Golf Club Head Damping Insert for Vibration Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf club heads with vibration damping inserts often compromise the coefficient of restitution (COR) and performance by damping vibrations at impact, rather than after impact, which reduces ball velocity and face performance.
Innovation Solution
A golf club head design featuring a damping insert, or bumper, positioned between a medallion and a support structure, which is affixed with adhesive and moves away from the striking face after impact, allowing the face to rebound without direct contact, thus damping vibrations without affecting COR.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a damping insert is compressed between the striking face and another portion of the golf club head at impact, then vibrations in the striking face are damps, but the coefficient of restitution (COR) is reduced and face performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper is pre-positioned between the medallion and support structure in a ready state before impact. During impact, the face section moves independently without immediate bumper contact, allowing COR optimization. The bumper engages only after the ball has left the face, damping vibrations during the rebound phase without affecting the impact performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The bumper acts as a pre-positioned cushioning element that becomes active only after impact. It is designed to compress during the rebound phase when vibrations need damping, rather than during the impact phase where COR is critical. This timing-based activation allows both high COR during impact and effective vibration damping during rebound.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a damping insert is positioned to contact the striking face at impact, then sound vibrations are reduced, but ball velocity and face performance are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper is designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing it to move from an initial non-contact position to a compressed position during the rebound phase. The front medallion surface and bumper can move away from the face section during impact, creating a dynamic system that adapts to different phases of ball interaction - maintaining ball velocity during impact while damping sound vibrations during rebound.
Solution Approach 2:
The bumper serves as an intermediary element between the face section and the support structure, but it is designed to mediate only during the rebound phase. The adhesive material allows controlled movement and positioning, enabling the bumper to act as a temporary mediator that engages after ball separation to dampen vibrations without interfering with the ball-face interaction that determines ball velocity.
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 unwanted vibrations in the striking face after impact without impeding ball velocity or face performance, maintaining the COR and optimizing sound reduction.
Implementation Method 1
the bumper damps vibration in the face section after impact with the golf ball
Data Source
AI summary
An iron-type golf club head comprising a body with a striking face and a hollow cavity portion, a medallion, and a damping insert that is spaced from, and does not contact any portion of, the striking face is disclosed herein. The damping insert is trapped between the medallion and a support structure that extends from the body of the club head approximately parallel with the striking face, and is at least partially suspended over or in the cavity portion. The structure may be an elongated stiffening member that connects upper and lower portions of the body to one another, or a rectangular lip section. The damping insert is affixed to only one of the medallion and the structure with an adhesive material, and damps vibration in the striking face after the striking face makes contact with a golf ball, while the striking face is rebounding from impact.