Optimized Support Structures for Golf Club Heads with Enhanced Performance and Customization
Legal Citation
Summary of the Inventive Concept
An innovative system for designing and manufacturing golf club heads with optimized support structures, enabling improved performance, customization, and real-time monitoring.
Background and Problem Solved
Traditional golf club head designs often compromise between structural integrity, weight, and aerodynamics. The original patent's limitations in support structure design and manufacturing led to suboptimal performance and limited customization options. This inventive concept addresses these limitations by introducing a computer-aided design module, 3D printing process, and real-time monitoring system to create optimized support structures tailored to individual golfer preferences.
Detailed Description of the Inventive Concept
The inventive concept comprises a system for optimizing support structures in golf club heads, utilizing a computer-aided design module to analyze curvature, rate of change of curvature, spline length, cross-sectional area, and cross-sectional shape of each support structure. The optimized design is then manufactured using a 3D printing process to create a lattice structure with optimized support members, which are heat-treated to enhance strength and durability. The golf club head features a network of slender connected elements with continuously changing curvature and cross-sectional shape, providing enhanced structural support. Additionally, the system includes sensors integrated into the support structures to track stress, strain, and vibration, providing real-time feedback to golfers through a data analytics module. The inventive concept also enables customization of golf club heads based on individual golfer preferences using machine learning algorithms to analyze golfer swing patterns and generate optimized support structure designs.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The new claims introduce a novel computer-aided design module, 3D printing process, and real-time monitoring system, which are non-obvious improvements over the original patent. The inventive concept's optimized support structures, lattice design, and customization capabilities provide a significant advancement in golf club head design and manufacturing.
Alternative Embodiments and Variations
Alternative embodiments of the inventive concept could include using different materials, such as carbon fiber or titanium, or incorporating additional sensors to track other performance metrics. Variations of the design module could be developed for other sports equipment, such as tennis rackets or bicycle frames.
Potential Commercial Applications and Market
The inventive concept has significant commercial potential in the golf industry, with applications in professional and amateur golf. The customization capabilities and real-time monitoring system could also appeal to other sports equipment manufacturers and athletes seeking optimized performance.
CPC Classifications
| Section | Class | Group |
|---|---|---|
| A | A63 | A63B53/0487 |
| A | A63 | A63B53/0408 |
| B | B22 | B22F10/14 |
| B | B22 | B22F10/80 |
| B | B33 | B33Y10/00 |
| A | A63 | A63B53/0412 |
Section 103 Obviousness Analysis (PHOSITA)
Field of Art
Sports equipment manufacturing, specifically golf club head design and advanced additive manufacturing techniques, involving expertise in 3D printing, materials engineering, computational design, and mechanical stress analysis
Person of Ordinary Skill (PHOSITA) Profile
A professional with a mechanical engineering or materials science background, proficient in CAD modeling, 3D printing technologies, and golf equipment design, with knowledge of advanced manufacturing techniques and computational optimization strategies
Obviousness Rationale
A PHOSITA would recognize that the PTD's disclosed variations represent predictable extensions of the source patent's core teachings about golf club head support structures, utilizing standard design optimization techniques and emerging manufacturing technologies that were reasonably foreseeable in the field of sports equipment design and additive manufacturing.
Obvious Combinations & Variations
Original Patent Information
| Patent Number | US 11,857,851 |
|---|---|
| Title | Support structures for golf club heads and methods of manufacturing improved support structures |
| Assignee(s) | Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. |