Golf club head and manufacturing method therefor

Abstract

To provide a technology for improving friction between a face portion and a golf ball at the time of hitting.SOLUTION: Provided is a golf club head including a face portion, the golf club head being provided with: first grooves formed in the face portion; and second grooves formed in the face portion and intersecting with the first grooves, wherein an edge of the first groove is formed with a first protruding portion along the edge, an edge of the second groove is formed with a second protruding portion along the edge, and a third protruding portion higher than the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion is formed at an edge of the intersection of the first groove and the second groove.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a golf club head and a method of manufacturing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Methods have been proposed for improving the impact performance of golf club heads by changing the structure of the face portion. For example, Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose techniques for improving the friction coefficient of the face portion by forming irregularities on the face portion. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for forming grooves and protrusions (burrs) on the edges of the grooves by laser processing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-167089 A [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 2016-503664 [Patent Document 3] JP 2013-169413 A [Patent Document 4] JP 2013-226204 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional technology leaves room for improvement in terms of friction between the face portion and the golf ball when hitting it.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving friction between a face portion and a golf ball when hitting the ball. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, A golf club head including a face portion, A first groove formed in the face portion; a second groove formed in the face portion and intersecting the first groove; a first protrusion is formed along an edge of the first groove; a second protrusion is formed along an edge of the second groove; a third protrusion higher than the first protrusion and the second protrusion is formed on an edge of an intersection between the first groove and the second groove; A golf club head is provided. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for improving friction between a face portion and a golf ball when hitting the ball. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2(A) is a front view of the golf club head of FIG. 1 seen from the face side, and FIG. 2(B) is an enlarged view of part P of FIG. 2(A). [Diagram 3] 2(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2(B), and (C) is a perspective view of the intersection. [Figure 4] 4(A) and (B) are explanatory views of a method for forming fine grooves and protrusions. [Diagram 5] 4(A) to (D) are explanatory views of a method for forming fine grooves and protrusions. [Figure 6] 13(A) and (B) are diagrams showing other examples of roughened surface patterns. [Figure 7] 13(A) and (B) are diagrams showing other examples of roughened surface patterns. [Figure 8] 13(A) and (B) are diagrams showing other examples of roughened surface patterns. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0010] First Embodiment <Overall structure> FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The golf club head 10 is a hollow body, and its peripheral walls form a face portion 11, a crown portion 12, a sole portion 13, and a side portion 14. The surface of the face portion 11 forms the face surface (hitting surface). A bulge and a roll may be formed on the face surface. The crown portion 12 forms the upper portion of the golf club head 10. The sole portion 13 forms the bottom portion of the golf club head 10. The side portion 14 forms the portion between the sole portion 13 and the crown portion 12. The golf club head 10 also includes a hosel portion 15 to which a shaft is attached.

[0011] In Fig. 1, arrow D1 indicates the face-back direction, and arrow D2 indicates the toe-heel direction. Arrow D3 indicates the up-down direction of face portion 11. The face-back direction is usually the direction of the flight line of the ball (the target direction of the hit ball). The toe-heel direction is the direction connecting the toe side end and the heel side end of sole portion 13. In this embodiment, the up-down direction of face portion 11 is the direction along face portion 11, that is, the sole portion 13-crown portion 12 direction.

[0012] The golf club head 10 is a golf club head for a driver. However, the present invention is applicable to wood-type golf club heads including fairway woods and the like other than drivers. It is particularly suitable for golf club heads with a loft angle of 20 degrees or less.

[0013] The golf club head 10 may be made from metallic materials, such as titanium-based metals (eg, titanium alloy 6Al-4V-Ti, etc.), stainless steel, and copper alloys, such as beryllium copper.

[0014] The golf club head 10 can be assembled by joining a number of parts. For example, it can be made up of a main body member and a face member. The main body member constitutes the crown portion 12, the sole portion 13, the side portion 14 and the peripheral portion of the face portion 11, and an opening is formed in a part of the portion that corresponds to the face portion 11. The face member is joined to the opening of the main body member.

[0015] <Face section> 2(A) is a front view of the face portion 11. A plurality of patterns 21 and a roughened surface pattern 30 are formed on the face portion 11. The patterns 21 are formed to improve the design of the golf club head 10, to adjust the surface roughness of the face portion 11, or as an indicator for the golfer to confirm the target direction and the orientation of the face portion 11 when addressing the ball. In this embodiment, the patterns 21 are on straight lines extending in the D2 direction, and are marks like scorelines.

[0016] The roughened surface pattern 30 is a fine groove pattern formed over the entire area of ​​the face portion 11 to roughen the surface. Generally, in a golf club head with a relatively small loft angle (for example, 20 degrees or less), the rougher the face portion, the smaller the amount of backspin may be. In other words, by improving the friction between the face portion and the golf ball at the time of impact, the amount of backspin tends to decrease, which contributes to an increase in flight distance. Therefore, in this embodiment, the roughened surface pattern 30 is formed on the face portion 11 to improve the friction between the face portion 11 and the golf ball at the time of impact.

[0017] 2B is an enlarged view of portion P in FIG. 2A, showing the detailed structure of the roughened surface pattern 30. The portion P is the face center of the face portion 11.

[0018] The roughened surface pattern 30 is composed of a plurality of fine grooves 31 to 33. Each fine groove 31 is a linear groove extending in the D2 direction. A plurality of fine grooves 31 are arranged in the D3 direction. Each fine groove 32 is a linear groove extending in the D3 direction and intersects with a plurality of fine grooves 31. In this embodiment, the fine grooves 31 and the fine grooves 32 are perpendicular to each other at the intersections 40. A plurality of fine grooves 32 are arranged in the D2 direction. Each fine groove 33 is a linear groove extending in the D2 direction. Each fine groove 33 is formed so as to connect the ends of two fine grooves 32 adjacent to each other in the D2 direction. A rectangular wave-shaped groove is formed by the plurality of fine grooves 32 and the plurality of fine grooves 33.

[0019] The roughened surface pattern 30 in Fig. 2(B) is broadly divided into three patterns, an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row. The three patterns are spaced apart in the direction D3. The upper row pattern has four fine grooves 31 formed therein. The middle row pattern has nine fine grooves 31 formed therein. The lower row pattern has two fine grooves 31 formed therein. In each of the three patterns, the pitch (the distance between adjacent fine grooves 31 in the direction D3) is equal.

[0020] In the upper pattern, each narrow groove 32 intersects with all four narrow grooves 31. In the middle pattern, each narrow groove 32 intersects with all four narrow grooves 31. In the lower pattern, each narrow groove 32 intersects with one narrow groove 31.

[0021] 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2B, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2B, and FIG.

[0022] The depth D of each of the narrow grooves 31 to 33 is, for example, 0.003 mm or more and less than 0.025 mm. The depth D is the distance from a reference plane S to the bottom of the groove. The reference plane S is a flat portion of the face portion 11. The width W of each of the narrow grooves 31 to 33 is, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 1 mm or less. The width W is the width in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the groove. The narrow grooves 31 and 32 are arranged at a pitch L. The pitch L of each of the narrow grooves 31 and 32 is, for example, 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less. The depth D and the width W may be the same or different for the narrow grooves 31 to 33. The pitch L may also be the same or different for the narrow grooves 31 and 32.

[0023] 3(A) to 3(C), the cross-sectional contour shape of the narrow grooves 31 and 32 is a rectangle. However, the cross-sectional contour shape of the narrow grooves 31 and 32 is not limited to this, and various contour shapes such as a circular arc, an elliptical arc, a triangular shape, a trapezoidal shape, etc. can be used. The same applies to the narrow groove 33.

[0024] In the present embodiment, protrusions 41 are formed along the edges on both sides of each narrow groove 31. Similarly, protrusions 42 are formed along the edges on both sides of each narrow groove 32. Although not shown, protrusions are also formed along the edges on both sides of each narrow groove 33.

[0025] The protrusion 41 protrudes by a height H1 from the reference plane S, and the protrusion 42 protrudes by a height H2 from the reference plane S. The heights H1 and H2 are, for example, 0.001 mm to 0.02 mm. By forming the protrusions 41 and 42 on each edge of the fine grooves 31 and 32, the protrusions 41 and 42 can easily catch on the golf ball when hitting, thereby improving friction between the face portion 11 and the golf ball.

[0026] A protrusion 43 is formed on each edge (four locations) of the intersection 40. The protrusion 43 protrudes from the reference plane S by a height H3. The relationship of H3>H1, H3>H2 is satisfied, and among the protrusions 41 to 43, the protrusion 43 protrudes the furthest from the reference plane S. For example, H3≧1.2×H1 and / or H3≧1.2×H2. For example, H3≦2.0×H1 and / or H3≦2.0×H2. By forming the protrusion 43 on each edge of the intersection 40, the protrusion 43 becomes more likely to catch on the golf ball when hitting, and the friction between the face portion 11 and the golf ball can be improved.

[0027] The protrusions 41 and 42 are linear protrusions, and the protrusion 43 is a point-like protrusion. The combination of these two types of protrusions makes it easier for the protrusion 43 to catch the golf ball when hitting, improving the friction between the face part 11 and the golf ball. Among the protrusions 41 to 43, the protrusion 43 protrudes furthest from the reference plane S, so even if the protrusions 41 and 42 do not catch the golf ball well, the protrusion 43 can reliably catch the golf ball. Since the protrusion 43 is a point-like protrusion, the direction in which the frictional force is exerted is not limited compared to the protrusions 41 and 42, which are linear protrusions. The protrusion 43 can improve friction regardless of the relative movement direction of the face part 11 with respect to the golf ball when hitting, such as hitting with the face part 11 open or closed.

[0028] <Manufacturing method> The following describes a method for manufacturing the golf club head 10, in particular, a method for forming the fine grooves 31 and 32 and the protrusions 41 to 43. The fine groove 33 can also be formed in the same manner.

[0029] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the fine grooves 31 and 32 and the protrusions 41 to 43 are formed by laser processing. As shown in Fig. 4(A), the fine grooves 31 are formed in a member 10' that forms the face portion 11. The member 10' is a golf club head on which the roughened surface pattern 30 has not yet been formed. When the golf club head 10 is assembled by joining a main body member and a face member, the member 10' may be the face member.

[0030] The member 10' is fixed to a processing device by a jig (not shown), and the processing device has a laser light irradiation unit 100. While irradiating the face portion 11 with laser light 101 from the irradiation unit 100, the face portion 11 or the irradiation unit 100 is moved relatively in the direction D2 to form the fine groove 31. Fig. 5(A) shows a state in which the face portion 11 is irradiated with the laser light 101 to form the fine groove 31, and Fig. 5(B) shows a state in which the fine groove 31 has been formed. As a result of forming the fine groove 31 by laser processing, a protrusion 41 is simultaneously and naturally formed as a "burr".

[0031] Next, as shown in Fig. 4(B), narrow grooves 32 are formed in the member 10'. While irradiating the face portion 11 with laser light 101 from the irradiation portion 100, the face portion 11 or the irradiation portion 100 is moved relatively in the direction D3 to form the narrow grooves 32. Fig. 5(C) shows a state in which the face portion 11 is irradiated with the laser light 101 to form the narrow grooves 32, and Fig. 5(D) shows a state in which the narrow grooves 32 have been formed. As a result of forming the narrow grooves 32 by laser processing, protrusions 42 are simultaneously and naturally formed as "burrs".

[0032] Furthermore, since a protrusion 41 has already been formed on the edge of the narrow groove 31 at the intersection 40, when the laser light 101 passes through the protrusion 41, the protrusion 41 at the intersection 40 rises further and grows into a protrusion 43.

[0033] In this manner, the protrusions 41 can be formed while the fine grooves 31 are being formed by laser processing, and the protrusions 42 and 43 can be formed while the fine grooves 32 are being formed. The roughened surface pattern 30 can be formed with fewer steps.

[0034] After the formation of the roughened surface pattern 30, it is preferable to perform a surface treatment to increase the hardness of the face portion 11. Examples of such surface treatments include carburizing, nitriding, soft nitriding, PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) treatment, ion plating, DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) treatment, plating, etc. In particular, surface treatments such as carburizing and nitriding that modify the surface without forming another metal layer on the surface are preferable.

[0035] Second Embodiment The roughened surface pattern 30 can adopt various forms. Fig. 6(A) shows one example. In the illustrated example, the fine grooves 31 and 32 intersect at an angle other than 90 degrees. The fine grooves 31 extend in the D2 direction as in the first embodiment, but the fine grooves 32 extend in a direction at a certain angle (assumed to be an angle θ) with respect to the D2 direction, not in the D3 direction. The angle θ is, for example, within a range of 60 degrees or more and 120 degrees or less.

[0036] FIG. 6(B) is a schematic diagram of the intersection 40 in the example of FIG. 6(A). In the example of FIG. 6(A), the narrow grooves 31 and 32 are formed by laser processing to form protrusions corresponding to the protrusions 41 to 43. At the four edges of the intersection 40, the intersection angles of the narrow grooves 31 and 32 are different, resulting in an obtuse-angle edge and an acute-angle edge. A protrusion 43A is formed at the obtuse-angle edge, and a protrusion 43B is formed at the acute-angle edge. Comparing the heights H3 of the protrusions 43A and 43B, the protrusion 43B is higher than the protrusion 43A, and the area of ​​the portion where the protrusion is formed tends to be larger for the protrusion 43A than for the protrusion 43B. In addition to the narrow groove 32 being inclined at an angle θ in the D2 direction, two types of protrusions, the protrusions 43A and 43B, are formed at the intersection 40, so that the friction between the face 11 and the golf ball changes depending on the relative movement direction of the face 11 with respect to the golf ball at the time of hitting. This allows the golfer to vary the ball's trajectory and distance through technical intervention.

[0037] FIG. 7(A) shows another example of the roughened pattern 30. In the illustrated example, the fine grooves 31, 32A, and 32B intersect with each other. The fine groove 31 extends in the D2 direction as in the first embodiment, but the fine grooves 32A and 32B extend in a direction at a certain angle (assumed to be an angle θ) with respect to the D2 direction, not in the D3 direction. The angle θ of the fine groove 32A is, for example, an angle in the range of 60 degrees or more and less than 120 degrees. The angle θ of the fine groove 32B is, for example, an angle in the range of 120 degrees or more and less than 300 degrees. The fine groove 31 and the fine groove 32A intersect at the intersection 40A, the fine groove 31 and the fine groove 32B intersect at the intersection 40B, and the fine groove 32A and the fine groove 32B intersect at the intersection 40C. There are three types of intersections 40A to 40C.

[0038] By forming the fine grooves 31, 32A, and 32B by laser processing, protrusions corresponding to the protrusions 41 to 43 are formed. The state of the protrusion 43 at the intersection 40A is the same as that shown in Fig. 6(B). Fig. 7(B) and Fig. 7(C) are schematic diagrams of the intersections 40B and 40C.

[0039] At the four edges of the intersection 40B, the intersection angles of the fine grooves 31 and 32B are different, resulting in an obtuse-angle edge and an acute-angle edge. A protrusion 43C is formed on the obtuse-angle edge, and a protrusion 43D is formed on the acute-angle edge. As in the example of Fig. 6(B), when comparing the heights H3 of the protrusions 43C and 43D, the protrusion 43D is higher than the protrusion 43C, and the area of ​​the portion where the protrusion is formed tends to be larger for the protrusion 43C than for the protrusion 43D.

[0040] At the four edges of intersection 40C, the intersection angles of fine grooves 32A and 32B are different, resulting in obtuse-angled edges and acute-angled edges. Protrusion 43E is formed on the obtuse-angled edges, and protrusion 43F is formed on the acute-angled edges. As in the example of Fig. 6(B), when comparing the heights H3 of protrusions 43E and 43F, protrusion 43F is higher than protrusion 43E, and the area of ​​the portion where the protrusion is formed tends to be larger for protrusion 43E than for protrusion 43F.

[0041] Comparing FIG. 7(B) with FIG. 7(C), it is clear that the intersecting angles of the narrow grooves are different between the protrusions 43C to 43F, and therefore the heights and areas of the protrusions can be made different.

[0042] Fig. 8(A) shows yet another example of the roughened pattern 30. In the illustrated example, similar to the example of Fig. 7(A), the fine grooves 31, 32A, and 32B intersect with each other, but the example of Fig. 8(A) has an intersection 40D where three fine grooves 31, 32A, and 32B intersect at one point. By forming the fine grooves 31, 32A, and 32B by laser processing, protrusions corresponding to the protrusions 41 to 43 are formed. Fig. 8(B) is a schematic diagram of the intersection 40D.

[0043] At the intersection 40D, the three fine grooves 31, 32A, and 32B intersect, resulting in six edges, and thus six protrusions 43G are formed. It is possible to form the protrusion that is the tallest among the protrusions 43 to 43F described thus far.

[0044] <Other embodiments> In the first and second embodiments, linear grooves are exemplified as the fine grooves 31 to 32B, but the grooves may have a shape other than linear, such as an arc shape or a triangular wave shape.

[0045] In addition, in the first and second embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to a wood-type golf club head is illustrated, but the present invention can also be applied to other types of golf club heads, such as an iron-type golf club head.

[0046] Although the embodiment of the invention has been described above, the invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 10 golf club head, 11 face portion, 31 and 32 narrow grooves, 41 to 43 protrusions

Claims

1. A golf club head including a face portion, A first groove formed in the face portion; a second groove formed in the face portion and intersecting the first groove; a first protrusion is formed along an edge of the first groove; a second protrusion is formed along an edge of the second groove; a third protrusion higher than the first protrusion and the second protrusion is formed on an edge of an intersection between the first groove and the second groove; A golf club head comprising:

2. 2. The golf club head of claim 1, The first groove extends in a toe-heel direction. A golf club head comprising:

3. 2. The golf club head of claim 1, At the intersection, the first groove and the second groove are perpendicular to each other. A golf club head comprising:

4. 2. The golf club head of claim 1, At the intersection, the first groove and the second groove intersect at an angle of 45 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees. A golf club head comprising:

5. 2. The golf club head of claim 1, a third groove formed in the face portion and intersecting the first groove; a fourth protrusion is formed along an edge of the third groove; a fourth protrusion having a height higher than the first protrusion and the third protrusion is formed on an edge of an intersection between the first groove and the third groove; The second groove and the third groove extend in different directions. A golf club head comprising:

6. 6. The golf club head according to claim 5, the third groove intersects with the second groove; a fifth protrusion having a height higher than the second protrusion and the fourth protrusion is formed on an edge of an intersection between the second groove and the third groove; A golf club head comprising:

7. 2. The golf club head of claim 1, The third protrusion The first groove and the second groove have a depth of less than 0.025 mm and a width of 0.1 mm or more and 1 mm or less, The height of the third protrusion is 1.2 times or more the height of the first protrusion and is 1.2 times or more the height of the second protrusion. A golf club head comprising:

8. 2. The golf club head of claim 1, The golf club head is a wood-type golf club head including a crown portion and a sole portion. A golf club head comprising:

9. A method for manufacturing a golf club head including a face portion, comprising the steps of: a first laser processing step of forming a first groove by laser processing in a member forming the face portion; a second laser processing step of forming a second groove intersecting the first groove by laser processing in the member forming the face portion, a first protrusion is formed along an edge of the first groove by the first laser processing step; a second protrusion along an edge of the second groove and a third protrusion at an edge of an intersection between the first groove and the second groove are formed by the second laser processing step; The third protrusion is higher than the first protrusion and the second protrusion. A manufacturing method comprising the steps of:

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