JP2000005355A - Golf club head and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf club head, which is formed by rigidly combining different kinds of metallic materials with each other, and its manufacture. SOLUTION: The golf club head 2 consists of a head body 6 forming a face surface 4 and a weight body 8 buried in this body 6. The body 6 is molded of a sintered metallic for molding the main body 6 and the body 8 is molded of a sintered metal for molding the body 8, which is different from the sintered metal for molding the main body 6. Then at the combining part (boundary) P of the body 6 and the body 8, many recesses and projections 10 where different kinds of sintered metal complexly and deeply enter each other are formed and the body 6 and the weight body 8 are rigidly combined with each other without a gap by these recesses and projections 10.

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 formed by combining different kinds of metals and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-23075 discloses a method of manufacturing a golf club head using different kinds of sintered metals. In this manufacturing method, a mixture of a metal powder such as titanium and a binder is filled into a mold in which a weight body such as tungsten is set by a powder injection method to form a golf club head molded body wrapping the weight body. After that, the golf club head is manufactured by firing the formed golf club head body and sintering the filled metal powder.

[0003]

However, when a golf club head is manufactured by bonding different kinds of metals to each other, the difference between the shrinkage rate of titanium constituting the head body and the shrinkage rate of tungsten constituting the weight body, There is a gap between the head body and the weight body, and the mutual connection state becomes insufficient. When the bonding state between the metals is insufficient, the weight body may be constantly loose in the head body. In such a case, it is necessary to maintain a stable swing. Can not be done.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head formed by firmly bonding different kinds of metal materials to each other, and a method of manufacturing the same. is there.

[0005]

In order to solve such a problem, a golf club head according to the present invention is formed by joining different kinds of metal materials to each other by engaging the joining surfaces by sintering. In the method of manufacturing a golf club head according to the present invention, a molded golf club head made of different kinds of metal materials is formed by a metal injection molding method, and then the molded golf club head is subjected to a firing treatment to be integrated.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a golf club head and a method of manufacturing the same according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, the golf club head according to the present embodiment (for example, iron)
Reference numeral 2 denotes a head body 6 on which a face surface 4 is formed, and a weight body 8 embedded in the head body 6. The weight body 8 is provided for adjusting the balance of the center of gravity of the golf club head 2, and can be set to various weights according to the club number, the loft angle of the head, and the like.

The head body 6 is formed of a sintered metal such as titanium, a titanium alloy, an aluminum alloy, a copper alloy, or stainless steel (hereinafter, referred to as a sintered metal for forming the head body). , A metal material different from the sintered metal for molding the head body, specifically, a sintered metal having a higher specific gravity than the sintered metal of the head body 6 (for example, copper, copper alloy,
Hereafter, it is formed of a sintered metal for forming a weight body, such as tungsten, iron, and stainless steel. In addition, at least the portion forming the face is subjected to liquid phase sintering to increase the strength. Therefore, in golf club head 2 of the present embodiment, head body 6 is subjected to liquid phase sintering, and weight body 8 is subjected to solid phase sintering. As a result, the weight body 8
Is in a state where the metal particles are sintered at the contact. In addition,
As the molding material of the head body 6 and the weight body 8, a mixture of, for example, different kinds of metal powder, ceramics, graphite, or diamond fine powder with each of the above-described sintered metals may be applied.

[0008] In such a golf club head 2, different types of sintered metals are formed at the connecting portion where different types of sintered metals are connected to each other, that is, at the connecting portion (boundary) P between the head body 6 and the weight body 8. Since a large number of concaves and convexes 10 are formed intricately and deeply with each other, the head body 6 and the weight body 8 are firmly connected to each other by the concaves and convexes 10 without gaps. As a result, the weight body 8 does not rattle in the head main body 6 as in the related art, so that a stable swing can always be maintained.

Next, a method of manufacturing the golf club head 2 shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 1, a head lower part forming die 12 for forming the lower part of the head main body 6 is prepared. The head lower molding die 12 is composed of an upper die 14 and a lower die 16, and the upper die 14 has a convex portion corresponding to the shape of the weight body 8 to be molded in a process described later. 14a is protruded toward the lower mold 16 direction.
On the other hand, the lower mold 16 is provided with a filling hole 16a for filling a predetermined filling material into the lower head molding mold 12 by, for example, a metal injection molding method.

[0010] As the filling material, the sintered metal for forming the head main body described above is used in a particle size of 100 µm or less (preferably 10 µm or less).
５０50 μm) powdered first metal powder (for example,
A material obtained by mixing a titanium alloy powder) with a predetermined binder and heating the first material to a fluid state is used.

As the binder, for example, a wax-based binder, a resin-based binder, an aqueous-based binder, and the like can be used as appropriate, and 40 to 50% by volume is added. In this case, the heating temperature of the first material is 70 to 120 ° C when using a wax-based binder, 120 to 180 ° C when using a resin-based binder, and 50 to 100 ° C when using a water-based binder. It is preferable to set.

When the first material is heated and fluidized, it is filled into the lower head molding die 12 through the filling hole 16a and cooled, and the first lower molding die 12 is cooled. The lower portion of the head body 6 made of the first material (hereinafter, referred to as a lower component 18) is formed therein (first portion).
Molding process).

Next, as shown in FIG.
A weight body forming die 20 for forming the weight body 8 adjacent to the upper side is prepared. Then, after the lower component 18 is taken out from the head lower molding die 12, the lower component 18 is set in the weight body molding die 20.

The weight body forming mold 20 is composed of an upper mold 22 and a lower mold 24 in which the lower structure 18 can be set. , Concave portion 22 corresponding to the shape of weight body 8
a is provided. The upper mold 22 is formed with a filling hole 22b for filling a predetermined filling material into the recess 22a by, for example, a metal injection molding method.

As the filling material, the above-mentioned sintered metal for forming a weight body has a particle diameter of 100 μm or less (preferably 10 μm).
金属 50 μm) powdered second metal powder (for example,
A material obtained by mixing a second material obtained by mixing iron powder or tungsten powder) with a predetermined binder and heating it in a fluid state is used. Note that the binder is the same as that used in the above-described first molding process, and the description thereof is omitted.

When the second material is heated and fluidized, the second material is filled into the weight forming mold 20 through the filling hole 22b and cooled, and the weight forming mold 20 is cooled. Inside, a second component 26 made of the second material constituting the weight body 8 is molded adjacent to the lower component 18 (second molding process). In this case, the first
In the second molding process, the second component 26 is fixed on the lower component 18 by using the same type of binder.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
An upper head molding die 28 for molding the upper portion of the head main body 6 is provided adjacent to the second and second components 26. Then, the lower component 18 to which the second component 26 is fixed is taken out from the weight body forming die 20 and set in the head upper forming die 28.

The upper head forming die 28 includes an upper die 30 and a lower die 32 in which the lower component 18 to which the second component 26 is fixed can be set. The upper mold 30 is formed with a filling hole 30a for filling a predetermined filling material into the head upper molding mold 28 by, for example, a metal injection molding method. Note that the filling material is the same as the first material used in the above-described first molding process, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

When the first material is heated and fluidized, the first material is filled into the upper head forming mold 28 through the filling hole 30a and cooled, and the head upper forming mold 28 is cooled. Inside, the upper portion of the head body 6 made of the first material (hereinafter, referred to as the upper structure 34) is provided with the lower structure 18.
And molded adjacent to the second component 26 (third molding process). In this case, in the first to third molding processes, by using the same type of binder, the second component 26 is placed in the first component in which the lower component 18 and the upper component 34 are fixed to each other. The embedded golf club head molded body 36 is molded.

Next, the golf club head molded body 36 is taken out of the head upper molding die 28 and heated in a predetermined degreasing furnace (or dewatering furnace) to perform a degreasing treatment (or a dewatering treatment). Pour off the binder. Then, the first component and the second component are fired in an atmosphere furnace.
Is sintered. As a result, the golf club head 2 in which the weight body 8 is embedded in the head body 6 is completed (see FIG. 4).

In particular, the second and third molding processes (FIG. 2)
3 and FIG. 3), the joining portion (boundary) P between the first component composed of the upper component 34 and the lower component 18 and the second component 26 is slightly changed due to the flow of the dissimilar metal powder. In a mixed state, in the degreasing treatment (or dehydration treatment), the dissimilar metal powder flows again and the dissimilar metals enter each other. Therefore, these components 18, 2
When the golf club head compact 36 composed of the first and second golf club heads 36 and 34 is subjected to a sintering process and sintered, the upper component 34 and the lower component 18 made of the first material are integrated, and at the same time, the integrated first configuration is formed. A joint portion (boundary) P between the body and the second component 26 made of the second material is in a state where a large number of irregularities 10 in which different kinds of sintered metals are complicatedly and deeply penetrated with each other are fitted to each other. . In addition, by pressing the golf club head molded body 36 during firing or pressing the golf club head 2 after firing, bonding of different types of sintered metal can be ensured and accuracy can be improved. As a result, the head main body 6 and the weight body 8 are in a state of being firmly connected while being formed of different kinds of sintered metals.

In this case, the material, particle diameter and porosity of the first material and the second material are adjusted so that the difference in shrinkage of the metal powder during the sintering process is 1% or less (preferably 0.1%). 5% or less)
By doing so, it is possible to eliminate the gap between the bonding portions (boundaries) P after firing, so that the bonding strength between dissimilar metals can be further improved. If the sintering temperatures of the dissimilar metals of the first material and the second material are significantly different, a metal powder which can be sintered simultaneously with the metal of the other material is mixed into one of the materials. And make sure they are connected. In this case, the mixed metal powder sinters and combines with the sintered metal of the other material while taking in the metal powder of one material.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a golf club head 2 formed by bonding different kinds of sintered metals tightly without gaps and a method of manufacturing the same.

In the above-described embodiment, the upper and lower portions of the head main body 6 are formed of the same material, but are formed of different metal materials, and the specific gravities of the upper and lower portions of the head main body 6 and the weight 8 are formed. (For example, the head body 6
The lower part of the material is a material having a higher specific gravity than the weight body 8), so that various golf club heads 2 according to the purpose of use can be realized. Further, although the head body 6 is liquid phase sintered and the weight body 8 is solid phase sintered, the head body 6 may be solid phase sintered and the weight body 8 may be liquid phase sintered. Further, both may be solid phase sintering or liquid phase sintering.

Next, a golf club head and a method of manufacturing the same according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, the golf club head (for example, iron) 38 of the present embodiment has
Head body 42 having through hole formed in face portion 40
And a face plate 44 fixed to the face portion 40 of the head main body 42. The face plate 44 has a concave portion 40 a in which a convex portion 44 a projecting from the face plate 44 is formed in the face portion 40.
By being fitted to the head, it is fixed to the face portion 40 of the head main body 42 in a state where it is prevented from coming off.

The head body 42 is formed of a sintered metal such as titanium, a titanium alloy, an aluminum alloy, a copper alloy, and stainless steel, and the face plate 44 has a specific gravity higher than that of the sintered metal for forming the head body. It is formed of a small sintered metal (for example, titanium, a titanium alloy, an aluminum alloy, etc., hereinafter referred to as a sintered metal for face plate forming).

In such a golf club head 38, different types of sintered metals are bonded to each other at a connecting portion where different types of sintered metals are connected to each other, that is, at a connecting portion (boundary) between the head body 42 and the face plate 44. Since a large number of concaves and convexes 10 (see FIG. 4) are formed in a complicated and deep manner, the head main body 42 and the face plate 44 are firmly connected without any gap.

Next, a method of manufacturing the golf club head 38 shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 5, a head body molding die 46 for molding the head body 42 is prepared. The head body molding die 46 includes an upper die 48 and a lower die 50. The lower mold 50 is provided with a separation mold 52 for forming the concave portion 40a of the head body 42, and the upper mold 48 has a projection 48a for positioning the separation mold 52 at a predetermined position. Has been established. The lower mold 50 has a filling hole 50a for filling a predetermined filling material into the head body molding mold 46 by, for example, a metal injection molding method. Note that, as the filling material, a first material similar to that of the above-described first embodiment is applied, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

When the first material is heated and fluidized, it is filled into the head body forming mold 46 through the filling hole 50a and cooled, and the head body forming mold 46 is cooled. Inside, a first component 54 made of a first material constituting the head main body 42 is molded (first molding process).

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a face plate forming die 5 for forming the face plate 44 is formed.
6 is prepared. Then, after the first component 54 is taken out of the head body molding die 46, the first component 54 is set in the face plate molding die 56.

The face plate molding die 56 includes:
An upper mold 58 and a lower mold 60 are provided in which the first component 54 can be set, and the upper mold 58 is provided with a metal plate for molding a face plate by, for example, a metal injection molding method. A filling hole 58a for filling a predetermined filling material in the mold 56 is formed.

As the filling material, a second material obtained by mixing the above-mentioned sintered metal for forming a face plate into a powder having a particle diameter of 100 μm or less in a predetermined binder and heating the second material to a fluid state is used. Is used. Further, as the binder, for example, a wax-based binder, a resin-based binder, an aqueous-based binder, or the like can be appropriately selectively used.

When the second material is heated and fluidized and filled into the face plate forming die 56 through the filling hole 58a and cooled, the face plate forming die 56 is cooled. Inside, a second structure 62 made of a second material forming the face plate 44 is provided inside the first plate.
(The second molding process). As a result, the protrusions 44a (see FIG. 7) of the face plate 44 can be simply and collectively molded through a series of molding processes.

In this case, by using the same type of binder in the first and second molding processes,
A golf club molded body 64 in which the second structural body 62 is fixed to the first structural body 54 is molded.

Then, as in the first embodiment, the golf club head molded body 64 is subjected to a degreasing process (or a dehydrating process) and a baking process, so that the first structural member 54 is formed.
And sintering the metal of the second component 62,
The face plate 4 is attached to the face portion 40 of the head body 42.
The golf club head 38 to which the base member 4 is firmly fixed is completed (see FIG. 7).

According to the present embodiment, the first component 54
(A boundary) between the head main body 42 and the face plate 44 because a large number of irregularities in which different types of sintered metals are intricately and deeply inserted into each other are fitted to each other. Is a state of being formed of different kinds of sintered metals, but being tightly connected without any gap.

The other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. Next, a golf club head and a method of manufacturing the same according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 11, a golf club head (for example, a cavity back type iron) 66 of the present embodiment has a head body 7 having a face 68 formed thereon.
0 and a weight body 74 buried in a bank portion surrounding the cavity 72 (a sole-side bank portion and a top-side bank portion).
It is composed of The head body 70 and the weight body 74 are formed of the same sintered metal for forming the head body and the same sintered metal for forming the weight body as in the first embodiment, respectively.

In such a golf club head 66, different types of sintered metals are bonded to each other at a bonding portion where different types of sintered metals are bonded to each other, ie, at a bonding portion (boundary) between the head body 70 and the weight body 74. Since a large number of concaves and convexes 10 (see FIG. 4) are formed in a complicated and deep manner, the head body 70 and the weight body 74 are firmly connected without any gap.

Next, a method of manufacturing the golf club head 66 shown in FIG. 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 8, a face side molding die 76 for molding the face side of the head main body 70 is prepared. The face-side molding die 76 is composed of an upper die 78 and a lower die 80, and the upper die 7
8, a projection 78a corresponding to the shape of the weight body 74 formed in a step described later is provided so as to project toward the lower mold 80, and a predetermined filling material is applied to the face by, for example, metal injection molding. A filling hole 78b for filling the side molding die 76 is formed. Note that, as the filling material, a first material similar to that of the above-described first embodiment is applied, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

When the first material is heated and fluidized, it is filled into the face-side forming mold 76 through the filling hole 78b and cooled, and the face-side forming mold 76 is cooled. Inside, the face side of the head body 70 made of the first material (hereinafter, face-side structure 82) is molded (first molding process).

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, a weight forming die 84 for forming a weight adjacent to the face side component 82 is prepared. Then, after taking out the face side component 82 from the face side molding die 76, the face side component 82 is set in the weight body molding die 84.

The weight forming die 84 is composed of an upper die 86 and a lower die 88 in which the face side component 82 can be set. , A concave portion 86a corresponding to the shape of the weight body 74 is provided. The upper mold 86 is formed with a filling hole 86b for filling a predetermined filling material into the recess 86a by, for example, a metal injection molding method. Note that, as the filling material, a second material similar to that of the above-described first embodiment is applied, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

When the second material is heated and fluidized, the second material is filled into the weight forming die 84 through the filling hole 86b and cooled, and the weight forming die 84 is cooled. Inside, a second component 90 made of the second material constituting the weight body 74 is molded adjacent to the face-side component 82 (second molding process). In this case, by using the same type of binder in the first and second molding processes, the second component 90
Are fixed on the face-side structure 82.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10, a back-side molding die 92 for molding the back side of the head main body 70 is provided adjacent to the face-side component 82 and the second component 90. I do. Then, the face side component 82 to which the second component 90 is fixed is taken out from the weight body forming die 84 and set in the back side forming die 92.

The back-side molding die 92 has
The upper mold 94 is composed of an upper mold 94 and a lower mold 96 on which the face-side construct 82 to which the second construct 90 is fixed can be set. A filling hole 94a for filling a predetermined filling material into the back-side molding die 92 is formed by a molding method. Note that the filling material is the same as the first material used in the above-described first molding process, and a description thereof will be omitted.

When the first material is heated and fluidized, it is filled into the back-side molding die 92 through the filling hole 94a and cooled, and the back-side molding die 92 is cooled. Inside, the back side of the head body 70 made of the first material (hereinafter referred to as the back side structure 98) is formed adjacent to the face side structure 82 and the second structure 90 (the second structure 90). 3 molding process). In this case, in the first to third molding processes, by using the same type of binder, the second component is placed in the first component in which the face component 82 and the back component 98 are fixed to each other. The golf club head molded body 100 in which 90 is embedded is molded.

Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the golf club head molded body 100 is subjected to a degreasing treatment (or a dehydration treatment) and a baking treatment, so that the first construction and the second construction are performed. By sintering the metal of the body 90, the golf club head 66 in which the weight body 74 is embedded in the head body 70 is completed (see FIG. 11).

According to the present embodiment, the connecting portion (boundary) between the first component and the second component 90 is formed by a large number of irregularities in which different types of sintered metals enter each other in a complicated and deep manner. Therefore, the head main body 70 and the weight body 74 are tightly connected to each other with no gaps, although they are formed of different types of sintered metal.

In the above-described embodiment, the face side and the back side of the head main body 70 are formed of the same material. By appropriately changing the specific gravity of the body 74 (for example, the material on the back side of the head body 70 is made to be a material having a larger specific gravity than the face side and the weight body 74), various golf club heads 66 corresponding to the purpose of use are realized. can do. Note that the other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0051]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a golf club head formed by strongly bonding different kinds of metal materials to each other, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a molding process for molding a lower portion of a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a forming process of forming a weight body of the golf club head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a molding process for molding the head upper portion of the golf club head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the golf club head according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a molding process for molding a head body of a golf club head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a molding process for molding a face plate of a golf club head according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a molding process for molding the face side of a golf club head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a forming process for forming a weight body of a golf club head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a molding process for molding the back side of the golf club head according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a golf club head according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Golf club head 4 Face surface 6 Head body 8 Weight body 10 Irregularity P Joint (boundary) between head body and weight body

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A golf club head formed by combining different kinds of metal materials by joining the joining surfaces by sintering. 2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the joining portions of the different kinds of metal materials are joined to each other by fine indentations. 3. A golf club wherein a golf club head molded body made of a different kind of metal material is molded by a metal injection molding method, and then the golf club head molded body is subjected to a firing treatment to be integrated. Manufacturing method of club head. 4. A first structure made of a first material in which a first metal powder and a binder are mixed, a second metal powder made of a metal material different from the first metal powder, and a binder. 4. The method of manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the golf club head molded body is molded by disposing a second structural body made of a second material mixed with the second material. 5. The method of manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 3, wherein the molded golf club head is subjected to a degreasing or dehydrating treatment and then to a firing treatment. 6. The golf according to claim 3, wherein a difference in shrinkage between the first metal powder and the second metal powder is set to 1% or less. Manufacturing method of club head.