Color-Shift Golf Ball Coating for Strike Location Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf balls lack visual feedback mechanisms that provide clear strike location information and alignment assistance, which are crucial for improving golf performance.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a color-shift material into the cover layer or a coating of the golf ball that changes color upon impact, providing localized feedback and alignment assistance through a shift between two or more colors, with a deltaE of greater than 2.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a color-shift material is incorporated into the golf ball cover layer or coating, then strike location feedback and alignment assistance are improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a color-shift material into the golf ball cover layer or coating that changes color upon impact. This material exhibits a color-shift effect with a deltaE greater than 2 when pressure is applied by a golf club strike, providing clear visual feedback about the strike location and quality without requiring complex electronic or mechanical systems
Solution Approach 2:
The color-shift material provides automatic, self-indicating feedback about the strike location and quality. The material inherently changes color in response to impact pressure, eliminating the need for external sensors, lights, or complex feedback mechanisms. The golf ball essentially tells the golfer information about their swing without any additional systems
2Loss of information
If a color-shift material is incorporated into the golf ball cover layer or coating, then alignment assistance is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The color-shift material provides alignment information through its color-changing property. When the golf ball is struck, the material changes color in a way that indicates whether the strike was accurate or off-target, giving the golfer immediate feedback on alignment and strike quality without requiring precise manufacturing of complex alignment markers
Solution Approach 2:
The color-shift material provides immediate feedback to the golfer about the quality of their strike. The color change occurs in response to the impact pressure, giving real-time information about whether the strike was well-placed or off-target, which helps improve alignment and strike accuracy without requiring complex precision manufacturing
Data Source
AI summary
A golf ball has a core, a cover layer, and a color-shift material incorporated into at least one of the cover layer or a coating applied to the cover layer. The golf ball also has an alignment indicator that provides an intended target strike location on the golf ball. The color-shift material causes the golf ball to exhibit a localized color-shift effect upon application of pressure in the form of a strike by a golf club. The color-shift effect comprises a shift between a first color and a second color and measured as a deltaE of greater than 2 when the change of pressure is within a target range. The color-shift material and the alignment indicator provide feedback regarding an actual strike location relative to the intended target strike location.