JPH10155943A - Manufacture of golf club head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce manufacturing cost, easily apply elastic flexibility of a face member in hitting a ball, and improve flying distance of a ball. SOLUTION: A head 1 is formed by a face member 2 and a back member 3 joined to the rear side of the face member 2 to back up. The face member 2 is formed to be U-shaped in section so that the outer peripheral edge part 2b of the ball hitting surface 2a is bent backward in the ball hitting direction. The inner circumferential angular edge parts 2c of the face member 2 are made thinner by bending the peripheral edge part 11a of a uniform thickness plate raw material 11 blanked to a designated shape backward in the ball hitting direction by press working, and projecting the outer peripheral angular edge part 11b forward in the ball hitting direction in the expanded state, the expanded part 12 being cut and removed to be flush with the ball hitting surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head made of a metal material such as a wood club or an iron club, and more particularly, to an improvement in forming a thinner portion at an inner peripheral edge of a face member. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the elastic deflection at the time of hitting the ball can be easily provided, thereby improving the flight distance of the ball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a metal head for a golf club of this type, for example, a wood club, is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-88963 (hereinafter referred to as "prior art") which was previously filed and published by the present applicant. Has a configuration as disclosed in US Pat.

As shown in FIG. 12, such a wood club has a relatively thick wall-shaped face member b whose head a is bent rearward at the outer peripheral edge of the hitting surface, as shown in FIG.
A relatively thin back member c for backing up the rear side of the face member b is divided into a plurality of parts, and the members b and c are joined together by welding w to form a hollow outer shell structure.

The thick face member b promotes the elastic deflection of the ball striking surface at the time of hitting the ball by reducing the thickness of the inner peripheral corner, thereby enhancing the resilience characteristics of the ball, and The flight distance is improved.

[0005]

However, in forming the head a, particularly the face member b in the above-mentioned prior art, the inner peripheral angle of the face member b is determined by casting or forging a rolled material. Although it is possible to form the edge portion to be thin, in cast molding, fatal internal defects such as nests are likely to occur at the thin corner edge portion of the face member b and the strength is inferior. Is not suitable.

Moreover, in order to ensure sufficient strength, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the corner edge of the face member b, which is contrary to the purpose of obtaining an elastic deflection at the time of hitting a ball.

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

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head in which the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the face member can be easily elastically bent at the time of hitting a ball to improve the flight distance of the ball. It is to provide a manufacturing method of.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a face member having a U-shaped cross section in which an outer peripheral edge of a ball striking surface is bent rearward in a ball hitting direction. A back member for backing up the rear surface side, wherein the two members are joined to each other, and the inner peripheral edge of the face member is thinned. A step of bending the peripheral edge of the sheet metal material having the same thickness punched into a shape by pressing to the rear, and projecting the outer peripheral edge to the front in a bulging state; It is characterized by being formed in a step of cutting and removing a part of the thickness of the portion, and in this case, the bulging portion is cut and removed to be flush with the hitting surface.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings shown in FIGS.
FIGS. 1 to 7 show a first embodiment in which a wood club is used as an example of a golf club according to the present invention.

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

The face member 2 has a relatively thick U-shaped cross section in which the outer peripheral edge 2b of the hitting surface 2a is bent rearward in the hitting direction, and the inner peripheral edge 2b.
By reducing the thickness of c, the resilience characteristics of the ball due to the elastic deflection at the time of hitting the ball are improved.

On the other hand, the back member 3 is formed in a substantially semi-elliptical spherical shape, and has a configuration in which the back surface of the face member 2 is backed up.

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

Next, the bulging portion 12 is cut and removed by machine processing (milling) or polishing or the like so as to be flush with the surface of the sheet metal material 11 to be a hitting surface (see FIG. 7).
The inner peripheral corner portion 11c of the sheet metal material 11 is made thinner to form the face member 2 as shown in FIG.

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

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

In this case, the hollow portion formed by the face member 21 and the back member 31 of the head 1 is filled with a filler such as resin or metal as necessary, and the center of gravity and the hitting sound are adjusted. Is performed.

FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of an iron club as a golf club according to the present invention, which differs from an embodiment in which a back member 31 is embedded in a face member 21 of a head 1. The face member 2
It has a configuration in which a gap p is formed between the first member 1 and the back member 31.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a fourth embodiment of an iron club as a golf club according to the present invention.
And a fifth embodiment, respectively.
In this case, a gap p is formed between the face member 21 and the back member 31 at least in the upper and lower sides. It is formed partially or all around the top, bottom, left and right, and allows elastic deformation of the hitting surface 21a of the face member 21 at the time of hitting.

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a head member having a U-shaped cross section in which the outer peripheral edge of the hitting surface is bent rearward in the hitting direction, and a rear side of the face member Formed with the back member to back up,
These two members are joined together, and the inner peripheral edge of the face member is pressed and the peripheral edge of an equal thickness sheet metal material punched into a predetermined shape is pressed rearward in the hitting direction. Bending, the outer peripheral edge is projected in the bulging state forward in the hitting direction, and the bulging portion is cut and removed in a state flush with the hitting surface. It is possible to easily perform the thin-wall forming of the inner peripheral corner portion, and thus it is possible to easily impart elastic deformation of the face member at the time of hitting the ball.

Further, since the forming process of the face member is performed by plastic working by press and cutting by mechanical working or polishing, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

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

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

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the face member taken along line BB in FIG. 3;

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

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the same manufacturing process of the face member.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the same manufacturing process of the face member.

FIG. 8 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment in which an iron club head is used as an example of the golf club head according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment in which an iron club head is used as a golf club head according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing a fourth embodiment in which an iron club head is used as a golf club head according to the present invention;

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

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a conventional wood club head for golf.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head, 2 ... Face member, 2a ... Striking surface, 2b ... Outer peripheral edge, 2c ... Inner peripheral angular edge, 3 ... Back member, 11 ... Sheet metal material, 11a: peripheral edge, 11b: outer peripheral edge, 11c: inner peripheral edge, 12: bulging part, w: welded part.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A face member having a U-shaped cross section in which an outer peripheral edge of a ball striking surface is bent rearward in the ball striking direction, and a back member backing up a rear surface side of the face member, and these two members are joined to each other. And a method of manufacturing a golf club head in which the inner peripheral edge of the face member is thinned, wherein the face member is a peripheral edge of an equal thickness sheet metal material punched into a predetermined shape. Is formed by pressing a rearward portion by press working, and projecting the outer peripheral edge to a bulging state forward, and a process of cutting and removing a part of the thickness of the bulging portion. A method for producing a golf club head. 2. The golf club head manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the bulging portion is cut and removed so as to be flush with the hitting surface.