Search

JP-7855661-B2 - Golf club heads containing thermoplastic composite materials

JP7855661B2JP 7855661 B2JP7855661 B2JP 7855661B2JP-7855661-B2

Inventors

  • クレイソン シー． スパックマン
  • ジェレミー エス． ポープ
  • タイラー エイ． ショー
  • エリック ジェイ． モラレス
  • アティカ シャリン

Assignees

  • カーステン マニュファクチュアリング コーポレーション

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20241030
Priority Date
20180119

Claims (18)

  1. It is a golf club head, A front body comprising a hitting surface defining the surface of the ball being hit, a hosel, and a frame that at least partially surrounds the hitting surface and extends rearward from the periphery of the hitting surface so as to be away from the surface of the ball being hit, It comprises a rear body connected to the front body and defining a hollow cavity between it and the front body, The striking surface and frame are formed from a thermoplastic composite material containing a thermoplastic polymer in which a plurality of discontinuous fibers are embedded. Each of the aforementioned discontinuous fibers has a length between approximately 0.01 and 3 mm. The thermoplastic composite material consists of 30 to 70 volume percent fibers. Between the center of the striking surface and the hosel, more than 50% of the multiple discontinuous fibers are aligned within approximately 30° parallel to the horizontal axis extending from the center of the striking surface to the hosel. Within the frame, more than 50% of the multiple discontinuous fibers are aligned within approximately 30° parallel to the axis extending perpendicular to the horizontal axis from the ball-hitting surface to the rear edge. A golf club head in which the axis extending from the ball-hitting surface to the rear edge is perpendicular to the rear edge .
  2. The aforementioned front body is The toe portion on the opposite side of the striking surface from the hosel, The frame defining a portion of the crown and sole, A horizontal axis extends between the crown and the sole, passing through the center of the striking surface. The hitting surface comprises a rear surface on the opposite side of the hitting surface, The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the striking surface protrudes from the rear surface so as to be away from the ball-hitting surface, and a flow leader extends from the toe portion toward the center of the striking surface between the crown and the horizontal axis.
  3. The golf club head according to claim 2, further comprising a thickened central region that protrudes from the rear surface so as to be away from the ball-hitting surface and is centered on the center of the hitting surface.
  4. The aforementioned thermoplastic composite material is polycarbonate (PC), polyester (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyamide (PA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyphthalamide (PPA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethylene (PE), polyphenylene ether/oxide (PPE), polyoxymethylene (POM), polypropylene (PP), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), polymethylpentene (PMP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) The golf club head according to claim 1, comprising a thermoplastic polymer matrix material selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide (PEI), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetherketone (PEK), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethersulfone (PES), polyphenylene oxide (PPO), polystyrene (PS), polysulfone (PSU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), or mixtures thereof.
  5. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the material of the plurality of discontinuous fibers is selected from the group consisting of carbon, glass, aramid, bamboo, cotton, hemp, flax, titanium, aluminum, titanium dioxide, granite, and silicon carbide.
  6. The golf club head according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of continuous reinforcing elements embedded within the thermoplastic polymer of the striking surface.
  7. The golf club head according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of continuous reinforcing elements include metal wires.
  8. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic composite material has a strength-to-weight ratio greater than 1,000,000 lbs/ in³ , i.e., specific strength.
  9. The thermoplastic composite material has a strength-to-elastic modulus ratio greater than 0.009, i.e., specific flexibility, as described in claim 1.
  10. The golf club head according to claim 1, further comprising a thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and engineering polyurethane.
  11. It is a golf club head, A front body comprising a hitting surface defining the surface of the ball being hit, a hosel, and a frame that at least partially surrounds the hitting surface and extends rearward from the periphery of the hitting surface so as to be away from the surface of the ball being hit, It comprises a rear body connected to the front body and defining a hollow cavity between it and the front body, The striking surface and frame are formed from a thermoplastic composite material containing a thermoplastic polymer in which a plurality of discontinuous fibers are embedded. Each of the aforementioned discontinuous fibers has a length between approximately 0.01 and 3 mm. Multiple continuous reinforcing elements are embedded within the thermoplastic polymer of the striking surface. The first set of the plurality of continuous reinforcing elements extends generally parallel to one another , Between the center of the striking surface and the hosel, more than 50% of the multiple discontinuous fibers are aligned within approximately 30° parallel to the horizontal axis extending from the center of the striking surface to the hosel. Within the frame, more than 50% of the multiple discontinuous fibers are aligned within approximately 30° parallel to the axis extending perpendicular to the horizontal axis from the ball-hitting surface to the rear edge. A golf club head in which the axis extending from the ball-hitting surface to the rear edge is perpendicular to the rear edge .
  12. The golf club head according to claim 11 , wherein the rear edge abuts against the rear body when the rear body is connected to the front body.
  13. The aforementioned front body is The toe portion on the opposite side of the striking surface from the hosel, The frame defining a portion of the crown and sole, A horizontal axis extends between the crown and the sole, passing through the center of the striking surface. The hitting surface comprises a rear surface on the opposite side of the hitting surface, The golf club head according to claim 12, wherein the striking surface protrudes from the rear surface so as to be away from the ball-hitting surface, and a flow leader extends from the toe portion toward the center of the striking surface between the crown and the horizontal axis.
  14. The golf club head according to claim 13 , further comprising a thickened central region that protrudes from the rear surface so as to be away from the ball-hitting surface and is centered on the center of the hitting surface.
  15. The aforementioned thermoplastic composite material is polycarbonate (PC), polyester (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyamide (PA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyphthalamide (PPA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethylene (PE), polyphenylene ether/oxide (PPE), polyoxymethylene (POM), polypropylene (PP), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), polymethylpentene (PMP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) The golf club head according to claim 11, comprising a thermoplastic polymer matrix material selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide (PEI), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetherketone (PEK), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethersulfone (PES), polyphenylene oxide (PPO), polystyrene (PS), polysulfone (PSU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene ( UHMWPE ), or mixtures thereof.
  16. The golf club head according to claim 11 , wherein the material of the plurality of discontinuous fibers is selected from the group consisting of carbon, glass, aramid, bamboo, cotton, hemp, flax, titanium, aluminum, titanium dioxide, granite, and silicon carbide.
  17. The golf club head according to claim 11 , further comprising a thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and engineering polyurethane.
  18. The golf club head according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of continuous reinforcing elements include metal wires.

Description

Cross-reference of related applications This claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/619,631 filed on 19 January 2018, No. 62/644,319 filed on 16 March 2018, No. 62/702,996 filed on 25 July 2018, No. 62/703,305 filed on 25 July 2018, No. 62/718,857 filed on 14 August 2018, No. 62/770,000 filed on 20 November 2018, and No. 62/781,509 filed on 18 December 2018. The disclosures of each application referenced above are incorporated in full by reference. This disclosure relates to a golf club head having one or more components comprising a thermoplastic composite material. In an ideal club design, the amount of structural mass is minimized (without sacrificing resilience), and additional discretionary mass is strategically positioned to customize club performance. Generally, the total mass of the club head is the sum of structural mass and discretionary mass. Structural mass generally refers to the mass of material required to provide the club head with the structural resilience necessary to withstand repeated impacts. Structural mass is highly design-dependent and has little design control over a particular mass distribution. Conversely, discretionary mass is any additional mass (beyond the minimum structural requirements) that can be added to the club head design solely for the purpose of customizing the club's performance and/or forgiveness. Current golf club heads include metallic material in at least a portion of the structural mass of the club head (e.g., at least a portion of the striking surface and/or rear body). There is a need in the art for alternative designs of golf club heads with metallic structural mass to provide a means of maximizing discretionary weight to maximize the moment of inertia (MOI) and a lower/rearer center of gravity (CG) of the club head. The background information provided herein is intended to clarify specific club-related terminology, but is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Industry practices, rules and naming conventions established by golf organizations such as the United States Golf Association (USGA) or the R&A may supplement the description of this terminology without departing from the scope of this application. This is a schematic perspective view of a golf club head. This is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the front portion of the golf club head in Figure 1, taken along line 2-2. This is a schematic perspective view of the front and top of a golf club head. This is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a polymer wall in which multiple discontinuous fibers are embedded within the polymer. This is a schematic perspective view of the front body of a golf club head, including the sprue and molding gate that connect to the front body. This is a reversed view of the front body shown in Figure 5. This is a schematic perspective view of the rear portion of the body of a golf club head before it is molded. This is a schematic diagram of the mold flow for creating the front body of Figure 5, taken at the intermediate filling stage. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the mold flow taken when the manufacturing of the part was nearing completion. This is a schematic perspective view of the rear portion of the body before the molding of a golf club head, with a reinforcing mesh embedded in the striking surface. This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the golf club head of Figure 10, taken along line 11-11. This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the golf club head of Figure 10, taken along line 11-11. This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the golf club head of Figure 10, taken along line 11-11. This disclosure generally relates to embodiments of golf club heads having one or more thermoplastic composite materials incorporated into the club head face and/or body to form the structural aspects of the club head. In this case, the design results in a reduction in the structural mass of the head compared to all-metal club heads of similar size, shape, and appearance. The additional discretionary mass provided by these designs is then available to club head designers and can be strategically placed around the head, for example, to increase the moment of inertia of the club head and/or to alter the relative position of the club head's center of gravity. Because thermoplastic polymers are considerably weaker than most of the metals used in golf clubs, special care must be taken in the design, material selection, and reinforcement of the polymer parts to avoid unexpected breakage while still maintaining the dynamic response, sound, and feel expected by golfers. In the embodiments described later, the filler polymer may have anisotropic structural qualities, and it is further understood that these anisotropic structural qualities depend on the typical or average orientation of the embedded discontinuous fibers. More specifically, the filler polymer