Source: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/7753807.html
Timestamp: 2017-06-24 03:50:21
Document Index: 597263374

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.3', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 4', 'art 6', 'art 5', 'art 7', 'art 4', 'art 6', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 22', 'art 22', 'art 6', 'art 5']

Golf club head - Patent # 7753807 - PatentGenius
7753807
11/976,703
Nakano; Takashi (Kobe, JP)
SRI Sports Limited (Kobe, JP)
473/335; 473/345; 473/349
473/324; 473/325; 473/326; 473/327; 473/328; 473/329; 473/330; 473/331; 473/332; 473/333; 473/334; 473/335; 473/336; 473/337; 473/338; 473/339; 473/340; 473/341; 473/342; 473/343; 473/344; 473/345; 473/346; 473/347; 473/348; 473/349; 473/350; 473/287; 473/288; 473/289; 473/290; 473/291; 473/292
A63B 53/04
A hollow golf club head having a face portion, a crown portion, a sole portion, a side portion and a hosel portion comprises: a face component made of a titanium alloy and forming a major part of the face portion; a hosel-and-heel component made of a titanium alloy and forming a heel-side part of the sole portion and side portion and the hosel portion; and a rear component made of a magnesium alloy and forming a rear part of the head. The above-mentioned heel-side part of the sole portion formed by the hosel-and-heel component extends towards the toe of the head and intersects a vertical straight line passing through the center of gravity of the club head so as to form a major part of the sole portion.
The invention claimed is:1. A golf club head having a face portion of which a front face defines a clubface, a crown portion intersecting the clubface at the upper edge thereof, a sole portionintersecting the clubface at the lower edge thereof, a side portion between the crown portion and sole portion which extends from a toe-side edge to a heel-side edge of the clubface through a back face of the club head, and a hosel portion having a shaftinserting hole, the club head further comprising a face component made of a titanium alloy and forming a major part of the face portion, a hosel-and-heel component made of a titanium alloy and forming the hosel portion and a heel-side major part of thesole portion, and a rear component made of a magnesium alloy, and a strip-shaped weighting component, wherein said heel-side major part of the sole portion formed by the hosel-and-heel component extends towards the toe of the head to intersect a verticalstraight line passing through the center of gravity of the club head, and said weighting component is disposed along an outer surface of the rear component and extends continuously from a toe-side end located at a toe-side point on the outer surface to aheel-side end located at a heel-side point on the outer surface through the back face, and said weighting component includes a wave part waving in the up-and-down direction such that, from said toe-side end located at a relatively low position, the wavepart gradually goes up towards the back face, and at the rear end of the club head, it reaches to its peak, then, the wave part gradually goes down towards said heel-side end.2. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the extreme end of said heel-side part in the heel-and-toe direction of the head is at a distance in a range of 5 to 40 mm in the heel-and-toe direction from the intersecting point of saidvertical straight line and said heel-side part.3. The golf club head according to claim 2, wherein the size of said heel-side part in the back-and-forth direction is in a range of 20 to 80 mm.4. The golf club head according to claim 2, wherein the weighting component is made of a material having a specific gravity larger than that of said magnesium alloy, and in a range of from 7.0 to 20.0.5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the size of said heel-side part in the back-and-forth direction is in a range of 20 to 80 mm.6. The golf club head according to claim 5, wherein the weighting component is made of a material having a specific gravity larger than that of said magnesium alloy, and in a range of from 7.0 to 20.0.7. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the weighting component is made of a material having a specific gravity larger than that of said magnesium alloy, and in a range of from 7.0 to 20.0.8. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein said outer surface of the rear component is provided with a recessed part accommodated to the weighting component, and the weighting component is fitted in the recessed part and bonded theretoby the use of an adhesive agent.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a golf club head, more particularly to a hollow structure made of a titanium alloy and a magnesium alloy.In recent years, large-sized wood-type hollow golf club heads are widely used. The weight of a golf club head naturally has an upper limit, therefore, in the case of a large-sized golf club head, the weight margin which can be utilized tooptimize the weight distribution or to adjust the positions of the center of gravity and sweet spot and the like, becomes decreased. Thus, the design freedom with respect to the weight distribution is decreased.In order to solve such problem, a hybrid hollow golf club has been proposed, wherein the main body of the head which is made of a metal material, is provided in the crown portion with an opening in order to reduce the weight, and the opening isclosed by a light-weight FRP cover. Such a metal/FRP hybrid head is excellent at design freedom with respect to the weight distribution. However, since the internal energy loss of FRPs or fiber reinforced resins is very large when compared with metalmaterials, the ball hitting sound becomes dull, and the tone becomes low, further, the decay becomes fast. Therefore, the ball hitting sound of the hybrid heads is usually not preferred by many golfers.In the US patent application publication No. US 2006-014592-A1, a hollow golf club head is disclosed, wherein a main body of the club head made of a titanium alloy is provided with an opening, and the opening is covered with a thin plate of amagnesium alloy. In this technique, as the covering plate is not a fiber reinforced resin, a preferable hitting sound may be obtained. But, when the size of the main body is considered, the covering plate is small, therefore, it is difficult toincrease the weight margin.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefor, an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head, which has a hollow structure capable of increasing the weight margin, without deteriorating the ball hitting sound.According to the present invention, a golf club head having a face portion, a crown portion, a sole portion, a side portion and a hosel portion comprisesa face component made of a titanium alloy and forming a major part of the face portion,a hosel-and-heel component made of a titanium alloy and forming the hosel portion and a heel-side part of the sole portion and side portion, anda rear component made of a magnesium alloy and forming a rear part of the head, whereinthe heel-side part of the sole portion formed by the hosel-and-heel component extends towards the toe of the head and intersects a vertical straight line passing through the center of gravity of the club head so as to form a major part of thesole portion.In this specification, unless otherwise noted, dimensions, positions and the like relating to the head refer to those under the standard state of the club head.The standard state is such that the club head is set on a horizontal plane HP so that the axis of the clubshaft(not shown) is inclined at the lie angle while keeping the axis on a vertical plane, and the clubface forms its loft angle with respectto the horizontal plane HP. Incidentally, in the case of the club head alone, the center line of the shaft inserting hole 7a can be used instead of the axis of the clubshaft.The sweet spot s is the point of intersection between the clubface 2 and a straight line N drawn normally to the clubface 2 passing the center of gravity G of the head.The back-and-forth FB direction is a direction parallel with the straight line N projected on the horizontal plane HP.The heel-and-toe direction is a direction parallel with the horizontal plane HP and perpendicular to the back-and-forth direction.The moment of inertia is the lateral moment of inertia around a vertical axis passing through the center of gravity G in the standard state.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head according to the present invention.FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof.FIG. 3 is a top view of the golf club head.FIG. 4 is a bottom view thereof.FIG. 5 is a right side view thereof.FIG. 6 is a rear view thereof.FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line x-x in FIG. 4.FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line Y-Y in FIG. 4.DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSEmbodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with accompanying drawings.In the drawings, golf club head 1 according to the present invention is a hollow head for a wood-type golf club such as driver (#1) or fairway wood, and the head 1 comprises: a face portion 3 whose front face defines a club face 2 for striking aball; a crown portion 4 intersecting the club face 2 at the upper edge 2a thereof; a sole portion 5 intersecting the club face 2 at the lower edge 2b thereof; a side portion 6 between the crown portion 4 and sole portion 5 which extends from a toe-sideedge 2c to a heel-side edge 2d of the club face 2 through the back face BF of the club head; anda hosel portion 7 at the heel side end of the crown to be attached to an end of a club shaft (not shown).Thus, the club head 1 is provided with a hollow (i) and a shell structure with the thin wall.As shown in FIG. 2, the hosel portion 7 comprises a neck part 7r and a tubular part 7b. The neck part 7r forms a part of the outer surface of the head. The tubular part 7b extends into the hollow (i) from the neck part 7r to form a major partof a shaft inserting hole 7a into which the club shaft is inserted. The tubular part 7b in this example reaches to the sole portion.In the case of a wood-type club head for a driver (#1), it is preferable that the head volume is set in a range of not less than 380 cc, preferably not less than 400 cc more preferably not less than 420 cc in order to increase the moment ofinertia and the depth of the center of gravity. However, to prevent an excessive increase in the club head weight and deteriorations of swing balance and durability and further in view of golf rules or regulations, the head volume is preferably set in arange of not more than 470 cc, preferably not more than 460 cc.The mass of the club head 1 is preferably set in a range of not less than 180 grams, preferably not less than 185 grams in view of the strength, swing balance and traveling distance of the ball, but not more than 220 grams, preferably not morethan 215 grams in view of the directionality and traveling distance of the ball.The club head 1 is as shown in FIG. 2, composed of a face component 1A made of a titanium alloy, a hosel-and-heel component 1B made of a titanium alloy, a rear component 1C made of a magnesium alloy and an optional weighting component 1D. FaceComponent 1AThe face component 1A is to form a major part of the face portion 3 including the sweet spot S. Here, the major part means that 50% or more of the area of the club face 2 is included. Thus, in order to provide strength, a titanium alloy having ahigh specific tensile strength as well as good workability is used. For example, a beta titanium alloy excellent in strength or alpha-beta titanium alloy excellent in castability is used. More specifically, Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn, Ti-22V-4Al ,Ti-15Mo-5Zr-3Al , Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al, Ti-8Mo-8V-2Fe-3Al, Ti-3Al-8V-6Cu-4Mo-4Zr, Ti-11.5Mo-6Zr-4.5Sn, Ti-15Mo-5Zr and the like can be preferably used.In this example, the face component 1A forms the entirety of the face portion 3.The thickness tf of the face portion 3 is preferably set in a range of not less than 1.5 mm, more preferably not less than 2.0 mm, but not more than 5.0 mm, more preferably not more than 4.0 mm, still more preferably not more than 3.5 mm. Thethickness tf in this embodiment is substantially constant. But, it is also possible to provide the face portion 3 with a thinner part or parts surrounding the resultant thicker central part to achieve the durability and rebound performance.Further, the face component 1A in this example, includes turnbacks 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d.The turnbacks 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d extend backwards from the edges 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d of the club face 2 or face portion 3, respectively, and the turnbacks form front parts of the crown portion 4, sole portion 5 and side portion 6. In order toaccommodate the hosel portion 7, a heel-side part of the upper turnback 9a is cut off by an arc. Owing to the turnbacks, stress occurring at the junction when hitting a ball is decreased and the durability can be improved. If the size of the turnbacksis too large however, it is difficult to obtain an efficient weight margin and further it is difficult to make it by press molding. Therefore, excepting the above-mentioned cut-off part, the size F of the turnbacks 9 in the back-and-forth direction ofthe club head is set in a range of not less than 3 mm, preferably not less than 5 mm, more preferably not less than 7 mm, but not more than 30 mm, preferably not more than 25 mm, more preferably not more than 20 mm.In this example, the turnback is formed along the almost entire length of the peripheral edge of the club face 2. But, the turnback may be formed along only a part of the peripheral edge of the club face 2, for example, only the upper edge 2aand lower edge 2b. Further, the face component 1A may be made up of the face portion 3 only, namely, there is no turnback.The face component 1A inclusive of the turnbacks has a one-piece structure formed by press molding of a rolled plate in view of the production efficiency and strength. It is of course possible to form such one-piece structure by forging of arolled plate, casting of the alloy, or the like.Hosel-and-Heel Component 1BAs shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the hosel-and-heel component 1B includes: the above-mentioned hosel portion 7; a heel-side sole plate 10 forming a heel-side part of the sole portion 5; and a heel-side side plate 11 forming a heel-side part of theside portion 6.As show in FIG. 4, the heel-side sole plate 10 extends to at least the point SG which is an intersecting point of a vertical straight line passing the center G of gravity of the head with the outer surface of the sole portion 5 under the standardstate of the head.As shown in FIG. 5, the heel-side side plate 11 extends from the underside of the neck part 7r of the hosel portion 7 to the heel-side sole plate 10, defining a part of the outer surface of the head, and the horizontal width w thereof measuredbetween the front edge and the rear edge is progressively increased from the crown portion to the sole portion. Between the heel-side side plate 11 and the hosel tubular part 7b, a gap may be formed, but in this example, there is no gap, therefore, theheel-side side plate 11 functions as a stay for the hosel tubular part 7b.The hosel portion 7 is subjected to a large torsional moment during down swing, and the heel-side part of the sole portion 5 between the heel and the intersecting point SG is very liable to contact with the ground surface, therefore, in order toprovide the strength and rigidity, the hosel-and-heel component 1B has a one-piece structure made of the titanium alloy.As the titanium alloy of the hosel-and-heel component 1B, the above-mentioned titanium alloys listed in connection with the face component 1A can be used too. The titanium alloy of the hosel-and-heel component 1B can be the same as or differentfrom the titanium alloy of the face component 1A.In view of the shape of the hosel-and-heel component 1B which is complex when compared with the face component 1A, it is preferred that the hosel-and-heel component 1B is formed by casting. In this case, accordingly, titanium alloys suitable forcasting such as Ti-6Al-4V are used.The front edge of the heel-side side plate 11 is connected with the rear edge of the heel-side turnback 9d of the face component 1A. The front edge of the heel-side sole plate 10 is connected with the rear edge of the lower turnback 9b.As shown in FIG. 4, the size (b) of the heel-side sole plate 10 measured in the back-and-forth direction FB from the front edge is preferably set in a range of not less than 20 mm, more preferably not less than 30 mm in order to provide the soleportion 5 with a resistance to scratch, but preferably not more than 80 mm, more preferably not more than 60 mm, still more preferably not more than 50 mm. If the size (b) is too large, as the rear component 1C becomes smaller accordingly, it becomesdifficult to obtain an efficient weight margin.The rear edge 10e2 of the heel-side sole plate 10 and the rear edge of the heel-side side plate 11 are connected with the edge of the rear component 1C.The rear edge 10e2 in this example is straight and substantially parallel to the heel-and-toe direction. Aside from such a straight configuration, various configurations such as arc, wave and zigzag can be employed.In this example, the toe-side edge 10e1 of the heel-side sole plate 10 is straight and substantially parallel to the back-and-forth direction FB. Aside from such a straight configuration, various configurations such as arc, wave and zigzag canbe employed.Preferably, the extreme end (toe-side edge 10e1) of the heel-side sole plate 10 is spaced apart from the intersecting point SG by a distance (a) of not less than 5 mm, preferably not less than 10 mm towards the toe. However, if the distance (a)is excessively large, it becomes difficult to obtain an effective weight margin. Therefore, the distance (a) is preferably not more than 40 mm, more preferably not more than 30 mm, still more preferably not more than 20 mm.As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the thickness ts of the heel-side sole plate 10 is preferably set in a range of not less than 0.4 mm, more preferably not less than 0.5 mm, but not more than 3.0 mm, more preferably not more than 2.5 mm, still morepreferably not more than 2.0 mm.In order to connect the face component 1A with the hosel-and-heel component 1B, welding, soldering and/or adhesive bonding can be employed. But, in view of the joint strength and production efficiency, welding such as plasma welding, Tig weldingand laser welding is especially preferred.In order to facilitate positioning of one of the components 1A and 1B relatively to the other during welding, at least one of them is provided with hooks 12 as shown in FIG. 2. In this example, the hooks 12 are provided on the front edge of theheel-side sole plate 10, and the hooks include inner hooks 12A and outer hook(s) 12B alternately arranged along the edge. The inner hook 12A is to support and position the inner surface of the edge to be jointed. The outer hook 12B is to support andposition the outer surface of the edge to be jointed.Rear Component 1CThe rear component 1C is made of the magnesium alloy and has the largest outer surface area in the components 1A-1C in order to obtain a large weight margin. The rear component 1C in this example is a casting of the magnesium alloy.In order to achieve weight reduction while preventing a significant decrease in the club head strength, the specific gravity of the magnesium alloy is preferably not less than 1.6, more preferably not less than 1.7, but not more than 2.0, morepreferably not more than 1.9. Further, in view of the strength and workability, magnesium alloys including Al and Zn are preferably used. Accordingly, the specific gravity of the rear component 1C is smaller than those (typically 4.4 to 4.8) of theface component 1A and hosel-and-heel component 1B.The rear component 1C is attached to the rear edge of the assembly of the face component 1A and the hosel-and-heel component 1B, whereby the rear component 1C forms the remaining rear parts of the crown portion 4, side portion 6 and sole portion5. More specially, the rear component 1C forms: a rear part 4B of the crown portion 4 connected with the upper turnback 9a of the face component 1A; a rear part 6B of the side portion 6 connected with the toe-side turnbacks 9c of the face component 1Aand connected with the heel-side side plate 11 of the hosel-and-heel component 1B; and a rear part 5B of the sole portion 5 connected with the heel-side sole plate 10 and the lower turnback 9b.In order to accommodate the neck part 7r of the hosel portion 7, the front edge of the rear component 1C is cut off by an arc.The thickness tc of the rear part 4B of the crown portion 4 is preferably set in a range of not less than 0.3 mm, more preferably not less than 0.4 mm, but not more than 3.0 mm, more preferably not more than 2.0 mm, still more preferably not morethan 1.5 mm.The thickness tp of the rear part 6B of the side portion 6 is preferably set in a range of not less than 0.4 mm, more preferably not less than 0.5 mm, but not more than 3.0 mm, more preferably not more than 2.5 mm.As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7, the front edge 1Ce of the rear component 1C to be jointed with the face component 1A and hosel-and-heel component 1B is provided with an overlapping part 15 substantially continuously along the edge 1Ce. The outersurface of the overlapping part 15 is stepped from the outer surface of the clubs head by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the rear edge of the assembly.The overlapping part 15 is overlap jointed with the rear edge of the assembly of the face component 1A and hosel-and-heel component 1B. Preferably, the size Wu of the overlapping part 15 measured in the back-and-forth direction from the frontedge to the rear edge is set in a range of not less than 1.0 mm, more preferably not less than 1.5 mm, but not more than 10.0 mm, more preferably not more than 5.0 mm.In this embodiment, the rear component 1C is fixed to the assembly by the use of an adhesive agent applied between the edge and the overlapping part 15. As to the adhesive agent, for example, cold-curing two-component epoxy resin adhesives,heat-curing one-component epoxy resin adhesives, two-component modified acrylate adhesive, and two-component acrylic adhesive can be used. Especially, a cold-curing two-component epoxy resin adhesive is preferred for the excellent shear strength andpeel strength.As has been explained, a major part of the club head 1 is formed by the magnesium alloy, therefore the weight margin is increased, without deteriorating the ball hitting sound because a FRP component is not used as a major component. Utilizingthe increased weight margin a relatively heavy weighting component 1D can be disposed.The weighting component 1D may be made of a metal material having a specific gravity larger than that of the magnesium alloy of the rear component 1C. Preferably, the specific gravity of the weighting component 1D is set in a range of not lessthan 7.0, more preferably not less than 10.0, still more preferably not less than 12.0, but not more than 20.0, more preferably not more than 19.0, still more preferably not more than 18.0. For example, stainless steels, tungsten, tungsten alloys,copper alloys, nickel alloys and the like can be used. In particular, tungsten-nickel alloys are preferred for the large specific gravity and lower material cost.In this embodiment, the weighting component 1D having a shape of tape or ribbon is disposed along the outer surface of the side portion 6 of the rear component 1C. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the outer surface is preferablyprovided with a recessed part 22 accommodated to the weighting component 1D, and the weighting component 1D is fitted in the recessed part 22 and bonded thereto by the use of an adhesive agent.The weighting component 1D in this example extends continuously between its toe-side end 17 and heel-side end 18 through the back face BF, and includes a part WV waving in the up-and-down direction as best shown in FIG. 6.From the toe-side end 17 located at a relatively lower position, this wave part wv is gradually going up towards the back face BF, and at the rear end of the club head, it reaches to its peak 20 and most approaches to the boundary (e) between thecrown portion 4 and side portion 6. Then, the wave part is gradually going down towards the heel, and reaches to its lowest point and then again going up until the heel-side end 18. Thus, the weighting component 1D in this example runs at a higherposition on the backside BF of the head, but lower positions on the toe-side and heel-side. As a result, the center of gravity becomes deeper and lower and the moment of inertia can be increased.Comparison TestsWood golf club heads (EX. 1 to 5, Ref. 1 to 3) of the same shape and same size (volume: 460 cc, Loft angle: 11 degrees, Lie angle: 57 degrees) were prepared and attached to identical FRP shafts (SRI sports Ltd. "MP200", flex R) to make 45-inchwood clubs, and the following comparison tests were conducted.Each of the heads was made based on the structure shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 8, and comprised a face component, a hosel-and-heel component and a rear component as explained above, and the face component and hosel-and-heel component were connectedwith each other by means of plasma welding, and then the assembly was fixed to the rear component by means of an adhesive agent.<Face Component>In Ex. 1 to Ex. 5 and Ref. 2 to Ref. 3, the face component was made of a titanium alloy having a specific gravity of 4.54 and comprising 4.0% of Al, 2.5% of V, 1.8% of Mo 1.7% of Fe and the balance being essentially Ti.In Ref. 1, the face component was made of a titanium alloy having a specific gravity of 4.42 and comprising 6.0% of Al, 4.0% of V, and the balance being essentially Ti.In each head, the face component was formed by die punching a rolled plate of the titanium alloy and then press molding the punched-out plate. The thickness tf of the face portion was 3.2 mm. The size F of the turnbacks was 10 mm.<Hosel-and-Heel Component>In EX. 1 to EX. 15 and Ref. 1 and Ref. 3, the hosel-and-heel component was made of a titanium alloy having a specific gravity of 4.42 and comprising 6.0% of Al, 4.0% of V, and the balance being essentially Ti.In Ref. 2, the hosel-and-heel component was made of a magnesium alloy having a specific gravity of 1.81 and comprising 8.4% of Al, 0.6% of Zn, 0.3% of Mn and the balance being essentially Mg.In each head, the hosel-and-heel component was formed by lost-wax precision casting. The thickness ts of the heel-side sole plate was 0.8 mm.<Rear Component>In Ex. 1 to Ex. 5 and Ref. 2 and Ref. 3, the rear component was made of a magnesium alloy having a specific gravity of 1.81 and comprising 8.4% of Al, 0.6% of Zn, 0.3% of Mn and the balance being essentially Mg.In Ref. 1, the rear component was made of a titanium alloy having a specific gravity of 4.42 and comprising 6.0% of Al, 4.0% of V, and the balance being essentially Ti.In each head, the rear component was formed by lost-wax precision casting. The thickness tc of the crown portion was 1.0 mm. The thickness tp of the rear part 6B of the side portion was 1.0 mm. The thickness of the rear part 5B of the soleportion was 1.0 mm.<Weighting Component>In Ex. 5, the weighting component made of a tungsten-nickel alloy was disposed.Measurement of Weight of Hollow StructureThe weight of the face component, hosel-and-heel component and rear component was measured and the results are indicated by an index based on Ref. 1 being 100, wherein the smaller the value, the larger the weight margin.Carry Distance TestEach of the wood clubs was mounted on a swing robot, and hit three-piece balls ("XXIO" of SRI sports Ltd.) five times at the head speed of 40 m/s to obtain the average carry distance. The results are indicated in Table 1 by an index based onRef. 1 being 100, wherein the larger the value, the longer the carry distance.Sole Scratch Resistance TestIncreasing the head speed to 50 m/s, each of the wood clubs mounted on the swing robot hit the three-piece balls 500 times at the sweet spot 5. Thereafter, by the naked eye, the sole portion was checked for scratch and ranked in the order ofless scratch, wherein the smaller the rank number, the better the scratch resistance.Durability TestAfter the scratch resistance test, the hitting test was continued up to 5000 times at the maximum, and every 100 hits the head was checked on the whole by the naked eye. If any damage was found, the test was stopped and the total number of thehits was recorded.Directionality TestEach of five golfers having handicap ranging from 5 to 15 hit the golf balls five times per each club and the difference from the target trajectory was measured. The results are indicated by an index based on Ref. 1 being 100, wherein the largerthe value, the better the directionality of a hit ball.The test results are shown in Table 1.TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Club head Ref. 1 Ref. 2 Ref. 3 Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Hollow structure Face component Ti Ti Ti Ti Ti Ti Ti Ti Material Rear component Ti Mg Mg Mg Mg Mg Mg Mg Material Hosel-&-heel component Ti Mg Ti Ti Ti Ti TiTi Material Distance a (mm) *1 -- -- -10 0 10 30 40 10 Size b (mm) -- -- 50 50 50 50 50 50 Weight *2 100 88 93 93 93 93 93 93 Weighting component -- none none none none none none *3 Directionality 100 100 104 106 107 107 105 111 Carry distance 100 101101 102 103 103 103 103 Scratch resistance 1 9 8 7 6 3 2 4 Durability Damaged? no yes no no no no no no Number of hits 5000 1900 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 *1) (-)minus means that the extreme end of the heel-side sole plate was positioned on the heelside the point SG. *2) weight of the face component, hosel-and-heel component and rear component *3) A weighting component having a length of 100 mm was disposed as shown in FIGS. 4-6.From the test results, it was confirmed that the weight margins in Example heads Exs. 1 to 4 were remarkably increased when compared with Ref. 1. Example heads Exs. 1 to 4 were improved in the directionality when compared with Ref. 2. Examplehead Ex. 5 could be further improved in the directionality.As described above, in the golf club head according to the present invention, a major part of the club head is formed by a magnesium alloy. Therefore, the weight margin is increased, without deteriorating the ball hitting sound. Further, atleast the major part of the face portion, the major part of the sole portion and the hosel portion are made of the titanium alloy(s). Therefore, the durability of the head and the scratch resistance of the sole portion can be improved. Furthermore, asthe major part of the sole portion is made of the titanium alloy as opposed to the magnesium alloy, lowering of the center of gravity is facilitated.The present invention is suitably applied to wood-type hollow golf club heads. But, it is also possible to apply the present invention to another type such as iron-type and utility-type as far as the head has a hollow structure.* * * * *
HoistsAdaptive input interfaceIon generation using wetted porous materialMethod of making a CIG target by cold sprayingDetachably integrated battery charger for mobile cell phones and like devicesLight fixtureDemand based power allocation
Randomly Featured Patents Universal utility trailer tilterMotor vehicle auxiliaries drive assemblyAnkle supportCommunication system and method for improving efficiency and linearityMethod of driving a liquid crystal matrix display panelCircuit for protecting DUT, method for protecting DUT, testing apparatus and testing methodChild-resistant medication compactLiquid extraction surface cleaning apparatusStage system, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing methodWall panel support and securement combination © 2006-2011. PatentGenius.com All Rights Reserved.