US20050043115A1

US20050043115A1 - Golf club head and method for manufacturing the golf club head

Info

Publication number: US20050043115A1
Application number: US10/643,722
Authority: US
Inventors: Chon-Chen Lin
Original assignee: O-Ta Precision Casting Co Ltd
Current assignee: O-Ta Precision Casting Co Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-18
Filing date: 2003-08-18
Publication date: 2005-02-24

Abstract

A composite golf club head includes a light-weight alloy strike plate, a composite material body, a metal sole plate and a balance weight. The strike plate has a rear, and a rim is formed around the rear to form a hollow cup-like body. The body is bonded to the rim and is composed of a crown and a sole made of fiber prepreg material. A sole plate made of metal is mounted in the sole, and has a seat formed in the sole plate and a hole defined through the seat. A balance weight is mounted in the hole.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head, and more particularly to a golf club head made of composite materials and a manufacturing method for the golf club head.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional golf club heads generally have two types of structure and manufacturing methods. The first type of golf club head is made of metal and is integrally formed by casting, or is composed of multiple forged members welded together. The other type of golf club head is made of composite materials and is composed of a molded body including a faceplate, a shank and a sole plate and a fiber crown attached to the body.
However, the metal golf club head fabricated by means of casting or forging has some shortcomings, such as being time-consuming to manufacture, difficult to position the center of gravity, and having a small size.
With reference to FIG. 6, a conventional composite golf club head has a hollow body (6) and a cover (63). The hollow body (6) is made of metal and is composed of a strike plate (60), a shank (61) and a sole (62). The strike plate (60) has a sweet spot (not shown) covering a specific area, and the sole (62) is enlarged to increase the area covered by the sweet spot. However, increasing the sweet spot significantly may cause the weight of the golf club head to exceed allowable golf club head standards.
The cover (63) is made of a fiber prepreg (pre-impregnated) material bonded directly to the strike plate (60) and will repeatedly be subjected to a great impact force from the strike plate (60). After a period of such treatment, cracks may develop in the golf head at the joint between the cover (63) and the strike plate (60). Therefore, multiple reinforcing layers and strips must be fabricated inside and outside the golf club head to protect weak spots, so manufacturing the golf club head is very inconvenient.
Therefore, the invention provides a composite golf club head to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a composite golf club head that can absorb a strike force on a strike plate, has an enlarged sweet spot on the strike plate and is easy to manufacture.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method to manufacture the composite golf club head as described above.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a golf club head in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a manufacturing process for the golf club head in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side plan view of the golf club head in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side plan view of the golf club head in FIG. 1 positioned in a hot-press mold;
FIG. 5 is an operational cross sectional side plan view of the golf club head in FIG. 4; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional composite golf club head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIG. 1, a golf club head in accordance with the present invention is composed of a strike plate (10), a body (20), a sole plate (30) and a balance weight (33).
The strike plate (10) is made up of a light-weight alloy, has a front (not numbered), a rear (not numbered), a heel (not numbered), a toe (not numbered), a shank (11) and a rim (12). The shank (11) is formed at the heel of the strike plate (10), and the rim (12) is formed around the rear of the strike plate (10) to form a hollow cup-like body (not numbered).
The body (20) is bonded to the rim (12) and is composed of a crown (21) and a sole (22) bonded together. The crown (21) and the sole (22) are made of multiple layers of fiber prepreg (pre-impregnated) material such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar™ fiber, boron fiber, titanium fiber, copper fiber, aluminum fiber, etc. impregnated with resin previously. The sole (22) has an opening (23).
The sole plate (30) is metal, is mounted in the opening (23) and has a seat (31). A hole (32) is defined through the seat (31).
The balance weight (33) is mounted in the hole (32).
With reference to FIGS. 2-5, a process to manufacture the golf club head includes the steps of preparing the individual elements (A), pressing prepreg materials (B), assembling the golf club head (C), shaping the golf club head (D), curing the prepreg materials (E), removing the golf club head from the die (50) (F) and finishing the golf club head (G).
Preparing the individual elements (A) comprises casting or forging the strike plate (10) with the shank (11), the sole plate (30) and the balance weight (33), cutting and bonding the prepreg material based on the profiles of the crown (21) and the sole (22) and preparing adhesive sheets (34) and an air bladder (40).
Pressing prepreg material (B) comprises pressing the prepreg material pieces in corresponding dies (not shown) to form the crown (21) and the sole (22).
Assembling the golf club head (C) comprises attaching the strike plate (10), the crown (21), the sole (22) and the sole plate (30) to each other by the adhesive sheets (34) to form the golf head with an inner cavity (not numbered), and inserting the air bladder (40) into the cavity through the hole (32) in the golf head with a nozzle (not numbered) that extends out of the hole (32).
Shaping the golf club head (D) comprises pumping air into the air bladder (40) to pre-shape the golf club head.
Curing the prepreg materials (E) comprises heating, pressing and blowing the pre-shaped golf club head in a hot-press molding die (50) to cure the prepreg materials of the body (20). The adhesive sheets (34) are pressed by the air bladder (40) to tightly abut the inside wall of the golf head.
Removing the golf club head from the die (50) (F) comprises removing the cured golf club head from the hot-press molding die (50), and the air bladder (40) from the cavity in the golf club head through the hole (32).
Finishing the golf club head (G) comprises finishing the golf club head, installing the balance weight (33) in the hole (32) in the sole plate (30) and painting the golf club head.
The invention has the following advantages.

- 1. The strike plate (10) has a rim (12) to absorb the impact force, so only a small force is transmitted to the body (20) made of the fiber prepreg material, and a user can easily handle the golf club head.
- 2. Because the strike plate (10) is made of a light-weight alloy and is separated from the sole plate (30), an area of the strike plate (10) can be increased moderately to enlarge the sweet spot without increasing the sole plate (30), and the golf club head weight can be kept under the standard weight.
- 3. Manufacturing the body (20) of the fiber prepreg material by means of the automatic pressing procedure is very easy.
- 4. Balancing the center of gravity by installing a balance weight (33) in the golf club head is simple.

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.

Claims

1. A composite golf club head comprising:

a strike plate made of a light-weight alloy, having a front, a rear, a toe, a heel, a shank formed at the heel of the strike plate, and a rim formed around the rear of the strike plate to form a hollow cup-like body;

a body bonded to the rim and being composed of a crown and a sole made of fiber prepreg material;

a sole plate made of metal, mounted in the sole and having a seat formed in the sole plate and a hole defined through the seat; and

a balance weight mounted in the hole.

2. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is carbon fiber impregnated with resin.

3. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is glass fiber impregnated with resin.

4. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is Kevlar™ fiber impregnated with resin.

5. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is boron fiber impregnated with resin.

6. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is titanium fiber impregnated with resin.

7. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is copper fiber impregnated with resin.

8. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber prepreg material is aluminum fiber impregnated with resin.

9. The composite golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein an opening is defined through the sole, and the sole plate is mounted in the opening.

10. A method for manufacturing a golf club head as claimed in claim 1 comprising steps of:

preparing the individual elements comprising casting or forging the strike plate with the shank, the sole plate and the balance weight; cutting and bonding the fiber prepreg material based on the profiles of the crown and the sole; and preparing adhesive sheets and an air bladder;

pressing prepreg material comprising pressing the fiber prepreg material pieces in corresponding dies to form the crown and the sole;

assembling the golf club head comprising attaching the strike plate, the crown, the sole and the sole plate together by the adhesive sheets; and inserting the air bladder through the hole in the golf head with a nozzle extending out of from the hole;

shaping the golf club head comprises pumping air into the air bladder to pre-shape the golf club head;

curing the prepreg materials comprising heating, pressing and blowing the pre-shaped golf club head in a hot-press molding die to cure the fiber prepreg materials of the body; and the air bladder pressing the adhesive sheets to tightly abut the inside wall of the golf head;

removing the golf club head from the die comprises removing the cured golf club head from the hot-press molding die, and removing the air bladder through the hole from the golf club head; and

finishing the golf club head comprising finishing the golf club head, installing the balance weight in the hole in the sole plate and painting the golf club head.