US 11,701,556 B2
Golf club head with external and internal ribs
Anthony Munson, Huntington Beach, CA (US); Joseph Chen, Costa Mesa, CA (US); and Alexandra Agrella, Vista, CA (US)
Assigned to SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD., Kobe (JP)
Filed by SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD., Kobe (JP)
Filed on Jul. 2, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/460,114.
Prior Publication US 2021/0001187 A1, Jan. 7, 2021
Int. Cl. A63B 53/04 (2015.01)
CPC A63B 53/0466 (2013.01) [A63B 53/045 (2020.08); A63B 53/0412 (2020.08); A63B 53/0437 (2020.08)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hollow-type golf club head that, when oriented in a reference position, comprises:
a striking wall having a striking face configured to impact a golf ball, the striking face including a face center and a central apex;
a sole portion;
a top portion having an exterior surface, an interior surface, and a step-down portion in which a crown of the club head moves toward the sole portion;
a hosel extending from the top portion and defining a hosel axis;
a plurality of external ribs located on the exterior surface of the top portion, the plurality of external ribs: (i) each being generally elongate in a front-to-rear direction, (ii) spaced apart from each other by a distance D2 that is between 10 mm and 20 mm, (iii) spaced rearwardly from the central apex by a distance D3 between 25 mm and 45 mm, and (iv) including:
a first external rib;
a second external rib located toe-ward of the first external rib; and
a third external rib located heel-ward of the first external rib; and
at least one internal rib (i) located on the interior surface of the top portion, (ii) generally elongate in the front-to-rear direction, (iii) longer in length than the plurality of external ribs, and (iv) when viewed in a top view, located between the first external rib and the second external rib and entirely spaced from the first external rib and the second external rib by a distance of at least 2 mm.