Games using tangible projectile – Golf – Club or club support
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-25
2001-03-06
Wong, Steven (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Golf
Club or club support
C204S192380, C427S255394, C473S316000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196936
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to golf clubs, and, more particularly, to golf club heads and shafts that are coated with a wear-resistant, impact-resistant, colorful coating.
A golf club includes an elongated shaft with a hand grip at one end, and a golf club head attached to the other end of the shaft. There are basically three types of clubs—the drivers, the irons, and the putters. Older-style shafts were made of wood, and current shafts are made of metal or composite materials. Golf club heads are made of wood or metals such as steel or titanium alloys. The player uses the golf club by grasping a hand grip on the shaft, swinging the club, and impacting a golf ball with the club head. At the point of impact on the club head face, the club head is subjected to large forces. The present invention deals with improving golf club heads and shafts, and golf clubs made using the improved golf club heads and shafts.
In a highly competitive golf club industry, clubs must be distinctive and functional. It is a common practice for club manufacturers to apply paints, organic coatings, or paint-like coatings, collectively termed “paints” herein, to their clubs with “signature” colors and/or patterns that allow the easy identification of the clubs and their association with the manufacturer. The paints also protect the clubs against corrosion.
A major trend in the golf industry is to the use of titanium club heads for metal woods and titanium shafts in some applications. Paints do not, as a general rule, adhere well to titanium. Some manufacturers therefore clear coat the titanium heads with an organic coating and others apply a three-layer coating of primer, pigmented coatings, and clear overcoat. But, even then, the paint applied to the club head face may quickly chip or be worn away after only a few strokes. Even scraping the club head against gravel, sand, or other objects may damage the paint. When the paint is damaged, the protection of the paint is lost, and the customer, who may have paid a substantial amount for the club, may have the perception of an inferior-quality club.
In an attempt to overcome this problem, the quality and toughness of paints have been improved over the years, and painting techniques have also improved. Surface treatments other than paints have been developed, such as ceramic coatings for titanium club heads. While such surface treatments yield improvements, it is difficult to impart to them the color and other features of paints.
There is therefore a need for an improved approach to the protection of metallic golf club heads that is both decorative and functional. The same need is found for metallic shafts. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a golf club head and/or shaft and a golf club that are protected by a coating. The coating is hard, durable, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. It adheres well to all metals with which it has been tested, and in particular it adheres well to steel and titanium alloys, as well as other alloys. The coefficient of friction of the coating is low, so that it tends to impart little if any side spin to the golf ball at the moment of impact, reducing the likelihood of a hooked or sliced drive. By varying its composition and application parameters, the color of the coating may be varied over a substantial range, which includes the signature colors of many golf club component and golf club manufacturers.
In accordance with the invention, a golf club component comprises a golf club head substrate made of a substrate material having a surface, and a coating overlying and contacting at least a portion of the surface of the golf club head substrate. The golf club component may be a club shaft or a club head. The coating comprises at least one homogeneous layer of a coating material including a metal selected from the group consisting of vanadium, chromium, zirconium, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, hafnium, tantalum, and tungsten, and a nonmetal selected from the group consisting of nitrogen and carbon.
The coating is preferably applied using a physical vapor deposition source such as a cathodic arc source and a controlled atmosphere of the nonmetal. Other operable techniques such as magnetron sputtering may also be used.
To enhance the quality of the coating and its adherence to the substrate surface, the coating is preferably applied as two or more discrete layers of different compositions, but wherein each layer is substantially homogeneous and of uniform composition throughout. For example, in a preferred case wherein the coating is titanium carbonitride, the coating has a first layer of titanium contacting the substrate surface, a second layer of titanium nitride overlying the first layer, and a third layer of titanium carbonitride overlying the second layer. This multilayer approach improves the durability of the coating and reduces the possibility of exposure of any of the underlying substrate through micropores in the coating. The total thickness of the coating is preferably from about 1-½ to about 10 micrometers, most preferably about 1-½ to about 5 micrometers. Thin layers of metal may be deposited between the hard layers to provide internal stress relief in the coating, particularly when the total thickness of the coating is greater than about 5 micrometers, thereby prolonging its adherence to the substrate and its life. By varying the ratios and amounts of the nitrogen-containing source (e.g., nitrogen) and the carbon-containing source gas (e.g., acetylene), the color of the titanium carbonitride coating top layer may be varied from pink, for a low acetylene content, through intermediate purple, copper, and red colors, to nearly black, for a high acetylene content. Variations in the compositions of other coatings to be discussed herein yield color variations within other ranges of color.
The coating on the surface of the substrate is hard, wear-resistant, and corrosionresistant. The coating may be optionally further improved by sealing the surface with a sealant such as polytetrafluoroethylene that resides within any micropores. Because it resides within the micropores, if any, the sealant is not contacted by any wearing medium when in service.
The present invention provides a golf club head and shaft that are fully functional and whose dimensions and weight are not substantially changed by the coating operation, inasmuch as the coating is preferably much less than {fraction (1/1000)} of an inch thick. The golf club component may therefore be fabricated to substantially its desired size, and then processed according by the present approach. The final product is hard and durable, and corrosion resistant in media commonly encountered by the club component. The coating has a distinctive color which is determined by the selected composition. The color is inherent in the coating composition, and therefore does not quickly wear or chip away as in the case of paint-like coatings.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. The scope of the invention is not, however, limited to this preferred embodiment.
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Blau Stephen L.
Garmong Gregory
Molecular Metallurgy, Inc.
Wong Steven
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