JP2003038694A - Grip for golf club and golf club - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a grip 1 with excellent slip preventing performance in a wet state. SOLUTION: The grip 1 is formed by crosslinking a rubber composition. The complex elastic modulus of the grip 1 at 0 deg.C measured by a visco-elastic spectrometer under the condition that a frequency is 10 Hz and dynamic strain is 0.5% is 2.0 MPa to 6.5 MPa. The loss factor of the grip 1 at -30 deg.C measured by the visco-elastic spectrometer under the condition that the frequency is 10 Hz and the dynamic strain is 2% is 0.6 to 2.0. A golf club on which the grip 1 is mounted is easy to swing for a golfer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grip for a golf club (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "grip") and a golf club equipped with this grip.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A golf club comprises a shaft, a head mounted near the front end of the shaft, and a grip fitted near the rear end of the shaft. The grip is a part that a golfer swinging a golf club holds with a hand, and plays a very important part when the golfer's motion is transmitted to the golf club.

An important performance requirement of the grip is that slippage between the golfer's hand and the grip (or slippage with the glove when the golfer wears gloves) is suppressed during a swing. Generally, the grip is molded from a flexible material such as rubber or synthetic resin, and is provided with slip resistance. Typical grips use natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber or butadiene rubber.

In golf during rainy weather, hands (including gloves. The same applies hereinafter) and grips sometimes get wet with rainwater. Also,
In summer golf, sweat can cause your hands and grips to get wet. When the hand and the grip are wet, even a grip formed of a flexible material is likely to slip due to the presence of a water film between the hand and the grip. If slippage occurs, the swing will be disturbed, resulting in a missed shot. Many golfers want a grip that won't slip when wet.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-314352 discloses an anti-slip material for a golf club. The anti-slip material is interposed between the hand and the grip to prevent the both from slipping. However, this technique is not intended to improve the anti-slip performance of the grip itself. Carrying the anti-slip material is a burden on the golfer, and the interposition of the anti-slip material also disturbs the golfer's swing.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a grip for a golf club, which is excellent in slip resistance, particularly in wet condition. is there.

[0007]

The invention made to achieve the above object is a complex at 0 ° C. measured by a viscoelastic spectrometer under the condition that the frequency is 10 Hz and the dynamic strain is 0.5%. The elastic modulus is 2.0 MPa or more and 6.5 MPa or less, the frequency is 10 Hz, and the dynamic strain is 2%, and the loss coefficient at −30 ° C. measured by the viscoelasticity spectrometer is 0.6 or more and 2.0. The following is a grip for a golf club.

This grip has a smaller complex elastic modulus and a larger loss coefficient than the conventional general grip. Conventionally, a grip satisfying both the complex elastic modulus and the loss coefficient in the above range has not existed. The grip of the present invention is
Excellent anti-slip performance in wet condition. The golf club equipped with this grip is easy for a golfer to swing even in a wet state.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings,
The present invention will be explained in detail based on the preferred embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a grip 1 for a golf club according to an embodiment of the present invention. The grip 1 has a cylindrical shape with a closed rear end, and its outer diameter gradually increases from the front end toward the rear end.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a golf club 2 using the grip 1 of FIG. As shown in this figure, the grip 1 is fitted in the vicinity of the rear end of the shaft 3. A head 4 is mounted near the front end of the shaft 3. The shaft 3 may be made of stainless steel or carbon fiber reinforced resin. The head 4 may be a wood type head or an iron type head. Examples of the material of the head 4 include stainless steel, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, magnesium alloy, fiber reinforced synthetic resin, persimmon and the like.

The complex elastic modulus (E ^* ) of the grip 1 at 0 ° C. is 2.0 MPa or more and 6.5 MPa or less, which is relatively small. This grip 1 is excellent in anti-slip performance in a wet state. The golf club 2 fitted with the grip 1 is easy for a golfer to swing even in the rain.

When the complex elastic modulus is less than the above range, the shock absorbing performance of the grip 1 becomes insufficient and a large vibration is transmitted to the golf player's hand. From this viewpoint, the complex elastic modulus is preferably 3.0 MPa or more, more preferably 4.0 MPa or more, and particularly preferably 5.0 MPa or more. When the complex elastic modulus exceeds the above range, the slip resistance in a wet state becomes insufficient. From this viewpoint, the complex elastic modulus is 6.0M.
Pa or less is particularly preferable. The complex elastic modulus is measured by a viscoelasticity spectrometer (trade name “VA-200 improved type” manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) under the conditions shown below.

Viscoelasticity spectrometer measurement conditions Initial strain: 10% Dynamic strain: 0.5% Frequency: 10Hz Deformation mode: tension Starting temperature: -100 ° C Finishing temperature: 100 ℃ Temperature rising rate: 3 ° C / min

The test piece used for the measurement with the viscoelasticity spectrometer has a plate shape, the length thereof is 45 mm, the width thereof is 4 mm, and the thickness thereof is 2 mm. Both ends of this test piece are chucked and a measurement is performed. The length of the displaced portion of the test piece is 30 mm. This test piece is
It is cut out from the grip 1. When cutting out is difficult, a slab having a thickness of 2 mm is molded with a mold from the same composition as the grip 1, and a test piece is punched out from this slab. The slab is formed at 160 ° C. for 10 minutes.

The loss coefficient (tan δ) of this grip 1 at −30 ° C. is 0.6 or more and 2.0 or less, which is relatively large. This grip 1 is excellent in anti-slip performance in a wet state. The golf club 2 fitted with the grip 1 is easy for a golfer to swing even in the rain.

If the loss coefficient is less than the above range, the slip resistance in the wet state becomes insufficient. From this viewpoint, the loss coefficient is preferably 0.7 or more, and particularly preferably 0.8 or more. When the loss coefficient exceeds the above range, the strength and wear resistance of the grip 1 become insufficient. From this viewpoint, the loss factor is preferably 1.5 or less, more preferably 1.3 or less,
1.2 or less is particularly preferable. The loss coefficient is determined by the viscoelasticity spectrometer (the above-mentioned "VA-
200 modified ").

Viscoelasticity spectrometer measurement conditions Initial strain: 10% Dynamic strain: 2% Frequency: 10Hz Deformation mode: tension Starting temperature: -100 ° C Finishing temperature: 100 ℃ Temperature rising rate: 3 ° C / min

The grip 1 is formed by crosslinking a rubber composition. As the base polymer of the rubber composition, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, bromide of a copolymer of paramethylstyrene and isobutylene, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, chloroprene rubber , Acrylic rubber, urethane rubber,
Examples include epichlorohydrin rubber, polysulfide rubber, natural rubber and the like. These rubbers may be used alone 2
One or more species may be used in combination. Instead of or in addition to rubber, a synthetic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer having a soft segment and a hard segment may be used as the base polymer. Particularly preferable base polymers are acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, and bromide of a copolymer of paramethylstyrene and isobutylene because of their excellent anti-slip properties in a wet state.

The rubber composition is crosslinked by known means. Usually, sulfur is used as a crosslinking agent. Generally, the compounding amount of sulfur is 0.1 with respect to 100 parts of the base polymer.
3 parts or more and 5.0 parts or less, particularly 0.5 parts or more and 3.0 parts or less. Vulcanization accelerators may be used with the sulfur. Suitable vulcanization accelerators include thiazole-based vulcanization accelerators, thiuram-based vulcanization accelerators, sulfenamide-based vulcanization accelerators, and dicarbamate-based vulcanization accelerators. Particularly, thiazole-based vulcanization accelerators and thiuram-based vulcanization accelerators are preferable for the grip 1 of the present invention. The compounding amount of a general vulcanization accelerator is 0.5 part or more and 7 parts or less, and particularly 1.5 part or more and 4 parts or less with respect to 100 parts of the base polymer. As a vulcanization acceleration aid, a metal compound such as zinc oxide or a fatty acid such as stearic acid may be blended. In addition, the numerical value shown by "part" in this specification means the ratio when mass is made into the reference | standard.

For the purpose of improving the strength, it is preferable to add a filler to the rubber composition. Examples of the filler that can be used include silica, carbon black, calcium carbonate, clay and the like. Of these, silica and carbon black, which are excellent in reinforcing effect, are preferable, and the primary particle diameter is 30 n.
Particularly preferred is silica having m or less. The amount of silica blended is 3 parts or more and 60 parts or less, and particularly 10 parts or more and 35 parts or less with respect to 100 parts of the base polymer.

The rubber composition preferably contains a silane coupling agent or a silylating agent. Both the silane coupling agent and the silylating agent have a hydrophobic group in the molecule. The silane coupling agent and the silylating agent impart water repellency to the grip 1 by the action of this hydrophobic group. Therefore, the formation of a water film between the golf player's hand and the grip 1 is suppressed, and the slip prevention performance of the grip 1 in the wet state is enhanced. The total content of the silane coupling agent and the silylating agent is 1 part or more and 10 parts or less, and particularly 1.5 parts or more and 5 parts or less with respect to 100 parts of the base polymer.

A softener may be added to the rubber composition, if necessary. As a softening agent, paraffin oil,
Mineral oils such as naphthene oil and aromatic oil, and plasticizers such as dioctyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, dioctyl separate and dioctyl adipate can be mentioned.

The rubber composition may be blended with an appropriate amount of an antioxidant, a colorant, a processing aid and the like, if necessary.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, grooves having a predetermined pattern are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the grip 1.
By this groove, formation of a water film between the golf player's hand and the grip 1 is suppressed, and the slip prevention performance of the grip 1 in a wet state is enhanced. Further, a reinforcing cord may be provided in the grip 1 from the viewpoint of anti-slip performance and wear resistance.

In the production of this grip 1, first, a base polymer, a cross-linking agent, various additives and the like are kneaded by, for example, a closed kneader, an open roll or the like to obtain a rubber composition. Next, this rubber composition is put into a mold provided with a cavity having the same shape as the grip 1. Next, the rubber composition is heated and pressurized to cause a crosslinking reaction. In this way, the grip 1 is molded. Of course, other molding methods such as injection molding may be used.

[0027]

EXAMPLES The effects of the present invention will be clarified below based on Examples, but the present invention should not be construed in a limited way based on the description of the Examples.

[Example 1] Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (trade name "Nipol DN20 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd."
0 ") 100 parts, silica (trade name" Ultrasil VN3 "manufactured by Degussa) 15 parts, and bis- (3-triethoxysilylpropyl) tetrasulfene (trade name" Si69 "manufactured by Degussa) as a silane coupling agent. ) 2.0 parts, dioctyl phthalate as plasticizer (trade name "DOP" by Sanken Kako Co., Ltd.) 4.0, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (Ouchi Shinko Chemical Co., Ltd. product name "Nocrac 200") 2.0 parts,
0.5 parts of another antiaging agent (trade name "Sannok N" of Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), 3.0 parts of zinc oxide and 1.0 part of stearic acid are kneaded in a closed kneader to obtain a kneaded product. Obtained. This kneaded product was put into an open roll, and 1.0 part of sulfur, 1.3 parts of dibenzothiazyl disulfide as a vulcanization accelerator (trade name "NOXCELLER DM" manufactured by Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.),
Tetraethyl thiuram disulfide as another vulcanization accelerator (trade name "NOXCELLER TE by Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd."
T ") 0.7 part, and 0.1 part of di-o-tolylguanidine (trade name" NOXCELLER DT "manufactured by Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) as another vulcanization accelerator are added and kneaded. A rubber composition was obtained. This rubber composition was placed in a mold having a known groove pattern on the cavity surface. And 160 ℃
The rubber composition was caused to undergo a crosslinking reaction at the temperature of 10 minutes to obtain the grip of Example 1.

Example 2 Using 100 parts of another acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (trade name "Nipol DN402" manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.) as a base polymer, the compounding amounts of silica, a silane coupling agent and a plasticizer were as follows. A grip of Example 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amounts were changed as shown in Table 1.

Example 3 100 parts of a bromide of a copolymer of paramethylstyrene and isobutylene (trade name "EXPRO 90-10" manufactured by ExxonMobil Chemical Company), carbon black (trade name "DIA" manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei Co., Ltd.) Black I ") 15 parts, paraffin wax (Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. product name" PW380 ") 2.0 parts, anti-aging agent (previously" Nocrac 200 ") 2.0 parts, other anti-aging agents (previously mentioned" Sannok N ") 0.5 part, zinc oxide 2.2 parts and stearic acid 1.0 part were kneaded by a closed kneader to obtain a kneaded product. This kneaded product was put into an open roll, and sulfur 1.
5 parts and vulcanization accelerator (the above-mentioned "NOXCELLER DM") 2.0
Parts were added and kneaded to obtain a rubber composition. This rubber composition was crosslinked in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain the grip of Example 3.

[Comparative Example 1] 20 parts of butadiene rubber (trade name "BR11" manufactured by JSR), isoprene rubber (trade name "Nipol IR220 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.")
0 ") 80 parts, silica (" Ultrasil VN described above "
3 ") 15 parts, paraffin wax (the above-mentioned" PW38 "
0 ") 2.0 parts, anti-aging agent (the above-mentioned" Nocrac 20 "
0 ") 2.0 parts, other anti-aging agent (the above-mentioned" SANNOC N ") 0.5 part, zinc oxide 3.0 parts and stearic acid 1.0 part are kneaded in a closed kneader to obtain a kneaded product Got This kneaded product was put into an open roll, and 1.5 parts of sulfur and N-tert-butyl-2-benzothiazolylsulfenamide as a vulcanization accelerator (trade name “Nocceller NS” manufactured by Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) ) 1.0 part was added and kneaded to obtain a rubber composition. This rubber composition was crosslinked in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain the grip of Comparative Example 1.

[Comparative Examples 2 to 5] A commercially available grip (trade name "Crossline" manufactured by Royal Grip Co., Ltd.) was obtained,
It was set as Comparative Example 2. A commercially available grip (trade name “Swing Light” manufactured by Eaton Co., Ltd.) was obtained and used as Comparative Example 3. A commercially available grip (trade name “Tour Wrap” manufactured by Eaton Co., Ltd.) was obtained and used as Comparative Example 4. A commercially available grip (trade name “Sand Wrap” manufactured by Royal Grip Co., Ltd.) was obtained and used as Comparative Example 5.

[Evaluation of anti-slip performance] A golf club was manufactured by attaching a grip to a shaft. Wet this grip with water to make it 10
It was used by a well-known golfer to evaluate the anti-slip performance on a scale of 5 from "1" to "5". The one that caused the least slippage was designated as "5", and the one that was most likely to occur was designated as "1". 10
The average of the evaluation values of the famous golfers is shown in Table 1 below. Furthermore, the relationship between the evaluation value and the complex elastic modulus and the loss coefficient is shown in FIG.

[0034]

[Table 1]

[0035]

[Table 2]

As shown in Table 1, the grips of the respective examples are excellent in anti-slip performance in the wet state. As is clear from FIG. 3, the complex elastic modulus is 2.0 MPa or more and 6.5.
A grip having a MPa or less and a loss coefficient of 0.6 or more and 2.0 or less has excellent anti-slip performance.

[0037]

As described above, the grip of the present invention has excellent anti-slip performance. A golf club equipped with this grip is easy for a golfer to swing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a grip for a golf club according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a golf club in which the grip of FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between anti-slip performance, complex elastic modulus, and loss coefficient.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Grip 2 ... Golf club 3 ... Shaft 4 head

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. The frequency is 10 Hz and the dynamic strain is 0.5%.
The complex elastic modulus at 0 ° C. measured by a viscoelasticity spectrometer is 2.0 MPa or more and 6.5
A grip for a golf club having a loss coefficient of 0.6 or more and 2.0 or less at −30 ° C. measured by a viscoelastic spectrometer under the conditions of MPa or less, frequency of 10 Hz, and dynamic strain of 2%. 2. A shaft, a head mounted near the front end of the shaft, and a grip fitted near the rear end of the shaft. The frequency is 10 Hz and the dynamic strain is 0.5%. The complex elastic modulus of the grip at 0 ° C measured by a viscoelastic spectrometer under the conditions is 2.0MPa or more and 6.5MP.
A golf club having a grip loss coefficient of 0.6 or more and 2.0 or less at −30 ° C. measured by a viscoelastic spectrometer under the condition of a or less, frequency of 10 Hz, and dynamic strain of 2%.