Multi-piece driver with separately cast hosel

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a multi-piece golf club head having a metal hosel with adjustability features that is cast separately from a face component, sole, and crown, and then is permanently affixed to those other parts after casting is complete. The face component, sole, and crown may be composed of any suitable materials, but preferably each of the face component, the sole, and the crown are stamped from a metal material and are welded to the hosel.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 589,157, filed on Jan. 20, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not ApplicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]1. Field of the Invention[0004]The present invention relates to a multi-piece golf club head having a separately cast metal hosel.[0005]2. Description of the Related Art[0006]Golf club manufacturers have traditionally used expensive tooling or machining to form hosels in metal, wood-type golf clubs in an effort to make their designs more affordable and producible on a mass scale. This is particularly true for manufacturing multi-piece drivers, which typically include separately formed crowns, soles, and face components. The hosel element of the driver is complex because it needs to connect to all of these pieces, but machining or fo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is about a new golf club head design that has a separately cast hosel. This means that the traditional way of making the hosel is replaced with a new method that allows for more complex geometry and adjustability features without adding extra material or tooling costs. The materials used in casting are also stronger, resulting in more durable and less brittle hosel features.

Problems solved by technology

The hosel element of the driver is complex because it needs to connect to all of these pieces, but machining or forming the hosel limits the overall geometry and complexity of the resulting club head.

These manufacturing limitations can lead to issues with material availability and strength.

In particular, the materials that permit machining or tooling usually are not strong enough to accommodate current adjustable hosel designs.

In fact, testing of multi-piece driver designs having machined or tooled adjustable hosels has revealed cracking and failure in various features of the adjustable hosels, even if the material used is easily forged and permits good tool life.

The use of stronger material to machine or tool adjustable hosels is also not ideal, as it causes too much wear on the tool and takes too long to machine for production purposes.

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