Patent Application
20190388743
This application is based upon and claims priorities under 35 U.S.C. 119 from Taiwan Patent Application No. 107121293 filed on Jun. 21, 2018, Taiwan Patent Application No. 107146437 filed on Dec. 21, 2018, and Taiwan Patent Application No. 107208315 filed on Jun. 21, 2018, which are hereby specifically incorporated herein by this reference thereto.
The present invention relates to a golf club head, and more particularly to a golf club head made of a composite material and a method of manufacturing the golf club head.
A center of gravity and inertia of a golf club head are important factors in designing the golf club head, so as to allow a golf ball to fly long distance stably along a specific direction when a golf club is swung to hit the golf ball. In order to improve the freedom in designing the center of gravity and the inertia of the golf club head, golf related manufacturers have proposed to use carbon fiber composite materials to manufacture part of or all of the golf club head.
Taiwan Patent No. I307285 discloses a golf club head made of a carbon fiber composite material. The golf club head has a striking plate, a crown, a sole plate, and a counterweight. The striking plate is made of metallic material. The crown and the sole plate are made of carbon fiber composite material. The counterweight is adhered to the sole plate and made of a metallic material having a high specific gravity. The crown and the sole plate are adhered together via a film adhesive to form a head body. The striking plate is adhered to a front side of the head body via the film adhesive to form the golf club head for a wood-type golf club.
The aforementioned golf club head is formed by the crown and the sole plate that are made of a carbon fiber composite material, so as to increase the flying distance of the golf ball when hitting the golf ball. However, the bonding strength formed by the film adhesive is not strong enough to allow the striking plate to be firmly adhered to the front side of the head body, or the crown and the sole plate to be firmly adhered together. Moreover, the striking plate, the crown, the sole plate, and the counterweight of the golf club head are individually formed parts, and then are adhered together by the film adhesive. Therefore, the golf club head has problems of high manufacturing cost and long manufacturing time.
In addition, for the manufacturer of the golf club, it is necessary to measure the center of the striking plate of the golf club head based on the international standards. As for the physical characteristics of the golf club head, the position of the sweet point is not necessarily located at the geometric center point of the striking plate, particularly for the golf club head with the striking plate made of metallic materials and the head body made of carbon fiber composite materials. Since the metallic material is heavier than the carbon fiber composite material, the sweet point is not necessarily located at the geometric center point of the striking plate. It means the sweet point may be located around the geometric center point. It is difficult to grasp the sweet point when the user is playing the golf. Therefore, the manufacturer of the golf club changes the position of the counterweight to allow the sweet point to be located at the geometric center point of the striking plate. However, controlling the position of the sweet point by &hanging the position of the counterweight is hard to accomplish.
Taiwan Patent No. I397437 discloses that a golf club head with additional discretionary mass is realized by utilizing lightweight materials, a favorable average crown height, or multiple hinge points on the crown. By using a preferred break length, the additional discretionary mass may be placed low and deep in the golf club head to change the position of the center of gravity and inertia. The center of gravity of the golf club head can be positioned to substantially align with the sweet point and the geometric center point of a striking plate of the golf club head.
Although the aforementioned golf club head with additional discretionary mass can indeed achieve the purpose of changing the position of the center of gravity and inertia to position the center of gravity of the golf club head to substantially align with the sweet point and the geometric center point, it is difficult to distribute the weight of the golf club head and to set other parameters since the golf club head is made of the metallic material and has a lightweight connecting member made of heterogeneous collection. Since a lot of simulation tests have to be performed, it is difficult to manufacture the golf club head.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a composite golf club head and a method of manufacturing the composite golf club head to obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a composite golf club head and a method of manufacturing the composite club head.
The method of manufacturing a composite golf club head is performed by a mold assembly and a pressure forming device which comprises an openable closed container, a pneumatic component mounted on the openable closed container, and a heating component mounted on the openable closed container, and the method comprises steps of:
providing a striking plate made from a material selected from the group consisting of a carbon fiber composite and a metallic material, wherein the striking plate has a combination portion formed as a back side of the striking plate;
putting a plurality of carbon fiber composite prepregs that are piled up and the striking plate into the mold assembly and closing the mold assembly to form a blank of a golf club head, wherein the carbon fiber composite prepregs are piled up to form a blank of a head body of the golf club head which has a main portion and a hosel, and a front end of the blank of the head body of the golf club head engages with the combination portion of the striking plate to form the blank of the golf club head;
applying vacuum to the mold assembly and heating the mold assembly with the blank of the golf club head inside by using the pressure forming device, wherein the mold assembly with the blank of the golf club head inside is put in a bag and the bag is put into the openable closed container for the pneumatic assembly to create the vacuum in the operable closed container and for the heating assembly to heat the blank of the golf club head, such that the carbon fiber composite prepregs of the blank of the golf club head are hardened by a cross-linking reaction to form a semi-finished golf club head; and
debarring the semi-finished golf club head and finishing a surface of the semi-finished golf club head to form the composite golf club head.
The composite golf club head which is manufactured by the method of manufacturing the composite golf club head comprises a head body and a striking plate. The head body has a main portion and a hosel. The main portion is made of a carbon fiber composite material and is integrally formed as a single part. The hosel is formed on a front end of the main portion. The striking plate is mounted on the head body and made of a material selected from the group consisting of a carbon fiber composite and a metallic material. The striking plate is attached to the front end of the main portion and has a combination portion and a geometric center point. The combination portion is formed as a back side of the striking plate and attached to the main portion. An imaginary line passing through the geometric center point and a center of gravity of the composite golf club head is perpendicular to a tangent plane of the geometric center point.
In the previously disclosed method of manufacturing the composite golf club head, the openable closed container is used to apply the vacuum in the mold assembly to heat the mold assembly with the blank of the golf club head inside. The head body can have uniform quality. In addition, the composite golf club head has excellent structural stability since the hosel and the main portion are integrally formed as a single part.
In the step of applying vacuum to the mold assembly and heating the mold assembly having the blank of the golf club head inside by using the pressure forming device, a pressure value and the heating temperature may also be set according to the conditions required for the cross-linking reaction in the carbon fiber composite prepregs. By setting the pressure value and the heating temperature at different time points through the program control, excess resin in the carbon fiber composite prepregs can be extruded from the carbon fibers, and the bubbles remaining in the carbon fiber composite prepregs can be taken out. Thus, under pressure and heating, the carbon fiber composite prepregs can form a highly compact and dense solid carbon fiber composite. The present invention has the economic benefits of reducing manufacturing cost and manufacturing time.
Furthermore, in the composite golf club head of the present invention, the head body is only made of the carbon fiber composite material. By adopting a single material, it is easier to control a shape and a weight of the composite golf club head. Moreover, it is also easier to allow the imaginary line that passes through the geometric center point of the striking plate and the center of gravity of the composite golf club head to be perpendicular to the tangent plane of the geometric center point of the striking plate.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
providing a striking plate made from a material selected from the group consisting of a carbon fiber composite and a metallic material, wherein the is striking plate has a combination portion formed as a back side of the striking plate;
putting a plurality of carbon fiber composite prepregs that are piled up and the striking plate into the mold assembly and closing the mold assembly to form a blank of a golf club head, wherein the carbon fiber composite prepregs are piled up to form a blank of a head body of a golf club head which has a main portion and a hosel, and a front end of the blank of the head body of the golf club head engages with the combination portion of the striking plate to form the blank of the golf club head;
applying vacuum to the mold assembly and heating the mold assembly with the blank of the golf club head inside by using the pressure forming device, wherein the mold assembly with the blank of the golf club head inside is put in a bag and the bag is put into the operable closed container for the pneumatic assembly to create the vacuum in the operable closed container and for the heating assembly to heat the blank of the golf club head, such that the carbon fiber composite prepregs of the blank of the golf club head is hardened by a cross-linking reaction to form a semi-finished golf club head; and
deburring the semi-finished golf club head and finishing a surface of the semi-finished golf club head to form the composite golf club head.
In the step of putting the carbon fiber composite prepregs that are piled up and the striking plate into the mold assembly and closing the mold assembly to form the blank of the golf club head, the blank of the head body of the golf club head with the hosel may be integrally formed as a single part with the carbon fiber composite prepregs directly in the mold assembly. Alternatively, the hosel may be pre-formed along with the carbon fiber composite prepregs and then put into the mold assembly to be combined with the carbon fiber composite prepregs for forming the blank of the head body of the golf club head with the hosel, so as to form the blank of the golf club head.
In the step of putting the carbon fiber composite prepregs that are piled up and the striking plate into the mold assembly and closing the mold assembly to form the blank of the golf club head, a replaceable rod or an angle adjustable rod may be inserted in the hosel. In addition, a metal counterweight may he put in the blank of the golf club head. Specifically, the metal counterweight may be attached to or wrapped by the carbon fiber composite prepregs.
In the step of applying vacuum to the mold assembly and heating the mold assembly with the blank of the golf club head inside by using the pressure forming device, a heating temperature ranges from 40° C. to 250° C., vacuum pressure value ranges from −0.1 mbar to −1000 mbar, and the heating and the vacuuming lasts for 1 minute to 60 minutes. When an autoclave is used as the pressure forming device, the autoclave is able to heat, vacuum, and input positive air pressure to the blank of the golf club head. An air pressure value of the positive air pressure ranges from 2 bar to 100 bar. The vacuum pressure value, the positive air pressure value, and the heating temperature may be set according to conditions such as a shape of the wood-type golf club head and a thickness of the carbon fiber composite prepregs. The vacuum pressure value, the positive air pressure value, and the heating temperature may also be set according to conditions required for the cross-linking reaction in the carbon fiber composite prepregs. By setting the vacuum pressure value, the positive air pressure value, and the heating temperature at different time points through program control, excess resin in the carbon fiber composite prepregs can be extruded from carbon fibers, and bubbles remaining in the carbon fiber composite prepregs can be removed. Thus, under pressure and heating, the carbon fiber composite prepregs can form a highly compact and dense solid carbon fiber composite.
With reference to
In the following description, a wood-type composite golf club head is taken as an example. With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
The head body 10A further has at least one metal counterweight which is fixed to a position such as a bottom of the main portion 11A, so as to lower down the center of gravity CG of the composite golf club head. The metal counterweight may be a block made of a tungsten metallic material or other materials having a specific gravity greater than a specific gravity of the iron-based metallic material. The metal counterweight may be attached to an inner side of the head body 10A formed by the carbon fiber composite material, or the metal counterweight may be wrapped by the carbon fiber composite prepregs of the head body 10A, so as to al low the metal counterweight to be firmly fixed in the head body 10A. Alternatively, the metal counterweight may be screwed to the head body 10A. In addition, a replaceable rod may be further inserted inside the hosel 12A. The replaceable rod may be a strength reinforcing member, an angle adjustable sleeve, or a length adjustable sleeve.
With reference to
Then vacuum is applied to the mold assembly and the mold assembly is heated by using the pressure forming device. The mold assembly with the blank of the head body of the golf club head and the striking plate inside is put in a bag and the bag is put into the openable closed container for the pneumatic assembly to create the vacuum and for the heating assembly to heat the blank of the golf club head to form a semi-finished golf club head by the cross-linking reaction in the carbon fiber composite prepregs. Then the semi-finished golf club head is debarred and a surface of the semi-finished golf club head is finished to form the composite golf club head.
With reference to
In the composite golf club head manufactured by the first embodiment of the method, the head body 10A is integrally formed as a single part. With reference to
With reference to
Then vacuum is applied to the mold assembly and the mold assembly is heated by using the pressure forming device. The mold assembly with the blank of the head body of the golf club head and the striking plate inside is put in a bag and the bag is put into the operable closed container for the pneumatic assembly to create the vacuum and for the heating assembly to heat the blank of the golf club head to form a semi-finished golf club head by the cross-linking reaction in the carbon fiber composite prepregs. Then the semi-finished golf club head is deburred and a surface of the semi-finished golf club head is finished to form the composite golf club head.
With reference to
In the composite golf club head manufactured by the first embodiment of the method, the head body 10A is integrally formed as a single part. With reference to
In the above disclosed composite golf club head and the methods of manufacturing the composite golf club head, the openable closed container is used to apply the vacuum pressure to and to heat the mold assembly with the head body 10A. When the head body 10A is being heated, the head body 10A is solidified by the cross-linking reaction through a hot isostatic pressing process. The head body 10A can have a uniform quality. In addition, the composite golf club head has excellent structural stability since the hosel 12A and the main portion 11A are integrally formed as a single part, i.e. the head body 10A, and the combination portion 21A of the striking plate 20A is securely attached to the front end of the main portion 11A when forming the head body 10A in the mold assembly.
In the step of creating the vacuum in the mold assembly and heating the mold assembly having the head body 10A by using the pressure forming device, the pressure value and the vacuum temperature value may be set according to the conditions required for the cross-linking reaction in the carbon fiber composite prepregs. By setting the pressure value and the heating temperature at different time points by the program control, the excess resin in the carbon fiber composite prepregs can be extruded from the carbon fibers, and the bubbles remaining in the carbon fiber composite prepregs can be removed. Thus, under pressure and heating, the carbon fiber composite prepregs can form a highly compact and dense solid carbon fiber composite. The present invention has the economic benefits of reducing manufacturing cost and time.
Furthermore, in the composite golf club head of the present invention, the head body 10A is only made of the carbon fiber composite material. By adopting a single material, it is easier to control a shape and a weight of the composite golf club head. Moreover, it is also easier to allow the imaginary line that passes through the geometric center point 200 of the striking plate 20A and the center of gravity CG of the composite golf club head to be perpendicular to the tangent plane of the geometric center point 200 of the striking plate 20A.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 107121293 | Jun 2018 | TW | national |
| 107208315 | Jun 2018 | TW | national |
| 107146437 | Dec 2018 | TW | national |
