Multiple Material Iron-Type Golf Club Head

Abstract

A golf club head includes a perimeter member made of high density material and a face plate insert made of lower density material. In one embodiment, the face plate insert is formed by applying a shell member to a core member so that the shell member encases the core member. Preferably, the shell member is made by electrodepositing a nanometal having a grain size between 10 and 50 nanometers onto the core member.

1 . A golf club head comprising:
 a perimeter member including a sole wall, a heel wall extending upward from a heel end of said sole wall, a toe wall extending upward from a toe end of said sole wall, and a top wall extending from an upper end of said heel wall to an upper end of said toe wall;   said heel, toe, sole and top walls cooperating to form a recess; and   a face plate insert received in said recess and attached to said perimeter member, said face plate insert including a core member having a first predetermined thickness and a shell member encasing said core member, said shell member having a second predetermined thickness that is at least 1% as thick as the first predetermined thickness, said shell member having a front surface arranged for impacting a golf ball.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the second predetermined thickness is at least 10% as thick as the first predetermined thickness. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said perimeter member is made of a first material having a first density and wherein said core member is made of a second material having a second density that is less than said first density. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said core member is made of nonmetallic material. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said core member is made of metallic material. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said shell member is made of a nanometal having a grain size between 10 and 50 nanometers. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , wherein the nanometal is electrodeposited onto the core member. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 6 , wherein the nanometal is sintered onto the core member. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said shell member comprises a front wall having a thickness between 0.030 and 0.050 inch. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein said shell member comprises a rear wall having a thickness between 0.015 and 0.025 inch. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 10 , wherein said shell member comprises a perimeter wall having a thickness of at least 0.015 inch. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein said face plate insert is attached to said perimeter member by a crimp joint. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the front surface of said shell member has a plurality of U-shaped grooves formed therein; and   each of said U-shaped grooves has a first side wall and a second side wall, said first and second side walls intersecting said front surface along a fillet having a radius of 0.010 inch held to a tolerance of ±0.001 inch.   
     
     
         14 . A method of manufacturing a golf club head comprising:
 providing a perimeter member made of a first material having a first density, said perimeter member having a sole wall, a heel wall extending upward from said sole wall, a toe wall extending upward from said sole wall, and a top wall extending from an upper end of said heel wall to an upper end of said toe wall, said heel, toe, sole and top walls cooperating to form a recess;   forming a core member from a second material having a second density that is less than said first density, said core member having a predetermined thickness;   encasing said core member in a shell member to form a face plate insert, said shell member having a predetermined thickness that is at least 1% as thick as said predetermined thickness of said core member, said shell member further including a front surface arranged for impacting a golf ball;   mounting said face plate insert in said recess; and   attaching said face plate insert to said perimeter member.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the core member is made of non-metallic material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the shell member is made of nanometal having a grain size between 10 and 50 nanometers. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nanometal is applied by electrodeposition. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nanometal is applied by sintering. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising forming a plurality of grooves in the front surface of the shell member with each of the grooves having a U-shaped cross section with a first side wall and a second side wall, said first and second side walls intersecting said front surface along a fillet having a radius of 0.010 inch held to a tolerance of ±0.001 inch. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein attaching said face plate insert to said perimeter member comprises using a crimp joint formed by deforming a lip on said perimeter member against the shell front surface. 
     
     
         21 . The golf club head of  claim 3 , wherein said first density is at least 7.0 grams per cubic centimeter and wherein said second density is less than 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said first density is at least 7.0 grams per cubic centimeter and wherein said second density is less than 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter. 
     
     
         23 . A golf club head comprising:
 a perimeter member including a sole wall, a heel wall extending upward from a heel end of said sole wall, a toe wall extending upward from a toe end of said sole wall, and a top wall extending from an upper end of said heel wall to an upper end of said toe wall;   said heel, toe, sole and top walls cooperating to form a recess; and   a face plate insert received in said recess and attached to said perimeter member, said face plate insert including a core member having a first predetermined thickness and a shell member, said core member being sandwiched between front and rear walls of said shell member, said shell member having a second predetermined thickness that is at least 1% as thick as the first predetermined thickness, said shell member front wall having a front surface arranged for impacting a golf ball.   
     
     
         24 . The golf club head of  claim 23 , wherein the second predetermined thickness is at least 10% as thick as the first predetermined thickness. 
     
     
         25 . The golf club head of  claim 23 , wherein said perimeter member is made of a first material having a first density and wherein said core member is made of a second material having a second density that is less than said first density. 
     
     
         26 . A method of manufacturing a golf club head comprising:
 providing a perimeter member made of a first material having a first density, said perimeter member having a sole wall, a heel wall extending upward from said sole wall, a toe wall extending upward from said sole wall, and a top wall extending from an upper end of said heel wall to an upper end of said toe wall, said heel, toe, sole and top walls cooperating to form a recess;   forming a core member from a second material having a second density that is less than said first density, said core member having a predetermined thickness;   sandwiching said core member between front and rear walls of a shell member to form a face plate insert, said shell member having a predetermined thickness that is at least 1% as thick as said predetermined thickness of said core member, said shell member front wall further including a front surface arranged for impacting a golf ball;   mounting said face plate insert in said recess; and   attaching said face plate insert to said perimeter member.