Golf Ball Orientation via Identifying Mark for Seam Line Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The indistinct seam line on modern golf balls, resulting from dense and uniform dimple arrangements, makes it difficult to accurately position and inspect specific sites for markings and seam lines post-injection molding, compromising operational efficiency and precision.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball manufacturing method involving the formation of an identifying mark on the ball's surface, photographed with an image processing camera to correct the ball's orientation, ensuring precise positioning for subsequent treatments like seam line inspection and marking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dense and uniform dimple arrangements are used to improve aerodynamic properties, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but the seam line becomes indistinct and difficult to position
Solution Approach 1:
An identifying mark is formed on the ball surface during the injection molding process, before subsequent inspection and marking operations. This preliminary marking enables accurate positioning of the seam line and specific sites in later steps, resolving the positioning difficulty caused by dense dimple arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
An identifying mark serves as an intermediary element between the mold's parting line (seam line) and the inspection/marking systems. This mark provides a clear, detectable reference that mediates the positioning process, allowing accurate identification of the seam line position even when the seam line itself is obscured by dense dimples.
2Reliability
If the seam line is made indistinct through dense dimple placement, then aerodynamic properties improve, but inspection and marking efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The identifying mark is created during injection molding, before inspection and marking operations. This advance preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming manual positioning and inspection, thereby maintaining high productivity despite the use of dense dimple arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The identifying mark creates a simplified, detectable representation of the seam line position. Instead of directly detecting the obscured seam line, the system detects the clear identifying mark, which copies the positional information in a form suitable for automated inspection and marking systems.
3Device complexity
If no identifying mark is provided on the ball surface, then the ball maintains a simple spherical form, but positioning specific sites for inspection and marking becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than changing the overall spherical form of the ball, an identifying mark is added only in the specific local region where positioning is needed. This localized modification maintains the ball's simple spherical appearance and structure while providing the necessary positioning reference for inspection and marking operations.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention provides a golf ball manufacturing method to be administered subsequent treatment at a specific site on the surface of a ball molded from a golf ball-forming material. The method includes the steps of forming on the surface of the ball an identifying mark having a given positional relationship with the specific surface site; removing each ball in turn from a plurality of lined-up balls on each of which the specific surface site is located in a random position; photographing the identifying mark formed on the surface of the ball with an image processing camera; and, based on information provided by the photographed identifying mark, correcting the orientation of the ball so that the specific surface site lies at the position where the subsequent treatment will be administered. This method of manufacture enables the ball to be reliably and smoothly positioned, thus making it possible to reliably and smoothly carry out subsequent treatment such as seam line processing and marking. The overall efficiency of the golf ball manufacturing process is thus increased, which is advantageous for production.