GOLF CLUB HEAD

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a golf club head and to a weight member and a decorative member that are attached thereto.

BACKGROUND ART

JP 4370254 proposes a golf club head in which a recessed portion is formed in a sole portion and a weight can be removably attached to this recessed portion. Specifically, a circular decorative member (mass element) is arranged in the recessed portion, and a bolt-like fixing member is inserted through a through hole in this decorative member to fix the decorative member in the recessed portion.

JP 4370254 is an example of related art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, with a golf club head such as described above, the decorative member acts to adjust the weight, and thus there is a problem in that adjusting the weight is not easy. That is, the decorative member must be decorated to fit in with the design of the head, and weight adjustment must also be performed with consideration for the decoration. In view of this, the present invention is made in order to solve the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide a golf club head that allows for easy weight adjustment while providing a decorative head.

A golf club head according to the present invention is provided with a crown portion, a face portion, a sole portion, a weight member configured to be housed in at least one recessed portion formed in at least one of the crown portion and the sole portion, and a decorative member configured to cover the weight member housed in the recessed portion.

In the above golf club head, the recessed portion can include a first housing portion configured to house the weight member, and a second housing portion configured to house the decorative member, the second housing portion can be formed to have a larger diameter than the first housing portion, and the second housing portion and the first housing portion can be arranged to be adjacent in a depth direction of the recessed portion in the stated order from a surface of the sole portion.

In the above golf club heads, the decorative member can be configured to be removable.

In the above golf club heads, the weight member can be configured to be removable from the recessed portion.

In the above golf club heads, the weight member can be configured such that a position of the weight member in a depth direction of the recessed portion is adjustable.

In the above golf club heads, the recessed portion can be formed in the sole portion.

In the above golf club heads, the decorative member can be exposed externally from the surface of the sole portion.

In the above golf club heads, the weight member and the decorative member can be similar in shape.

In the above golf club heads, the weight member and the decorative member can be formed to be disk-like, and can be housed in the recessed portion such that both centers coincide.

A weight member according to the present invention is configured to be attached to any of the above golf club heads.

An decorative member according to the present invention is configured to be attached to any of the above golf club heads.

A golf club head according to the present invention allows for easy weight adjustment while providing a decorative head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram showing one embodiment of a golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a reference state of the golf club head in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view of a golf club head in a state where a decorative member and a weight member have been removed, looking from a sole portion side.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along an A-A line in FIG. 2 in a state where the decorative member and the weight member have been removed.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating the boundary of a face portion.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating the boundary of the face portion.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a recessed portion in the sole portion in a state where the decorative member and the weight member are attached.

FIG. 7 is a view of the head when the decorative member is attached, looking from the sole portion side.

FIG. 8 is a view of another golf club head in a state where the decorative member and the weight member have been removed, looking from the sole portion side.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the recessed portion of the sole portion in a state where the decorative member and the weight member are attached.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

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

1. Overview of Golf Club Head

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of this golf club head, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the head in a reference state, FIG. 3 is a view of the golf club head in a state in which a decorative member and a weight member have been removed as seen from the sole portion side, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along an A-A line in FIG. 2 in a state where the decorative member and the weight member have been removed. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, this golf club head (hereinafter, maybe referred to simply as “head”) 100 is a wood-type golf club head having a hollow structure with an internal space, and a wall surface is formed by a face portion 1, a crown portion 2, a sole portion 3 and a hosel portion 4. Specifically, the present invention can be applied to golf club heads such as utilities, fairway woods and drivers.

The face portion 1 has a face surface which is the surface that hits the ball, and the crown portion 2 adjoins the face portion 1 and constitutes the upper surface of the head 100. The sole portion 3 mainly constitutes the bottom surface of the head 100, and constitutes the outer peripheral surface of the head 100 other than the face portion 1 and the crown portion 2. That is, besides the bottom surface of the head 100, the region extending from the toe side of the face portion 1 around the back side of the head to the heel side of the face portion 1 is also part of the sole portion 3. Furthermore, the hosel portion 4 is a region that is provided adjoining the heel side of the crown portion 2, and has an insertion hole 41 into which the shaft (illustration omitted) of the golf club is inserted. A center axis line Z of this insertion hole 41 coincides with the axis line of the shaft.

Here, the reference state when setting the golf club head 100 on the ground will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, a state where the above center axis line Z is contained in a plane P1 that is perpendicular to the ground and the head is placed on the ground at a predetermined lie angle and real loft angle is prescribed as the reference state. The above plane P1 will be referred to as the reference perpendicular plane. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the direction of the line of intersection between the above reference perpendicular plane P1 and the ground will be referred to as the toe-heel direction, and the direction that is perpendicular to this toe-heel direction and parallel to the ground will be referred to as the face-back direction.

Next, the sole portion 3 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a circular recessed portion 30 is formed in the sole portion 3. This recessed portion 30 is provided with a first housing portion 31 having a cylindrical peripheral wall surface and a cylindrical second housing portion 32 having a larger diameter peripheral wall surface as shown in FIG. 4. The second housing portion 32 and the first housing portion 31 are arranged so as to be adjacent in the stated order in the depth direction from the surface of the sole portion 3. To be more specific, the first housing portion 31 has a circular bottom portion 311 and a cylindrical peripheral wall surface 312 that extends from the periphery of this bottom portion 311 to a surface side of the sole portion 3, and, as will be discussed later, a weight member 6 is arranged. On the other hand, the second housing portion 32 has an annular bottom surface 321 extending to the outside in a diameter direction from an end portion of the peripheral wall surface 312 of the first housing portion 31 in the axial direction, and, as will be discussed after, a decorative member 7 is arranged. Note that this recessed portion 30 is arranged to be lower than the deepest part of the insertion hole 41 in the hosel portion 4 in the reference state.

In the present embodiment, the boundary between the face portion 1 and the crown portion 2 and between the face portion 1 and the sole portion 3 can be defined as follows. This point will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. That is, in the case where a ridgeline is formed therebetween, this ridgeline will be the boundary. On the other hand, in the case where a clear ridgeline is not formed, in each of cross-sections E1, E2, E3 and so forth that contain a straight line N connecting a head center of gravity G and a sweet spot SS, as shown in FIG. 5A, a position Pe at which a curvature radius r of a contour line Lf of the face outer surface first reaches 200 mm in a direction toward the face outer side from the sweet spot side, as shown in FIG. 5B, will be the periphery of the face portion 1, and this periphery is defined as the boundary with the crown portion 2 or the sole portion 3. Note that the sweet spot SS is the point of intersection between the normal (straight line N) of the face surface that passes through the head center of gravity G and this face surface.

Also, in the present embodiment, the boundary between the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3 can be defined as follows. That is, in the case where a ridgeline is formed between the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3, this ridgeline will be the boundary. On the other hand, in the case where a clear ridgeline is not formed therebetween, the contour when the head is set in the reference state and viewed from directly above the center of gravity of the head 100 will be the boundary.

Also, the head 100 can, for example, be formed with a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V, etc.) having a specific gravity of substantially about 4.3 to 4.5. Also, apart from a titanium alloy, the head can also be formed using one or two or more materials selected from stainless steel, maraging steel, an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy and an amorphous alloy, for example.

Also, the volume of this golf club head 100 is desirably from 90 cm³to 460 cm³inclusive, for example.

2. Weight Member

Next, the weight member 6 will be described, with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the recessed portion 30 of the sole portion 3 in a state where the decorative member 7 and the weight member 6 are attached. As shown in FIG. 6, this weight member 6 is formed in a columnar shape (or a disk shape), and is housed in the abovementioned first housing portion 31 of the recessed portion 30 of the sole portion 3. Thus, the outer shape of the weight member 6 is formed to a size that is housable in the first housing portion 31. The weight member 6 can be fixed to the bottom portion 311 or the peripheral wall surface 312 of the first housing portion 31 with an adhesive or the like. The weight member 6 can, however, also be fixed by another method such as a fastening screw. The material forming the weight member 6 is not particularly limited, and a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel, an alloy such as a tungsten-nickel-iron alloy containing W, Ni and Fe, or a resin material can be used, for example. Note that a plurality of weight members 6 having different weights can be prepared, and the weight and the center of gravity position of the head 10 can be changed by using one of the plurality of weight members.

3. Decorative Member

Next, the decorative member 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the decorative member 7 is formed in a disk shape, and is housed in the abovementioned second housing portion 32 of the recessed portion 30 in the sole portion 3. Thus, the outer shape of the decorative member 7 is formed to a size that is housable in the second housing portion 32, and has a larger outer diameter than the weight member 6, in order to cover the weight member 6. At this time, the decorative member 7 and the weight member 6 are arranged in the recessed portion 30, in a state where centers of the disk substantially coincide. Also, decoration such as shown in FIG. 7, for example, is provided on the opposite surface of the decorative member 7 to the surface facing the weight member 6, that is, on the surface exposed externally. The material forming the decorative member 7 is not particularly limited, and a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel or a resin material may be used. The method of fixing the decorative member 7 is not particularly limited, and, for example, a female thread is formed in the peripheral wall surface 322 of the second housing portion 32, and a male thread is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the decorative member 7. The decorative member 7 can be fixed in the second housing portion 32 by screwing the decorative member 7 into the second housing portion 32. Alternatively, the decorative member 7 can also be fixed to the bottom surface 321 of the second housing portion 32 with a fastening screw or an adhesive.

4. Assembly Structure of Golf Club Head

The golf club head 100 according to the present embodiment is constituted, as shown in FIG. 4, by assembling a head main body 101 having a crown portion 2 and a sole portion 3 and a cup-shaped face member 102 having a face portion 1 and a peripheral portion 15 extending from the periphery of the face portion. This head main body 101 has an opening 18 enclosed by the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3, and the face member 102 is attached so as to close off this opening 18. That is, an end face of the peripheral portion 15 of the face member 102 is butted against an end face of the opening 18 of the head main body 101, and these portions are joined by welding (so-called cup face structure). The face member 102 is integrated with the head main body 101, by being attached to an edge portion of the opening 18 of the head main body 101, and the peripheral portion 15 of the face member 102 thereby functions as part of the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3 of the head 100.

Accordingly, the surface that is integrally formed as a result of the peripheral portion 15 of the face member 102 being attached to the head main body 101 constitutes the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3 of the head 100. Thus, strictly speaking, the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3 of the head main body 101 are part of the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3 of the head 100, although, in this specification, these portions of the head main body 101 may also be referred to simply as the crown portion 2 and the sole portion 3, without making this distinction.

5. Manufacturing Method of Golf Club Head

Next, an example of the manufacturing method of the above golf club head will be described. First, the abovementioned head main body 101 and face member 102 are prepared. A head main body 101 and a face member 102 such as described above can be produced with various methods. For example, the head main body 101 can be manufactured by casting such as a well-known lost wax precision casting process. Also, the face member 102 can be manufactured by a method such as forging, plate pressing or casting, for example. Also, the pre-processing plate of the face member 102 that is used at this time is processed such that the rolling direction substantially coincides with the direction from an upper portion on the toe side of the face portion 1 to a lower portion on the heel side.

The golf club head is then completed when predetermined coating is performed after joining these portions by welding (TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding, plasma welding, laser welding, brazing, etc.), for example.

Subsequently, in order to make the head a predetermined weight, or in order to adjust the position of the center of gravity, a suitable weight member is appropriately selected from the plurality of weight members 6, and the weight member 6 is then fixed in the first housing portion 31 of the recessed portion 30. For example, in the case where a weight member 6 having a different thickness is arranged, the center of gravity position of the head can also be adjusted. Then, the decorative member 7 is fixed in the second housing portion 32, so as to cover the weight member 6. The golf club head according to the present embodiment is thus completed.

6. Features

The above embodiment enables the following effects to be obtained.

(1) As shown in FIG. 7, an aesthetic feel can be imparted to the head, by arranging a decorative member 7 having a design in the sole portion 3.

(2) The weight member 6 which does not have any decoration is covered by the decorative member 7, and is configured so as to not be visible from the outside. Thus, the shape and weight of the weight member 6 can be freely changed, without taking the design into consideration. Accordingly, the flexibility to adjust the weight of the head can be improved. Also, since processing for decoration is not needed, for example, when preparing the different types of weight members 6 for weight adjustment, cost can be reduced.

(3) The decorative member 7 can be irremovably fixed or can be removably fixed in the recessed portion 30. If configured to be removable, various types of decorative members 7 can be attached and the appearance of the head can be changed.

(4) The weight member 6 can also be irremovably fixed or removably fixed in the recessed portion 30. If configured to be removably fixed, the weight and the center of gravity of the head can be adjusted after manufacture, according to the needs of the user, since weight members 6 having different sizes and shapes can be attached to the first housing portion 31. In this case, the decorative member 7 needs to be configured to be removable. In the case where the weight member 6 is not removable, the weight member 6 is fixed at the time of manufacture, after having made the head a predetermined weight or having adjusted the position of the center of gravity.

(5) The recessed portion 30 in which the weight member 6 is housed is arranged to be lower than the deepest part of the insertion hole 41 of the hosel portion 4. Thus, the center of gravity of the head can be lowered, compared with the case where, for example, a weight member is arranged in the deepest part of the insertion hole 41 of the hosel portion 4.

7. Variations

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also, the following variations can be appropriately combined. Modifications such as the following can be made, for example.

7.1

In the above embodiment, the weight member 6 and the decorative member 7 are formed to be circular, but can take various shapes, such as being polygonal, for example. Also, if the outer diameter of the weight member 6 is changed without changing the thickness, the weight can be adjusted, without the center of gravity position of the head changing. The decorative member 7 may be formed to be block-like rather than plate-like.

In the above embodiment, the weight member 6 and the decorative member 7 are formed to be similar in shape, but may have different shapes rather than similar shapes. Also, the weight member 6 and the decorative member 7 are arranged so that the centers coincide, but the centers may be shifted from one another.

7.2

The method of fixing the weight member 6 is not particularly limited, and can be configured as follows. As shown in FIG. 8, a through hole 313 is formed in the bottom portion 311 of the first housing portion 31 of the recessed portion 30, and a female thread is formed in the peripheral wall of this through hole 313. As shown in FIG. 9, a cylindrical protruding portion 61 is formed on the surface of the weight member 6 that faces this bottom portion 311, and a male thread is formed in the outer peripheral surface of this protruding portion 61. The weight member 6 is then fixed in the first housing portion 31, by screwing this male thread into the female screw of the through hole 313. Note that the weight member 6 can also be fixed in the first housing portion 31, by simply inserting (or press fitting) the protruding portion 61 into the through hole 313, without forming a male thread in the protruding portion 61. Also, the position of the center of gravity of the head can be adjusted, by increasing or reducing the length of the protruding portion 61. Alternatively, the weight member 6 can be fixed in the first housing portion 31 with various methods. For example, the weight member 6 can also be fixed, by arranging an elastic member between the decorative member 7 and the weight member 6, and using the decorative member 7 to press the weight member 6 via the elastic member.

7.3

The method of fixing the decorative member 7 in the second housing portion 32 is also not particularly limited, and the decorative member 7 can be fixed in the second housing portion 32 with various methods, such as a screw or an adhesive.

7.4

The first housing portion 31 and the second housing portion 32 are not particularly limited in shape, as long as the weight member 6 and the decorative member 7 can be housed. Also, part of the weight member 6 may stick out from the first housing portion 31 and be housed in the second housing portion 32.

7.5

In the above embodiment, one recessed portion 30 is provided, but two or more may be provided. A plurality of decorative members 7 and weight members 6 can also be provided in conformity therewith. The recessed portion 30 can also be arranged in the crown portion 2.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 Face portion

2 Crown portion

3 Sole portion

30 Recessed portion

31 First housing portion

32 Second housing portion

6 Weight member

7 Decorative member

GOLF CLUB HEAD

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Abstract

Description

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Priority Claims (1)