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US 9,539,475 B2Granted
Golf club weight attachment mechanisms and related methods
AssigneeKarsten Manufacturing Corporation
InventorsEric J. Morales, Martin R. Jertson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of golf club weight attachment mechanisms are described herein. In some embodiments, a golf club head comprises a head body with an interior cavity, a shell portion, and a bracket with a weight member coupled to the bracket. In one embodiment, the bracket and the weight member can be configured to be fully contained within the interior cavity. Other examples and related methods are also described herein.
Claims24
A golf club head comprising:
- a head body selected from the group of golf club heads comprising a fairway-wood-type head, a driver-type head, and a hybrid-type head, comprising:
- an interior cavity, and
- a body opening coupled to the interior cavity;
- a shell portion configured to couple to the body opening;
- a bracket coupled to the shell portion;
- and
- a weight member coupled to the bracket;
- wherein:
- the weight member is:
- denser and harder than the head body;
- denser and harder than the bracket;
- and
- denser and harder than the shell portion;
- the bracket and the weight member are configured to be fully contained within the interior cavity;
- the bracket comprises a malleable lip configured to clamp the weight member in place at the shell portion;
- the bracket and the shell portion comprise a single piece of the same material;
- a weld bead couples the shell portion to the body opening throughout a total thickness of a perimeter of the shell portion;
- the shell portion comprises at least a portion of a sole of the golf club head, and is located closer to a front portion of the golf club head than a rear portion of the golf club head;
- the weight member comprises a specific gravity greater than approximately 14;
- the shell portion comprises at least one of:
- a steel material;
- or
- a titanium material;
- and
- the weight member adjusts a center of gravity of the golf club head:
- at least 0.38 mm towards the sole if the golf club head comprises the fairway-wood-type head;
- at least 0.25 mm towards the sole if the golf club head comprises the driver-type head;
- or
- at least 0.4 mm towards the sole if the golf club head comprises the hybrid-type head.
26 more elements
A golf club head comprising:
- a head body selected from the group of golf club heads comprising a fairway-wood-type head, a driver-type head, and a hybrid-type head, comprising:
- an interior cavity, and
- a body opening coupled to the interior cavity;
- a shell portion configured to couple to the body opening;
- a bracket coupled to the shell portion;
- and
- a weight member coupled to the bracket and comprising a weight volume and a weight mass;
- wherein:
- the weight member is:
- denser and harder than the bracket;
- and
- denser and harder than the shell portion;
- the bracket and the weight member are configured to be fully contained within the interior cavity;
- the bracket comprises a malleable lip configured to plastically deform to clamp the weight member in place at the shell portion;
- the weight mass is:
- at least approximately 9.5% of a mass of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the fairway-wood-type head;
- at least approximately 3% of the mass of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the driver-type head;
- or
- at least approximately 12% of the mass of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the hybrid-type head;
- and
- the weight volume is:
- at most approximately 14% of a volume of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the fairway-wood-type head;
- at most approximately 5% of the volume of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the driver-type head;
- or
- at most approximately 30% of the volume of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the hybrid-type head.
22 more elements
A method for making a golf club head, the method comprising:
- providing a head body of the golf club head selected from the group of golf club heads comprising a fairway-wood-type head, a driver-type head, and a hybrid-type head;
- providing a weight member;
- providing a shell portion configured to couple with a body opening of the head body;
- coupling the weight member to the shell portion;
- and
- coupling the shell portion to the body opening;
- wherein:
- providing the shell portion comprises:
- providing an interior side of the shell portion configured to face an interior cavity of the head body;
- and
- providing a bracket coupled to the interior side of the shell portion, the bracket comprising a malleable lip;
- providing the weight member comprises:
- providing the weight member with a density greater than a density of the bracket and greater than a density of the shell portion;
- providing the weight member with a hardness greater than a hardness of the bracket and greater than a hardness of the shell portion;
- providing the weight member with a weight shape;
- providing the weight member with a specific gravity greater than approximately 14;
- and
- providing a weight volume of the weight member to comprise:
- at most approximately 14% of a volume of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the fairway-wood-type head;
- at most approximately 5% of the volume of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the driver-type head;
- or
- at most approximately 30% of the volume of the golf club head if the golf club head comprises the hybrid-type head;
- providing the bracket comprises:
- providing the bracket with a bracket cavity complementary to the weight shape;
- coupling the weight member to the shell portion comprises:
- inserting the weight member into the bracket;
- and
- clamping the weight member to the bracket to plastically deform the malleable lip over at least an inner portion of the weight member, the inner portion of the weight member configured to face towards the interior cavity of the head body;
- inserting the weight member into the bracket comprises:
- placing the weight member into the bracket cavity;
- clamping the weight member to the bracket comprises:
- compressing the malleable lip against the weight member with a press;
- and
- coupling the shell portion to the body opening comprises:
- fully containing the weight member and the bracket within the interior cavity of the head body;
- coupling the shell portion to form at least a portion of a sole of the golf club head;
- welding or brazing the shell portion to the head body throughout a thickness of the shell portion;
- and
- adjusting a center of gravity of the weight member:
- at least approximately 0.38 mm towards the sole if the golf club head comprises the fairway-wood-type head;
- at least approximately 0.25 mm towards the sole if the golf club head comprises the driver-type head;
- or
- at least approximately 0.4 mm towards the sole if the golf club head comprises the hybrid-type head.
40 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.