Putter Head Segmented Aft Member for Moment of Inertia
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing putters have not optimized forgiveness and alignment assistance for high handicap golfers, despite various innovations in design and materials.
Innovation Solution
A putter-type club head with a removable aft member, featuring a fang-like design and varying densities of materials, including aluminum alloys for the main body and stainless steel or tungsten-based alloys for the aft member, which allows for adjustable mass distribution and alignment aids like circular inserts for improved aiming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If mass is added to the putter head to improve moment of inertia and forgiveness, then the moment of inertia increases, but the overall weight of the putter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The putter head is divided into separate components: a main body and a removable aft member. This allows the mass to be segmented and positioned specifically at the rear of the putter head, extending the moment arm without adding weight to the entire putter. The aft member can be detached and replaced, providing modular mass distribution optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding mass uniformly throughout the putter head, the invention extends mass in a specific spatial dimension by adding a rearward-extending aft member. This dimensional extension increases the moment of inertia by lengthening the moment arm from the center of gravity, achieving higher forgiveness without proportionally increasing overall weight.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the putter design is made more complex with multiple components to optimize performance, then the adaptability and performance optimization improve, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aft member is designed to be removable and replaceable, allowing the putter to dynamically adapt to different player needs and preferences. Different aft members with varying mass distributions, alignment features, and ball pickup capabilities can be attached to the same main body, providing versatility without requiring multiple complete putter designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The main body is designed as a universal component that can work with multiple different aft members. This multi-functional design allows a single main body to serve multiple purposes by accommodating various aft members with different functions (alignment aids, ball pickup features, mass distribution variations), reducing the need for multiple complete putter systems.
3Ease of operation
If alignment features are added to the putter face to assist high handicap players, then the alignment assistance improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment features are segmented into separate components rather than being integrated into the main body. Alignment inserts, circular indicators, and other alignment aids can be attached as separate elements to the putter face, allowing for easier manufacturing of the main body and simpler assembly of alignment features afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
Alignment features are concentrated in specific local areas of the putter face where they are most effective, rather than being distributed throughout the entire putter. This localized approach to alignment assistance (such as circular inserts at the center of the face or alignment lines on the sole) simplifies manufacturing by limiting complex features to specific zones rather than requiring complex manufacturing of the entire putter structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A putter-type club head (20) having a main body (25) and a removable aft member (30) is disclosed herein. The putter-type club head (20) has a main body (25) that is preferably composed of an aluminum alloy. The removable aft member (30) is preferably composed of stainless steel and preferably has a fang-like shape.