Patent Application
20180050241
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a golf club head, especially to a manufacturing method of a golf iron head by combining different metal materials.
A conventional golf iron head is mostly manufactured by forging or casting with one single steel material. Because the material properties lack diversity, the hitting performance of the club head is limited. Therefore, to enhance the hitting performance, the manufacture method of the conventional golf club head mostly adopts different metal materials.
A conventional golf iron head manufacturing method is disclosed with reference to
In a forming step, the strike plate 40 is placed in the plate recess 31 of the iron head body 30. The flange 32 is blended toward the annular recess 41 by stamping press or hydraulic press, and the strike plate 40 and the iron head body 30 are fixed together and are formed as an iron head.
However, the strike plate 40 and the iron head body 30 are not really integrated as a one-piece structure, and a clearance still exists between the strike plate 40 and the iron head body 30, which makes the combination force of the strike plate 40 and the iron head body 30 insufficient and easily generates noises upon striking. After the iron head hits a ball for several times, the strike plate 40 may fall down from the iron head body 30 or be loosened from the iron head body 30, and the hitting performance of the iron head will get worse and noises are generated upon striking.
To overcome the shortcomings of the conventional manufacture method, the present invention provides a manufacturing method of a golf iron head to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method of a golf iron head comprising a pre-forming step, an engaging step, a pre-heating step and a forming step.
A head body and a strike plate are provided in the pre-forming step to combine together. The strike plate is engaged with the head body in the engaging step, and the strike plate and the head body are pre-heated together. The forming step combines the head body and the strike plate as a one-piece iron head without clearances.
Because the materials of the head body and strike plate are different and the connection force between the head body and the strike plate is increased, the mechanical properties and hitting performance are improved and noises upon hitting are eliminated.
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 drawing.
With reference to
With reference to
A head body 10 is provided, is selectively made by a casting process or a forging process, and has a base 11, a rod portion 12, a plate recess 13 and at least one engaging recess 14. The rod portion 12 is formed and integrated with one side of the base 11. The plate recess 13 is formed in a front surface of the base 11 and has an inner wall. The at least one engaging recess 14 is formed in the inner wall of the plate recess 13. Preferably, the inner wall of the plate recess 13 has four wall surfaces around the plate recess 13, and each one of the wall surfaces is perpendicular to the bottom of the plate recess 13. Four engaging recesses 14 are implemented and respectively defined in the four wall surfaces of the plate recess 13. The engaging recesses 14 are inclined relative to the bottom of the plate recess 13 and formed triangular in cross section.
Furthermore, the engaging recesses 14 are formed by molding when the head body 10 is made by a casting process, or the engaging recesses 14 are formed by machine cutting when the head body 10 is made by a forging process.
The material of the head body 10 could be applied to a casting process or a forging process, which are selected from stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel such as titanium alloys, aluminum bronze alloys, manganese bronze alloys, non-ferrous alloys or the combinations of them. Preferably, the stainless steel of the head body 10 can be JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) No. SUS304, SUS303, SUS431, SUS15-5 or SUS17-4 stainless steel, or some other stainless steel alloys. The carbon steel of the head body 10 can be JIS No. 1020C, 1025C, 1035C or 1045C carbon steel. Or some other steel alloys with carbon contain as 4140 steel, 4130 steel or 4340 steel.
A strike plate 20 is provided to engage with the head body 10. The material of the strike plate 20 is different from that of the head body 10. Preferably, the strike plate 20 is made by a stamping press process or a forging process from metal sheets; the material of the strike plate 20 is selected from titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, bronze alloys, stainless steel and carbon steel or the combinations of them.
In the engaging step S2 and with reference to
In the pre-heating step S3, the head body 10 and the strike plate 20 are preheated to a forging temperature according to their materials. The range of the forging temperature is from 500° C. to 1200° C.
In the forming step S4 and with reference to
A surface treatment process can be applied to the iron head, and the iron head can be assembled with a golf rod in the rod portion 12 as a complete golf iron club.
The technique of the present invention adopts the pre-formed head body 10 to combine with the pre-formed strike plate 20. To integrally connect the strike plate with the head body 10 and to engage the protrusion 21 on the strike plate with the engaging recesses 14, the thickness of the strike plate 20 must be larger than the depth of the plate recess 13. Hence, the material volume of the strike plate 20 is calculated correspondingly to the volume of the plate recess 13 of the head body 10. The materials of the strike plate 20 can flow into the engaging recesses 14 and fill up the plate recess 13 by the forging pressure, and are formed integratedly and firmly with the head body 10 without clearances. Accordingly, the connection force between the head body 10 and the strike plate 20 is increased and is stronger than the conventional manufacturing method. Also, the hitting performance is better than that of the conventional iron club and noises upon hitting are eliminated.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
