The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 12, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 12, 1999
Hitoshi Kodama, Toyohashi, JP;
Hidehiro Takemoto, Toyohashi, JP;
Takumi Ishimori, Toyohashi, JP;
Kiharu Numata, Toyohashi, JP;
Tsuneo Takano, Toyohashi, JP;
Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., , JP;
Abstract
A hollow golf club head provides for a longer flight distance, a larger “sweet spot”, and reduced veering in the flight path than a conventional golf club head. The golf club head has a maximum weight of 200 g, a volume in the range from 300 to 900 cc and a moment of inertia of at least 4·10 kg·m . The head is made from a fiber reinforced epoxy resin which provides at least 30 kg/mm . Suitable reinforcing fibers include carbon fiber, fiberglass, aramid fiber and polyester fiber. Suitable resin materials include epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin and vinyl ester resin. The reinforcing fibers in the resin are arranged such that adjacent layers of reinforcing material are oriented perpendicular to one another. The perpendicular orientation of the fibers provide shock resistance to the head. A high elasticity and high density component, such as tungsten, is dispersed in the resin to provide reduced vibrations and improved acoustics to the head when impacting a ball. The outer layer of the head can be made from a metal material, such as titanium, to minimize damage to the face and the sole of the head due to friction. The club head is formed by: cutting fiber prepregs into a specified shape, placing the cut fiber prepregs into a two-piece concave mold such that the fibers in adjacent layers are aligned perpendicular to one another, closing the two-part concave mold around a nylon tube bag, pressurizing the nylon tube bag as the closed two part mold is heated to 130° C. for 1 hour, and splitting the mold open after heating to provide a hollow golf club head.