US 11,452,923 B2Granted

Golf club heads

AssigneeTaylor Made Golf Company, Inc.

InventorsChristopher John Harbert, Nathan T. Sargent, Justin David Kleinert, Todd P. Beach, Brian Bazzel, Robert Nunez, James Edward Michael Cornish, Nick Robbie

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

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Abstract

Some disclosed golf club heads include body having at least one raised sole portion and a cantilevered ledge extending down around a perimeter of the club head below the level of the raised sole portion. Some disclosed golf club heads include one or more sole openings in the body and a sole insert that is mounted inside the body over the sole openings. The sole can include weight tracks as well, and a rear weight track can extend between a toe side sole opening and a heel side sole opening. A crown insert can also be included that is mounted over an upper opening in the body.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A golf club head, comprising:

a front portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, a crown portion, and a sole portion;
a body, at least partially defining the front portion, the rear portion, the toe portion, the heel portion, the crown portion, and the sole portion, wherein the body comprises:
a central sole section, partially defining the sole portion and extends from the front portion to the rear portion, wherein the central sole section is configured to retain a weight;
a heel-side opening, at least partially located in the heel portion;
and
a toe-side opening, at least partially located in the toe portion;
wherein the central sole section separates the heel-side opening from the toe-side opening;
a heel-side insert, attached to the body over the heel-side opening such that the heel-side insert covers the heel-side opening;
a toe-side insert, separate from the heel-side insert and attached to the body over the toe-side opening such that the toe-side insert covers the toe-side opening;
and
a first weight attached to the central sole section in a first location;
wherein the first weight is a smart feature coupled to the body, the smart feature comprising a battery and at least one additional electrical device;
wherein the smart feature has a smart feature mass of from 1 gram to 50 grams, and a ratio of the smart feature mass to a club head mass is from 1% to 25%;
wherein the smart feature has a smart feature volume of from 0.5 cc to 25 cc, and a ratio of the smart feature volume to a club head volume is from 0.1% to 10%;
and
wherein the smart feature has a sleep mode.

13 more elements

A golf club head, comprising:

a front portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, a crown portion, and a sole portion;
a body, at least partially defining the front portion, the rear portion, the toe portion, the heel portion, the crown portion, and the sole portion, wherein the body comprises:
a central sole section, partially defining the sole portion and extends from the front portion to the rear portion, wherein the central sole section is configured to retain a weight in both a forward location on the sole portion, forward of a center-of-gravity of the golf club head, or a rearward location on the sole portion, rearward of the center-of-gravity of the golf club head;
a heel-side opening, at least partially located in the heel portion;
and
a toe-side opening, at least partially located in the toe portion;
wherein the central sole section separates the heel-side opening from the toe-side opening;
a fiber-reinforced polymeric material, covering the heel-side opening and the toe-side opening;
a first weight, retained by the central sole section in the forward location;
and
a second weight, retained by the central sole section in the rearward location;
wherein:
the central sole section of the body comprises a front-to-rear internal rib, extending in a front-to-rear direction from proximate the forward location to proximate the rearward location;
the central sole section further comprises a first weight-retaining feature and a second weight-retaining feature;
the first weight-retaining feature retains the first weight in the forward location;
the second weight-retaining feature retains the second weight in the rearward location;
the front-to-rear internal rib is co-formed with the first weight-retaining feature and the second weight-retaining feature;
the central sole section of the body further comprises a rear internal rib, extending at an angle relative to the front-to-rear internal rib and co-formed with the second weight-retaining feature;
and
the central sole section of the body further comprises a toe-to-heel internal rib, extending in a toe-to-heel direction and co-formed with and intersecting the front-to-rear internal rib.

17 more elements

A golf club head, comprising:

a front portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, a crown portion, and a sole portion;
a body, at least partially defining the front portion, the rear portion, the toe portion, the heel portion, the crown portion, and the sole portion, wherein the body comprises:
a central sole section, partially defining the sole portion and extends from the front portion to the rear portion, wherein the central sole section is configured to retain a weight;
a heel-side opening, at least partially located in the heel portion;
and
a toe-side opening, at least partially located in the toe portion;
wherein the central sole section separates the heel-side opening from the toe-side opening;
a heel-side insert, attached to the body over the heel-side opening such that the heel-side insert covers the heel-side opening;
a toe-side insert, separate from the heel-side insert and attached to the body over the toe-side opening such that the toe-side insert covers the toe-side opening;
a first weight attached to the central sole section in a first location;
and
a second weight, attached to the central sole section in a second location, wherein the first weight and the second weight are interchangeable;
wherein interchanging the first weight and the second weight results in a change of the center-of-gravity along a y-axis of the golf club head, parallel with a front-to-rear direction, of at least 3 mm;
wherein the body further comprises a hosel and the golf club head further comprises an adjustable head-shaft connection assembly coupled to the hosel;
wherein the central sole section of the body comprises a front-to-rear internal rib, extending in a front-to-rear direction from proximate the forward location to proximate the rearward location;
wherein:
the central sole section further comprises a first weight-retaining feature and a second weight-retaining feature;
the first weight-retaining feature retains the first weight in the forward location;
the second weight-retaining feature retains the second weight in the rearward location;
and
the front-to-rear internal rib is co-formed with the first weight-retaining feature and the second weight-retaining feature;
and
wherein the central sole section of the body further comprises a rear internal rib, extending at an angle relative to the front-to-rear internal rib and co-formed with the second weight-retaining feature.

20 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/105,168Filed 25 Nov 2020 · continuation
Priority: 5 Jun 2017
Published: US 2021/0138323 A113 May 2021
Granted: 27 Sep 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification29 codes

A63B 53/06
Heads: adjustable
A63B 60/04
Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass: movable ballast means
A63B 53/04
Golf clubs: heads
A63B 53/0433
Heads: with special sole configurations

Family

Application62/515,401Us provisional application · filed 5 Jun 2017
Application62/628,094Us provisional application · filed 8 Feb 2018
Application15/996,854Parent of this continuation · filed 4 Jun 2018
Application16/283,527Parent of this continuation · filed 22 Feb 2019
US 2021/0138323 A1Pre-grant publication · published 13 May 2021
US 10,874,922 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2018/0345099 A1Published application
US 2019/0184246 A1Published application
US 11,452,923 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.