Mass Distribution Patents (Class 473/291)
  • Patent number: 11883723
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a set of golf clubs comprising long irons, mid irons and short irons. Preferably, the long and mid irons have a face stabilizing bar and back panel that have a plurality of apertures in the face stabilizing bar and/or the back wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Marni D. Ines, Jonathan Hebreo
  • Patent number: 11850479
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a golf club heads having a body portion and a face portion, wherein the face portion comprises a variable thickness profile disposed at an angle on the rear surface of the face plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Eric J. Morales, Martin R. Jertson, Ryan M. Stokke, Jacob T. Clarke, Evan Greer
  • Patent number: 11806590
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads, golf clubs, and methods to manufacture golf club heads and golf clubs are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having a face portion including a front surface, a back surface, a plurality of front grooves on the front surface, a face perimeter, and a back groove portion on the back surface. The back groove portion may include a back groove portion length extending on the back surface of the face portion proximate to the face perimeter. The back groove portion length may be greater than or equal to 50% of the face perimeter. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 11745063
    Abstract: The invention described herein is an iron-type golf club head having an optimized mass distribution while also having the aesthetics of a full muscle-back iron. The iron-type golf club head comprises a main club head body, a lightweight, back-cavity insert, and a void within the lightweight, back-cavity insert configured to receive a CTP weight capable of adjusting mass characteristics of the iron-type golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Yujen Huang, Erik M. Henrikson, Matthew W. Simone
  • Patent number: 11738245
    Abstract: Golf club heads including a striking face with a variable thickness, a shell including a crown, and an internal weight pad located on a lower portion of the shell. The center of gravity depths of at least two golf club heads in a set satisfy the equation: D=a?b*LA, with 19 mm<a<22 mm and b=0.36 mm/degrees, and the at least two golf club heads have a difference in loft angle LA of at least 5 degrees. A moment of inertia about a vertical axis through the center of gravity of each of the at least two golf club heads is at least 2900 g*cm2. In one aspect, a striking face has a center region having a first thickness T1, an intermediate region having a second thickness T2, and a perimeter region having a third thickness T3, with T2<T1<T3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Jacob Lambeth, Anthony Munson, Dustin Brekke
  • Patent number: 11666805
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a face portion including a hitting face for striking a ball, a sweet spot on the hitting face, a toe, a back face opposite the hitting face, and a first thin-walled region formed by being recessed the back face. In a front view of the face portion viewed from a direction orthogonal to the hitting face, the first thin-walled region is provided in a toe-upper region that is a region above and on a toe side with respect to the sweet spot, the first thin-walled region is provided outside a region having a radius of 5 mm centered on the sweet spot, and an area of the first thin-walled region is in a range from 15% to 70% of an area of the toe-upper region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kiyofumi Matsunaga
  • 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: 11291890
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads, golf clubs, and methods to manufacture golf club heads and golf clubs are generally described herein. In one example, a golf club head may include a body portion having an interior cavity and a front portion. A face portion is attached to the front portion of the body portion to enclose the interior cavity. The golf club head may further include a first filler material coupled to a portion of an inner wall of the body portion, and a second filler material between the first filler material and the face portion and coupled to the face portion. The first filler material has a greater coefficient of restitution (COR) than the second filler material, and the second filler material has a greater stiffness than the first filler material. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 11260276
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a face member and a body member. The face member includes a peripheral portion that extends toward a back side. The peripheral portion includes a sole-side peripheral portion and a top-side peripheral portion. The face member is formed of a rolled material. An inner surface of the sole-side peripheral portion includes a sole inner surface inclined portion that extends toward a top direction as the sole inner surface inclined portion goes toward a back direction. The inner surface of the sole-side peripheral portion and an inner surface of the top-side peripheral portion are formed such that a first distance between them increases toward the back direction. An outer surface of the top-side peripheral portion is formed such that a second distance between the outer surface and the inner surface of the top-side peripheral portion increases toward a face direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Yuki Motokawa
  • Patent number: 11260275
    Abstract: A golf club head 1 has a first wall portion comprising a first member made of first material, a second member made of second material, and a third member made of material. The third material's specific gravity is different from the first material's specific gravity and second material's specific gravity. The weldability between the first material and second material is superior to the weldability between the first material and third material. The first member is fixed to the second member by welding. The third member is fixed to the first member by using the second member. The third member comprises a portion continuous from a first surface to an opposite second surface of the first wall portion in the thickness direction of the first wall portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yuki Motokawa
  • Patent number: 11253758
    Abstract: The invention described herein is an iron-type golf club head having an optimized mass distribution while also having the aesthetics of a full muscle-back iron. The iron-type golf club head comprises a main club head body, a lightweight, back-cavity insert, and a void within the lightweight, back-cavity insert configured to receive a CTP weight capable of adjusting mass characteristics of the iron-type golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Yujen Huang, Erik M. Henrikson, Matthew W. Simone
  • Patent number: 11173359
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a method of manufacturing a golf club head includes forming a body portion with an interior cavity, forming a face portion, attaching the face portion to the body portion to close the interior cavity, injecting a polymer material into the interior cavity from a port on the body portion, and inserting a first mass portion into the port to close the port. The method further includes attaching a second mass portion to the body portion below a horizontal midplane of the body portion. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 11141633
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In one example, a method of manufacturing a golf club head includes forming a body portion with an interior cavity, forming a face portion, attaching the face portion to the body portion to close the interior cavity, injecting a polymer material into the interior cavity from a port on the body portion, and inserting a first mass portion into the port to close the port. The method further includes attaching a second mass portion to the body portion below a horizontal midplane of the body portion. A total mass of the second mass portion may be greater than or equal to five times a total mass of the first mass portion. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 11110330
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a striking face having a face center and a virtual striking face plane generally parallel to the striking face. The golf club head further includes a sole portion, a top portion, a rear portion, and a loft L no less than 40°. A virtual vertical plane perpendicular to the striking face plane passes through the face center. A club head center of gravity is spaced from the virtual vertical plane in the heel-to-toe direction by a distance D1 that is no greater than 6.0 mm. The golf club head further includes a hosel including an internal bore configured to receive a golf shaft. The internal bore includes a peripheral side wall and a shaft abutment surface configured to abut a tip end of the golf club shaft. The hosel further comprises an auxiliary recess extending sole-ward from the abutment surface of the internal bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Patrick Ripp, Brian Herr, Mika Becktor, Keith Dolezel
  • Patent number: 11090531
    Abstract: A golf club head having an adjustable hosel assembly and a plug assembly that can reversibly secure the hosel assembly in a chosen configuration within the club head is disclosed herein. In particular, the hosel assembly includes a shaft sleeve that is trapped within a hosel opening with a screw that extends through an interior flange. The plug assembly includes a wedge-shaped flange that is inserted into an opening in the body and fits between the interior flange and the head of the screw to temporarily immobilize the shaft sleeve. The plug assembly preferably completely fills the opening in the body so as to preserve a smooth outer mold line of the club head and allow graphics or decorations to extend across the exterior surface without disruption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventor: Matthew Myers
  • Patent number: 11077341
    Abstract: A set of golf clubs with a plurality of at least two combinations of different lengths of a minimum of three golf clubs in each combination having progressive lofts that are matched to provide identical swing characteristics requiring unique loft and club length progressions to provide consistent yardage spacing between irons within a combination and between combinations. Each club in a combination is further defined by the shaft having an equal length; an identical swing weight, an identical grip weight and an identical head weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: LYTLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Michael F. Lytle
  • Patent number: 11073177
    Abstract: A rotational sliding bearing having a static part and a mobile part, each having a sub-shell with a sliding surface, each surface arranged within an angular range of max. 180° relative to the rotational axis in the direction of rotation of the bearing, and in a closed rest position, the sub-shells of all parts together form a bearing bush, the mobile part is arranged to pivot about a pivot axis for opening the bearing relative to the static part, such that a shaft mounted in the bearing is released in a release position, and the mobile part is shaped such that, based on the sliding surface position relative to the rotational axis, in the closed rest position, a translation of a shaft accommodated in the bearing is prevented transversely to the rotational axis and in the direction of the pivot axis of the mobile part or in the counter direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: AUROTEC GMBH
    Inventors: Stefan Zikeli, Ernst Rauch
  • Patent number: 11065513
    Abstract: A co-forged iron type golf club is disclosed. More specifically, the present invention discloses an iron type golf club head from a pre-form billet that already contains two or more materials before the actual forging process resulting in a multi-material golf club head that doesn't require any post manufacturing operations such as machining, welding, swaging, gluing, and the like. The resultant golf club head may be capable of achieving center of gravity locations previously unachievable without utilizing this co-forging technique. The resultant golf club head may be used to create a set of golf club heads with center of gravity locations that are more advantageous throughout a set of golf clubs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Kevin Tassistro, Ronald K. Hettinger
  • Patent number: 11052293
    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: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: Patrick C. Davis, Michael J. Murphy
  • Patent number: 11004046
    Abstract: An iron-type golf club and a method of creating the iron-type golf club including the steps of forming a club head blank having an external sacrificial region with an ESR thickness, an ESR sole portion, an ESR face portion, and an ESR leading edge portion. A finished club head is formed having a finished club head weight of less than 310 grams by machining off an ESR removed mass from at least a portion of the external sacrificial region including at least a portion of the ESR sole portion, a portion of the ESR face portion, and a portion of the ESR leading edge portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: D. Clayton Long, Peter Barker
  • Patent number: 10888749
    Abstract: An iron-type golf club head and set having a passageway extending from a closed void behind the face and accessible from an exterior of the body. The set includes close control of variables among club heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Justin Honea, John Kendall, Matthew Brian Neeley
  • Patent number: 10864411
    Abstract: A golf club 2 includes a head 4, a shaft 6, and a grip 8. A club inertia moment about a swing axis is defined as Isw. A club inertia moment about a grip end is defined as Ige. Ige is 2760 (kg·cm2) or greater and less than 2820 (kg·cm2). Isw/Ige is equal to or less than 2.42. A club weight is defined as Wc (kg), an axial direction distance from the grip end to a center of gravity of the club is defined as Lc (cm), and a club inertia moment about the center of gravity of the club is defined as Ic (kg·cm2). Isw is calculated by Equation (1) below. Ige is calculated by Equation (2) below.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Naoyoshi Ueda, Masahiko Ueda, Yasushi Sugimoto, Takashi Nakamura, Seiji Hayase, Wataru Kimizuka
  • Patent number: 10828538
    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 have a body portion having a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, a sole portion, a front portion, a lead edge portion, a back portion, and an interior cavity. The golf club head may also have a polymer material partially or entirely filling the interior cavity. Other examples and embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: PARSONS XTREME GOLF, LLC
    Inventors: Robert R. Parsons, Michael R. Nicolette, Bradley D. Schweigert
  • Patent number: 10814189
    Abstract: A golf club head having an adjustable hosel assembly and a plug assembly that can reversibly secure the hosel assembly in a chosen configuration within the club head is disclosed herein. In particular, the hosel assembly includes a shaft sleeve that is trapped within a hosel opening with a screw that extends through an interior flange. The plug assembly includes a wedge-shaped flange that is inserted into an opening in the body and fits between the interior flange and the head of the screw to temporarily immobilize the shaft sleeve. The plug assembly preferably completely fills the opening in the body so as to preserve a smooth outer mold line of the club head and allow graphics or decorations to extend across the exterior surface without disruption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventor: Matthew Myers
  • Patent number: 10716985
    Abstract: A golf club head having a damping treatment, such as a viscoelastic polymer, is disclosed. The viscoelastic polymer may be in contact with the rear surface of a striking face of the golf club head. The viscoelastic polymer may have a tangent of delta peak temperature between ?70 degrees Celsius and ?20 degrees Celsius at a 1 Hz frequency. An elastic modulus (E), in megapascals (MPa), of the viscoelastic polymer has a relationship to a striking face thickness (t), in millimeters (mm), defined Ê??14{circumflex over (t)}+305. The elastic modulus (E), in megapascals (MPa), of the viscoelastic polymer has a relationship to an effective stiffness (S) of the striking face, in gigapascals per meter (GPa/m), defined by Ê??1.16?+258.33. The viscoelastic polymer may cover a portion of the rear surface of the striking face or may substantially fill a cavity of the golf club head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: ACUSHNET COMPANY
    Inventors: Charles E. Golden, Michael E. Franz, Jonathan Hebreo, Brian Comeau
  • Patent number: 10684160
    Abstract: Devices are provided to measure the mass inertia of moving surfaces (e.g., aircraft components). In certain embodiments, the devices will include a support frame formed by first and second structural frame members which form a space for positioning of a moving surface to be measured for mass inertia. A pivot joint assembly is supported by an upper portion of the first structural frame member while a distance alignment device is arranged at a lower portion of the support frame. The second structural frame member including an extension and a dynamometer supported operatively by the extension. The first structural frame member includes a comparator clock at a lower portion thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: EMBRAER S.A.
    Inventors: José Carlos Dos Santos, Anderson Tobias Lindegger, Claudio Nagafchi, Douglas Alves Moraes, Oswaldo Escobar, Marcelo Camilo Alves Costa, Altair Tomaz Mendes
  • Patent number: 10561909
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a striking face having a face center and a virtual striking face plane generally parallel to the striking face. The golf club head further includes a sole portion, a top portion, a rear portion, and a loft L no less than 40°. A virtual vertical plane perpendicular to the striking face plane passes through the face center. A club head center of gravity is spaced from the virtual vertical plane in the heel-to-toe direction by a distance D1 that is no greater than 6.0 mm. The golf club head further includes a hosel including an internal bore configured to receive a golf shaft. The internal bore includes a peripheral side wall and a shaft abutment surface configured to abut a tip end of the golf club shaft. The hosel further comprises an auxiliary recess extending sole-ward from the abutment surface of the internal bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Patrick Ripp, Brian Herr, Mika Becktor, Keith Dolezel
  • Patent number: 10493338
    Abstract: A golf club set includes golf clubs having different loft angles and including weight-embedded golf clubs. Each of the weight-embedded golf clubs comprises a club head composed of a head main body having a club face for hitting a ball, and an internal weight member disposed in the head main body. The internal weight members of the weight-embedded golf clubs are arranged such that the loft angle is lager, the center of gravity of the internal weight member is positioned more on the toe side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Abe
  • Patent number: 10493335
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are embodiments of iron-type golf club heads that comprise weight reducing features in the topline region of the club head that facilitate changing the Z-up location of the club head. In some exemplary embodiments, the body comprises a weight reducing feature in a topline weight reduction zone of the club head that extends over the entire face length from the par line to the toe portion ending at approximately the Z-up location of the iron type golf club head. The weight reducing feature results in a mass savings of about 2 g to about 20 g, and a Zup shift of about 0.5 mm to about 2.0 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason W. Issertell, Joshua J. Dipert, Bret H. Wahl, Maresala Milo, Zac Atwell, Scott Taylor
  • Patent number: 10486037
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads with optimized characteristics including optimizing the head center of gravity height and depth in relation to the head volume and mass, are presented herein. Other examples and related methods are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Bradley D. Schweigert, Ryan M. Stokke
  • Patent number: 10423945
    Abstract: An iron-type golf club and a method of creating the iron-type golf club including the steps of forming a club head blank having a blank loft, a blank head weight of 345-400 grams, and an external sacrificial region having an ESR thickness, an ESR sole portion, an ESR face portion, and an ESR leading edge portion. A finished club head is formed having a finished club head weight of less than 310 grams by machining off an ESR removed mass from at least a portion of the external sacrificial region including at least a portion of the ESR sole portion, a portion of the ESR face portion, and a portion of the ESR leading edge portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: D. Clayton Long, Peter Barker
  • Patent number: 10413792
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads with sole cavity ports are described herein. The sole cavity ports can have varying thicknesses across the cavity port lengths. In some embodiments, one or more golf club heads can have two cavities—a toe sole cavity and a heel sole cavity. Other examples and related methods are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Martin R. Jertson, Evan R. Greer
  • Patent number: 10398950
    Abstract: An iron-type golf club head and set having multi-material construction including a carbon steel alloy body and a thin high strength alloy face. A passageway extends from a closed void behind the face, and is accessible from an exterior of the body. The passageway establishes a passageway axis, and at least a portion of the passageway axis intersects the face at an axis-to-face intersection point. The set includes close control of the opening/closing moment of inertia and Ycg distance between club heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC
    Inventors: Justin Honea, John Kendall, Matthew Brian Neeley
  • Patent number: 10350466
    Abstract: A golf club shaft having a weight distribution such that the balance point percentage is less than or equal to 44.50%. The weight distribution of the shaft allows for an increase in length and/or club head weight of a golf club while having a reduced impact on the swing weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Scott A. Rice, Donald S. Bone, Dustin A. Barksdale
  • Patent number: 10346559
    Abstract: In general, aspects of this invention relate to golf clubs or golf club components incorporating adjustment members that permit ready adjustability of golf club parameters and/or interchangeability of golf club components to change a golf club configuration, and methods for providing golf clubs. According to aspects of this invention, an adjustment member may be utilized to allow the adjustability of a golf club parameter to change a golf club configuration, while ensuring there is substantially no change to other club or club head variables, parameters or characteristics. According to another aspect of this invention, an adjustment member may be utilized to allow the adjustability of two golf club parameters independently to change a golf club configuration, while ensuring there is substantially no change to other club or club head variables, parameters or characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Raymond J. Sander, Joshua M. Boggs, Matthew P. Rubal
  • Patent number: 10343035
    Abstract: Embodiments of golf club heads with cavities and methods to manufacture golf club heads with cavities are generally described herein. Some embodiments include a golf club head comprising a body. The body comprises a strikeface, a backside of the strikeface, a heel region, a toe region opposite the heel region, a sole, and a rear portion opposite the strikeface. In many embodiments, the body further comprises a first cavity at the backside of the strikeface and located between the strikeface and the rear portion, and a second cavity at the rear portion. In some embodiments, the first cavity and the second cavity are directly coupled to each other to form a single, aggregate cavity. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Xiaojian Chen, Martin R. Jertson
  • Patent number: 10286264
    Abstract: A golf club set includes golf clubs with different club numbers and loft angles. Each golf club head of golf clubs includes a crown portion, a face portion, and a sole portion. The sole portion includes a front region and a rear region, the front region being arranged on the face side, and the rear region being arranged on the back side. The front region has a flat front surface, and the rear region has a curved rear surface continuous with the front region. Among the golf clubs included in the golf club set, out of at least a pair of golf clubs having adjacent club numbers, the radius of curvature of the rear surface of the golf club having the higher club number is smaller than the radius of curvature of the rear surface of the golf club having the lower club number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Makoto Yoshida
  • Patent number: 10279230
    Abstract: Provided is a golf club head that is able to suppress lowering of the pitch of a ball hitting sound. The golf club head according to the present invention includes a crown portion, a face portion, and a sole portion having at least one recessed portion. The recessed portion is configured to house a weight member such that the weight member does not protrude externally. The sole portion is provided with a placement region connected to the face portion and to be at least partially placed on a placement surface in a reference state, and a rear region arranged further to a back side in a face-back direction than the placement region and in which the recessed portion is arranged. The rear region inclines upward relative to the placement region toward the back side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Abe, Naruhiro Mizutani, Daisuke Kohno
  • Patent number: 10245487
    Abstract: In general, aspects of this invention relate to golf clubs or golf club components incorporating adjustment members that permit ready adjustability of golf club parameters and/or interchangeability of golf club components to change a golf club configuration, and methods for providing golf clubs. According to aspects of this invention, an adjustment member may be utilized to allow the adjustability of a golf club parameter to change a golf club configuration, while ensuring there is substantially no change to other club or club head variables, parameters or characteristics. According to another aspect of this invention, an adjustment member may be utilized to allow the adjustability of two golf club parameters independently to change a golf club configuration, while ensuring there is substantially no change to other club or club head variables, parameters or characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Arluna, Robert Boyd, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Eric A. Larson, Robert Lukasiewicz, Jr., George W. Moody, Jr., Andrew G. V. Oldknow, Raymond J. Sander, John T. Stites
  • Patent number: 10195497
    Abstract: An oversized golf club head and golf club having a large volume, large head dimensions, and/or large face characteristics, as well as unique mass property attributes driven by relationships not often considered in conforming club head design, to achieve a resistance to squaring the oversized club head during a golf swing that is comfortable to the novice golfer, a feel similar to a non-oversized golf club, stability during off-center impacts, and preferred launch characteristics. This is achieved in part via establishing a club head configuration and associated center of gravity location that results in a preferred magnitude of Delta1 and Delta2 values, CG angle, moments of inertia, and associated ratios, relationships, and club head mass property characteristics influenced by these variables, to account for the significant scale of the oversized club head and achieve improved performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC
    Inventors: Mark Vincent Greaney, John Francis Lorentzen, Matthew Greensmith, Craig Richard Slyfield
  • Patent number: 10105580
    Abstract: A set 2 includes two or more iron type golf clubs 4 having loft angles different from each other. Each club 4 includes a shaft sf, a head hd, and a grip gp. The head hd includes a top surface 10, a sole surface 12, and a face surface 14 having a face line gv. The sole surface 12 includes a leading edge E1 and a trailing edge E2. In a planar view of the sole surface 12, the trailing edge E2 is curved so as to project toward a face side. A sole width WSc at a middle position of the face line gv is increased as the loft angle is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Shimahara, Daisuke Kohno
  • Patent number: 10039963
    Abstract: A golf club head includes a striking face having a face center and a virtual striking face plane generally parallel to the striking face. The golf club head further includes a sole portion, a top portion, a rear portion, and a loft L no less than 40°. A virtual vertical plane perpendicular to the striking face plane passes through the face center. A club head center of gravity is spaced from the virtual vertical plane in the heel-to-toe direction by a distance D1 that is no greater than 6.0 mm. The golf club head further includes a hosel including an internal bore configured to receive a golf shaft. The internal bore includes a peripheral side wall and a shaft abutment surface configured to abut a tip end of the golf club shaft. The hosel further comprises an auxiliary recess extending sole-ward from the abutment surface of the internal bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Dunlop Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Patrick Ripp, Brian Herr, Mika Becktor, Keith Dolezel
  • Patent number: 10022598
    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: October 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Kraig Alan Willett, Nathan T. Sargent, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Michael Franz
  • Patent number: 9999811
    Abstract: A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, has a head that includes a face configured for striking a ball and a body connected to the face, the body being adapted for connection of a shaft proximate a heel thereof. The face has a thickened portion including an annular tapered area that tapers in thickness between an upper boundary and a lower boundary and encloses an elevated area bounded by the upper boundary. The upper and/or lower boundary defines a shape having two lobes, each with an outer edge with a convex profile, and a connecting portion extending between the lobes, such that the connecting portion is defined by two outer edges extending between the outer edges of the lobes, wherein at least one of the outer edges of the connecting portion has a concave outer profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Robert M. Boyd, Jeremy N. Snyder, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, James S. Thomas, Raymond J. Sander, Rick S. Wahlin, Akira Shimozuma
  • Patent number: 9981168
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a set of golf clubs comprising long irons, mid irons and short irons. The irons have a progressive horizontal CG location. Preferably, the long and mid irons have a face stabilizing bar and back panel and the CG is located between about 1 mm and 3 mm towards the hosel and the CG in the short irons is located between about 3 mm and 4 mm toward the hosel. Further the long and mid irons irons can have a plurality of apertures in the face stabilizing bar and/or the back wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Marni D. Ines, Jonathan Hebreo
  • Patent number: 9962584
    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: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Reeve Nielson, Nathan T. Sargent, Christopher John Harbert, Todd P. Beach, Brian Bazzel, Mark Vincent Greaney, Christian Reber Wester, Craig Richard Slyfield, Matthew David Johnson, Matthew Greensmith, Kraig Alan Willett
  • Patent number: 9956461
    Abstract: A set 2 includes two or more iron type golf clubs 4 having loft angles different from each other. Each club 4 includes a shaft sf, a head hd, and a grip gp. The head hd includes a top surface 10, a sole surface 12, and a face surface 14 having a face line gv. The sole surface 12 includes a leading edge E1 and a trailing edge E2. In a planar view of the sole surface 12, the trailing edge E2 is curved so as to project toward a face side. A sole width WSt at a toe reference position is decreased as the loft angle is increased. A sole width WSh at a heel reference position is decreased as the loft angle is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Shimahara, Daisuke Kohno
  • Patent number: 9901790
    Abstract: A club includes a head, a shaft, and a grip. A club length L1 is 43 inches or greater and 48 inches or less. A ratio (Wh/Wc) between a head weight Wh and a club weight Wc is equal to or greater than 0.70. An inertia moment Ix about swing axis is 6.90×103 (kg·cm2) or greater and 7.50×103 (kg·cm2) or less. A static moment Mt (kg·cm) of the club is equal to or greater than 16.3 (kg·cm). The frequency of vibration of club is 240 (cpm) or greater and 280 (cpm) or less. The inertia moment Ix (kg·cm2) is calculated by Equation (1): Ix=Wc×(Lc+60)2+Ic??(1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: DUNLOP SPORTS CO. LTD.
    Inventor: Takashi Nakamura
  • Patent number: 9814950
    Abstract: A set of golf clubs with a plurality of at least two combinations of different lengths of a minimum of three golf clubs in each combination having progressive lofts that are matched to provide identical swing characteristics requiring unique loft and club length progressions to provide consistent yardage spacing between irons within a combination and between combinations. Each club in a combination is further defined by the shaft having an equal length; an identical swing weight, an identical grip weight and an identical head weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: LYTLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Michael F. Lytle
  • Patent number: 9750994
    Abstract: The present invention is direct to a set of golf clubs comprising long irons, mid-irons and short irons. The long irons have a first center of gravity positioned horizontally from the face center toward the hosel by a first distance. The mid-irons have a second center of gravity positioned horizontally from the face center toward the hosel by a second distance. The short irons have a third center of gravity positioned horizontally from the face center toward the hosel by a third distance that is greater than the first and second distances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael E. Franz, Brandon Vincent, Marni Ines, Jonathan Hebreo, Eduardo Mendoza