Multi-piece Golf Ball Layering for Velocity and Feel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current golf balls with multilayer structures struggle to balance distance, controllability, and feel for professional and skilled amateur golfers, particularly in achieving high initial velocity and suppressing spin rates on full shots while maintaining durability and softness.
Innovation Solution
A multi-piece solid golf ball design featuring a thermoplastic resin core, a rubber composition envelope layer, and an ionomer resin intermediate layer, with a soft urethane rubber cover, optimized for specific gravity and Shore D hardness values to enhance initial velocity, spin control, and feel, while ensuring durability and scuff resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a multilayer structure with hard ionomer material is used to suppress spin and increase distance, then flight performance improves, but feel at impact becomes less soft
Solution Approach 1:
The golf ball is divided into multiple layers with distinct functions: a soft cover layer for feel, an intermediate ionomer layer for spin control, and a core layer for rebound. This segmentation allows each layer to optimize its specific function without compromising others.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material construction combining soft cover material (for feel), ionomer resin (for spin suppression), and rubber core material (for rebound). The composite structure integrates the advantages of different materials to achieve both soft feel and high initial velocity.
2Ease of operation
If a soft cover is used to improve feel and controllability in short game, then controllability improves, but spin rate on full shots increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is segmented into a soft outer layer for feel and an intermediate ionomer layer for spin control. This segmentation allows the soft cover to provide controllability while the ionomer layer suppresses excessive spin on full shots.
Solution Approach 2:
The ionomer intermediate layer acts as a mediator between the soft cover and the core, providing spin suppression functionality while allowing the soft cover to maintain its feel and controllability characteristics.
3Speed
If a hard core is used to increase rebound and initial velocity, then distance improves, but feel at impact becomes less soft
Solution Approach 1:
The core is segmented into a rebound-providing inner core and an outer layer that interfaces with the cover. This allows the core to provide high rebound velocity while the outer layers maintain soft feel characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The core uses composite material construction combining hard rubber material for rebound with softer outer layers, achieving both high rebound velocity and soft feel at impact.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-piece solid golf ball having a core, an envelope layer, an intermediate layer and a cover. The core is formed primarily of a thermoplastic resin and has a diameter of from 20 to 30 mm, the envelope layer is formed of a rubber composition containing primarily a rubber material and has a thickness of from 3 to 10 mm, the intermediate layer is formed of a resin composition containing primarily an ionomer, and the cover is formed of a resin composition containing primarily a urethane. Both the relationship among the specific gravities of the core, the envelope layer and the intermediate layer, and the relationship among the surface hardnesses of the core, the envelope layer, the intermediate layer and the cover are optimized.