JPH0412771A - Golf club head made of fiber reinforced metal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the directivity and the flying distance of a ball, as well by constituting the part in which a preform of a reinforced fiber or a whisker is placed, and other part, of a fiber reinforced metal and a metallic stock, respectively, and also, forming the whole golf club head by a hollow integral structure, so that a sweet spot is positioned in about the center of the face surface. CONSTITUTION:By executing integral molding simultaneously a metallic stock 10 for constituting a head 1, the part in which a preform 9 of a reinforced fiber 9a or a whisker 9b is placed, and other part are constituted of a fiber reinforced metal 11 and the metallic stock 10, respectively, and also, the whole head 1 is formed by a hollow integral structure. In this head, the reinforced fiber or the whisker is placed continuously in a form of a preform extending from a neck part to the face surface and a toe part and is reinforced as a fiber reinforced metal, and also, other part of the head is formed by the metallic stock being a matrix. In such a way, the head being beautiful in its external apparance and having satisfactory moldability can be obtained since no microporosity is generated, and there is no part of impregnation failure nor the part of a dumpling state such as in a conventional head.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to the improvement of a golf club head (hereinafter simply abbreviated as head) made of metal or fiber-reinforced metal.

(Prior Art) Heads made of metal or fiber-reinforced metal have been known.

Among these known heads, for example, metal heads,
Products made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy are already commercially available.

On the other hand, the fiber-reinforced metal head was developed in 1986-412.
54 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-207474, etc., and is already publicly known.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, these conventional heads made of metal or fiber-reinforced metal have the following problems.

In other words, taking as an example a head called a stainless steel metal wood head, which is the most common metal head,
For these mass-produced heads, when viewed as a golf club, the weight of the head is almost determined by the weight distribution of the head, shaft, grip, etc., so the volume of a conventional stainless steel head is around 150 cm3. In this state, the thickness of the face part is approximately 2.6 mm, the thickness of the sole part is approximately 1.2 mm, and the thickness of other parts is approximately 0.8 mm. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to make the head any larger due to its strength.

In addition, in heads called metal wood heads made of aluminum alloy, which is a typical light alloy, the specific gravity is lower than that of stainless steel, so the volume of the head is approximately 190 mm.
The size is approximately cm3, but since the strength of the aluminum alloy material itself is not very strong, it was difficult to make the head shape larger than this from the viewpoint of the weight distribution of the head and the wall thickness of the head. In addition, since the neck of the head must be designed to be thick, the center of gravity of the head is located at a high position near the heel, resulting in the problem of poor balance of the head itself.

Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 52-41254, etc., it has been proposed to form the entire head with fiber-reinforced metal using whiskers and reinforcing fibers that have a higher specific strength than aluminum alloy, and some attempts have been made. However, due to poor wettability between reinforcing fibers and whiskers and metal materials such as aluminum alloys, which are matrix, and poor impregnating properties,
There are problems such as fine cavities called microporosity, poor impregnation, and reinforcing fibers and whiskers become lumpy and cannot be mixed well with the matrix metal material. Approximately 10%
However, there was a fundamental problem in that the strength of the head itself was too low, making it impossible to manufacture a large-sized head that could be put to practical use.

In addition to this, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-207474, inorganic fibers are placed and reinforced on the face surface,
It is also known to mold a fiber-reinforced metal head using light alloys such as aluminum alloys, but even if inorganic fibers are placed and reinforced only on the face surface, other parts of the head cannot be formed using aluminum or aluminum alloys. If the neck part lacks strength and is hit repeatedly, the neck part will crack or break, and the sole part in particular will wear out significantly, which will affect the strength of the head itself. Was.

In addition, in the method for manufacturing a hollow head disclosed in JP-A No. 62-207474, the soluble core is made of a mixture of sodium chloride as the main component and a small amount of aluminum oxide. The method used is to dissolve the core with water and wash it away, but with this method, it is difficult to completely remove sodium chloride, and due to changes over time, especially when using aluminum, aluminum alloys, magnesium, magnesium alloys, etc. In this case, there is a problem in that the hollow interior of the head is corroded, and the durability of the head itself is significantly reduced. In addition, there is a known head structure in which a face insert made of fiber reinforced metal is separately molded and inserted when manufacturing the metal head, but it is difficult to join different materials, and it is difficult to use fiber reinforced metal. There was a problem in that the characteristics of using .

However, the recent trend is that heads are becoming larger, and it is hoped that durable fiber-reinforced metal heads that can be made larger will be reconsidered and supplied to the market. Ta.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In view of these conventional drawbacks, the present invention has good durability,
The purpose of this invention is to provide a head made of fiber-reinforced metal that can have a larger head shape than conventional ones, has a good feel at impact, and has good weight distribution.

That is, in the present invention, in a fiber-reinforced metal head,
A preform in which reinforcing fibers or whiskers are individually or in combination is integrated from the neck of the head to the heel and face, and from the peripheral edge of the face to the entire sole, part of the crown, and part of the toe. By simultaneously forming and arranging the reinforcing fibers or whisker preforms with the metal material constituting the head, the parts where the reinforcing fibers or whisker preforms are arranged are made of fiber-reinforced metal, and the other parts are made of metal material. This head is made of fiber-reinforced metal and features a hollow integrated structure using a core that can be taken out as a whole.

In the head of the present invention, it is desirable that the fiber content of the fiber-reinforced metal portion in which the reinforcing fibers or whisker preforms are arranged is in the range of about lθ% to 30%.

In addition, in the head of the present invention, as reinforcing fibers, milled fibers, short fibers, chopped strands, non-woven fabrics, mats, aligned, plain weave, twill weave, satin weave and other biaxial fabrics, triaxial fabrics, sleeves, etc. can be used. It is possible to use them alone or in combination, and of course it is also possible to use whiskers in combination with these reinforcing fibers.

Further, in the head of the present invention, it is also possible to form the length of the neck portion of the head to be approximately 30 to 75 mm.

(Function) With the above configuration, the head of the present invention has the following function.

That is, a preform in which reinforcing fibers or whiskers are applied individually or in combination from the neck of the head to the heel and face, and from the periphery of the face to the entire sole, part of the crown, and part of the toe. By integrally forming and arranging them and simultaneously integrally molding them with a metal material constituting the head, the part where the reinforcing fiber or whisker preform is arranged is made of fiber-reinforced metal, and the other parts are made of metal material, And when forming the entire head,
Since the head is made of fiber-reinforced metal and has a hollow integrated structure using a core that can be removed from a hole opened in the sole of the head, such as a vanishing sand core, reinforcing fibers and whiskers can be removed from the head. When placing the core in each part of the head, the core is formed in advance in a similar shape to the head, and the core is covered or wrapped with a preform of reinforcing fibers or whiskers. By placing it in a mold with Because it is coated or wrapped, the molten metal that is the matrix does not move from the reinforced area or form lumps, and the molten metal that is the matrix flows around and impregnates the reinforcing fibers and whiskers, making it extremely durable. It is possible to form a beautiful fiber-reinforced metal head.

In addition, in the head of the present invention, since the core can be taken out from the hole opened in the head, unlike conventional metal or fiber-reinforced metal heads, the sole part cannot be molded with a large opening. , the sole member is separately molded and placed,
Unlike heads that are welded together later, the body and sole of the head are already integrally molded at the time of molding, which significantly improves strength and eliminates processing such as welding, increasing production efficiency. It is possible to supply fiber-reinforced metal heads with improved productivity, reduced costs, and good productivity.

Furthermore, in the head of the present invention, the areas reinforced with reinforcing fibers or whiskers are from the neck of the head to the heel and face, and further from the periphery of the face to the entire sole, part of the crown, and the toe. The reinforcing part intervening between the peripheral edge of the face and other parts other than the sole includes:
It is desirable to strengthen the width by at least 10 mm or more.

Regarding this point, if we analyze the impact when the head collides with the ball when hitting a ball, the impact is greatest on the face side of the face and sole, followed by the neck, face, and the periphery of the face. It has been found that the other boundary portions that are in contact with are large, and that only small impacts act on other portions. Conventionally, this was dealt with by increasing the wall thickness of the head depending on the size of the impact.
In the present invention, by reinforcing only the necessary parts with reinforcing fibers and whiskers, it is possible to make the wall thickness of these parts thinner than before, and as a result, the external shape of the head can be made larger than that of conventional heads. It became possible to do so. That is, the volume of the head is approximately 200c.
It is preferable to mold to a size of m3 or more.

In addition, in the head of the present invention, reinforcing fibers or whiskers are arranged over the entire surface of the sole part to form a fiber-reinforced metal part, so particularly by using silicon carbide fibers or silicon carbide whiskers, wear resistance is improved. Since the sole part of the head can be prevented from being worn out by contact with the ground, etc., the durability of the head itself is significantly improved, and a fiber-reinforced metal part made of silicon carbide fibers and silicon carbide whiskers is formed in the sole part. This reduces the frictional resistance of the sole, making it easier for the head to swing out when swinging, and preventing duffling.

Also, in order to expand the sweet area and make it easier for golfers to hit the ball, the volume of the head should be approximately 230 cm.
It is desirable to set the distance between m' and 250 cm.

In addition, if we were to maintain the same external shape as before, we would add that much weight to the sole and lower the center of gravity of the head.
This makes it possible to further increase the degree of freedom in other designs.

Furthermore, in the head of the present invention, the length of the neck portion is approximately 3
Because the neck is short in the range of 0 to 75 mm, the moment of inertia of the head increases, and the center of gravity of the head decreases, and by moving away from the face, the sweet area becomes larger, and the center of gravity also becomes lower. By moving from the heel to the center, the sweet spot is located approximately in the center of the face, improving the direction of the ball and increasing flight distance, making it possible to provide a golf club that is easy to hit. be.

In addition, in the present invention, the fiber content of the fiber-reinforced metal part in which reinforcing fibers or whiskers are arranged is approximately 10% to 30%.
% range is essential for increasing the strength of the head itself and the shape of the head.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the head of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, in a head l made of fiber-reinforced metal, from the neck part 8 to the heel part 7 of the head
and a preform 9 in which reinforcing fibers 9a or whiskers 9b are applied individually or in combination to the face surface 2, and further from the face surface peripheral portion 3 to the entire sole portion 4, a portion of the crown portion 5, and a portion of the toe portion 6. By integrally forming and arranging the reinforcing fibers 9a to whiskers 9b, and simultaneously molding them with the metal material 10 constituting the head 1, the portions where the preforms 9 of the reinforcing fibers 9a to whiskers 9b are placed become the fiber reinforced metal 11, and the other portions This is a golf club head made of fiber-reinforced metal, which is composed of a metal material 10, and is characterized in that the entire head l has a hollow integrated structure.

The head volume of the fiber-reinforced metal head I of the present invention is desirably in the range of about 200 to 260 cm3, and particularly preferably designed to have a volume in the range of 230 to 2500 m3.

Note that the fiber content of the reinforcing fibers or the fiber-reinforced metal provided with whiskers in the present invention is preferably in the range of about lθ% to 30%.

In addition, the reinforcing fibers in the present invention include milled fibers, short fibers, chopped strands, nonwoven fabrics, mats,
Lined weave, plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, and other biaxial fabrics, triaxial fabrics, sleeves, etc. can be used alone or in combination as a preform, and whiskers can be used alone as a preform, or in combination with the above-mentioned reinforcing fibers. It is also possible to form a preform and use it.

In addition, for example, a bag-shaped sleeve is used for the neck part,
By using a triaxial fabric that follows the curvature in areas with curvature, such as the sole or the crown, or using other biaxial fabrics or mats as a preform, it is possible to improve the strength, especially with conventional heads. This makes it possible to reinforce and strengthen the neck, which was previously weak, and improve the strength of the head, making it possible to supply a durable head.

The reinforcing fibers or whiskers used in the present invention include silicon carbide fibers and silicon carbide whiskers, alumina fibers and alumina whiskers, carbon fibers and carbon whiskers, stainless steel fibers and other metal fibers and whiskers, metal pieces, and titanium. It is possible to use acid potash, boron-aluminum or other inorganic fibers and whiskers, and ceramic fibers and whiskers alone or in combination.

Further, as the metal material, aluminum, aluminum alloy, magnesilla, magnesium alloy, and other light metal materials, stainless steel, copper, copper alloy, and other metal materials can be used as appropriate.

Furthermore, in the head of the present invention, the length of the neck portion is approximately 3
Setting it to about 0 to 75 mm is also effective in increasing the moment of inertia of the head.

Furthermore, since the head of the present invention uses a vanishing sand core, it is possible to prevent the danger of the head corroding from the inside due to changes over time due to residual sodium chloride, unlike in the conventional case. It is something.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the present invention, unlike conventional metal heads or fiber-reinforced metal heads, the outer shape of the head is enlarged to make it easier for even beginner golfers to hit the ball. By increasing the volume of the head itself to 200cm3 or more, the center of gravity of the head is moved away from the face surface, which increases the sweet area, and by moving the center of gravity of the head from closer to the heel to the center, the sweet spot is moved closer to the face. Since it is located approximately in the center of the surface, it has the effect of improving the directionality and flight distance of the ball.

Furthermore, in the head of the present invention, reinforcing fibers and whiskers are continuously arranged in the form of a preform from the neck to the face and toe to strengthen the head as fiber reinforced metal, and the other parts of the head are reinforced with a matrix. Because it is made of a certain metal material, like a conventional head,
Since there are no microporosity, poor impregnation areas, or lumpy areas, the head is beautiful in appearance and has good moldability.

In addition, in the head of the present invention, the core is taken out from the hole opened in the sole after the head is molded, so the main body and sole of the head can be integrally molded at the same time, so there is no welding required like in conventional heads. It is possible to reduce costs and supply a head with good productivity without requiring such trouble.

In addition, since the head of the present invention can have a short neck, the weight distribution of the head is optimized, the moment of inertia is increased, the sweet area is also increased, and the directionality and stability of the ball are significantly increased. It is.

Furthermore, since the head of the present invention has a hollow integrated structure during molding, its strength is improved, and since the entire sole portion is made of fiber-reinforced metal, its wear resistance is improved.
The durability of the head itself is significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a head according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a plane of the head according to the present invention, and FIG.
A bottom view showing the bottom surface of the head according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of the head according to the present invention in FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the BB cross section of the head according to the present invention shown in FIG. 2; 1. Golf club head, 2. Face surface, 3: Face surface peripheral portion, 4. Sole portion, 5: Crown portion, 6. Toe part, 7: heel part, 8: neck part, 9 nib form,
9a: reinforcing fiber, 9b: whisker-10=metal material, 1
1: Fiber-reinforced metal, 12: Hole, I3: Hollow part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a golf club head made of fiber-reinforced metal, from the neck portion of the head to the heel portion and face surface, and further from the peripheral edge of the face surface to the entire sole portion, a portion of the crown portion, and a portion of the toe portion. By integrally forming and arranging reinforcing fibers or whiskers with a single or composite preform, and simultaneously integrally molding the reinforcing fibers or whiskers with a metal material constituting the golf club head, the reinforcing fibers or whisker preforms are arranged. A golf club head made of fiber-reinforced metal, characterized in that some parts are made of fiber-reinforced metal, other parts are made of metal material, and the entire golf club head has a hollow integrated structure. 2. The fiber-reinforced metal golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the fiber-reinforced metal golf club head has a head volume of about 200 to 260 cm^3. 3. The golf club head made of fiber-reinforced metal according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the fiber content of the fiber-reinforced metal in which the reinforcing fibers or whiskers are arranged is in the range of about 10% to 30%. 4 Preforms for the reinforcing fibers include milled fibers, short fibers, chopped strands, nonwoven fabrics, mats, aligned fabrics, plain weaves, twill weaves, satin weaves, other biaxial fabrics, triaxial fabrics, sleeves, etc., singly or in combination. A golf club head made of fiber-reinforced metal according to claims 1, 2, and 3, characterized in that it is used. 5. The fiber-reinforced metal golf club head according to claims 1, 2, 3, and 4, wherein the neck portion of the fiber-reinforced metal golf club head is formed in a range of about 30 to 75 mm. club head.