U.S. patent application number 09/844319 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-31 for golf club head and process for making the same.
Invention is credited to Lee, Hou-Teng.
Application Number | 20020160858 09/844319 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26614699 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020160858 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee, Hou-Teng |
October 31, 2002 |
Golf club head and process for making the same
Abstract
In a process for making a golf club head, an open hollow body is
formed from metal to define a front striking panel, a bottom panel
and a hollow neck section of the golf club head. The bottom panel
extends rearwardly from a bottom end of the striking panel. The
neck section is connected to the striking and bottom panels. A
moldable closed hollow body is formed using a resin-impregnated
fiber sheet material, and is positioned inside the open hollow
body. An air bag is placed inside the closed hollow body. The open
and closed hollow bodies are subsequently placed in a mold. The
mold is heated, and air is blown into the air bag so as to
pressurize the closed hollow body against inner surfaces of the
open hollow body and the mold until the resin-impregnated fiber
sheet material is cured.
Inventors: |
Lee, Hou-Teng; (Taipei City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Timothy J. Keefer
Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon
225 West Wacker Drive
Chicago
IL
60606
US
|
Family ID: |
26614699 |
Appl. No.: |
09/844319 |
Filed: |
April 27, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/345 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0437 20200801;
B29C 70/44 20130101; A63B 53/0466 20130101; A63B 2209/023 20130101;
A63B 53/0433 20200801; B29C 70/86 20130101; B29L 2031/5227
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/345 |
International
Class: |
A63B 053/04 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A process for making a golf club head, comprising: forming an
open hollow body which is made of metal and which defines a front
striking panel, a bottom panel and a hollow neck section of the
golf club head, said bottom panel extending rearwardly from a
bottom end of said striking panel, said neck section being
connected to said striking panel and said bottom panel; forming a
moldable closed hollow body by using a resin-impregnated fiber
sheet material, and positioning said closed hollow body inside said
open hollow body; placing an air bag inside said closed hollow
body; placing said open and closed hollow bodies in a mold; and
heating said mold and blowing air into said air bag so as to
pressurize said closed hollow body against an inner surface of said
open hollow body and an inner surface of said mold until said
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is cured.
2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is arranged with four to ten
layers.
3. The process as claimed in claim 2, wherein said
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material includes a carbon fiber and
an epoxy resin.
4. The process as claimed in claim 3, wherein the air is introduced
into said air bag at a pressure of 3-7 kg/cm.
5. The process as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mold is heated
to a temperature of about 130.degree. C.
6. The process as claimed in claim 5, wherein said open hollow body
is made of a titanium alloy.
7. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said moldable closed
hollow body is pressurized against inner surfaces of said striking
panel and said bottom panel to line said inner surfaces of said
striking panel and said bottom panel and against said mold to
define a top wall extending rearwardly from a top end of said
striking panel, and a lateral wall extending between said bottom
panel and said top wall and extending from one side of said
striking panel to another opposite side of said striking panel.
8. The process as claimed in claim 7, wherein said striking panel
is formed with an inwardly projecting flanged end extending along
said top end of said striking panel, and said bottom panel is
formed with an inwardly projecting flanged end along a rear end
thereof.
9. The process as claimed in claim 8, wherein a resin-impregnated
fiber strip is inserted into a corner space defined by each of said
flanged ends of said striking panel and said bottom panel before
said closed hollow body is placed inside said mold.
10. A golf club head produced according to the process of claim 1,
comprising a front striking panel, a bottom panel extending
rearwardly from a bottom end of said striking panel, a top wall
extending rearwardly from a top end of said striking panel, a
hollow neck section extending upward from one end of said top end
of said striking panel and connected to said bottom panel, and a
lateral wall interconnecting said bottom panel and said top wall
and extending from one side of said striking panel to another
opposite side of said striking panel, wherein said front striking
panel, said bottom panel and said hollow neck section are made of
metal, and said top and lateral walls are made of plastic.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a golf club head and a process for
making the same, more particularly to a process for making a golf
club head which is relatively light, which has a relatively large
striking face, and which has different colors.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Golf appeals to people mainly because it is played on green
fields and different landscapes where players can play with ease
and style. The crisp sound of the club hitting the golf ball is
relished by many golf players. Those who are familiar with the game
know that there are different types of golf clubs depending on
their applications and the terrain on which they are used. There
are wood clubs, iron clubs and putter clubs. The process of making
a golf club involves the steps of forming a club head and
connecting the club head to a striking panel by welding. However,
since there are certain specifications and limitations with regard
to the size and weight of a golf club in the design of club heads
in order to ensure desirable ball controllability of the golf club,
manufacturers cannot, for the sake of increasing the ball hitting
rate, merely increase the area of the striking panel. This is
because increasing the area of the striking panel inevitably
requires the enlargement of the size of the club head, which will
lead to increased weight of the golf club as a whole. This means
increased load for the golf player. Therefore, how to manufacture a
light-weight golf club with an increased striking area so as to
increase the ball hitting rate is a major concern in the art. In
addition, there exist certain drawbacks, as set forth below, with
the manufacture of conventional golf clubs:
[0005] 1. Since the striking panel and the club head of a
conventional golf club are welded together manually, and since the
quality of welding depends on the skill and experience of the
operators, the quality of the golf club heads may differ. Poor
workmanship may even result in formation of holes in the striking
panel or excessive burrs or insufficient material at the juncture
between the striking panel and the club head, which makes
subsequent finishing operations difficult.
[0006] 2. For the reason stated above, the production speed is
relatively low, and the output of individual operators differs.
[0007] 3. Since golf club heads can be formed from titanium alloy,
stainless steel or aluminum alloy, specific welding solders have to
be used in welding the striking panel and the club head together.
For titanium-formed club heads, for instance, titanium solders have
to be used. There are currently very few substitutes therefor.
[0008] 4. In view of the fact that golf club heads formed from a
specific metal material require solder materials of the same
material, the metallic color or luster of the golf club head is
monochromatic, which is monotonous.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to
provide a process for making a golf club head that has a large
striking panel but is light-weight, and that has different
colors.
[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, a process
for making a golf club head includes: forming an open hollow body
which is made of metal and which defines a front striking panel, a
bottom panel and a hollow neck section of the golf club head, the
bottom panel extending rearwardly from a bottom end of the striking
panel, the neck section being connected to the striking panel and
the bottom panel; forming a moldable closed hollow body by using a
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material, and positioning the closed
hollow body inside the open hollow body; placing an air bag inside
the closed hollow body; placing the open and closed hollow bodies
in a mold; and heating the mold and blowing air into the air bag so
as to pressurize the closed hollow body against an inner surface of
the open hollow body and an inner surface of the mold until the
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is cured.
[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, a golf
club head produced according to the afore-mentioned process
includes a front striking panel, a bottom panel extending
rearwardly from a bottom end of the striking panel, a top wall
extending rearwardly from a top end of the striking panel, a hollow
neck section extending upward from one end of the top end of the
striking panel and connected to the bottom panel, and a lateral
wall interconnecting the bottom panel and the top wall and
extending from one side of the striking panel to another opposite
side of the striking panel. The front striking panel, the bottom
panel and the hollow neck section are made of metal, and the top
and lateral walls are made of plastic.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an open hollow
body for use in a process of making a golf club head according to
the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the preferred
embodiment of a golf club head, showing a moldable closed hollow
body disposed inside the open hollow body of FIG. 1 to form a
semi-finished product;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing the
semi-finished product when provided with an air bag and when placed
inside a mold;
[0016] FIG. 4 is the same view as FIG. 3, but with the closed
hollow body being pressurized against inner surfaces of the open
hollow body and the mold;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the product taken out from the
mold;
[0018] FIG. 6 is another schematic sectional view of the product of
FIG. 5, which is taken along a line perpendicular to the plane of
the sectional view of FIG. 5; and
[0019] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the product of
FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a metal open hollow body 21 which is used in a
preferred embodiment of the process according to the present
invention. In this embodiment, the open hollow body 21 is made of a
titanium alloy. The open hollow body 21 defines a front striking
panel 211, a bottom panel 213 and a hollow neck section 212. The
bottom panel 213 extends rearwardly from a bottom end of the
striking panel 211. The neck section 212 is connected to the
striking panel 211 and the bottom panel 213. Furthermore, the
striking panel 211 is formed with an inwardly projecting flanged
end 2110 that extends along a top end of the striking panel 211.
The bottom panel 213 is formed with an inwardly projecting flanged
end 2130 along a rear end thereof (see FIG. 5).
[0021] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a moldable closed hollow
body 22 is formed by using a resin-impregnated fiber sheet
material, and is positioned inside the open hollow body 21. The
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is arranged with four to ten
layers, and includes a carbon fiber and a resin, such as epoxy
resin. The moldable closed hollow body 22 is adhered to inner
surfaces of the striking panel 211 and the bottom panel 213, and
includes a reinforcing layer 222 extending from a top end of the
striking panel 211 to the neck section 212, a bottom wall 221
lining the bottom panel 213, a top wall 225 extending rearwardly
from the top end of the striking panel 211, a front wall 226 (see
FIG. 5) lining the striking panel 211, and a lateral wall 220 which
extends from one side of the striking panel 211 to the opposite
side of the striking panel 211 between the bottom panel 213 and the
top wall 225. Resin-impregnated fiber strips 227, 228 are
respectively inserted into corner spaces 215, 216 (see FIG. 5)
defined by the flanged ends 2110, 2130 of the striking panel 211
and the bottom panel 213, respectively. An injection hole 224 is
formed in the lateral wall 220 of the closed hollow body 22, and an
air bag 23 is placed inside the closed hollow body 22, as shown in
FIG. 3. Thus, a semi-finished product is obtained.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a mold 3 comprising upper and
lower mold halves 31, 32 is prepared. A mouth 231 is mounted in the
injection hole 224 to connect fluidly with the air bag 23. Then,
the semi-finished product along with the mouth 231 is placed inside
the lower mold half 32 such that the mouth 231 extends outwardly of
the lower mold half 32. Then, the upper mold half 31 is placed on
top of the lower mold half 32. The mold 3 is heated to a
temperature of about 130.degree. C. At the same time, air is blown
into the air bag 23 using an air pump head 4 (shown in phantom
lines) at a pressure of 3 to 7 mg/cm.sup.2 to inflate the air bag
23 so as to pressurize the closed hollow body 22 against an inner
surface of the open hollow body 21 and an inner surface 35 of the
mold 3 until the resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is cured,
thereby forming a product 24, which has to undergo further
finishing steps. Thereafter, the air pump head 4 is detached from
the mouth 231, and the product 24 is released from the mold 3.
Referring to FIG. 6, a sealing piece 25 is disposed to close the
injection hole 224 after the air bag 23 is removed from the product
24. The product 24 is subjected to surface finishing operations,
including grinding, polishing, etc., to yield a finished golf club
head 2 as shown in FIG. 7.
[0023] The golf club head 2 thus produced according to the
above-described process includes: the front striking panel 211; the
bottom panel 213, which extends rearwardly from the bottom end of
the striking panel 211; the top wall 225, which extends rearwardly
from the top end of the striking panel 211; the hollow neck section
212, which extends upward from one end of the top end of the
striking panel 211 and which is connected to the bottom panel 213;
and the lateral wall 220, which interconnects the bottom panel 213
and the top wall 225 and which extends from one side of the
striking panel 211 to another opposite side of the striking panel
211. The front striking panel 211, the bottom panel 213 and the
hollow neck section 212 are made of metal, whereas the top and
lateral walls 225, 220 are made of plastic.
[0024] In view of the aforesaid, the golf club head according to
the present invention has the following advantages:
[0025] 1. Since the striking panel, the bottom panel and the neck
section of the golf club head are integrally formed from a
light-weight metal material, such as titanium alloy, and since the
rest of the golf club head is formed from a resin-impregnated fiber
sheet material which is of a much lighter weight, the golf club
head as a whole is comparatively lighter than conventional golf
club heads.
[0026] 2. In view of the light-weight of the golf club head of the
present invention, the striking panel can be enlarged to increase
the striking area with little effect on the overall weight of the
golf club head.
[0027] 3. The parts of the golf club head that are formed from
resin-impregnated fiber sheet material can be coated with coatings
or paints of different colors during the finishing steps to make
the golf club head more colorful and appealing.
[0028] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *