JP2006230953A - Golf club head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf club head with which comfortable metallic sound is obtained concerning the golf club head. <P>SOLUTION: In the golf club head of a hollow shell body structure obtained by forming a hollow head main body having an opening part at its crown part of metallic material and a plate member made of fiber reinforced resin is mounted to the crown part covering the opening part, a bridge part for dividing the opening part into a plurality of sections is constructed by separating from the plate member between the edge part of the opening part. In an invention concerning Claim 2, the bridge part is provided in the front and rear direction of the head main body orthogonally to the face part of the head main body in the golf club head described in Claim 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a golf club head having a hollow outer shell structure, and more particularly to a golf club head that covers an opening provided in a crown portion of a metal head main body, and a plate member made of fiber reinforced resin is attached to the crown portion. .

The material of a golf club head (hereinafter referred to as “head”) of a golf club called wood is changing with the times.
At first, wooden heads such as Persimmon were the mainstream, but later, carbon (CFRP) made by the progress of manufacturing technology and materials, and further, casting technology and mold technology also advanced metal ( Stainless steel, aluminum, and titanium heads have appeared.

In addition, the volume of the head increases as the material changes, and the golf club is easy to hit. At present, heads made of titanium, the mainstream of which exceeds 400 cm ³ , have appeared, and are more than twice as large as heads made of Persimmon.
However, with the increase in size of the head, the manufacturing technology is approaching the limit, the thinning of the outer shell of the hollow head is approaching the limit, and the freedom of designing the center of gravity position design and the appropriate head weight has been lost. As shown in FIG. 11, recently, an opening 7 is provided in the crown 3 of the hollow head body 1 made of titanium, leaving the peripheral edge 5, and the opening 7 is covered so as to cover carbon fiber or glass. There is disclosed a composite head 11 in which a fiber reinforced resin plate member 9 having a fiber as a reinforced fiber is mounted on a crown portion 3. Thus, a portion of the crown portion 3 has a smaller specific gravity than the head body 1. By using the reinforced resin, the weight surplus force is increased, the degree of freedom in design is increased, and the position of the center of gravity is easily adjusted (see Patent Document 1).

Further, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a bridge portion 13 that crosses the opening portion 7-1 of the crown portion 3-1 is installed in the front-rear direction of the head body 1-1, and the opening is opened. A head 11-1 in which a plate member 9 covering the portion 7-1 is supported by the bridge portion 13 is also disclosed.
JP 2003-199848 A

However, the head 11 shown in FIG. 11 has a drawback that a hitting sound does not reverberate internally and a comfortable metal sound cannot be obtained as compared with a head in which the entire head body is made of metal.
On the other hand, the head 11-1 shown in FIG. 12 has a structure in which a bridge portion 13 that crosses the opening 7-1 is installed in the front-rear direction of the head body 1-1, so that the crown portion 3-1 can be reinforced. Since vibration is transmitted to the rear of the head body 1-1 along the portion 13, the reverberation effect of the hitting sound of the head can be obtained as compared with the head 11, but vibration is caused by the plate member 9 contacting the bridge portion 13. However, it has been pointed out that the reverberant sound is short and a comfortable metal sound cannot be obtained yet.

  The present invention has been devised in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a head capable of obtaining a comfortable metal sound by improving the head provided with the bridge portion as described above.

  In order to achieve such an object, the invention according to claim 1 is to form a hollow head body having an opening in the crown portion from a metal material, and cover the opening to make a plate member made of fiber reinforced resin in the crown portion. In the head of the hollow outer shell structure to which is attached, a bridge portion that divides the opening into a plurality of parts is provided between the edges of the opening so as to be separated from the plate member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the head according to the first aspect, the bridge portion is provided in the front-rear direction of the head main body perpendicular to the face portion of the head main body. The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the head according to claim 1 or claim 2, the plurality of openings partitioned by the bridge section are partitioned by the same area.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an advantage that, together with the low center of gravity of the head and the reinforcement of the crown portion, it is possible to generate a metal sound peculiar to a comfortable metal head having a long reverberation sound.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the bridge portion is provided in the front-rear direction of the head body so as to be orthogonal to the face portion of the head body, so that vibration is easily transmitted to the back side of the head via the bridge portion. Therefore, the reverberant sound can be further lengthened. Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the strength of the crown portion is not biased, the balance of vibrations transmitted through the bridge portion is good, and a comfortable hitting sound is obtained. Obtainable.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a head according to claims 1 and 2, wherein in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 15 denotes a face portion 17, a crown portion (top portion) 19, and a sole portion 21. , A side head (side wall) 23 is a hollow head body integrally cast of titanium alloy, and a shaft fastening hole 25 extends from the crown portion 19 to the sole portion 21 on the heel side of the head body 15. A cylindrical shaft fastening portion (not shown) is formed integrally with the head body 15 with a gap between the heel wall 27 and the face portion 17, and the shaft fastening portion is formed as shown in FIG. The hosel portion 29 is formed so as to protrude upward from the head body 15.

As shown in FIG. 1, a shaft 33 formed of metal or fiber reinforced resin is inserted into the shaft fastening hole 25 from above the head body 15 to the sole portion 21 through a cylindrical resin spacer or socket 31. The insertion side end of the shaft 33 is formed flush with the sole portion 21.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an opening 37 is provided at the center of the face portion 17 to which a face plate 35 made of a high-strength material such as titanium is attached. 35 is welded to form the hitting surface of the head 39. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of score lines 41 are provided on the surface of the face plate 35 in the toe and heel directions, and the hitting surface of the head 39 formed by the face plate 35 and the face portion 17 is substantially the same. It is considered to have the same curvature.

An opening 45 is provided in the crown portion 19 of the head body 15 leaving the peripheral edge 43, and a plate member 47 made of fiber reinforced resin is attached to the peripheral edge 43 so as to cover the opening 45. It is joined with.
The plate member 47 is formed by cutting a semi-cured prepreg sheet impregnated with a matrix such as an epoxy resin or a polyurethane resin into carbon fibers or glass fibers into a predetermined shape and laminating them in a furnace under a predetermined pressure. As shown in FIG. 3, the plate member 47 is formed in a circular arc shape with a radius of curvature R2 in order to form the outer shape of the head 39 that is slightly rounded with the head body 15, as shown in FIG. .

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the peripheral portion 43 has a contact portion 49 on the face side and the hosel side of the head main body 15, which has a large impact load when hitting, and the toe and heel directions of the head main body 15. The plate member 47 is provided in the front-rear direction, and when the plate member 47 is joined by an adhesive, the end portion of the plate member 47 is brought into contact with the abutting portion 49, thereby providing a step between the plate member 47 and the crown portion 19. A smooth head 39 without a gap is formed, and the end portion of the plate member 47 is brought into contact with the abutting portion 49 and the peripheral portion 43 is provided to ensure a wide bonding area of the plate member 47. The bonding strength of the plate member 47 is ensured.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the above-described configuration, one bridge portion 51 that divides the opening 45 into two divided openings 45-1 and 45-2 is provided between the edges of the opening 45. The head member 15 is installed in the front-rear direction so as to be separated from the plate member 47.
As shown in FIG. 4, the bridge portion 51 is formed in a band shape (strip shape) on the center line in the toe and heel directions of the head main body 15 with a constant width m in the front-rear direction of the head main body 15 and perpendicular to the face portion 17. The bridge portion 51 is formed integrally with the crown portion 19 and the side portion 23 when the head body 15 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the bridge portion 51 is formed with a larger radius of curvature R2 (curvature radius R1> curvature radius R2) than the plate member 47, and thus the bridge portion is larger than the plate member 47. By forming 51 with a large curvature radius R <b> 2, a gap is positively formed between the plate member 47 and the bridge portion 51 is separated from the plate member 47.

  Since this embodiment is configured in this way, the center of gravity of the head 39 can be lowered by replacing a part of the crown portion 19 with a plate member 47 made of a lightweight fiber reinforced resin, and the bridge portion 51 can be Although the crown portion 19 can be reinforced by being installed between the edges of the opening 45, the bridge portion 51 faces the center line in the toe and heel directions of the head body 15 with a constant width m in the front-rear direction of the head body 15. Since it is provided orthogonal to the portion 17, the vibration at the time of hitting the ball is well transmitted to the rear of the head body 15 along the bridge portion 51 orthogonal to the hitting surface. Since the vibration transmitted to the rear along the bridge portion 51 is not attenuated by the plate member 47, a comfortable metal sound having a long reverberation sound is generated.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the head 39 has a lower center of gravity and the crown portion 19 is reinforced as compared with the conventional example of FIGS. 11 to 13, and a comfortable metallic sound with a long reverberant sound is generated. Has the advantage that it can.
Further, in the head 11-1 of FIGS. 12 and 13, the plate member 9 is formed along the bridge portion 13 and joined to each other, but generally inward (bridge) compared to the peripheral portion 3-1. The portion where the portion 13 is provided is difficult to stabilize in shape. For this reason, when the plate member 9 is supported by the bridge portion 13 as shown in FIG. 13, depending on the product, a gap is generated between the bridge portion 13 and the plate member 9, and the hitting sound is not stabilized for each product. However, according to the present embodiment, such a problem does not occur.

In the above embodiment, the head main body 15 is formed by casting. However, the head main body may be formed by joining a forged face portion, crown portion, sole portion, side portion, etc. Instead of the face plate 35, the entire striking surface may be formed integrally with the head body.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the head main body 15 is formed of a titanium alloy, but the head main body may be formed of titanium, aluminum, a stainless steel alloy, or the like. It is possible to achieve the purpose of the period.

  5 and 6 show a head according to the second embodiment of claims 1 and 2, and as shown in the figure, the head 39-1 according to this embodiment is also attached to the crown portion 19 of the head body 15-1. An opening 53 is provided leaving the peripheral edge 43, and a plate member 47 is bonded to the peripheral edge 43 with an adhesive so as to cover the opening 53. In this embodiment, the bridge portion described above is used. Instead of 51, two bridge portions 55, 57 that divide the opening 53 into three divided openings 53-1, 53-2, 53-3 between the edges of the opening 53 and the plate member 47. The head body 15-1 is spaced apart and installed in parallel in the front-rear direction.

In addition, the same thing as said 1st embodiment attaches | subjects the same code | symbol, and those structural description is abbreviate | omitted. The head main body 15-1 is formed of the same material as the head main body 15.
As shown in the figure, the two bridge portions 55 and 57 have the same width as the bridge portion 51 in the front-rear direction of the head body 15-1 on the left and right sides of the center line in the toe and heel directions of the head body 15-1. m is integrally formed perpendicular to the face portion 17. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, both bridge portions 55 and 57 are formed with a radius of curvature R2 (curvature radius R1> curvature radius R2) larger than that of the plate member 47. By forming both bridge portions 55 and 57 with a large radius of curvature R2 as compared with the plate member 47, a gap is positively formed between the plate member 47 and the bridge portions 55 and 57 are connected to the plate member 47. It is separated from.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and this embodiment can achieve the intended purpose as in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 and is compared with the conventional example of FIGS. 11 to 13. In addition to lowering the center of gravity of the head 39-1 and reinforcing the crown portion 19, it is possible to generate a metal sound peculiar to a comfortable metal head having a long reverberation sound. , Since the two bridge portions 55 and 57 are provided orthogonal to the face portion 17 with the center line in the heel direction interposed therebetween, there is an advantage that a comfortable hitting sound is easily produced even if the hit point is shifted in the toe or heel direction. .

  7 and 8 show a third embodiment of the head according to claims 1 and 2, and the head 39-2 according to the present embodiment is similar to the bridge portion 51 described above of the head main body 15-2. One bridge portion 61 that divides the opening portion 59 provided in the crown portion 19 into two divided opening portions 59-1 and 59-2 is separated from the plate member 47 and has a constant width in the front-rear direction of the head body 15-2. In forming the cross section perpendicular to the face portion 17 at m, the bridge portion 61 is formed in a straight section as shown in FIG.

Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment of FIG. 1, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
Thus, according to the present embodiment, as in the above-described embodiments, the intended purpose can be achieved, as well as between the bridge portion 61 and the plate member 47 as shown in FIG. Since the space to be formed can be made larger than that in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the bridge portion 61 is easily vibrated and has an advantage that a better metal sound can be generated.

In place of the straight section, the bridge portion 61 may be curved inwardly in a concave shape.
FIG. 9 shows a head body of a head according to an embodiment of the first to third aspects. In this embodiment, the opening 63 provided in the crown portion 19 of the head body 15-3 is divided into two divided openings 63. In order to form one bridge portion 65 divided into -1 and 63-2 away from the plate member (not shown) and perpendicular to the face portion 17 in the front-rear direction of the head body 15-3, two divided openings The bridge portion 65 is curved in the shape of a circular arc in plan view with the same width n so that the areas S1 and S2 of 63-1 and 63-2 are equal (S1 = S2).

Thus, according to the present embodiment, since the areas S1 and S2 of the two divided openings 63-1 and 63-2 are equalized in this way, the strength of the crown portion 19 is not biased, and the bridge portion 65 is The balance of vibrations to be transmitted becomes good and a comfortable hitting sound can be obtained.
FIG. 10 shows a head body of a head according to the fourth embodiment of claims 1 and 2, and in this embodiment, the opening 67 provided in the crown portion 19 of the head body 15-4 is divided into two parts. In forming one bridge portion 69 partitioned into the openings 67-1 and 67-2 away from the plate member (not shown) and perpendicular to the face portion 17 in the front-rear direction of the head body 15-4, the bridge portion The width of 69 is gradually increased from the face side to the back side (x> y) to increase the rigidity on the back side of the bridge portion 69 and to make the face side easy to bend.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is possible to achieve the intended purpose, as well as to increase the rigidity of the back side of the bridge portion 69 in this way. Since the face side of the bridge portion 69 bent at the time of hitting is quickly restored and the repulsive energy is easily transmitted to the ball, the hitting distance of the hit ball can be further secured.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the opening is provided leaving the peripheral edge of the crown, but the opening may be formed over the side.
In addition, the bridge portion is not limited to a strip shape (strip shape), and may have any shape, and a rib may be formed inward with a T-shaped cross section.
Thus, by providing the rib in this manner, the sound quality can be adjusted by the rib, and the strength of the bridge portion is improved, so that the sound quality can be adjusted in the width direction.

It is a whole perspective view of the head concerning the first embodiment of Claim 1 and Claim 2. It is a disassembled perspective view of the head shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the head shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view of the head shown in FIG. 1. It is a top view of the head main part of the head concerning the 2nd embodiment of Claim 1 and Claim 2. It is sectional drawing of the head which concerns on 2nd embodiment of Claim 1 and Claim 2. It is a top view of the head main body of the head concerning the third embodiment of Claim 1 and Claim 2. It is sectional drawing of the head which concerns on 3rd embodiment of Claim 1 and Claim 2. It is a head main body of the head concerning one embodiment of Claims 1 thru / or 3. It is a top view of a head main part of a head concerning a 4th embodiment of Claim 1 and Claim 2. It is an exploded plan view of a conventional head. It is an exploded plan view of another conventional head. It is sectional drawing of the head shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

15, 15-1, 15-2, 15-3, 15-4 Head body 17 Face part 19 Crown part 35 Face plate 39, 39-1, 39-2 Head 43 Peripheral part 45, 53, 59, 63, 67 Openings 45-1, 45-2, 53-1, 53-2, 53-3, 59-1, 59-2, 63-1, 63-2, 67-1, 67-2 Divided openings 47 Plate Member 49 Abutting portion 51, 55, 57, 61, 65, 69 Bridge portion

Claims (3)

In a golf club head having a hollow outer shell structure in which a hollow head body having an opening at a crown is formed of a metal material, and a plate member made of fiber reinforced resin is attached to the crown so as to cover the opening.
A golf club head characterized in that a bridge portion that divides the opening into a plurality of portions is provided between the edges of the opening so as to be separated from the plate member.   The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the bridge portion is provided in the front-rear direction of the head body perpendicular to the face portion of the head body. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of openings partitioned by the bridge portion are partitioned by the same area.

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