JP2003079767A - Club head and golf club having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a club head which is capable of suppressing the shaking at impact and enhancing the degree of freedom in design and a golf club having the same. SOLUTION: This club head has a head body 5 which constitutes an outer shell by internally having a hollow section 10 and has a mounting opening 25 communicating with the hollow section 10 on a heel side and a hosel member 6 which is inserted into the mounting opening 25, is connected on its base side to the shaft 3 and has the front end side existing to extend off to the toe side from an axis 28 or a shaft 3. The hosel member 6 with respect to the head boy 5 is welded on the base side to the circumference of the mounting opening 25 and its front side is welded to the inside surface of the hollow section 10 deviated from the axis 28 toward the toe side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a metal wood club head having a hollow structure and a golf club having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a club head of this type is constructed by integrally welding a cylindrical hosel member for attaching a shaft to a hollow head body having an outer shell formed of a metal material such as titanium alloy. Has been done. The head body is formed by a sole member, a face member, and a crown member, and has a mounting opening on the heel side. Generally, the sole member includes a sole portion, a toe portion, a back portion, and a heel portion. It has become. The hosel member extends along the axis of the shaft, and the tip side protruding from the mounting opening into the head body is welded to the lower end of the heel portion and the face member, and the base side around the mounting opening is the upper end of the heel portion. Department,
It is integrally welded to the crown member and the face member.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional club head, since the hosel member is welded only around the axis thereof, at the time of impact, the head body is centered on the hosel member (shaft) and the head portion is backed. There is a problem that the ball may be slightly rotated to the side, and the ball may be sliced, which may affect the direction of the ball. However, since there is a club design rule regarding the relationship between the axis of the shaft and the heel portion, the hosel member cannot be disposed close to the impact position of the head main body in order to avoid the influence of the above-described minute rotation as much as possible. . Therefore, after all, the respective members of the head main body are designed in consideration of the above influence.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a club head capable of suppressing the shake at impact as much as possible and increasing the degree of freedom of design, and a golf club provided with the club head.

[0005]

The club head of the present invention has a hollow portion inside to form an outer shell, and has a head body having a mounting opening communicating with the hollow portion on the heel side and a mounting opening. A hosel member inserted into the head body and extending from the axial line of the shaft to the toe side. ,
It is characterized in that the tip side is fixed to the inner surface of the hollow portion which is separated from the axis toward the toe side.

According to this structure, the head main body and the hosel member are fixed not only around the axis of the shaft but also at a position deviated from the axis of the shaft to the toe side. As a result, the hosel member can support both ends of the head main body at a portion other than the shaft axis and at a position closer to the impact position, so that the face portion can be substantially symmetrically deformed at the time of impact (toe side and heel side). With the hosel member, the shake of the head main body at the time of impact can be appropriately suppressed. In addition, by adjusting the hosel member existing in the hollow portion of the head body (for example, adjusting the weight and the vertical position), the center of gravity of the head body is adjusted and the weight of each member forming the outer shell of the head body is adjusted. The degree of freedom in designing the head main body can be increased, for example, the distribution can be adjusted. Further, the fixed portion on the inner surface of the hollow portion can also function as a rib of the head body. As the fixing method, various welding methods such as electron beam welding may be used. In addition, the tip end side of the hosel member is fixed to the inner surface of the hollow portion that is deviated from the axis of the shaft to the toe side, and this center of fixation means that the distance between the axis of the shaft and the line of play parallel to it. K (Maximum 15.88 mm due to club design rules)
When, the distance from the line of play exceeds K and is on the toe side. In this case, the hosel member is 1
It is composed of a member, and it is preferable that the base member is bent and extends from the base portion side to the tip end side. Thereby, the number of member elements of the hosel member can be reduced. Similarly, in this case, the head main body is formed by welding the outer shell to the face member, the crown member, and the sole member so as to form the mounting opening, and the fixing portion on the base side of the hosel member is connected to these three members. It is preferably welded together. As a result, the hosel member can be integrally and strongly welded to these members by utilizing the position where the three members such as the face portion forming the outer shell of the head main body are welded together.

In this case, it is preferable that the line connecting the fixing center on the tip side of the hosel member and the fixing center on the base side is substantially orthogonal to the hitting direction.

According to this structure, the line connecting the two fixing centers is positioned parallel to the face surface which is substantially orthogonal to the hitting direction. As a result, it is possible to more suitably suppress the toe side movement of the head body at impact. In addition, it is preferable that the impact position be located at a substantially midpoint of a line connecting the fixation center on the tip side and the fixation center on the base side.

Similarly, it is preferable that the front end side of the hosel member is fixed to the inner surface of the hollow portion at a position farthest from the axis.

According to this structure, the two fixing portions (supporting portions) of the hosel member with respect to the head main body can be separated as much as possible, and the toe side deviation of the head main body at impact can be suppressed more preferably.

Similarly, the outer shell of the head body is composed of a toe portion, a back portion, a heel portion, a sole portion, a face portion and a crown portion, and the tip side of the hosel member has a toe portion, a back portion and a sole. It is preferable that the at least two of the parts are fixed to each other over the inner surface part.

According to this structure, the hosel member is fixed so as to support the head body at least at three points. As a result, the hosel member can be more strongly welded to the head main body, the rigidity of each part other than the face part can be increased, and at the same time, the repulsive force of the face part can be increased. In addition, it is preferable that one of the at least two portions is the inner surface of the toe portion.

A golf club according to the present invention comprises the club head according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

This makes it possible to provide a golf club in which the shake of the club head at the time of impact is suppressed as much as possible.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A club head according to an embodiment of the present invention and a golf club including the same will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This golf club 1
Is a metal wood club commonly called a driver or a fairway wood. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1, a club head 2, a shaft 3 whose lower part is connected to the club head 2, and an upper part of the shaft 3 are provided. It is configured with the attached grip 4.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the club head 2, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the club head 2. As shown in both figures, the club head 2 is composed of a head body 5 forming an outer shell and having an internal hollow structure, and a hosel member 6 connecting the shaft 3, and the head body 5 and the hosel member 6 are integrally welded. It is composed of The head body 5 is
The sole member 7 on the lower side, which constitutes the main part, the crown portion 8 on the upper surface side, and the face portion 9 on the front surface side which becomes the ball striking face are composed of three independent thin members, and the peripheral edges of these three members are abutted against each other. The outer shell is constructed by welding,
A hollow portion 10 is formed inside.

The sole member 7 includes a toe portion 13 on the tip side,
The back portion 14 on the back side, the heel portion 15 on the base side, and the sole portion 16 on the lower surface side are integrally connected to each other.
Toe part 13, back part 14 and heel part 15 except 6
Thus, the side peripheral surface portion 12 is configured. The sole member 7, the crown portion 8 and the face portion 9 are pure titanium,
A metal material such as titanium alloy (for example, Ti-6Al-4V) or stainless steel is formed into a predetermined curved shape by forging or pressing. It should be noted that the head body 5 may be composed of four members or the like instead of being composed of three members as in the present embodiment, and the toe portion 13, the back portion 14,
A plurality of outer shell constituent parts including a heel part 15, a sole part 16, a crown part 8 and a face part 9 are formed independently or by integrating arbitrary parts, and these are welded to each other at arbitrary positions. Good.

The face portion 9 has a score line 18 on the outer surface serving as a ball striking face. The crown portion 8 has a surface-side peripheral edge 20 that is substantially horizontal along the upper end of the face portion 9 and a back-side peripheral edge 21 that is largely curved along the upper end of the side peripheral surface portion 12 from the tip side to the base side. There is. Also,
The base portion of the crown portion 8 where the front surface side peripheral edge 20 and the back surface side peripheral edge 21 intersect is recessed inward in an arc shape, and a part of the mounting opening 25 for mounting and inserting the hosel member 6 is formed. Is forming.

Each part of the side peripheral surface part 12 has an outwardly projecting shape and has a predetermined height from the sole part 16. The end surface 23a on the front surface side of the sole portion 16 and the end surface 23b, 23c on the front surface side of the toe portion 13 and the heel portion 15 are
It is continuous in a substantially "U" shape when viewed from the front. Then, the "U" -shaped end surface 23 of the sole member 7 is butt-welded with a small gap (filling) so as to cover the face portion 9 from the surface side, and the face portion 9 and the side peripheral surface portion 12 are also welded. The hollow portion 10 of the head body 5 is formed by butt welding with a minute gap so that the crown portion 8 closes from the upper side along the upper edge of the.

The attachment opening 25 is formed in the upper portion of the head body 5 on the base side so as to communicate with the hollow portion 10 of the head body 5. The mounting opening 25 is configured by butt welding the face portion 9, the crown portion 8 and the heel portion 15 integrally to form a substantially circular opening on the base side of the head body 5. Then, the face portion 9 and the crown portion 8 around the mounting opening 25.
At the heel portion 15, the hosel member 6 inserted in the mounting opening 25 is integrally welded. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 26 represents a weld metal that is a joint between the head body 5 and the hosel member 6, and the weld metal of the outer shell of the head body 5 is omitted.

The hosel member 6 has a hosel main body 30 on the base side to which the shaft 3 is connected, and a hosel extending portion 31 on the front end side that extends by bending gently from the hosel main body 30.
And is formed integrally by bending a cylindrical material such as titanium. The hosel body 30 includes an upper body 33 that extends along the direction of the axis 28 of the shaft 3 and is exposed to the outside of the head body 5, and a lower body 34 that is hidden inside the head body 5.

The upper main body 33 is formed to have a large diameter, the lower main body 34 is formed to have a diameter slightly smaller than that of the upper main body 33, and an annular step portion for regulating the insertion depth into the mounting opening 25 is provided between them. 35 are configured. The annular step portion 35 is the head body 5.
Is welded around the attachment opening 25 to form a heel-side welded portion of the head body 5. Further, the upper main body 33 and the lower main body 34 have a shaft connecting hole 36 having the same inner diameter in the axial center, and the lower end portion of the shaft 3 inserted into the shaft connecting hole 36 has an upper main body 33 and a lower main body 34. Are fitted together and fixed with an adhesive or the like.

The hosel extension portion 31 includes the hosel body 30.
Is continuous with the lower body 34 of the
8 extends away from the head 8, and its tip extends to the toe portion 13 of the head body 5. That is, the hosel extension 3
1 extends in the hollow portion 10 of the head body 5 from the base side (heel side) to the tip side (toe side), and is welded to the curved portion 40 continuous to the lower body 34 and the inner surface of the toe portion 13. The welded portion 41 and the curved portion 40 and the welded portion 41 are integrally connected horizontally to each other.
The welded portion 41 is cut into a shape that substantially matches the inner surface of the toe portion 13, and is welded (butt welding) at a predetermined portion of the toe portion 13 with a minute gap.

Specifically, the welded portion 41 is the head body 5
In order to maximize the distance between the two welded parts of the hosel member 6 with respect to the
It is welded at the farthest position from No. 8. And
In this state, the hosel extension portion 31 extends linearly in a front view from the toe side to the heel side in the hollow portion 10 of the head body 5. The welding position of the welded portion 41 is determined as a predetermined vertical position on the inner surface of the toe portion 13 in consideration of the center of gravity of the head body 5, the weight distribution of each outer shell forming portion of the head body 5, and the like.

Here, the welding procedure of each member constituting the club head 2 will be briefly described. Before and after welding the face portion 9 and the sole member 7, the hosel member 6 is welded to the predetermined position of the toe portion 13 via the hosel extension portion 31. At this time, the hosel member 6 is properly positioned with a jig or the like with respect to the head body 5 so that the annular step portion 35 of the hosel body 30 is located around the mounting opening 25. As the welding method, various welding methods such as electron beam welding can be adopted. Next, the crown portion 8 is welded to the face portion 9 and the sole member 7, and the hosel body 30 is integrally welded to the crown portion 8, the face portion 9 and the sole member 7 around the mounting opening 25. Then, as a finishing treatment of the club head 2, each joint portion located on the outer side is subjected to grinding / polishing for buffing, and finally for painting.

Thus, the golf club 1 of this embodiment
According to this, since the hosel member 6 connecting the shaft 3 is welded to the toe side and the heel side of the head body 5,
With the hosel member 6, the head body 5 at the time of impact
It is possible to suitably suppress blurring. FIG. 4 schematically shows this principle in comparison with the prior art. In the conventional club head 2 shown in FIG. 1A, as described above, the shaft axis 2 is affected by the large impact force at the time of impact.
Due to the one-end support around 8, the head main body 5 slightly pivots to the back side around this, and the face portion 9 slightly bends (deforms) to the back side (see the phantom line in the figure). .

On the other hand, in the club head 2 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, since the hosel member 6 supports the head body 5 at both ends with the impact position substantially in the middle, the center of gravity of the head body 5 Even if the ball is impacted at a position slightly apart in the left-right direction (toe side and heel side direction),
Fine rotation of the head body 5 is preferably suppressed. In particular, it is possible to prevent the flying ball from slicing even when the ball impacts at a position from the toe side. Further, the impact causes the face portion 9 to be symmetrically deformed, and it is possible to prevent the face portion 9 from being deformed to one side (see a virtual line in the drawing). Therefore, at the time of impact, the head body 5 does not rotate, and the face portion 9
Can be deformed while being orthogonal to the hitting direction, and the flight direction of the ball can be stabilized.

Further, according to the golf club 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to appropriately adjust the vertical position of the welding position of the hosel member 6 (hosel extension portion 31) and the weight thereof. Therefore, the weight distribution of each outer shell forming portion of the head body 5 can be adjusted in a wide range, and the position of the center of gravity of the head body 5 can be appropriately set. As a result, the club head 2 can be freely designed. The degree can be improved.

The weight of the hosel extending portion 31 made of a cylindrical material can be adjusted by appropriately changing the shape. For example, the outer diameter may be appropriately adjusted in the extending direction, or a part may be hollowed out. Again,
Although the hosel member 6 is composed of one member, the hosel body 3
0 and the hosel extension portion 31 may be configured by different members.
In this case, the lower body 34 of the hosel body 30 and the curved portion 40 of the hosel extension portion 31 are butt-welded to each other so that the hosel body 30 and the hosel extension portion 31 are continuous.
Further, in this case, the hosel extension portion 31 may be replaced with a cylindrical material and may have various shapes such as a plate material.

Although the hosel extension portion 31 is welded to the inner surface of the toe portion 13, this welded portion is hollow in the other outer shell forming portion deviated from the axis 28 of the shaft 3 toward the toe portion 13. It may be the inner surface of the part 10. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the center of the welded portion other than around the axis 28 of the shaft 3 is closer to the tip side of the head body 5 than the intersection 50 between the axis 28 of the shaft 3 and the inner surface of the sole portion 16. It may be a portion on the inner surface of the hollow portion 10 that is located away from it.

More precisely, as will be described with reference to FIG. 2, if the distance between the axis 28 of the shaft 3 and the play line 29 parallel to this is K, then the hosel extension 31 is welded. The welding center of the portion 41 may be a position on the toe side where the distance from the play line 29 exceeds K. Note that the maximum K is determined to be 15.88 mm according to the club design rules. Therefore, the weldable area S is set to the toe portion 1
3, including the sole portion 16, the back portion 14, and the broader area (masked area) in FIG.
It may be each part of the face portion 9 or the crown portion 8 (not shown). However, it is preferable to remove the face portion 9 in consideration of the resilience of the ball.

Next, the club head 2 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment,
In the hosel member 6, a line connecting the welding center on the tip side and the welding center on the base side is substantially orthogonal to the hitting direction. That is, the welded portion 41 of the hosel extension portion 31 extends from the axis 28 of the shaft 3 in a direction orthogonal to the hitting direction,
A straight line connecting the center of the welded portion of the hosel extension portion 31 to the head body 5 and the center of the welded portion of the hosel body 30 is substantially orthogonal to the hitting direction.

Two one-dot chain lines shown in the figure show a face center line 52 indicating the hitting direction, and a welding line 53 which is orthogonal to the face center line 52 and connects the centers of the two welding portions. Therefore, the portion of the inner surface of the hollow portion 10 to which the welded portion 41 of the hosel extension portion 31 is welded is on the welding line 53 and is included in the weldable region S shown in FIG. The welded portion may be the inner surface of the crown portion 8 or the inner surface of the sole portion 16, but may be the inner surface of the toe portion 13 that is far away from the axis 28 of the shaft 3 on the inner surface of the hollow portion 10. Preferred (shown in phantom in FIG. 6).

According to the club head 2 of the present embodiment, the degree of freedom in designing the head body 5 and the like can be increased, and in addition, when the club head 2 is impacted from the direction orthogonal to the ball striking face, the club head 2 is shaken. It can be suppressed appropriately. The shape of the hosel member 6, more specifically, the shape of the hosel extension portion 31 can be any shape as described above, and the position of the center of gravity of the head body 5 can be flexibly and widely adjusted. be able to.

Next, the club head 2 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment,
The hosel member 6 is welded to a plurality of portions (at least two portions) of the inner surface of the hollow portion 10 of the head body 5. As shown in FIG. 5, all of the plurality of welded portions are within the weldable region S that is deviated from the axis 28 of the shaft 3 to the tip side of the head body 5. Therefore, the heel portion 15 is removed from the outer shell forming portion, and the face portion 9 is also removed in consideration of the resilience of the ball.

For example, in FIG. 7A, the hosel extension portion 3
1 is formed by bending in a substantially “L” shape on the back portion 14 side (back surface side), the welding portion 41 is welded to a predetermined position on the inner surface of the toe portion 13, and the bending portion 55 of the connecting portion 42. Is welded to a predetermined position on the inner surface of the back portion 14. Also,
In FIG. 7B, the hosel extension portion 31 is formed by bending the sole side (lower surface side) into a substantially “L” shape, and the weld portion 41 is formed.
Is welded to a predetermined position on the inner surface of the toe portion 13, and
The bent portion 56 of the connecting portion 42 is welded to a predetermined position on the inner surface of the sole portion 16. It should be noted that these welding positions are arbitrary in terms of, for example, the upper and lower positions on the inner surface of the hollow portion 10, and can be determined in consideration of the design of each outer shell forming portion.

According to this embodiment, since the hosel member 6 is welded so as to support the head body 5 at least at three points, the hosel member 6 can be more firmly welded to the head body 5. In addition, the rigidity of each outer shell constituent portion except the face portion 9 can be increased, and at the same time, the repulsive force of the face portion 9 can be increased.

Next, a modification of the club head 2 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the hosel member 6 is configured such that the hosel body 30 and the hosel extension portion 31 are separately formed, the hosel extension portion 31 is formed in a bifurcated shape, and two portions of the inner surface of the hollow portion 10 are formed. It is welded over. That is, in the hosel extension portion 31, the connecting portion 42 extending from the bending portion 40 welded to the hosel body 30 is branched from an intermediate position,
As a whole, it is formed into a substantially "Y" shape, and has two welded portions 4
1, 41 are welded to the inner surface of the hollow portion 10.

In this case, the two inner portions of the hollow portion 10 can be arbitrarily selected from the toe portion 13, the back portion 14, the sole portion 16, the crown portion 8 and the face portion 9. In addition, when the shake of the head main body 5 is suppressed more appropriately and the resilience characteristic of the face portion 9 is taken into consideration, the hosel extension portion 31 includes the inner surfaces of the toe portion 13 and the back portion 14 as shown in FIG. It is preferable to weld over.

[0040]

According to the club head of the present invention and the golf club provided with the club head, the hosel member can support the head main body at a position other than the shaft axis and at the impact position. Therefore, the shake of the head main body at the time of impact can be appropriately suppressed. Also, by adjusting the hosel member in the head body, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the head body, such as adjusting the position of the center of gravity of the head body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club including a club head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view around a club head.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view around a club head.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the principle of the club head at the time of impact, (a) around the conventional club head,
(B) It is a top view which shows the state around the club head of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the club head showing a region where the hosel member can be fixed to the head body.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a club head according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a club head and its surroundings according to a third embodiment,
(A) It is a top view showing the 1st example, and (b) It is a sectional view showing the 2nd example.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a modified example of the club head according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 golf club 2 club heads 3 shafts 4 grip 5 head body 6 Hosel member 7 sole member 8 Crown 9 Face 10 Hollow part 12 Side peripheral surface 13 Toe part 14 Back section 15 Heel part 16 sole part 25 mounting opening 26 Weld metal 30 Hosel body 31 Hosel extension 41 Weld

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A head main body having a hollow portion inside to form an outer shell and having a mounting opening communicating with the hollow portion on the heel side, and a head body inserted into the mounting opening and connected to a shaft on the base side. And a hosel member having a tip side extending away from the axis of the shaft to the toe side, the hosel member being fixed to the head body at the base side around the mounting opening, and at the tip side. A club head fixed to the inner surface of the hollow portion that is separated from the axis toward the toe side. 2. The club head according to claim 1, wherein a line connecting the center of fixation of the tip side of the hosel member and the center of fixation of the base side is substantially orthogonal to the ball striking direction. 3. The club head according to claim 1, wherein a tip end side of the hosel member is fixed to a position farthest from the axis on the inner surface of the hollow portion. 4. The outer shell of the head main body includes a toe portion, a back portion, a heel portion, a sole portion, a face portion and a crown portion, and a tip end side of the hosel member includes the toe portion and the back portion. 2. An inner surface of at least two of the base portion and the sole portion are fixedly attached to each other.
Club head as described in. 5. A golf club comprising the club head according to claim 1. Description: