JP2007097848A - Golf club - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a golf club head capable of improving the flight distance by reducing the backspin amount when hitting a ball.
A golf club of the present invention includes a shaft 5 and a hollow structure head 7 which is fixed to one end of the shaft 5 at a predetermined lie angle and loft angle with respect to a reference horizontal plane P. The head 7 has a face portion 7a for hitting a ball, an upper surface portion 7b extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion 7a, and a lower surface portion 7c extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion 7a. The upper surface portion 7b and the lower surface portion 7c have an upper surface inclined portion 17 and a lower surface inclined portion 27 that rise toward the face portion side in a region closer to the face portion than the center of gravity G of the head 7, respectively. .
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a golf club, and more particularly, to a golf club having a hollow structure head.

  Conventionally, in a golf club having a hollow structure, various ideas have been applied in order to improve the flight distance. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technical idea regarding a hollow-structure head in which a crown portion has a low rigidity to improve a flight distance. This technical idea is to reduce the rigidity of the crown portion to generate an elastic force with the lower end of the face as a fulcrum, thereby suppressing the backspin and improving the flight distance.

Further, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technical idea regarding a hollow-structure head in which a sole portion is reduced in rigidity to improve a flight distance. This technical idea is to reduce the rigidity of the sole part to increase the resilience of the hit ball below the face part, and to improve the flight distance stably even if hit at the lower part of the sweet area or sweet area. Is.
JP-A-4-82574 JP 2004-174224 A

  The technical idea disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above is that the face is elastically bent with the lower end of the face portion as a fulcrum, so that the ball tends to roll and rise along the face surface at the time of hitting, which causes backspin to the ball. It is considered that the backspin amount cannot be sufficiently reduced. That is, since the backspin amount cannot be reduced sufficiently, there is a limit to improving the flight distance.

  Further, the technical idea disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above is that when the ball is hit below the sweet area, the sole portion bends to increase resilience, but rotation of the head around the center of gravity (on the face portion). Rotation force that increases back spin due to a so-called gear effect acts on the ball. As a result, the ball tends to blow up, and there is a limit to improving the flight distance.

  The present invention has been made based on the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a golf club capable of improving the flight distance by reducing the backspin amount when hitting a ball.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a golf club according to the present invention includes a shaft, and a hollow structure head that is fixed to one end of the shaft at a predetermined lie angle and loft angle with respect to a reference horizontal plane. The head includes a face portion for hitting a ball, an upper surface portion extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion, and a lower surface portion extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion, and the upper surface The portion and the lower surface portion have an upper surface inclined portion and a lower surface inclined portion that rise toward the face portion side in a region closer to the face portion than the center of gravity of the head, respectively.

  According to the golf club having the head having the structure as described above, when the ball is hit by the face portion, the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion connected to the upper and lower edges of the face portion are buckled by an impact. The structure is easy (easy to swing), and the face portion can swing vertically along the face surface. That is, the upper and lower edges of the face portion are connected to the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion, so that when a horizontal force is applied at the time of hitting the ball, the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined shape are interposed through the face portion. The part can buckle (oscillate). As a result, the force acting in the horizontal direction, which is the traveling direction of the head, and the component force of the force acting in the direction perpendicular to the face surface, which is the direction of the hitting ball, act on the upper side along the face surface as they are. Thus, the face portion can swing upward when the ball is hit.

  In this way, when the ball is hit, the face portion moves upward, so that the ball at the time of hitting the ball acts as a spin by the face swinging so as to cancel back spin due to the loft angle. The amount of backspin in the direction in which the ball blows can be reduced, and the flight distance can be improved.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a golf club according to the present invention includes a shaft, and a hollow structure head fixed to one end of the shaft at a specified lie angle and loft angle with respect to a reference horizontal plane. The head includes a face portion for hitting a ball, an upper surface portion extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion, and a lower surface portion extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion, The upper surface portion and the lower surface portion have a swing fulcrum that allows the face portion to swing vertically along the face surface.

  According to the golf club having the head having the structure as described above, when the ball is hit at the face portion, the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion connected to the upper and lower edges of the face portion swing around the swing fulcrum. Therefore, the component force of the force acting in the horizontal direction that is the traveling direction of the head and the force acting in the direction perpendicular to the face surface that is the direction of the ball at the time of hitting the ball is directly upward along the face surface. The face portion can be swung upward when hitting.

  In this way, when the ball is hit, the face portion moves upward, so that the ball at the time of hitting the ball acts as a spin by the face swinging so as to cancel back spin due to the loft angle. The amount of backspin in the direction in which the ball blows can be reduced, and the flight distance can be improved.

  According to the present invention, a backspin amount can be reduced at the time of hitting a ball, thereby obtaining a golf club capable of improving the flight distance.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a golf club according to the present invention will be described.
1 to 7 are views showing a golf club according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of the golf club, FIG. 2 is a front view of the head, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the head. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the head, and FIG. FIG.

  In the golf club 1 according to the present embodiment, a head 7 set at a predetermined lie angle α and a predetermined loft angle β with respect to a reference horizontal plane P is fixed to the tip of a shaft 5 made of metal or FRP. Configured. In this case, the head 7 includes a face portion 7a for hitting a ball, an upper surface portion 7b extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion 7a, and a lower surface portion 7c extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion 7a. And a side portion 7d extending from the toe side edge of the face portion to the heel side edge of the face portion and connecting the edge portions of the upper surface portion 7b and the lower surface portion 7c. It is formed in a hollow structure.

  In the drawings, the toe portion, the back portion, and the heel portion constituting such a side portion 7d are indicated by reference numerals 7e, 7f, and 7g, respectively. Further, the upper surface portion 7b and the lower surface portion 7c may be in a state where a part or all of them are exposed. As will be described later, the cover member is fixed and covered without being exposed to the outside. (In this embodiment, the cover member 30 is fixed around the upper surface portion 7b and covers the entire upper surface portion).

  For the head 7 other than the face material 7a ′ fixed to the face portion 7a (referred to as a head main body 7A), for example, a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al), It is preferable to integrally form iron-based alloy (17-4ph, SUS304), Custum450 (manufactured by Carpenter) or the like, and a face material 7a ′ constituting the hitting surface of the face portion 7a is formed on the front side thereof. A fixed opening 7B is formed. A shaft fastening portion 8 for fastening the tip of the shaft 5 is integrally formed in the head main body 7A. In this case, the shaft fixing portion 8 is separated from the upper surface portion 7b, and the shaft 5 is fixed to the shaft via an opening hole 12 formed on the front end side (upper surface inclined portion described later) of the upper surface portion 7b. It is inserted into the wearing part 8 and is fastened. The shaft fixing portion 8 and the upper surface portion 7b may be integrally connected without being separated from each other, or may be connected by a low-rigidity member such as rubber or synthetic resin.

  Of course, in the head main body 7A, each member (a face portion, an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, a side portion; an outer shell member) constituting the head main body 7A is individually formed and fixed by welding, bonding or the like. good. Further, a part of the upper surface portion may be a separate body, and the remaining portion (excluding the face portion) may be an integral cast product. In this case, the mold structure is simplified, the productivity is improved, and it is possible to change to a material that requires springiness.

  The face material 7a 'fixed to the face portion 7a is, for example, a titanium alloy (Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al, Ti-6Al-4V, SP700, Ti-15V-6Cr-4Al, Ti-15Mo- 5Zr-3Al), iron-based alloy (Custum455,465 (manufactured by Carpenter), 18Ni-12Co-4.5Mo-1.5Ti-Fe), or Ti-30Nb-10Ta-5Zr, etc., to have a predetermined plate shape In addition, it is preferable to integrally form by pressing (may be further milled), the face material 7a 'formed in this way is fitted into the opening 7B formed in the face portion 7a, Fastened by adhesion, welding, brazing, or the like.

  Of course, the face portion 7a may be integrally formed with the head main body 7A instead of fitting a face material 7a 'as a separate member, or the entire face portion 7a may be a face different from the main body 7A. You may be comprised with the material.

  The upper surface portion 7b extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion 7a and the lower surface portion 7c extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion 7a are respectively arranged in the vertical direction along the face surface ( It has a function of swinging in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the upper surface portion 7 b and the lower surface portion 7 c are respectively provided with an upper surface inclined portion 17 and a lower surface inclined portion 27 that rise toward the face portion side in the region closer to the face portion than the center of gravity G of the head 7. Thus, when the ball is hit by the face portion 7a, the upper surface inclined portion 17 at the upper edge and the lower surface inclined portion 27 at the lower edge are easily buckled by the impact, so that the face portion 7a is swingable in the vertical direction along the face surface. That is, when hitting a ball, the force acting in the horizontal direction, which is the direction of head movement, and the force component acting in the direction perpendicular to the face surface, which is the ball hitting direction, act directly on the upper side along the face surface. Thus, the face portion 7a can swing in the direction of the arrow when hitting.

  In this case, it is preferable that the upper surface inclined portion 17 and the lower surface inclined portion 27 are planar and substantially parallel to each other as shown in FIG.

  Thus, by forming both inclined portions in a plane and substantially parallel to each other, the upper and lower portions of the face portion 7a are likely to swing synchronously when a horizontal impact is applied when a ball is hit. .

  With respect to the upper surface inclined portion 17 and the lower surface inclined portion 27 described above, the inclination angle (the tangent L1 in the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion, and the face tangent plane that defines the loft angle (tangent in the sweet spot S) If the crossing angles θ and θ ′ with L2) are too large or too small, the face portion 7a is difficult to swing at the time of hitting the ball. Therefore, the inclination angles θ and θ ′ are acute angles (90 ° or less). It is preferably set in the range of 10 ° to 75 °, more preferably in the range of 30 ° to 60 °.

  In addition to the planar shape as shown in FIG. 4, the two inclined portions are appropriately deformed, for example, formed in a curved shape (see FIG. 10) or configured by a combination of a planar portion and a curved portion. In this case, the tangent line L1 that defines the inclination angles θ and θ ′ is defined by the tangent line at any position on the face side from the center of gravity G. That is, the two inclined portions 17 and 27 are formed so that the tangent at any position on the face side from the center of gravity G falls within the above-described angle range when intersecting the tangent L2 at the face portion. It ’s fine.

  Further, the upper surface inclined portion 17 and the lower surface inclined portion 27 rise with respect to the upper surface portion 7b and the lower surface portion 7c, respectively, via bent portions P1 and P2 located on the face portion side with respect to the center of gravity G of the head. It is preferable that it is comprised.

  That is, the formation of such bent portions P1 and P2 makes it easier for the face portion side to swing relative to each other with the bent portions P1 and P2 as fulcrums, thereby easily swinging the face portion 7a in the vertical direction. can do. Further, since the bent portions P1 and P2 are on the face portion side with respect to the center of gravity G, the face portion side is likely to swing due to the weight (inertial force) on the back side.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the upper surface inclined portion 17 and the lower surface inclined portion 27 are formed thin with respect to the portions of the upper surface portion 7b and the lower surface portion 7c where the inclined portions are not formed.

  In this way, by reducing the thickness of the supporting portion so that the upper and lower edges of the face portion 7a can be swung, the face portion 7a can be more easily swung. Specifically, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the thickness of the upper surface portion 7b is set to 0.7 mm to 2.5 mm, preferably 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm, and the thickness of the upper surface inclined portion 17 is set to 0. It is set in the range of 6 mm to 2.5 mm, preferably 0.8 mm to 1.8 mm. The thickness of the lower surface portion 7c is set to 0.7 mm to 3.0 mm, preferably 0.9 mm to 1.2 mm, and the thickness of the lower surface inclined portion 27 is 0.6 mm to 2.5 mm, preferably 0. It is set in the range of 8 mm to 1.8 mm.

  Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, the upper surface inclined portion 17 is preferably formed longer than the lower surface inclined portion 27.

  Thus, by forming the upper surface inclined portion 17 longer than the lower surface inclined portion 27, the upper portion of the face portion 7a is easily tilted backwards at the time of hitting, and the launch angle is increased to improve the flight distance. It becomes possible.

  Further, it is preferable that a horizontal plane 17a substantially parallel to the reference horizontal plane P (in a range of ± 15 °) is formed on the upper surface portion 7b at least on the rear side from the center of gravity G of the head.

  With this configuration, the face portion 7a can be swung without increasing the energy loss during hitting. Of course, the upper surface portion 7b may be inclined or curved without forming the horizontal surface 17a as described above.

  Moreover, it is preferable to form openings 19a and 19b on the toe side and the heel side of the upper surface inclined portion 17.

  That is, since the side portion 7d of the head main body 7A has a high rigidity in terms of shape, by forming such openings 19a and 19b, the rigidity on the toe / heel side is lowered. The face portion 7a can be easily swung. Further, by forming such an opening, the head 7A can be lowered in the center of gravity, and the ball can be hit stably with a high trajectory.

  When the openings 19a and 19b are formed, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the width W1 of the upper surface inclined portion 17 (upper surface portion 7b) is a predetermined value centered on the sweet spot where the hit ball is formed. Specifically, it is preferable to set the head width W to 1/4 to 1/2 (particularly preferably about 1/3) of the head width W. That is, by setting such a width, the head can be reduced in weight and the center of gravity can be reduced, and the face portion 7a can be easily swung in the vertical direction at the time of hitting. In this case, the rigidity is increased by increasing the width W1, and the change in directionality due to the hit ball deviation is reduced. However, the width W1 may be reduced while improving the rigidity by forming a rib or the like.

  Further, it is preferable that the lower inclined portion 27 (lower surface portion 7c) corresponding to the width W1 is formed so that the curvature radius R is 100 mm or more, as shown in FIG.

  With this configuration, it is possible to easily swing the central region of the face portion 7a upward.

  The head main body 7A configured as described above has an upper surface portion 7b composed of a horizontal surface 17a and an upper surface inclined portion 17, and openings 19a and 19b are formed. It is conceivable that the shape is uncomfortable.

  For this reason, the cover member 30 having the shaft fixing hole 31 is fixed so as to cover all of the upper surface portion 7b, and the outer shape is like a so-called crown portion of a general golf club head. It is preferable to do. Such a cover member 30 is preferably made of a material having a low specific gravity, a low rigidity, and a high strength as compared with the material constituting the upper surface portion 7b. Specifically, the cover member 30 is formed of polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethersulfone (PES), or the like, and further, so as not to increase in weight (not to increase the center of gravity), The wall thickness is preferably about 0.6 mm to 2.5 mm.

  Alternatively, it is preferable that the upper surface portion 7b and the cover member 30 have a large difference in Young's modulus E1 and E2. Specifically, it is preferable to select a material having a relationship such that E1 / E2> 10 (in the case of an anisotropic material, the Young's modulus in the direction of hitting ball is used).

  Further, a fiber reinforced plastic may be used for the cover member 30. In that case, in order to prevent an increase in Young's modulus, it is preferable to reduce the number of fibers oriented from the face to the back side (30% or less of the total). .

  By configuring the cover member 30 as described above, the above-described characteristics (characteristics for swinging the face section 7a) in the upper surface portion 7b and the upper surface inclined portion 17 are not impaired, and the outer shape of the head main body 7A. Can be changed. Of course, such a cover member may be mounted on the lower surface portion side, or a part thereof may be covered.

  According to the golf club configured as described above, it is possible to reduce the amount of back spin acting on the ball at the time of hitting and improve the flight distance.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when a ball is hit by the face portion 7a, a force F1 acting in the horizontal direction that is the traveling direction of the head and a force F2 acting in a direction perpendicular to the face surface that is the ball hitting direction. The force acts on the upper side indicated by an arrow along the face surface of the face portion 7a. At this time, as described above, the face portion 7a is configured to be swingable in the vertical direction through the upper surface inclined portion 17 and the lower surface inclined portion 27 around the bent portions P1 and P2. As shown in FIG. 9, the face portion 7a moves upward along the face surface. As a result of the upward movement of the face portion 7a, the spin S2 caused by the face swinging acts on the ball so as to cancel the back spin S1 caused by the loft angle. Can be reduced, and the flight distance can be improved.

  Actually, as described above, the golf club (example) equipped with the head in which the face portion 7a is supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction, and the crown portion and the sole portion that extend substantially parallel to the reference horizontal plane. The golf clubs (Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2) equipped with general hollow structure heads configured so that the upper and lower edges are supported and the face portion cannot swing in the vertical direction are subjected to a test hit test. The backspin amount and the flight distance were measured respectively.

  In this trial hit test, the same material (SP700), the same thickness (2.8 mm), and the same loft angle (10.5 °) were fixed to the head body for the face portion of each golf club. In the head of this example, the cover member 30 made of polyethersulfone (PES) was fixed to the upper surface portion 7b. Further, the head of this example was configured such that the lower surface portion 7c was directly the sole portion of the head. Further, the weight of the head mounted on each golf club is formed to be 192 g, and the volume is also formed to be approximately 400 cc, and the shafts are all the same (45 inches, flex R). Was used.

  The test hit test was performed using a robot (Robot testing machine manufactured by Miyamae Co., Ltd.) with a head speed set to 42 m / s and capable of hitting at the center of the face portion. As a result, the test results shown in Table 1 below were obtained. The flight distance was measured by the total flight distance including carry and run.

この試打試験に見られるように、フェース部が上下方向に揺動可能に支持されていることで、ボールの初速度は略同一であるにも拘らず、打球時のバックスピン量を他の比較例のバックスピン量よりも低減することが可能となり、これによって、飛距離の向上を図ることができた。具体的には、バックスピン量については、略２０％〜３０％減少することが可能となり、これに伴い、飛距離を３ｍ〜７ｍ程度向上することができた。

As can be seen in this test hit test, the face part is supported so as to be able to swing in the vertical direction. It was possible to reduce the amount of backspin compared to the example, thereby improving the flight distance. Specifically, the backspin amount can be reduced by about 20% to 30%, and accordingly, the flight distance can be improved by about 3 m to 7 m.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a central sectional view of the head.
In this embodiment, the upper surface portion 7b extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion 7a and the lower surface portion 7c extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion 7a are curved on the front side of the center of gravity G of the head. It is formed to gradually rise. In this case, with respect to the upper inclined portion 17A and the lower inclined portion 27A, the intersection angle between the tangent L1, L1 ′ at any position and the face tangent plane defining the loft angle; the tangent L2 at the sweet spot S It is only necessary that θ and θ ′ be formed so as to have an acute angle (90 ° or less, preferably in the range of 10 ° to 75 °, more preferably in the range of 30 ° to 60 °). That is, by forming the upper surface inclined portion 17A and the lower surface inclined upper portion 27A so that such an intersection angle θ exists, the face portion 7a can be swung in the vertical direction. .

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention only needs to have a support structure that can swing the face portion in the vertical direction along the face surface. The material, the forming method, and the like can be variously modified. That is, the present invention is provided with an upper surface portion and a lower surface portion extending rearward from the upper and lower edges of the face portion, and the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion can swing the face portion in the vertical direction. (It is sufficient that the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion have a swing fulcrum that swings the face portion in the vertical direction).

  Further, the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion do not need to be formed in parallel to each other as long as the face portion is supported so as to be able to swing in the vertical direction. Further, the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion are configured to extend rearward over the entire width direction of the face portion, but are configured to extend rearward at predetermined intervals in the width direction. It may be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the golf club which concerns on this invention, and is a front view of a golf club. The front view of a head. The side view of a head. Sectional drawing along the AA line of FIG. Sectional drawing along the BB line of FIG. The exploded perspective view of a head. The top view of a head main body. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the action of the face portion of the head at the time of hitting a ball (part 1); FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the action of the face portion of the head at the time of hitting a ball (part 2); The center sectional view of the head showing the 2nd embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Golf club 5 Shaft 7 Head 7A Head main body 7a Face part 7b Upper surface part 7c Lower surface part 17 Upper surface inclined part 27 Lower surface inclined upper part G Center of gravity P Reference | standard horizontal surface

Claims (9)

In a golf club comprising a shaft, and a hollow structure head that is fixed at a predetermined lie angle and loft angle with respect to a reference horizontal plane at one end of the shaft,
The head includes a face portion for hitting a ball, an upper surface portion extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion, and a lower surface portion extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion,
The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion each have an upper surface inclined portion and a lower surface inclined portion that rise toward the face portion side in a region closer to the face portion than the center of gravity of the head.   The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion are formed substantially in parallel.   3. The golf according to claim 2, wherein the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion are formed with bent portions that transition to the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion on the face side of the center of gravity of the head. club.   The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the upper inclined portion is formed longer than the lower inclined portion.   The upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion are formed such that a tangent line in the upper surface inclined portion and the lower surface inclined portion intersects a face tangent plane defining a loft angle in a range of 10 ° to 75 °. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the golf club is a golf club.   6. The golf club according to claim 1, wherein a horizontal plane parallel to a reference horizontal plane is formed on the upper surface portion at least on the rear side from the center of gravity of the head.   The golf club according to claim 1, wherein an opening is formed on a toe side and a heel side of the upper surface inclined portion.   The golf club according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the upper surface portion and / or the lower surface portion is covered with a cover member. In a golf club comprising a shaft, and a hollow structure head that is fixed at a predetermined lie angle and loft angle with respect to a reference horizontal plane at one end of the shaft,
The head includes a face portion for hitting a ball, an upper surface portion extending rearward from the upper edge of the face portion, and a lower surface portion extending rearward from the lower edge of the face portion,
The golf club according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion have a swing fulcrum that allows the face portion to swing vertically along the face surface.

Images