1. A rod end bearing comprising:
a body comprising a ring portion and a rod portion;
the ring portion comprising a ring having an opening and a center axis;
the rod portion comprising a first rod extending radially from the ring in a direction perpendicular to the center axis;
the opening having a geometry sufficient to support a ball bearing, and permitting rotation of the ball bearing inside the ring, the ball bearing being substantially spherical and being capable of attachment to a second rod;
an inner periphery of the ring being in contact with the ball bearing;
a wear coating on at least a portion of the inner periphery of the ring;
and an antifriction coating disposed on a surface selected from the group consisting of a surface of the wear coating, a surface of the ball bearing and combinations thereof, the antifriction coating maintaining a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of up to about 0.95 in atmospheres substantially devoid of water vapor.
2. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the body comprises two or more parts, each of the parts being substantially planar plates, each plate including a rod portion and a ring portion, the two or more parts being fastened together in a manner that supports the ball bearing within the ring portion of the two or more parts and places the inner periphery of the ring portion of each of the parts in contact with the surface of the ball bearing.
3. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a material having a thermal coefficient of expansion greater than the thermal coefficient of expansion of the ball bearing.
4. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating comprises a binder and a friction modifier.
5. The rod end bearing of claim 4, wherein the binder comprises a material selected from the group consisting of sodium silicate, aluminum phosphate, titanium oxide and combinations thereof.
6. The rod end bearing of claim 5, wherein the binder is titanium oxide.
7. The rod end bearing of claim 4, wherein the friction modifier comprises a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten sulfide, bismuth telluride, copper sulfide, bismuth oxide and combinations thereof.
8. The rod end bearing of claim 7, wherein the friction modifier is tungsten sulfide.
9. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the ball bearing comprises a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, zirconium oxide, cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys and combinations thereof.
10. The rod end bearing of claim 9, wherein the ball bearing comprises silicon nitride.
11. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the wear coating comprises a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten carbide, cobalt-containing tungsten carbide, titanium nitride and combinations thereof.
12. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the wear coating comprises cobalt-containing tungsten carbide.
13. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the wear coating comprises titanium nitride.
14. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating maintains a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of equal to or less than 0.95 in atmospheres substantially devoid of water vapor.
15. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating maintains a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of equal to or less than 0.6 in atmospheres substantially devoid of water vapor.
16. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating maintains a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of equal to or less than 0.95 at temperatures greater than or equal to about 1000\xb0 F.
17. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating maintains a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of equal to or less than 0.6 at temperatures greater than or equal to about 1000\xb0 F.
18. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating maintains a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of equal to or less than 0.95 at temperatures greater than or equal to about 1200\xb0 F.
19. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the antifriction coating maintains a coefficient of friction between the wear coating and the ball bearing of equal to or less than 0.6 at temperatures greater than or equal to about 1200\xb0 F.
20. The rod end bearing of claim 1, wherein the rod end bearing wears less than 0.005 inches over 2 million reciprocations of the ball bearing within the ring portion.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A hollow golf club head including a face portion, a crown portion, a sole portion, and a side portion, comprising:
a head body which forms the crown portion, the sole portion, and the side portion and includes an opening portion in a portion corresponding to the face portion; and
a face member which is joined to the opening portion and forms the face portion,
said head body including
a first notch portion formed in a heel-side portion of a peripheral edge of the opening portion, which is on a side of the crown portion, and
a second notch portion formed in a toe-side portion of the peripheral edge, which is on a side of the sole portion, and
said face member including
a first extending portion which seals said first notch portion, and
a second extending portion which seals said second notch portion,
wherein said first extending portion is more rigid than a portion of the peripheral edge, which is on the side of the crown portion and on a toe side with respect to said first extending portion, and
said second extending portion is more rigid than a portion of the peripheral edge, which is on the side of the sole portion and on a heel side with respect to said second extending portion.
2. The head according to claim 1, wherein
said first extending portion is thicker than the portion of the peripheral edge, which is on the side of the crown portion and on the toe side with respect to said first extending portion, and
said second extending portion is thicker than the portion of the peripheral edge, which is on the side of the sole portion and on the heel side with respect to said second extending portion.
3. The head according to claim 1, wherein said face member is made of a material more rigid than said head body.
4. The head according to claim 1, wherein a heel-side region of the portion of the peripheral edge, which is on the side of the crown portion and on the toe side with respect to said first extending portion, is more rigid than a toe-side region thereof.
5. The head according to claim 1, wherein a heel-side region of the portion of the peripheral edge, which is on the side of the sole portion and on the heel side with respect to said second extending portion, is more rigid than a toe-side region thereof.