Golf Club Head Stiffening Rib for Rear Weight Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Golf club heads with lightweight materials and localized mass systems experience accelerated fatigue failure and oscillations due to recoil and bending after impact, which is not adequately addressed by existing structures.
Innovation Solution
A multi-material golf club head design featuring a stiffening rib that supports a weight system at the rear of the club head, reducing oscillations and improving durability by stabilizing the club head during impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If lightweight materials are used in the hollow shell construction to save weight, then material weight savings are achieved and mass can be localized for optimal CG and MOI characteristics, but the club head experiences accelerated fatigue failure and oscillations due to recoil and bending after impact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a multi-material construction combining lightweight materials (such as titanium or composite alloys) for the hollow shell body with strategically placed denser materials in localized weight systems. This composite approach achieves weight savings while maintaining structural integrity and resistance to fatigue failure through the synergistic properties of different materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The club head is divided into functional segments: a lightweight hollow shell body for weight reduction, localized weight systems for mass concentration and CG control, and reinforced rib structures for structural support. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the shell for weight, the weight systems for CG/MOI, and the ribs for fatigue resistance.
2Strength
If ribs are added to add desired rigidity to the crown and sole for light weight support, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Ribs are strategically positioned only in specific high-stress regions such as the crown and sole areas where additional rigidity is most needed for supporting the lightweight construction. The face and other low-stress areas maintain thinner walls for weight savings. This localized reinforcement provides necessary strength while minimizing overall structural complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If mass is localized through external weights or weight systems, then optimal CG and MOI characteristics are achieved, but oscillatory club head motion after impact is exacerbated
Solution Approach 1:
The localized weight systems serve as counterweights that not only establish optimal CG positioning for performance but also act as stabilizing masses that reduce oscillatory motion after impact. The strategic placement of these weights creates a balanced mass distribution that dampens unwanted vibrations and stabilizes the club head during the recoil phase.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein is a hollow golf club head comprising a first component adhered to a second component. The golf club head comprises a strikeface configured to strike a golf ball, a rear portion opposite the strikeface, a crown, a sole opposite the crown, a heel end, and a toe end opposite the heel end; wherein the first component comprises a crown return extending rearwardly from the strikeface, the crown return forming a portion of the crown; a sole return extending rearwardly form the strikeface, the sole return forming a portion of the sole; a sole extension extending rearwardly from the sole return and forming a portion of the sole; and a back rail connected to the sole extension; wherein the back rail comprises a top wall, a rear wall, and a lip; wherein the top wall, the rear wall, and the lip together define a channel extending along the back rail in a heel to toe direction; wherein the second component comprises a heel side wing and a toe side wing that extend from the crown to the sole around the heel end of the club head; wherein the sole extension extends a greater distance away from the strikeface, as measured in a direction from the strikeface to the rear, than the return; wherein the channel is configured to receive a weight portion; and wherein the first component comprises a majority of the overall mass of the golf club head.