Golf club head and method for determining a striking point on the same

Abstract

A golf club head includes a head body and a sensing device. The head body includes a mounting surface, a socket opening at the mounting surface, and a striking surface spaced apart from the socket and having a plurality of striking regions. The sensing device includes a housing removably mounted in the socket, and a sensing module disposed in the housing. The sensing module measures an acceleration and an angular velocity of the head body, and wirelessly transmits the acceleration and the angular velocity to a portable electronic device. When the striking surface strikes a golf ball, the portable electronic device determines one of the striking regions that strikes the golf ball based on the acceleration and the angular velocity.

1 - 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A method for determining a striking point on a golf club head, the golf club head including a striking surface having a plurality of striking regions, an accelerometer for measuring an acceleration of the golf club head, a gyroscope for measuring an angular velocity of the golf club head, and a wireless transmitter for transmitting the acceleration and the angular velocity to a portable electronic device, the method to be implemented by the portable electronic device and comprising steps of:
 determining whether the golf club head strikes a golf ball based on the acceleration received from the wireless transmitter;   when it is determined that the golf club head strikes a golf ball, calculating a force applied to the striking surface based on the acceleration received from the wireless transmitter, calculating torque based on the angular velocity received from the wireless transmitter, calculating, based on the force and the torque, a distance value between a hosel of the golf club head and the striking point on the striking surface that is in contact with the golf ball upon impact, and determining one of the plurality of striking regions that strikes the golf ball based on the distance value; and   displaying said one of the plurality of striking regions.   
     
     
         11 . The method as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the step of determining whether the golf club head strikes a golf ball includes determining whether the acceleration is greater than a threshold value, and determining that the golf club head strikes a golf ball when it is determined that the acceleration is greater than the threshold value. 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . The method as claimed in  claim 10 , the plurality of striking regions being associated with a plurality of reference distance ranges that are pre-stored in the portable electronic device,
 wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of striking regions further includes determining a corresponding one of the plurality of reference distance ranges that covers the distance value, and determining one of the plurality of striking regions that is associated with the corresponding one of the plurality of reference distance ranges as said one of the plurality of striking regions.   
     
     
         14 . The method as claimed in  claim 10 , the plurality of striking regions including an elliptic central region that is located at a central portion of the striking surface, and six surrounding regions that are symmetrically arranged around the central region with respect to a centroid of the central region, the method further comprising steps of:
 associating a first reference distance range with a first pair of the surrounding regions that are closest to the hosel;   associating a second reference distance range with the central region and a second pair of the surrounding regions that are adjacent to the first pair of the surrounding regions, the second reference distance range having a lower limit greater than an upper limit of the first reference distance range; and   associating a third reference distance range with a third pair of the surrounding regions that are adjacent to the second pair of the surrounding regions and that are farthest from the hosel, the third reference distance range having a lower limit greater than an upper limit of the second reference distance range.   
     
     
         15 . The method as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of striking regions includes:
 determining which one of the first, second and third reference distance ranges the distance value falls within;   when it is determined that the distance value falls within the first reference distance range, determining one of the first pair of the surrounding regions as said one of the plurality of striking regions based on a magnitude of the angular velocity;   when it is determined that the distance value falls within the second reference distance range, determining one of the central region and the second pair of the surrounding regions as said one of the plurality of striking regions based on the magnitude of the angular velocity; and   when it is determined that the distance value falls within the third reference distance range, determining one of the third pair of the surrounding regions as said one of the plurality of striking regions based on the magnitude of the angular velocity.