Negative Hardness Gradient Golf Ball Core
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current golf ball manufacturing techniques struggle to produce a single-layer core with a soft-to-hard hardness gradient from the surface to the center, which is both efficient and cost-effective, limiting the ability to create golf balls with unique combinations of compression, feel, and spin.
Innovation Solution
A golf ball design featuring an inner core with a hardness range of 45 Shore C to 65 Shore C and an outer core layer with a hardness range of 55 Shore C to 90 Shore C, both formed from homogenous formulations, creating a negative hardness gradient, and a cover layer with specific compositions and dimensions to achieve desired performance characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional hard surface to soft center hardness gradient is used in the core, then the manufacturing process is simple and well-established, but the golf ball cannot achieve unique combinations of compression, feel, and spin properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional hardness gradient by creating a soft surface to hard center gradient instead of the traditional hard surface to soft center gradient. This is achieved by controlling the curing process so that the surface remains softer while the center becomes harder, allowing unique compression and feel characteristics that differ from conventional golf balls
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different hardness properties to different regions of the core by creating a radial hardness gradient. The surface layer has different hardness characteristics than the center, with each region optimized for specific performance attributes such as feel, compression, and spin control
2Adaptability or versatility
If a soft skin is added around a conventional core, then the surface hardness is reduced for better feel, but the interior maintains a hard surface to soft center gradient limiting performance customization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the soft skin layer with the core structure into a single integrated component rather than separate layers. The soft skin and core form one unified structure with a continuous hardness gradient, simplifying the overall construction while achieving both soft surface feel and customized interior properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material composition within the core, combining different elastomeric materials with varying hardness and curing characteristics to create the radial hardness gradient. This allows the core to exhibit different mechanical properties at different radii while maintaining structural integrity
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple elastomer layers are molded together to create a hardness gradient, then the desired hardness profile is achieved, but the manufacturing process becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the core into an inner core and an outer core layer with different hardness characteristics and curing behaviors. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized independently for specific hardness ranges while maintaining a relatively simple two-layer construction that is more efficient than multi-layer alternatives
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls the hardness gradient by changing chemical parameters during the curing process, specifically by adjusting the concentration and type of curing agents in different core layers. This chemical parameter control achieves precise hardness profiling more efficiently than mechanical or physical methods
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 design allows for the production of golf balls with tailored compression, feel, and spin properties by maintaining a consistent formulation throughout the core layers, enhancing resiliency and distance without increasing hardness, while providing a cost-effective and efficient manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
The cores are usually heated and crosslinked to create certain characteristics, such as higher or lower compression
Implementation Method 2
Generally, golf ball cores and/or centers are constructed with a thermoset rubber, typically a polybutadiene-based composition
Data Source
AI summary
A golf ball including an inner core having a first outer surface and a geometric center and being formed from a first substantially homogenous composition such that the inner core has a hardness of about 60 Shore C to about 90 Shore C; an outer core layer disposed about the inner core having a second outer surface and being formed from a second substantially homogenous composition such that the outer core layer has a hardness of about 60 Shore C to about 95 Shore C; and a cover layer disposed about the outer core layer. The geometric center and first and second outer surfaces each have a hardness, the hardness of the second outer surface being lower than the hardness of the geometric center to define a negative hardness gradient.