JP6796496B2 - Golf club head manufacturing method and golf club head manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head and a device for manufacturing a golf club head.

The head of a golf club is required to have a low center of gravity, light weight, and high strength in order to improve the ease of hitting a golf ball and the flight performance. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a golf club head (composite head) in which the upper part (a part of the crown portion) is made of a resin member, the other part is made of a metal member, and the inside is hollow. ing. As the resin member, a prepreg in which a thermosetting resin (for example, epoxy resin) is permeated around a reinforcing fiber (for example, carbon fiber) and semi-cured is used. A resin member is formed by stacking a plurality of sheets of this prepreg, sandwiching them between two molds, heating and pressurizing them.

JP 2012-110429

However, the above-mentioned molding method has a problem that it cannot cope with the case where the resin member is molded into a complicated three-dimensional shape (the design of the head is restricted). Further, when the prepregs are stacked in a plurality of layers, air may enter between the prepregs (layers), and the air may cause voids or cracks to reduce the strength of the resin member.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to increase the degree of freedom in design and to improve the strength.

A main invention for achieving the above object is a method for manufacturing a golf club head having a resin member formed of a thermosetting prepreg and a metal member formed of a metal material, and having a hollow inside. , A step of arranging a plurality of sheet-shaped prepregs along the surface of a jig so as to have overlapping portions to form a single preformed body of the resin member in three dimensions, and the jig. The step of arranging only the single preformed body removed from the mold and the single preformed body of the metal material in the cavity of the mold, and the bag-like elasticity inside the single preformed body. The step of arranging the body, and while sucking the air in the cavity through the suction port , the bag-shaped elastic body is expanded to press the single preformed body into the cavity, and the single preformed body is pressed against the cavity . heating the preform to have a, a step of molding the resin member, the suction port, the most common site of overlap of the prepreg of said single preform, so as to attract the air to a method of manufacturing a golf club head characterized that you have provided only one.

Other features of the present invention will be clarified by the description in the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

According to the method for manufacturing a golf club head of the present invention, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in design and improve the strength.

1A and 1B are views showing the configuration of the golf club head 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 1A is an exploded side view of the golf club head 1, and FIG. 1B is an exploded view of the golf club head 1 as viewed from the bottom side. It is a flow chart which shows the forming method of the preformed body 3'. It is the schematic which shows the state of formation of the preformed body 3'. 4A to 4C are explanatory views of the configuration of the lower mold 10. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a perspective view, and FIG. 4C is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4A. 5A to 5C are explanatory views of the configuration of the upper mold 20. 5A is a plan view, FIG. 5B is a perspective view, and FIG. 5C is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5A. It is a flow figure which shows the molding method of the resin member 3 of this embodiment. 7A to 7E are views showing a state of mold molding of the resin member 3.

=== Overview ===
The description of this specification and the drawings will clarify at least the following matters.

A method for manufacturing a golf club head having a resin member formed by a prepreg and a metal member formed of a metal material and having a hollow inside, so that a plurality of sheet-shaped prepregs are overlapped with each other. In addition, a step of arranging the preformed body of the resin member along the surface of the jig, a step of arranging the preformed body removed from the jig in the cavity of the mold, and the preliminary The step of arranging the bag-shaped elastic body inside the molded body, and while sucking the air in the cavity, the bag-shaped elastic body is expanded to press the preformed body against the cavity, and the premolding is performed. A method for manufacturing a golf club head, which comprises a step of heating a body to form the resin member, is clarified.
According to such a method for manufacturing a golf club head, the resin member can be formed into a complicated three-dimensional shape, and the degree of freedom in designing the head can be increased. Further, by sucking air during heating, it is possible to remove the air that has entered between the layers of the preformed body. As a result, the occurrence of voids and cracks can be suppressed, and the strength can be improved.

In such a method for manufacturing a golf club head, it is desirable to start sucking the air when the preformed body starts to liquefy by heating.
According to such a method for manufacturing a golf club head, the air between the layers can be taken out by liquefying the preformed body, so that the air can be efficiently removed.

In such a method for manufacturing a golf club head, it is desirable to suck the air from the portion of the preformed body where the prepregs overlap most.
According to such a method of manufacturing a golf club head, more air can be removed.

In the method for manufacturing such a golf club head, the mold includes a lower mold having a part of the cavity and an upper mold having another part of the cavity, and includes the preformed body and the preformed body. After arranging the bag-shaped elastic body in the lower mold, it is desirable to arrange the upper mold on the lower mold so as to face each other.
According to such a method for manufacturing a golf club head, the resin member can be reliably molded into a three-dimensional shape.

In such a method for manufacturing a golf club head, it is desirable that at least one of the upper mold and the lower mold is provided with a packing for sealing the cavity.
According to such a method of manufacturing a golf club head, the inside of the cavity can be evacuated.

In the method for manufacturing a golf club head, a positioning hole is formed in one of the lower mold and the upper mold, and the positioning hole is formed in the other of the lower mold and the upper mold. A positioning pin is formed at a position corresponding to the above, and it is desirable that the positioning pin and the positioning hole are fitted when the upper mold is arranged so as to face the lower mold.
According to such a method of manufacturing a golf club head, it is possible to suppress a misalignment between the lower mold and the upper mold.

Further, a golf club head manufacturing apparatus comprising a resin member formed of a prepreg and a metal member formed of a metal material and manufacturing the resin member of a golf club head having a hollow inside, the plurality of seats. A mold having a cavity for arranging a preformed body of the resin member provided so that the prepreg in the shape has an overlapping portion, a suction portion for sucking air in the cavity, and the preformed body. A device for manufacturing a golf club head, comprising: a heating portion for heating, and a bag-shaped elastic body that is arranged inside the preformed body and expands to press the preformed body into the cavity. Becomes clear.

=== Embodiment ===
<< About the composition of the golf club head >>
1A and 1B are views showing the configuration of the golf club head 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 1A is an exploded side view of the golf club head 1, and FIG. 1B is an exploded view of the golf club head 1 as viewed from the bottom side.

The golf club head 1 of the present embodiment is a composite head including a metal member 2 and a resin member 3, and has a hollow inside.

The metal member 2 is formed of, for example, a metal material such as a titanium alloy having a high coefficient of restitution, and mainly constitutes a front portion (face portion) and a bottom portion (sole portion) of the golf club head 1.

The resin member 3 is formed of a prepreg, and a portion extending from the upper portion (crown portion) to the bottom portion (sole portion) is three-dimensionally (three-dimensionally) formed on the rear side of the front portion of the golf club head 1. ing. By forming the resin member 3 with a prepreg having a specific gravity smaller than that of the metal material of the metal member 2, the golf club head 1 can be made lighter and the center of gravity can be made lower. The prepreg is a prepreg in which a thermosetting resin is impregnated into a reinforcing fiber and semi-cured. The reinforcing fiber can be appropriately selected from carbon fiber, glass fiber, organic fiber, ceramic fiber, metal fiber and the like. In the present embodiment, carbon fiber having a small specific gravity and high strength is used as the reinforcing fiber. As the thermosetting resin, for example, an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, or the like can be used. As will be described later, the resin member 3 is formed by stacking a plurality of layers of sheet-shaped prepreg base materials. The stacking method and the type of fiber are factors that determine characteristics such as strength and elasticity.

The line indicated by R in the drawing is a line indicating an edge between the upper portion side (crown portion side) and the bottom portion side (sole portion side) of the resin member 3. Hereinafter, this line is also referred to as a ridge line R.

<< About the manufacturing method of golf club head >>
If the resin member 3 has a simple shape (for example, only the portion above the ridge line R), it is formed by sandwiching a laminated body of prepreg between two molds and pressing (pressurizing) / heating. Yes (compression molding method). However, in this molding method, in order to form a three-dimensional (three-dimensional) shape as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to design a complicated mold, which requires cost and man-hours. Further, since the resin member 3 is formed by stacking sheet-shaped prepregs in a plurality of layers, air may enter between the layers, and the air may cause voids, cracks, etc. (decrease in strength). is there.

In the present embodiment, the resin member 3 is molded into a three-dimensional shape as shown in FIG. 1 and the strength is improved. Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the resin member 3 of the golf club head 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Formation of preformed body>
First, the formation of the preformed body of the resin member 3 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method of forming the preformed body 3'. 3A and 3B are schematic views showing the formation of the preformed body 3'.

First, a sheet-like prepreg base 3a ₁ to 3 A _n, cut to a predetermined shape for forming the respective portions of the resin member 3 (cut) (Fig. 2: S11). It is also possible to prepare a pre-cut prepreg base 3a ₁ ~3a _n. Further, as a member for winding the prepreg, a jig 4 having an outer peripheral surface having the same shape as the resin member 3 is prepared. Although the jig 4 is shown in a plane in FIGS. 3A and 3B, it actually has a three-dimensional shape (substantially a rice ball shape).

Next, the prepreg base material 3a ₁ is wound around the surface of the jig 4 (in other words, it is arranged along the surface). For example, in FIG. 3A, the prepreg base material 3a ₁ is wound along the portion corresponding to the ridge line R. This is the innermost prepreg substrate. On top of that (outside), another prepreg base material 3a ₂ is wrapped around the surface of the jig 4 so that there is a portion that overlaps with the prepreg base material 3a ₁ . Similarly, the prepreg base material is sequentially wound from the inside on the opposite side (back side) of the drawing (FIG. 2: S12). In this way, the three-dimensional preformed body 3'is formed. Incidentally, parts of the ridge line R (site wound prepreg base 3a ₁ in Figure 3A) is the most prepreg base 3a ₁ to 3 A _n are laminated.

<About the mold>
After forming the preformed body 3', the preformed body 3'is molded into the resin member 3 using a mold.

Here, the mold used in this embodiment will be described. The mold used in this embodiment has a pair of upper and lower lower molds 10 and an upper mold 20. 4A to 4C are explanatory views of the configuration of the lower mold 10. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a perspective view, and FIG. 4C is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4A. 5A to 5C are explanatory views of the configuration of the upper mold 20. 5A is a plan view, FIG. 5B is a perspective view, and FIG. 5C is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5A. In addition, in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5B, in order to make it easy to understand the positional relationship of each part, the resin member 3 (preformed body 3') is shown in a state of being housed.

The lower mold 10 and the upper mold 20 each have a recessed portion 11 and a recessed portion 21 corresponding to the outer shape of the resin member 3 of the golf club head 1. The recessed portion 11 and the recessed portion 21 correspond to cavities. The recessed portion 11 of the lower mold 10 corresponds to the shape above the ridge line R of the resin member 3 (crown portion side), and the recessed portion 21 of the upper mold 20 is larger than the ridge line R of the resin member 3. It corresponds to the shape of the lower side (sole part side). In other words, the lower mold 10 is a mold that forms a portion above the ridge line R of the resin member 3, and the upper mold 20 is a mold that forms a portion below the ridge line R of the resin member 3. It is a mold. However, the arrangement is not limited to this, and the arrangement may be reversed. That is, the lower mold 10 may form the lower side of the resin member 3, and the upper mold 20 may form the upper side of the resin member 3. Further, at the end portion (lower end portion in FIG. 4A) of the lower mold 10, a recess portion 11a having a semicircular cross section continuous with the recess portion 11 is formed. Similarly, a recessed portion 21a having a semicircular cross section continuous with the recessed portion 21 is formed at the end portion (lower end portion in FIG. 5A) of the upper mold 20. By combining the recessed portion 11a and the recessed portion 21a, an intake port for an air feeding nozzle (hereinafter, also referred to as an internal pressure nozzle) to the bag-shaped elastic body 40 (described later) is configured.

(About the configuration of the lower mold 10)
As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the lower mold 10 has a packing 12 and a positioning pin 15 in addition to the recessed portions 11 and 11a described above.

The packing 12 is a member for sealing the inside of the mold when the lower mold 10 and the upper mold 20 are combined. The packing 12 is provided so as to surround the outside of the recessed portion 11 and the positioning pin 15 (also provided on the inner peripheral surface of the recessed portion 11a). Further, the packing 12 is provided so as to be located outside the suction port 23a (see FIG. 5A) of the upper mold 20 when the upper mold 20 is placed on the lower mold 10.

The packing 12 is provided so that a part of the packing 12 protrudes from the surface of the lower mold 10. Therefore, when the upper mold 20 is aligned with the lower mold 10, the packing 12 comes into contact with the facing surface (and the internal pressure nozzle) of the upper mold 20. As a result, the inside of the mold is sealed. In the present embodiment, a string-shaped packing 12 having a circular cross section is used, but the packing 12 is not limited to this. For example, the cross section may be rectangular.

The positioning pin 15 is for accurately aligning the lower mold 10 and the upper mold 20, and is formed so as to project from the upper surface of the lower mold 10. In the present embodiment, two positioning pins 15 are provided at positions (upper left and lower right in FIG. 4A) of sandwiching the recessed portion 11 of the lower mold 10 in a substantially diagonal direction. In the present embodiment, as described above, the packing 12 surrounds the outside of the positioning pin 15 (in other words, the positioning pin 15 is arranged inside the packing 12). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the positioning pin 15 may be arranged outside the packing 12.

(About the configuration of the upper mold 20)
As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the upper mold 20 has a packing 22, a suction port 23a, a vacuum nozzle installation port 23b, and a positioning hole 25 in addition to the recessed portions 21 and 21a described above.

The packing 22 is formed along the inner peripheral surface of the recess 21a and on an extension thereof. Like the packing 12, the packing 22 is provided so that a part of the packing 22 protrudes from the surface of the upper mold 20. Then, when the inner pressure nozzle is sandwiched between the recessed portion 11a and the recessed portion 21a and the lower mold 10 and the upper mold 20 are combined, the packing 12 and the packing 22 completely seal the periphery of the internal pressure nozzle. can do.

The suction port 23a is an opening for sucking air inside the cavity of the mold (the space formed by the recess 11 and the recess 21 in this embodiment). In the present embodiment, the suction port 23a is provided from the site of the ridge line R of the preform 3 '(most laminated sites prepreg base 3a ₁ ~3a _n) so as to suck the air. As a result, more air can be removed from the preformed body 3'.

The vacuum nozzle installation port 23b is a portion where a vacuum nozzle (hereinafter, also referred to as a vacuum nozzle) is installed. The vacuum nozzle installation port 23b communicates with the suction port 23a via an air flow path formed in the upper mold 20. Then, the vacuum nozzle (not shown) installed in the vacuum nozzle installation port 23b sucks the air inside the mold (inside the cavity) from the suction port 23a. In the present embodiment, the vacuum nozzle installation port 23b is provided on the forming surface of the recessed portion 21a, but the installation location of the vacuum nozzle installation port 23b is not limited to this, and the lower mold of the upper mold 20 is provided. Any surface other than the surface facing 10 may be used. The suction port 23a, the vacuum nozzle installation port 23b, and the vacuum nozzle correspond to the suction unit.

The positioning hole 25 is provided at a position corresponding to the positioning pin 15 of the lower mold 10 in a shape corresponding to (fitting) with the positioning pin 15. As a result, when the lower mold 10 and the upper mold 20 are aligned, the positioning pin 15 and the positioning hole 25 are fitted to each other, and misalignment can be suppressed.

<About mold molding>
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a molding method of the resin member 3 of the present embodiment. Further, FIGS. 7A to 7E are views showing a state of mold molding of the resin member 3.

First, as shown in FIG. 7A, the preformed body 3'removed from the jig 4 is set (arranged) in the recessed portion 11 of the lower mold 10 (FIG. 6: S21). Since the preformed body 3'is three-dimensionally formed, a part of the preformed body 3'projects upward from the lower mold 10. This portion will be accommodated in the recessed portion 21 of the upper mold 20 when the upper mold 20 is attached.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, a bag-shaped elastic body 40, an internal pressure nozzle (not shown), and the like are set inside the preformed body 3'(FIG. 6: S22). The bag-shaped elastic body 40 expands in a shape that approximates the shape of the inside of the mold cavity (in the present embodiment, the space formed by the recess 11 and the recess 21) by injecting air. If it is good. As the material of the bag-shaped elastic body 40, an elastic body such as synthetic rubber or silicon can be used. In this embodiment, air is introduced to expand the bag-shaped elastic body 40, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a liquid (water or the like) may be added to expand the bag-shaped elastic body 40.

After arranging the bag-shaped elastic body 40, as shown in FIG. 7C, the upper mold 20 is attached so as to face the lower mold 10. At this time, the two positioning pins 15 of the lower mold 10 and the two positioning holes 25 of the upper mold 20 are fitted to each other. As a result, the misalignment between the lower mold 10 and the upper mold 20 can be suppressed. The inside of the mold is sealed with packing 12 and packing 22. Therefore, the inside of the mold can be evacuated by sucking air from the suction port 23a with the vacuum drawing nozzle.

After the upper mold 20 is attached in this way, vacuum internal pressure molding is performed (FIG. 6: S23). Specifically, while sucking air with the vacuum nozzle, air is introduced into the bag-shaped elastic body 40 from the internal pressure nozzle, and the preformed body 3'is heated by the heating unit (not shown). The bag-shaped elastic body 40 swells due to the introduction of air and pushes the preformed body 3'outward. Then, the bag-shaped elastic body 40 presses the preformed body 3'to the recessed portion 11 of the lower mold 10 and the recessed portion 21 of the upper mold 20. As a result, the preformed body 3'is molded into a shape along the recessed portion 11 of the lower mold 10 and the recessed portion 21 of the upper mold 20. That is, the resin member 3 can be three-dimensionally molded, and the degree of freedom in designing the golf club head 1 can be increased.

The preformed body 3'formed by the prepreg of the thermosetting resin melts and becomes liquid (liquefaction) when heated, and causes a chemical reaction to cure when heated continuously. It is desirable that the evacuation by the vacuum nozzle is started when the preformed body 3'begins to liquefy. As a result, air can be removed efficiently. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the air is removed by vacuuming at the time of molding the resin member 3, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of voids and cracks and improve the strength of the resin member 3.

When the molding is completed, the upper mold 20 is removed as shown in FIG. 7D. Then, the bag-shaped elastic body 40 is removed (FIG. 6: S24).

Finally, as shown in FIG. 7E, the molded resin member 3 is removed from the lower mold 10 (FIG. 6: S25). Since the cured thermosetting prepreg does not return to a liquid state, the molded product can be taken out from the mold without cooling.

=== Other embodiments ===
The above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not for limiting the interpretation of the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes an equivalent thereof.

In the above-described embodiment, two pairs of upper and lower molds (lower mold 10 and upper mold 20) are used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and one mold may be used, or three or more molds may be used. It may be.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the suction port 23a and the vacuum nozzle installation port 23b are provided in the upper mold 20, but may be provided in the lower mold 10. In this case, it is desirable to evacuate from the site of the ridge line R (most laminated sites prepreg base 3a ₁ ~3a _n).

Further, the arrangement of the packing 12 of the lower mold 10 and the packing 22 of the upper mold 20 may be reversed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lower mold 10 is provided with the positioning pin 15 and the upper mold 20 is provided with the positioning hole 25, but the reverse may be performed. That is, the lower mold 10 may be provided with a positioning hole, and the upper mold 20 may be provided with a positioning pin. Further, in the present embodiment, two positioning pins 15 and two positioning holes 25 are provided, but the number may be three or more. For example, positioning pins 15 may be provided at the four corners of the lower mold 10, and positioning holes 25 may be provided at the four corners of the upper mold 20. By increasing the number of combinations of positioning pins and positioning holes, misalignment can be further suppressed. Further, the lower mold 10 may be provided with one or more positioning pins and one or more positioning holes, and the upper mold 20 may be provided with the corresponding positioning holes and positioning pins.

1 golf club head, 2 metal parts,
3 resin member, 3a ₁ to 3 A _n prepreg base,
3'pre-molded body, 4 jigs,
10 Lower mold, 11 Indentation, 11a Indentation,
12 packing, 15 positioning pin,
20 Upper mold, 21 Indentation, 21a Indentation,
22 Packing, 23a suction port, 23b vacuum nozzle installation port,
25 Positioning holes,
40 bag-shaped elastic body

Claims (3)

A method for manufacturing a golf club head having a resin member formed of a thermosetting prepreg and a metal member formed of a metal material and having a hollow inside.
A step of arranging a plurality of sheet-shaped prepregs along the surface of a jig so as to have overlapping portions to form a single preformed body of the resin member in three dimensions .
A step of arranging only the single preformed body removed from the jig and the single preformed body of the metal materials in the cavity of the mold.
The step of arranging the bag-shaped elastic body inside the single preformed body, and
While sucking the air in the cavity through the suction port , the bag-shaped elastic body is expanded to press the single preformed body into the cavity, and the single preformed body is heated. The process of molding the resin member and
Have a,
The suction port, the most common site of overlap of the prepreg of said single preform, so as to suck the air, a manufacturing method of the golf club head characterized that you have provided only one .. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 1.
When the preformed body begins to liquefy due to heating, suction of the air is started.
A method of manufacturing a golf club head, which is characterized in that. A golf club head manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the resin member of a golf club head having a hollow inside, including a resin member formed of a thermosetting prepreg and a metal member formed of a metal material.
A jig for three-dimensionally forming a single preformed body of the resin member by arranging the plurality of sheet-shaped prepregs along the surface so as to have overlapping portions.
A mold having a cavity in which only the single preformed body and the single preformed body of the metal materials are arranged, and
A suction unit that sucks air in the cavity,
A heating unit that heats the preformed body and
A bag-shaped elastic body that is placed inside the preformed body and expands to press the preformed body into the cavity.
With
The suction unit has only one suction port.
The suction port, said single from highest region of overlap of the prepreg of the preform manufacturing apparatus of the golf club head characterized that you have provided so as to suck the air.

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