Golf Club Head Bracing Member for Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Excessive vibration or resonance in ball striking devices, such as golf club heads, leads to energy loss, undesirable sound, and poor feel during impact, reducing the efficiency and user experience.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a bracing member with trusses extending upward from the sole of the golf club head, which connects to multiple points on the upper sole surface and forms a bridge portion, to optimize resonance and vibration, thereby enhancing energy transfer and sound quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the golf club head structure is simplified without bracing members, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but vibration and resonance during impact increase causing energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The bracing member is divided into multiple segments including a first leg, second leg, third leg, and fourth leg that extend from different locations on the sole to the crown. This segmentation allows the bracing structure to effectively reduce vibration and resonance across multiple modes while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular construction
Solution Approach 2:
The bracing member may be constructed using composite materials or integrated into the club head as a composite structure, combining different materials to optimize both structural integrity for vibration reduction and manufacturing processes. This allows the bracing element to provide necessary stiffness for energy transfer while being manufacturable through various techniques
2Loss of energy
If bracing members are added to reduce vibration, then energy transfer to the ball is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracing member is merged with the crown and sole of the club head, with its ends integrated into these structural components. This merging approach allows the bracing element to provide vibration reduction benefits while being incorporated into the existing club head architecture, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The bracing member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it reduces vibration and resonance, provides structural support between the sole and crown, and may contribute to weight distribution. This multi-functionality justifies the added structural complexity by delivering multiple performance benefits from a single integrated component
3Ease of manufacture
If excessive vibration is present during impact, then manufacturing is simpler, but sound quality and user feel deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attempting to dampen vibration after it occurs, the bracing member is designed to prevent excessive vibration from occurring in the first place by providing structural stiffness and altering the natural frequencies of the club head. This inversion approach addresses the sound quality issue proactively during the impact event rather than reactively
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 bracing member effectively reduces unwanted vibration, increasing energy and velocity transfer to the ball, improving the sound and feel of the impact, and allowing for strategic weighting to enhance performance.
Implementation Method 1
The vibration or resonance of certain components of a ball striking device, such as a golf club head, during impact may influence the energy and velocity transferred to the ball upon impact. Excessive vibration or resonance can increase damping and thereby cause energy loss or dissipation
Implementation Method 2
The vibration or resonance of certain components of a ball striking device, such as a golf club head, during impact may influence the energy and velocity transferred to the ball upon impact
Data Source
AI summary
A head for a ball striking device includes a bracing member connected to an upper sole surface located on the sole of the body opposite the bottom sole surface. The bracing member includes a first end connected to a first point on the upper sole surface, a second end connected to a second point on the upper sole surface spaced from the first point, and a bridge portion extending between the first and second ends. The bridge portion extends upward from the upper sole surface and is spaced from the upper sole surface. The bridge portion may be formed by one or more trusses, and may define a generally triangular shape in one embodiment. The first and second ends may be connected to the upper sole surface using a variety of techniques, e.g., welding or other integral joining technique, integral forming, adhesive or other bonding material, or other technique. The location of the bracing member may be determined using a modal analysis to determine a maximum displacement region.