Golf Club Head Inertia Optimization via Snap-Fit Weighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current golf club designs fail to optimize Moment of Inertia (MOI) characteristics, particularly neglecting the importance of MOI-Z and MOI-SA, which affects the performance and forgiveness of golf clubs, and do not effectively utilize Center of Gravity (CG) location for enhanced performance.
Innovation Solution
A golf club head design with a frontal portion made of high-density material and a rear portion made of lower-density material, featuring weighting members and angled strut members to achieve a high MOI-Y and MOI-X while minimizing MOI-Z and MOI-SA, and strategically locating the CG to optimize performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the MOI of the golf club head is increased to improve forgiveness, then the ability to resist rotational movement upon impact is improved, but the MOI-Z and MOI-SA values are not optimized, limiting overall performance
Solution Approach 1:
The golf club head is divided into multiple functional zones with different inertial properties. The weighting members are positioned at specific locations (heel, toe, crown, sole) to independently influence MOI-Y and MOI-X without significantly increasing MOI-Z. This segmentation allows selective optimization of different MOI components to achieve both high forgiveness and reduced twisting.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the golf club head are given different material densities and mass distributions. High-density weighting members are strategically placed in specific locations to locally increase MOI-Y and MOI-X where needed for forgiveness, while maintaining lower MOI-Z through the overall head geometry and strategic weight placement away from the Z-axis extremes.
2Reliability
If weighting members are added to control MOI, then the MOI-Y is improved for heel and toe impact stability, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple weighting members are integrated into a unified club head structure where the weights are positioned within recesses or cavities of the head body. This merging approach allows the weighting members to be installed as separate components rather than requiring complex multi-material casting, simplifying manufacturing while achieving the desired MOI-Y control for heel and toe impact stability.
3Reliability
If the CG location is moved rearward to increase MOI, then the MOI-Y is improved, but the MOI-Z and MOI-SA remain unoptimized, limiting club head speed and ball speed
Solution Approach 1:
The inertial parameters of the golf club head are independently tuned by changing the mass distribution through strategically positioned weighting members. By adjusting the mass, position, and configuration of these weights, the patent achieves high MOI-Y for forgiveness while simultaneously optimizing MOI-Z and MOI-SA to minimize unwanted twisting and maximize club head speed and ball speed.
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head that is capable improving on the inertia properties of a golf club head all while also improving the Center of Gravity (CG) location is disclosed herein. More specifically, the golf club head in accordance with the present invention achieves a relative low Moment of Inertia (MOI) about the Z-axis (MOI-Z) as well as a relatively low MOI about the Shaft-axis (MOI-SA), all combined with a high MOI about the X and Y-axis (MOI-X and MOI-Y) and maintaining a consistently and relatively low CG location measured along a direction tangent to the hosel axis along the X-Y plane (CG-B). The golf club head includes a frontal portion and a rear portion, each including one or more cantilevered extensions and one or more elongate protrusions that collectively constitute a snap fit mechanism adapted to removably couple the frontal portion to the rear portion.