JP3225596B2 - Golf club head - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a golf club head made of metal such as metal wood and the like, and has a face portion and an extension portion extending from the face portion toward the rear of the head. In order to avoid breakage of the welded portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the head of a so-called metal wood golf club has been manufactured by a precision casting method using stainless steel, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy or beryllium-copper alloy as a material. However, since the head manufactured by this precision casting method is a cast product, there are segregation of components and casting defects, and the crystal grains are coarse.
Therefore, a golf club head manufactured by the precision casting method has a drawback that mechanical properties such as proof stress and tensile strength are low. Due to such low mechanical properties,
Conventionally, it is difficult to make the head thinner, and it has not been possible to increase the head shape while avoiding an increase in weight. Therefore, the conventional metal wood manufactured by the precision casting method has a disadvantage that the head area is small, the sweet area is small, and the directional stability of the hit ball is low.

Therefore, recently, a hollow head has been proposed in which head parts are manufactured by a method other than the casting method (for example, forging or pressing) and these parts are assembled by welding.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional golf club head of this type (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-33972). The golf club head is manufactured by individually forming the face portion 21, the back portion 22, and the crown portion 23, and welding these. Then, the shaft 24 is attached to the club head.
By joining the tips of the golf clubs, a golf club is completed. Since this golf club head is hollow, there is an advantage that a large head can be obtained without increasing the weight.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned conventional golf club head has the following problems. FIG. 10A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the above-described golf club head, and FIG. 10B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the same state at the time of hitting the ball.

At the time of impact of the ball 27, the face portion 21 is curved in an arc shape in a sectional view. At this time, compressive stress acts on the welded portion 26 between the face portion 21 and the back-side member 28 (that is, the sole portion 22 and the crown portion 23), and bending stress also acts on the face portion 21 due to the bow-shaped deformation. In the welded portion 26, the end surface of the back side member 28 is joined to the back surface of the face portion 21, but there is a disadvantage that the welded portion is easily damaged by the action of the bending stress.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head which can be increased in size while avoiding an increase in weight and has excellent durability. .

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A golf club head according to the present invention is made of a metal in which a face portion and an extension portion extending rearward from the face portion toward the head are integrally formed.
Wherein the face-side member, this being placed in the head behind the face-side member and a back <br/> click member made of bonded metal to the extending portion, the rear end surface of the face-side member and comprising
The front end face of the back side member is joined by butt welding.
The extension portion is formed in a wedge shape with a thicker thickness on the face portion side and a thinner thickness on the head rear side in a cross-sectional view, and the thickness of the head rear side end portion is the same as the back side in the joint portion. The thickness is set to be 1 to 1.3 times the thickness of the member.

[0009]

In the present invention, a face-side member is constituted by a face portion and an extending portion extending rearward from the face portion to the head, and a back-side member is disposed behind the head of the face-side member. It is joined to the extension. Accordingly, in the present invention, compressive stress is added to the boundary between the face and the extension extending from the face toward the head rear due to the stress applied to the face from the ball at the time of hitting. Bending stress also acts,
Since this boundary portion is formed integrally, no breakage occurs at this portion even when a bending stress is applied. On the other hand, a compressive stress is applied to the joint between the extension and the back-side member, but no bending stress is applied. Therefore, breakage at this joint is also avoided.

By the way, in a golf club head,
The face thickness is 2.5m to ensure strength
m or more. On the other hand, the thickness of other parts is about 0.5 to 1.5 mm in order to enlarge the head.
It is preferable that Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11A, if the extending portion 32 is simply provided from the edge of the face portion 31 with a thickness equal to the thickness of the face portion 31, the extending portion 32
The thickness difference between the back side member 33 and the back side member 33 is large, and due to the difference in heat capacity during welding, burnout occurs at the welded portion of the back portion side member 33 having a small thickness, and the strength of the welded portion decreases. Or cannot be welded.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, a bent portion 33a is provided at the welding end of the back member 33,
As shown in FIG. 1C, the back side member 33 is attached to the extension 32a.
It is also conceivable to provide a step at which the end of each of them is fitted, but in this case, the number of manufacturing steps is increased and the manufacturing is difficult.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11D, it is conceivable to make the thickness of the extension 32b equal to the thickness of the back-side member 33. However, if this is done, the strength of the extension 32b is not sufficient. In addition, there is a disadvantage that press molding becomes difficult.

Therefore, it is necessary that the extension portion be formed in a wedge shape in section view, in which the face portion side has a large thickness and the head rear portion has a small thickness. In this case, when the thickness of the head rear end portion of the extension portion exceeds 1.3 times the thickness of the back-side member at the joint portion with the extension portion, the thickness on both sides of the welded portion is increased. The difference in thickness is large, and the difference in heat capacity
Burnout occurs at the welded part of the thin back side member,
In some cases, the strength of the welded portion may be low or welding may not be possible. For example, if the thickness of the extension portion in the welded portion is 1.3 times the thickness of the back side member, welding can be performed in a good state by slightly shifting the torch to the extension portion side during welding. Accordingly, the thickness of the rear end of the head of the extension portion is 1 to 1.
It is necessary to be three times.

In the golf club head according to the present invention, the position of the center of gravity may be adjusted by attaching a balance weight to the lower side (that is, the sole portion) of the back member depending on the preference of the user. To increase the depth, it is necessary to attach a balance weight to the rear part of the head. However, since there is little space, the size of the balance weight is limited. For this reason, some users may not be able to completely adjust the position of the center of gravity.

In order to avoid such inconvenience, the back-side member is composed of two members, a crown portion and a sole portion, the thickness of the sole portion is greater than the thickness of the crown portion, and the face portion is formed. Is preferably equal to or less than the thickness. As a result, the position of the center of gravity of the head is lowered, and the position of the center of gravity using the balance weight can be reliably adjusted.

[0016]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an assembly view showing a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The golf club head according to the present embodiment has a face member 1 in which a face portion 2 and an extension portion 3 extending rearward from the face portion 2 are integrated, and a rear portion of the face member 1. Back side member 4 arranged on
And a cylindrical hosel portion 5 for fixing the shaft.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the extension 3 is formed in a wedge shape having a large thickness on the face side and a small thickness on the rear side of the head. The thickness of the extension 3 at the rear end of the head is set to be 1 to 1.3 times the thickness of the end of the back member 4.

In this embodiment, since the extension 3 is formed in a wedge shape in a sectional view, the strength of the extension 3 is high. Also, since there is almost no difference in thickness between the welded portion of the extension portion 3 and the back-side member 4, the occurrence of welding defects such as burnout can be avoided, and welding can be performed in a good condition. . Further, when the ball is hit, the face 2 is curved and a bending stress acts on the boundary between the face 2 and the extension 3 together with the compressive stress. However, since this boundary is integrally formed, High strength, no breakage. On the other hand, only the compressive stress acts on the welded portion between the extension portion 3 and the back-side member 4, and no bending stress acts on the welded portion. Therefore, breakage at this welded portion can be avoided. Furthermore, since there is no welded portion around the face surface (corner), it is easy to form the corner by polishing.

Next, a method of manufacturing the golf club head according to this embodiment will be described. As the raw material, for example, a plate of a Ti alloy and an Fe-based metal manufactured by rolling or the like is used.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are perspective views showing a method of manufacturing a face-side member of a golf club head according to this embodiment in the order of steps.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, for example, a plate having a thickness of 3.2 mm is blanked (punched) to obtain a plate 1a having a predetermined shape.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the plate 1a is roughly formed to provide a face portion and an extension portion 3a.
An intermediate material 1b is obtained. In this intermediate member 1b, FIG.
As shown in the sectional view of (a), the thickness of the extension 3a is substantially uniform.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 (c) and 4 (b), the intermediate member 1b is forged to finish the extended portion 3 into a wedge shape. In this case, the thickness of the distal end of the extension 3 is, for example, 0.8 mm. Thereby, the face side member 1 is completed.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are perspective views showing a method of manufacturing the back-side member 4 of the golf club head according to the present embodiment in the order of steps.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a plate material having a thickness of 0.8 mm is blanked to obtain a plate material 4a having a predetermined shape.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the plate material 4a is roughly formed into an intermediate material 4b. Next, the intermediate member 4b is subjected to deep drawing to form the back-side member 4 having the shape shown in FIG.

The face-side member 1 thus formed
The back side member 4 is combined and welded as shown in FIG. 1 to form a head body, and then a cylindrical hosel part 5 is joined to the head body. Thus, the golf club head according to the present embodiment is completed.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the back side member is integrally formed has been described. For example, as shown in FIG. It may be formed by joining two members. In this case, the thickness of the face portion is set to 2.5 to 3.5 mm, and the thickness of the sole portion 6 is set to 0.6.
To 2.5 mm, and the thickness of the crown 7 is preferably 0.4 to 2.0 mm. This facilitates the adjustment of the position of the center of gravity. However, also in this case, the ratio of the thickness of the two members is set to 1 to 1.3 at each joint.

FIG. 7 is an assembly view showing a golf club head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The golf club head according to the present embodiment has a face-side member in which a face portion 13, an extension portion 14 extending rearward from the face portion 13 and a hosel portion 15 for fixing a shaft are integrated. 11 and a back-side member 12 disposed behind the face-side member 11
Are formed by joining the two members to each other. The hosel part 15 includes the face part 13 and the extension part 14.
Is formed by forming a plate-shaped member that communicates with the member into a cylindrical shape, and welding the butted portion. The extension portion 14 is formed in a wedge shape in a sectional view, and the thickness at the rear end of the head is 1 to 1.
It is set to three times.

In this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and in addition, the hosel portion 15 can be provided.
And the face portion 13 are integrated, so that the design link between the hosel portion and the head body is better than in the first embodiment, and the hosel portion can be prevented from being damaged. Can be obtained.

Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the back side member is constituted by a sole portion and a crown portion, and the thickness of the sole portion is greater than the thickness of the crown portion and the thickness of the face portion. By setting the thickness to be equal to or less than the thickness, the position of the center of gravity is lowered, and the position of the center of gravity can be reliably adjusted.

Next, a method of manufacturing the golf club head according to this embodiment will be described.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are perspective views showing a method of manufacturing the face-side member in the order of steps.

First, as shown in FIG.
A 3.2 mm thick plate made of i-alloy or Fe-based metal is blanked (punched) to obtain a plate 11a having a predetermined shape.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), after the plate material 11a is roughly formed, the face portion 13 is cold forged.
The extension portion 14 and a hosel portion 15a having a U-shaped cross section are formed. In this cold forging process, as shown in FIG.
For example, the thickness of the face portion 13 is set to 3.2 mm, and the thickness at the tip of the extension portion 14 is set to 0.8 mm.

Next, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 8C, the hosel portion 15a is formed into a cylindrical shape. At this time, the face-side member 11 is completed.

On the other hand, the back-side member 12 has a thickness of 1.0
It is formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment by using a plate material of mm.

Next, the face-side member 11 and the back-side member 12 formed in this manner are connected to a MAG (Metal Metal).
Active gas) welding, as well as the butted portion of the hosel 15 are also welded. Thereafter, the inside of the hosel portion 15 is enlarged to a predetermined hole diameter.

Next, heat treatment (quenching) is performed to obtain the necessary strength as a golf club head.

Then, it is polished with a belt sander or an iron buff or the like to finish it into a predetermined head shape. After that, surface treatment such as plating and painting is performed. Thus, the golf club head according to the present embodiment is completed.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, a face-side member provided with a face portion and an extension extending from the face portion to the rear of the head, and the face-side member provided behind the face-side member are provided. And the thickness of the end of the extending portion is set to be 1 to 1.3 times the thickness of the end of the back side member. Head damage can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembly view showing a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a joint between an extension and a back-side member.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are perspective views showing a method of manufacturing a face-side member of a golf club head according to an embodiment in the order of steps.

4A is a cross-sectional view of an intermediate member in FIG. 3B, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a face-side member in FIG. 3C.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are perspective views showing a method for manufacturing a back-side member in the order of steps.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a back side member.

FIG. 7 is an assembly view showing a golf club head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

8 (a) to 8 (c) are perspective views showing a method of manufacturing the face-side member in the order of steps.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional golf club head.

10A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a golf club head, and FIG. 10B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state when the golf ball is hit.

FIGS. 11A to 11D are schematic cross-sectional views showing a problem in the case where an extension that is not wedge-shaped in cross-section is provided.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 11: face side member, 2, 13, 21: face portion, 3, 14: extension portion, 4, 12, 28: back side member, 5, 15: hosel portion, 6: sole portion, 7, 23 …
Crown part, 22 ... sole part, 24 ... shaft, 26 ...
Welds, 27 ... Ball

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-244770 (JP, A) JP-A-59-22167 (JP, U) JP-A-5-20768 (JP, U) (58) Investigation Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63B 53/04

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A metal part in which a face part and an extension part extending from the face part toward the rear of the head are integrally formed .
A face-side member made of a metal, and a back-side member made of metal disposed behind the head of the face-side member and joined to the extending portion ; Previous
The front end face of the back side member is joined by butt welding
The extension portion is formed in a wedge shape with a thickness on the face portion side and a thin thickness on the head rear side in a cross-sectional view, and a thickness of a head rear side end portion on the back side of the joint portion. A golf club head characterized in that the thickness is set to 1 to 1.3 times the thickness of the member. 2. The back-side member comprises two members, a sole portion forming a lower portion thereof and a crown portion forming an upper portion thereof, and a thickness of the sole portion is greater than a thickness of the crown portion. 2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thickness is equal to or less than the thickness of the face portion.