rear portion of the golf club head body. Further, the bump portion and the indented portion may be configured so that a center of gravity of the club head body is nearer to one of the heel edge of the club head body and the toe edge of the club head body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: John T. Stites, Gary G. Tavares
  • Patent number: 11358039
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having an interior cavity, a port connected to the interior cavity, a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a sole portion, a back portion, a port, and a front portion having a perimeter ledge portion defining at least a portion of an outer boundary of the front portion. The example golf club head may also include a face portion having a front surface with at least one groove and a back surface opposite the front surface and associated with a total back surface area. The back surface may include a first back surface region associated with a first back surface area and a second back surface region associated with a second back surface area. The total back surface area may equal to the sum of the first back surface area and the second back surface area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 11351426
    Abstract: Described herein is a golf club head that comprises a body and a strike plate. The body comprises a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, and a top portion. The strike plate comprises an outer peripheral edge and at least a portion of a strike face. Furthermore, the strike plate is welded to the body via a peripheral weld between the outer peripheral edge of the strike plate and the body. The outer peripheral edge of the strike plate comprises at least one welded portion, welded to the body via the peripheral weld, and at least one non-welded portion, not welded to the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Paul M. Demkowski, Bret H. Wahl, Scott Taylor, Sanjay Kuttappa
  • Patent number: 11351427
    Abstract: A multi-material iron type golf club head is disclosed. More specifically, the golf club head may have a first metallic portion, a second metallic portion, and a lightweight portion. The first metallic portion and the second metallic portion collectively define all external surfaces of the golf club head. The lightweight portion may be located within an interior cavity of the golf club head and may contact and support the striking face, the topline portion, the rear wall portion, and the sole portion of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Grant M. Martens, Uday V. Deshmukh
  • Patent number: 11351424
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body having a heel portion, a toe portion, a sole portion, and an outer surface, a strikeface having a geometric center, a head center of gravity, and a weight member including a weight pad. The weight member is configured to be repositionable by the user to a first position or a second position. The club head having the weight member in the first position shifts the head center of gravity toward the strikeface, and the club head having the weight member in the second position shifts the head center of gravity away from the strikeface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: KARSTEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xiaojian Chen, Eric J. Morales, Martin R. Jertson, Cory S. Bacon
  • Patent number: 11344774
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a bottom portion, a rear portion, a first interior cavity portion, and a second interior cavity portion. The second interior cavity portion may include a filler material. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Bradley D. Schweigert, Michael R. Nicolette
  • Patent number: 11344775
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having an interior cavity, a toe portion, a heel portion, a front portion, a back portion, a top portion, and a sole portion. The body portion may include a ledge portion that extends from an upper back wall portion to a lower back wall portion of the back portion. The golf club head may include a face portion coupled to the front portion to close the interior cavity, a port on the body portion, a polymer material in the interior cavity, and a mass portion. A width of the ledge portion may be greater than a width of the body portion above a horizontal midplane of the body portion. A distance between a portion of the polymer material in the interior cavity and the face portion at a location vertically above the mass portion and below the ledge portion may be greater than a distance between the mass portion and the face portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 11344773
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a main body and a cover member. The main body is provided with a sole opening, and a receiving area therearound. The cover member integrally includes a crown cover and a sole cover. The sole cover has a peripheral edge portion on the receiving area. The sole portion is provided with a convexed or concaved shape-changing portion. The peripheral edge portion of the sole cover is located between the shape-changing portion and the back-side outer rim portion. The outer surface of the sole portion includes a first region on a side opposite of the shape-changing portion opposite to the back-side outer rim portion, and a second region on the same side of the shape-changing portion as the back-side outer rim portion. The second region includes a polished area formed from a part of the sole cover and a part of the main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Tomotaka Aramaki
  • Patent number: 11338179
    Abstract: A golf club head having a hollow structure is provided. The golf club head includes a face, and a body including at least a crown, a sole, and a hosel chamber. The crown, the sole, and the hosel chamber include laminated layers of a fiber-reinforced resin. The crown includes at least one first rigidity control portion that partially extends in a toe-heel direction. The sole includes at least one second rigidity control portion that extends from a back surface side of the face toward a back end of the body. One of the first rigidity control portion and the second rigidity control portion decreases flexural rigidity in a face-back direction, and the other of the first rigidity control portion and the second rigidity control portion increases flexural rigidity in the face-back direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takaharu Takechi
  • Patent number: 11338183
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an iron-type golf club head comprising a body comprising a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, and a topline portion. The topline portion has a mass per unit length of between 0.09 g/mm and 0.40 g/mm. The golf club head also comprises a strike plate coupled to the body at a front portion of the golf club head and a cavity defined between the topline portion, the sole portion, and the strike plate. The golf club head further comprises a bridge bar at a rear portion of the golf club head. The bridge bar spans the cavity, is spaced apart from the strike plate, and is rigidly fixed to and extends uprightly between the sole portion and the topline portion. The bridge bar has a mass per unit length of between 0.09 g/mm and 0.40 g/mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Scott Taylor, Adam Warren, Jason Issertell
  • Patent number: 11338182
    Abstract: A hollow golf club head comprising a first component and a second component. The first component comprises a crown return extending rearwardly from a strikeface and forming a portion of a crown; a sole return extending rearwardly from the strikeface and forming a portion of a sole; a sole extension extending rearwardly from the sole return; and a back rail connected to the sole sections. The back rail comprises a top wall, a rear wall, and a lip, which together define a channel extending along the back rail in a heel to toe direction. The second component comprises a heel side wing and a toe side wing that extend from the crown to the sole around a heel end of the club head. The channel is configured to receive a weight portion. The first component comprises a majority of the overall mass of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Eric J. Morales, Cory S. Bacon, Jeremy S. Pope
  • Patent number: 11331548
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a golf club head comprising at least one crown opening and at least one crown insert attached to the body and covering the at least one crown opening. The golf club head further comprises at least one sole opening and at least one sole insert attached to the body and covering the at least one sole opening. The golf club head additionally includes at least one weight member configured to clamp first and second ledges at selected locations along a sliding weight track. The golf club head also comprise a coefficient of restitution (COR) feature located on the sole of the golf club head. The at least one crown insert is formed from a composite material having a density between 1 g/cc and 2 g/cc. The at least one sole insert is formed from a composite material having a density between 1 g/cc and 2 g/cc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Matthew Johnson, David Bennett, Joseph Hoffman, Joseph R. Nielson, Nathan T. Sargent, Christopher J. Harbert, Jared Guttmann, Christian R. Wester, Jake Feuerstein, Mattieu Bovee
  • Patent number: 11331547
    Abstract: Described herein is a golf club head that includes a body with a sole portion, a crown portion, a skirt portion, a forward region, and a rearward region. The golf club head also includes a face portion including a striking face with a maximum height from the ground plane of at least about 50 mm. A volume of the golf club head is at least about 370 cm3. The golf club head has a total club head mass between 190 grams and 210 grams, and the mass of the club head located above half of the peak crown height is less than or equal to 77 grams, and the percentage of the mass above half of the peak crown height is less than or equal to 39% of the total mass of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph Henry Hoffman, Joseph R. Nielson, Nathan T. Sargent, Christopher J. Harbert, Christian R. Wester
  • Patent number: 11331544
    Abstract: Golf club components with complex structures such as lattice structures, beam structures, and complex surface-based structures, are described herein. A binder jet machine is used create complex structures within these golf club components to optimize weighting, sound, and performance of golf club heads. These components may be manufactured using a method that includes the steps of designing a golf club head component in CAD using optimization software, printing the component from a powdered material, and then removing excess powder from the component via port holes that extend into an external surface of the component and communicate with interior voids within the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: Brandon D. DeMille, Eric Stubben, David R. Handy, Irina Ivanova, Patrick Dawson
  • Patent number: 11331546
    Abstract: A golf club head that is capable improving on the inertia properties of a golf club head all while also improving the Center of Gravity (CG) location is disclosed herein. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention achieves a relative low Moment of Inertia (MOI) about the Z-axis (MOI-Z) as well as a relatively low MOI about the Shaft-axis (MOI-SA), all combined with a high MOI about the X and Y-axis (MOI-X and MOI-Y) and maintaining a consistently and relatively low CG location measured along a direction tangent to the hosel axis along the X-Y plane (CG-B).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Charles E. Golden, Joey Ashcroft, Richard L. Cleghorn, Gregory D. Johnson, Gentry Ferguson, Peter L. Soracco, Noah de la Cruz, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Peter Larsen