Golf Ball Paint Layer Segmentation for Spin and Flyer Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Golf balls with existing paint layers fail to maintain high spin performance under both wet and rough conditions, leading to reduced controllability and increased likelihood of 'flyer' occurrences, where the ball lands farther than intended.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball design featuring a paint layer with a relatively hard and thick inner layer and a flexible and thin outer layer, where the indentation depth of the inner layer is between 100 nm and 1000 nm, and the outer layer is between 1000 nm and 3500 nm, with specific thickness and composition to enhance spin performance under various conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single-layer paint layer is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the spin performance under wet and rough conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The paint layer is divided into two distinct layers: an inner layer with higher hardness (0.3-0.5 gf/μm²) and an outer layer with lower hardness (0.1-0.3 gf/μm²). This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function - the inner layer provides structural stability and spin performance under wet conditions, while the outer layer prevents flyer occurrence under rough conditions, thereby resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and spin performance reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite paint layer structure combining two materials with different hardness properties. The inner layer material has higher hardness to maintain spin performance when water is present, while the outer layer material has lower hardness to prevent flyer occurrence when lawn is present. This composite approach enables the paint layer to satisfy multiple performance requirements simultaneously that cannot be achieved with a single material.
2Reliability
If the paint layer is made harder to improve spin performance under wet conditions, then spin rate increases, but flyer occurrence increases under rough conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the paint layer are assigned different hardness qualities - the inner layer has higher hardness (0.3-0.5 gf/μm²) to improve spin performance under wet conditions, while the outer layer has lower hardness (0.1-0.3 gf/μm²) to reduce flyer occurrence under rough conditions. This local differentiation of material properties allows the system to achieve conflicting performance goals in different locations, resolving the contradiction between spin performance and flyer prevention.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the paint layer is made thinner to reduce flyer occurrence, then controllability improves, but spin performance under wet conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The paint layer is segmented into two layers with different thicknesses and hardness values. The inner layer has thickness of 1-5 μm with higher hardness to maintain spin performance under wet conditions, while the outer layer has thickness of 0.5-2 μm with lower hardness to prevent flyer occurrence. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing the functional requirements across different layers rather than compromising either requirement in a single-layer design.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A golf ball (2) includes a main body (4) and a paint layer (6) positioned outside the main body (4). The paint layer (6) includes an inner layer (14) and an outer layer (16) positioned outside the inner layer (14). When an indentation depth (nm) is measured on a cross-section along a plane passing through a central point of the golf ball (2) when a force of 30 mgf is applied to the cross-section in a direction perpendicular to the cross-section, an indentation depth Di on a cross-section of the inner layer (14) is smaller than an indentation depth Do on a cross-section of the outer layer (16). A thickness To of the outer layer (16) is smaller than a thickness Ti of the inner layer (14).