# US 12,109,461 B2 · Golf club head > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,109,461 B2 - Document ID: US12109461B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/592,819 - Filed: 2022-02-04 - Published: 2022-08-11 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2021-02-05 - Assignees: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. - Applicants: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. - Inventors: Naruhiro Mizutani; Daisuke Kohno; Masahiko Ueda; Yuki Nagano; Satoru Hanamitsu; Naoyoshi Ueda - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12109461B2 ## CPC - A63B 53/0408: {characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness} - A63B 53/0466: {wood-type} - A63B 2209/023: Long, oriented fibres, e.g. wound filaments, woven fabrics, mats - A63B: APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT (apparatus for passive exercising, massage A61H) ## Abstract A head includes a body member that has an opening, and a face member that includes a striking face and closes the opening. The face member includes a face portion that forms the striking face, and a peripheral portion that extends from a peripheral edge of the face portion toward a back side. The peripheral portion of the face member is welded to the body member. A weld bead that juts from the inner surface of the head is formed at a boundary position between the peripheral portion and the body member. A wall thickness at a face-side end point of the weld bead is greater than a wall thickness at a body-side end point of the weld bead. The peripheral portion has a length of less than or equal to 6 mm. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A golf club head being hollow and having a head outer surface, a head inner surface, and a wall thickness that is a thickness between the head inner surface and the head outer surface, the golf club head comprising: a body member that has an opening; and a face member that includes a striking face and a face inner surface, and closes the opening, wherein the face member includes a face portion that forms the striking face, a face center that is a center of the striking face, and a peripheral portion that extends from a peripheral edge of the face portion toward a back side of the golf club head, the peripheral portion of the face member is welded to the body member, a weld bead that juts from the head inner surface is formed at a boundary position between the peripheral portion and the body member, the wall thickness at a face-side end point of the weld bead is greater than the wall thickness at a body-side end point of the weld bead, the peripheral portion has a length of greater than or equal to 2.5 mm and less than or equal to 6 mm, in a vertical cross section of the golf club head, when a tangent line to a cross-sectional contour line of the striking face at a midpoint Pa of the cross-sectional contour line of the striking face is defined as tangent line Ta, a point that is positioned on the head inner surface and that corresponds to the midpoint Pa is defined as a point Pb, and a straight line that passes through the point Pb and is parallel to the tangent line Ta is defined as straight line Tb, then the weld bead is located on the back side with respect to the straight line Tb, when a direction of a normal line that is normal to the striking face at the midpoint Pa is defined as a face normal direction, the length of the peripheral portion is a length measured from the peripheral edge of the face portion in the face normal direction, the peripheral portion includes a sole-side peripheral portion that is formed in a sole-side part of the face member, and a crown-side peripheral portion that is formed in a crown-side part of the face member, when a boundary point between the sole-side peripheral portion and the body member on the head outer surface is defined as a point P2, a distance in an up-down direction between the point P2 and a ground plane of the golf club head in the vertical cross section passing through the face center is greater than or equal to 1.2 mm, and the weld bead formed at the boundary position between the crown-side peripheral portion and the body member is located on a lower side with respect to the head inner surface at a position corresponding to a position of an uppermost point of a crown portion of the golf club head. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral portion includes a backward extending portion that extends further backward than the face portion. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein when a portion that extends from the peripheral edge of the face portion to the weld bead is defined as a face-side weld vicinity portion, and when a portion that extends from the weld bead to a position located 6 mm apart from a center point of the weld bead toward a body side is defined as a body-side weld vicinity portion, then a wall thickness of the face-side weld vicinity portion decreases as its proximity to the face portion decreases, and a wall thickness of the body-side weld vicinity portion decreases as its proximity to the face portion decreases. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the face-side weld vicinity portion has an inner surface that constitutes a curved surface and an outer surface that constitutes a curved surface, a radius of curvature of the inner surface of the face-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 7 mm, and a radius of curvature of the outer surface of the face-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 7 mm. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the length of the peripheral portion is greater than a minimum thickness of the face portion. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the wall thickness of the face-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 1.2 mm and less than or equal to 2.0 mm, and the wall thickness of the body-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 0.8 mm and less than or equal to 1.8 mm. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) The golf club head according to claim 2, wherein the backward extending portion has a length of greater than or equal to 0.5 mm and less than or equal to 3.3 mm. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The golf club head according to claim 2, wherein when a length of the backward extending portion is denoted by L4 and the length of the peripheral portion is denoted by L1, the length L4 of the backward extending portion being a backwardly protruding length from an intersection point between the normal line and the face inner surface and being measured along the normal line, then L4/L1 is greater than or equal to 0.08 and less than or equal to 0.55. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The golf club head according to claim 2, wherein a length of the backward extending portion is smaller than a maximum thickness of the face portion. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein when a portion that extends from the peripheral edge of the face portion to the weld bead is defined as a face-side weld vicinity portion, the face-side weld vicinity portion has an inner surface that constitutes a curved surface, and a radius of curvature of the inner surface of the face-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 7 mm. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein when a portion that extends from the weld bead to a position located 6 mm apart from a center point of the weld bead toward a body side is defined as a body-side weld vicinity portion, the body-side weld vicinity portion has an inner surface that constitutes a curved surface, and a radius of curvature of the inner surface of the body-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 7 mm. ### Claim 12 A golf club head being hollow and having a head outer surface, a head inner surface, and a wall thickness that is a thickness between the head inner surface and the head outer surface, the golf club head comprising: a body member that has an opening; and a face member that includes a striking face and closes the opening, wherein the face member includes a face portion that forms the striking face, a face center that is a center of the striking face, and a peripheral portion that extends from a peripheral edge of the face portion toward a back side of the golf club head, the peripheral portion of the face member is welded to the body member, a weld bead that juts from the head inner surface is formed at a boundary position between the peripheral portion and the body member, the wall thickness at a face-side end point of the weld bead is greater than the wall thickness at a body-side end point of the weld bead, the peripheral portion has a length of greater than or equal to 2.5 mm and less than or equal to 6 mm, the peripheral portion includes a sole-side peripheral portion that is formed in a sole-side part of the face member, in a vertical cross section of the golf club head, when a tangent line to a cross-sectional contour line of the striking face at a midpoint Pa of the cross-sectional contour line of the striking face is defined as tangent line Ta, a point that is positioned on the head inner surface and that corresponds to the midpoint Pa is defined as a point Pb, and a straight line that passes through the point Pb and is parallel to the tangent line Ta is defined as straight line Tb, then the weld bead is located on the back side with respect to the straight line Tb, when a direction of a normal line that is normal to the striking face at the midpoint Pa is defined as a face normal direction, the length of the peripheral portion is a length measured from the peripheral edge of the face portion in the face normal direction, and when a boundary point between the sole-side peripheral portion and the body member on the head outer surface is defined as a point P2, a distance in an up-down direction between the point P2 and a ground plane of the golf club head in the vertical cross section passing through the face center is greater than or equal to 1.2 mm. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein the sole-side peripheral portion includes a sole-side backward extending portion that extends further backward than the face portion, and a length of the sole-side backward extending portion is smaller than a maximum thickness of the face portion. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein a portion that extends from the peripheral edge of the face portion to the weld bead is defined as a face-side weld vicinity portion, the face-side weld vicinity portion has an inner surface that constitutes a curved surface, a radius of curvature of the inner surface of the face-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 7 mm. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The golf club head according to claim 14, wherein a wall thickness of the face-side weld vicinity portion decreases as its proximity to the face portion decreases. ### Claim 16 A golf club head being hollow and having a head outer surface, a head inner surface, and a wall thickness that is a thickness between the head inner surface and the head outer surface, the golf club head comprising: a body member that has an opening; and a face member that includes a striking face and closes the opening, wherein the face member includes a face portion that forms the striking face, and a peripheral portion that extends from a peripheral edge of the face portion toward a back side of the golf club head, the peripheral portion of the face member is welded to the body member, a weld bead that juts from the head inner surface is formed at a boundary position between the peripheral portion and the body member, the wall thickness at a face-side end point of the weld bead is greater than the wall thickness at a body-side end point of the weld bead, the peripheral portion has a length of greater than or equal to 2.5 mm and less than or equal to 6 mm, in a vertical cross section of the golf club head, when a tangent line to a cross-sectional contour line of the striking face at a midpoint Pa of the cross-sectional contour line of the striking face is defined as tangent line Ta, a point that is positioned on the head inner surface and that corresponds to the midpoint Pa is defined as a point Pb, and a straight line that passes through the point Pb and is parallel to the tangent line Ta is defined as straight line Tb, then the weld bead is located on the back side with respect to the straight line Tb, when a direction of a normal line that is normal to the striking face at the midpoint Pa is defined as a face normal direction, the length of the peripheral portion is a length measured from the peripheral edge of the striking face in the face normal direction, the peripheral portion includes a crown-side peripheral portion that is formed in a crown-side part of the face member, and the weld bead formed at the boundary position between the crown-side peripheral portion and the body member is located on a lower side with respect to the head inner surface at a position corresponding to a position of an uppermost point of a crown portion of the golf club head. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The golf club head according to claim 16, wherein the crown-side peripheral portion includes a crown-side backward extending portion that extends further backward than the face portion, and a length of the crown-side backward extending portion is smaller than a maximum thickness of the face portion. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The golf club head according to claim 16, wherein when a portion that extends from the peripheral edge of the face portion to the weld bead is defined as a face-side weld vicinity portion, the face-side weld vicinity portion has an inner surface that constitutes a curved surface, and a radius of curvature of the inner surface of the face-side weld vicinity portion is greater than or equal to 7 mm. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The golf club head according to claim 18, wherein a wall thickness of the face-side weld vicinity portion decreases as its proximity to the face portion decreases.