Golf Club Head Badge Structural Members for Sound Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cavity-back golf club heads with thin front faces experience increased vibration and sound upon impact, leading to an unpleasant feel, as conventional damping methods are either too heavy or ineffective in stiffening the topline of the club head.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating structural members behind the front face of the golf club head to provide targeted stiffness and damping, with the ability to move these members to areas of maximum deflection and integrate them into badges for improved sound reduction, using materials like VHB tape for additional damping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional badges or inserts are placed in the cavity for vibration and sound damping, then sound damping is achieved, but the club head becomes too heavy which adversely impacts performance and feel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the damping structure by using thin structural members with high area moment of inertia rather than thick conventional badges. This allows achieving the required stiffness and damping effect while maintaining low weight. The structural members are designed with optimized thickness and geometric configuration to provide maximum damping with minimum mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining the structural members made of stiff material with viscoelastic damping material (such as VHB tape) between the structural members and the rear surface of the face. This composite approach allows the stiff structural members to control vibration while the viscoelastic material provides energy dissipation, achieving effective damping without excessive weight.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the front face of the golf club head is made thinner to increase coefficient of restitution, then COR is improved, but vibration and sound generation increase leading to unpleasant feel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces structural members as intermediary elements positioned between the thin front face and the cavity. These structural members act as mediators that capture and control the vibrations generated by the thin face during impact, preventing excessive vibration and sound transmission while allowing the thin face design to maintain high coefficient of restitution.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If stiff badges are used to improve vibration damping efficiency, then sound damping is improved, but the badge becomes too heavy which reduces coefficient of restitution and increases center of gravity height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning structural members with high area moment of inertia specifically at locations where vibration control is most needed, rather than using a uniformly thick heavy badge across the entire cavity. This localized approach provides targeted vibration damping efficiency while minimizing overall weight addition to the club head.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If vibration dampers are affixed only at the face center, then some damping is achieved, but club head performance decreases and topline stiffening is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the damping solution from a single point (face center) to multiple dimensions by placing structural members at strategically located positions including near the toe and heel regions and extending vertically toward the topline. This multi-dimensional distribution of structural members provides both vibration damping and topline stiffening effects simultaneously.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces sound and vibration, enhancing the feel of the club by increasing stiffness and area moment of inertia, while maintaining light weight and avoiding the performance drawbacks of conventional damping systems.
Implementation Method 1
constraining a layer of viscoelastic material (e.g., VHB Tape) disposed between a rear surface of the face and the badge. The face bends during vibration thereby shearing the VHB tape, which results in damping of the vibration.
Implementation Method 2
The face bends during vibration thereby shearing the VHB tape, which results in damping of the vibration.
Implementation Method 3
the stiffness (S) of the badge becomes a function of the badge's area moment of inertia (I). In other words, S=E×I.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure concerns embodiments of a badge and golf club head having a badge therein that can dampen the impact sound made when a hitting surface (a.k.a., face) of the golf club head impacts a golf ball. In one embodiment, a golf club head includes: a face portion surrounded by a topline portion, a toe portion, a sole portion and a heel portion, the face portion having a front striking surface and a back surface; and a badge coupled to the back surface of the face portion, the badge including a planar main body portion and at least one structural member extending outwardly from the main body portion, wherein the at least one structural member includes a lower portion and an upper portion disposed between the topline portion and lower portion, and wherein the at least one structural member has a maximum height, above the main body portion, at the lower portion and a minimum height at the upper portion.