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Thermoplastic elastomer composites for stiff core golf balls and method for making same

a composite material and golf ball technology, applied in the field of golf balls with stiff cores, can solve the problems of golf balls that cannot be designed, manufactured or intentionally modified to have properties, metal sphere designs that are not durable enough, and golf balls that have hollow metal patents, etc., to achieve high stiffness cores, rebound and flight trajectory, and maintain structural integrity and symmetry

Inactive Publication Date: 2015-12-03
DUFAUX DOUGLAS P
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention aims to provide a durable and symmetrical golf ball with a high stiffness core that has good feel, rebound, and flight trajectory. Another objective is to create a hollow metal core golf ball with materials that can transfer energy between layers without structural degradation.

Problems solved by technology

Further, the ball must not be designed, manufactured or intentionally modified to have properties that differ from those of a spherically symmetric ball.
However, these prior art designs suffer from several shortcomings including a hollow metal sphere design that is not durable enough to withstand impact forces from being struck by a club.
These patents do not disclose a golf ball design having a hollow metal sphere that can withstand the impact of a golf club without permanent distortion or an efficient or cost effective method of manufacturing the golf balls.
Not surprisingly, the golf balls are not believed to have achieved any commercial success.
Other designs have looked at new materials, but have either not attempted or accomplished a design that provides a significantly higher stiffness in the core (i.e., stiffness greater than 5× that of a typical polybutadiene core.)
According to the '114 patent, increasing the amount of nanoparticles can decrease the amount of crosslinking agent required to provide increased resilience but does not create a core with significantly higher stiffness.

Method used

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  • Thermoplastic elastomer composites for stiff core golf balls and method for making same
  • Thermoplastic elastomer composites for stiff core golf balls and method for making same
  • Thermoplastic elastomer composites for stiff core golf balls and method for making same

Examples

Experimental program
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Effect test

example 1

[0051]Three piece ball: hollow 301 stainless steel core having an elastic modulus of 193 GigaPascals (GPa) and a thickness of approximately 0.039 inches and a diameter of 1.1 inches, surrounded by a polyether block amide as the transition agent which has an elastic modulus of 290 MegaPascals (MPa), and then further surrounded by a layer of polymeric resin having an elastic modulus of 86 MPa, and covered with an ionomer with an elastic modulus of approximately 350 MPa and a thickness of 0.063 inches.

[0052]Other materials, such as polybutadiene, urethanes, and various resins may be used as layers, provided the constraint is met that no two adjacent layers have no more than two orders of magnitude difference in their respective elastic modulus.

example 2

[0053]Three piece ball: hollow metal core, second polymer layer comprising a DuPont HPF 1000 or HPF 2000 resin blended with 0.25-1.0 mm particulate polybutadiene and a Surlyn cover. The hollow sphere comprising a 301 stainless steel core with an inside diameter of 21.21 mm (0.835 inches) and an outside diameter of 22.86 mm (0.9 inches), the specific gravity of the stainless steel of 7.8 and a core mass of 10.125 grams. HPF resin (base resin specific gravity=0.96) with a layer thickness of 8.32 mm (0.3275) inches blended with 25% polybutadiene in particulate form with a size of 0.25-1.0 mm, and 1% by weight of nanoclay material in a polypropylene carrier (such as PolyOne® Nanoblend™ Concentrate 1001—specific gravity of about 1.1) with a total layer mass of 27.4 grams. Further comprising a SURLYN (specific gravity of about 0.95) cover of thickness 1.59 mm (0.0625 inches), and a mass of 7.95 grams. The pressure of the residual gas or air in the hollow metal sphere is less than about 1 ...

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Abstract

A golf ball is provided that includes at least one layer of material that is a composite of thermoplastic and a second phase material that is dispersed within the thermoplastic. This material may be a blend of thermoplastic and elastomeric material. Preferably, the golf ball comprises a hard sphere core such as a hollow metal core, a layer of Thermoplastic Elastomer Composite, and a cover layer. This results in a golf ball that is legal for play and capable of drive distances essentially equivalent to those of currently available high performance golf balls, but also provides a ball that has less hook and slice during play, while being durable and economical to produce.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to an improved multi-piece golf ball, and more particularly, a multi-piece golf ball including a hard spherical core or layer with improved characteristics. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved golf ball having a blend of an injection moldable polymer and non-injection moldable polymer, in one or more layers of a golf ball.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Most golf balls sold in the U.S. are listed on the conforming list of the United States Golf Association—the USGA. Several specifications have been established by the USGA, and a golf ball must meet certain test criteria relating to these specifications for weight, size, initial velocity, overall distance (carry and roll), and spherical symmetry. For acceptance by the USGA a golf ball must not weigh more than 1.620 ounces, must have a minimum diameter of 1.680 inches, must have a maximum initial ball velocity of 250 feet per second (plus ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A63B37/00
CPCA63B37/006A63B37/0056A63B37/0075A63B37/0039A63B37/0054A63B37/0069
Inventor DUFAUX, DOUGLAS P.
Owner DUFAUX DOUGLAS P
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