Golf club head with polymeric face
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorRaymond J. Sander
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A golf club head includes a body and a face plate insert. The body includes an annular face support having a recessed shelf configured to receive the face plate insert, and partially defining a central cavity. The face plate insert includes a hitting surface and a rear surface that is opposite the hitting surface. The face plate insert is disposed within the annular face such that the rear surface of the face plate insert abuts the recessed shelf. The face plate insert includes a polymeric material that is disposed across the cavity and that has a tensile strength of at least about 220 MPa.
Claims20
A golf club head comprising:
- a body including an annular face support having an inner sidewall adjacent to a recessed shelf configured to receive a face plate insert, wherein the annular face support partially defines a central cavity;
- a face plate insert having a hitting surface and a rear surface opposite the hitting surface, the face plate insert disposed within the annular face support such that the rear surface of the face plate insert abuts the shelf and such that the face plate insert is spaced from the inner side wall to define an adhesive channel between the face plate insert and the inner side wall;
- wherein at least one of the inner side wall and the face plate insert defines a recess in communication with the adhesive channel such that an adhesive provided within the channel is capable of flowing into the recess and facilitating a mechanical bond between the face plate insert and the annular face support;
- and
- wherein the face plate insert includes a polymeric material that consists of a filled or unfilled thermoplastic polymer that is disposed across the cavity when the rear surface of the face plate insert abuts the shelf, and wherein the polymeric material has a tensile strength of at least about 220 MPa.
A golf club head comprising:
- a body including an annular face support having an inner sidewall and a recessed shelf configured to receive a face plate insert, wherein the annular face support partially defines a central cavity;
- a face plate insert having a hitting surface and a rear surface opposite the hitting surface, the face plate insert disposed within the annular face such that the rear surface of the face plate insert abuts the shelf and such that the face plate insert is spaced from the inner side wall to define an adhesive channel between the face plate insert and the inner side wall;
- wherein at least one of the inner side wall and the face plate insert defines a recess in communication with the adhesive channel such that an adhesive provided within the channel is capable of flowing into the recess and facilitating a mechanical bond between the face plate insert and the annular face support;
- wherein the face plate insert is a laminate formed from a polymeric material layer in contact with a metallic hitting plate, the metallic hitting plate forming the hitting surface of the face plate insert,
- wherein each of the polymeric material layer and the metallic hitting plate extend across the central cavity when the rear surface of the face plate insert abuts the shelf;
- and
- wherein the polymeric material is a molded thermoplastic that consists of a filled or unfilled thermoplastic polymer and has a tensile strength of at least about 220 MPa.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.