Golf Club Head Variable Bulge and Roll for Consistent Flight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Golf club heads experience twisting and spin issues when the point of impact is not aligned with the center face, leading to inconsistent ball flight due to gear effect, bulge, and roll properties.
Innovation Solution
A golf club head design with a twisted striking face featuring varying loft and face angle contours, including toe and heel side roll and bulge curvatures, to counteract spin and alignment errors, with adjustable loft, lie, and face angle options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the club face has constant bulge and roll radius, then the manufacturing is simple, but off-center hits cause gear effect and inconsistent ball flight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing variable bulge and roll radii at different locations on the club face. The bulge radius varies from a first value at the heel to a second value at the toe, and the roll radius varies from a third value at the crown to a fourth value at the sole. This localized variation in geometric properties allows different regions of the face to compensate for off-center impacts, reducing gear effect and improving ball flight consistency without requiring complex adjustable mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by systematically varying the bulge and roll radius parameters across the club face surface. By transitioning these geometric parameters from constant values to location-dependent values, the design optimizes the moment of inertia distribution and reduces twisting moments during off-center impacts. This parametric approach maintains manufacturing feasibility while significantly improving performance consistency.
2Reliability
If the striking face has varying loft and face angle contours, then off-center hits are compensated, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes spheroidality by defining the club face with specific bulge and roll curvatures that create controlled spherical-like surfaces. The bulge radius and roll radius parameters define the curvature at different face locations, allowing the face to be manufactured using precision forming tools that can replicate these curved geometries. This curved surface approach naturally compensates for off-center impacts by varying the effective loft and face angle, improving ball flight reliability while maintaining manufacturability through standardized forming processes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the club head has adjustable loft, lie, and face angle options, then adaptability to different players is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single club head platform that can be configured with multiple loft, lie, and face angle specifications. The variable bulge and roll radius design provides a foundation that works effectively across different club specifications, allowing one base design to serve multiple player needs and performance requirements. This multi-functional approach enables manufacturers to offer a range of adjustable options without requiring entirely different club head designs for each specification.
Data Source
AI summary
Golf club heads are described having a club head portion, a shaft portion connected to the club head portion, and a grip portion connected to the shaft portion. The club head portion has a heel portion, a sole portion, a toe portion, a crown portion, a hosel portion, and a striking face. The striking face can have a center face roll contour, a toe side roll contour, a heel side roll contour, a center face bulge contour, a crown side bulge contour, and a sole side bulge contour. The toe side roll contour can be more lofted than the center face roll contour. The heel side roll contour can be less lofted than the center face roll contour. The crown side bulge contour can be more open than the center face bulge contour, and the sole side bulge contour can be more closed than the center face bulge contour.