JPH11146934A - Club head for golf - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the repulsion characteristics for a ball when it is hit, improve a carry, and adjust a center of gravity position of a head and ball hitting sound easily by providing a plurality of long holes which are parallel mutually in a ball hitting part of the head molded by a metal powder injection molding means. SOLUTION: A head 1 of an iron club manufactured by a metal powder injection molding method is constituted in such a way that a ball hitting part 2 and a hosel part 3 are integrally formed by a metallic material such as, for example, titanium and titanium alloy and a recessed part 4 is formed on a back face 2b side thereof. Moreover, the ball hitting part 2 of the head 1 has a cross section of which wall thickness is gradually reduced from a top line 2A side on an upper side toward the vertical direction on a leading edge 2B side on a lower side. A plurality of long holes 5 which are along the horizontal direction are formed in parallel mutually across an interval in the vertical direction inside the ball hitting part 2. Moreover, a diameter of each long hole 5 is set in such a way that it is gradually reduced toward the leading edge 2B side on the lower side in accordance with the wall thickness form of the ball hitting part 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a golf club head manufactured by means of metal powder injection molding, and more particularly, to a trampoline effect on a ball at the time of hitting by modifying the internal structure of a hitting portion of the head. In addition to improving the resilience characteristics of the head, the flight distance is improved, and the position of the center of gravity of the head and the hitting sound can be easily adjusted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a golf club head of this kind, for example, an iron club head, titanium (T
i) Alternatively, using a desired metal base material such as a titanium alloy,
In addition to being formed by casting or forging, the hitting characteristics are improved by increasing the moment of inertia and the depth of the center of gravity by reducing the weight of the entire head, lowering the center of gravity, and distributing the peripheral weight.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional structure, in particular, in order to enhance the resilience characteristics of the ball at the time of hitting, the material and thickness of the head hitting portion are changed. At present, the surface rigidity is changed.

[0004] Further, since the head is formed by casting or forging, only a material having a material density of 100% can be obtained, resulting in inferior shot feeling and hitting sound, and restrictions on the mold and manufacturing method. Because of this, the degree of freedom such as head shape and wall thickness is low, and since post-processing such as grinding and polishing for adjusting dimensional accuracy and weight accuracy is required, manufacturing cost is high and quality is stabilized. do not do.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the resilience characteristics of a ball at the time of hitting the ball without changing the material and thickness of the head hitting portion, to improve the flight distance, and to adjust the position of the center of gravity of the head and the hitting sound. An object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head which can be easily performed.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of elongated holes parallel to each other in a hitting portion of a head formed by metal powder injection molding means. It is characterized by the following.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a golf club according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an iron club head manufactured by a metal powder injection molding method described later.

In the head 1, a ball portion 2 and a hosel portion 3 are integrally formed by a metal powder injection molding means, which will be described later, using a metal material such as titanium or a titanium alloy, and as shown in FIG. The back surface 2b side corresponding to the face surface 2a of the portion 2 has a cavity shape by forming the concave portion 4, and the sole surface 2c side has a relatively wide and thick bulging shape.

The hitting portion 2 of the head 1 is moved from the top line 2A on the upper side to the leading edge 2 on the lower side.
It has a gradually thinner cross section in the vertical direction (vertical direction) Y on the B side, and has a plurality of elongated holes 5 along the horizontal direction (lateral direction) X in the toe 2C / heel 2D side. Are provided in parallel with each other at a desired interval in the vertical direction Y, and the hole diameter of each of the elongated holes 5 is determined by the thickness of the hitting portion 2 on the side of the top line 2A on the upper side. Is formed so as to gradually decrease in diameter toward the lower leading edge 2B side.

By the way, the metal powder injection molding method is to granulate a kneaded material obtained by adding a binder such as water wax or resin to a fine metal powder material of, for example, 1 to 600 μm, preferably about 1 to 100 μm, and kneading the raw material. Granulating and pelletizing with a machine, supplying the pelletized molding material to an injection molding machine, fluidizing, and injecting and filling into a cavity of a molding die having a desired outer shape of a molded product. By molding a head green body having a desired product shape, heat treating the head green body to remove the binder, and sintering the head brown body after removing the binder to form a molded product. It is.

In this case, the head green body refers to a form in which the metal powder, binder, and moisture after injection molding are easily deformed and are in an unstable state, and the head brown body is the head green body. A form in which the body is heated and dried to remove water and is in a shape stable state.

[0012] Thus, the density of the head hitting portion 2 can be set and adjusted particularly in the range of 90% to less than 100% in order to easily control the material density during head molding.

That is, in order to manufacture the head 1 having the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, a metal such as titanium or a titanium alloy is placed in a cavity 11 of a molding die 10 having a predetermined head outer shape. A head molding material 20 made of a powder material is filled and injection molded to obtain a head green body 30 in a release state as shown in FIG.

Next, the release head green body 3
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of elongated holes 31 extending in the horizontal direction X from the toe 2C side portion side of the head 1 to the heel 2D portion side at a desired pitch in the vertical direction Y are formed in the portion 31 corresponding to the hitting portion 0 as shown in FIG. The head green body 30 after the drilling is heat-treated, sintered after removing the binder, and the sintered head sintered body is opened at the opening end side of the elongated hole 31. 1 and 2 to obtain a finished product of the head 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, whereby the head hitting portion 2 cannot be formed by conventional casting or forging. This enables the inside to be drilled and improves the head hitting characteristics.

At this time, in order to enhance the sinterability of the head green body 30, a small particle diameter powder is usually used as a powder raw material of the head molding material 20, but the powder raw material is As the raw material cost increases as the particle size becomes smaller, for example, a large particle size powder having a particle size of 100 μm or more is mixed with a small particle size powder having a particle size ratio of about 1/7 to the large particle size powder. If it is used, the gap between the large particle size powder can be filled with the small particle size powder, so that the sinterability of the head green body 30 during the heat treatment is not reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the powder raw material. It is possible to reduce the cost of the entire head by downing.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment according to the present invention, which has a structure in which a filler 6 is filled in an elongated hole 5 formed in a hitting portion 2 of the head 1. The position of the center of gravity of the head or the hitting sound can be adjusted by selecting the material of the filler 6.

In this case, the filler 6 is provided in each of the long holes 5.
For example, when the filler 6 is used for adjusting the position of the center of gravity of the head, the slot 5 on the upper side of the head hitting portion 2 is made hollow, and a part of the slot on the lower side is used. Filling 5 is suitable for lowering the center of gravity of the head.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment according to the present invention. In the hitting portion 2 of the head 1, a plurality of elongated holes 5 extending in the vertical direction Y are provided at appropriate intervals in the horizontal direction X. In this case, the diameter of each of the long holes 5 gradually decreases from the center of the hitting portion 2 toward the toe 2C and the heel 2D. It is preferable that the inertia moment be increased in such a manner as to increase the moment of inertia by distributing the peripheral weight.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the plurality of elongated holes 5 are provided substantially entirely along the horizontal direction X or the vertical direction Y in the hitting portion 2 of the head 1. Even if they cross obliquely or are provided within a limited range of the sweet spot range, the function and effect of the present invention can be sufficiently exhibited.

After the head green body 30 is formed, a plurality of elongated holes 31 are drilled.
In the cavity 11, a pin for forming a long hole is previously arranged, and simultaneously with the injection molding of the head green body 30, the long hole 31 is formed.
Can also be formed.

Furthermore, although an iron club has been described as an example of a golf club, the present invention can also be applied to a wood club, a putter club, and the like.

Furthermore, titanium (Ti) or a titanium alloy has been described as an example of a metal base material for forming the head 1, but iron (Fe), an iron alloy, and stainless steel (SU) have been described.
S) and the like are also suitably used.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since a plurality of long holes parallel to each other are provided in the hitting portion of the head, the rebound characteristics of the ball at the time of hitting by the trampoline effect are enhanced. It is possible to improve the flight distance without changing the material and thickness of the head hitting portion as before.

Further, by filling each elongated hole with a filler as needed, the position of the center of gravity of the head, the hitting sound, and the like can be easily adjusted.

Further, since the head is manufactured by the metal powder injection molding means, the molding process can be simplified, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the head shape and thickness can be reduced. The degree of freedom can be increased, the dimensional accuracy and the weight accuracy can be improved without requiring post-processing such as grinding and polishing as before, and the quality can be kept stable.

In addition, since the metal base material forming the head hitting portion has a porous structure containing ultra-fine bubbles, the elastic wave generated in the hitting portion is scattered by the micro-bubbles at the time of hitting, and is attenuated by interference. , This makes the shot feel softer,
High clear sounding hitting sound can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first view of a golf club head according to the present invention.
Explanatory drawing which shows the iron club head as embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an essential part taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a head molding step by the same metal powder injection molding means.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a portion corresponding to a head hitting portion of a head green body similarly molded by metal powder injection molding.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a hole is formed in the head green body.

FIG. 6 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a third embodiment according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head, 2 ... Hitting part, 2a ... Face surface, 2A ... Top line, 2B ... Leading edge, 2C ... Toe, 2D ... Heel, 5 ... Slot: 6: Filler, X: Horizontal direction (horizontal direction), Y: Vertical direction (vertical direction).

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A golf club head having a plurality of elongated holes parallel to each other formed in a hitting portion of a head formed by metal powder injection molding means. 2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein each of the long holes is provided along a toe-heel direction at a desired interval in a vertical direction of the head hitting portion. 3. Each of the elongated holes has a desired interval in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction provided along a vertical direction with a desired interval in a toe-heel direction of a head hitting portion. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein 4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the elongated holes are provided so as to cross each other. 5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein each of the long holes is provided within a sweet spot range. 6. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein each elongated hole is filled with a filler.