Multilayer Golf Ball Hardness Gradient Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Golf balls struggle to achieve both high flight distance and excellent approach performance while maintaining soft feel at impact, as existing multilayer structures often compromise on either resilience or spin rate.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball design featuring a spherical core with a mid layer and inner and outer covers, where the Shore D hardness decreases from the core outward, with specific volume and hardness ratios, and materials like ionomer resins and polyamide resins are used to optimize resilience and spin performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a golf ball is designed with a hard cover to achieve low spin rate and high launch angle for long flight distance, then flight distance performance is improved, but approach performance deteriorates due to insufficient spin rate
Solution Approach 1:
The golf ball is divided into multiple layers with different hardness characteristics: a hard outer cover (Shore D 30-40) for low spin and long distance, a softer mid layer (Shore D 50-70) for spin control, and a soft inner core (Shore D 70-90) for feel and distance. This segmentation allows each layer to contribute differently to flight characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the golf ball have locally optimized properties: the outer cover is hard for aerodynamic stability and low spin, the mid layer has intermediate hardness for spin generation, and the inner core is soft for feel and energy storage. This local quality optimization resolves the contradiction between distance and approach performance.
2Ease of operation
If a golf ball uses a soft cover to provide excellent feel at impact, then feel at impact is improved, but spin rate decreases and approach performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The golf ball structure separates the feel function (inner core) from the spin generation function (mid layer and outer cover). The soft inner core provides feel at impact, while the harder mid layer and outer cover generate sufficient spin rate for approach shots.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner core is locally optimized for softness to provide feel, while the mid layer and outer cover are locally optimized for intermediate and hard characteristics respectively to generate spin. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between feel and spin rate.
3Reliability
If a golf ball uses a multilayer structure to optimize both flight distance and approach performance, then both performances are improved, but the structure becomes complex with multiple layers of different hardness
Solution Approach 1:
The golf ball is segmented into three functional layers: outer cover, mid layer, and inner core. Each layer has a specific hardness range and volume ratio that contributes to overall performance, balancing complexity with functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes specific parameters including outer cover hardness (Shore D 30-40), mid layer hardness (Shore D 50-70), inner core hardness (Shore D 70-90), and volume ratios to achieve the desired balance between flight distance and approach performance while controlling structural complexity.
4Reliability
If a golf ball has a high spin rate to improve approach performance, then approach performance is improved, but flight distance decreases due to excessive backspin
Solution Approach 1:
The outer cover is locally optimized with intermediate hardness (Shore D 30-40) to generate appropriate spin without excessive backspin, while the inner core is locally optimized for softness to maintain feel and distance. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between approach performance and flight distance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves high flight distance with low spin rates for drivers and high spin rates for short irons, providing excellent approach performance and soft feel at impact.
Implementation Method 1
a Shore D hardness Hm of the mid layer is greater than a Shore D hardness Hinc of the inner cover, and the hardness Hinc is greater than a Shore D hardness Houc of the outer cover
Implementation Method 2
a ratio (Vm/Vouc) of the volume Vm relative to the volume Vouc is greater than 1.50. A product (Vm*Hm) of the hardness Hm and the volume Vm and a product (Vouc*Houc) of the hardness Houc and the volume Vouc meet the following relationship. [(Vm*Hm)/(Vouc*Houc)]>3.0
Implementation Method 3
The mid layer is formed from a resin composition. A principal component of a base resin of the resin composition is preferably selected from an ionomer resin, a polyamide resin, and a mixture thereof
Data Source
AI summary
A golf ball includes a spherical core, a mid layer, an inner cover, and an outer cover. A hardness Hm of the mid layer is greater than a hardness Hinc of the inner cover which is greater than a hardness Houc of the outer cover. A difference (Hm−Houc) is greater than 25. A volume Vm of the mid layer is greater than a volume Vinc of the inner cover which is greater than a volume Vouc of the outer cover. A ratio [(Vm+Vinc+Vouc)/V] of a sum (Vm+Vinc+Vouc) relative to a volume V of an entirety of the golf ball is less than 0.30. A ratio (Vm/Vouc) is greater than 1.50. A product (Vm*Hm) and a product (Vouc*Houc) meet the following relationship: [(Vm*Hm)/(Vouc*Houc)]>3.0.