U.S. patent application number 13/705591 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-13 for golf club head and ornament.
This patent application is currently assigned to BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Takaharu TAKECHI.
Application Number | 20130150176 13/705591 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48572492 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130150176 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TAKECHI; Takaharu |
June 13, 2013 |
GOLF CLUB HEAD AND ORNAMENT
Abstract
This invention provides a golf club head to which an ornament is
fixed. The ornament includes a cup-shaped metal shell member, a
solid elastic body which has a mounting surface fitted in the golf
club head, and fills the interior of the shell member, and an
adhesive layer which bonds the inner surface of the shell member to
the elastic body.
Inventors: |
TAKECHI; Takaharu;
(Saitama-shi, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.; |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO.,
LTD.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
48572492 |
Appl. No.: |
13/705591 |
Filed: |
December 5, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/324 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 53/0466 20130101;
A63B 53/04 20130101; A63B 2071/0694 20130101; A63B 53/047 20130101;
A63B 53/0433 20200801; A63B 60/52 20151001; A63B 53/0487 20130101;
A63B 2209/10 20130101; A63B 60/00 20151001; A63B 2053/0491
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/324 |
International
Class: |
A63B 53/04 20060101
A63B053/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 8, 2011 |
JP |
2011-269372 |
Claims
1. A golf club head to which an ornament is fixed, the ornament
comprising a cup-shaped metal shell member, a solid elastic body
which has a mounting surface fitted in the golf club head, and
fills an interior of said shell member, and an adhesive layer which
bonds an inner surface of said shell member to said elastic
body.
2. The head according to claim 1, wherein said shell member is made
by electroforming.
3. The head according to claim 1, wherein said elastic body is made
of a resin mixed with a metal material.
4. The head according to claim 1, wherein said shell member and
said elastic body include holes, respectively, into which a bolt is
to be inserted, and the ornament is fixed to the golf club head by
the bolt.
5. The head according to claim 1, wherein said elastic body
includes a gap portion separated from the inner surface of said
shell member, and said adhesive layer includes a portion formed by
an adhesive which fills said gap portion.
6. An ornament fixed to a golf club head, the ornament comprising:
a cup-shaped metal shell member; a solid elastic body which has a
mounting surface fitted in the golf club head, and fills an
interior of said shell member; and an adhesive layer which bonds an
inner surface of said shell member to said elastic body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an ornament for a golf club
head.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A golf club head to which an ornament having text or a
graphic is fixed is known (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open
No. 6-510689 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-293124). Such
an ornament can improve the aesthetic design features of the golf
club head. Especially the use of a three-dimensional metal ornament
is expected to further improve the aesthetic design features of the
golf club head.
[0005] The use of a solid metal ornament often has a considerable
influence on the balance of the golf club head due to its heavy
weight. In this case, the weight of the ornament can be reduced
using a metal shell member only for the surface layer of the
ornament. However, the fixed state of the ornament to the golf club
head becomes unstable when a shell member is used alone. It is
possible to charge a liquid resin into the shell member, and cure
the resin, thereby filling the interior of the shell member.
However, the liquid resin may form a shrinkage cavity upon curing.
Then, in fixing the ornament to the golf club head, the fixed state
of the ornament may become unstable as the ornament cannot be
fitted in the surface of the golf club head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to stably fix an
ornament to a golf club head.
[0007] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a golf club head to which an ornament is fixed, the
ornament comprising a cup-shaped metal shell member, a solid
elastic body which has a mounting surface fitted in the golf club
head, and fills an interior of the shell member, and an adhesive
layer which bonds an inner surface of the shell member to the
elastic body.
[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided an ornament fixed to a golf club head, the ornament
comprising: a cup-shaped metal shell member; a solid elastic body
which has a mounting surface fitted in the golf club head, and
fills an interior of the shell member; and an adhesive layer which
bonds an inner surface of the shell member to the elastic body.
[0009] Further features of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments
with reference to the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the golf club head when
viewed from another direction;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an ornament;
[0013] FIG. 4A is a sectional end elevation view of a shell member
taken along a line I-I in FIG. 3;
[0014] FIG. 4B is a sectional end elevation view of an elastic body
taken along the line I-I in FIG. 3; and
[0015] FIG. 4C is a sectional view of an ornament 20 in a
cross-section corresponding to the line I-I in FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0016] FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a golf club head 10
according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG.
1 is a perspective view of the golf club head 10 when viewed from
above; and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the golf club head 10
when viewed from below.
[0017] The golf club head 10 takes the form of a hollow body, and
its peripheral wall forms a face portion 11, a crown portion 12, a
sole portion 13, and a side portion 14. The face portion 11 forms a
face surface (striking surface). The crown portion 12 forms the
upper portion of the golf club head 10. The sole portion 13 forms
the bottom portion of the golf club head 10. The side portion 14
forms the side portion of the golf club head 10. The side portion
14 includes toe-, back-, and heel-side portions. The golf club head
10 also includes a hosel portion 15 to which a shaft is
attached.
[0018] The golf club head 10 serves as a driver golf club head.
However, the present invention is applicable to various golf club
heads such as wood golf club heads including not only a driver golf
club head but also, for example, a fairway wood golf club head,
utility (hybrid) golf club heads, iron golf club heads, and
putters.
[0019] The golf club head 10 can be made of a metal material such
as a titanium-based metal (for example, 6Al-4V-Ti titanium alloy),
stainless steel, or a copper alloy such as beryllium copper.
[0020] An ornament 20 is fixed to the golf club head 10, as shown
in FIG. 2. Although the ornament 20 is fixed to the heel-side
portion of the side portion 14 in this embodiment, the fixing
portion is not limited to this, and may be, for example, the crown
portion 12 or sole portion 13. In this embodiment, the ornament 20
is separably fixed to the golf club head 10 by a bolt 24. However,
the fixing method is not limited to this, and adhesion or sticking
may be adopted.
[0021] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ornament 20.
The ornament 20 is formed by bonding a shell member 21 and an
elastic body 22 together. FIG. 4A is a sectional end elevation view
of the shell member 21 taken along a line I-I in FIG. 3. FIG. 4B is
a sectional end elevation view of the shell member 21 taken along
the line I-I in FIG. 3. FIG. 4C is a sectional view of the ornament
20 in a cross-section corresponding to the line I-I in FIG. 3.
[0022] The shell member 21 is made of a cup-shaped metal open on
the side of attachment to the golf club head 10. As the shell
member 21 is made of a metal, its abrasion resistance and texture
can improve. Examples of the metal which forms the shell member 21
include chromium plating, stainless steel, and an aluminum alloy.
Although various molding methods can be adopted to mold the shell
member 21, electroforming is preferable in terms of forming a sharp
three-dimensional structure. In this case, chromium or a chromium
alloy is preferably used as the metal which forms the shell member
21.
[0023] In this embodiment, a plurality of linear grooves 21a' are
formed in an outer surface 21a of the shell member 21, thereby
improving the aesthetic design features of the golf club head 10.
An aesthetic design pattern represented not only by such a graphic
but also by text and a color can be formed on the outer surface 21a
of the shell member 21. Such an aesthetic deign pattern may be
printed on the outer surface 21a.
[0024] A circular recessed portion 211 is formed at the central
portion of the outer surface 21a of the shell member 21, and a
through hole 212 into which the bolt 24 is to be inserted is formed
at the center of the recessed portion 211. The recessed portion 211
at least partially accommodates the head of the bolt 24.
[0025] The elastic body 22 is a solid material which fills the
interior of the shell member 21, and is made of, for example, a
resin block having a specific shape formed by molding in advance.
Examples of the material of the elastic body 22 include rubber and
a resin. The elastic body 22 may be made of a resin mixed with a
metal material. The metal material is, for example, tungsten,
magnesium, or a damping material, and can be mixed in the elastic
body 22 in the form of a powder or a flake. As the metal material
is mixed in the elastic body 22, the ornament 20 can also be used
as a weight for barycentric position adjustment of the golf club
head 10.
[0026] The elastic body 22 includes an adhesive surface 22a and a
mounting surface 22b fitted in the golf club head 10.
[0027] The adhesive surface 22a is a portion bonded to an inner
surface 21b of the shell member 21 by an adhesive layer 23, and has
an outer shape roughly conforming to the shape of the inner surface
21b. In this embodiment, since the adhesive layer 23 is formed over
the entire region on the adhesive surface 22a, the outer shape of
the adhesive surface 22a is slightly smaller than the shape of the
inner surface 21b of the shell member 21.
[0028] Further, a slightly recessed, separated portion 220 is
formed in the portion of the adhesive surface 22a, which is located
behind the surface of the shell member 21, in which the grooves
21a' are formed. The separated portion 220 is more considerably
separated from the inner surface 21b of the shell member 21 than
the remaining portion of the adhesive surface 22a. The elastic body
22 can be relatively thick in the separated portion 220.
[0029] A circular recessed portion 221 is formed at the central
portion of the separated portion 220, and a through hole 222 into
which the bolt 24 is to be inserted is formed at the center of the
recessed portion 221. The recessed portion 221 partially
accommodates the recessed portion 211 in the shell member 21.
[0030] In this embodiment, the mounting surface 22b has an outer
shape roughly conforming to that of the golf club head 10. In this
embodiment, since the ornament 20 is fastened to the golf club head
10 using the bolt 24 as a method of fixing the ornament 20 to the
golf club head 10, the mounting surface 22b comes into contact
(especially, press contact) with the surface of the golf club head
10. If adhesion or sticking is selected as the fixing method, an
adhesive or a sticker is interposed between the mounting surface
22b and the surface of the golf club head 10. An example of the
sticker includes a double-sided sticky tape.
[0031] The adhesive layer 23 bonds the inner surface 21b of the
shell member 21 to the adhesive surface 22a of the elastic body 22.
The adhesive layer 23 is formed by, for example, supplying a liquid
adhesive to the gap between the inner surface 21b of the shell
member 21 and the adhesive surface 22a of the elastic body 22, and
solidifying the adhesive. As the adhesive which forms the adhesive
layer 23, a synthetic adhesive such as an epoxy resin adhesive or
an acrylic adhesive is preferable. Especially the use of an
adhesive, that has a hardness higher than the elastic body 22 after
solidification, makes it possible to reinforce the shell member 21
and, more specifically, reinforce the surface portion of the shell
member 21, in which the grooves 21a' are formed, by the adhesive
layer 23 formed in the separated portion 220.
[0032] After the shell member 21 is bonded to the elastic body 22,
the bolt 24 is inserted into the holes 212 and 222 and screwed into
a screw hole 14a (FIG. 3) formed in the golf club head 10, thereby
fixing the ornament 20 to the golf club head 10.
[0033] In this embodiment, since the solid elastic body 22 fills
the interior of the shell member 21 and forms the mounting surface
22b, the mounting surface 22b can be fitted in the golf club head
10, thereby stably fixing the ornament 20 to the golf club head 10.
Since the shell member 21 is bonded to the elastic body 22 by the
adhesive layer 23, their adhesion strength can be improved. This
contributes to tightly fixing the shell member 21 and the elastic
body 22 to each other.
[0034] Also, since the elastic body 22 forms the mounting surface
22b, and the ornament 20 is fixed to the golf club head 10 by
fastening using the bolt 24, the ornament 20 can be more reliably
fitted in and fixed to the golf club head 10 by elastic deformation
of the elastic body 22. Moreover, a plurality of types of ornaments
20 having different design patterns and weights can be prepared and
selected by the user.
[0035] While the present invention has been described with
reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.
The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent structures and functions.
[0036] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent
Application No. 2011-269372, filed Dec. 8, 2011, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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