US 12,594,470 B2Granted

Irons with optimized face

AssigneeTaylor Made Golf Company, Inc.

InventorsConnor Mark Halberg, Scott Taylor

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Iron-type golf club heads can have a high-COR face portion with an optimized face thickness profile that maximizes selected performance characteristics, such as ball speed, ball spin or ball trajectory angle, while maintaining certain required constraint properties, such as keeping stresses low for durability. Such face portions can have certain regions that are significantly stiffer than other regions of the face portion. For example, a low region of the face portion can be significantly stiffer than a high region of the face, or one quadrant of the face can be significantly stiffer than other quadrants of the face. Disclosed face thickness profiles can feature irregularly shaped contours that maximize the distribution of material in the face for optimal performance characteristics within defined constraints.

Claims25

Dependent claims

An iron-type golf club head comprising:

a hosel portion, a toe portion, a topline portion, a sole portion, a rear portion, and a front portion;
wherein the front portion comprises a face portion configured to strike a golf ball;
wherein the face portion comprises horizontal scorelines;
wherein a ball-striking surface of the face portion has a center point that is located horizontally midway between maximum horizontal extents of the scorelines and the center point is located vertically 20 mm above an imaginary ground plane when the sole portion of the club head is resting on the imaginary ground plane and the club head is oriented with the scorelines parallel to the imaginary ground plane and with a plane of the ball-striking surface perpendicular to the imaginary ground plane;
wherein the face portion has a COR area, wherein the COR area is an area of the face portion that is from 50 mm2 to 300 mm2, where locations on the ball-striking surface have a COR of at least 0.790;
wherein a ratio of an average Et3 for a high-toe quadrant (HTQ) of the face portion divided by an average Et3 for a low-toe quadrant (LTQ) of the face portion is between 0.15 and 0.75;
wherein the face portion has a maximum thickness of no more than 3.25 mm;
and
wherein the club head has a balance point on the face portion and the balance point is off-center from the center point, wherein the balance point is below the center point from 0.25 mm to 3 mm.

6 more elements

An iron-type golf club head comprising:

a hosel portion, a toe portion, a topline portion, a sole portion, a rear portion, and a front portion;
wherein the front portion comprises a face portion configured to strike a golf ball;
wherein the face portion comprises horizontal scorelines;
wherein a ball-striking surface of the face portion has a center point that is located horizontally midway between maximum horizontal extents of the scorelines and the center point is located vertically 20 mm above an imaginary ground plane when the sole portion of the club head is resting on the imaginary ground plane and the club head is oriented with the scorelines parallel to the imaginary ground plane and with a plane of the ball-striking surface perpendicular to the imaginary ground plane;
wherein the face portion has a COR area, wherein the COR area is an area of the face portion that is from 50 mm2 to 300 mm2, where locations on the ball-striking surface have a COR of at least 0.790;
wherein a ratio of average Et3 for a high region of the face portion divided by an average Et3 for a low region of the face portion is between 0.15 and 0.75, where the high region comprises a high-toe quadrant (HTQ) of the face portion combined with a high-heel quadrant (HHQ) of the face portion, and the low region comprises a low-toe quadrant (LTQ) of the face portion combined with a low-heel quadrant (LHQ) of the face portion;
wherein an absolute value of a thickness difference between a first point located in the LTQ of the face portion and a second point located in the HHQ is between 0.65 mm and 2.3 mm, and a distance between the first point and the second point is at least 1.5*Zup;
and
wherein the face portion has a maximum thickness of no more than 3.5 mm.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/566,131Filed 30 Dec 2021 · continuation in part
Priority: 10 May 2019
Published: US 2022/0118326 A121 Apr 2022
Granted: 7 Apr 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

A63B 53/0475
Iron-type: with one or more enclosed cavities
A63B 53/005
Golf clubs: club sets
A63B 53/0408
Heads: characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness
A63B 53/0412
Characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness: volume

Family

Application62/846,492Us provisional application · filed 10 May 2019
Application62/954,211Us provisional application · filed 27 Dec 2019
Application16/870,714Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 8 May 2020
Application17/132,541Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 23 Dec 2020
Application17/330,033Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 25 May 2021
Application17/368,520Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 6 Jul 2021
US 2022/0118326 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Apr 2022
US 11,458,374 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 11,413,510 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 11,400,351 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 11,406,882 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2020/0353325 A1Published application
US 2021/0113897 A1Published application
US 2021/0275881 A1Published application
US 2021/0331045 A1Published application
US 12,594,470 B2This patent

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