JPH08155059A - Head of golf club and its weight adjustment method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable a player to easily and finely adjust a head weight without impairing the appearance of a head and to surely increasing a driving distance without giving an odd feel to the player. CONSTITUTION: Metallic powder and granular materials 24 are enclosed into the hollow head 12 by the amt. at which these materials occupy only a part of its internal space, by which the weight over the entire part of the head is made adjustable and the repulsive force of a face 14 at the time of impact is enhanced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hollow golf club head and a weight adjusting method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Golf club heads, particularly metal wood heads, are generally hollow and
Attempts have been made to effectively utilize this space inside the head.

For example, there is known a hollow head in which a plurality of metal balls are housed in the inner space. According to this head, in addition to the repulsive force due to the elastic deformation of the face caused by the collision with the ball at the moment of impact, the repulsive force is increased by the impact of the ball hitting the face from the back side by the inertial force. It is said that the distance can be increased.

[0004]

Since the above-mentioned head accommodates balls having a relatively large diameter, each ball dances and sounds when the club is swung, which gives the player a feeling of strangeness. Further, the movement direction of the balls may change due to the collision of the balls, and the certainty of the balls to hit the back face of the face is not certain. Further, it is possible to adjust the weight of the head, that is, balance adjustment of the golf club by changing the number of the balls accommodated, but since each ball is large, the head weight is significantly increased by increasing or decreasing the number of balls by one. It will change. Therefore, fine adjustment of the head weight cannot be expected.

The weight can be adjusted on the user side by appropriately attaching and detaching the weight to and from the head, but such attachment of the weight causes a deterioration in the appearance of the head. In addition, since the weight changes greatly when the weight is attached or detached, it is difficult to finely adjust the weight.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention makes it possible to easily finely adjust the weight without impairing the appearance of the head, and to surely increase the flight distance without making the player feel uncomfortable. To provide a head and a weight adjusting method thereof.

[0007]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a method for adjusting the weight of a hollow golf club head, in which the weight is adjusted in the head space before use. The metal powder particles are enclosed in an amount that occupies only a part of the space (Claim 1).

Further, according to the present invention, in a golf club head formed in a hollow shape, a metal powder granule inlet / outlet for communicating the inside of the head with the outside of the head is formed in the wall of the head, and the metal powder is also used. The present invention is provided with a closing member which is configured to be attachable / detachable to / from the granular material inlet / outlet and which closes the metallic powder / granular material inlet / outlet in a mounted state (claim 3).

Here, it is more preferable that the inlet / outlet of the metal powder is provided at or near the rear end of the head (claim 4).

Further, according to the present invention, in the above head, metal powder particles are enclosed in the head space in an amount that occupies only a part of the space (claim 5).

Here, as the metal powder particles, heavy metal powder particles are preferable (claims 2 and 6).

Further, the inner bottom surface of the rear end of the head is made higher than the lower end of the face at the front end of the head (Claim 7), or a pair of left and right powder particles having a shape in which the distance between them is reduced toward the rear inside the head. By forming a body guiding surface and setting an intermediate position between the two powder and granular material guiding surfaces at the rear end of the head to a position substantially behind the sweet spot (claim 8),
More excellent effects as described below can be obtained.

[0013]

According to the method of claim 1, before the golf club is used, the metal powder particles are enclosed in the head space in an amount that occupies only a part of this space. By setting the amount of granules enclosed, the head weight can be adjusted extremely finely without impairing the external appearance, and the balance of the golf club can be idealized.

More specifically, in the golf club head according to a third aspect of the present invention, the closing member is removed from the entrance / exit of the metal powder / granule, and an appropriate amount of the metal powder / granule is put into the entrance / exit of the metal powder / granule, and then the metal By mounting the closing member on the entrance / exit of the powder or granular material, the metal powder or granular material can be confined in the head space. Here, if the metal powder granule entrance / exit is formed in the vicinity of the face, the presence of the metal powder granule entrance / exit may affect the ball striking state of the face. If the metal powder granule inlet / outlet is formed at the rear end of the head or in the vicinity thereof, this is not a concern.

Further, according to the head of the golf club (the head according to claim 5) in which the metal powder is enclosed in an amount that occupies only a part of the space as described above, the downswing just before the impact from the swing top. At that time, the metal powder is pressed against the rear end of the head as the head accelerates,
After that, at the moment of impact, the metal powder particles jump out forward from the rear end of the head due to the rapid deceleration of the head, and collide with the back surface of the face. That is, the metal powder particles push back the face that collides with the ball due to this impact and tries to be recessed inward from the back side, whereby the repulsive force of the face is significantly increased and the flight distance is increased.

Moreover, unlike the conventional case where a ball having a relatively large diameter is accommodated in the head, even if the metal powder particles move in the head when the club is shaken, almost no sound is generated due to this. It does not make the player feel uncomfortable. Further, the metal powder particles lump together and rush toward the back surface of the face from the rear end of the head, and hit the back surface of the face to explode, so that the back surface of the face is reliably hit.

Particularly, in the head according to claim 7, since the inner bottom surface of the head rear end is higher than the face lower end of the head front end, the inner bottom surface of the head rear end has the same height as the face lower end of the head front end. Compared with the case (that is, the case where the inner bottom surface is flat), the height position at which the metal powder particles jumping from the rear end of the head collide with the back surface of the face is closer to the sweet spot, and the effect of increasing the flight distance is significant.

In the head according to the present invention, the metal powder or granular material is guided to the guide surfaces of both powder and granular materials at the time of downswing, and the position between the guide surfaces of both powder and granular materials (that is, the sweet spot) is provided at the rear end of the head. It is collected at a position near the rear) and jumps from this position to the back surface of the face at the time of impact, so the left and right positions at which this metal powder hits the back surface of the face are close to the sweet spot, and the effect of increasing the flight distance is significant. .

The specific material of the metal powder or granular material is not particularly limited, but if the specific gravity is small, a large amount of metal powder or granular material must be enclosed in the head, and the remaining space in the head is reduced accordingly. Narrowing reduces the amount of movement of metal powder particles at impact, reducing the effect of increasing flight distance. Therefore, it is more preferable that the metal powder particles are made of a heavy metal (generally, a metal having a specific gravity of 4 or more) (claims 2 and 6).

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a head 12 is integrally connected to the tip of the club shaft 10, and a face 14 is formed at the front end of the head 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a), the head 12 is hollow and has a screw hole 16 at its rear end (or in the vicinity thereof) that penetrates the head wall and communicates the inside and outside thereof. Has been formed. A screw 18 can be screwed into the screw hole 16 (that is, detachable), and the inside of the head 12 is sealed with the screw 18 mounted.

The sole 19 of the head 12 is flat from the lower end of the face 14 to the rear end of the head, and a floor plate 20 is formed above the sole 19. The floor plate 20 rises upward in the head from a position slightly behind the lower end of the face 14 in the sole 19 and reaches the rear end of the head. The upper surface of the rear end portion of the floor plate 20 is higher than the upper surface of the sole 19. The height is increased by a predetermined dimension h. It is more preferable to set the predetermined dimension h to be substantially equal to the distance from the lower end of the face 14 to the sweet spot.

Further, on the floor plate 20, a pair of powdery or granular material guide plates 22 are formed at substantially symmetrical positions on the left and right sides. These powdery or granular material guide plates 22 extend from the middle part of the side wall of the head 12 to the rear end of the head, and the distance between the powdery or granular material guide plates 22 decreases as the head rear end is approached. Then, both the granular material guide plates 22 at the rear end of the head
An intermediate position between them is set to a position substantially behind the sweet spot on the face 14.

The floor plate 20 and the guide plates 2 for both powders and granules are also provided.
2 can be simultaneously formed integrally with the head main body when the head 12 is manufactured by casting. Also, FIG.
The sole 19 shown in (a) may be omitted and the floor plate 20 may be used as it is as shown in (b) of the figure, or the wall thickness of the sole 19 may be increased at the rear end of the head and the inside of the head may be increased at this rear end. The bottom surface may be raised. Similarly, the outer wall of the head outside the powder guide plate 22 may be omitted and the powder guide plate 22 itself may be used as the outer wall of the head. The body guiding surface may be formed.

Next, a method for adjusting the weight of the head 12 (that is, a method for adjusting the balance of the golf club) will be described.

First, remove the screw 16 from the screw hole 18,
Through the screw hole 18, the metal powder particles 24 are introduced into the head 12.
Insert The particle size of the metal powder 24 is preferably 1.0 μm or less, and as a material, a material having a large specific gravity, a high hardness, an oxidation resistance, an acid resistance, and a heat resistance is more preferable. Specifically, tungsten, molybdenum, or the like is suitable.

The amount of the metal powder particles 24 may be set to an amount corresponding to the desired head weight, but the amount of the metal powder particles 24 occupies only a part of the space of the head 12 (that is, the head). (Less than the amount that completely fills 12). In reality, since the correction amount of the head weight is extremely small (generally 10 g to 30 g), if the specific gravity of the metal powder particles 24 is large, the purpose can be achieved by inserting a small amount thereof. After that, by screwing the screw 16 into the screw hole 18 and mounting it, and more preferably by sealing with an adhesive or the like,
The metal powder particles 24 can be enclosed in the head 12.

The enclosing work of the metal powder 24 is as follows.
This may be performed by the manufacturer in advance, or the empty head 12 and the metal powder particles 24 may be commercially available, and the user may appropriately perform the adjustment work.

According to such a method, the metal powder particles 24
The weight of the head 12 can be adjusted extremely delicately only by setting the amount of the enclosure, and the adjustment can be freely performed by the user. Further, by using the head 12 in which an appropriate amount of the metal powder particles 24 is enclosed in this way, the flight distance is greatly increased by the following principle.

First, after taking back using a club having the head 12, the swing top (point A in FIG. 4) is used.
Head 12 is significantly accelerated during the downswing from immediately before impact (point B in the figure),
The inner metal powder particles 24 are pressed against the rear end of the head by the inertial force in the circumferential direction, and the floor plate 20 is pressed by the centrifugal force in the radial direction.
It is pressed upward (state of FIG. 1 (a)).

Next, at the moment of impact when the face 14 hits the ball 26, the face 14 is elastically deformed inward by the impact, and the head peripheral speed is rapidly lowered, so that the metal powder particles 24 are moved forward by inertial force. Jumps out (state shown in FIG. 7B). Then, the metal powder particles 24 hit the back surface of the face 14 and explode, so that the face 14 that tends to be recessed inward is pushed back from the back side. As a result, the repulsive force of the face 14 against the ball 26 is increased, and the flight distance is increased accordingly.

Here, when the enclosed material in the head 12 is a ball having a relatively large diameter as in the conventional case, the ball dances in the head 12 at the time of takeback, waggle or the like. A loud sound may be generated, which may give the player a feeling of strangeness. However, in the present invention, since the enclosed material is the metal powder particles 24, the sound caused by the movement thereof is hardly generated, and the player may feel the feeling of strangeness. Absent.

Further, in the head containing the balls, at the time of impact, the balls may collide with each other and the direction in which they fly out may change, so that all the balls may not contribute to the impact of the face 14, but the contents are metal powder particles. If the powder is the body 24, the entire body will rush toward the face 14 as a whole, so that the repulsive force of the face 14 can be further increased. In particular, when a heavy metal (generally a metal having a specific gravity of 4 or more) is used as the metal powder particles 24, the enclosed amount (volume amount) of the metal powder particles 24 can be small, and the head 12 can be used accordingly. Since the remaining space inside is widened and the movement amount of the metal powder particles 24 at the time of impact becomes large, the effect of increasing the flight distance becomes more remarkable.

Further, in this embodiment, since the floor plate 20 is provided in the head 12 and the inner bottom surface of the head rear end, which is the upper surface of the floor plate 20, is made higher than the lower end of the face 14 at the front end of the head, the rear end is formed. Compared with the case where the inner bottom surface is at the same height as the lower end of the face (that is, the case where the floorboard 20 is not present), the metal powder particles 24 protruding from the rear end of the head are face 14
The height position where it hits the back surface of the is closer to the sweet spot, and the effect of increasing the flight distance is increased accordingly. In particular, when the dimension h from the lower end of the face 14 to the upper surface of the rear end of the floor plate 20 is set to be substantially equal to the dimension from the lower end of the face 14 to the sweet spot, the metal powder particles 24 hit the sweet spot with a high probability and fly distance. The increasing effect can be made more remarkable.

Further, since the granular material guide plates 22 are provided on the right and left sides, the metallic granular material 24 is guided by both the granular material guide plates 22 at the time of downswing, and the both granular material guide plates 22 are provided at the rear end of the head. These metal powder particles 2 are collected at a position between them (that is, at a position substantially behind the sweet spot) and fly out from this position to the back surface of the face at the time of impact.
The left and right positions where 4 hits the back surface of the face are closer to the sweet spot, and the effect of increasing the flight distance is increased accordingly.

Actually, in a predetermined golf club (titanium head: Mitsuno titanium head 110, shaft: Honma boron shaft M50, club length: 44 inches),
Mesh # 80-150 (particle size 8.0-
0.4 μm) Tungsten powder (specific gravity 19.3) 10
After hitting with 30 g, it was confirmed that the flight distance was increased by about 5% as compared with the case where the powder was not added.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the method of claim 1, before the golf club is used, the metal powder particles are enclosed in the head space in an amount that occupies only a part of this space. There is an effect that the head weight can be easily adjusted and finely adjusted without deteriorating the appearance only by setting the enclosing amount of the granules.

Further, since the whole of the head is not filled with the metal powder particles, the head provided with the metal powder particle inlet / outlet and the closing member like the head of the golf club according to claim 3 has the metal powder particles. The user can freely adjust the weight by removing the blocking member from the body inlet / outlet, inserting an appropriate amount of metal powder / granule from the metal powder / granular inlet / outlet, and then attaching the blocking member to the metal powder / granular inlet / outlet.

Here, in the head according to the fourth aspect, since the entrance / exit of the metal powder or granular material is formed at or near the rear end of the head, the existence of the entrance / exit of the metal powder or granular material affects the ball hitting state of the face. There is almost no danger of giving a good impact, and a good impact can be guaranteed.

According to the golf club head (head according to claim 5) in which the metal powder is enclosed in an amount that occupies only a part of the space as described above (head according to claim 5), the ball collides with the ball at impact and is directed to the inside. By pushing back the face to be recessed from the back side with the metal powder, the repulsive force of the face can be remarkably increased and the flight distance can be increased. Moreover, unlike the conventional case where a ball having a relatively large diameter is housed in the head, even if the metal powder particles move inside the head when the club is shaken, almost no sound is generated due to this, and the player feels uncomfortable. Never give. In addition, the metal powder particles fly together from the rear end of the head toward the back surface of the head and hit the back surface of the head to explode, so that the back surface of the face can be reliably hit and the repulsive force can be increased.

In particular, when heavy metal particles are used as the metal powder particles as claimed in claims 2 and 6, a small amount (volume) of the metal powder particles can be enclosed, and the remaining amount in the head can be reduced accordingly. The space becomes wider and the amount of movement of the metal powder particles at the time of impact increases, which makes the effect of increasing the flight distance more remarkable.

Further, in the head according to claim 7, since the inner bottom surface of the head rear end is made higher than the face lower end of the head front end, the height at which the metal powder or granules protruding from the head rear end hits the back surface of the face. The position can be brought closer to the sweet spot, and the effect of increasing the flight distance can be enhanced accordingly.

Further, in the head according to the eighth aspect, a pair of left and right powdery or granular material guide surfaces having a shape in which the distance between them is reduced toward the rear are formed inside the head, and both powdery particles at the rear end of the head are formed. Since the intermediate position between the body guide surfaces is set to a position approximately behind the sweet spot, the left and right positions at which the metal powder particles hit the back surface of the face can be brought closer to the sweet spot, and the effect of increasing the flight distance by that amount Can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a sectional plan view showing a state inside a head during a downswing according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state inside the head at impact.

2A is a sectional side view of the head, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view showing a modified example of the head.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the head.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a swing using a golf club having the head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 head 14 face 16 screw (closure member) 18 screw hole (metal powder granule entrance / exit) 20 floor plate 22 powder granule guide plate 24 metal powder granule 26 ball

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A method for adjusting the weight of a hollow golf club head, comprising the step of enclosing the metal powder particles in the head space in an amount that occupies only a part of this space before use. A method for adjusting the weight of a head of a characteristic golf club. 2. The golf club head weight adjusting method according to claim 1, wherein heavy metal powder particles are used as the metal powder particles. 3. In a hollow golf club head, a metal powder / granule inlet / outlet is formed on a wall of the head for communicating the space of the head with the outside of the head, and the metal powder / granule inlet / outlet is also provided. A head of a golf club, which is configured to be attachable to and detachable from, and has a closing member that closes the entrance and exit of the metal powder body in the mounted state. 4. The head of a golf club according to claim 3, wherein the metal powder / granule inlet / outlet is provided at or near the rear end of the head. 5. The golf club head according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the metal powder particles are enclosed in the head space in an amount that occupies only a part of the space. 6. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the metal powder particles are heavy metal powder particles. 7. The golf club head according to claim 3, wherein an inner bottom surface of the head rear end is higher than a face lower end of the head front end. 8. The head of a golf club according to claim 3, wherein a pair of left and right powdery or granular material guide surfaces are formed in the head so that the distance between them becomes smaller toward the rear. A golf club head, characterized in that an intermediate position between the two guide surfaces for the granular material at the rear end of the head is set to a position substantially behind the sweet spot.