JP3460479B2 - Golf club head manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head made of a metal material such as a wood club or an iron club, and more particularly to improving the thinning of the inner peripheral edge of the face member. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the elastic deflection at the time of hitting the ball can be easily imparted, whereby the flight distance of the ball can be improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, regarding a metal head of a golf club of this type, for example, a wood club, the applicant has previously filed and published the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-88963 (hereinafter referred to as "prior art"). There is one having a configuration as disclosed in.

In such a wood club, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, a head a has a relatively thick face member b having a U-shaped cross section in which an outer peripheral edge of a ball striking face is bent backward.
The face member b has a hollow outer shell structure which is divided into a plurality of relatively thin back members c for backing up the rear surface of the face member b, and these members b and c are joined to each other by welding w.

The thick face member b promotes elastic deformation of the ball striking face at the time of hitting by thinning the inner peripheral edge portion thereof, thereby enhancing the resilience characteristic with respect to the ball. I am trying to improve the flight distance.

[0005]

However, in forming the head a, particularly the face member b in the above-mentioned prior art, since the casting or the rolled material is formed by forging, the inner peripheral angle of the face member b is increased. Although it is possible to form the edge portion into a thin wall, in the casting molding, fatal internal defects such as cavities are likely to occur at the thin corner edge portion of the face member b, resulting in poor strength. Is not suitable.

Moreover, in order to secure sufficient strength, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the corner edges of the face member b, which defeats the purpose of obtaining elastic bending when hitting a ball.

On the other hand, the molding of the face member b by forging has a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes high.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the manufacturing cost, to easily impart elastic bending of the face member at the time of hitting the ball, and to improve the flight distance of the ball. To provide the manufacturing method of.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a face member having a U-shaped cross section in which an outer peripheral edge portion of a ball striking surface is bent backward in a ball striking direction, and a face member of this face member. In a method for manufacturing a golf club head, which comprises a back member for backing up a rear surface side, these members are joined to each other, and an inner peripheral corner edge portion of the face member is thinned, the face member has a predetermined size. The process of bending the peripheral edge edge of a sheet metal material of equal thickness punched into the shape of Fig. 2 to the back by press working, and protruding the outer peripheral corner edge to the front in a bulging state, and this bulging It is characterized in that it is formed in a step of cutting and removing a part of the thickness of the part, and in this case, the bulging part is cut and removed so as to be flush with the ball striking face.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings shown in FIGS. 1 to 11.
1 to 7 show a first embodiment in which a wood club is taken as an example of a golf club according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, reference numeral 1 is a head having a hollow outer shell structure formed by a manufacturing method described later. The head 1 is made of a metal material such as titanium, titanium alloy or aluminum alloy. And a back member 3 made of the same or different metal material as the face member 2, and these members 2 and 3 are joined to each other by welding w. .

The face member 2 is formed with a relatively thick U-shaped cross section in which the outer peripheral edge 2b of the ball striking face 2a is bent rearward in the ball striking direction, and the inner peripheral corner edge 2 thereof is formed.
By making c thin, it is possible to improve the resilience characteristic against the ball due to elastic bending at the time of hitting the ball.

On the other hand, the back member 3 is formed in a substantially semi-elliptical shape so as to back up the rear surface side of the face member 2.

In order to manufacture the face member 2, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, first, a sheet metal material 11 of equal thickness punched into a predetermined shape is used (see FIG. 5). The peripheral edge 11a of the sheet metal material 11 is bent rearward in the ball striking direction by press working, and the outer peripheral corner edge 11b is projected forward in the ball striking direction (see FIG. 6).

Then, the bulging portion 12 is machined (milling), ground or the like to be cut and removed so as to be flush with the surface of the sheet metal material 11 to be a ball striking surface (see FIG. 7).
The inner peripheral corner edge portion 11c of the sheet metal material 11 is thinned to form the face member 2 as shown in FIG.

Although the head 1 is divided into the face member 2 and the back member 3 in the above-described first embodiment, the back member 3 may be further divided into a plurality of parts for welding.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment in which an iron club is taken as an example of the golf club according to the present invention, and the head 1 has a low specific gravity such as titanium, titanium alloy or aluminum alloy. A face member 21 made of a metal material, such as stainless steel,
A back member 31 made of a metal material having a high specific gravity such as copper, copper alloy, or heavy metal is divided into two parts, and the face member 21 is molded by the above-described manufacturing method to form a ball striking surface 21a.
The outer peripheral edge portion 21b is formed in a U-shaped cross section that is bent backward in the ball striking direction, and the inner peripheral corner edge portion 21c is thinned to improve the resilience characteristic against the ball due to elastic bending at the time of striking the ball. It has a structure as described above.

In this case, the hollow portion surrounded by the face member 21 and the back member 31 of the head 1 is filled with a filling material such as resin or metal as needed to adjust the position of the center of gravity and the hitting sound. Is performed.

Further, FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of an iron club as a golf club according to the present invention, in which the back member 31 is embedded in the face member 21 of the head 1. The face member 2
1 and the back member 31 have a gap p formed therebetween.

Furthermore, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show a fourth iron club as a golf club according to the present invention.
And the fifth embodiment, respectively, in the head 1
In this configuration, a ring-shaped back member 31 also serving as a weight member is embedded in the face member 21, and in this case, a gap p is formed between the face member 21 and the back member 31 at least in the upper and lower sides. It is formed partially or all around the top, bottom, left, and right to allow elastic bending of the ball striking face 21a of the face member 21 at the time of hitting a ball.

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the head has a U-shaped cross section in which the outer peripheral edge of the ball striking surface is bent backward in the ball striking direction, and the rear surface side of this face member. Formed with a back member that backs up
Both of these members are joined to each other, and the inner peripheral corner edge of the face member is punched into a predetermined shape and the peripheral end edge of a sheet metal material having a uniform thickness is bent backward in the ball striking direction by pressing. The face member of the face member is bent by bending the outer peripheral corner edge to bulge forward in the ball striking direction in a bulging state, and cutting the bulging portion flush with the ball striking face to reduce the thickness. The inner peripheral corner edge portion can be easily thin-walled, whereby elastic bending of the face member at the time of hitting a ball can be easily imparted.

Moreover, since the face member is formed by plastic working by pressing and cutting by machining or polishing, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a first embodiment taking a wood club head as an example of a golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the face member taken along the line BB in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the face member in the same manner.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the face member in the same manner.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a manufacturing process of the face member in the same manner.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a second embodiment taking an iron club head as an example of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a main-portion cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of an iron club head as an example of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion showing a fourth embodiment taking an iron club head as an example of a golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a fifth embodiment of an iron club head as an example of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a conventional golf wood club head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... head, 2 ... Face member, 2a ... ball striking surface, 2b ... outer peripheral edge, 2c ... inner peripheral corner edge, 3 ... Back member, 11 ... Sheet metal material, 11a ... a peripheral edge portion, 11b ... periphery corner edge, 11c ... Inner peripheral corner edge, 12 ... bulge, w ... Welded part.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-269518 (JP, A) JP-A-6-86842 (JP, A) JP-A-5-184696 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-60- 88963 (JP, U) Registered utility model 3034415 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63B 53/00-53/16

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A face member having a U-shaped cross section in which an outer peripheral edge portion of a ball striking face is bent backward in a ball striking direction, and a back member for backing up a rear surface side of the face member, and these members are joined to each other. In addition, in the method of manufacturing a golf club head in which the inner peripheral corner edge portion of the face member is thinned, the face member is a peripheral edge portion of a sheet metal material of equal thickness stamped into a predetermined shape. Is bent back by press working, and its outer peripheral corner edge is bulged forward in a bulging state, and is formed by cutting and removing a part of the thickness of this bulging portion. A method of manufacturing a golf club head, which is characterized in that 2. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the bulging portion is cut and removed so as to be flush with the ball striking face.