JP5624821B2 - Artificial feather for shuttlecock, shuttlecock, and method of manufacturing artificial feather for shuttlecock - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to artificial feathers for badminton shuttlecocks. Specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for improving a wing shaft portion of an artificial feather. The present invention also relates to a shuttlecock using artificial feathers and a method for manufacturing artificial feathers.

  There are two types of shuttlecocks for badminton: those using waterfowl feathers (natural shuttlecocks) and those using artificial feathers made of nylon resin (artificial shuttlecocks). Are known.

  As is well known, a natural shuttlecock uses about 16 natural feathers such as geese and ducks, and the end of each feather shaft is planted on a hemispherical base (base) made of cork covered with leather. This is the structure. And the blade | wing currently used for the natural shuttlecock has the small specific gravity, and it is the characteristics that it is very lightweight. For example, the specific gravity is about 0.4 for the wing shaft and about 0.15 for the wing valve. In addition, the feather has high rigidity, and the natural shuttlecock provides a unique flight performance and a comfortable shot feeling.

  However, the feathers that are the raw material of the natural shuttlecock are collected from the above-mentioned natural waterfowl, and are not limited to the feathers of any part of the waterfowl, and there are predetermined parts suitable for the shuttlecock. Only a few feathers can be collected from shuttlecocks for shuttlecocks. That is, the production amount of the blades for the natural shuttlecock is limited. In recent years, due to the epidemic of bird flu, edible geese, which was the main source of feathers, have been disposed of in large quantities, and in the future, it will become more difficult and expensive to procure raw materials. is expected.

  On the other hand, as an artificial shuttlecock, a well-known one having resin blades integrally formed in an annular shape is well known, but this artificial shuttlecock is independent of one blade at a time like a natural shuttlecock. Because it does not move, it is difficult to obtain the same flight performance as a natural shuttlecock. If it is going to realize the high rigidity of a feather with resin, weight reduction will become difficult. Therefore, as described in the following Patent Documents 1 to 3, artificial feathers imitating feathers have been proposed.

  Here, based on ornithology, each part in the natural feather is associated with each part in the artificial feather, and the feather valve of the natural feather and the part corresponding to the feather shaft are referred to as a feather part and a feather shaft part, respectively. As a part of the wing shaft, the part corresponding to the part called the wing and the stalk that protrudes from the wing valve is used to avoid confusion with the wing (splash). In the artificial feather described in Patent Document 1, the wing and the wing shaft are integrally formed of an artificial material, and at least one of the wing and the wing shaft is made hollow to reduce the weight. ing. In addition, the artificial feather described in Patent Document 2 has a wing portion made of a thin plate of fiber-dispersed resin sandwiched between two fiber-reinforced resin-like thin rods that become the wing shaft portion, and the wing shaft portion base portion has two fine wings. A foam is inserted between the bars. In the artificial feather described in Patent Document 3, a protruding portion that protrudes in the extending direction of the wing shaft portion is formed at one end of the wing portion, and the protruding portion is embedded in the wing shaft portion.

JP-A-8-98908 JP 59-69086 JP 2008-206970 A

  The artificial feather described in Patent Document 1 forms a hollow portion so as to cut through a thin wing portion or a thin wing shaft portion. However, since it is an integrally molded product, an extremely thin pin is inserted and removed on the mold in order to form the hollow portion. Therefore, it is difficult to mold with high accuracy, and there is a concern about deformation of the pin by inserting and removing the pin. Moreover, in order to make it lighter, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the wing part, the strength in the surface direction of the wing part is lowered, and sufficient rigidity cannot be obtained. Therefore, with an artificial shuttlecock using this artificial feather, it is difficult to obtain the flight performance and feel at impact of a natural shuttlecock. Naturally, if the wing shaft is made hollow, even if the material itself is rigid, the strength of the wing shaft itself is insufficient, and the wing shaft may be bent or bent by a strong hitting ball.

  Since the artificial feather described in Patent Document 2 has a structure in which the wing part is sandwiched and bonded by two thin rods serving as the wing shaft part, sufficient adhesive strength is obtained between the thin bar and the wing part. First, there is a possibility that the wing part and the wing shaft part are decomposed when the ball is hit. Further, since the wing shaft portion has a structure in which thin rods are bonded together, the strength at the bonding surface, that is, the side surface of the wing shaft portion is insufficient, and sufficient rigidity cannot be obtained. Since it cannot be manufactured by integral molding, productivity is low and there are doubts about the effect of low price.

  In the artificial feather described in Patent Document 3, a protruding portion which is a part of a thin wing portion is embedded in the wing shaft portion. That is, the shaft portion itself is an integrally molded product that is uniform throughout. Therefore, if an attempt is made to maintain the shape of the artificial feather against the impact of hitting a ball, a highly rigid material is used for the shaft portion. In general, highly rigid materials have high specific gravity and are difficult to reduce in weight. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve both weight reduction and high rigidity. In order to obtain high rigidity using a material having a low specific gravity, it is necessary to make the wing shaft portion thick, and it is difficult to reduce the weight even if the specific gravity of the material itself is low. In addition, since the same material is used for the wing shaft portion, it is difficult to achieve both strength that is difficult to be deformed with respect to the hit ball and a soft hit feeling peculiar to the feather as in natural feathers. Furthermore, if the wing shaft portion is made of a uniform high-rigidity material, the wing shaft itself may be broken by a strong hitting ball because it lacks flexibility. That is, there is a problem with durability.

  The present invention has been made in view of various problems in the conventional artificial feather for shuttlecock as described above, and the object thereof is a shuttle that is lightweight and highly rigid, and also excellent in durability and productivity. An artificial feather for a cock, a shuttlecock using the artificial feather, and a method for manufacturing the artificial feather. Other purposes will be clarified in the following description.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in artificial feathers for shuttlecocks, and the main invention is to mimic natural feathers and correspond to thin feathers corresponding to feathers and feather shafts. A rod-shaped wing shaft portion that continuously and integrally extends from the upper tip toward the lower end;
The wing shaft part is composed of a core part made of a soft material with a relatively low specific gravity and an outer shell part made of a hard material with a relatively high specific gravity with respect to the core part. The outer shell portion has a cross-sectional shape covering the side surface of the core portion and extends from the tip to the end,
The outer shell portion covers the side surface of the core portion other than the back surface of the wing shaft portion ,
This is an artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by that.

  The shuttlecock artificial feather of the present invention is lightweight and highly rigid, and the shuttlecock using the artificial feather can be expected to have the same flight performance and feel at impact as a natural shuttle. In addition, it is possible to provide an inexpensive shuttlecock that does not depend on the production amount of the natural material and is excellent in productivity. Other effects of the present invention will be clarified in the following description.

It is a perspective view of the artificial shuttlecock using the artificial feather | wing which concerns on the Example of this invention, and is a perspective view when it sees from the base part side (downward). It is a perspective view when the said artificial shuttlecock is seen from upper direction. It is a perspective view which shows the basic structure of the artificial feather | wing concerning the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram of the wing shaft part which comprises the artificial feather | wing concerning the said Example. It is a figure which shows the method for evaluating the rigidity in the said wing shaft part. It is a figure which shows the structure of the artificial feather | wing concerning the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the manufacturing method of the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the manufacture procedure of the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the primary molded product shape | molded in the manufacture process of the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 1st Example. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem in the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the outline of the manufacturing method for solving the problem in the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the artificial feather | wing concerning the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the manufacturing method of the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the manufacture procedure of the artificial feather | wing concerning the said 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the wing shaft part of the artificial feather | wing which concerns on the other Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the metal mold | die which shape | molds the artificial feather | wing which concerns on each said Example collectively.

=== Characteristics of Embodiments of the Invention ===
In the process of conceiving the present invention, the inventors first listed the flight performance similar to that of a natural shuttlecock as the performance required for an artificial shuttlecock. Low specific gravity material, that is, a film material (film material) or a foam material molded into a thin film was used. Based on this, the performance required for artificial feathers was considered. And it came to the conclusion that it is necessary to reexamine the structure of a shaft part fundamentally in order to make the weight reduction and high rigidity of the whole blade | wing including a thin film-like wing | blade part compatible. Specifically, the wing shaft portion is lightweight and can reliably support the wing portion using a high-rigidity material in the extending direction, and the shape of the entire wing can be reliably maintained. We thought that it was necessary to have a structure that could absorb the impact when the wing shaft surface of a highly rigid material was struck.

The present invention has been created as a result of intensive studies based on the above consideration. In the embodiment of the present invention, a thin film-like wing portion corresponding to a feather valve is imitated with a natural feather, and the upper end is continuously integrated to the lower end corresponding to the wing shaft. A shuttlecock artificial feather having a rod-shaped wing shaft portion extending in an extended manner, in addition to the features of the main invention, the wing shaft portion extends from the tip to the lower end of the wing portion. And a region that sticks to the wing support portion, and a region protruding downward from the wing portion from the lower end of the wing support portion to the end corresponding to the wing pattern of the natural feather, In the wing support portion, the wing shaft portion is fixed to the surface layer of the front surface of the wing portion. Alternatively, in the wing support portion, a back surface of the wing shaft portion is exposed from a back surface of the wing portion, and the wing portion is divided into right and left with the wing shaft portion as a boundary. it can. A thin-film reinforcing material may be laminated on the front surface or the back surface of the wing portion.

An artificial shuttlecock using an artificial feather having any of the above characteristics is also an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention also extends to a method for manufacturing the artificial feather, and the embodiment of the manufacturing method corresponds to a natural feather and a thin-film feather corresponding to a feather valve and a feather shaft. And a rod-shaped wing shaft portion that continuously and integrally extends from the upper tip toward the lower end, and the wing shaft portion covers the core portion that serves as the core and the side surface of the core portion. A method for producing an artificial feather for a shuttlecock comprising an outer shell portion extending in a cross-sectional shape,
A primary molding step of performing injection molding as a primary molded product using the first mold as the core part or the outer shell part;
By using the second mold, insert molding the outer shell portion or the core portion with the primary molded product as an object to be embedded, thereby forming a secondary molded product in which the outer shell portion covering the core portion is formed. A secondary molding step to mold,
With including,
The wing part and the core part are simultaneously injection molded using the same resin material,
It is characterized by that. The secondary molding step is changed to perform a two-color molding while holding the primary molded product in the mold, and to mold a secondary molded product in which an outer shell portion covering the core portion is formed. You can also.

The wing shaft portion serves as a wing support portion that is fixed to the wing portion from the tip to the lower end of the wing portion, and corresponds to the wing pattern of the natural feather from the lower end of the wing support portion. A region protruding downward from the wing part over the end is defined as a wing pattern part,
In the primary molding step, the wing portion and the core portion are simultaneously molded,
In the primary molding step, the core portion is divided into two regions so that the wing portion corresponds to the right valve and the left valve of the natural feather with the core portion as a boundary in the region of the wing support portion. The two grooves extending up and down are formed on the left and right sides of each of the two grooves, and each of the two grooves is a small piece that crosses the groove and connects the lower end of the wing support portion and the lower end of the wing portion. The temporary fixing part of
In the second molding step, an artificial feather for a shuttlecock that molds the secondary molded product in which the wing portion is fixed to a side surface of the outer shell portion by eluting the temporary fixing portion may be used. .

  Then, with the opening direction of the groove as the front side, in the first molding step, the bottom surface of the groove does not protrude to the front side at the formation site of the temporary fixing part, and the temporary fixing part is in the groove If it is set as the manufacturing method of the artificial feather for shuttlecocks which shape | molds the said primary molded product so that it may protrude in the back side direction of the bottom face of this, it is more preferable.

  In each of the above manufacturing methods, the core part is molded using a pellet-shaped resin obtained by mixing a thermoplastic base resin constituting the core part and an organic compound dissolved by a predetermined solvent, and the secondary molding is performed. A method for producing an artificial feather for a shuttlecock, comprising a step of forming a foamed body in which the portion made of the base resin is an open cell body in the secondary molded product by immersing the product in the solvent to dissolve the organic compound It can also be.

=== Structure of artificial shuttlecock ===
1 and 2 are external views of an artificial shuttlecock (hereinafter referred to as a shuttlecock) 1 provided with artificial feathers according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view when the shuttlecock 1 is viewed from below when the base portion 2 is downward, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view when viewed from above. A plurality (for example, 16 pieces) of artificial feathers 10 simulating natural feathers are planted in an annular shape along the circumference of the flat upper surface of the hemispherical base portion 2 so that the diameter increases upward. In addition, the skirt portion 10 is configured by being fixed to each other by a string-like member (for example, cotton thread) 3.

=== Structure of artificial feather ===
The artificial feather 10 which is the main body of the present invention has a basic structure in which a rod-shaped wing shaft portion is fixed to a wing portion made of a thin film resin by bonding or integral molding. FIG. 3 shows a basic structure of the artificial feather 10 in the embodiment of the present invention. Here, if the vertical and horizontal directions and the front / back relation of the artificial feather 10 are defined based on the state of being attached to the base part 2 of the shuttlecock 1, the wing shaft part 20 extends downward from the upper end of the wing part 12. It will be. For convenience, the upper end 21 of the wing shaft portion 20 is defined as the “tip” and the lower end 22 is defined as the “end”, and the surface of the wing portion 12 or the wing shaft portion 20 facing the outside of the shuttlecock 1 is The surface facing inward of the shuttlecock 1 is referred to as “back surface” 14. Further, in the plane of the wing part 12, the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the wing shaft part 20 is defined as the left-right direction. Therefore, in the artificial feather 10 in the shuttlecock 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wing shaft portion 20 is fixed so as to protrude from the front surface 13 of the wing portion 12, and the front surface of the wing portion 12. On the surface 13 side, the region of the wing portion 12 is divided into left and right with the wing shaft portion 20 as a boundary.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the tip position of the wing shaft portion 20 substantially coincides with the upper end position of the wing portion 12, but the tip position of the wing shaft portion 20 is relative to the upper end of the wing portion 12. It may be below. The wing shaft portion 20 may protrude from the back surface 14 of the wing portion 12. A configuration in which the wing part 12 is divided into two parts with the wing shaft part 20 as a boundary may be employed. In any case, one surface of the thin-film wing portion 12 is referred to as a front surface 13, and the other surface is referred to as a back surface 14, and the wing shaft portion 20 is formed to cut the wing portion 12 vertically. .

=== Structure of the wing shaft ===
In the artificial feather 10 of the present embodiment, the greatest feature is the structure of the wing shaft portion 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the wing shaft portion 20 protrudes below the wing portion 12 and a region (wing support portion) 23 fixed so as to protrude from the front surface 13 of the wing portion 12. An area (feather part) 24 is formed. The wing shaft portion 20 of the artificial feather 10 according to this embodiment has a special structure for supporting the thin wing portion 12 and maintaining the rigidity of the entire artificial feather 10.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the wing shaft portion 20 according to the present invention. FIGS. 4A to 4C are perspective views when the back surface 26 of the wing shaft portion 20 is viewed from the end 22 side, respectively. The figure shows a front view on the end 22 side and a front view on the tip 21 side. The wing shaft portion 20 generally has a composite structure including an outer shell portion 40 disposed on the surface layer and a core portion 30 disposed within the outer shell portion 40. The core portion 30 and the outer shell portion 40 each have a continuous and integral structure extending from the distal end 21 to the distal end 22, and both (30, 40) are fixed to each other.

  The core part 30 is made of a material (hereinafter, light and soft material) having a low specific gravity (small specific gravity) and a relatively low elastic modulus (soft) relative to the outer shell part 40. The outer shell portion 40 has a cross-sectional shape covering the surface of the core portion 30, and is made of a hard material (hard material) having a relatively large specific gravity with respect to the core portion 30. The core portion 30 and the outer shell portion 40 are fixed and integrated with each other by two-color molding or the like. And the wing | blade support part 23 and the wing pattern part 24 are formed so that it may become one continuous bar shape. In the figure, the core part 30 and the outer shell part 40 are shown by different hatching.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the wing shaft portion 20 shown here includes a core portion 30 having a substantially rectangular cross section, and an outer shell portion 40 having a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens on the back surface 26. It consists of and. That is, the cross-sectional shape of the outer shell portion 40 is a shape that covers the left and right side surfaces 31 and the front surface 32 of the core portion 30, and the left and right side surfaces 27 and the front surface 25 of the wing shaft portion 20 are the outer shell portion 40. The back surface 33 of the core portion 30 is exposed on the back surface 26 of the wing shaft portion 20. Here, an example is shown in which the tip 21 is covered with the outer shell 40, but the core 30 is exposed at the tip 21, and the outer shell 40 extends substantially over the entire length from the tip 21 to the end 22. The structure which has a character-shaped cross section may be sufficient.

  In addition, as a raw material which comprises the wing shaft part 20, if it is the core part 30, thermoplastic resins, such as a polyamide elastomer and a polyester elastomer, and the open-cell body consisting of these resins can be used, for example. If it is the outer shell part 40, polyamide (nylon), what strengthened this with glass fiber (glass fiber reinforced polyamide), or various resins, such as PBT, ABS, and PC, can be used.

=== Physical properties of the wing shaft ===
Here, the wing shaft portion 20 having the structure shown in FIG. 4 was prepared as a sample using various resins. The size was the size when actually used for the shuttlecock 1. An insert molding method or a two-color molding method can be employed as a method for producing the wing shaft portion 20. That is, the core portion 30 is injection-molded using a lightweight soft material, and the outer shell portion 40 made of a hard material is formed by insert molding with the molded product as an embedding object, or the molded product to be the core portion 30 is molded as a mold The outer shell portion 40 may be molded by two-color molding without taking it out of the container. And the core part 30, the outer shell part 40, and the whole weight in the produced wing shaft part 20 were measured, and rigidity was evaluated. As shown in FIG. 5, the rigidity is evaluated with a load of 0.3 N vertically downward in a state where the end portion 22 is fixed while the wing shaft portion 20 is kept horizontal so that the back surface 26 faces the ground. This was done by concentrating F on the tip 21. Then, the displacement amount Δh from the horizontal state at the tip 21 when in the loaded state was used as an index value of rigidity.

Table 1 below shows the resin used for the core part 30 and the outer shell part 40, the weight, specific gravity, elastic modulus of each part, and the total weight and stiffness index values of the entire wing shaft part 20.

  In Table 1, samples 4 and 5 are wing shaft parts (invention products) 20 constituting the artificial feather 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and a lightweight soft material is used for the core part 30 and the outer shell part 40 is hard. The material is used. Samples 1 to 3 are comparative examples for the inventive product, in which the core 30 and the outer shell 40 are molded from the same resin. Resins a and d are both polyamide elastomers, and the resin compositions themselves are the same, but their physical structures are different. The resin “a” is a dense material having a dense inside, and “d” is a material made of bubbles such as open cells and closed cells. Here, a material made of open cells is used.

  In order to configure the core portion 30 with an open cell body, for example, the outer shell portion 40 is fixed to the core portion 30 molded using a pellet kneaded with a thermoplastic resin and an organic compound eluted in a predetermined solvent, After obtaining a molded product having the same shape as the wing shaft portion 20, if this molded product is immersed in a predetermined solvent, the trace of the organic compound eluted by the solvent becomes a void and the core portion 30 becomes an open cell body. The organic compound solvent is not limited to an organic solvent, and includes various liquids that dissolve a predetermined organic compound. As an organic compound eluted in a predetermined solvent, for example, a compound (such as sugar alcohol) belonging to a polyhydric alcohol dissolved in water can be used. In order to obtain a closed cell body, the resin constituting the core portion 30 may be foamed using an organic foaming agent such as a hydrocarbon gas in the same manner as known foamed polystyrene or urethane sponge. In the open cell body, since the bubbles communicate with each other, the air in the bubbles compressed at the time of hitting the ball escapes to the adjacent bubbles, so that an effect that a softer shot feeling can be obtained can be expected.

  Resins b and c are materials that are harder than polyamide elastomer and are muku materials. In this example, both are resins mainly composed of polyamide 12 (nylon 12), but resin b is polyamide 12 reinforced with glass, and resin c is polyamide 12 that is not reinforced with glass.

  As shown in Table 1, in samples 4 and 5 according to the invention, the core portion 30 and the outer shell portion 40 each have a relatively low specific gravity (high specific gravity) and a soft (hard) appropriate resin. Thus, the wing shaft part 20 was light and highly rigid. For example, in the sample 1 as a comparative example, the core part 30 and the outer shell part 40 are both made of a relatively soft resin a, the displacement amount Δh that is an index value of rigidity is large, and the rigidity is insufficient. I understand that. Further, in the sample 3 molded with only the resin c classified as a relatively hard resin among the resins a to d, the displacement amount Δh was about 60% of the sample 1. Sample 2 has core 30 and outer shell 40 made of the hardest resin b, and has a displacement amount Δh of 20% or less of sample 1 and obtains 5 times more rigidity than sample 1. ing. However, since the specific gravity of the harder resin is relatively higher, the total weight of the most rigid sample 2 is increased by nearly 30% with respect to the sample 1.

  On the other hand, among the samples 4 and 5 according to the invention, in the sample 4 using the bulk material for the core 30, the displacement amount Δh is only 30% of the sample 1 with a weight increase of 15% or less compared to the sample 1. %. That is, 3 times or more higher rigidity than that of sample 1 was obtained. About 60% of rigidity is obtained even for the hardest sample 2, and it can be said that it has sufficient rigidity. And about the sample 5, after achieving weight reduction rather than the sample 1, rigidity was equivalent to the sample 4, and as the wing shaft part 20, almost ideal performance was able to be obtained.

  As described above, the artificial feather 10 including the wing shaft portion 20 having a structure in which the core portion 30 made of a lightweight soft material having a low specific gravity is covered with the outer shell portion 40 made of a hard material is light and highly rigid. It becomes possible to achieve both characteristics at a high level. Further, the hard outer shell portion 40 covers at least the left and right side surfaces 31 of the soft core portion 30, and more than half of the surface area of the wing shaft portion 20 is in contact with the outer shell portion 40. Therefore, high rigidity can be expressed in two directions, the front and back direction and the left and right direction. On the other hand, since the soft core portion 30 is filled inside the hard outer shell portion 40, it is possible to absorb an impact when hitting the surface of the hard wing shaft portion 20 at the time of hitting. In other words, the repulsive force is increased, so that it is possible to obtain a feel at impact similar to natural feathers in which the feel of hitting from the comfort and the deflection upon hitting quickly return to its original shape.

  If the core part 30 is made into a bubble having a small specific gravity, the cross-sectional area of the wing shaft part 20 can be further increased while maintaining the weight reduction. Increasing the cross-sectional area can further improve the rigidity and increase the fixing area between the wing portion 12 and the wing support portion 23. Thereby, the joint strength between the wing shaft portion 20 and the wing portion 12 can be further strengthened, and damage during hitting can be prevented. Furthermore, the “thick” wing shaft portion 20 can give the player a sense of security that it is visually “not easily broken”. That is, it is also possible to expect a psychological effect that a comfortable shot feeling due to low elasticity in the resin of the core 30 can be enhanced to obtain a shot feeling very close to that of a natural shuttlecock.

  Below, the artificial feather provided with the wing shaft part 20 provided with the said structure is demonstrated. Specifically, the present invention will be specifically described by taking artificial feathers or the like having different fixing structures with the wing part 12 in the wing support part 23 as examples of the present invention.

=== First Embodiment ===
The artificial feather 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 has a structure in which the wing shaft portion 20 and the wing portion 12 are fixed to each other. And the wing | blade part 12 is a thin film form. On the other hand, natural feathers, as is well known, a portion corresponding to the feather portion 12 of the artificial feather is a collection of feather branches that are individual hairs growing from the feather shaft, and the inner and outer feathers are bounded by the feather shaft. Divided into valves (inner valve, feather valve). Therefore, a shuttlecock using artificial feathers that approximates the natural feather configuration as much as possible should approximate the flight performance of the natural shuttlecock. Therefore, the first embodiment of the present invention is an artificial feather that is most similar to the structure of a natural feather.

<Fixed structure with wings>
6A to 6D show a plan view of the front surface side, a plan view of the back surface side, a side view, and a front view of the tip 21 side of the artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6D, the artificial feather 10a in the first embodiment is an artificial feather 10a having a structure more similar to a natural feather with the wings 12 fixed to the side of the outer shell 40. ing. That is, in the wing support portion 23, the back surface 26 of the wing shaft portion 20 is exposed to the back surface 14 of the wing portion 12, and the wing portion 12 is divided into left and right portions with the wing shaft portion 20 as a boundary. In this example, the core 30 and the wing 12 are made of the same lightweight soft material.

<Manufacturing method>
The artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment can be manufactured using injection molding such as insert molding. Further, in order to approximate the three-dimensional feather shape of natural feathers and obtain excellent flight performance, all the artificial feathers 10a including the wings 12 are manufactured by injection molding. That is, even if the wing part 12 is roughly a thin film, its thickness is slightly different in each part. The artificial feather 10a provided with such a wing part 12 has a core part 30 and an outer shell part in a molded product having a total of three molding parts of the wing part 12 divided into two with the core part 30 as a boundary. If the core part 30 and the wing part 12 divided into two parts are molded, for example, by providing an injection molding gate in each of the three molding parts, each part is in an independent state. And can be molded simultaneously.

  However, in this method, substantially each of the three molding parts is individually injection-molded, and the time and cost for manufacturing increase. Further, in the molded product, traces of the gate remain depending on each injection molding site, and it becomes difficult to approximate the natural feather, particularly the surface shape. Therefore, a method for accurately manufacturing the artificial feather 10a of the first embodiment without increasing time and cost will be described below. Here, an example in which the artificial feather 10a of the first embodiment is manufactured by insert molding is shown.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a mold (51a, 52a) used in the method for manufacturing the artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment, and each cross section aa in the artificial feather 10a shown in FIG. The cross-sectional shapes of the two molds (the first mold 51a and the second mold 52a) corresponding to the cross sections bb, cc, and dd are respectively shown in FIGS. 7B1 to 7B4. ) And (C1) to (C4). As shown in the figure, the mold shape of the first mold 51a is a shape for molding the wing part 12 and the core part 30 at the same time, and the second mold 52a is molded by the first mold. A mold shape is formed for molding the outer shell portion 40 that covers the front surface 32 and the side surface 31 of the core portion 30 while accommodating the molded product.

  8 and 9 show an outline of a method for manufacturing the artificial feather 10a of the second embodiment. FIGS. 8A to 8D show a manufacturing procedure of the artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment, and the bb cross section of the artificial feather 10a sequentially formed by two molds (51a, 52a). The shape of (refer FIG. 7) is shown according to the order of a manufacturing process. FIG. 9A is a plan view of a primary molded product 50b molded by the first mold 51b, and FIG. 9B is an enlarged view inside the circle 100 in FIG. 9A. .

  In the manufacturing method shown here, after the core part 30 and the wing part 12 are molded simultaneously, the outer shell part 40 is molded on the surface layer of the core part 30 by insert molding. That is, the first mold 51a shown in FIG. 7 is a mold 51a for molding the wing part 12 and the core part 30, and the second mold 52a is molded by the first mold 51a. This is a mold 52a for molding the outer shell 40 with the molded product as an object to be embedded.

  Then, first, the wing part 12 and the core part 30 are integrally formed using the first mold 51a (FIGS. 8A and 8B). As shown in FIG. 9A, the integrally molded product (primary molded product) 50a has a shape in which the wing portion 12 and the core portion 30 are divided by a groove 34 extending in the vertical direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 7 (B3), a mold 51a for molding the wing portion 12 and the core portion 30 is connected to the wing portion 12 and the core portion 30 only at the lower end portion of the wing support portion 23. By making it a cross-sectional shape, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 9B, the lower end of the wing support portion 23 is provided with a temporary fixing portion 35 that is connected to the core portion 30 and the wing portion 12. Yes.

  Next, according to the procedure shown in FIGS. 8C and 8D, the resin that becomes the outer shell portion 40 in the state where the primary molded product having the shape shown in FIG. Injection into the mold 52a. At this time, the temporary fix | stop part 35 melt | dissolves with the heat | fever at the time of injection molding, and it elutes out of the metal mold | die 52a with an injection pressure. As a result, the groove 34 continues from the lower end of the wing support portion 23 to the tip of the wing portion 12, and the groove 34 is also filled with the resin constituting the outer shell portion 40. As a result, as shown in FIG. The core portion 30 and the wing portion 12 made of a light and soft material are integrally fixed to the outer shell portion 40 made of a hard material. The artificial feather 10a is completed.

  In addition, when forming the core part 30 with the open-cell body mentioned above, the primary molded product 50a is shape | molded using the pellet containing the organic compound eluted with the predetermined solvent mentioned above, and the 2nd metal mold | die 52a. The molded product (secondary molded product) taken out from the substrate is dipped in a predetermined solvent, and the resin constituting the core portion 30 and the wing portion 12 may be made into an open cell body. In the artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment, the wing part 12 is also an open cell body, and the wing part 12 occupying most of the total volume of the artificial feather 10a can be reduced in weight, so that the artificial feather 10a can be further reduced in weight. . Moreover, by making the wing part 12 occupying most of the total surface area of the artificial feather 10a into an open cell body, it is expected that the feel upon hitting becomes softer and a hit feeling close to natural feathers can be obtained.

=== Modification Example of the First Embodiment ===
In the artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment, the wing part 12 is divided into right and left with the wing shaft part 20 as a boundary. And the method for manufacturing the artificial feather 10a of this structure with high precision was shown previously. However, in the above-described manufacturing method, the temporary fixing portion 35 does not surely elute, and a part or all of the temporary fixing portion 35 made of a lightweight soft material may remain in a portion that should originally become the outer shell portion 40. There is not a little sex.

  FIG. 10 illustrates the artificial feather 10b with the temporary fixing portion 35 remaining. FIG. 10A is a plan view when the entire artificial feather 10b is viewed from the back side, and FIG. 10B is an enlarged view inside the circle 101 in FIG. (C) is a ee arrow sectional view in (B). As shown in FIG. 10, in the portion 36 where the temporary fixing portion 35 remains, since the entire side surface 27 of the core portion 30 is not covered with the outer shell portion 40, the strength is insufficient and the shuttlecock is struck. In addition, the wing shaft portion 20 may be broken at the portion 36. Thus, the artificial feather 10b in which a part of the outer shell portion 40 is missing is naturally treated as a defective product. For this reason, there is a concern about an increase in manufacturing cost accompanying a decrease in yield. Therefore, as a modified example of the first embodiment, a manufacturing method capable of sufficiently maintaining the strength of the wing shaft portion 20 even if the temporary fixing portion 35 does not completely elute will be given.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing the artificial feather 10c according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 11A is a view of the artificial feather 10c in a state where a part 36 of the temporary fixing portion 35 remains, as viewed from the back side, and FIG. 11B is an enlarged view inside the circle 101 in FIG. is there. (C) is sectional drawing of the metal mold | die 51c for shape | molding the primary molded product of the artificial feather | wing 10c of the said modification, and the ff cross section in the artificial feather | wing 10c shown to FIG. 11 (A) (B) It corresponds to. (D) is a gg arrow cross section in (C).

  In the modified example, as shown in FIG. 11B, the temporary fixing portion 35 has a mold shape that protrudes downward from the lower surface of the wing portion 12. That is, primary molding is performed so that the bottom surface of the groove 34 does not protrude toward the front surface (12, 25) side in the formation portion of the temporary fixing portion 35, and the temporary fixing portion 35 protrudes toward the back side of the bottom surface of the groove 34. The product is being molded. Therefore, as shown in (D), even if the temporary fixing portion 35 does not completely elute and the portion 37 remains, the outer shell portion 40 completely covers the side surface of the original core portion 30. Since it covers, strength does not become insufficient. The non-eluting portion 37 of the temporary fixing portion 35 may be left as it is because there is no problem in strength unless the flight performance of the artificial feather 10c is extremely deteriorated. If high flight performance is required or it is determined that the aesthetics of the product is impaired, the projecting portion 37 may be scraped off or separated in the subsequent manufacturing process.

=== Second Embodiment ===
The artificial feather 10a according to the first embodiment had a structure more similar to natural feathers. And in order to shape | mold the structure accurately, the special manufacturing method of eluting the temporary fix | stop part 35 provided in the primary molded product at the time of shaping | molding of a secondary molded product was employ | adopted. Further, since the temporary fixing portion 35 is formed, the shape of the mold is also complicated, and the cost required for the mold may be slightly increased. Therefore, it is also possible to improve the manufacturing yield by simplifying the shape to some extent without making the shape very similar to natural feathers. Therefore, as a second embodiment of the present invention, an artificial feather having a structure in consideration of manufacturing yield will be given.

<Fixed structure with wings>
FIG. 12 shows the basic structure of an artificial feather 10d according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 12A to 12D respectively show a plan view on the front surface side, a plan view on the back surface side, a side view, and a front view from the tip 21 side. Also in FIG. 12, the core portion 30 and the outer shell portion 40 of the wing shaft portion 20 are indicated by different hatchings. As shown in the drawing, the artificial feather 10d according to the second embodiment has a structure in which the wing shaft part 20 having the structure shown in FIG. 4 is fixed to the front surface 13 of one thin-film wing part 12. The front surface 25 and the side surface 27 of the wing shaft portion 20 are the surface of the outer shell portion 40. And in the wing | blade support part 23, both are adhering in the state which the back surface 26 and the front surface 13 of the wing | blade part contacted.

<Manufacturing method>
As a method of manufacturing the artificial feather 10d according to the second embodiment, after the wing shaft part 20 and the wing part 12 are individually molded, both (20, 12) may be fixed by a method such as welding or adhesion. it can. Alternatively, after the core portion 30 and the outer shell portion 40 are fixed to each other by injection molding or the like, the wing portion 12 is further injection-molded with respect to the wing shaft portion 20 by insert molding or two-color molding. The shaft portion 20 may be fixed to the wing portion 12.

  However, in order to firmly fix the wing part 12 and the wing shaft part 20 and to be able to flexibly set the shape of the wing part 12 and the relative positional relationship between the wing part and the wing shaft part 20, It is desirable to form the core 12 and the core 30 or the wing 12 and the outer shell 40 simultaneously using the same material. Actually, since the wing portion 12 is required to be light and flexible, it is desirable that the wing portion 12 be simultaneously molded with the core portion 30.

  In the artificial feather 10d of the second embodiment, the outer shell portion 40 has a structure that covers the core portion 30 other than the back surface 26 of the wing shaft portion 20, and the back surface 33 of the core portion 30 is exposed. Therefore, in the wing support portion 23, the wing portion 12 and the core portion 30 are simultaneously molded so that the core portion 30 protrudes from the front surface 13 of the wing portion 12. Below, the method to manufacture the artificial feather | wing 10d which concerns on a 2nd Example by insert molding is illustrated.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a mold (51d, 52d) used in the method for manufacturing the artificial feather 10d according to the second embodiment, and each cross section hh in the artificial feather 10d shown in FIG. The cross-sectional shapes of the two molds (the first mold 51d and the second mold 52d) corresponding to the respective cross sections ii and j-j are respectively shown in FIGS. C1) to (C3). As shown in the figure, the mold shape of the first mold 51d is a shape for molding the wing part 12 and the core part 30 at the same time, and the second mold 52d is molded by the first mold. A mold shape is formed for molding the outer shell portion 40 that covers the front surface 32 and the side surface 31 of the core portion 30 while accommodating the molded product.

  14 (A) to 14 (D) are diagrams showing a manufacturing procedure of the artificial feather 10d according to the second embodiment, and the above i-- of the artificial feather 10d which is sequentially molded by the molds (51d, 52d). The shape of i cross section (refer FIG. 13) is shown according to the order of a manufacturing process. In the manufacturing method shown here, first, the core portion 30 and the wing portion 12 are simultaneously molded, and then the outer shell portion 40 is molded on the surface layer of the core portion 30 by insert molding. That is, the first mold 51d shown in FIG. 13 is a mold 51d for molding the wing part 12 and the core part 30, and the second mold 52d is molded by the first mold 51d. This is a mold 52d for molding the outer shell 40 with the molded product as an object to be embedded.

  First, the wing portion 12 and the core portion 30 are integrally formed using the first mold 51d (A) and (B). Next, in a state where the integrally molded product (primary molded product) 50d is mounted on the second mold 52d (C), the resin that forms the outer shell portion 40 is injected into the mold 52d. The second mold 52d accommodates the first molded product 50d, covers the side surface 31 and the front surface 32 of the core portion 30, and in a state where the first molded product 50d is mounted, the U-shaped cross section is formed. The mold shape has. The outer shell portion 40 is formed on the front surface 32 and the side surface 31 of the core portion 30 by injection molding using the second mold 52a, and the core portion 30 and the wing portion 12 made of a lightweight soft material are hard. The artificial feather 10d is completed by being fixed integrally with the outer shell portion 40 made of a material (D). Further, when the core portion 30 is formed of an open cell body, the primary molded product 50d is molded using the pellet containing the organic compound eluted by the predetermined solvent described above, and taken out from the second mold 52d. The molded product (secondary molded product) may be immersed in a predetermined solvent to make the resin constituting the core 30 and the wings 12 into an open cell body.

  In the manufacturing method described above, the wing 12 and the core 30 are primary molded products. Of course, the outer shell 40 is first molded as a primary molded product, and the wings 12 and the core 30 are formed. You may make it shape | mold so that it may adhere to the outer shell part 40. FIG.

  By the way, the artificial feather 10d of the second embodiment has a simple structure compared to the artificial feather 10a of the first embodiment, and the temporary fixing portion 35 is surely eluted even under molding conditions. Since it is not necessary, it is not necessary to specify the molding conditions as strictly as the artificial feather 10a of the first embodiment, and a high yield can be expected. Therefore, in terms of manufacturing cost, the second embodiment may be more advantageous than the first embodiment.

  However, on the other hand, the artificial feather 10a of the first embodiment does not have the resin constituting the wing portion 12 in the region of the wing support portion 23 when compared with the artificial feather 10d of the second embodiment. The amount of resin that is fixed to the back surface 26 of the support portion 23 can be saved. Certainly, the amount of resin that can be saved by one artificial feather 10a is very small, and the cost reduction of one artificial feather 10a may be slight. However, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shuttlecock 1 has a configuration in which about 16 blades are attached to the base portion 2, so even if the cost of one artificial feather 10 a is slightly reduced, The entire shuttlecock 1 can be expected to reduce costs to some extent.

  Therefore, which one of the artificial feathers (1a, 1d) of the first or second embodiment is adopted is appropriately determined in consideration of the flight performance required for the product, the cost of raw materials, the cost of manufacturing, and the like. do it. In other words, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a shuttlecock having different flight performance and price depending on the purpose and application, such as a practice ball and an alternative to an official ball, or a skill difference of badminton of a person using the shuttlecock. Can do.

=== Other Embodiments ===
<Cross sectional structure of wing shaft>
The cross-sectional structure of the wing shaft portion 20 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4. For example, the cross-sectional shape of the outer shell portion 40 is changed to the core portion 30 like the wing shaft portion 20 e shown in FIG. It is good also as "H" which consists of the edge | side 41 which contacts the right-and-left side surface 31 and the edge | side 42 which crosses the cross-sectional center vicinity of the core part 30 right and left, and connects the edge | side 41 which touches the said left-right side surface 31. In this example, the front surface 32 and the back surface 33 of the core portion 30 are exposed on the front surface 25 and the back surface 26, respectively, but the wing shaft portion 20c is rotated by 90 ° around the axis. In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the outer shell portion 40 may be an “I” type.

  Alternatively, like the wing shaft portion 20f shown in (B), the outer shell portion 40 has a hollow thin tubular shape, and the hollow portion is filled with the core portion 30, that is, the left and right side surfaces 31 of the core portion 30 In addition, a “mouth-shaped” cross-sectional shape that covers the entire surface 32 and the back surface 33 with the outer shell portion 40 may be used. The wing portion 12 and the wing shaft portion (20e, 20f) may be disposed on the side surface 27 of the wing shaft portion (32, 33) as in the first embodiment, or the second embodiment. As described above, the back surface 26 of the wing shaft portion (20e, 30f) and the front surface 13 of the wing portion 12 may be fixed in contact with each other.

Of course, the cross-sectional shape of the core 30 is not limited to a rectangle. For example, the cross-sectional shape may be a circle (C), a semicircle (D), or a triangle (E) like the wing shafts (20g to 20i) shown in FIGS. .

<Manufacturing method>
In the said 1st and 2nd Example, the example which shape | molds artificial feathers (10a, 10d) piece by piece was shown as a manufacturing method of artificial feathers (10a, 10d). Of course, it is also possible to mold a plurality of artificial feathers (10a, 10d) together. FIG. 16 shows a plan view of a mold 51c corresponding to the multi-sheet molding. A mold 53 corresponding to a large number of artificial feathers (10a, 10d) is arranged in a radiant form, and a resin injection port 54 is provided at the center of the mold, so that a plurality of primary molded products or secondary products are formed. Molded products can be molded together.

<Reinforcement of wings>
In the first and second embodiments, the wing part 12 and the core part 30 are simultaneously molded from the same material. The present invention is not limited to this, and the wing shaft portion 20 may be manufactured as a single unit, and a thin film-like member that becomes the wing portion 12 may be fixed to the wing shaft portion 20 by using a method such as adhesion or welding. As the material of the wing part 12, a film material made of resin, a thin-film-like bubble, or the like can be considered.

  By the way, in the artificial feather (10, 10a to 10d), the wing part 12 has the largest area, and reducing the weight of the wing part 12 reduces the weight of the entire artificial feather (10, 10a to 10d). A big contribution. On the other hand, the wing portion 12 is required to have sufficient strength to withstand the strong hitting of the hit ball. Therefore, a thin-film reinforcing material may be laminated on the front surface 13 or the back surface 14 of the wing portion 12 by a method such as adhesion or welding.

  The present invention can be applied to a badminton shuttlecock.

1 artificial shuttlecock, 2 base part, 3 string-like member,
10, 10a-10d Artificial feather, 12 feathers,
20, 20e-20i wing shaft part, 23 wing support part, 24 wing pattern part,
30 core portion, 31 core side surface, 34 groove, 35 temporary fixing portion,
40 outer shell, 50a, 50d primary molded product, 51a, 51d first mold,
51c mold, 52d second mold

Claims (10)

An artificial feather for a shuttlecock,
A thin-film wing part corresponding to a feather valve, imitating natural feathers, and a rod-like wing shaft part corresponding to the wing shaft and extending continuously from the upper tip toward the lower end With
The wing shaft part is composed of a core part made of a soft material with a relatively low specific gravity and an outer shell part made of a hard material with a relatively high specific gravity with respect to the core part. The outer shell portion has a cross-sectional shape covering the side surface of the core portion and extends from the tip to the end,
The outer shell portion covers the side surface of the core portion other than the back surface of the wing shaft portion ,
An artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by that. In claim 1 ,
The wing shaft portion serves as a wing support portion that is fixed to the wing portion from the tip to the lower end of the wing portion, and corresponds to the wing pattern of the natural feather from the lower end of the wing support portion. A region protruding downward from the wing part over the end is defined as a wing pattern part,
In the wing support portion, the wing shaft portion is fixed to the surface layer of the front surface of the wing portion,
An artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by that. In claim 1 ,
The wing shaft portion serves as a wing support portion that is fixed to the wing portion from the tip to the lower end of the wing portion, and corresponds to the wing pattern of the natural feather from the lower end of the wing support portion. A region protruding downward from the wing part over the end is defined as a wing pattern part,
In the wing support portion, the back surface of the wing shaft portion is exposed from the back surface of the wing portion, and the wing portion is divided into left and right with the wing shaft portion as a boundary,
An artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by that. The artificial feather for a shuttlecock according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a thin-film reinforcing material is laminated on a front surface or a back surface of the wing portion. A shuttlecock comprising the artificial feather according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . A thin-film wing part corresponding to a feather valve, imitating natural feathers, and a rod-like wing shaft part corresponding to the wing shaft and extending continuously from the upper tip toward the lower end And the wing shaft part is a manufacturing method of an artificial feather for a shuttlecock comprising a core part that is a core and an outer shell part that extends in a cross-sectional shape covering the side surface of the core part,
A primary molding step of performing injection molding as a primary molded product using the first mold as the core part or the outer shell part;
By using the second mold, insert molding the outer shell portion or the core portion with the primary molded product as an object to be embedded, thereby forming a secondary molded product in which the outer shell portion covering the core portion is formed. A secondary molding step to mold,
With including,
The wing part and the core part are simultaneously injection molded using the same resin material ,
A method of manufacturing an artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by the above. A thin-film wing part corresponding to a feather valve, imitating natural feathers, and a rod-like wing shaft part corresponding to the wing shaft and extending continuously from the upper tip toward the lower end And the wing shaft part is a manufacturing method of an artificial feather for a shuttlecock comprising a core part that is a core and an outer shell part that extends in a cross-sectional shape covering the side surface of the core part,
A primary molding step of performing injection molding as a primary molded product using the first mold as the core part or the outer shell part;
A secondary molding step of performing a two-color molding while holding the primary molded product in the mold, and molding a secondary molded product in which an outer shell portion covering the core portion is formed;
With including,
The wing part and the core part are simultaneously injection molded using the same resin material ,
A method of manufacturing an artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by the above. The wing shaft according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the wing shaft portion is a wing support portion that is fixed to the wing portion from the tip to the lower end of the wing portion, and corresponds to the feather of the natural feather. A region that protrudes downward from the lower end of the wing portion from the lower end of the wing support portion to the wing portion,
In the primary molding step, the wing portion and the core portion are simultaneously molded,
In the primary molding step, the core portion is divided into two regions so that the wing portion corresponds to the right valve and the left valve of the natural feather with the core portion as a boundary in the region of the wing support portion. The two grooves extending up and down are formed on the left and right sides of each of the two grooves, and each of the two grooves is a small piece that crosses the groove and connects the lower end of the wing support portion and the lower end of the wing portion. The temporary fixing part of
In the second molding step, the secondary molded product in which the wing portion is fixed to a side surface of the outer shell portion is molded by eluting the temporary fixing portion,
A method of manufacturing an artificial feather for a shuttlecock characterized by the above. 9. The temporary fixing portion according to claim 8 , wherein the opening direction of the groove is a front side, and in the first molding step, the bottom surface of the groove does not protrude to the front side in the formation portion of the temporary fixing portion. A method for manufacturing an artificial feather for a shuttlecock, wherein the primary molded product is molded so as to protrude in the direction of the back side of the bottom surface of the groove. In any one of Claims 6-9, while shape | molding the said core part using the pellet-shaped resin which mixed the thermoplastic base resin which comprises the said core part, and the organic compound melt | dissolved by a predetermined solvent, An artificial for shuttlecock including a step of forming a foamed body in the secondary molded product by dissolving the organic compound by immersing the secondary molded product in the solvent. A method of manufacturing a blade.

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