JP2010125262A - Putter head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a putter head, driving a ball in the same direction as the stroke direction when its face is inclined to the stroke direction. <P>SOLUTION: This putter head 10 includes a metal-made head body 12. The head body 12 is provided with a face 20 on which a golf ball 28 abuts. The face 20 is provided with multiple projections 22 formed integral with the head body 12. The multiple projections 22 are formed substantially like square-based pyramids, and disposed continuously in the horizontal direction 25 and in the vertical direction without space. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a putter head of a putter used in golf, and more particularly, to a putter head including a metal head body.

  Putter is a type of golf club used in golf and is mainly used on the green. The putter includes a putter shaft, a putter head, and a grip. The grip is attached to one end of the putter shaft, and the putter head is attached to the other end. The golfer rolls the golf ball in the target direction by stroking the putter and causing the face surface of the putter head to hit the golf ball. When a golf ball hits the face surface, it receives force from the face surface and is launched in the same direction as the direction of the force.

  The face surface of a conventional putter head is a flat surface. Therefore, the face surface hits the golf ball with a point. Therefore, there has been a problem that the launch direction of the golf ball is not stable. As described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, a putter head having a plurality of protrusions on a face surface has been proposed as an object of improving the directionality of a golf ball.

JP 2002-85606 A JP 2001-293116 A JP-T-2001-513691

  However, with a conventional putter head having a flat face surface, even if the putter head is stroked in the same direction as the golfer aimed, the face surface is not perpendicular to the stroke direction, that is, the stroke direction. When the face surface is inclined with respect to the golf ball, there is a problem that the golf ball hit on the face surface does not roll in the direction intended by the golfer. Even in the case of the putter head described in each of the above-mentioned patent documents, the directionality of the golf ball is sufficient in an unexpected case where the face surface hits the golf ball with the face surface inclined with respect to the stroke direction. Not improved.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to be able to launch a ball in the same direction as the stroke direction even when the face surface is inclined with respect to the stroke direction. To provide a putter head.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, a putter head according to the present invention includes a plurality of cone-shaped protrusions formed integrally with a metal head main body. The plurality of protrusions are arranged at regular intervals on the face surface that is in contact with the golf ball. The plurality of protrusions protrude outward from the face surface.

  According to this configuration, when the face surface hits the golf ball in a state inclined with respect to the stroke direction of the putter head, first, the top of a certain protrusion (hereinafter referred to as “first protrusion”) is golfed first. Hit the surface of the ball. At this time, the golf ball jumps out in a predetermined direction (a direction different from the direction intended by the golfer) by the force received from the first protrusion. Since the surface of the golf ball is elastically deformed by an impact, the top of the first protrusion that first hits the surface of the golf ball is maintained in contact with the surface of the golf ball even during a stroke, even though the time is very short. The next moment the top of the first protrusion hits the surface of the golf ball, the top of another adjacent protrusion (hereinafter referred to as “second protrusion”) hits the surface of the golf ball. That is, the top of another adjacent second protrusion abuts on the surface of the golf ball while the top of the first protrusion remains in contact with the surface of the golf ball. At this time, the golf ball receives force from the second protrusion and tries to jump out in a direction to correct the predetermined direction. In this way, the golf ball launched by the plurality of protrusions rolls in a direction substantially the same as the stroke direction (the direction intended by the golfer).

(2) It is preferable that the protrusion is formed in a quadrangular pyramid shape or a triangular pyramid shape.

(3) The plurality of protrusions are formed by milling the face surface of the head body.

  Thereby, a plurality of protrusions can be easily formed on the face surface.

(4) The plurality of protrusions are preferably arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction at intervals selected from a range of 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm.

(5) It is preferable that the protrusion dimensions of the plurality of protrusions are set to dimensions selected from a range of 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm.

  According to the putter head of the present invention, even when the face surface hits the golf ball with the face surface inclined with respect to the stroke direction, the ball can be launched in the same direction as the stroke direction.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with appropriate reference to the drawings. In addition, the following embodiment is only an example in which the present invention is embodied, and it is needless to say that the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a putter head 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the putter head 10. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line III-III in FIG. 4 and 5 are schematic views of the moment when the golf ball is hit with the putter head 10 as viewed from above. FIG. 6 is a front view of a putter head 60 according to a modification of the present invention.

  The putter head 10 constitutes a putter which is a kind of golf club, and is attached to one end of a shaft (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the putter head 10 includes a head main body 12 and a shaft fixing portion 14.

  The head main body 12 is formed by processing a hard metal material such as mild steel, alloy steel, stainless steel or the like by forging, casting, or cutting. A shaft fixing portion 14 is integrally provided on the heel portion 16 of the head body 12, and one end of a shaft (not shown) is attached to the shaft fixing portion 14.

  The head body 12 is of a so-called pin type in which a large weight is distributed to each of the toe portion 15 and the heel portion 16. The head body 12 is formed in a long rectangular parallelepiped shape from the toe portion 15 to the heel portion 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the sole surface 18 of the head main body 12 has a gentle arc shape in which a central portion in the longitudinal direction bulges downward. The head body 12 is not limited to the pin type, and may be a mallet type or an L-shaped type.

  The front surface of the head body 12 is a face surface 20 for hitting a golf ball. As shown in FIG. 3, the face surface 20 is formed to have a loft angle of about 3 degrees with respect to the sole surface 18.

  A plurality of protrusions 22 are formed on the face surface 20. In FIG. 1, the protrusions 22 are partially shown. Each protrusion 22 is formed in the same shape. Specifically, each protrusion 22 is formed in a substantially regular quadrangular pyramid shape having a square whose side is 3.0 mm as the bottom. Each protrusion 22 protrudes such that the top of the regular quadrangular pyramid faces outward from the face surface 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of protrusions 22 are arranged such that a pair of sides on the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 coincide with the horizontal direction 25. The protrusions 22 are arranged at an interval of 3.0 mm in the horizontal direction, and are arranged at an interval of 3.0 mm in the vertical direction 26. Therefore, on the face surface 20, the plurality of protrusions 22 are closely arranged without leaving a gap. The side dimension of the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 and the arrangement interval of the protrusions 22 are not limited to 3.0 mm, and can be selected within a range of 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm.

  Further, the protrusion height (protrusion dimension) h (see FIG. 2) of each protrusion 22 is set uniformly. Specifically, the protrusion height h of each protrusion 22 is set to 0.2 mm from the face surface 20. In addition, the protrusion height h of the protrusion 22 can be selected within the range of 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 22 can be formed by cutting the face surface 20 with a ball end mill having a spherical tip. Specifically, a plurality of protrusions 22 are formed on the face surface 20 by performing the following two steps of milling using a ball end mill having a tip diameter of 3 mm. The first step is a step of cutting the face surface 20 by running the ball end mill in the horizontal direction 25 and repeating this processing in the vertical direction 26 every 3.0 mm. In the second step, the face end 20 is cut by running the ball end mill in the vertical direction 26, and this processing is repeated in the horizontal direction 25 at intervals of 3.0 mm. By performing these two steps, a plurality of substantially regular quadrangular pyramidal protrusions 22 are formed on the face surface 20.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, when the face surface 20 of the putter head 10 configured as described above hits the golf ball 28, the force relationship acting on the golf ball 28 and the golf ball 28 are launched. The direction will be explained. 4 and 5 show a state in which the face surface 20 is extremely inclined with respect to the stroke direction 32 for convenience of explanation, the face surface 20 is not so inclined during actual play. Absent.

Consider a case where the face surface 20 hits the golf ball 28 in a state where the face surface 20 is inclined with respect to the stroke direction 32 as shown in FIG. In this case, the top of a certain protrusion 22A hits the surface of the golf ball 28 first. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is assumed that the hit point 36 of the protrusion 22 </ b> A is shifted from the center 29 of the golf ball 28 toward the heel portion 16 (lower side in FIG. 4). In this case, if the angle formed by the virtual line 40 connecting the hit point 36 and the center 29 and the stroke direction 32 is θ ₁ , the force F _{0 in} the stroke direction 32 received from the protrusion 22A at the hit point 36 is in the direction of the center 29. The component is divided into a component of force F ₁ (= F ₀ cos θ ₁ ) and a component of force F ₂ (= F ₀ cos θ ₁ ) that is perpendicular to the imaginary line 40 and rotates the golf ball 28 in the clockwise direction 43. Forces F ₁ and F ₂ act on the golf ball 28.

The golf ball 28 tends to jump out in a direction 47 inclined to the toe portion 15 side (upper side in FIG. 4) by an angle θ _{1 with} respect to the stroke direction 32 by the action of the force F ₁ . On the other hand, when the force F ₂ is applied, a rotational torque N ₁ (= RF ₂ ) is generated in the golf ball 28 at the hit point 36, whereby the golf ball 28 tries to spin clockwise 43.

  Note that the surface of the golf ball 28 has elasticity against impact. Therefore, when the top of the protrusion 22A hits the golf ball 28, the surface is elastically deformed. For this reason, the golf ball 28 does not immediately leave the protrusion 22 and maintains a state in which the top of the protrusion 22A is in contact with the surface of the golf ball 28 during the stroke, although it is a very short time.

When the face surface 20 is further pressed against the golf ball 28 in the stroke direction 32, the surface of the golf ball 28 is deflected by the protrusion 22A, and the golf ball 28 spins in the clockwise direction 43, so that FIG. ), The top of the adjacent protrusion 22B hits the surface of the golf ball 28. At this moment, each of the protrusion 22A and the protrusion 22B comes into contact with the surface of the golf ball 28. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the hit point 37 of the protrusion 22B is shifted to the toe portion 15 side (upper side in FIG. 5) from the center 29 of the golf ball 28. In this case, if the angle formed by the virtual line 41 connecting the hit point 37 and the center 29 and the stroke direction 32 is θ ₂ , the force F _{0 in} the stroke direction 32 received from the protrusion 22B at the hit point 37 is a component of the force _{F 3 (= F 0 cosθ 2} ), divided into components of the force _F 4 to rotate the golf ball 28 be perpendicular to the virtual line 41 in the counterclockwise direction _{44 (= F 0 cosθ 2)} , respectively Forces F ₃ and F ₄ act on the golf ball 28.

The golf ball 28 tries to jump out in a direction 48 inclined to the heel portion 16 side (the lower side in FIG. 5) by an angle θ _{2 with} respect to the stroke direction 32 by the action of the force F ₃ . However, since the force F ₁ in the direction 47 described above is acting on the golf ball 28, components perpendicular to the stroke direction 32 of each of the force F ₃ and the force F ₁ are canceled out. For this reason, the golf ball 28 is hit straight in a direction 34 substantially the same as the stroke direction 32. Further, the force F ₄ acts to generate a rotational torque N ₂ (= RF ₄ ) on the golf ball 28 at the hit point 37, whereby the golf ball 28 attempts to spin counterclockwise 44. However, the golf ball 28, the rotational torque N ₁ in the clockwise direction 43 as described above is applied, the rotational torque is canceled. Therefore, the golf ball 28 is launched straight with almost no spin.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the substantially square pyramid-shaped protrusions 22 are formed on the face surface 20 has been described. However, for example, as in the modification of the present invention illustrated in FIG. The present invention may be realized as a putter head 60 in which a plurality of substantially regular triangular pyramidal projections 62 are formed. The protrusions 62 have the same height as the protrusions 22 described above, and are closely arranged on the face surface 22 with no gaps.

  The plurality of protrusions 62 can be formed by cutting the face surface 20 with a ball end mill having a spherical tip. Specifically, a plurality of protrusions 62 are formed on the face surface 20 by performing milling in the following three steps. The first step is a step of cutting the face surface 20 by running the ball end mill in the horizontal direction 25 and repeating this processing in the vertical direction 26 at regular intervals. In the second step, the face end 20 is cut by running the ball end mill in a direction inclined 30 degrees toward the heel portion 16 with respect to the vertical direction 26, and this processing is repeated in the horizontal direction 25 at regular intervals. It is a process. In the third step, the face end 20 is cut by running the ball end mill in a direction inclined to the toe portion 15 side by 30 degrees with respect to the vertical direction 26, and this processing is repeated in the horizontal direction 25 at regular intervals. It is a process. As a result, a plurality of substantially regular triangular pyramidal protrusions 62 are formed on the face surface 20.

  In the above-described embodiment and the modification thereof, an example in which a plurality of substantially square pyramid-shaped protrusions 22 or substantially regular triangular pyramid-shaped protrusions 62 are formed on the face surface 20 has been described. The shape is not limited to a substantially regular quadrangular pyramid shape or a substantially regular triangular pyramid shape, and may be any shape having a cone shape such as a polygonal pyramid shape or a cone.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a putter head 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the putter head 10. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a moment when a golf ball is hit with the putter head 10 as viewed from above. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the moment when the putter head 10 impacts the golf ball as viewed from above. FIG. 6 is a front view of a putter head 60 according to a modification of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Putter head 12 ... Head main body 14 ... Shaft fixing part 15 ... Toe part 16 ... Heel part 18 ... Sole surface 20 ... Face surface 22 ... Protrusion 28- ..Golf ball 60 ... Putter head 62 ... Protrusions

Claims (5)

  A putter head formed integrally with a metal head main body and having a plurality of cone-shaped projections projecting outward from a face surface abutting on a golf ball on the face surface at regular intervals .   The putter head according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is formed in a quadrangular pyramid shape or a triangular pyramid shape.   The putter head according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of protrusions are formed by milling the face surface of the head body.   The putter head according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of protrusions are arranged in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction at intervals selected from a range of 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm.   The putter head according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the protrusion dimensions of the plurality of protrusions are set to dimensions selected from a range of 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm.

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