# US 8,784,234 B2 · Golf club head with a body-conforming weight member > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,784,234 B2 - Document ID: US8784234B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/178,261 - Filed: 2011-07-07 - Published: 2012-02-02 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2010-07-27 - Assignees: SRI Sports Limited - Applicants: Sam G. Lacey; Dan S. Nivanh; Nathaniel J. Radcliffe; Dustin J. Brekke - Inventors: Sam G. Lacey; Dan S. Nivanh; Nathaniel J. Radcliffe; Dustin J. Brekke - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8784234B2 ## CPC - A63B 53/0466: {wood-type} - A63B 53/04: Heads - A63B 60/02: Ballast means for adjusting the centre of mass (A63B60/24, A63B60/54 take precedence) - A63B 53/0408: {characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness} - A63B 53/0412: {Volume} - A63B 53/0433: {with special sole configurations} - A63B 60/002: {Resonance frequency related characteristics} - A63B 2053/0491: {with added weights, e.g. changeable, replaceable} - A63B 2209/02: with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres - A63B: APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT (apparatus for passive exercising, massage A61H) ## Abstract A golf club head includes a main body having a top portion, a bottom portion, a striking face, and an interior surface. A weight member is coupled to the interior surface of the main body. In an imaginary vertical plane that passes through the weight member, the interior surface of the main body comprises a first point and a second point. An imaginary line passes through the first point and the second point. A first imaginary boundary line and a second imaginary boundary line, both passing through the weight member and being perpendicular to the imaginary line, pass through the first point and the second point, respectively. Between the first point and the second point, the interior surface of the main body has an irregularity factor of at least 1.2 and the weight member comprises a distribution factor of at most 1.0 and a conformity factor of at most 0.07. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A golf club head oriented in a reference position and comprising: a main body comprising: a heel, a toe, a top portion, and a bottom portion; a striking face having a face center; a forward-most extent, and a rearward-most extent; an interior surface, and an exterior surface; a hosel; a peripheral edge; an overall club-head width measured in a heel-toe direction; an overall club-head length measured in a forward-rearward direction; and a geometric center; and a discrete weight member coupled to the interior surface of the main body, the weight member comprising a density of at least about 3 g/cm3, a projection area, in a top plan view, of at least about 2 cm2, a first surface that is proximate the interior surface of the main body, and a second surface that is distal the interior surface of the main body, a majority of the mass of the weight member located in a three-dimensional space, bounded, in a top plan view, between the peripheral edge and an imaginary inner boundary inwardly offset from the peripheral edge by a distance of 0.3 times the overall club head length, wherein, in an imaginary vertical plane that passes through the weight member: the interior surface of the main body comprises a first point and a second point; an imaginary line passes through the first point and the second point; a first imaginary boundary line perpendicular to the imaginary line and passing through the first point passes through the weight member; a second imaginary boundary line perpendicular to the imaginary line and passing through the second point passes through the weight member; between the first point and the second point, the interior surface of the main body comprises an irregularity factor of at least 1.2; and between the first point and the second point, the weight member comprises a distribution factor of at most 1.0 and a conformity factor of at most 0.07. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein, between the first point and the second point, the golf club head further comprises an average gap distance between the weight member and the interior surface of the main body, the gap distance being at most about 1.0 millimeter. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the distribution factor of the weight member is at least 0.1. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the conformity factor of the weight member is at most 0.05, and the distribution factor of the weight member is at least 0.25. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein, in the imaginary vertical plane: the weight member further comprises a first lateral endpoint and a second lateral endpoint; and the first imaginary boundary line passes through the first lateral endpoint and the second imaginary boundary line passes through the second lateral endpoint. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the irregularity factor of the interior surface of the main body is at least 1.25. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the irregularity factor of the interior surface of the main body is at least 1.30. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight member further comprises a weight-member width in the heel-toe direction wherein a ratio of the weight-member width to the overall club-head width is at least 0.3. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein: the weight member is coupled to the bottom portion of the main body; and the bottom portion of the main body comprises a material having an elongation of at least about 10%. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight member is secured to the main body by an attachment method chosen from the group consisting of welding, brazing, adhesive bonding, and mechanical fastening. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a total club-head mass wherein a ratio of the mass of the weight member to the total club-head mass is at least 0.04. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a total club-head mass between about 150 g and about 225 g. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the volume of the golf club head is at least about 250 cm3. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight member further comprises a peripheral recess. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the weight member comprises a plurality of peripheral recesses. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the weight member comprises a first material and the peripheral recess is at least partially filled with a second material that is different from the first material. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The golf club head of claim 16, wherein the second material joins the weight member to the interior surface of the main body. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first surface of the weight member comprises a first position locator and the interior surface of the main body comprises a second position locator, the first and second position locators being complementary to each other. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weight member comprises a material chosen from the group consisting of metals and polymers. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a primary natural frequency between about 3000 and about 4500 Hz. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a moment of inertia, Izz, of at least about 4000 g*cm2. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising a moment of inertia, Izz, of at least about 4500 g*cm2. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising an overall height, wherein a majority of the mass of the weight member is between a first imaginary horizontal plane that is spaced from the ground plane by a distance of 0.03 times the overall height of the golf club head and a second imaginary horizontal plane that is spaced from the ground plane by a distance of 0.25 times the overall height of the golf club head. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The golf club head of claim 23, wherein at least 75% of the mass of the weight member is between the first imaginary horizontal plane and the second imaginary horizontal plane. ### Claim 25 A golf club head oriented in a reference position and comprising: a main body comprising: a heel, a toe, a top portion, and a bottom portion; a striking face having a face center; a forward-most extent, and a rearward-most extent; an interior surface, and an exterior surface; a peripheral edge; a hosel; an overall club-head length measured in a forward-rearward direction; and an overall club-head width measured in a heel-toe direction; and a discrete weight member coupled to the interior surface of the main body, the weight member having a density of at least about 3 g/cm3, a projection area, in a top plan view, of at least about 2 cm2, a first surface proximate the interior surface of the main body, and a second surface distal the interior surface of the main body, a majority of the mass of the weight member located in a three-dimensional space, bounded, in a top plan view, between the peripheral edge and an imaginary inner boundary inwardly offset from the peripheral edge by a distance of 0.3 times the overall club head length, wherein, in an imaginary vertical plane that passes through the weight member: the interior surface of the main body comprises a first point and a second point; an imaginary line passes through the first point and the second point; a first imaginary boundary line perpendicular to the imaginary line and passing through the first point passes through the weight member; a second imaginary boundary line perpendicular to the imaginary line and passing through the second point passes through the weight member; between the first point and the second point, the weight member comprises a distribution factor of at most 1.0; between the first point and the second point, the second surface of the weight member comprises a second-surface irregularity factor of at least 1.20; between the first point and the second point, the interior surface of the main body comprises an interior-surface irregularity factor of at least 1.20; and an intercomponent ratio of the second-surface irregularity factor to the interior-surface irregularity factor is between 0.70 and 1.3. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The golf club head of claim 25, wherein the intercomponent ratio of the second-surface irregularity factor to the interior surface irregularity factor is between 0.85 and 1.15. ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The golf club head of claim 25, wherein the distribution factor of the weight member is between 0.25 and 1.0. ### Claim 28 (depends on 25) The golf club head of claim 25, wherein the exterior surface of the main body comprises an exterior-surface irregularity factor of at least 1.20, and an intracomponent ratio of the interior-surface irregularity factor to the exterior-surface irregularity factor is between 0.70 and 1.3. ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) The golf club head of claim 25, wherein, between the first point and the second point, the golf club head further comprises an average gap distance, measured perpendicular to the imaginary line and between the first surface of the weight member and the interior surface of the main body, of at most 1.0 millimeter.