GOLF CLUB HEAD AND METHOD OF FABRICATING STRIKING PLATE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 95141128, filed Nov. 7, 2006. All disclosure of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a golf club head and a method of fabricating a striking plate, and more particular, to a golf club head with a striking plate having a low-elastic-modulus region and a method of fabricating the striking plate.

2. Description of Related Art

Along with the popularization of sport lifestyle in the modern society, the golf sport has become one of the most favourite sports of the people for a long time, and the participating population is growing rapidly. Golf clubs may be classified into some types, namely wooden club, iron club, putter and so on, according to different golf course typography and different purposes.

The wooden club has a golf club head usually composed of a head body made of a metal or carbon fiber and a striking plate joined with the head body for striking balls. In order to exhibit the expected controllability of golf balls and achieve the optimum ball-striking efficiency, a golf club head is designed according to a specific specification including dimension and weight limitations. Therefore, to achieve the optimum design of a golf club head, the basic architectures of the head body and the striking plate and the joining structure thereof are focused to modify appropriately.

The region with a high coefficient of restitution (COR) of the homogeneous striking plate with uniform thickness is usually located at a central region thereof. The COR of a striking plate would be gradually reduced with the increasing distance from the central region. It should be noted that the larger the high-COR region of the striking plate of a golf club head is, the better the striking effect of the striking plate of a golf club head is. Therefore, the striking plates of some conventional golf club heads are designed to have a thinner thickness to promote the striking restitution capability. However, such a conventional design may reduce the durability of the striking plate, and the striking plate may get damaged after a long time of striking as the thickness is reduced. How to simply and effectively promote the striking restitution capability without degrading the durability of a striking plate has become an important issue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a golf club head with a striking plate having a larger high-COR region.

The present invention is also directed to a method of fabricating the striking plate, so as to enlarge the high-COR region of the striking plate.

The present invention provides a golf club head, which includes a head body and a striking plate. The head body has an opening, and the striking plate has a striking surface. The striking plate includes a plate body and at least a low-elastic-modulus region. The plate body is disposed at the opening and has a first surface exposed to the outside. The low-elastic-modulus region is disposed in the plate body, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside, the striking surface is composed of the first surface and the second surface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the elastic modulus of the plate body may be greater than or equal to 100 GPa.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the absolute difference between the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region and that of the plate body may be greater than or equal to 10 GPa.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the depth of the low-elastic-modulus region may be smaller than or equal to 2 mm.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials, wherein the plate body comprises a titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy which is a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in percentage weight composition.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body may have at least a cavity exposed to the outside, wherein the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thickness of the plate body and the cavity is filled with the low-elastic-modulus region.

The present invention also provides a method of fabricating a striking plate applicable to a golf club head. The method of fabricating the striking plate includes the following steps. First, a plate body is provided, wherein the plate body has at least a cavity and a first surface and the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thickness of the plate body. Next, a low-elastic-modulus material is disposed into the cavity. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity is heated and melted. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity is annealed to form a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside, the first surface and the second surface together form a striking surface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with an electron beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the low-elastic-modulus region is formed, a surface treatment process may be performed on the striking surface so that an extension surface of the first surface over the cavity may be coplanar with the second surface.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The plate body comprises a titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.

The present invention also provides another method of fabricating a striking plate applicable to a golf club head. The method of fabricating the striking plate includes the following steps. First, a plate body is provided, wherein the plate body has a first surface. Next, a low-elastic-modulus material is disposed on at least a part of the first surface. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material is heated and melted so that at least a pair of the low-elastic-modulus material penetrates into the plate body. Next, the low-elastic-modulus material is annealed to form at least a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside, the first surface and the second surface together form a striking surface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with an electron beam.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The plate body comprises a titanium alloy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plate body and low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials. The low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.

According to an aspect of the present invention, since the striking plate of the present invention has the low-elastic-modulus region and the COR of the low-elastic-modulus regions is relatively higher, and therefore the striking plate of the present invention has a comparatively larger high-COR region. Furthermore, without degrading the durability of the plate body, the low-elastic-modulus region in the plate body is formed by means of heating, melting and annealing the low-elastic-modulus material, and therefore the high-COR region of the striking plate can be effectively enlarged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic 3D exploded view of a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the striking plate in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the striking plate in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process of fabricating the striking plate in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a striking plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process of fabricating the striking plate in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

The First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic 3D exploded view of a golf club head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the golf club head 200 includes a head body 210 and a striking plate 220. The head body 210 has an opening 212, and the striking plate 220 is disposed at the opening 212. The head body 210 and the striking plate 220 form the golf club head 200. In the embodiment, the head body 210 may be a shell, and integrally formed by a common metal material (e.g., stainless steel) by way of lost-wax casing.

Obviously, the head body 210 in other embodiments of the present invention may also be made of a composite material of metal and a macromolecule plastic material or a high-strength fiber material (for example, carbon fiber) and fabricated by the following steps. For example, a crown (not shown) is independently made by injection molding or thermal compression molding in advance. Then, the crown is embedded into another part of the metal shell. In addition, the head body 210 may be formed by pasting carbon fiber prepreg on the hollowed out region of a metal shell and then by heating the carbon fiber prepreg in a mold with an air bag.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the striking plate in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the striking plate in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 the striking plate 220 has a striking surface 222 and includes a plate body 224 and at least a low-elastic-modulus region 226 (FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show two low-elastic-modulus regions 226, respectively). The plate body 224 is disposed at the opening 212 and has at least a cavity 224a exposed to the outside (FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show two cavities 224a, respectively) and a first surface 224b exposed to the outside, wherein the depth D of each cavity is smaller than the thickness T of the plate body 224. In the embodiment, the cavities 224a are usually located outside of the central region 224c of the plate body 224 and may be formed by a milling process.

The cavities 224a are respectively filled with the low-elastic-modulus regions 226, wherein the quantity of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 may be the same as that of the cavities 224a. Each of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 has a second surface 226a exposed to the outside. The first surface 224b of the plate body 224 and the second surfaces 226a together form the striking surface 222 of the striking plate 220. The elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulus region 226 is smaller than that of the plate body 224.

It should be noted that the elastic modulus refers to Young's modulus and can be expressed in metric unit of Pascal or Pa. The elastic modulus of a material (usually, a mono metallic material or alloy) is inversely proportional to the COR. In other words, the lower the elastic modulus of the above-mentioned material, the higher the COR of the above-mentioned material is. In the embodiment, in addition to a higher COR of the central region 224c of the plate body 224 possesses, the CORs of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 of the striking plate 220 are relatively higher as well, therefore, the striking plate 220 has a larger high-COR region as a whole.

In the embodiment, the elastic modulus of the plate body 224 may be greater than or equal to 100 GPa (100×10⁹Pa), and the absolute difference between the elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulus region 226 and that of the plate body 224 may be greater than or equal to 10 GPa. In addition, extension surfaces of the first surface 224b of the plate body 224 over the cavities 224a may be coplanar with the second surfaces 226a of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226. In other words, the first surface 224b and the second surfaces 226a may be smoothly joined together. Besides, in the embodiment, the plate body 224 and the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 comprise different materials, wherein the plate body 224 comprises a titanium alloy. In another embodiment, the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 comprises a β-type titanium alloy, for example, Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weight percentage composition. Moreover, the depth D of each cavity may be smaller than or equal to 2 mm.

In the embodiment, the cavities 224a may have a regular shape, for example, an ellipse. The cavities 224a may have different shapes according to the designer's requirements, for example, circle or polygon, even an irregular shape. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited there-to as such.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, the head body 210 and the striking plate 220 in the embodiment may be joined together by embedding and/or soldering. In more detail, prior to placing the striking plate 220, the joining surface between the head body 210 and the striking plate 220 are spread thereon with solder. Then, the striking plate 220 is placed at the opening 212 of the head body 210, and then soldered such that the solder is melted and cooled, so as to form a bonding layer (not shown) for connecting the head body 210 and the striking plate 220. In another embodiment, the striking plate 220 is disposed at the opening 212 of the head body 210 first, and then the solder is spread on the seams at the bonding position between the head body 210 and the striking plate 220, and after the solder is melted into the bonding surfaces, a bonding layer (not shown) is formed by cooling and solidification.

The fabrication of the head body 210 of the gold club head 200 and the assembling of the head body 210 with the striking plate 220 have been described before. The method of fabricating the striking plate 220 is described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-4D. FIGS. 4A to 4D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process of fabricating the striking plate in FIG. 1, wherein only local cross-sectional views are shown in FIGS. 4A-4D for convenience. First, referring to FIG. 4A, a plate body 224 is provided, wherein the plate body 224 has a plurality of cavities 224a and a first surface 224b, and the depth D of each cavity is smaller than the thickness T of the plate body 224.

Next, referring to FIG. 4B, a low-elastic-modulus material M is disposed into the cavities 224a. In the embodiment, the volume of the low-elastic-modulus material M in each cavity 224a may be approximately equal to that of each cavity 224a.

Next, referring to FIG. 4C, the low-elastic-modulus material M in the cavities 224a is heated and melted by irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material M with, for example, a high-energy laser beam or an electron beam.

Next, referring to FIG. 4D, the low-elastic-modulus material M in the cavities 224a is annealed to form a plurality of low-elastic-modulus regions 226. Each of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226 has a second surface 226a exposed to the outside. The first surface 224b of the plate body 224 and the second surfaces 226a together form a striking surface 222. The elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulus region 226 is smaller that that of the plate body 224. Thus, the fabrication of the striking plate 220 is basically completed.

In another embodiment, after the low-elastic-modulus regions are formed, a surface treatment process, for example, grinding or polishing, may be performed on the striking surface 222 so that extension surfaces of the first surface 224b of the plate body 224 over the cavities 224a may be coplanar with the second surfaces 226a of the low-elastic-modulus regions 226. In other word, the first surface 224b and the second surfaces 226a may be smoothly joined together.

The Second Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a striking plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The major difference between the striking plate 320 in the second embodiment and the striking plate 220 in the first embodiment is that the striking plate 320 of the second embodiment has no cavities 224a. The low-elastic-modulus regions 326 are disposed in the plate body 324 by a penetrating process. The depth D′ of each low-elastic-modulus region 326 may be smaller than 2 mm.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are schematic flowcharts illustrating the process of fabricating the striking plate in FIG. 5. First, referring to FIG. 6A, a plate body 324 with a first surface 324b is provided. Next, referring to FIG. 6B, a low-elastic-modulus material M is disposed on at least a part of the first surface 324b.

Next, referring to FIG. 6C, the low-elastic-modulus material M is heated and melted by irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material M with, for example, a high-energy laser beam or an electron beam so that at least a part of the low-elastic-modulus material M penetrates into the plate body 324. Next, referring to FIG. 6D, an annealing treatment is performed on the low-elastic-modulus material M to form at least a low-elastic-modulus region 326. Each low-elastic-modulus region 326 has a second surface 326a exposed to the outside. The first surface 324b and the second surfaces 326a together form a striking surface 322. The elastic modulus of each low-elastic-modulus region 326 is smaller than that of the plate body 324. Thus, the fabrication of the striking plate 320 is basically completed.

In another embodiment, a surface treatment process, for example, grinding or polishing, may be performed on the striking surface 322 so that extension surfaces of the first surface 324b of the plate body 324 over the low-elastic-modulus regions 326 may be coplanar with the second surfaces 326a of the low-elastic-modulus regions 326. In other words, the first surface 324b and the second surfaces 326a may be smoothly joined together.

In summary, the golf club head and the method of fabricating the striking plate thereof of the present invention have at least the following advantages.

1. Since the striking plate of the present invention has the low-elastic-modulus regions and the COR of each low-elastic-modulus region is relatively higher, the striking plate of the present invention has comparatively larger high-COR regions.

2. Without degrading the durability of the plate body, the low-elastic-modulus regions in the plate body are formed by means of heating, melting and annealing the low-elastic-modulus material, and therefore the high-COR regions of the striking plate can be enlarged.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A golf club head, comprising: a head body, having an opening; anda striking plate, having a striking surface, comprising: a plate body, disposed at the opening and having a first surface exposed to the outside; andat least a low-elastic-modulus region, disposed in the plate body, comprising a second surface exposed to the outside, wherein the first surface of the plate body and the second surface of the low-elastic-modulus region together form the striking surface of the striking plate, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body.
2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the elastic modulus of the plate body is greater than or equal to 100 GPa.
3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the absolute difference between the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region and that of the plate body is greater than or equal to 10 GPa.
4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than or equal to 2 mm.
5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the plate body and the low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.
6. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the plate body comprises titanium alloy.
7. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.
8. The golf club head according to claim 7, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weight percentage composition.
9. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the plate body comprises at least a cavity exposed to the outside, and the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thickness of the plate body, and the cavity is filled with the low-elastic-modulus region.
10. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein an extension surface of the first surface over the cavity is coplanar with the second surface.
11. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein the depth of the cavity is smaller than or equal to 2 mm.
12. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein the cavity has a regular shape.
13. The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein the cavity has a circular, elliptical or polygonal shape.
14. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein the cavity has an irregular shape.
15. A method of fabricating a striking plate, applicable to a golf club head, comprising: providing a plate body having at least a cavity and a first surface, wherein the depth of the cavity is smaller than the thickness of the plate body;disposing a low-elastic-modulus material into the cavity;heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity; andannealing the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity to form a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside, and the first surface of the plate body and the second surface of the low-elastic-modulus region together form a striking surface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body.
16. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 15, wherein heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.
17. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 15, wherein heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material in the cavity comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with an electron beam.
18. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 15, further comprising performing a surface treatment process on the striking surface of the striking surface after the low-elastic-modulus region is formed so that an extension surface of the first surface of the plate body over the cavity is coplanar with the second surface of the low-elastic-modulus region.
19. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 18, wherein the surface treatment process comprises a grinding process.
20. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 18, wherein the surface treatment process comprises a polishing process.
21. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 15, wherein the plate body and the low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.
22. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 21, wherein the plate body comprises a titanium alloy.
23. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 21, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.
24. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 23, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weight percentage composition.
25. A method of fabricating a striking plate, applicable to a golf club head, comprising: providing a plate body having a first surface;disposing a low-elastic-modulus material on at least a part of the first surface;heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material so that at lease a part of the low-elastic-modulus material penetrates into the plate body; andannealing the low-elastic-modulus material to form at least a low-elastic-modulus region, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region has a second surface exposed to the outside, and the first surface of the plate body and the second surface of the low-elastic-modulus region together form a striking surface, and the elastic modulus of the low-elastic-modulus region is smaller than that of the plate body.
26. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 25, wherein heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with a high-energy laser beam.
27. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 25, wherein heating and melting the low-elastic-modulus material comprises irradiating the low-elastic-modulus material with an electron beam.
28. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 25, further comprising performing a surface treatment process on the striking surface after the low-elastic-modulus region is formed so that an extension surface of the first surface of the plate body over the low-elastic-modulus region is coplanar with the second surface of the low-elastic-modulus region.
29. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 28, wherein the surface treatment process comprises a grinding process.
30. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 28, wherein the surface treatment process comprises a polishing process.
31. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 25, wherein the plate body and the low-elastic-modulus region comprise different materials.
32. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 31, wherein the plate body comprises a titanium alloy.
33. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 31, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a β-type titanium alloy.
34. The method of fabricating a striking plate according to claim 33, wherein the low-elastic-modulus region comprises a Ti-15V-3Al-3Cr-3Sn titanium alloy composed of 76% titanium, 15% vanadium, 3% aluminium, 3% chrome and 3% tin in weight percentage composition.

Priority Claims (1)

Number	Date	Country	Kind
95141128	Nov 2006	TW	national

GOLF CLUB HEAD AND METHOD OF FABRICATING STRIKING PLATE

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Priority Claims (1)