Golf Club Cam Weight Blind Recess Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf club weighting mechanisms require through-holes or openings that need to be covered, adding unnecessary weight and complexity for optimizing center of gravity and moment of inertia, which is not ideal for performance and compliance with regulations.
Innovation Solution
A cam weight system with a lockable, interference fit structure that uses cylindrical weight ports and helical wings without through-openings, allowing for adjustable weight placement without screws or covers, utilizing a tool engagement feature for secure locking and self-centering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If removable weight screws or weight plugs are used for adjustable weighting, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity worsens due to required through-holes and covers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the through-holes and covers from the weighting system by using blind recesses instead. The weight members are installed in blind recesses that do not require through-openings, eliminating the need for covers while maintaining adjustability. This resolves the contradiction by removing the complex cover mechanism while preserving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using through-holes that extend completely through the club head (requiring covers), the patent inverts the approach by using blind recesses that terminate within the club head body. This inversion eliminates the need for covers and through-openings, reducing device complexity while maintaining the adjustable weighting function.
2Reliability
If covers are added to weight ports to conform to USGA regulations, then regulatory compliance is improved, but weight optimization worsens due to added weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the covers entirely from the design by using blind recesses that do not require covering. The recesses are configured to accept weight members in a manner that inherently complies with USGA regulations without requiring additional cover components. This eliminates the extra weight while maintaining regulatory compliance.
3Ease of manufacture
If through-holes are used for weight adjustment mechanisms, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision worsens due to alignment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional through-hole approach by using blind recesses. This inversion eliminates the need for precise alignment of through-holes across multiple components, as the recesses are formed directly in the club head body. The weight members are pressed into these recesses, requiring minimal alignment precision compared to through-hole installations.
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head comprising at least one weight port and a cam weight sized to reversibly lock into the weight port is disclosed herein. The weight port includes a floor, a wall, a first seating tab extending from the wall, and a second seating tab extending from the wall, but no openings communicating with an interior of the golf club head. The cam weight, which preferably is composed of a single material, includes a cylindrical body, a first helical wing, a second helical wing, and a tool engagement feature. The helical wings give the cam weight a keyed shape, which matches the shape of the weight port when the seating tabs are taken into account.