JP2019103891A - Golf club head - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a golf club head enabling providing a low rigidity part in a desired position in a face part.SOLUTION: Low rigidity parts 11-18 are provided in a face part 2 of a golf club head 1 integrally formed by metal. The low rigidity parts 11-18 and a high rigidity part 19 are equal in thickness. The low rigidity parts 11-18 are provided with a large number of hollow space parts 10. The face part 2 is produced by molding a face part blank 5P or 5P' having many holes 9 and 9' by a metal powder molding method followed by pressing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a golf club head, and more particularly to a hollow golf club head.

  A hollow metal head is widely used as a golf club head such as a driver or a fairway wood. Generally, a hollow wood type golf club head has a face portion for hitting a ball, a crown portion which constitutes a top surface portion of the golf club head, a sole portion which constitutes a bottom surface portion of the golf club head, and a golf club It has a side portion that constitutes a toe side, a back side, and a heel side surface portion of the head, and a hosel portion. A shaft is inserted into the hosel portion and fixed by an adhesive or the like. Recently, many golf clubs called utility clubs are also commercially available, and one type of utility golf club is similar to the wood type golf club head described above (ie, face portion, sole portion, side portion, and the like). Various golf clubs having hollow heads (having a crown portion and a hosel portion) are also commercially available.

  Aluminum alloys, stainless steels and titanium alloys are used as the metal constituting the hollow golf club head, but in particular, titanium alloys are widely used in recent years.

  As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is known to make the thickness of the central portion of the face portion larger than that of the peripheral portion.

  Patent Document 3 describes a golf club head provided with a large number of cells in a face plate.

  Patent Documents 4 and 5 describe that stress analysis of a golf club head is analyzed by simulation using a finite element method.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-45445 JP, 2013-234, A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-526366 JP, 2006-181189, A Patent No. 5009525

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head capable of providing a low rigidity portion at a desired position of the face portion.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head in which the entire face portion has the same rigidity and the overall coefficient of restitution becomes constant.

  A golf club head according to a first aspect of the present invention is a hollow golf club head having a face portion, a sole portion, a crown portion and a hosel portion, wherein the face portion comprises a first rigid portion having a first rigidity, a material, a thickness Is characterized in that it has at least two different parts of rigidity with a second rigid part which is identical to the first rigid part but which is less rigid than the first rigid part.

  In one aspect of the first invention, the face portion is pressed.

  In one aspect of the first aspect of the present invention, the face portion is constituted by one seamless member.

  In one aspect of the first invention, the golf club head is constituted by one seamless member.

  In one aspect of the first invention, the second rigid portion has a porous shape.

  In one aspect of the first invention, the second rigid portion is hollow.

  In one aspect of the first invention, the second rigid portion has a rigidity of 60 to 90% of the first rigid portion.

  A golf club head according to a second aspect of the present invention is a hollow golf club head having a face portion, a sole portion, a side portion, a crown portion and a hosel portion, wherein the face portion has a first thickness portion having a first thickness. , At least two different portions of thickness with a second thickness portion having a second thickness different from the first thickness, and the rigidity of the first thickness portion and the second thickness portion is the same It is characterized by a certain thing.

  In one aspect of the second invention, the rigidity of the entire face portion is the same. In one aspect of the second invention, the strength of the first and second thickness portions is minimized.

In the present invention, the same rigidity means that the rigidity is substantially the same. Specifically, when the rigidity of a part is K ₁ and the rigidity of the other part is K ₂ , the difference in rigidity (K ₁ -K ₂ ) is the average rigidity value of both (K ₁ + K) If 10% or less of 2 ₂ ) / 2, K ₁ and K ₂ are defined as identical. Also regarding the thickness, if the difference (T ₁ −T ₂ ) between the thickness T _{1 of one} part and the thickness T ₂ of the other part is 10% or less of (T ₁ + T ₂ ) / 2, T ₁ And T ₂ are defined to be identical.

  In the golf club head according to the first aspect of the present invention, the face portion is provided with the second rigid portion having the same material and thickness as the first rigid portion but having lower rigidity than that of the first rigid portion. The design can be performed in which the parts are disposed at desired positions.

  In the golf club head according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the rigidity is the same between the first thickness portion and the second thickness portion of the face portion, the entire face portion has the same rigidity and the entire coefficient of restitution is made constant. be able to.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS (a) is a perspective view of the golf club head based on Embodiment of 1st invention, (b) is the front view. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in alignment with the III-III line of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the face part base plate before press processing. It is sectional drawing of the face part base plate before press processing. 1 is a front view of a golf club head according to an embodiment of the first invention. 1 is a front view of a golf club head according to an embodiment of the first invention. It is a front view of the golf club head which concerns on embodiment of 2nd invention. It is the IX-IX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a golf club head according to another embodiment of the first invention.

  Hereinafter, a golf club head according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The golf club head 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a hollow driver head having a face portion 2, a sole portion 3, a side portion 4, a crown portion 5 and a hosel portion 6. The golf club head 1 is integrally formed of metal. Although titanium, a titanium alloy, an aluminum alloy, stainless steel etc. are illustrated as this metal, a titanium alloy is suitable. A decorative material or name plate made of synthetic resin, rubber, elastomer or the like may be provided on a part of the golf club head 1, for example, the sole portion or the side portion.

  The face portion 2 is a surface that strikes a ball. The sole portion 3 constitutes a bottom portion of the golf club head, and the crown portion 5 constitutes an upper surface portion of the golf club head. The side portion 4 connects the sole portion 3 and the crown portion 5 and extends from the toe side through the back side to the heel side. A shaft is fixed to the hosel portion 6.

  In this embodiment, low rigidity portions (second rigid portions) 11 to 14 and 15 to 18 are provided on the toe side 2t and the heel side 2h of the face portion 2, respectively. Other than the low rigidity portions 11 to 18, high rigidity portions (first rigid portions) 19 are formed.

  The thickness t of the face portion 2 is the same in any of the low rigidity portions 11 to 18 and the high rigidity portion 19. The central portion 2m of the face portion 2 is also equal in thickness to the toe 2t and the heel 2h.

  The face portion 2 is made of the same material (for example, a titanium alloy) as a whole. The low stiffness portions 11 to 18 have the same thickness as the high stiffness portion 19 but have a smaller rigidity than the high stiffness portion 19 due to the void portion 10. The stiffness of the low stiffness portion 11-18 is preferably 60 to 90%, in particular 65 to 85%, of the stiffness of the high stiffness portion 19.

  In this embodiment, the cavity 10 has a flat disk shape. The diameter of the cavity portion 10 in a state where the face portion 2 is viewed from the front is preferably 0.5 mm or more, particularly 1 mm or more, and 10 mm or less, particularly 5 mm or less. The thickness of the cavity portion 10, that is, the dimension in the thickness t direction of the face portion 2 is preferably 10% or more, particularly 20% or more, and 50% or less, particularly 30% or less of the thickness t of the face portion 2.

  The low rigidity portions 11 to 18 are formed by arranging the plurality of vacant spaces 10 at intervals in the toe-heel direction. The arrangement pitch a in the toe-heel direction between the vacant spaces 10, 10 is preferably 0.5 mm or more, particularly 1 mm or more, and 30 mm or less, particularly 10 mm or less.

  The low rigidity portions 11 to 14 and 15 to 18 are provided in four rows in this embodiment, but may be three rows or less, or five rows or more. When a plurality of low rigidity portions are provided, the arrangement pitch b of the low rigidity portions in the crown-sole direction is preferably 1 mm or more, particularly 3 mm or more, and 20 mm or less, particularly 30 mm or less. Similar low stiffness portions may also be provided on the crown portion.

  The length in the toe-heel direction of the low rigidity portions 11 to 18 is preferably 3 mm or more, particularly 5 mm or more, and 30 mm or less, particularly 20 mm or less.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this empty space portion 10 press-processes (including rolling and forging) the face portion base plate 5P or 5P 'having holes 9 or 9' of an arbitrary shape. It is formed by Although the holes 9 of the face portion base plate 5P have a uniform diameter, the diameters of the holes 9 'of the face portion base plate 5P' are distributed in a large and small manner. When the face part base plate 5P is pressed, the cavity part 10 has a uniform size. When the face portion base plate 5P 'is pressed, the size of the cavity portion 10 has a large and small distribution. In addition, while being thin-walled by pressing, in a solid part (highly rigid part 19), intensity | strength increases by work hardening. Since the thickness can be reduced by the increase in strength, the weight can be reduced as a result.

  In the golf club head 1 configured as described above, the face portion 2 has the same thickness as a whole, and low rigidity portions 11 to 18 are provided on the toe side 2t and the heel side 2h of the face portion 2 Since the golf ball is hit, the toe side 2t and the heel side 2h of the face portion 2 are easily bent. Therefore, when a golf ball is hit with the golf club head 1, the initial velocity of the golf ball is increased, and the flight distance is increased.

  In the above embodiment, the shape, size, and distribution of the cavity portion 10 can be arbitrarily determined by using the face portion base plates 5P and 5P ′ having the holes 9 or 9 ′ having a desired shape or size. It is possible to easily manufacture various golf club heads in which the ease of bending on the toe side 2t and the heel side 2h of the face portion 2 is as desired.

  In the above embodiment, the low rigidity portions 11 to 18 all extend in the toe-heel direction, but may extend in another direction. An example is shown in FIGS.

  In the golf club head 1A of FIG. 6, low rigidity portions 21 and 22 extending in the crown-sole direction are disposed on the toe side of the face portion 2. Further, low rigidity portions 23 and 24 extending in the crown-sole direction are disposed on the heel side of the face portion 2. Although not shown, the extending direction of the low rigidity portions 21 to 24 may be oblique to the crown and sole direction. The number of low rigidity portions 21 to 24 is two each on the toe side and the heel side as illustrated, but may be one or three or more. The face portion 2 has the same thickness as a whole.

In the golf club head 1B shown in FIG. 7, concentric elliptical low rigidity portions 25 and 26 which are long in the toe-heel direction are provided. The center of each concentric ellipse is near the center (near the center) of the face portion 2 in the toe-heel direction and the face-back direction. The number of low rigidity portions 25 and 26 may be one or three or more. The face portion 2 has the same thickness as a whole.

  The configuration of the golf club heads 1A and 1B other than the face portion 2 is the same as that of the golf club head 1, and the same reference numerals indicate the same portions.

  8 to 10 show a golf club head 1C provided with a face portion 2 having a first thickness portion and a second thickness portion according to the embodiment of the second invention.

  The golf club head 1C also has a face portion 2, a sole portion 3, a side portion 4, a crown portion 5 and a hosel portion 6, and is integrally formed of metal as a whole.

Face portion 2 has a first thickness portion 31 thickness t ₁ is greater, and a second thickness portion 32 which thickness t ₂ is less than. In this embodiment, the first thickness portion 31 occupies the center portion 2 m of the face portion 2. The second thickness portion 32 surrounds the first thickness portion 31 and extends over the toe side 2t, the crown side 2c, the heel side 2h and the sole side 2s.

The first thickness portion 31 is provided so that the cavities 10 are substantially uniformly distributed, whereby the rigidity of the first thickness portion 31 and the second thickness portion 32 is approximately equal. It has become. The thickness t ₂ of the second thickness portion 32 is preferably about 50 to 80% of the thickness t ₁ of the first thickness portion 31.

  In this golf club head 1C, the strength of the face portion 2 can be designed to be minimal. The necessary minimum strength of the golf club head 1C, particularly the face portion 2, can be determined by the finite element method (FEM) analysis described in Patent Documents 4 and 5 or the like. That is, by designing the portion with small stress to be low in rigidity by FEM analysis, it is possible to realize the minimum necessary rigidity.

  For example, the difference in rigidity between the first thickness portion and the second thickness portion according to the thickness and the shape (curvature) of the face portion is determined by FEM analysis for a model of the golf club head 1C having no vacant space portion. The void portion 10 is designed to be disposed in the thick first thickness portion 31 so as to be eliminated.

  Since the entire face portion 2 has the same rigidity, the overall coefficient of restitution of the face portion 2 can be made constant. In addition, the stress at the time of impact is simulated, and the design is performed in which the cavity portion 10 is disposed so as to be the face portion 2 having the minimum necessary rigidity to withstand the stress.

  Although at least the face portion 2 of the golf club heads 1 to 1C is obtained by pressing the face portion base plates 5P and 5P ', the pressing may be omitted.

  The face part base plates 5P and 5P '(or the face part 2 without pressing) can be manufactured as one seamless member, preferably by metal powder molding. According to this metal powder shaping method, a metal powder can be sintered by irradiating the metal powder with a high energy beam such as an electron beam or a laser beam to produce a desired three-dimensional shaped body.

  In the above description, the empty space portion 10 has a flat disk shape, but is not limited to this. According to the metal powder molding method, it is possible to easily form a face part blank or face part having empty parts of any shape, size and number. It may be formed by the metal powder forming method other than the face portion. When the pressing process is not performed, the entire golf club head can be integrally formed by the metal powder forming method. In this case, the molded golf club head is composed of one seamless member as a whole.

  Thereafter, the molded product formed by the molding process including the metal powder molding method is subjected to heat treatment, surface grinding and polishing, as well as finishing such as painting and plating to be a golf club head product.

  The above description represents an example of the present invention, and the present invention may be configured other than the above.

  In the present invention, as in golf club heads 1 to 1C, instead of partially reducing the rigidity of the face portion by providing a large number of minute hollow portions 10 and making it porous, a single or a few large ones may be used. The rigidity of the face portion may be partially lowered by providing a hollow portion so as to be hollow. FIG. 11 shows a golf club head 1D according to one example, and shows a cross section of the same part as FIG. In this golf club head 1D, one low rigidity portion 11 is configured by providing one void 10 'elongated in the toe-heel direction. Although illustration is omitted, the other low rigidity parts 12 to 18 are similarly configured.

  The present invention is also applicable to heads of fairways and utility clubs other than drivers.

1, 1A to 1D golf club head 2 face portion 3 sole portion 4 side portion 5 crown portion 5P, 5P 'face portion base plate 6 hosel portion 9, 9' hole 10, 10 'vacant portion 11 to 18, 21 to 26 Low rigidity part (second rigidity part)
19 High rigidity part (1st rigid part)
31 first thickness portion 32 second thickness portion

Claims (7)

In a hollow golf club head having a face portion, a sole portion, a side portion, a crown portion and a hosel portion,
The face portion has a first thickness portion having a first thickness;
Having at least two different portions of thickness with a second thickness portion having a second thickness different from the first thickness,
A golf club head characterized in that the first thickness portion and the second thickness portion have the same rigidity.   The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity of the entire face portion is the same.   The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the first thickness portion occupies a center portion of the face portion, and the second thickness portion surrounds the first thickness portion.   The golf club head according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first thickness portion is provided so as to distribute the cavities substantially uniformly.   5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the second thickness portion is 50 to 80% of the thickness of the first thickness portion.   The golf club head according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the face portion is constituted by one jointless member. The golf club head according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the golf club head is composed of one seamless member as a whole.

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