GOLF CLUB HEAD AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

Abstract

A golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The golf club head includes a club head body and a striking face unit. The club head body includes a main body and a coupling portion extending from the main body, defining an opening, and having an end that is concaved toward the main body to form an engaging recess. The striking face unit has a connecting portion and covers the opening. The connecting portion is inserted into the engaging recess of the coupling portion and is connected to the club head body. The club head body is made of a first metal material and the connecting portion is made of a second metal material having a melting point higher than that of the first metal material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 107132795, filed on Sep. 18, 2018.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to golf equipment, and more particularly to a golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional golf club head 1 includes a main body 11 that has a side opening 110 and a top opening 111, a striking face frame 12 defining a second opening 120 and fixedly connected to a lateral side of the main body 11 to cover the side opening 110, a striking plate 13 fixedly connected to the striking face frame 12 to cover the second opening 120, and a cover 14 fixedly connected to a top surface of the main body 11 to cover the top opening 111. The main body 11, the striking face frame 12, the striking plate 13 and the cover 14 are connected by soldering or using an adhesive. When two components of the conventional golf club head that are to be connected with each other are made from solderable materials, the two components are generally connected by soldering. The components made from non-solderable materials may be connected by an adhesive.

However, regardless of soldering or using an adhesive, an additional processing step is required to connect the thus formed components of the conventional golf club head, not to mention that the solder (i.e., filler metal), the adhesive, and the processing apparatus may incur high manufacturing cost. Therefore, improvements in the structure and manufacturing method of a golf club head in terms of reducing the use of soldering or an adhesive remain a goal to be achieved.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, the golf club head includes a club head body and a striking face unit. The club head body includes a main body and a coupling portion extending from the main body, defining an opening, and having an end that is concaved toward the main body to form an engaging recess. The striking face unit has a connecting portion and covers the opening. The connecting portion is inserted into the engaging recess of the coupling portion and is connected to the club head body. The club head body is made of a first metal material and the connecting portion of the striking face unit is made of a second metal material having a melting point higher than that of the first metal material.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of manufacturing the golf club head includes the steps of:

providing a frame body having a connecting portion formed with a plurality of through holes;

disposing the frame body into a mold formed with a cavity;

pouring a molten first metal material into the mold so that the molten first metal material fills the cavity and the through holes of the connecting portion; and

solidifying the molten first metal material to form a casted club head body that is connected to the connecting portion of the frame body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment (s) with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional golf club head;

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional schematic view showing a first embodiment of a golf club head of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a striking face unit of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary schematic view of FIG. 2, in which a club head body is connected to the striking face unit;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing a second embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a third embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the golf club head of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a first embodiment of a golf club head 2 of the present disclosure includes a club head body 3 and a striking face unit 4 connected to the club head body 3. The golf club head 2 of this embodiment may be a driver club head, a fairway club head, a wedge club head or a hybrid-type golf club head, but is not limited thereto. The club head body 3 includes a main body 31 and a coupling portion 32 extending from the main body 31 and defining an opening 321. In this embodiment, the main body 31 is bent to define a hollow space, and the coupling portion 32 extends from a periphery of the main body 31 to define the opening 321. To be specific, the main body 31 and the coupling portion 32 cooperatively form a main structure (e.g., a crown, a back, a sole, etc. that are included in a conventional golf club head) of the golf club head 2. The coupling portion 32 has an end that is concaved toward the main body 31 to form an engaging recess 320. The striking face unit 4 has a connecting portion 413 and covers the opening 321. The connecting portion 413 is inserted into the engaging recess 320 of the coupling portion 32 and connected to the coupling portion 32 of the club head body 3.

In this embodiment, the striking face unit 4 includes a frame body 41 connected to the coupling portion 32 and a striking plate 42 fixedly connected to the frame body 41 by soldering or gluing process. The striking plate 42 cooperates with the frame body 41 to cover the opening 321. The frame body 41 includes a curved portion 411 and the connecting portion 413. The connecting portion 413 is formed with a plurality of through holes 412 located within the engaging recess 320. The curved portion 411 is disposed between and interconnects the striking plate 42 and the connecting portion 413. The club head body 3 further includes a plurality of tenons 33 which are disposed in the engaging recess 320 and respectively extend through and fittingly engage the through holes 412. Each of the tenons 33 has two ends connected to the coupling portion 32 (see FIG. 4).

According to this disclosure, the club head body 3 is made of a first metal material, and the connecting portion 413 of the frame body 41 of the striking face unit 4 is made of a second metal material having a melting point higher than that of the first metal material. Examples of the first and second metal materials respectively suitable for making the club head body 3 and the striking face unit 4 may include, but are not limited to, stainless steel, maraging steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy and combinations thereof. In this embodiment, the curved portion 411 of the frame body 41 is made of the second metal material. In other words, the frame body 41 may be made of the second metal material. In certain embodiment, the club head body 3 is made of a stainless steel material and the frame body 41 of the striking face unit 4 is made of a titanium alloy material.

In this embodiment, the striking plate 42 is made of a material different from the first and second metal materials.

A method for manufacturing the first embodiment of the golf club head 2 includes the following steps A to E:

In step A, the frame body 41 that includes the connecting portion 413 is provided.

In step B, the frame body 41 of the striking face unit 4 is disposed into a mold (not shown in the figures) formed with a cavity.

In step C, the molten first metal material is poured into the mold so that the molten first metal material fills the cavity and the through holes 412 of the connecting portion 413 of the frame body 41.

In step D, the molten first metal material is solidified to form the casted club head body 3 that is connected to the connecting portion 413 of the frame body 41 of the striking face unit 4.

In step E, the striking plate 42 is fixedly connected to the curved portion 411 of the frame body 41 by soldering or gluing process.

In the aforesaid method, the connecting portion 413 is immersed in the molten first metal material, enabling the molten first metal material to flow into and fills the through holes 412 of the connecting portion 413 so that, after solidification, the first metal material that remains in the through holes 412 is formed into the tenons 33 that respectively extend through and fittingly engage the through holes 412.

Since the connection between the club head body 3 and the frame body 41 is achieved simultaneously with the formation of the club head body 3 during the casting process, the use of soldering or gluing is avoided, thereby lowering the manufacturing cost of the golf club head 2. In addition, the connecting strength between the club head body 3 and the striking face unit 4 is improved by formation of the tenons 33.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the golf club head 2 of the present disclosure is shown to have a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment, and only differs from the first embodiment in that, in the second embodiment, the main body 31 of the club head body 3 further defines a top opening 311, and the golf club head 2 further includes a cover 5 that is connected to the main body 31 to cover the top opening 311.

Referring to FIG. 6, a third embodiment of the golf club head 2 of the present disclosure is shown to have a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment. The differences resides in that, in the third embodiment, the striking plate 42 is also made of the second metal material, and the frame body 41 and the striking plate 42 are integrally formed (e.g., molded) into one piece. Moreover, similar to the second embodiment, in the third embodiment, the main body 31 of the club head body 3 further defines a top opening 311, and the golf club head 2 further includes a cover 5 that is connected to the main body 31 to cover the top opening 311. Since the frame body 41 and the striking plate 42 are integrally formed, for manufacturing the third embodiment of the golf club head, the striking plate 42 along with the frame body 41 is disposed into the mold during the casting process. Thus, the soldering or gluing step for connecting the striking plate 42 to the curved portion 411 of the frame body 41 can be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 7, a fourth embodiment of the golf club head 2 of the present disclosure is shown to have a configuration similar to that of the third embodiment, and differs in that, in the fourth embodiment, the frame body 41 of the striking face unit 4 only includes the connecting portion 413, and the curved portion 411 is dispensed with. In the fourth embodiment, the connecting portion 413 interconnects the striking plate 42 and the club head body 3.

In summary, by virtue of using the casting process for forming the club head body 3, the frame body 41 is connected to the club head body 3 after the solidification step of the casting process without the use of soldering or gluing. Moreover, by virtue of the tenons 33 extending through and fittingly engage the through holes 412, structural strength of the golf club head 2 of this disclosure may be improved.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment (s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A golf club head, comprising: a club head body that includes a main body and a coupling portion, said coupling portion extending from said main body, defining an opening and having an end that is concaved toward said main body to form an engaging recess; anda striking face unit that has a connecting portion and that covers said opening, said connecting portion being inserted into said engaging recess of said coupling portion and connected to said club head body,wherein said club head body is made of a first metal material and said connecting portion of said striking face unit is made of a second metal material having a melting point higher than that of said first metal material.

2. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting portion is formed with a plurality of through holes located within said engaging recess, said club head body further including a plurality of tenons which are disposed in said engaging recess, which respectively extend through and fittingly engage said through holes, and each of which has two ends connected to said coupling portion.

3. The golf club head as claimed in claim 2, wherein said striking face unit includes a frame body that has said connecting portion, and a striking plate that is connected to said frame body and cooperates with said frame body to cover said opening.

4. The golf club head as claimed in claim 3, wherein said frame body further includes a curved portion that is disposed between and interconnects said striking plate and said connecting portion.

5. The golf club head as claimed in claim 4, wherein said curved portion is made of said second metal material.

6. The golf club head as claimed in claim 3, wherein said main body of said club head body further defines a top opening, said golf club head further including a cover that is connected to said main body to cover said top opening.

7. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second metal materials are respectively selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, maraging steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy and combinations thereof.

8. The golf club head as claimed in claim 3, wherein said club head body is made of a stainless steel material and said frame body of said striking face unit is made of a titanium alloy material.

9. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein said club head body is a casted club head body formed by a casting process.

10. A method for manufacturing a golf club head, comprising the steps of: providing a frame body having a connecting portion formed with a plurality of through holes;disposing the frame body into a mold formed with a cavity;pouring a molten first metal material into the mold so that the molten first metal material fills the cavity and the through holes of the connecting portion; andsolidifying the molten first metal material to form a casted club head body that is connected to the connecting portion of the frame body.

11. The method for manufacturing the golf club head as claimed in claim 10, wherein the frame body is made of a second metal material which has a melting point higher than that of the first metal material.

12. The method for manufacturing the golf club head as claimed in claim 10, further comprising, after solidifying the molten first metal material to form a casted club head body, connecting a striking plate to the frame body to form a striking face unit.

13. The method for manufacturing the golf club head as claimed in claim 10, further comprising connecting a striking plate to the frame body, in the disposing step, the striking plate is disposed into the mold along with the frame body.