Golf Ball Outermost Layer Water Repellency and Friction Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Golf balls with high water repellency surfaces, while maintaining carry distance in rainy conditions, struggle to achieve satisfactory spin rates during approach shots due to low friction coefficients.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball design featuring a core, cover with dimples, and an outermost layer made of a urethane coating with a contact angle of 90° or more, incorporating a water repellent additive such as fluorinated surfactant, silicone-modified acrylate, or hydrophobic silica, and using a combination of isocyanurate and adduct forms of hexamethylene diisocyanate as a polyisocyanate curing agent, which sets the dynamic friction coefficient to 0.52 or more.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the contact angle of the golf ball surface is increased to 90° or more for water repellency, then carry distance is maintained in rainy conditions, but the friction coefficient decreases leading to insufficient spin rate during approach shots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface treatments to different parts of the golf ball. The cover material itself has high water repellency (contact angle 90° or more), while the outermost layer is specifically engineered with a friction coefficient of 0.52 or more through controlled curing agent composition (isocyanurate form and adduct form of hexamethylene diisocyanate). This local differentiation allows the ball to repel water during driver shots while maintaining sufficient friction for spin during approach shots.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure consisting of a cover made from high water repellency material and an outermost layer applied over the cover. The outermost layer contains a specific composition of curing agents (isocyanurate form and adduct form of hexamethylene diisocyanate) to achieve the desired friction coefficient. This composite approach allows simultaneous optimization of water repellency and friction properties that cannot be achieved with a single material.
2Reliability
If a hydrophobic surface with contact angle of 90° or more is used, then water repellency is improved, but spin rate performance during approach shots deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the golf ball surface into two functional layers: the cover layer that provides water repellency with contact angle 90° or more, and an outermost layer that provides friction control with coefficient of 0.52 or more. The outermost layer is applied as a separate coating over the cover, allowing independent optimization of each layer's properties for their respective functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the outermost layer by using a specific ratio of isocyanurate form to adduct form of hexamethylene diisocyanate as curing agents. This parameter adjustment allows the outermost layer to achieve a friction coefficient of 0.52 or more while the underlying cover maintains its water repellency properties, thus resolving the contradiction between water repellency and spin rate.
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 solution effectively maintains carry distance in rainy conditions while ensuring a satisfactory spin rate during approach shots by balancing water repellency and friction, outperforming comparative examples with higher spin rates and improved carry distance under rainy conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a material having a contact angle of 90° or more... the water repellent additive includes a fluorinated surfactant, a silicone-modified acrylate, or hydrophobic silica
Implementation Method 2
the golf ball has a dynamic friction coefficient of 0.52 or more... the polyisocyanate includes both an adduct form and an isocyanurate form of hexamethylene diisocyanate
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a golf ball that can prevent a decrease in carry distance of a driver shot when it rains and also, can exert excellent spinning performance upon an approach shot. The golf ball of the present invention includes a core, a cover that is provided on an outer side of the core and is provided with dimples, and an outermost layer that is formed on an outer side of the cover and made of a material having a contact angle of 90° or more. The golf ball has a dynamic friction coefficient of 0.52 or more. The material constituting the outermost layer comprises a urethane coating that contains a water repellent additive, and the water repellent additive includes a fluorinated surfactant, silicone-modified acrylate or hydrophobic silica. The urethane coating comprises a polyisocyanate as a curing agent, and the polyisocyanate includes both an adduct form and an isocyanurate form of hexamethylene diisocyanate, and a mixing ratio (isocyanurate form/adduct form) of the isocyanurate and adduct forms of the hexamethylene diisocyanate, expressed as a mass ratio, is from 95/5 to 40/60.