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Golf Club Head and Method of Varying Moment of Inertia of Same

a golf club head and moment of inertia technology, applied in the field of golf club heads, can solve the problem of not revealing a method applicable to a broad range of golf club heads for optimizing mass characteristics, and achieve the effect of increasing the moment of inertia of the sol

Inactive Publication Date: 2009-01-29
COBRA GOLF
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The present invention is preferably directed to a golf club head having a crown, face, skirt and sole, such that the distribution of mass in the sole affects the moment of inertia of the club head. In one embodiment of the present invention, the mass of the sole is allocated relative to the location of a centroid radius of the sole. When more of the sole's mass is allocated outside of the centroid radius of the sole, the moment of inertia of the sole is increased. By extension, the moment of inertia of the entire club head, when all other mass characteristics of the crown, face, and skirt remain constant, is increased.
[0014]Yet another embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of optimizing mass distribution to balance the center of gravity of the club head and MOI. Due to the concavity of the sole, center of gravity will shift upward and rearward as more mass is moved radially outward to increase MOI. A balance between these factors can be obtained to maximize mass properties or to individually customize clubs.

Problems solved by technology

These examples of the prior art describe ways to vary the mass characteristics of golf club heads, however they do not disclose a method applicable to a broad range of styles of golf club heads for optimizing mass characteristics, specifically moment of inertia.

Method used

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  • Golf Club Head and Method of Varying Moment of Inertia of Same
  • Golf Club Head and Method of Varying Moment of Inertia of Same
  • Golf Club Head and Method of Varying Moment of Inertia of Same

Examples

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first embodiment

[0041]In the present invention, the centroid radius of a driver club head is determined. In one example, a driver club head having a volume of 460 cm3 is used. Such a club head 10, shown in FIGS. 1-3, has a hitting face 12, crown 14, sole 16, toe 18 and heel 20. Club head 10 also has skirt 22, which connects crown 14 to sole 16, and hosel 24 adapted to receive a shaft (not shown).

[0042]Hitting face 12 should have a certain thickness to withstand repeated impacts with golf balls or a given thickness profile to maximize the energy transfer to the balls; accordingly, a limited amount of mass may be redistributed from the hitting face to improve MOI. Crown 14 and skirt 22 are generally already made sufficiently thin so that more mass can be relocated to the location(s) below the center of gravity. Hence, it is preferred in this embodiment that mass is not redistributed therefrom to improve MOI. In this embodiment, mass from sole 16 is redistributed therewithin to improve the MOI and a c...

fourth embodiment

[0059]In the present invention, a method of tracking shifts in MOI and center of gravity in the vertical direction due to mass distribution in a sole of a golf club head is used to optimize both MOI and the position of center of gravity of a club head. Starting in the center of the sole and radiating toward the heel, toe, back and face, a typical sole curves up and away from the ground plane. Concentrating mass in the perimeter areas of the sole, or outside of the centroid radius as defined in previous embodiments, will generally result in an increase of MOI as compared to a baseline MOI; however, that concentration of mass may also cause the center of gravity of the club head to move up, toward the crown, as more mass is located in areas of the sole that are farther away from the ground plane.

[0060]To increase MOI but keep the center of gravity of the club head acceptably low, a first two-dimensional matrix is created to model the sole. The sole is divided into equally-sized elemen...

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Abstract

Methods of optimizing mass characteristics of golf club heads, particularly moment of inertia and the position of center of gravity, and a golf club head with an optimized moment of inertia are disclosed. In one embodiment of the invention, the moment of inertia of the club head is controlled by allocating the mass of the club head relative to the location of a centroid radius of the sole. In another embodiment of the present invention, a sole is modeled on two-dimensional matrices to determine the change in moment of inertia due to shifts in mass concentration around the sole. In another embodiment of the present invention, a sole is modeled on two-dimensional matrices to determine the shift in position of the center of gravity of the sole due to shifts in mass concentration around the sole.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to golf club heads, and more specifically, to optimizing the moment of inertia of driver golf club heads and a method for manipulating the mass characteristics of golf club heads.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Manipulation of mass distribution in golf club heads can improve club head characteristics such as center of gravity and moment of inertia. Driver club heads typically consist of a crown, a sole, a skirt disposed in between the crown and sole and a hitting face. Changes in the distribution of weight between these portions of the club head vary the center of gravity or moment of inertia of the club head, and thus produce changes in the characteristics of the impact between the club head and a golf ball and the flight path of the golf ball.[0003]Golfers of all skill levels may benefit from using golf clubs having high moments of inertia, as the moment of inertia of a golf club head influences the degree to which an off-...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A63B53/04
CPCA63B53/0466A63B2053/0433A63B2053/0408A63B2209/00A63B2209/02A63B2053/0491A63B53/0408A63B53/0433A63B60/02
Inventor SORACCO, PETER L.
Owner COBRA GOLF
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