Golf Ball Core Rubber Composition Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf ball core rubber compositions face limitations in durability when subjected to repeated impact, with existing technologies failing to adequately enhance both durability and spin controllability.
Innovation Solution
A rubber composition for golf ball cores incorporating a conjugated diene polymer, a multi-component copolymer with conjugated diene, non-conjugated olefin, and aromatic vinyl units, and an organic peroxide, where the multi-component copolymer includes butadiene, ethylene, and styrene units, with specific weight percentages to achieve improved hardness profiles and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional rubber compositions are used in golf ball cores, then basic golf ball properties are maintained, but durability to cracking on repeated impact is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite rubber composition comprising polybutadiene rubber (component a), diene-containing polymer (component b), and polyester polymer (component c). This multi-component composite structure combines the elastic properties of polybutadiene with the durability-enhancing characteristics of diene-containing polymers and the structural stability of polyester polymers, achieving both improved durability and maintained golf ball performance characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention specifies precise compositional parameters: polybutadiene rubber content of 70-95 parts by weight, diene-containing polymer content of 5-30 parts by weight, and polyester polymer content of 1-30 parts by weight. These controlled parameter ranges optimize the balance between durability improvement and maintenance of spin controllability and flight performance.
2Reliability
If resin ingredients are added to improve core durability, then durability is enhanced, but the basic golf ball properties such as spin and flight may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention carefully controls the content ranges of durability-enhancing components: diene-containing polymer at 5-30 parts by weight and polyester polymer at 1-30 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of polybutadiene rubber. This parameter optimization ensures durability improvement while maintaining spin controllability within acceptable ranges for golf ball performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a hardness difference between core surface and center, with the surface hardness being higher than the center hardness. This local quality variation optimizes both durability at the impact surface and the overall elastic response for spin controllability, resolving the contradiction between durability enhancement and performance maintenance.
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 significantly enhances the durability of golf ball cores by preventing core failure and maintaining durability through energy dissipation and microcrystal regeneration, while maintaining spin controllability and flight performance.
Implementation Method 1
a conjugated diene polymer (a), a multi-component copolymer having conjugated diene units, non-conjugated olefin units and aromatic vinyl units (b), and an organic peroxide (c)
Implementation Method 2
the conjugated diene units include butadiene units, the non-conjugated olefin units include ethylene units, and the aromatic vinyl units include styrene units
Implementation Method 3
the hardness difference in the core internal hardness profile can be set at or above a given level while maintaining the desired core hardness and the durability to cracking on repeated impact is excellent
Data Source
AI summary
A rubber composition for a golf ball core includes (a) a conjugated diene polymer, (b) a multi-component copolymer having conjugated diene units, non-conjugated olefin units and aromatic vinyl units, and (c) an organic peroxide. The conjugated diene units include butadiene units, the non-conjugated olefin units include ethylene units, and the aromatic vinyl units include styrene units. The content of conjugated diene units with respect to the multi-component copolymer is at least 5 wt %. Golf balls having at least one core layer formed of such a rubber composition and a cover of one or more layers encasing the core exhibit improved durability to cracking on repeated impact while maintaining the basic properties required of golf balls, such as flight and spin controllability on approach shots.