Patents by Inventor Kraig Alan Willett

Kraig Alan Willett has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160354648
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a sole, a recessed sole port in the sole; and a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the sole port and comprising a central body having a plurality of contact surfaces adapted to contact the sole port and being offset from each other along a central axis extending through the central body of the sole piece. The sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the sole port at five or more rotational and axial positions with respect to the central axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said contact surfaces of the central body contacts the sole port to set the axial position of the sole piece. The sole port and/or the sole piece can be generally pentagonal in shape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2016
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Kraig Alan Willett, Nathan T. Sargent, Michael Franz
  • Golf club head with stepped crown
    Patent number: 9474947
    Abstract: Golf club head embodiments disclosed herein comprise a crown having a stepped portion located between a front portion of the crown and rear portion of the crown, such that the crown transitions steeply in height across the stepped portion from the front portion down to the rear portion. The stepped portion of the crown may extend from adjacent to the hosel in a toeward and rearward direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Nathan T. Sargent, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Michael Franz
  • GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160303436
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. In some embodiments, the crown includes a lattice-like structure having thin regions surrounded by a web of relatively thicker regions. In some embodiments, the club head includes one or more stiffening tubes attached between the sole and the crown to improve the acoustic performance of the golf club head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2016
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Greensmith, Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett, Joshua J. Dipert
  • GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160287953
    Abstract: Golf club heads are described herein, and in one embodiment including a body with an exterior surface defining a first body volume of at least about 400 cm3. The body has a bottom portion, a top portion, a front portion, and a back portion. A face positioned at the front portion of the body and is configured to receive an impact. A top portion silhouette profile located along a perimeter of the top portion is further described. The top portion silhouette profile defines the outer bounds of the top portion in an X-direction and Y-direction. At least one indentation can be located on the bottom portion below the crown silhouette profile. The removal of the at least one indentation from the bottom portion can create a second body volume that is at least 12 cm3 larger than the first body volume.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett
  • GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160287954
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity. The body having a channel located on the sole and extending generally from a heel end of the body to a toe end of the body. A weight member movably positioned within the channel such that a position of the weight member within the channel is able to be adjusted, thereby adjusting a location of a center of gravity of the body. Additionally, adjustment of the weight member provides a maximum x-axis adjustment range of the position of the center of gravity (Max ?CGx) that is greater than 2 mm and a maximum z-axis adjustment range of the center of gravity (Max ?CGz) that is less than 2 mm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan T. Sargent, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Christopher John Harbert, Todd P. Beach, Brian Bazzel, Mark Vincent Greaney, Christian Reber Wester, Craig Richard Slyfield, Kraig Alan Willett
  • Golf club head having a composite crown
    Patent number: 9452325
    Abstract: A golf club head having a high COR that is durable and has desirable acoustic qualities. The club head includes a body portion, a striking face and a crown forming a hollow cavity of at least 150 cc in volume. The body portion defines a front opening and an upper opening, and it includes a sole and a side section that extends rearward of the front opening. The striking plate is secured to the body portion, enclosing the front opening. While partially assembled, final weighting and/or other attachment of other members to the inner surface of the club head can be preformed, as desired. The crown is secured to the body portion, enclosing the upper opening. A surface veil may also be provided about a junction of the crown and body. The crown has a maximum thickness no greater than about 2 mm. The density of the crown is less than the density of the body portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Drew T. DeShiell, Kraig Alan Willett, Michael Scott Burnett, Benoit Vincent, Joseph Henry Hoffman
  • Golf club head with vertical center of gravity adjustment
    Patent number: 9452327
    Abstract: Golf club heads include at least one weight port situated to retain weights and positioned above an approximate club face geometric center with the club in a standard address position. One, two, or more weight ports can be located above the club face center in a club crown or other portion of a club body. Club head vertical center of gravity can be selected to compensate dynamic loft associated with locating the club head center of gravity well behind the club face. Three-dimensional adjustment of club head center of gravity is possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Todd P. Beach, Christopher John Harbert, Gery Mel Zimmerman
  • GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160263450
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. In some embodiments, the crown includes a lattice-like structure having thin regions surrounded by a web of relatively thicker regions. In some embodiments, the club head includes one or more stiffening tubes attached between the sole and the crown to improve the acoustic performance of the golf club head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2016
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Greensmith, Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett, Joshua J. Dipert
  • Golf club head
    Patent number: 9427637
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a sole, a recessed sole port in the sole; and a rotatably adjustable sole piece adapted to be at least partially received within the sole port and comprising a central body having a plurality of contact surfaces adapted to contact the sole port and being offset from each other along a central axis extending through the central body of the sole piece. The sole piece can be positioned at least partially within the sole port at five or more rotational and axial positions with respect to the central axis, wherein at each rotational position, at least one of said contact surfaces of the central body contacts the sole port to set the axial position of the sole piece. The sole port and/or the sole piece can be generally pentagonal in shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Kraig Alan Willett, Nathan T. Sargent, Michael Franz
  • Golf club head
    Patent number: 9399157
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. In some embodiments, the crown includes a lattice-like structure having thin regions surrounded by a web of relatively thicker regions. In some embodiments, the club head includes one or more stiffening tubes attached between the sole and the crown to improve the acoustic performance of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Greensmith, Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett, Joshua J. Dipert
  • Golf club head
    Patent number: 9387371
    Abstract: A golf club head is described, in one embodiment, including a body with an exterior surface defining a first body volume of at least about 400 cm3. The body has a bottom portion, a top portion, a front portion, and a back portion. A face positioned at the front portion of the body and is configured to receive an impact. A top portion silhouette profile located along a perimeter of the top portion is further described. The top portion silhouette profile defines the outer bounds of the top portion in an X-direction and Y-direction. At least one indentation is located on the bottom portion below the crown silhouette profile. The removal of the at least one indentation from the bottom portion creates a second body volume that is at least 12 cm3 larger than the first body volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett
  • Golf club head
    Patent number: 9358436
    Abstract: A wood-type golf club head comprises a body having one or more ribs extending across the internal surface of the sole. The plurality of ribs can include two or more ribs, such as three or four ribs, that converge at a convergence location, such as above a recessed pocket in the sole configured to receive an adjustable sole piece. At least one rib can extend along an internal surface of the recessed pocket and along an internal surface of a surrounding sole region. The ribs can extend from the convergence location to a toe weight port, to a heel weight port, to a rear portion of the body and/or toward the face. At least one rib can extend from a hosel, such as to the toe weight port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan T. Sargent, Todd P. Beach, Kraig Alan Willett, Christopher John Harbert
  • AERODYNAMIC GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160136488
    Abstract: An aerodynamic golf club head with a low center of gravity and producing reduced aerodynamic drag forces. The club head has crown section attributes that impart beneficial aerodynamic properties.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2016
    Publication date: May 19, 2016
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Jeffrey J. Albertsen, Michael Scott Burnett
  • High volume aerodynamic golf club head
    Patent number: 9259628
    Abstract: A high volume aerodynamic golf club head producing reduced aerodynamic drag forces. The club head has a crown section shape that imparts beneficial aerodynamic properties characterized by a particular drop contour area and projected area of a face portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Jeffrey J. Albertsen, Michael Scott Burnett
  • GOLF CLUB
    Publication number: 20160023060
    Abstract: A golf club includes a golf club head having a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole, a crown and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. A face defines a forward portion of the club head and includes a striking surface width and a hosel defining a hosel bore. A channel and a recessed port are positioned in the sole. The channel extends substantially in a heel-to-toe direction. A sleeve is mounted on a tip end of the golf club shaft and is adapted to be inserted into the hosel bore. A fastener has a shaft portion extending through a passage and a head portion located in the recessed port. Selectively attaching the sleeve adjusts at least one of a loft angle and a lie angle of the club head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Publication date: January 28, 2016
    Applicant: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher John Harbert, Todd P. Beach, Matthew David Johnson, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett, Michelle Penney, Marc Kronenberg, Matthew Greensmith, Joseph Henry Hoffman
  • GOLF CLUB
    Publication number: 20160023063
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a golf club body including a crown, a sole, and a skirt connected between the crown and the sole, the golf club body including a front including a leading edge and a back including a trailing edge, and a hosel connected to the golf club body; a face connected to the front of the golf club body, the face including a geometric center, the golf club head including modifiable boundary conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Publication date: January 28, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Matthew Greensmith, Andrew James, Jason Andrew Mata, Matthew David Johnson, David Anderson, Brandon H. Woolley
  • GOLF CLUB HEAD
    Publication number: 20160008682
    Abstract: A golf club head is described having a body defining an interior cavity and comprising a heel portion, a toe portion, and a sole portion positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, and a crown positioned at a top portion. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. A face is positioned at the forward portion of the body. The face has a center face location and includes a center face characteristic time. An off-center location on the face is located at about ?40 mm in a heel direction away from the center face location. The off-center location has an off-center characteristic time of at least 80% of the center face characteristic time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Peter L. Larsen, Kraig Alan Willett, Bing-Ling Chao, John Francis Lorentzen
  • GOLF CLUB HEAD HAVING MOVABLE WEIGHTS
    Publication number: 20150375070
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a body and at least one self-extracting pressed weight assembly. The body comprises a face plate positioned at a forward portion of the golf club head, a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf club head, a crown positioned at a top portion of the golf club head and a skirt positioned around a periphery of the golf club head between the sole and the crown. The body defines an interior cavity. The weight assembly comprises at least three components and is configured for a press fit engagement with the golf club head. The assembly has a drive portion and a threaded portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2015
    Publication date: December 31, 2015
    Applicant: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Benoit Vincent, Ian C. Wright, Kraig Alan Willett, Gery Mel Zimmerman, Joseph Henry Hoffman
  • Fairway wood center of gravity projection
    Patent number: 9220953
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a body defining an interior cavity. The body includes a sole positioned at a bottom portion of the golf head, a crown positioned at a top portion, and a skirt positioned around a periphery between the sole and crown. The body has a forward portion and a rearward portion. The club head includes a face positioned at the forward portion of the body. The face defines a striking surface having an ideal impact location at a golf club head origin. Embodiments include club heads for a fairway wood that at least one of a high moment of inertia, a low-center-of-gravity, a thin crown and a high coefficient of restitution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Matthew David Johnson, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett, Michelle Penney, Marc Kronenberg, Matthew Greensmith, Joseph Henry Hoffman
  • Golf club
    Patent number: 9216326
    Abstract: A golf club comprises a shaft, a club head, and a connection assembly that allows the shaft to be easily disconnected from the club head. In particular embodiments, a sleeve including a top portion, a middle portion connected to the top portion is described. The middle portion includes a thin wall thickness. A bottom portion is connected to the middle portion including a plurality of engaging surfaces. A central longitudinal axis and an offset angle offset from the central longitudinal axis is described. The offset angle allows a maximum loft change of about 0.5 degrees to about 4.0 degrees. The total weight of the sleeve is less than 9 g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Todd P. Beach, Nathan T. Sargent, Kraig Alan Willett, Joseph Henry Hoffman