JP2007216062A - Golf club head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf club head that can increase the initial speed, hitting angle, and spinning amount of a ball by generating elastic deformation not only at the club face but also at the crown part so that even a weak golfer can fully extend the flying distance of a ball at the time of giving an impact to the ball. <P>SOLUTION: The golf club head is composed of a front part 1 comprising a face part 2 and a crown main part 3 and a back part 10 comprising the remaining part. The front part 1 is composed of a molded article. The elastic modulus of the metallic material comprising the front part 1 is lower than that of the metallic material comprising the back part 10. The front part 1 is welded with the back part 10. The center of the face part 2 is thicker than the surrounding part. The thickness adjacent to the highest part T of the crown is small. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a metal hollow golf club head, and more particularly to a wood-type golf club head having a shape similar to that of a wood type.

  Hollow metal golf club heads such as drivers and fairway woods are widely used. In general, as shown in FIG. 6, a hollow wood-type golf club head 21 includes a face portion 22 for hitting a ball, a crown portion 23 constituting an upper surface portion of the golf club head, and a golf club head. It has a sole portion 24 that constitutes a bottom surface portion, a side portion 25 that constitutes side surfaces on the toe side, rear side, and heel side of the golf club head, and a hosel portion 26. A shaft 27 is inserted into the hosel portion 26 of the golf club head 21 and fixed by an adhesive or the like. Recently, many golf clubs referred to as utility clubs are also commercially available, and one type of utility golf club is similar to the wood-type golf club head (that is, face portion, sole portion, side portion, and Various golf clubs having a head (having a crown portion and a hosel portion) are also commercially available.

  As a metal constituting the hollow golf club head, an aluminum alloy, stainless steel, or titanium alloy is used, but in recent years, a titanium alloy is particularly widely used.

  In recent years, in order to extend the flight distance of shots, various structures have been adopted in which the face of a golf club head is thinned so that the face surface is easily elastically deformed at the time of impact and the initial velocity of the ball is increased. However, only the elastic deformation of the face surface may not sufficiently increase the initial ball launch speed.

  In particular, an amateur golfer with a slow head speed cannot obtain a sufficient launch angle in the case of a head in which only the face is deformed. In addition, since the spin amount of the ball may be reduced, even if the initial velocity of the ball is increased, the flight distance is not increased.

  According to the present invention, at the time of impact of a golf ball, not only the face surface but also the crown part is elastically deformed, so that the launch speed and the spin rate can be increased along with an increase in the initial velocity of the ball. An object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head that can sufficiently increase a flight distance even when a less powerful golfer is used.

  The golf club head of the present invention is a metal hollow golf club head having a face portion, a sole portion, a side portion, a crown portion, and a hosel portion. At least a main portion of the crown portion and the face portion are integrated. A front part made of a cast product and a back part in which parts other than the front part are integrated, and the front part and the back part are joined.

  In such a golf club head, the front part is easily elastically deformed as a whole at the time of impact by making the constituent material of the front part lower in elasticity than the constituent material of the back part or by making it thin. It can be. As a result, by causing elastic deformation not only on the face surface but also on the crown part at the time of impact, it is possible to increase the initial velocity of the ball, increase the launch angle, and increase the spin rate. Even if it is used, the flight distance can be sufficiently increased.

  In the present invention, the strength at the center of the face portion can be increased by making the thickness of the central area of the face surface of the face portion larger than the thickness of the surrounding area. By making the peripheral area of the face surface thin, it is possible to cause an appropriate deformation in the face part at the time of impact and to increase the initial velocity of the ball.

  In the present invention, the front part includes the highest part of the crown part, and the thickness of the highest part and the area in the vicinity thereof is smaller than the thickness of the surrounding area, so that the crown part can be Can be easily deformed, and the initial velocity of the ball can be further increased.

  According to the present invention, at the time of impact, relatively large elastic deformation is generated not only on the face surface but also on the crown portion, so that the launch speed and the spin rate can be increased with an increase in the initial velocity of the ball. Thus, a golf club head capable of sufficiently increasing a flight distance even with a less powerful golfer is provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a golf club head according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a side view from the heel side of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view from the heel side of the golf club head according to the embodiment.

  This golf club head includes a front part 1 composed of a face portion 2 and a crown main portion 3, and a back part 10 constituting the remaining portion. The front part 1 is made of a cast product. The metal material constituting the front part 1 has the same or lower elastic modulus than that of the metal material constituting the back part 10.

  The back part 10 includes a sole portion 11, a side portion 12 that forms side wall surfaces on the toe side, rear side, and heel side of the golf club head, and a crown peripheral portion 13 that extends along the side portion 12. And the hosel part 14. The crown peripheral portion 13 starts from the vicinity of the front end of the side portion 12 on the toe side, and extends so as to circulate from the rear side of the side portion 12 to the heel side.

  On the toe side, the projecting width of the crown peripheral portion 13 toward the center of the crown portion gradually increases toward the rear side of the golf club head. In other words, on the toe side, the projecting width of the crown peripheral part 13 toward the center of the crown part becomes smaller as it approaches the face part, and the projecting width of the crown peripheral part 13 becomes zero near the front end. It is the start end portion 13 a of the crown peripheral portion 13.

  In this embodiment, the starting end portion 13 a coincides with the front end of the upper edge of the side portion 12 on the toe side of the back part 10.

  The front part 1 is integrally provided with a minute side front portion 4 that is continuous with the toe side portion 12. The side front portion 4 is in the shape of a triangular joint plate that is continuous with the L-shaped crown main portion 3 and the face portion 2 at the intersection corner (corner portion). The side front portion 4 and the side portion 12 on the toe side of the back part 10 are joined and integrated by welding to constitute a side portion on the toe side of the golf club head.

  The crown peripheral portion 13 projects in a hook shape toward the center of the crown of the golf club head. A front-side protruding tip 13 b on the heel side of the crown peripheral portion 13 engages with a corner portion 5 a of a notch-shaped biting portion 5 of the front part 1.

  In the vicinity of the heel side face portion of the crown peripheral portion 13, the hosel portion 14 protrudes upward. The hosel portion 14 has a cylindrical shape, and a shaft (not shown) is inserted therein and fixed by an adhesive.

  The hosel portion 14 extends from the lower surface side of the crown peripheral portion 13 to the sole portion 11. In the peripheral region of the hosel portion 14, the crown peripheral portion 13 has a substantially conical shape with an upward slope toward the hosel portion 14.

  The crown main part 3 of the front part 1 extends from the upper end of the face part 2 to the rear side. This extension length is preferably 25 mm or more, particularly preferably 30 mm or more. The crown main portion 3 has a substantially semicircular shape in plan view. The crown main portion 3 and the crown peripheral portion 13 are welded to constitute a crown portion of the golf club head.

  The crown main portion 3 is curved convexly upward. In the state where the golf club head is solesed on a horizontal plane, the portion that becomes the highest position T of the crown portion is located in the crown main portion 3. The thickness of the highest portion T and the vicinity thereof (preferably a region within a radius of 10 to 30 mm centering on the highest portion T) is smaller than the thickness of the surrounding portion.

  As the metal material of the hollow golf club head, stainless steel, titanium alloy, and fiber reinforced metal are particularly preferable.

  The front part 1 is particularly preferably an investment casting product, and it is very preferable to cast by the vacuum casting method because defects such as voids are reduced. Since the back part 10 has a complicated shape including the hosel part 14, it is preferable to make it by casting. However, the hosel part 14 and other parts are divided and press-molded, and the hosel part 14 is formed into a cylindrical round bar or the like. The back parts may be machined and joined by welding or the like.

  It is preferable that the edge part where the front part 1 and the back part 10 are welded is continuously provided with a thick part which is thicker than the periphery. In particular, it is preferable to thicken the joint portion between the crown main portion 3 and the crown peripheral portion 13. Thus, if the thickness of a junction part is enlarged, the blurring and a crack around a welding will be prevented. The thickness of the thick part for joining is preferably 1 to 3 mm, particularly preferably 1.4 to 2.0 mm. However, if it is too thick, an excessive weight increase is not preferable. The thickness around the highest portion T of the crown portion is preferably 0.6 to 1.2 mm, particularly preferably 0.8 to 1.0 mm. By thinning the vicinity of the highest portion T of the crown portion, in addition to the deformation of the face at the time of impact, the crown portion is easily deformed, thereby increasing the initial speed of the ball and further increasing the launch angle. Can do. The thickness of the crown portion near the highest portion T is preferably smaller than that of the face portion, and particularly smaller than the thinnest portion of the face portion.

  In the above embodiment, the crown portion is constituted by the crown main portion and the crown peripheral portion, but the entire crown may be integrated with the face portion.

  The crown main portion and the crown peripheral portion of the above embodiment are divided into shapes that draw contour lines with reference to the highest portion T when the golf club head is solesed on a horizontal plane, and substantially follow it. By setting it as this structure, while being able to reduce both welding amounts, a crown part becomes easy to bend.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to provide a chamfered portion at the lower edge of the face or to cast a part of the sole portion integrally with the face portion, because a portion of the burned portion due to welding does not hit the face surface.

  The front part 1 and the back part 10 are preferably joined by arc welding, and the titanium alloy or the like is preferably welded in an inert gas atmosphere such as argon.

  Further, the initial velocity of the ball can be further increased by making the thickness of the central area of the face surface of the face member larger than the thickness of the peripheral area. The thickness of the central area is 2 mm or more at the thickest point, preferably 2.3 mm or more, more preferably 2.6 mm or more and 3.5 mm or less, preferably 3.2 mm or less, more preferably 2.8 mm or less. The thickness of the peripheral area is 1 mm or more, preferably 1.2 mm or more, more preferably 1.6 mm or more in the thinnest area. The reason why the central area is thickened is to obtain sufficient strength because it is most easily bent at the time of impact. The difference in thickness between the thickest part and the thinnest part may be about 0.2 to 1.0 mm, preferably about 0.3 to 0.8 mm.

  However, if the thickness is too large, the face side becomes heavy and the center of gravity position becomes forward, and this is not preferable for a wood-type golf club, particularly a club having a loft angle of less than 15 ° because the ball is difficult to rise. By setting the thickness of the peripheral area of the face surface to an appropriate thickness range, appropriate elastic deformation can be caused at the time of impact, and the initial velocity of the ball can be increased.

The golf club head of the present invention is preferably made of a titanium alloy as a whole. Compared with stainless steel, a titanium alloy for casting has a low longitudinal elastic modulus (Young's modulus) of about 110,000 N / mm ^2, and therefore, the face surface and the like are easily bent, which is preferable. Generally used Ti-6Al-4V has a longitudinal elastic modulus of 112700 N / mm ² . In particular, Ti-6Al-7Nb is approximately Ti-6Al-4V in terms of strength, but its longitudinal elastic modulus is as low as 102000 N / mm ^2, and it can be used more flexibly on the face surface and crown. It is preferable to use a titanium alloy having a low longitudinal elastic modulus for the front part and a titanium alloy having a high longitudinal elastic modulus for the back part because the face portion and the crown portion are easily bent.

  Also, by providing one or more ribs in the longitudinal direction of the sole part (direction from the face side to the rear side), the rigidity of the sole part of the head member can be increased, the crown part can be easily deformed, and the ball The launch angle can be easily increased. In addition, a low center of gravity can be achieved. Instead of the rib, one or more concave portions in the front-rear direction may be provided in the sole portion.

Examples 1 and 2
The golf club heads of Examples 1 and 2 are configured as shown in FIGS. In the front part 1 formed by integrally casting the face part and the crown part, a Ti-6Al-4V alloy was used in Example 1, and a Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was used in Example 2. The thickness of the central part of the face part was 3 mm, and the thinnest part of the peripheral part of the face was 2.5 mm. The average thickness of the crown portion was about 1.2 mm, and the thickness in the vicinity of the highest crown portion was about 0.9 mm. The head main body portion including the sole portion and the hosel portion was made by casting using Ti-6Al-4V alloy in both Examples 1 and 2. The thickness of the sole part and the side part is 1.2 mm.

  The welding part other than the face part between the front part 1 and the back part 10 was provided with a welding allowance having a thickness of 1.5 mm, and was fixed by welding in an argon atmosphere.

In addition, the longitudinal elastic modulus of Ti-6Al-7Nb is 102000 (N / mm < ² >), and the longitudinal elastic modulus of Ti-6Al-4V is 112700 (N / mm < ² >).

Comparative Example 1
A head body was made of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy, an opening was provided in the face portion of the head body, and a face member made of the same Ti-6Al-4V alloy was fitted and welded to the opening portion to produce a golf club head. . The thickness of the face part of the face member is 3 mm. The shape of the golf club head is the same as in Examples 1 and 2. In any golf club head, the highest portion of the crown portion is a point 26 mm behind the face.

  The configurations of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1 are summarized and shown in Table 1.

  A golf club head was manufactured by attaching a 45 inch (114 mm) carbon shaft to each golf club head. Table 2 shows the test hit evaluation results of this golf club head with a swing robot.

As described above, according to the example of the present invention, the crown portion is easily bent, the repulsive force of the ball is improved, and the flight distance is remarkably improved. As in Example 2, when the difference in longitudinal elastic modulus between the front part and the back part is 10000 N / mm ² or more, the flight distance of the ball is further increased.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a golf club head according to an embodiment. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line of FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view from the heel side of the golf club head of FIG. 1. 1 is a plan view of a golf club head according to an embodiment. It is a side view from the heel side of the golf club head concerning an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the conventional golf club head.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front part 2 Face part 3 Crown main part 4 Side front part 10 Back part 11 Sole part 12 Side part 13 Crown peripheral part 14 Hosel part

Claims (6)

In a metal hollow golf club head having a face portion, a sole portion, a side portion, a crown portion and a hosel portion,
A front part made of a cast product in which at least a main part of the crown part and the face part are integrated;
It consists of a back part that integrates parts other than the front part,
A golf club head, wherein the front part and the back part are joined.   2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the constituent material of the front part has a lower elastic modulus than the constituent material of the back part.   3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the back part includes side edges on the toe side, the rear side, and the heel side of the crown portion.   4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the crown portion of the front part extends at least 25 mm in the rear direction.   5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of a central area of the face surface of the face portion is larger than a thickness of a peripheral area thereof. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5, The said front part contains the highest-order part of the said crown part,
A golf club head characterized in that the thickness of the highest portion and the area in the vicinity thereof is smaller than the thickness of the surrounding area.

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