Golf Club Head Adjustable Weighting via Slidable Rail Clamping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf club head designs with adjustable weighting mechanisms are complex, costly, and increase the overall weight of the club, limiting the manufacturer's discretionary mass and not optimizing weight adjustment along channels that intersect or follow the curvature of the club head.
Innovation Solution
A slidable weight system that fits within contoured tracks and can be clamped at any location, using a mechanical fastener with a clamping portion and tapered projections to securely engage with rails, allowing for reversible gripping and easy adjustment of the weight's position along intersecting channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple rails are used to clamp the weight in the channel, then the weight can be securely fixed, but the overall weight of the golf club head increases and the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of weight fixation from a complex multi-rail system and implements it through a single rail with a clamping mechanism. The weight assembly includes a clamping portion that engages with the single rail, eliminating the need for multiple rails while maintaining secure fixation. This reduces the overall weight and structural complexity of the golf club head.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functions of multiple rails into a single integrated rail structure. The single rail works in conjunction with the clamping portion of the weight assembly to achieve secure weight fixation. This merging of functions reduces the number of components and the overall weight of the golf club head while maintaining the reliability of weight positioning.
2Reliability
If multiple rails are used to clamp the weight in the channel, then the weight can be securely fixed, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of weight fixation from a complex multi-rail system and implements it through a single rail with a clamping mechanism. The weight assembly includes a clamping portion that engages with the single rail, eliminating the need for multiple rails while maintaining secure fixation. This reduces the overall weight and structural complexity of the golf club head.
Solution Approach 2:
The single rail in the patent serves multiple functions: it provides a guide for weight movement, a mounting surface for the clamping mechanism, and a structural element for securing the weight. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate components that would be required in a multi-rail system, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the weight can be adjusted along curved channels, then center of gravity control is improved, but the clamping mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic clamping mechanism that can adapt to curved channels. The clamping portion is designed to engage with the rail and maintain contact as the weight moves along curved paths. This dynamic design allows for versatile center of gravity control while keeping the clamping mechanism relatively simple through the use of elastic elements that automatically adjust to the channel geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the clamping mechanism, specifically through elastic elements that change their deformation state to accommodate curved channel geometries. This allows the same clamping mechanism to work effectively along both straight and curved channels without requiring complex adjustable components, thereby maintaining adaptability while controlling device complexity.
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
Enables simple and flexible adjustment of the center of gravity and moment of inertia while minimizing the fixed components and impact sound, allowing for aesthetic concealment and maximizing discretionary mass, thus improving the golf club's performance.
Implementation Method 1
the clamping portion to reversibly grip the upper portion of the first rail
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head comprising a means for adjusting the location of the center of gravity is disclosed herein. In particular, the golf club head of the present invention comprises two channels, each having at least one shoulder portion, a floor, and a rail extending upwards from the floor. The channels intersect at a junction, and a slidable weight comprising a top portion, a mechanical fastener, and a clamping structure is disposed within at least one of the channels. When the mechanical fastener is tightened, the top portion presses against the at least one shoulder portion and pulls the clamping structure upward so that the clamping structure grips the rail. The rails are spaced from one another at the junction, and the clamping structure allows the slidable weight to be moved into either of the channels without being indexed.