Hollow golf club head

• US 7,063,629 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2003
• Issued: 06/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Shinji, Miyamoto, Masahiko, Nakahara, Norihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiu, Raleigh W.
• Application Number:
  US10/338,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20030134693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 473/342, 473/345, 473347-350
• US Class Current: 473/345
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/02 with reinforcing fibres, e.g. carbon, polyamide fibres
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0416 Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0437 with special crown configurations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/0466 wood-type

Abstract

A hollow golf club head enables to increase the bonding strength of an outer shell member made of metal and an outer shell member made of fiber reinforced plastic. The hollow golf club head comprises a hollow golf club having a head body of a hollow structure formed by bonding the metallic outer shell member and the fiber reinforced plastic outer shell member, wherein the fiber reinforced plastic outer shell member is bonded to both faces of the bonding portion of the metallic outer shell member.

Claims

1. A hollow golf club head, comprising a head body having a hollow structure and formed by bonding together an outer shell member made of metal that forms a face portion, a sole portion and a neck portion of the head body and an outer shell member made of fiber reinforced plastic that forms a crown portion of the head body at respective bonding portions of each, wherein the bonding portion of said fiber reinforced plastic outer shell member is branched to provide two, spaced apart bonding portions that extend all around an outer edge of the fiber reinforced plastic outer shell member and between which is bonded opposite faces of the bonding portion of said metallic outer shell member.

2. The hollow golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the bonding portion of said metallic outer shell member decreases gradually toward an end part thereof.

3. The hollow golf club head according to claim 1, having a plurality of notches in the bonding portion of said metallic outer shell member.

4. The hollow golf club head according to claim 1, having a through hole in the bonding portion of said metallic outer shell member.

5. The hollow golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the bonding portion of the metallic outer shell member has a surface roughness Ra of 0.5 to 2.0.

6. The hollow golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the fiber of said fiber reinforced plastic is carbon fiber.