Golf Ball Resin Composition for Balanced Stiffness and Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional golf ball resin compositions fail to provide a balance of high resilience, flexibility, and durability, which are essential for achieving a great distance and good shot feeling.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball resin composition comprising a combination of binary, ternary copolymers, ionomer resins, saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, and unsaturated aliphatic polycarboxylic acids, with a neutralization degree of over 80 mole %, used to form the intermediate layers of a golf ball, enhancing its resilience and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If ionomer resin is used for golf ball intermediate layer or cover, then stiffness and traveling distance are improved, but flexibility and shot feeling deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material system consisting of ionomer resin as the base resin combined with thermoplastic elastomer and metal salt. This composite approach allows the material to exhibit both the stiffness of ionomer resin and the flexibility of thermoplastic elastomer, resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical and physical parameters of the resin composition by controlling the neutralization degree (50-80%), specifying elastomer content (5-50 parts by mass per 100 parts base resin), and selecting specific metal salts. These parameter adjustments optimize the balance between stiffness and flexibility.
2Length of moving object
If ionomer resin is used for golf ball intermediate layer or cover, then traveling distance is improved, but durability under strong impact deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The composite material system combines ionomer resin with thermoplastic elastomer and metal salt to create a material that maintains the high resilience needed for traveling distance while gaining improved durability through the elastomer's impact absorption capabilities and the metal salt's reinforcement effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes durability by controlling specific parameters: neutralization degree (50-80%), elastomer content (5-50 parts by mass per 100 parts base resin), and metal salt selection. These parameter changes enable the material to withstand strong impacts while maintaining performance.
3Strength
If neutralization degree is increased to improve resilience, then flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent identifies neutralization degree as a critical parameter and optimizes it to a specific range (50-80%). This parameter control allows the material to achieve high resilience while preventing excessive stiffness, thereby maintaining flexibility. The balanced neutralization degree ensures optimal performance without sacrificing flexibility.
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 composition achieves excellent resilience, flexibility, and durability, resulting in a golf ball that travels a greater distance with improved shot feeling and resistance to impact.
Implementation Method 1
a basic inorganic metal compound capable of neutralizing acidic groups left unneutralized in the base resin and the component (c)
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball resin composition having high resilience and flexibility. The present invention provides a golf ball resin composition, comprising (A) at least one resin component selected from the group consisting of (a-1) a binary copolymer, (a-2) an ionomer resin consisting of a metal ion-neutralized product of a binary copolymer, (a-3) a ternary copolymer, and (a-4) an ionomer resin consisting of a metal ion-neutralized product of a ternary copolymer, (B) a saturated fatty acid, (C) an unsaturated fatty acid, and (D) an unsaturated aliphatic polycarboxylic acid; comprising (B) the saturated fatty acid, (C) the unsaturated fatty acid and (D) the unsaturated aliphatic polycarboxylic acid in a total amount ranging from 80 parts by mass to 200 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of (A) the resin component; and having a neutralization degree of more than 80 mole %.