Golf Club Head Slit Flexure Insert for Energy Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf club heads with uniform viscoelastic inserts in slits fail to provide variable stiffness and flexibility, leading to reduced energy transfer and performance issues such as lower ball speed and increased spin, as they dissipate energy instead of returning it to the club head.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a multi-material flexure insert with a spring component that varies stiffness and flexibility along the slit, using materials like spring steel or titanium to store and release energy efficiently, enhancing energy transfer between the club head and golf ball.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a uniform viscoelastic insert is used in the slit, then the slit is sealed and the club head structure is simplified, but energy transfer is reduced and ball speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transitioning from a uniform insert to a multi-material insert with spatially varying properties. The insert includes a first material (e.g., viscoelastic polymer) and a second material (e.g., elastic polymer or foam) arranged in different regions, where each material provides different stiffness characteristics. This allows the insert to provide energy return in specific regions while maintaining damping in others, optimizing both energy transfer and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent directly applies composite materials by combining multiple materials within the single insert component. The multi-material insert integrates materials with different mechanical properties (different moduli of elasticity) to achieve a balance between energy absorption and energy return. This composite approach enables the insert to simultaneously provide damping characteristics and elastic energy storage, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and energy transfer efficiency.
2Ease of manufacture
If a uniform viscoelastic insert is used in the slit, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but ball speed and internal energy are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-material insert applies local quality by positioning materials with different elastic moduli in specific regions of the insert. This spatial variation in material properties allows the insert to provide enhanced energy return and ball speed in critical impact regions while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through a unitary structure that can be produced as a single molded component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials within the insert to improve ball speed and internal energy without complicating the manufacturing process. By integrating multiple materials with complementary properties into a single insert component, the design achieves enhanced performance metrics while maintaining ease of manufacture through conventional molding techniques.
3Device complexity
If a uniform viscoelastic insert is used in the slit, then the insert structure is simplified, but spin is increased and performance is negatively impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-material insert applies local quality by distributing different materials in specific patterns within the insert structure. This spatial differentiation allows the insert to control spin by providing varying degrees of friction and energy return at different contact points during ball impact, thereby reducing overall spin while maintaining a relatively simple unitary insert structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials within the insert to address the spin issue. By combining materials with different surface properties and elastic characteristics, the insert can optimize the interaction with the golf ball to reduce spin generation while maintaining structural simplicity and avoiding complex multi-component assemblies.
4Loss of energy
If the strike face flexure is increased uniformly across the slit, then energy transfer is improved, but over-flexing occurs and durability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-material insert applies local quality by positioning stiffer materials in regions prone to over-flexing and more compliant materials in regions requiring greater flexure for energy transfer. This spatial differentiation of material properties allows the strike face to achieve optimal flexure in different zones, improving energy transfer while preventing over-flexing that would compromise durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials with different elastic moduli strategically arranged within the insert to balance energy transfer and durability. The combination of materials with varying stiffness characteristics enables the insert to provide controlled flexure that maximizes energy return while maintaining structural integrity and preventing over-flexing, thereby improving both performance and reliability.
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 increases ball speed by 0.5-4.5 mph and internal energy by 3-20 lbf-in, resulting in improved carry distance and reduced spin, while preventing over-flexing and enhancing durability.
Implementation Method 1
The spring component is configured to increase energy transfer between the club head and the golf ball upon impact
Implementation Method 2
The insert is typically formed of a uniform viscoelastic material that absorbs and dissipates energy under compression, thereby reducing the overall energy transfer between the club head and the golf ball
Data Source
AI summary
A golf club head with a slit and cantilevered arm extending from an interior surface of the sole forward into the slit. The cantilevered arm has a fixed end coupled to the interior surface of the sole rearward of the slit, and a tip end opposite the fixed end. The cantilevered arm extends arcuately from the fixed end and over the rear wall so that the tip end is disposed between the front and rear wall and is configured to abut the front wall of the slit during impact with a golf ball.