US20040043832A1

US20040043832A1 - Hollow golf club heads and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: US20040043832A1
Application number: US10/398,158
Authority: US
Inventors: Tae-Beum Lee; Sang Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-10-31
Filing date: 2001-09-19
Publication date: 2004-03-04
Also published as: EP1335780A1; AU2001292378A1; KR100380418B1; KR20020034257A; EP1335780A4; US20060085967A1; JP2004512871A; WO2002036212A1; CN1264582C; CN1476340A

Abstract

The present invention relates to the hollow golf club heads and manufacturing method thereof.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a hollow golf club head and the manufacturing method thereof. In detail, the present invention relates to the manufacturing method of the hollow golf club head comprising: molding a golf club head body, composed of a sole, a crown, and a hosel, out of light materials; molding a face out of heavy materials; and conjugating the face with the backside of the golf club head body, and the hollow golf club head manufactured by the method.

BACKGROUND ART

In conventional manufacturing methods of the hollow golf club head, components such as a face, a sole, a crown, and a hosel were processed into a built-in type by casting or forging and were conjugated by one of the processes among fusion welding, cold welding, brazing and so forth.

Moreover, recently the conjugating process of different materials that are excellent in the strength and the firmness is popularly utilized, for the purpose of improving the strength, the firmness and the characteristic of flying distance of the golf club.

Nevertheless, because of the disagreement in the coefficient of thermal expansion of different materials, conventional method of conjugating different materials have the problem, in that the fusion welding process and the cold welding process were impossible owing to melting step of the base metal in these processes.

Thereupon, the brazing process or the deformation process is commonly used in conjugating different materials.

Furthermore, such conventional conjugating methods of different materials are disadvantageous, in that the processes are complicated and the production cost is high and the goods made through the processes are inferior in the strength, the firmness and the flying distance, that the processes are not commonly used.

Accordingly, the present invention, made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art and focused on the convenience of riveting process in conjugating different materials, has an object to provide a hollow golf club head composed of a body which is molded out of light materials such as titanium, and a face which is molded out of heavy materials excellent in the strength and the firmness such as Aermet and Nitinol. Thereby, the face of the golf club head is improved in the firmness and the strength and the shot hit by the golf club head has the improved characteristics of flying distance and the direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above object, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0008]
FIG. 1 is a process diagram of an exemplary manufacturing method of the hollow golf club head according to the present invention; and, [0009]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary hollow golf club head and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention,[0010]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides the manufacturing method comprising: the riveting preparation step, in which the hollow golf club head body is made-up of a crown, a hosel, and a sole molded out of same material, and processed into a built-in type, and in which a face is molded out of different material; the gasket insertion step, in which the gasket is inserted between the face and the backside of the golf club head body; and the riveting conjugation step, in which the golf club head body, the face and the inserted gasket are conjugated by riveting. [0011]
Hereinafter, the present invention is described in detail with reference to exemplary illustrations, but by no means limited by the following illustrations. And present invention ranges over the slightly modified inventions compared with it. [0012]
The exemplary illustrations of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the following drawings. [0013]
FIG. 1 is a process diagram of an exemplary manufacturing method, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of riveting conjugation process of the golf club head body and the face molded out of different material from the golf club head body, according to the exemplary illustration of the present invention. [0014]
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the manufacturing method of the hollow golf club head according to the present invention comprises: the riveting preparation step, in which the hollow golf club head body is made-up of a crown, a hosel, and a sole molded out of same material, and is processed into a built-in type, and a face is molded out of different material from the golf club head body; the gasket insertion step, in which the gasket is inserted between the face and the backside of the golf club head body; and the riveting conjugation step, in which the golf club head body, the face and the inserted gasket are conjugated by riveting. [0015]
Hereinafter, the manufacturing processes, of the hollow golf club head according to the present invention, are respectively described in detail. [0016]
Riveting Preparation Step (S[0017] 1)
The hosel ([0018] 33), the sole (32), and the crown (31) is molded out of conventionally used light materials such as titanium and they are processed into a built-in type golf club head body.
Sticking a weight, molded out of copper or tungsten, to the hosel sets the centroid of the golf club head back, and thereby the characteristic of flying distance of the golf club head can be improved. [0019]
Moreover, the face, which has the function of stroke plate as the most important part of the golf club head, is molded out of aerospace materials such as Aermet and Nitinol that has high strength and high firmness. [0020]
On the golf club head body and the face manufactured through the above processes, drilling holes the riveting portion, for the purpose of minimizing the damage on the materials, and the diameter of the drilled holes are is preferably larger than the general, and during drilling the taper, having the appointed degree, is prepared for the convenience of riveting process. [0021]
Gasket Insertion Step (S[0022] 2)
As shown in FIG. 2, by riveting after inserting a gasket between the backside ([0023] 70) of the golf club head body and the face (40), the outbreak of a gap between the face and the backside of the golf club head body can be prevented in advance, and the effects of impact adsorption and the violation isolation are obtained.
The inserted gasket ([0024] 40) is molded out of commonly used materials such as copper and the shape memory alloy, which are excellent in the impact resistance and the violation isolation.
The gasket insertion step can be omitted, if the reliable sealing effect between the face and the backside of the golf club head body can be guaranteed. [0025]
Riveting Conjugation Step (S[0026] 3)
After inserting the gasket between the face ([0027] 50) and the backside (70) of the golf club head body (30), the rivets (15) are pierced through the rivet hole in accordance with the axial direction and thereafter riveting process is accomplished.
The mechanical characteristics of the hollow golf club head of the present invention are described in detail with reference to Table 1. [0028]
Compared with the golf club heads manufactured through the conventional manufacturing processes such as brazing and plastic deformation, the golf club head including a face molded out of titanium has the volume of 260˜320 cc, the strength of 1.0˜1.3 Gpa, and the firmness of HRc30. Besides, the golf club head including a face molded out of the high strength alloy has the volume of 200˜250 cc, the strength of 1.5˜2.0 Gpa, and the firmness of HRc45˜55. [0029]
Grafted with the merits of the golf club heads which are made of titanium and the high strength alloy, the golf club head according to the present invention has the volume of 260˜320 cc, the strength of 1.5˜2.0 Gpa, and the firmness of HRc45˜55. [0030]
Moreover, in an aspect of the flying distance ratio, the golf club head including the face molded out of titanium has the ratio of 100%, but the golf club head including the face molded out of the high strength alloy has the ratio of 120%. [0031]

The golf club head processed through the manufacturing processes of the present invention provides the flying distance ratio of 120%.



	Conventional products	Products of the

Division	Titanium alloy	The high strength alloy	present invention

Volume	260˜320	200˜250	260˜300
Flying	100	120˜130	120˜130
distance
ratio
Strength	1.0˜1.3	1.5˜2.0	1.5˜2.0
of face
Firmness
	30	45˜55	45˜55
of face

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, riveting process of conjugating different materials of the present invention makes the manufacturing processes convenient and lower the manufacturing cost, and thereby it enables mass production of the hollow golf club heads. Since the body is molded out of commonly used light materials such as titanium alloy and the face out of particularly strong and firm materials such as Aermet and Nitinol, the hollow golf club head of the present invention has a large volume and improved in the strength and the firmness. Moreover, the flying distance and the accuracy in direction are improved. The hollow golf club head of the present invention is thus highly applicable in the golf club heads manufacturing industrial field. [0033]

Claims

1. A manufacturing method of a hollow golf club head comprising:

molding a golf club head body (30), composed of a crown (31), a sole (32), and a hosel (33) that are molded out of light materials such as titanium;

molding a face (50) out of particularly strong and firm materials such as Aermet and Nitinol; and,

conjugating the face with the golf club head body by a combining means able at installation and desorption.

2. The manufacturing method of a hollow golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the combining means is chose among insert rivets, metal screws, and screws.

3. The manufacturing method of a hollow golf club head, according to claim 1, comprising:

riveting preparation step (S1), in which the golf club head body (30) is molded out of light materials such as titanium, and the face (50) out of particularly strong materials such as Aermet and Nitinol;

gasket insertion step (S2), in which a gasket (40) is inserted between the face (50) and the backside of the golf club head body (30); and,

riveting conjugation step (S3), in which the face (50), the gasket (40), and the golf club head body (30) is conjugated by rivets (15) or metal screws.

4. A hollow golf club head manufactured by the method according to claim 1.