Golf club head alloy and method for manufacturing a golf club head

Abstract

This golf club head alloy solves the problem that conventional alloys cannot be used to manufacture the hitting face. [Solution] The golf club head alloy contains 11-13% by weight of molybdenum, 5-7% by weight of zirconium, 0.5-2.5% by weight of iron, and 3-4% by weight of aluminum, and the golf club head alloy further contains a balance amount of titanium and unavoidable impurities. The above composition ratio can reduce the hard and brittle phase of the golf club head alloy, and furthermore, the striking face manufactured from the golf club head alloy can pass a golf ball impact test, and whether or not to heat treat the striking face can be determined according to the user's needs, and the striking face can have high rebound performance or high strength characteristics. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head using the golf club head alloy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to alloys, and in particular to golf club head alloys. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head using the above golf club head alloy. Background Art

[0002] Golf combines the functions of exercise and entertainment, so it is often used as a social activity accompanied by business exchanges. However, only hitting faces manufactured from a small number of alloy compositions can pass impact tests, and even if they pass the impact test, the hitting faces do not necessarily have high resilience performance or high mechanical strength.

[0003] Since suitable golf club head performances vary depending on the skill level of players, various golf club brand manufacturers are currently actively searching for and developing alloy materials that can satisfy the above requirements, aiming to increase the diversity of options for a wide range of players. Prior Art Documents Patent Documents

[0004] Patent Document 1 China Publication No. 113652576B Summary of the Invention Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] To solve the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head alloy applicable to the manufacture of hitting faces for golf club heads having high resilience performance or high strength characteristics.

[0006] Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a golf club head, for manufacturing a golf club head including a hitting face manufactured using the above-described golf club head alloy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Throughout the specification of this invention, the counter words "one" or "one" used with respect to parts or components are used for convenience and to give the usual meaning to the scope included in this invention, and should be interpreted as one or at least one in this invention, and unless explicitly stated otherwise, the concept of one also includes cases of multiple.

[0008] The golf club head alloy of the present invention comprises 11-13% by weight of molybdenum, 5-7% by weight of zirconium, 0.5-2.5% by weight of iron, and 3-4% by weight of aluminum, and the golf club head alloy may further contain a balance amount of titanium and unavoidable impurities.

[0009] As a result, the golf club head alloy of the present invention can reduce the hard and brittle phase of the golf club head alloy (for example, the occupancy rate of the α phase of the golf club head alloy is set to about 40-48 wt%, and the occupancy rate of the β phase is set to about 52-60 wt%), the striking face manufactured from the golf club head alloy can pass a golf ball impact test, and it is possible to decide whether or not to heat treat the striking face according to the demand. The striking face that has not undergone heat treatment has a lower Young's modulus and a higher elongation rate, which is advantageous for forming a golf club head with high rebound performance, while the striking face that has undergone heat treatment has stronger mechanical properties, which is advantageous for forming a golf club head with high strength characteristics. These are the effects of the present invention.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a golf club head alloy, wherein the specific gravity of the golf club head alloy is 4.78 to 4.98. In this way, the weight of the golf club head, including the striking face made from the aforementioned golf club head alloy, can be reduced.

[0011] Furthermore, the method for manufacturing a golf club head of the present invention includes the steps of manufacturing a striking face using the golf club head alloy and joining the striking face to the head body.

[0012] Therefore, the impact face made of the aforementioned golf club head alloy can have good mechanical properties and can pass the golf ball impact test. These mechanical properties may include, for example, tensile strength (147.3~153.6 ksi), yield strength (145.0~151.1 ksi), Young's modulus (91.5~102.3 GPa), and elongation (13.8~16.6%), and the impact face manufactured from the aforementioned golf club head alloy can have high rebound performance.

[0013] Furthermore, the method for manufacturing a golf club head of the present invention includes the step of heat-treating the striking face at a temperature of 600±50℃ for 60±10 minutes after manufacturing the striking face and before joining the striking face to the head body. In this way, the mechanical properties of the striking face can be adjusted by specific heat treatment parameters. For example, the tensile strength can be increased to 195.7-207.6 ksi, the yield strength to 188.2-199.8 ksi, the Young's modulus to 114.7-123.7 GPa, and the elongation can be reduced to 4.0-9.4%, thereby enabling the striking face manufactured from the golf club head alloy to have high-strength properties. [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0014] To make the above-mentioned objectives, other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention easier to understand, the following examples of the present invention will be given and explained in detail.

[0015] One embodiment of the present invention is a titanium alloy, which refers to an alloy formed by adding other metals to a base of titanium (Ti) metal, and the golf club head alloy contains elements such as molybdenum (Mo), zirconium (Zr), iron (Fe), and aluminum (Al) in specific proportions, as well as small amounts of unavoidable impurities.

[0016] More specifically, the golf club head alloy may contain approximately 11-13% by weight of molybdenum, 5-7% by weight of zirconium, and 0.5-2.5% by weight of iron. Furthermore, in order to enable the golf club head alloy to pass the golf ball impact test, the golf club head alloy further contains 3-4% by weight of aluminum.

[0017] The specific gravity of a golf club head alloy containing the aforementioned composition ratio is between approximately 4.78 and 4.98, and can be set to, for example, 4.88. This allows the golf club head alloy to be manufactured into a striking face (for example, by performing multiple rolling operations at a temperature of 830±50℃, with each rolling operation completed within 10-15 minutes), and after the striking face is joined to the head body to form the golf club head, the golf club head can have a lighter weight, thus providing greater margin for center of gravity adjustment, which can help manufacturers customize the center of gravity according to the user's needs.

[0018] Furthermore, before joining the striking face to the head body, the striking face can be subjected to appropriate heat treatment to improve its mechanical strength. For example, the striking face can be heat-treated at a temperature of 600±50℃ for 60±10 minutes, thereby improving the tensile strength and yield strength of the striking face.

[0019] Further, the golf club head alloy is an α-β titanium alloy, and the golf club head alloy comprises about 40 to 48 wt% of α phase and 52 to 60 wt% of β phase (for example, comprises 44 wt% of α phase and 56 wt% of β phase). Compared with a control group containing no aluminum, the occupancy of the β phase is reduced (the occupancy of the α phase in the aluminum-free control group is about 30 wt%, and the occupancy of the β phase is about 70 wt%), so that generation of excessive hard and brittle phases can be avoided, and the situation that rupture occurs due to excessive hard and brittle phases when a hitting face manufactured from the golf club head alloy hits a golf ball can be avoided.

[0020] Test results of mechanical properties of a hitting face formed from the golf club head alloy show that the tensile strength of the golf club head alloy is about 147.3 to 153.6 ksi, for example, may be 150.5 ksi; the yield strength thereof is about 145.0 to 151.1 ksi, for example, may be 148.1 ksi; the Young's modulus thereof is about 91.5 to 102.3 GPa, for example, may be 96.9 GPa; and the elongation thereof is about 13.8 to 16.6%, for example, may be 15.2%.

[0021] To prove that the hitting face manufactured from the golf club head of the present invention definitely has excellent mechanical properties and can pass a golf ball impact test, the following tests were performed with hitting faces manufactured from aluminum-free alloys as group A0 and hitting faces manufactured from the golf club head alloy of the present invention as group A1.

[0022] (A) Comparison of mechanical properties

[0023] As shown in Table 1, compared with the striking faces of Group A0 manufactured from an aluminum-free alloy, the tensile strength and yield strength of the striking faces of Group A1 manufactured from the golf club head alloy of the present invention (containing 3.5 wt% of aluminum) are slightly lower, but the Young's modulus is slightly improved. It is particularly noteworthy that the elongation percentage of the striking faces of Group A1 is significantly improved, with the average value increased from 2.9% to 12.9%.

[0024]

Table 1

[0025] (B) Results of golf ball impact test

[0026] As shown in Table 2, compared with the striking face of Group A0 manufactured from an aluminum-free alloy (with a wall thickness of 3 mm), the striking face of Group A1 manufactured from the golf club head alloy of the present invention (containing 3.5 wt% of aluminum) can withstand more impact times (at an impact velocity of 50 m / s).

[0027]

Table 2

[0028] (C) Adjustment of heat treatment parameters

[0029] As also shown in Table 3, according to the results of heat treatment performed at different temperatures, the Young's modulus of the striking face of Group C0 that did not undergo heat treatment is relatively low; meanwhile, the mechanical strengths such as tensile strength and yield strength of the striking face of Group C1 that underwent heat treatment at a temperature of 600°C are relatively high, and it is shown that the numerical values are superior to those of the striking face of Group C2 that underwent heat treatment at a temperature of 700°C. In addition, the striking face that underwent heat treatment at a temperature of 500°C was too brittle to measure its mechanical strength.

[0030]

Table 3

[0031] In summary, the golf club head alloy of the present invention, with the aforementioned composition ratio, can significantly reduce the hard and brittle phase of the golf club head alloy, and furthermore, the striking face manufactured from the golf club head alloy can pass the golf ball impact test. Moreover, it is possible to decide whether or not to heat treat the striking face according to the demand. The striking face that has not undergone heat treatment has a lower Young's modulus and a higher elongation rate, which is advantageous for forming a golf club head with high rebound performance, while the striking face that has undergone heat treatment has stronger mechanical properties, which is advantageous for forming a golf club head with high strength characteristics. These are the effects of the present invention.

[0032] Furthermore, by using a striking face manufactured from the aforementioned golf club head alloy, the striking face can have good mechanical properties and pass golf ball firing tests. These mechanical properties may include, for example, tensile strength (147.3~153.6 ksi), yield strength (145.0~151.1 ksi), Young's modulus (91.5~102.3 GPa), and elongation (13.8~16.6%), enabling the striking face manufactured from the golf club head alloy to have high rebound performance.

[0033] Furthermore, by adjusting specific heat treatment parameters, the mechanical properties of the striking face can be modified. For example, its tensile strength can be increased to 195.7-207.6 ksi, its yield strength to 188.2-199.8 ksi, its Young's modulus to 114.7-123.7 GPa, and its elongation to 4.0-9.4%, thereby enabling the striking face manufactured from the golf club head alloy to possess high-strength properties.

[0034] Although the present invention has been disclosed with respect to the above embodiments, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art will know that various modifications to the above embodiments will remain within the scope of the invention, as long as they do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present invention includes all modifications within the scope of the language set forth in the claims described below and equivalents.

Claims

1. It contains 11-13% by weight of molybdenum, 5-7% by weight of zirconium, 0.5-2.5% by weight of iron, and 3-4% by weight of aluminum. The golf club head alloy is characterized by further containing a balance amount of titanium and unavoidable impurities.

2. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that the specific gravity of the golf club head alloy is 4.78 to 4.

98.

3. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, characterized in that the golf club head alloy is an α-β titanium alloy, and the α phase occupancy rate is 40 to 48 wt% and the β phase occupancy rate is 52 to 60 wt%.

4. A method for manufacturing a golf club head, comprising the steps of manufacturing a striking face using a golf club head alloy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and joining the striking face to the head body.

5. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 4, characterized in that the striking face has a tensile strength of 147.3 to 153.6 ksi, a yield strength of 145.0 to 151.1 ksi, a Young's modulus of 91.5 to 102.3 GPa, and an elongation of 13.8 to 16.6%.

6. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 4, further comprising the step of heat-treating the striking face at a temperature of 600 ± 50°C for 60 ± 10 minutes after manufacturing the striking face and before joining the striking face to the head body.

7. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 6, characterized in that the heat-treated striking face has a tensile strength of 195.7 to 207.6 ksi, a yield strength of 188.2 to 199.8 ksi, a Young's modulus of 114.7 to 123.7 GPa, and an elongation of 4.0 to 9.4%.

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