# US 9,433,835 B2 · Golf club head with improved striking face

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- Number: US 9,433,835 B2
- Document ID: US9433835B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/854,817
- Filed: 2013-04-01
- Published: 2014-10-02
- Granted: 2016-09-06
- Earliest claimed: 2013-04-01
- Assignees: Acushnet Company
- Applicants: Acushnet Company
- Inventors: Ryuichi Sugimae; Uday V. Deshmukh; Heng-Jui Henry Yeh
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9433835B2

## CPC

- A63B 60/00: Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
- A63B 53/04: Heads
- A63B 53/0466: {wood-type}
- C22F 1/183: {of titanium or alloys based thereon}
- A63B 53/0416: {Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert}
- A63B 53/042: {the face insert consisting of a material different from that of the head}
- A63B 53/0462: {characterised by tapering thickness of the impact face plate}
- A63B: APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT (apparatus for passive exercising, massage A61H)
- C22F: CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS (surface treatment of metallic material involving at least one process provided for in class C23 and at least one process covered by this subclass, C23F17/00)

## Abstract

A golf club head with an improved striking face is disclosed herein. More specifically, the present invention utilizes an innovative die quenching method that can alter the Young's modulus of the material of the striking face. The striking face portion of the present invention generally created from an α+β titanium alloy such as SP 700 that contains a β rich alloy composition to create more phase change in the alloying elements. In a preferred embodiment, the die quenching process could create a localized change in the material's Young's modulus throughout different regions of the striking face, resulting in a change in the Young's modulus of the material within the same striking face.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A golf club head comprising:
a striking face portion made out of one unitary material; and
an aft portion, attached to a rear of said striking face portion;
wherein said striking face portion is made out of an α-β titanium having a Molybdenum Equivalency between 4.0 and 9.75, and
wherein at least a portion of said striking face portion has a Young's modulus of less than about 90 GPa, and
wherein said striking face portion has a variable Young's modulus of said unitary material across at least one cross-sectional area, independent of material thickness.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said Young's modulus of said striking face portion is less than about 85 GPa.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The golf club head of claim 2, wherein said Young's modulus of said striking face portion is less than about 80 GPa.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said striking face portion has a variable Young's modulus across at least one cross-sectional area.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said striking face portion has a striking face with a maximum change in Young's modulus of greater than about 20 GPa.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The golf club head of claim 5, wherein said striking face portion has a striking face with a maximum change in Young's modulus of greater than about 25 GPa.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The golf club head of claim 6, wherein said striking face portion has a striking face with a maximum change in Young's modulus of greater than about 30 GPa.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said striking face portion has a Flexural Stiffness Ratio of greater than about 2.6, said Flexural Stiffness Ratio defined as a peak Flexural Stiffness of said striking face portion divided by a trough Flexural Stiffness of said striking face.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The golf club head of claim 8, wherein said striking face portion has a Flexural Stiffness Ratio of greater than about 2.65.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The golf club head of claim 9, wherein said striking face portion has a Flexural Stiffness Ratio of greater than about 4.0.