Golf club head with a variable face thickness

Abstract

Embodiments of golf club heads comprising a club face with a variable thickness profile to increase face deflection and ball speed for a given CT are described herein. The variable thickness profile comprises a central region, the central transition, the hinge, the inner transition, and the hinge outer peak creating a variable face thickness with a topography that evokes the shape of a speaker woofer to produce non-linear bending, thereby producing greater strike face deflection and resulting ball speed for a given CT value. The variable face thickness profiles can further comprise a non-linear bending region comprising a first peak, a valley, and a second peak to non-linearly bend at other locations on the strike face thereby, producing greater strike face deflection and resulting ball speed for a given CT value.

1 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a strike face, a crown portion, a sole portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, and a skirt forming a hollow interior cavity,   wherein the strike face comprises:
 a geometric center, 
 a strike face perimeter, an outer periphery, a border perimeter, a thin periphery, an outer transition, an inner transition, a central transition, a hinge located between the central transition and the inner transition, and a central region, 
   wherein:
 the central region comprises a central region thickness, 
 the hinge comprises a hinge thickness, 
 the outer periphery comprises an outer periphery thickness, and 
 the thin periphery comprises a thin periphery thickness, 
 wherein the central region thickness, the hinge thickness, the outer periphery thickness, and the thin periphery thickness are constant, 
 wherein the outer transition comprises an outer transition thickness, the inner transition comprises an inner transition thickness, and the central transition comprises a central transition thickness; 
 wherein the outer transition thickness, the inner transition thickness, and the central transition thickness are not constant. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region thickness is greater than the central transition thickness and the inner transition thickness, and the hinge thickness is less than the central transition thickness and the inner transition thickness. 
     
     
         3 . The golf club head of  claim 2 , wherein the central region thickness comprises a global maximum thickness of the strike face. 
     
     
         4 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region thickness is between 0.120 inch and 0.150 inch, the hinge thickness is between 0.0875 inch and 0.100 inch, the outer periphery thickness is between 0.09 inch to 0.11 inch, and the thin periphery thickness is between 0.07 inch and 0.08 inch. 
     
     
         5 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region comprises a shape from the group consisting of elliptical, oval, circular, egg, asymmetric elliptical, and oblong-ellipse. 
     
     
         6 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region further comprises a central region geometric center substantially coinciding with the strike face geometric center. 
     
     
         7 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region further comprises a central region geometric center offset from the strike face geometric center an x-axis distance between 0.0125 inch and 1.0 inch and a y-axis distance between 0.0125 inch and 1.0 inch. 
     
     
         8 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region comprises a central region offset angle formed between a central region major axis and a club head x-axis, wherein the central region offset angle is positive relative to the x-axis, such that the positive central region offset angle defines a toe-up central region orientation, and the central region offset angle between 0-degrees and 25-degrees. 
     
     
         9 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region comprises a central region offset angle formed between a central region major axis and a club head x-axis, wherein the central region offset angle is negative relative to the x-axis, such that the negative central region offset angle defines a toe-down central region orientation, and the central region offset angle is between 0-degrees and 25-degrees. 
     
     
         10 . The golf club head of  claim 1 , wherein the central region thickness is between 0.12 inch to 0.17 inch. 
     
     
         11 . A golf club head, comprising:
 a strike face, a crown portion, a sole portion, a rear portion, a toe portion, a heel portion, and a skirt forming a hollow interior cavity,   wherein the strike face comprises:
 a geometric center, 
 a strike face perimeter, an outer periphery, a border perimeter, a thin periphery, an outer transition, an inner transition, a central transition, a hinge located between the central transition and the inner transition, and a central region, 
   wherein:
 the central region comprises a central region thickness, 
 the hinge comprises a hinge thickness, 
 the outer periphery comprises an outer periphery thickness, and 
 the thin periphery comprises a thin periphery thickness, 
 wherein the central region thickness, the hinge thickness, the outer periphery thickness, and the thin periphery thickness are constant, 
 wherein the outer transition comprises an outer transition thickness, the inner transition comprises an inner transition thickness, and the central transition comprises a central transition thickness; 
 wherein the outer transition thickness, the inner transition thickness, and the central transition thickness are not constant; 
 wherein:
 the central transition comprises a central transition width measured between an outermost margin of the central region to an innermost margin of the central transition, and 
 the inner transition comprises an inner transition width measured between an innermost margin of the inner transition to an outermost margin of the inner transition; 
 wherein the central transition width is between 0.250 inch and 0.350 inch, and the inner transition width is between 0.150 inch and 0.250 inch. 
 
   
     
     
         12 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region thickness is greater than the central transition thickness and the inner transition thickness, and the hinge thickness is less than the central transition thickness and the inner transition thickness. 
     
     
         13 . The golf club head of  claim 12 , wherein the central region thickness comprises a global maximum thickness of the strike face. 
     
     
         14 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region thickness is between 0.120 inch and 0.150 inch, the hinge thickness is between 0.0875 inch and 0.100 inch, the outer periphery thickness is between 0.09 inch to 0.11 inch, and the thin periphery thickness is between 0.07 inch and 0.08 inch. 
     
     
         15 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region comprises a shape from the group consisting of elliptical, oval, circular, egg, asymmetric elliptical, and oblong-ellipse. 
     
     
         16 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region further comprises a central region geometric center substantially coinciding with the strike face geometric center. 
     
     
         17 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region further comprises a central region geometric center offset from the strike face geometric center an x-axis distance between 0.0125 inch and 1.0 inch and a y-axis distance between 0.0125 inch and 1.0 inch. 
     
     
         18 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region comprises a central region offset angle formed between a central region major axis and a club head x-axis, wherein the central region offset angle is positive relative to the x-axis, such that the positive central region offset angle defines a toe-up central region orientation, and the central region offset angle between 0-degrees and 25-degrees. 
     
     
         19 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region comprises a central region offset angle formed between a central region major axis and a club head x-axis, wherein the central region offset angle is negative relative to the x-axis, such that the negative central region offset angle defines a toe-down central region orientation, and the central region offset angle is between 0-degrees and 25-degrees. 
     
     
         20 . The golf club head of  claim 11 , wherein the central region thickness is between 0.12 inch to 0.17 inch.