Abstract:
A golf club head and manufacturing method. The method includes the steps of: selectively forming through holes on a surface of a golf club head; preparing carbon-fiber plates which are made of prepared carbon-fiber fabrics; providing a cushion channel between an outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate and an inner periphery of the through hole while each of the carbon-fiber plate is combined with the associated through hole of the golf club head; filling the cushion channel with a filler; and finishing the golf club head to produce an end product.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to a golf club head and a manufacturing method therefor. More particularly, the present invention is related to a cushion channel remained between through holes of the main body of the golf club head and prepared carbon fiber plates as well as related to a elastic colored filler filled in the cushion channel to prevent wrinkle on the periphery of the through holes and the carbon fiber plates. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional golf club head mainly includes a main body and a striking plate attached thereto, all of which are made of metal or alloy. The main body is formed as a single member by casting or consisted of a crown plate, a sole plate and a side plate by welding. As to the striking plate, it is attached to a front surface of the main body by incorporating, welding or embedding. To meet various requirements, manufacture may change the configuration and the structural connection of the main body and the striking plate to lower its center of gravity and its total weight. Since the main body is made of metal, the center of gravity and the total weight of the main body cannot be effectively adjusted specific. 
     Another conventional golf club head mainly includes a metal main body formed with an opening at its top and regarded as a filling portion. Plurality of prepared carbon-fiber fabrics are piled up and used for attaching to the opening of the main body and sealing it. The prepared carbon-fiber fabrics have plasticity before heating and hardening it. Firstly, the main body is placed in a die assembly and an air-inflating bag is used to support the prepared carbon-fiber fabrics on the main body so that the main body can be formed with a carbon-fiber portion. Light material of the carbon-fiber portion may cause reduction of weight and thus the center of gravity and the total weight of the main body can be adjusted specific. By manufacturing such large carbon-fiber portion, has sophisticated the manufacture processes of the prepared carbon-fiber fabrics and prolonged the manufacture time. In manufacture operation, it reduces the product quality due to irregular deformation of the prepared carbon-fiber fabrics. Moreover, a large area of the prepared carbon-fiber fabrics may weaken the entire structural strength of the main body and it may lower its striking sound instead of a sharp striking sound making by a metal golf club head. 
     Another conventional golf club head and the manufacturing method therefor are shown as  FIGS. 1 and 2 . A wood type golf club head has a main body  10  and a striking plate  11 . The main body  10  retains most of the metal shell thereof but has a plurality of through holes  12  on the crown plate, the sole plate or the side plate. The through holes  12  are provided with stepped portions  121  for fitting with plural prepared and light carbon-fiber plates  20  (or weighing member  30 ). Therefore, the main body  10  may not only have a low gravity center, less weight and sharp striking sound but also have a short manufacture process and better quality. The main body  10  may change the position of gravity center and entire weight quickly by means of adjusting the number, size and weight of the through holes  12 , the carbon-fiber plates  20  and the weighting member  30 . However, when the carbon-fiber plates  20  are closely fitted with the through holes  12 , the interface therebetween easily deforms frequently, and wrinkles appeared thereon. This influences the appearance and quality of the products. Therefore, it is necessary to implement the conventional golf club head and the manufacture method therefor. 
     The present invention intends to implement the drawbacks mentioned above. In the present invention, a cushion channel is remained between the through hole of the golf club head and the carbon-fiber plates. The cushion channel is provided with an appropriate clearance for the absorbing deformation to reduce the wrinkles and the influence thereof on the entire structural strength. Moreover, the cushion channel may also be filled with elastic colored filler to enhance the appearance of the product. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of this invention is to provide a golf club head and a manufacturing method therefor, wherein a cushion channel is remained between the through holes on the main body of the golf club head and the carbon-fiber plates to form an appropriate clearance for absorbing deformation to reduce the wrinkles and the influence thereof on the entire structural strength. 
     The secondary objective of this invention is to provide the golf club head and the manufacturing method therefor, wherein a cushion channel is remained between the through holes on the main body of the golf club head and the carbon-fiber fabrics, and is filled with elastic colored filler to enhance the appearance of the product. 
     The manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the present invention comprises steps of: forming a plurality of through holes on the surface of the golf club head; preparing a plurality of carbon-fiber plates by carbon-fiber fabrics; remaining a cushion channel between the through hole and the carbon-fiber plate when assembling; filling filler into the cushion channel; processing the main body of the golf club head to thereby produce the final product. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings herein: 
         FIG. 1  is a exploded perspective view of a conventional golf club head; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial exploded perspective view of a conventional golf club head; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the manufacture method of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of golf club head in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, which shows the cushion channel; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the golf club head in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, which shows the cushion channel; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the golf club head in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, which shows the elastic colored filler filled in the cushion channel; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view of the golf club head in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, which shows the cushion channel; 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of a carbon-fiber plate with short fingers on the peripheral thereof in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a carbon-fiber plate in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross sectional view of the golf club head in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, wherein the cushion channel is formed by means of the short fingers; 
         FIG. 11  is a top view of another golf club head in the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of the golf club head in  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a rear view of the golf club head in  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The structure and manufacture process are partially same with the conventional one as shown in  FIG. 1 , therefore, the identical part is given the same index symbol and neglect the description as well. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first step of the manufacture method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention is forming a plurality of through holes  12  on the surface of the main body  10  of the golf club head. The main body  10  is preferably formed as a single member by casting and the material thereof can be stainless steel, titanium alloy, or iron etc. A striking plate  11  is attached to the front of the main body  10  by welding, integrally forming or embedding. An appropriate amount of the through holes  12  are formed on the crown plate, the sole plate or the side plate of the main body  10 . A stepped portion  121  is formed on the peripheral of the through holes  12  for supporting a carbon-fiber plate  20 , a weighting member  30  and a name plate  40  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) of predetermined size in the following procedure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the second step of the manufacture method in accordance with the first embodiment in the present invention is preparing a plurality of carbon-fiber plates  20  by means of carbon-fiber fabrics for hastening the following procedure and promoting the quality of the product. The present invention utilizes plural layers of plastic carbon-fiber fabrics cross-stacked in a press block (not shown) which may press the carbon-fiber fabrics. In a heating process, the pressed carbon-fiber fabrics are hardened to produce the carbon-fiber plates  20  having a predetermined size. Preferably, 4 to 10 layers of carbon-fiber fabrics are arranged in the cross-stacked angle of 0°, 90° or ±45° and heated at 130° C. for 20 minutes. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  is approximately equal to the inner periphery of the through hole  12 . Therefore, the periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  and the through hole  12  can be milled to thereby form a clearance in the following process. 
     Moreover, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 11  through  13 , the amount, size and weight of the through hole  12 , carbon-fiber plate  20  and weight  30  may be changed according to requirement. Thereby, the position of gravity center and weight of the main body  10  can be largely adjusted in the invention. Because the main body  10  is made of metal, a sharp sound will occur when striking. The carbon-fiber plate  20  can be replaced by other non-metal plate with less weight and high strength, e.g. polymer plastic material and high-strength fiber material. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 through 5 , the third step of the manufacture method in accordance with the first embodiment in the present invention is providing a cushion channel between the periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  and the periphery of the through hole  12 . 
     The carbon-fiber plate  20  in the invention is bonded to the corresponding through hole  12  on the main body  10  by means of epoxy resin. Moreover, before or after the bonding, a CNC milling can be used to remove a peripheral portion of the material of the carbon-fiber plate  20  and the through hole  12  of the main body  10  so as to form a cushion channel with a uniform width or various widths. Therefore, the clearance is adapted to cushion, thereby reducing the possibility of wrinkles and maintain the strength of the entire main body  10 . The cushion channel can also be formed between the weighting member  30 , the name plate  40  and the corresponding through holes  12  by CNC milling. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 through 6 , the fourth step of the manufacture method in accordance with the first embodiment in the present invention is filling the filler b in the cushion channel a. When the cushion channel a is formed by CNC milling, an appropriate filler b can be filled therein. The filler b is preferably elastic colored filler, especially made from heat plastic elastoplasts with color, e.g. PU paint filler. The filler b is filled in the cushion channel a and hardened. The elasticity and color of the filler b may enhance the appearance and product price of the main body  10  without affecting the cushion effect. Moreover, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 11  through  13 , the main body  10  may have various color, lines and patterns by filling different colored filler b in the cushion channel a, changing the contour of the through hole  12  and the carbon-fiber plate  20 , or forming the cushion channel a with a uniform width or various widths. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the fifth step of the manufacture method in accordance with the first embodiment in the present invention is processing the main body  10  to produce an end product. When the carbon-fiber plate  20 , the weighting member  30  and the name plate  40  are bonded to the corresponding through holes  12  of the main body  10 , the main body  10  can be polished and finished by precision machining process to remove unnecessary resin and carbon fiber. Then the painting and packaging process are treating on the end product to thereby have better appearance and uniform feature. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  7 , the second embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. Compared with the first embodiment, the third step of the second embodiment is provided with a first stepped portion  122  and a second stepped portion  123  to form the cushion channel a. The first and second stepped portion  122 ,  123  is preferably integrally formed with the through hole  12  of the main body  10  by casting so that the carbon-fiber plate  20  may be attached to the first stepped portion  122  by loose-fitting. The inner periphery of the through hole  12 , the second stepped portion  123  and the outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  commonly define the cushion channel a. The cushion channel a provides a clearance for the elastic deformation of the carbon-fiber plate  20  and the through hole  12 . Moreover, as shown  FIG. 4 , various elastic colored fillers b can be filled in the cushion channel a so as to promote the appearance and product price of the main body  10  without affecting the cushion effect. 
     Furthermore, as shown in  FIGS. 11 through 13 , when the size of the through holes  12  and the carbon-fiber plate  20  is too large to form cushion channel a, it a is disadvantage of a CNC milling process to mill the periphery of the through holes  12  and the carbon plate  20 . Alternatively, a first stepped portion  122  and a second stepped portion  123  of the second embodiment in the present invention can be used to position the large carbon-fiber plate  20  on the large through holes  12  so as to form the cushion channel with a uniform width or various widths. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  8  through  10 , the third embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. Compared with the first and second embodiments, the third step of the manufacture method in the third embodiment is provided with plural short fingers  21  on the outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  to maintain the cushion channel a. The size of the outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  in the embodiment is slightly smaller than that of the inner periphery of the through hole  12 . When the carbon-fiber plate  20  is bonded on the stepped portion  121 , the short fingers  21  on the carbon-fiber plate  20  extend outwardly to confront with the inner periphery of the through hole  12  to form a cushion channel a and a clearance therebetween for cushioning. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the short fingers  21  can be integrated with the carbon-fiber plate  20  by CNC milling a large outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  to form a plurality of outwardly extended fingers. The thickness of the short fingers  21  is preferably thinner than that of the outer periphery of the carbon-fiber plate  20  to thereby avoid the short fingers  21  sticking out of the filler b. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 11 through 13 , the short fingers  21  of the carbon-fiber plate  20  in the third embodiment can also be adapted to support a large carbon-fiber plate  20  on a large through hole  12  for forming cushion channel a with a uniform width or various widths. 
     As described above, the conventional carbon-fiber plate  20  is closely fitted with the through hole  12  on the main body  10 , thereby plastic deformation and wrinkles occur constantly. However, the golf club head and the manufacture method therefor in the present invention indeed maintain the structural strength of the main body  10  and promote the quality and the product price. 
     Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to its presently preferred embodiment, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.