Golf club head and process for making the same

Abstract

In a process for making a golf club head, an open hollow body is formed from metal to define a front striking panel, a bottom panel and a hollow neck section of the golf club head. The bottom panel extends rearwardly from a bottom end of the striking panel. The neck section is connected to the striking and bottom panels. A moldable closed hollow body is formed using a resin-impregnated fiber sheet material, and is positioned inside the open hollow body. An air bag is placed inside the closed hollow body. The open and closed hollow bodies are subsequently placed in a mold. The mold is heated, and air is blown into the air bag so as to pressurize the closed hollow body against inner surfaces of the open hollow body and the mold until the resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is cured.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A process for making a golf club head, comprising: 
 forming an open hollow body which is made of metal and which defines a front striking panel, a bottom panel and a hollow neck section of the golf club head, said bottom panel extending rearwardly from a bottom end of said striking panel, said neck section being connected to said striking panel and said bottom panel;    forming a moldable closed hollow body by using a resin-impregnated fiber sheet material, and positioning said closed hollow body inside said open hollow body;    placing an air bag inside said closed hollow body;    placing said open and closed hollow bodies in a mold; and    heating said mold and blowing air into said air bag so as to pressurize said closed hollow body against an inner surface of said open hollow body and an inner surface of said mold until said resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is cured.    
     
     
         2 . The process as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said resin-impregnated fiber sheet material is arranged with four to ten layers.  
     
     
         3 . The process as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein said resin-impregnated fiber sheet material includes a carbon fiber and an epoxy resin.  
     
     
         4 . The process as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the air is introduced into said air bag at a pressure of 3-7 kg/cm.  
     
     
         5 . The process as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein said mold is heated to a temperature of about 130° C.  
     
     
         6 . The process as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said open hollow body is made of a titanium alloy.  
     
     
         7 . The process as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said moldable closed hollow body is pressurized against inner surfaces of said striking panel and said bottom panel to line said inner surfaces of said striking panel and said bottom panel and against said mold to define a top wall extending rearwardly from a top end of said striking panel, and a lateral wall extending between said bottom panel and said top wall and extending from one side of said striking panel to another opposite side of said striking panel.  
     
     
         8 . The process as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein said striking panel is formed with an inwardly projecting flanged end extending along said top end of said striking panel, and said bottom panel is formed with an inwardly projecting flanged end along a rear end thereof.  
     
     
         9 . The process as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein a resin-impregnated fiber strip is inserted into a corner space defined by each of said flanged ends of said striking panel and said bottom panel before said closed hollow body is placed inside said mold.  
     
     
         10 . A golf club head produced according to the process of  claim 1 , comprising a front striking panel, a bottom panel extending rearwardly from a bottom end of said striking panel, a top wall extending rearwardly from a top end of said striking panel, a hollow neck section extending upward from one end of said top end of said striking panel and connected to said bottom panel, and a lateral wall interconnecting said bottom panel and said top wall and extending from one side of said striking panel to another opposite side of said striking panel, wherein said front striking panel, said bottom panel and said hollow neck section are made of metal, and said top and lateral walls are made of plastic.