JP2998006B2 - Golf club head - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a wood club,
The present invention relates to a golf club head including an iron club and a putter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional golf club, for example, a traditional head shape of an iron club, a scotch type,
Conventional types were known, and forged soft iron and cast stainless steel were common. The thickness of these face portions was relatively thick, the position of the center of gravity was relatively high, and the sweet area was narrow, so that they were intended for professionals and advanced users. If the center of gravity of the head is placed below the center of gravity of the ball, the launch angle of the ball will increase and the hit will be assured, so the sole of the head and the thickness near the sole will be thickened to lower the center of gravity so that the sole of the head becomes heavy Have been attempted. In such a golf club head,
When the impact point on the face, the center of gravity of the head, and the center of gravity of the golf ball are aligned, and the intended flight line is orthogonal to the plane of the face, energy transfer at impact can be maximized. Other impacts (this is referred to as off-center impact), for example, when impacting near the toe or heel of the face, the energy transfer is reduced, the flight distance is shortened, and the head passes through the center of gravity and is parallel to the golf club shaft. Try to rotate around the axis. In order to minimize such inconvenience during off-center impact, a golf club head of a type in which the mass is concentrated not only on the sole of the head but also on the toe and heel has been developed. As a golf club having such a development intention, a golf club having a so-called cavity back type head in which a hollow (cavity) is provided in the center of the back surface of the head and a rib surrounding the hollow is formed. . The deeper the cavity is, the more the weight of the cavity can be distributed to the sole, the toe and the heel, so that a lower center of gravity and a larger moment of inertia can be obtained. Therefore, the thickness of the face portion is generally thinned to the point of strength. Recently, a number of so-called composite club heads have been developed in which the material constituting the face portion and the material constituting the other head components are formed from different materials, and titanium alloy, soft iron, stainless steel, Copper alloys, aluminum alloys, and various plastics such as CFRP have been used. The thickness of the face portion of both the head made of the same material and the head of the composite club was 3 mm or more in consideration of the strength.

[0003] Even in clubs other than iron clubs, that is, wood clubs and putters, it is important to distribute weight toward the toe and the heel in order to increase the moment of inertia. When a moving object is acted upon from outside,
If the force that attempts to maintain a constant movement by resisting the action, that is, the moment of inertia is large, the face of the face acts so as to be orthogonal to the ball's flight line even at off-center impact, and the direction of the ball Minimize sexual disorder.

The thickness of the face portion of the conventional golf club head described above is not less than 3 mm not only for iron clubs but also for wood clubs and putters other than those made of Persimmon. It has reached its limits to distribute more weight closer to the heel, more peripheral weight distribution in the case of wood clubs, and larger head volumes.

[0005] In view of the above, there has been developed a device having a high functionality such as increasing the moment of inertia by reducing the thickness of the face portion or enlarging the sweet area.
This uses maraging steel as a material constituting at least the face portion, as described in JP-A-7-308410, and the thickness of the face portion using the maraging steel is 1.2 to 2 .8 mm.

[0006]

There is a need for a face part having a smaller thickness, improved strength, and excellent hit feeling, compared to the conventional one using maraging steel.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head in which the thickness of the face portion is further reduced, and the high performance of the head can be further improved.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a face, heel, toe, and saw.
Golf club head having a
Te, at least the face portion of a plate-shaped amorphous metal
Formed, and the thickness of the face portion is 1.0 to 2.5.
mm .

The type of the amorphous metal used in the present invention is not limited. For example, an alloy of a transition metal and a nonmetal, a metal
A metal alloy, a rare earth-iron group alloy, or the like can be used. Preferred amorphous metals are 2-47 atomic% beryllium and 30-75 atomic% early transition metal. ) And 5
62at% late transition metal
And, in particular, those having a composition represented by the following general formula (1).

(Zr _1-x Ti _x ) _a (Cu _1-y Ni _y ) _b Be _c (1) [where x and y are atomic fractions, a, b and c are atomic%, y is 0-1. When x is 0 to 0.15, a is 30 to 75%, b is 5 to 62%, and c is 6 to 47%.
%, And when x is 0.15 to 0.4, a is 30 to 7
5%, b is 5 to 62%, c is 2 to 47%, and when x is 0.4 to 0.6, a is 35 to 75% and b is 5 to 6
2%, c is 2-47%, and when x is 0.6-0.8, a is 35-75%, b is 5-62%, and c is 2-42.
%, And when x is 0.8 to 1, a is 35 to 75%;
b is 5 to 62% and c is 2 to 30%. However, when x is 0.8-1 and b is 10-49%, 3c is (100
-B) ]

The aforementioned beryllium of 2 to 47 atomic%, 3
An amorphous metal containing 0 to 75 at% of the early transition metal and 5 to 62 at% of the late transition metal, particularly the amorphous metal having the composition of the formula (1), is an amorphous metal having a critical cooling rate for making it amorphous. Significantly smaller than Therefore, when manufacturing club heads,
By using the amorphous metal of the formula (1), molding can be easily performed.

In the amorphous metal of the composition of the formula (1), a is 40 to 67%, b is 10 to 48%, and c is 10 to 48%.
Particularly preferred is 35%. Also, (Zr _1-x T
portion of the i _x) is Hf, Nb, Y, Cr, V, Mo, T
a, W, etc., and may contain (Cu _1-y N
i _y ) may include additional metals such as Fe, Co, Mn, Ru, Ag, and Pd, and Be may include Al, S
It may contain an additional metal such as i or B. As a material containing such an additional metal, for example, one having a composition represented by the following general formula (2) can be mentioned.

(Zr _1-x Ti _x ) _a1 ETM _a2 (Cu _1-y Ni _y ) _b1 LTM _b2 Be _c (2) [where x and y are atomic fractions, a1, a2, b1, b
2, c is atomic%. ETM is V, Nb, Hf and C
at least one transition metal selected from r.
The atomic percentage of Cr is 0.2a1 or less. LTM is Fe,
It is at least one late transition metal selected from Co, Mn, Ru, Ag and Pd. a2 is 0 to 0.4a1,
y is 0-1. When x is 0 to 0.15,
(A1 + a2) is 30 to 75%, (b1 + b2) is 5 to
62%, b2 is 0 to 25%, c is 6 to 47%, x
Is 0.15 to 0.4, (a1 + a2) is 30 to 7
5%, (b1 + b2) is 5 to 62%, b2 is 0 to 25
%, C is 2-47%, and when x is 0.4-0.6, (a1 + a2) is 35-75%, (b1 + b2) is 5-62%, b2 is 0-25%, and c is When x is 0.6 to 0.8, (a1 + a2) is 35%.
-75%, (b1 + b2) is 5-62%, b2 is 0-2
5%, c is 2-47%, and when x is 0.8-1,
(A1 + a2) is 35 to 75%, (b1 + b2) is 5 to
62%, b2 is 0 to 25%, and c is 2 to 30%. However, x is 0.8-1 and (b1 + b2) is 10-49%
In this case, 3c is equal to or less than (100-b1-b2). ]

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a head of an iron club is shown, and a hosel 1 is connected to a lower end of a shaft 10, and a lower end of the hosel 1 is a face 2 and a back side of the face 2. It has a recess 3, a heel 4, a toe 5, and a sole 6 formed, and a rib 7 is formed around the recess 3. In such a so-called cavity-back type iron club head, the center of gravity can be reduced by increasing the weight of the ribs 7 at the sole portion 6, and the moment of inertia can be increased by increasing the weights of the ribs 7 on the toe 5 and the heel 4 side. Become. In this example, the entire head was cast using amorphous metal (Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be). At this time, the thickness t (see FIG. 2) of the face portion 2 is set to 2.5 mm or less. As the depth of the recess 3 increases, the weight can be distributed to the rib 7 or the entire head can be enlarged. When the face portion 2 is cast by a lost wax method using 17-4PH stainless steel, the thickness t must be 3 mm or more. If the thickness t of the face portion 2 can be reduced by 1 mm or more without changing the weight of the entire head, the size of the face portion 2 can be increased, and as the face portion 2 becomes larger, the sweet area becomes wider.

The most distinctive feature of the amorphous metal is that its structure is amorphous unlike conventional metals. Thereby, it has a unique property not found in conventional metals. The tensile strength of the amorphous metal is about three times as large as that of a titanium alloy, which is becoming a mainstream material for forming a golf club head at present. The specific gravity of the amorphous metal is about 6, and it has characteristics such as a low coefficient of friction, a high elasticity, and a small shrinkage during casting (0.25%, about 2% for stainless steel). The following table compares the properties of stainless steel, titanium alloy (Ti6AL-4V), and amorphous metal.

[0017]

[Table 1]

The cooling rate at which a conventional general amorphous metal becomes amorphous is 10 ³ to 10 ⁶ ° C / sec.
Although it was difficult to produce a thick plate-shaped material, the cooling rate can be set to 10 to 1 ° C./sec by using a zirconium-based amorphous metal. Up to 5 cm can be manufactured. When casting a zirconium-based amorphous alloy in the shape of a head, the zirconium-based amorphous alloy is directly cast into a casting mold in order to secure a cooling rate. In the following examples, Zr 48.8%, Ti 16.2%, Cu
A composition having a composition of 17.5%, Ni 10%, and Be 7.5% was used.

The second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a so-called composite club head, in which only the face portion 2 is made of amorphous metal, and the other parts constituting the head are made of ordinary stainless steel, soft iron or copper alloy. Is what is done. The thickness of the face portion 2 is also preferably about 1.0 to 2.5 mm.

As an iron-in club head, there is also an iron-in club head having a hollow structure in which portions other than the sole portion 6 and the face portion 2 are formed of CFRP. The face portion 2 in such a head can also use an amorphous metal having a thickness of 2.5 mm or less.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 shows a head of a wood club, which has a face portion 2, a sole portion 6, and a crown portion 8, and the inside is filled with a hollow or lightweight foam material. This head was entirely formed of amorphous metal, and the thickness of the face portion 2 was 2 mm. By making the face portion 2 thinner, the peripheral weight can be distributed without increasing the weight of the entire head, or the head volume can be made larger. In experiments conducted by the present inventors, it was found that the strength of the wood club head was sufficient even if the thickness of the face portion 2 was reduced to 1.0 mm.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a putter. The face portion 2 is made of an amorphous metal, the toe 5 and the heel 4 are made heavier, and the directionality at the time of off-center hit is eliminated. It is preferable to use a copper alloy having a high specific gravity, such as beryllium copper, as a material constituting the portions other than the face portion 2.

In a putter having a so-called mallet type shape, only the face portion may be formed of an amorphous metal, or the whole may be formed of an amorphous metal. In the head of a wood club composite club, the face 2
Only an amorphous metal can be formed.

As described above, the present invention can be applied to any of a wood type, an iron type, and a putter head. Further, in this case, the head can be integrally manufactured only with the amorphous metal, or at least only the face portion can be manufactured with the amorphous metal.

In the iron club shown in FIG. 3, the face portion 2 is formed of an amorphous metal, and the other portion is formed of beryllium copper as an embodiment of the present invention, and the face portion 2 is formed of a titanium alloy. As a comparative example, the face portion 2 having a thickness of 2 mm and a thickness of 4 mm were prepared. As a result, in the embodiment having the thickness of 2 mm, the ball was repelled, and the thickness was 4 mm.
In the example of Example 1, the ball was felt to be stuck to the face portion 2, and the hit feeling was softer than that of the comparative example, and the ball was evaluated to be good in grip. In the embodiment (thickness 2)
mm), there were cases where the flight distance was longer when swinging at a lower head speed than when swinging normally. Although there was no difference in the initial velocity of the ball between the example and the comparative example, the example had a higher spin rate.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least the face portion is made of a plate-like amorphous metal .
Formed, since the thickness of the face portion was 1.0~2.0mm and rather thin <br/>, or or allocate minute weight made this thin around, or total volume larger This makes it possible to enhance the functions by increasing the moment of inertia or expanding the sweet area. By setting the thickness of the face portion to 1.0 to 2.5 mm, the thickness of the conventional face portion can be further reduced, and the tensile strength is higher than that of the conventional titanium alloy or maraging steel. strong.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an iron club according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the back side of a head.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view showing an example applied to a composite club head.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an example applied to a wood club.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example applied to a putter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Face part t Face part thickness

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A face portion, a heel portion, a toe portion, and a sole.
Golf club head having a portion as a component.
Te, at least the face portion of a plate-shaped amorphous metal
Formed, and the thickness of the face portion is 1.0 to 2.5.
A golf club head characterized in that it has a small thickness of mm . 2. An amorphous metal material having a face portion in a plate shape.
Other parts of the head, especially the toe and heel or
These parts and sole part are larger in specific gravity than face part
The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the golf club head is made of a suitable material . 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Specially, the metal is a zirconium-based amorphous metal.
Golf club head to be featured . 4. An amorphous metal comprising: 2 to 47 at% beryllium, 30 to 75 at% of a transition metal and
4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the golf club head contains a late transition metal of 62 atomic%. 5. An amorphous metal represented by the following general formula (1):
The golf club head according to claim 4, wherein the golf club head has a composition represented by the following formula. _{(Zr 1-x Ti x)} a (Cu 1-y Ni y) b Be c ... (1) [wherein, x, y is the atomic fraction, a, b, c are the atomic%, y is 0 ~ 1. When x is 0 to 0.15, a is 30 to 75%, and b is 5 to
62%, c is 6 to 47%, and when x is 0.15 to 0.4, a is 30 to 75%, b is 5 to 62%, c is 2 to 47%, x is 0 In the case of 0.4 to 0.6, a is 35 to 75% and b is 5
~ 62%, c is 2-47%, When x is 0.6-0.8, a is 35-75%, b is 5
When x is 0.8 to 1, a is 35 to 75%, and b is 5 to 6%.
2% and c are 2 to 30%. However, x is 0.8 to
When 1 and b are 10 to 49%, 3c is (100-b) or less. ]