Localized Milled Golf Club Face for Spin and Roll Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal wood golf club heads face challenges in achieving tight bulge/roll tolerances and reducing spin imparted on the golf ball, leading to variability in club performance and flight path.
Innovation Solution
The golf club head features a milled ball striking surface with customized surface parameters, such as R A /W Void and W VDCL, which control the spin imparted to the golf ball by varying the milling patterns and textures across the face, allowing for precise control of contact friction and spin characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional coining and machining processes are used to form the strike plate, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the bulge and roll tolerances are loose leading to product variability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameter from conventional coining and machining to a milling process with specific controlled parameters (mill depth, mill spacing, mill pattern) to achieve tight bulge and roll tolerances while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The milling pattern is applied to the strike plate before welding to the frame, allowing the curvature tolerances to be established in advance and ensuring consistent bulge and roll characteristics across all club heads
2Reliability
If a uniform brushed surface finish is applied, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the spin imparted on the golf ball is not optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a localized milling pattern to specific regions of the strike plate face, creating different surface textures in different zones to optimize spin characteristics while maintaining ease of manufacture through a targeted rather than universal approach
Solution Approach 2:
The face surface is segmented into multiple zones with different milling patterns (e.g., center zone, perimeter zone) to independently control spin characteristics in different impact regions, allowing optimized spin consistency without excessive manufacturing complexity
3Ease of operation
If the face has a rounded shape for forgiveness, then off-center strikes produce straighter flight, but the spin control and precision are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The milling pattern creates local variations in surface friction across the face, with different patterns in different zones, allowing the rounded geometric shape for forgiveness to coexist with localized spin control characteristics that maintain precision
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5A~5B
AI summary
A wood-style golf club head includes a strike face and a body that cooperate to define a hollow internal club head volume. The strike face formed from a strike plate having an outer perimeter and a frame surrounding the strike plate. The strike plate is affixed to the frame across the entire outer perimeter. The strike plate and frame define a continuous ball striking surface that has a surface texture characteristic of milling that extends continuously across both the strike plate and the frame.