Golf club head or other ball striking device having impact-influencing body features

Abstract

A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, has a face with a striking surface configured for striking a ball where the face has multiple thickness regions. The face has a center region, an upper region, a lower region, a toe region, and a heel region. The upper and lower regions have a ramped thickness extending from a center region to an upper and lower edge of the face. The heel and toe regions have a constant face thickness and have a thickness less than the other regions. Additionally, the club head body has a channel extending across a portion of the sole. The channel may be recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole and have a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole. The channel may have a cross-sectional profile that is asymmetric with a front wall and a rear wall where the front wall is longer than the rear wall. The channel may also have a center thickness that is different than a thickness at the heel and toe sides.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf club head comprising:
 a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball, an upper edge, a lower edge, a heel edge, and a toe edge;   a body connected to the face and extending rearwardly from the face, the body having a crown, a sole, a heel, and a toe;   a channel extending across a portion of the sole in a heel to toe direction,   wherein the body and the face are integrally joined at a joint to form an interior cavity and the upper edge, the lower edge, the heel edge, and the toe edge of the face are defined by the joint;   wherein the face has multiple thickness regions having a center region positioned near a center of the face, a heel region positioned on the heel, a toe region positioned on the toe, an upper region positioned between the center region and the upper edge of the face, and a lower region positioned between the center region and the lower edge of the face;   wherein the upper region has a ramped thickness that decreases as a function of the distance away from the center region to the upper edge; and   wherein the channel is recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole and has a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole, wherein the channel comprises a center portion extending across a center of the sole, a heel portion extending from a heel end of the center portion toward the heel, and a toe portion extending from a toe end of the center portion toward the toe;   wherein the center portion of the channel has an asymmetric cross-sectional shape where a front wall of the center portion of the channel has a first length and a rear wall of the center portion of the channel has a second length wherein the first length is greater than the second length.   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the first length to the second length is in a range between 2.5:1 and 4.0:1. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein an angle formed between the front wall and the rear wall in a cross-section of the center portion of the channel is in a range between 75 degrees and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the channel has a wall thickness that is greater in the center portion of the channel than in at least one of the heel and toe portions. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a ratio of a thickness of the toe region of the face to a thickness of the toe portion of the channel is within a range of 2.5:1 to 2.9:1. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a width of the channel at the heel and toe portions is greater than the width of the center portion. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein a ratio of a thickness of the center region to a thickness of the toe region is in a range of 1.27:1 to 1.55:1. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of claim of  1 , wherein the center region has a rectangular shape with rounded corners. 
     
     
         9 . A golf club head comprising:
 a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball, an upper edge, a lower edge, a heel edge, and a toe edge;   a body connected to the face and extending rearwardly from the face, the body having a crown, a sole, a heel, and a toe;   a channel extending across a portion of the sole in a heel to toe direction,   wherein the body and the face are integrally joined at a joint to form an interior cavity and the upper edge, the lower edge, the heel edge, and the toe edge of the face are defined by the joint;   wherein the face has multiple thickness regions having a center region positioned near a center of the face, a heel region positioned on the heel, a toe region positioned on the toe, an upper region positioned between the center region and the upper edge of the face, and a lower region positioned between the center region and the lower edge of the face;   wherein the center region has a rectangular shape with rounded corners;   wherein the channel is recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole and has a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole, wherein the channel comprises a center portion extending across a center of the sole, a heel portion extending from a heel end of the center portion toward the heel, and a toe portion extending from a toe end of the center portion toward the toe; and   wherein the center portion of the channel has an asymmetric cross-sectional shape where a front wall of the center portion of the channel has a first length and a rear wall of the center portion of the channel has a second length wherein the first length is greater than the second length.   
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the center region has a width in a range of 34 mm to 42 mm and a height within a range of 15 mm to 19 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the lower region has a ramped thickness that decreases as a function of the distance away from the center region to the upper edge. 
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein a ratio of a thickness of the center region to a thickness of the toe region is in a range of 1.27:1 to 1.55:1. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein a ratio of a thickness of the toe region of the face to a thickness of the toe portion of the channel is within a range of 2.5:1 to 2.9:1. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 9 , wherein the center region has a center point that is located within a range between 1 mm and 4 mm above a face center location in a crown-to-sole direction. 
     
     
         15 . A golf club head comprising:
 a face having a striking surface configured for striking a ball, an upper edge, a lower edge, a heel edge, and a toe edge;   a body connected to the face and extending rearwardly from the face, the body having a crown, a sole, a heel, and a toe;   a channel extending across a portion of the sole in a heel to toe direction,   wherein the body and the face are integrally joined at a joint to form an interior cavity and the upper edge, the lower edge, the heel edge, and the toe edge of the face are defined by the joint;   wherein the face has multiple thickness regions having a center region positioned near a center of the face, a heel region positioned on the heel, a toe region positioned on the toe, an upper region positioned between the center region and the upper edge of the face, and a lower region positioned between the center region and the lower edge of the face;   wherein the channel is recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole and has a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole, wherein the channel comprises a center portion extending across a center of the sole, a heel portion extending from a heel end of the center portion toward the heel, and a toe portion extending from a toe end of the center portion toward the toe; and   wherein a ratio of a thickness of the toe region of the face to a thickness of the toe portion of the channel is within a range between 2.5:1 and 2.9:1.   
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the center portion of the channel has an asymmetric cross-sectional shape; wherein a front wall of the center portion of the channel has a first length and a rear wall of the center portion of the channel has a second length wherein the first length is greater than the second length, and wherein a ratio of the first length to the second length is in a range between 2.5:1 and 4.0:1. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 16 , wherein an angle formed between the front wall and the rear wall in a cross-section of the center portion of the channel is in a range between 75 degrees and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the upper region of the face has a ramped thickness that decreases as a function of the distance away from the center region to the upper edge, and the lower region of the face has a ramped thickness that decreases as a function of the distance away from the center region to the lower edge. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein the center region has a surface area that is within a range of 18 percent and 23 percent of a total surface area of the face defined within a boundary of the upper edge, the toe edge, the lower edge and the heel edge. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 15 , wherein a cross-sectional shape of the heel and toe portions is different than a cross-sectional shape at the center portion.