Golf Club Head Flexure Face Insert
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional golf club heads face challenges in achieving a larger 'sweet zone' with uniform high initial ball speed due to variations in impact location on the club face, leading to inefficient energy transfer and reduced distance, while also needing to withstand repeated impacts without deformation.
Innovation Solution
The golf club head design incorporates a flexure mechanism with a face insert made of maraging steel, spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface, which provides adjustable compliance characteristics by allowing the face to flex and rebound, optimizing the coefficient of restitution (COR) and distributing stress across the face.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the face thickness is increased to ensure structural integrity, then the club head can withstand repeated impacts without deformation, but the initial ball speed and coefficient of restitution decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the face thickness across different regions. The face insert has a non-uniform thickness distribution with a thinned central region (0.5-1.5mm) for higher ball speed and COR, while maintaining thicker peripheral regions for structural integrity. This allows different parts of the face to have different mechanical properties optimized for their specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining a face insert (made of maraging steel, stainless steel, or titanium alloy) with the main club head body (typically titanium). This composite construction allows the face insert to provide the necessary flexibility and strength characteristics that differ from the main body, enabling both high COR and structural integrity simultaneously.
2Speed
If the face is made thinner to increase coefficient of restitution, then initial ball speed increases, but the club head becomes more susceptible to deformation under impact loads
Solution Approach 1:
The face insert employs local quality through non-uniform thickness distribution. The central impact area is thinned (0.5-1.5mm) to maximize COR and ball speed, while the peripheral areas maintain greater thickness for strength. This localized variation allows the face to be thin where needed for performance while remaining strong where structural support is critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by varying the thickness parameter of the face insert across its surface area. The thickness transitions from a minimum of 0.5mm at the center to maximum of 2.0mm at the periphery, creating a gradient structure that optimizes both flexibility for high ball speed and sufficient thickness for deformation resistance.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the club face flexibility is increased to maximize energy transfer, then the coefficient of restitution improves, but the uniformity of ball speed across the face decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The face insert uses local quality with a non-uniform thickness profile where the central region is thinned to enhance flexibility and energy transfer for higher COR, while peripheral regions maintain greater thickness. This creates zones of different flexibility that work together to improve overall energy transfer while maintaining reasonable uniformity across the face.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by creating a face structure that can dynamically adapt its flexibility characteristics during impact. The varying thickness allows the face to exhibit different degrees of flexing depending on the impact location, with the thinned central area providing greater dynamic response for maximum energy transfer while thicker edges provide stability.
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
This design enhances the club's ability to maintain high initial ball speed across a larger area of the face, reducing backspin and increasing ball travel distance while maintaining structural integrity through the use of a flexible and durable face insert.
Implementation Method 1
The face insert is constructed of maraging steel and has a thickness less than 2.0 mm. The flexure is spaced aftward of the ball-striking surface... allows the face to flex and rebound, optimizing the coefficient of restitution (COR)
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head including a crown, a sole, a hosel, a face and a flexure. The flexure provides compliance during an impact between the golf club head and a golf ball, and is tuned to vibrate, immediately after impact, at a predetermined frequency. A filler at least partially fills the cavity defined between the front wall and the rear wall of the flexure and is exposed to the interior of the golf club head.