Golf Club Head Sole-Side Thin Area for Rebound
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hollow golf club heads, particularly fairway woods, face challenges in achieving high rebound performance due to the difficulty in stably forming a thin area on the sole side of the face member, which affects ball impact at the lower part of the club face.
Innovation Solution
A golf club head design featuring a hollow structure with a face portion, crown portion, and sole portion, where the face member is welded to the head main body with a crown-side welded part positioned near the upper edge and a sole-side welded part spaced apart from the lower edge, creating a sole-side thin area that can effectively bend upon impact, enhancing rebound performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a hollow golf club head structure is used, then production cost can be reduced by using a simple plate face member, but the rebound performance when hitting the lower part of the club face deteriorates due to inability to form a thin area on the sole side
Solution Approach 1:
The face member is divided into different thickness regions: a thin area on the sole side (distance B from lower edge) and a thicker area toward the crown side (distance A from upper edge). This segmentation allows the lower part to bend effectively for rebound while maintaining structural integrity and using a simple plate structure for cost-effective manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The face member is designed with non-uniform thickness distribution, where the sole-side thin area has reduced thickness compared to other regions. This local quality change enables effective bending and rebound performance at the lower impact zone while maintaining overall structural strength and using a simple plate construction.
2Manufacturing precision
If the sole-side welded part is positioned close to the lower edge, then the thin area can be formed, but the face member cannot extend sufficiently in the up-down direction to exert material characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The sole-side welded part is positioned at an optimal distance B from the lower edge, not too close to allow thin area formation, and not too far to maintain adequate face member extension. This partial positioning strategy balances thin area creation with sufficient material extension for exerting material characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The distances A and B are optimized as key parameters: distance B (from lower edge to sole-side welded part) is set to allow thin area formation while maintaining face member extension, and distance A (from upper edge to crown-side welded part) is controlled to ensure adequate material characteristics utilization. These parameter adjustments resolve the contradiction between thin area formation and material characteristic exertion.
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 design improves rebound performance by allowing the sole-side thin area to bend effectively upon ball impact and utilizes the face member's material characteristics to enhance overall performance, while maintaining low production costs through the use of a simple plate face member.
Implementation Method 1
the sole-side thin area can be bent effectively when a ball hits a lower part of the face portion
Implementation Method 2
a face member fitted in the opening and welded to the head main body
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head has a hollow structure composed of a head main body including a face portion provided with an opening and a face member fitted in the opening and welded to the head main body. The welded part between the face member and the head main body includes a crown-side welded part positioned substantially at the upper edge or alternatively spaced apart from the upper edge toward the lower edge by a certain distance, and a sole-side welded part spaced apart from the lower edge toward the upper edge by a certain distance which is more than zero and more than the distance. The face portion is provided between the sole-side welded part and the lower edge with a sole-side thin area whose thickness is less than a thickness of the face member.