GOLF CLUB AND HEAD THEREOF

Abstract

A golf club head comprising a striking plate, a shell together with the striking plate to form a main body, and a power zone disposed on the shell is provided. The power zone satisfies equations that (S/W)=4˜40 and ((d1+d2)/d1)=1.6˜6, wherein S is a distance from a center of the striking plate to an edge of the power zone, W is a width of the power zone, d1 is a thickness of the shell, and d2 is a thickness of the power zone. By forming the power zone on the main body, the coefficient of reaction of the golf club head can be enhanced. Moreover, the contact time between the golf ball and the striking plate as using the golf club head to hit the ball can be prolonged. Therefore, the effect of ball controlling and hitting is improved.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/807,614, filed on Jul. 18, 2006, all disclosure of the U.S. application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a golf club head. More particularly, the present invention relates to a golf club head with high coefficient of reaction (COR).

2. Description of Related Art

Sports are becoming more and more popular, and golf has already become one of the most widely enjoyed sports. In addition, the number of participants in the sport of golf has risen rapidly. In which, the golf club used for playing golf, because of the varieties in purposes and course geographies, are categorized into different types such as wood club, iron club, and putter.

With respect to the wood club, the head thereof typically comprises a shell and a striking plate on the shell for use to strike the ball. When the golf club head strikes a golf ball, the striking plate receives a large impact and produces a reacting force to the golf ball, and thus the golf ball obtains the kinetic energy transferred from the reacting force for a long distance flight. Therefore, a high coefficient of reaction (COR) is required, so as to enhance the reacting force and effectively transfer most of the kinetic energy to the golf ball. Furthermore, a long contact time between the golf ball and the striking plate is preferred to improve the effect of ball controlling and hitting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a golf club head which has a high coefficient of reaction and provides a long contact time when striking a golf ball.

The present invention is further directed to a golf club having the above golf club head to provide superior effect of ball controlling and hitting.

As embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides a golf club head comprising a striking plate, a shell together with the striking plate to form a main body, and a power zone disposed on the shell. The power zone satisfies equations that (S/W)=4˜40 and ((d1+d2)/d1)=1.6˜6, wherein S is a distance from a center of the striking plate to an edge of the power zone along the outer surface, W is a width of the power zone, d1 is a thickness of the shell, and d2 is a thickness of the power zone.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, S is less than 120 mm.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, S is a constant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, W is a constant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, d1 is a constant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, d2 is a constant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness d2 of the power zone gradually varies outward from the striking plate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power zone is a continuous pattern.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power zone is a discontinuous pattern comprising a plurality of sub-patterns.

For example, the sub-patterns may comprise a plurality of stripes arranged in a ring. In addition, the distance from the center of each of the stripes to the center of another adjacent stripe may a constant.

Furthermore, the sub-patterns may comprise a plurality of sub-rings. The sub-rings may be arranged in parallel. The distance from the center line of each of the sub-rings to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring may be a constant. Alternatively, the distance from the center line of each of the sub-rings to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring may gradually vary outward from the striking plate.

Each of the above sub-rings may further comprise a plurality of stripes. The distance from the center of each of the stripes to the center of another adjacent stripe may be a constant.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the striking plate is integrally formed with the shell.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power zone is integrally formed with the shell.

The present invention also provides a golf club comprising a shaft and the golf club head mentioned above, wherein the shaft is connected with the main body of the golf club head.

Accordingly, the present invention forms a power zone on the shell of the golf club head to enhance the coefficient of reaction and the long contact time when using the golf club head to strike a golf ball. Thus, superior effect of ball controlling and hitting can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a golf club head according to a generic embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2-7 illustrate different types of the golf club head according to other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a golf club according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is to form a power zone on a shell of a golf club head. By which, the striking energy is prevented from being transmitted to the back portion of the golf club head when using the golf head to hit a golf ball. In other words, the striking energy is restricted in the front portion of the golf club head to enhance the coefficient of reaction of the golf club head. Moreover, a large structural deformation is generated by the concentrated striking energy in the front portion of the golf club head, so as to prolong the contact time between the golf ball and the striking plate. Therefore, the effect of ball controlling and hitting can be improved. The following shall include several concrete embodiments for describing the golf club head proposed in the present invention.

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 shows a golf club head according to a generic embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the golf club head 100 comprises a striking plate 110, a shell 120 and a power zone 130, wherein the shell 120 is fabricated with the striking plate 110 to form a main body 102, and the power zone 130 is formed on the inner wall of the shell 120. There is no set limit on the fabrication of the main body 102 and the power zone 130. For example, the striking plate 110 may be integrally formed with the shell 120 or independently fabricated and then bonded with the shell 120 by any applicable means. In addition, the power zone 130 may be integrally formed with the shell 120 or formed after the fabrication of the shell 120.

In the present embodiment, the power zone 130 is designed to satisfy the following equations: (S/W)=4˜40, and ((d1+d2)/d1)=1.6˜6. In the above equations, S is a distance from a center of the striking plate 110 to an edge of the power zone 130 along the outer surface, W is a width of the power zone 130, d1 is a thickness of the shell 120, and d2 is a thickness of the power zone 130. Fabricating the golf club head 100 according to the equations can obtain a superior effect of ball controlling and hitting. The distance S may be limited in 120 mm for a more preferable effect of ball controlling and hitting, while there should by no means limit the distance S in the present invention. For example, each of the parameters d1, d2, S, and W may be a constant or a variable due to the requirements of structural design of the golf club head 100.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the power zone 130 separates the main body 102 of the golf club head 100 into a front portion 104a and a back portion 104b. When using the golf club head 100 to hit a golf ball, the striking plate 110 of the main body 102 strikes the golf ball, receives the striking energy, and then a deformation is produced on the main body 102. Due to the isolation of the power zone 130, the striking energy is restricted in the front portion 104a of the main body 102 from the back portion 104b of the main body 102, and thus the deformation is concentrated in the front portion 104a of the main body 102. Therefore, the coefficient of reaction of the golf club head 100 is enhanced. Furthermore, due to the concentrated and large deformation of the front portion 104a of the main body 102, the contact time between the golf ball and the striking plate 110 is prolonged. By which, the effect of ball controlling and hitting is improved.

In the following, the structure of the power zone of the present invention is disclosed in detail by other embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2-7, which illustrate different types of the power zone according to other embodiments of the present invention. Since the structure of the main body of the golf club head have been described in the aforementioned embodiment, details are not repeated herein.

Firstly, FIG. 2 shows a golf club head 200 having a tapered power zone 230, wherein the thickness d2 of the power zone 230 is gradually reduced outward from the striking plate 210. The tapered power zone 230 may reduce the shock as using the golf club head to hit a golf ball to improve the effect of ball controlling and hitting.

FIG. 3 shows a golf club head 300 having a power zone 330 composed of a continuous ring pattern. In the embodiment, the power zone 330 has an even thickness and an even width. The distance S from a center of the striking plate 310 to an edge of the power zone 330 is a constant.

Referring to FIG. 4, which shows a golf club head 400 having a power zone 430 composed of a discontinuous pattern comprising a plurality of sub-patterns 432. In the embodiment, the sub-patterns 432 are a plurality of stripes which are arranged to form a ring. Moreover, the distance X from the center of each of the stripes to the center of another adjacent stripe is a constant.

FIG. 5 shows a golf club head 500 having a power zone 530 composed of a discontinuous pattern comprising a plurality of sub-rings 532. In the embodiment, the sub-rings 532 are arranged in parallel. Moreover, the distance Y from the center line of each of the sub-rings 532 to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring 532 is a constant.

FIG. 6 shows another golf club head 600 having a power zone 630 comprising a plurality of sub-rings 632 with different pitch. In the embodiment, the sub-rings 632 may be arranged in parallel. Moreover, the distance Y from the center line of each of the sub-rings 632 to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring 632 is gradually increased outward from the striking plate 610. The sub-rings 632 with various pitches may reduce the shock as using the golf club head to hit a golf ball to improve the effect of ball controlling and hitting.

FIG. 7 further shows another golf club head 700 which has different type of sub-rings 732, wherein each of the sub-rings 732 comprises a plurality of stripes 732a. The distance X from the center of each of the stripes 732a to the center of another adjacent stripe 732a is a constant and the distance Y from the center line of each of the sub-rings 732 to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring 732 is a constant.

Except the designs mentioned in the above embodiment, other various modifications and variations due to specific requirements are also applicable in the present invention. For example, considering that the preferred striking region of the golf club head may be restricted and even goes aberrant due to the intrinsic properties of material or the structure design of a conventional golf club, configurations of the golf club head such as the pitch of the aforementioned stripes or the aforementioned sub-rings, the thickness of the shell or the power zone, the width of the power zone, or the distance between the center of the striking plate and the power zone may be modified, in order to adjust the ideal striking point (i.e., the sweet spot) of the golf club head for enlarging the forgiveness of striking and enhancing the striking effect of the golf club head, which should be easily understood and applied by those skilled in the art base on the above disclosure of the present invention, and thus details are omitted herein.

FIG. 8 shows a golf club according to an embodiment of the present invention. The golf club 800 comprises a shaft 810 and a golf club head 820 composed of a striking plate 822, a shell 824, and a power ring 826. The striking plate 822 and the shell 824 forms a main body 820a which is connected with the shaft 810 to form the golf club 800. Herein, the golf club head 820 may be any kind of the golf club heads as mentioned above. By adopting the aforementioned golf club heads, the golf club 800 can provide a superior effect of ball controlling and hitting for a golf player.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A golf club head, comprising:

a striking plate;

a shell, together with the striking plate to form a main body; and

a power zone, disposed on the shell, the power ring satisfying an equation that (S/W)=4˜40, and ((d1+d2)/d1)=1.6˜6,

wherein S is a distance from a center of the striking plate to an edge of the power zone along the outer surface, W is a width of the power zone, d1 is a thickness of the shell, and d2 is a thickness of the power zone.

2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein S is less than 120 mm.

3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein S is a constant.

4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein W is a constant.

5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein d1 is a constant.

6. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein d2 is a constant.

7. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thickness d2 of the power zone gradually varies outward from the striking plate.

8. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the power zone is a continuous pattern.

9. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the power zone is a discontinuous pattern comprising a plurality of sub-patterns.

10. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein the sub-patterns comprising a plurality of stripes arranged in a ring.

11. The golf club head according to claim 10, wherein the distance from the center of each of the stripes to the center of another adjacent stripe is a constant.

12. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein the sub-patterns comprising a plurality of sub-rings.

13. The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein the sub-rings are arranged in parallel.

14. The golf club head according to claim 13, wherein the distance from the center line of each of the sub-rings to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring is a constant.

15. The golf club head according to claim 13, wherein the distance from the center line of each of the sub-rings to the center line of another adjacent sub-ring gradually varies outward from the striking plate.

16. The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein each of the sub-rings comprises a plurality of stripes.

17. The golf club head according to claim 16, wherein the distance from the center of each of the stripes to the center of another adjacent stripe is a constant.

18. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the striking plate is integrally formed with the shell.

19. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the power ring is integrally formed with the shell.

20. A golf club, comprising:

a shaft;

a striking plate;

a shell, together with the striking plate to form a main body connected with the shaft; and

a power zone, disposed on the shell, the power ring satisfying an equation that (S/W)=4˜40, and ((d1+d2)/d1)=1.6˜6,

wherein S is a distance from a center of the striking plate to an edge of the power zone along the outer surface, W is a width of the power zone, d1 is a thickness of the shell, and d2 is a thickness of the power zone.