JP2013128644A - Method of manufacturing golf club head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing a golf club head, capable of easily manufacturing, at a low cost, the golf club head corresponding to design specifications of weight, a centroid position and rebound characteristics, etc.SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing the golf club head includes: a first step (S1) of forming a joined plate material by joining an end face of a first plate material and one end face of a second plate material composed of a plurality of superimposed plate materials whose total thickness is roughly equal to the thickness of the first plate material; a second step (S2) of executing plastic working to the joined plate material using a die and forming a preforming member to be a crown member or a sole member; a third step (S3) of forming the crown member or the sole member by removing a part of the plate material disposed on the hollow part side of the golf club head in the second plate material from the preforming member; and a fourth step (S4) of manufacturing the golf club head by joining the crown member or the sole member with structural members of the golf club head including a face member.

Description

  The present invention relates to a golf club head manufacturing method for manufacturing a golf club head having a hollow portion by joining a plurality of members.

  In a metal wood type golf club head having a hollow portion, a golf club head having various characteristics has been developed in order to increase the flight distance of the ball and launch the ball in an intended direction. For example, regarding the crown member, in order to obtain desired characteristics in the weight, center of gravity position, rebound characteristics, etc. of the golf club head, it is considered that the thickness on the back side is made thinner than the thickness on the face side.

  For example, a golf club head 100 (see Patent Document 1) shown in FIG. 8 includes a face member 102, a sole side member 108 in which a sole portion 104 and a side portion 106 are integrally formed, a crown member 110, and a hosel member 112. It is made individually and manufactured by joining these members. In this case, in Patent Document 1, by selecting the material and shape of each member constituting the golf club head 100 and selecting a processing method such as casting or plastic processing according to the member, the position of the center of gravity and inertia are selected. It is said that the degree of freedom of design such as moments can be increased.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in a golf club head configured by joining a face member, a sole member, and a crown member, the thickness of the sole member on the face member side is made larger than the thickness of the sole member on the back side. Has been disclosed. By making the sole member different in thickness depending on the part in this way, it is possible to secure the strength of the face member and adjust the position of the center of gravity of the golf club head.

JP 2002-17903 A JP 2003-24484 A

  However, when forming a crown member or a sole member having portions having different thicknesses, it is difficult to form a thin-walled portion with high precision by casting. Further, in order to plastically process such a member by forging or press forming, a die corresponding to the shape of the member is required. In this case, since the mold must be designed in accordance with the shape of the member, there is a problem that the cost is remarkably increased. Furthermore, it is conceivable to weld the end surfaces of members having different thicknesses, but it is very difficult to weld a thin member whose thickness is less than 1 mm, for example.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is a golf club head capable of easily and inexpensively manufacturing a golf club head corresponding to design specifications such as weight, center of gravity, and resilience characteristics. An object is to provide a manufacturing method.

  A golf club head manufacturing method according to the present invention is the golf club head manufacturing method of manufacturing a golf club head having a hollow portion by joining a plurality of members, and the total thickness of the end surface of the first plate member is the above-described thickness. A first step of joining one end surface of a second plate member composed of a plurality of superimposed plate members substantially equal to the thickness of the first plate member to form a joined plate member, and plastically processing the joined plate member using a mold. A second step of forming an intermediate processed member to be a crown member or a sole member, and one of the plate members disposed on the hollow portion side of the golf club head among the second plate members from the intermediate processed member. A third step of removing the portion to form the crown member or the sole member, and joining the crown member or the sole member with a constituent member of the golf club head including a face member. And having a fourth step of producing a Love head.

  In the golf club head manufacturing method, in the first step, the other end surfaces of the plurality of the overlapped plate members are joined to each other and temporarily fixed.

  In the golf club head manufacturing method, the plate member disposed on the hollow portion side of the second plate member includes a first portion disposed on the end surface side of the first plate member, and the first member. A second portion disposed on the side away from the plate material, and in the third step, the second portion is cut from a cut portion formed between the first portion and the second portion. Features.

  In the method for manufacturing a golf club head, a thickness of the plate member disposed outside the golf club head among the second plate members is set to 0.5 mm or less, and the hollow portion of the golf club head is formed. The thickness of the plate disposed on the side is set to 0.5 mm or more.

  In the golf club head manufacturing method, in the second step, the intermediate processing member is formed by warm processing.

  In the golf club head manufacturing method of the present invention, a joining plate material obtained by joining a first plate material and a second plate material composed of a plurality of plate materials whose total thickness is substantially equal to the thickness of the first plate material is used as a mold. After forming the intermediate processed member by plastic processing, a crown member or sole having a portion having a different thickness is obtained by removing a part of the hollow portion side plate member from the second plate member constituting the intermediate processed member. Form a member.

  In this case, in the first step, since the thicknesses of the first plate member and the second plate member are set to be substantially equal, the joining member can be easily formed.

  In the second step, since the joining member having substantially the same thickness is plastically processed, an intermediate working member having a desired shape can be easily formed from the joining member.

  In the third step, a crown member or a sole member having a thickness difference that varies depending on a part by removing a part of the second plate material disposed on the hollow portion side from the intermediate processed member. Can be easily formed. In this case, according to the design specifications of the golf club head, by adjusting the range for removing the plate material or appropriately selecting the material of the plate material constituting the second plate material, various weights, positions of the center of gravity, rebound characteristics, etc. are different. A crown member or a sole member can be obtained.

  In the second step, the intermediate workpiece is formed using a mold that does not depend on the shape of the crown member or the sole member. Since the shape of the intermediate processing member is common to the crown member or the sole member having different shapes and the like, the mold structure of the mold can be made common. Therefore, a common mold can be used to form the intermediate workpiece, and the crown member or the sole member does not need to be formed using a mold corresponding to each shape. Therefore, by reducing the number of molds, the overall cost required for manufacturing the crown member or the sole member can be greatly reduced.

  The thus formed crown member or sole member is joined to the components of the golf club head including the face member, so that various golf club heads corresponding to design specifications such as weight, position of the center of gravity, rebound characteristics, etc. Can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

1 is a perspective view of a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is process explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of the golf club head which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4A is a plan view of a joining member serving as a crown member constituting the golf club head according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a crown member constituting the golf club head according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the first plate and the second plate constituting the joining member shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VB-VB of FIG. 4A, and FIG. 5C is a plastic view of the joining member shown in FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view of the intermediate processed member obtained by processing, and FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VD-VD of FIG. 4B. It is sectional drawing of the modification of the crown member which comprises the golf club head which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. 7A is a perspective view of a golf club head according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is an exploded perspective view of the golf club head according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a golf club head according to the prior art.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration of First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the golf club head 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The golf club head 10 basically includes a face member 12, a sole side member 18 in which a side portion 16 is integrally formed around the sole portion 14, a crown member 20, and a hosel member 22. The hosel member 22 has an insertion hole 26 into which the shaft 24 is inserted. The golf club head 10 is manufactured by joining these members by welding. A hollow portion 28 is formed in a portion surrounded by the face member 12, the sole side member 18, and the crown member 20.

  As these members constituting the golf club head 10, stainless steel, maraging steel, titanium alloy or the like can be used. Since sufficient strength is required for the golf club head 10, it is preferable to use a metal material having a tensile strength by heat treatment of 500 MPa or more.

  The sole side member 18 has a recess 30 in which a part of the hosel member 22 is mounted.

  The crown member 20 includes a first crown member 32 disposed on the face member 12 side of the golf club head 10, a second crown member 34 disposed on the back side upper surface portion of the golf club head 10, and a second crown. And a third crown member 36 disposed on the hollow portion 28 side which is the inside of the member 34. The first crown member 32 has a recess 38 in which the hosel member 22 is mounted together with the recess 30 of the sole side member 18.

  The end surfaces of the first crown member 32, the second crown member 34, and the third crown member 36 are joined by welding (welded portion 54). The thickness L of the first crown member 32 is set to be approximately equal to the total thickness of the thickness L1 of the second crown member 34 and the thickness L2 of the third crown member 36 (FIG. 5A).

<The manufacturing method of 1st Embodiment>
The golf club head 10 of the first embodiment is basically configured as described above. Next, a method for manufacturing the golf club head 10 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a process explanatory diagram of the method of manufacturing the golf club head 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a plan view of the joining member 40 that becomes the crown member 20 constituting the golf club head 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B shows the golf club head 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the crown member 20 which comprises. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the first plate member 42 and the second plate member 44 constituting the bonding member 40 shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VB-VB of FIG. 4A, and FIG. 5C is the bond shown in FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view of the intermediate processed member 46 obtained by plastic processing of the member 40, and FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VD-VD of FIG. 4B.

  First, a flat plate-like first plate member 42 to be the first crown member 32, a flat plate member 48 to be the second plate member 44 to be the second crown member 34, and the same shape as the plate member 48, the third crown member A flat plate material 50 which is the second plate material 44 to be 36 is prepared (FIG. 5A). The plate member 48 is disposed outside the golf club head 10, and the plate member 50 is disposed on the hollow portion 28 side of the golf club head 10. The plate member 50 includes a first portion 51 a disposed on the end surface 42 a side of the first plate member 42 and a second portion 51 b disposed on the side away from the first plate member 42. A cutout 52 made of a perforation or a notch is formed at the boundary between 51a and the second portion 51b.

  The plate members 48 and 50 set so that the total thickness (L1 + L2) is substantially equal to the thickness L of the first plate member 42 are overlapped, and the one end surfaces 48a and 50a of these plate members 48 and 50 are overlapped with each other. It joins to the end surface 42a of the board | plate material 42 by welding. Further, the other end surfaces 48b and 50b of the plate members 48 and 50 that are not joined to the first plate member 42 are joined together by welding at a plurality of locations to temporarily fix them to form the joining member 40 (first step (step S1), FIG. 5B). In FIG. 5B, reference numeral 54 indicates a welded portion between the end surface 42a of the first plate member 42 and the end surfaces 48a, 50a of the plate members 48, 50, and reference numeral 56 indicates two overlapping plate members 48 and 50 shows a plurality of temporarily welded portions between the other end faces 48b and 50b (FIG. 4A).

  In this case, the thickness L of the first plate 42 and the total thickness (L1 + L2) of the thickness L1 of the plate 48 that is the second plate 44 and the thickness L2 of the plate 50 are set to be substantially equal. Moreover, the 1st board | plate material 42 and the board | plate materials 48 and 50 are formed in flat form. Therefore, the end surface 42a of the first plate member 42 and the one end surfaces 48a and 50a of the plate members 48 and 50 can be aligned easily and with high accuracy, and therefore the welding operation can be easily performed. The welding of the end surface 42a of the first plate member 42 and the one end surfaces 48a, 50a of the plate members 48, 50 and the welding of the other end surfaces 48b, 50b of the plate members 48, 50 can be performed by laser welding or plasma welding. it can. According to these welding, generation | occurrence | production of a welding defect can be suppressed and members can be joined by high intensity | strength.

  Next, the joining member 40 is inserted into a mold, and an intermediate working member 46 having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the crown member 20 is formed by warm working (forging, pressing, etc.) (second step (step) S2), FIG. 5C).

  In this case, since the other end faces 48b and 50b of the plate members 48 and 50 are temporarily fixed by the plurality of welded portions 56 in the step S1, the position of the joining member 40 may be shifted during plastic working. The intermediate processing member 46 can be formed in a stable state with high accuracy. Further, the joining member 40 has a simple shape in which the thickness of the first plate 42 and the total thickness of the two overlapped plates 48 and 50 are set to be approximately equal. Does not require a mold. Furthermore, since the thickness of the joining member 40 is not greatly plastically deformed, for example, plastic working by warm working of about 500 to 800 ° C. can be performed. As a result, there is no possibility that the intermediate processing member 46 will be cracked or spring-backed. Of course, the joining member 40 may perform hot working as plastic working according to the materials of the first plate member 42 and the second plate member 44 to be used.

  Next, after the formed intermediate processed member 46 is taken out of the mold, the welded portion 56 temporarily fixing the other end faces 48b, 50b of the plate members 48, 50 is removed. Next, the first portion 51 a of the plate member 50 having the other end surface 50 b as a free end is left on the first plate member 42 side, and the second portion 51 b is cut out from the cutout portion 52. In this case, the second portion 51 b can be easily cut off from the intermediate processed member 46 by the cutout portion 52. As a result, the first portion 51a remains as the third crown member 36, and the crown member 20 having the thin second crown member 34 on the back side of the golf club head 10 is formed (third step (step S3), FIG. 5D).

  The crown member 20 formed in this manner is obtained by using the position of the cutout portion 52 in the plate member 50, the thicknesses L1 and L2 of the plate members 48 and 50, the material of the first plate member 42 and the plate members 48 and 50, as the golf club head 10. By appropriately setting according to the size, weight, center of gravity position, resilience characteristics, etc., it is possible to obtain a product corresponding to a desired design specification. For example, the thickness L of the first plate 42 is 1.0 mm, the thickness L1 of the plate 48 is 0.4 mm, the thickness L2 of the plate 50 is 0.6 mm, L = 1.0 mm, L1 = 0. Various crown members 20 having different thicknesses on the back side (plate material 48 side) of the golf club head 10 such as 5 mm and L2 = 0.5 mm can be formed. The thickness L1 of the plate material 48 is preferably set to 0.5 mm or less, and the thickness L2 of the plate material 50 is preferably set to 0.5 mm or more.

  The crown member 20 forms the intermediate processing member 46 using a mold having a mold structure that does not depend on the shape of each crown member 20. Since the shape of the intermediate processing member 46 is common to the crown members 20 having different shapes and the like, the mold structure of the mold can be shared. Therefore, a common mold can be used to form the intermediate processing member 46, and the crown member 20 does not need to be formed using a mold corresponding to each shape. In addition, the crown member 20 can be obtained by appropriately selecting the position of the cutout portion 52 of the plate member 50 and the thicknesses L1 and L2 of the plate members 48 and 50 from the intermediate work member 46 having the same shape. Can be formed. Therefore, the number of molds can be reduced, and the overall cost required for manufacturing the crown member 20 can be greatly reduced.

  The crown member 20 formed as described above is assembled by welding with the face member 12, the sole side member 18, and the hosel member 22 which are constituent members of the golf club head 10 (fourth step (step S4)). , FIG. 1). Finally, the golf club head 10 is heat-treated, ground, polished, etc., and the golf club head 10 is completed.

  Here, since the crown member 20 is provided with the concave portion 38 for mounting the hosel member 22 on the first crown member 32 that is thicker than the second crown member 34, the hosel member 32 is opposed to the first crown member 32. 22 can be firmly fixed by welding. If the welded portion 54 is close to the face member 12, the durability of the golf club head 10 at the time of hitting the ball may be reduced. Therefore, the welded portion 54 is preferably formed at a distance of 10 mm or more from the face member 12. .

  Further, the second crown member 34 and the third crown member 36 constituting the above-described crown member 20 are formed by overlapping two plate materials 48 and 50, but are formed by overlapping three or more plate materials. You can also

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modification of the crown member 60 constituting the golf club head 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The crown member 60 is formed by joining the three plate members 62, 64, 66, which are the second plate members, to the first plate member 42 and performing plastic processing, and then removing a part of the plate members 64, 66, thereby removing the plate member 64. , 66 portions 68 and 70 remain. Note that the total thickness of the plate members 62, 64, 66 is set to be approximately equal to the thickness of the first plate member 42. By forming the crown member 60 in this manner, the crown member 60 that becomes gradually thinner toward the back side of the golf club head 10 can be formed.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a golf club head 72 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is an exploded perspective view of the golf club head 72 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Components identical to those of the golf club head 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The golf club head 72 basically includes the face member 12, the sole member 74, the side member 76, the crown member 78, and the hosel member 22. The side member 76 and the crown member 78 are formed with recesses 76a and 78a in which the hosel member 22 is mounted. A hollow portion 86 is formed in a portion surrounded by the face member 12, the sole member 74, the side member 76, and the crown member 78. The difference from the golf club head 10 of the first embodiment is that the sole member 74 and the side member 76 are configured separately, and the sole member 74 is configured of a plurality of plate members.

  The sole member 74 includes a first sole member 80 disposed on the face member 12 side, a second sole member 82 disposed on the back side and constituting a bottom surface portion of the golf club head 72, and a second sole member 82. And a third sole member 84 disposed on the hollow portion 86 side of the golf club head 72 that is the inner side of the golf club head 72.

  The sole member 74 is formed in the same manner as the crown member 20 forming step of the first embodiment from the first step to the fourth step shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D. The sole member 74 formed in this manner can provide a golf club head 72 having sufficient rigidity on the face member 12 side and a center of gravity set on the face member 12 side. Further, by making the sole member 74 on the back side of the golf club head 72 thin, the weight of the golf club head 72 can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, by applying the manufacturing method described above to the face member, it is possible to manufacture a golf club head including a face member having portions having different thicknesses.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 72 ... Golf club head 12 ... Face member 14 ... Sole part 16 ... Side part 18 ... Sole side member 20, 60, 78 ... Crown member 22 ... Hosel member 24 ... Shaft 26 ... Insertion hole 28, 86 ... Hollow part 30 , 38, 76a, 78a ... concave portion 32 ... first crown member 34 ... second crown member 36 ... third crown member 40 ... joining member 42 ... first plate member 42a ... end face 44 ... second plate member 46 ... intermediate working member 48, 50, 62, 64, 66 ... plate members 48a, 50a ... one end face 48b, 50b ... other end face 51a ... first part 51b ... second part 52 ... cutout part 54, 56 ... welded part 68, 70 ... part 74 ... sole member 76 ... Side member 80 ... First sole member 82 ... Second sole member 84 ... Third sole member

Claims (5)

In a golf club head manufacturing method for manufacturing a golf club head having a hollow portion by joining a plurality of members,
A first step of joining the end face of the first plate member and one end face of the second plate member made of a plurality of superimposed plate members whose total thickness is substantially equal to the thickness of the first plate member; ,
A second step of plastically processing the joining plate material using a mold to form an intermediate processing member to be a crown member or a sole member;
A third step of removing a part of the plate member disposed on the hollow portion side of the golf club head from the intermediate processed member to form the crown member or the sole member; ,
A fourth step of manufacturing the golf club head by joining the crown member or the sole member with a component of the golf club head including a face member;
A method of manufacturing a golf club head, comprising: The method of manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 1,
In the first step, the other end surfaces of the plurality of the overlapped plate members are joined and temporarily fixed, and the golf club head manufacturing method is characterized in that: In the manufacturing method of the golf club head of Claim 1 or 2,
Of the second plate member, the plate member disposed on the hollow portion side is disposed on a side away from the first plate member and a first portion disposed on the end surface side of the first plate member. A golf club head manufacturing method, wherein, in the third step, the second portion is cut out from a cut portion formed between the first portion and the second portion. . In the manufacturing method of the golf club head of any one of Claims 1-3,
Of the second plate member, the thickness of the plate member disposed outside the golf club head is set to 0.5 mm or less, and the plate member disposed on the hollow portion side of the golf club head is provided. A method for manufacturing a golf club head, wherein the thickness is set to 0.5 mm or more. In the manufacturing method of the golf club head of any one of Claims 1-4,
In the second step, the intermediate processed member is formed by warm working, and the golf club head manufacturing method is characterized in that:

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