Golf Club Head Strikeface Protrusion for Consistent Ball Flight

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Solution Overview

Problem

Iron-type golf clubs experience inconsistent ball flight distances due to varying loft angles and impact locations on the clubface, making it challenging for golfers to achieve accuracy and consistency in their shots.

Innovation Solution

A golf club head design featuring a floating perimeter strikeface with a cavity and protrusion that reduces deflection and rebound, ensuring consistent energy transfer across the clubface by coupling the strikeface to the front portion via a step and protrusion, creating a gap that allows for tailored characteristics for consistent ball flight.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If the strikeface is made thin and flexible to increase ball speed, then ball speed increases, but deflection and rebound vary significantly across different impact locations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveball speedVSAvoidconsistency of ball flight

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The strikeface is segmented into multiple zones with different thicknesses and flexibilities. The center portion has different characteristics than the perimeter portions, allowing each zone to be optimized for its specific function while working together to provide consistent overall performance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the strikeface are given different local properties. The center strikeface portion has specific thickness and flexibility characteristics, while the perimeter portions have different characteristics, allowing each local area to contribute optimally to consistent ball flight across the entire face

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If the strikeface is made thick and rigid to reduce deflection, then deflection decreases, but ball speed decreases due to reduced energy transfer

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconsistency of ball flightVSAvoidball speed

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The strikeface is divided into segments with varying thicknesses. By segmenting the face into center and perimeter zones with different structural properties, the design achieves both flexibility for speed and rigidity for control in appropriate locations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The strikeface employs local quality variations where different areas have different thickness and rigidity characteristics. This allows the face to be rigid where needed for control and flexible where needed for ball speed, resolving the contradiction between these opposing requirements

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Length of moving object

If the loft angle is increased to increase ball flight distance, then ball flight distance increases, but accuracy decreases due to higher trajectory

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveball flight distanceVSAvoidaccuracy of shot placement

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of moving objectVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The face is designed with local quality variations that optimize performance for different impact locations. This allows consistent ball flight characteristics across the entire face, enabling accurate shot placement even with higher loft angles that increase ball flight distance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10668339B2Golf club head with back cavity protrusion

Publication Date: 2020.06.02 KARSTEN MFG CORP

AI summary

A golf club head including a body having a front portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, a top portion, and a bottom portion. The body further includes a cavity in the front portion. The cavity having a protrusion and a step configured to receive a strikeplate, such that a gap exists between the strikeplate and the inner surface of the cavity.