Golf club head and method of manufacturing the same

• US 20020065146A1
• Filed: 11/28/2001
• Published: 05/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daiwa Seiko Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Daiwa Seiko Incorporated
• Inventors: Kusumoto, Harunobu
• Granted Patent: US 6,966,848 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/345
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/04 Heads
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0458 with non-uniform thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0462 characterised by tapering thickness of the impact face plate
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B21K 17/00 Making sport articles, e.g. skates
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 15/00 Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass

Abstract

A golf club head of the invention includes a head body formed by a hollow member, and a face member for forming a face. The face in which a thick-walled portion and a thin-walled portion are formed by forging a metal plate subjected to rolling.

Claims

1. A golf club head comprising:

a face portion formed by using a plate-like metal member subjected to rolling, the face portion having a thick-walled portion and a thin-walled portion.

2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thick-walled portion is smoothly connected to the thin-walled portion.

3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein a change from the thick-walled portion to the thin-walled portion is gentler in a direction perpendicular to a rolling direction than in the rolling direction.

4. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thick-walled portion and the thin-walled portion are formed by a change of a reverse surface of the face portion, and there is a difference in thickness of 10% or more between the thick-walled portion and the thin-walled portion.

5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the face portion is formed by using the plate-like metal member subjected to rolling and whose central portion is thick-walled and whose peripheral portion is thin-walled.

6. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the metal member is subjected to rolling in a state in which a rolling direction of the metal member for making up the face member is set to a short-dimension direction of the face member.

7. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the plate-like metal member subjected to rolling is subjected to machining to make the central portion thick-walled and make the peripheral portion thin-walled.

8. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the thin-walled portion is formed such that closer to a peripheral side of the metal member, the thinner.

9. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thick-walled portion and the thin-walled portion are formed in the face by forging the metal plate subjected to rolling.

10. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the face is subjected to rolling in a top-sole direction, and the central portion thereof is formed to be thick-walled.

11. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thin-walled portion has a direction of its crystal grains oriented in a same direction as that of the thick-walled portion.

12. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the thin-walled portion has a direction of its crystal grains oriented in a direction toward a periphery of the face.

14. The method of manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 13, wherein after the metal plate for making up the face is subjected to rolling in a top-sole direction, the face is pressed by forging in a greater amount on a peripheral portion of the face than on a central portion thereof.

15. The method of manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 13, wherein the forging is cold forging.

17. The golf club head according to claim 16, wherein a maximum height of the surface roughness of the peripheral portion of the reverse surface of the face member is 30 μ

m or less.

18. The golf club head according to claim 16, wherein a fringe surface for welding is formed at the peripheral edge portion of the reverse surface of the face member by machining.

19. The golf club head according to claim 18, wherein a maximum height of the surface roughness of the fringe surface for welding is 30 μ

m or less.

13. A method of manufacturing a golf club head having a metallic face in which a thick-walled portion and a thin-walled portion are formed, comprising the step of:

forging a metal plate subjected to rolling so as to form the thick-walled portion and the thin-walled portion on the face.

16. A golf club head comprising:

a head body; and

a face member,

wherein at least a peripheral portion of a reverse surface of the face member, which is located around a central portion of the reverse surface of the face member, is shaved down so that the central portion of the face member becomes thick, and a peripheral edge portion of the face member in which the peripheral portion around the central portion has been thinned is welded to a head body.