Patents Examined by Raeann Gorden
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Patent number: 11975246Abstract: Described herein is a golf club head comprising reinforcement members. The reinforcement members span across a rear cavity to connect to at least two portions of the perimeter of the club head and do not touch the rear surface of the strike face. The reinforcement members can be integrally casted or separately formed and attached to the club head. The reinforcement members improve the sound and vibrational response of the club head.Type: GrantFiled: November 10, 2022Date of Patent: May 7, 2024Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing CorporationInventors: Evan R. Greer, Cole D. Brubaker, Joshua A. Degerness
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Patent number: 11976191Abstract: In a golf ball having a core of at least one layer and a cover of at least one layer encasing the core, at least one layer of the cover is formed of a resin composition which includes (I) a polyurethane or a polyurea, (II) a thermoplastic polyester elastomer and (III) an aromatic vinyl elastomer. The thermoplastic polyester elastomer serving as component (II) and the aromatic vinyl elastomer serving component (III) have specific respective contents and properties, including Shore D hardnesses and rebound resiliences. The golf ball has an excellent controllability on approach shots without a loss of distance on driver shots. In addition, the scuff resistance and moldability are good.Type: GrantFiled: June 2, 2022Date of Patent: May 7, 2024Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.Inventor: Masahiro Yamabe
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Patent number: 11975242Abstract: An object of the present disclosure is to provide a golf ball having good shot feeling and excellent durability and not having lowered resilience even if a hard cover material is used. The present disclosure provides a golf ball comprising a spherical core, and a cover disposed outside the spherical core and composed of one or more layers, wherein at least one cover layer contains (A) a base resin, and (B) at least one member selected from the group consisting of a polyrotaxane, a polyethylene oxide, a polypropylene oxide, a polycaprolactone and a liquid polymer, and Sa×Spc?100 wherein Sa (?m) is an arithmetic mean roughness of a surface of a cut plane of the cover, and Spc (mm?1) is an arithmetic mean curvature of a summit of the surface of the cut plane of the cover.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2022Date of Patent: May 7, 2024Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.Inventors: Ayaka Shindo, Takahiro Shigemitsu, Kazuyoshi Shiga, Toshiyuki Tarao, Takanobu Kawamura
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Patent number: 11975245Abstract: A golf ball according to the present invention comprises: a core having a diameter of 37-39 mm and a first density; a mantle which surrounds the core, includes amorphous alloy powder, and has a thickness of 0.8-1.2 mm and a second density; and a cover which surrounds the mantle and has a thickness of 1-1.4 mm and a third density.Type: GrantFiled: June 16, 2021Date of Patent: May 7, 2024Assignees: ATTOMETAL TECH PTE. LTD., ATTOMETAL TECH KOREA INC.Inventors: Choongnyun Paul Kim, Jae Kyu Park
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Patent number: 11975241Abstract: A golf ball including an outer surface having dimples located on the outer surface, at least one core, at least one mantle layer, at least one cover layer, and a plurality of images located on the outer surface, the images being provided with at least two contrasting colors, wherein the plurality of images each have a Major Peak Ratio of between 0.18 and 1, a Major Valley Ratio of between 0.18 and 1, a slope value of between ?5 and 5, and an intercept value between 5 and 80.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2021Date of Patent: May 7, 2024Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.Inventors: Michael Fox, Erin Peavy, Tim Durham, Eric M. Loper, Dennis Kennedy
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Patent number: 11944875Abstract: Golf balls having cores with increased hardness gradients are provided. The cores have an increased “positive” hardness gradient (or a “hard-to-soft” hardness) where the outer surface of the core is harder than the center. The increased positive hardness gradient can be achieved by introducing a water-releasing agent into the core rubber formulation during the curing process. The resulting golf balls have reduced spin and sufficient impact durability.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2022Date of Patent: April 2, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Erin McDermott, Manjari Kuntimaddi, Dennis Britton
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Patent number: 11944874Abstract: Golf balls having cores with increased hardness gradients are provided. The cores have an increased “positive” hardness gradient (or a “hard-to-soft” hardness) where the outer surface of the core is harder than the center. The increased positive hardness gradient can be achieved by introducing a water-releasing agent into the core rubber formulation during the curing process. The resulting golf balls have reduced spin and sufficient impact durability.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2022Date of Patent: April 2, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Erin McDermott, Manjari Kuntimaddi, Dennis Britton
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Patent number: 11938380Abstract: Golf balls having cores with increased hardness gradients are provided. The cores have an increased “positive” hardness gradient (or a “hard-to-soft” hardness) where the outer surface of the core is harder than the center. The increased positive hardness gradient can be achieved by introducing a water-releasing agent into the core rubber formulation during the curing process. The resulting golf balls have reduced spin and sufficient impact durability.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2022Date of Patent: March 26, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Erin McDermott, Manjari Kuntimaddi, Dennis Britton
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Patent number: 11938378Abstract: In a golf ball having a core, envelope layer, intermediate layer and cover, the core has a specific hardness profile, the resin materials making up either or both of the envelope layer and the intermediate layer has a material hardness on the Shore D hardness scale of at least 65 and has a specific gravity of at least 1.05, and the Shore C hardness relationships among the core center, surface of the envelope-encased layer and surface of the intermediate layer-encased sphere satisfy the following conditions: surface hardness of envelope layer-encased sphere<surface hardness of intermediate layer-encased sphere,??(1) surface hardness of intermediate layer-encased sphere?center hardness of core?40.??(2) This ball achieves a good distance on shots with utility and iron clubs, is receptive to spin in the short game, and has a soft feel at impact on all shots, making it useful to amateur golfers.Type: GrantFiled: May 31, 2022Date of Patent: March 26, 2024Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.Inventor: Hideo Watanabe
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Patent number: 11938379Abstract: Golf balls having cores with increased hardness gradients are provided. The cores have an increased “positive” hardness gradient (or a “hard-to-soft” hardness) where the outer surface of the core is harder than the center. The increased positive hardness gradient can be achieved by introducing a water-releasing agent into the core rubber formulation during the curing process. The resulting golf balls have reduced spin and sufficient impact durability.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2022Date of Patent: March 26, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Erin McDermott, Manjari Kuntimaddi, Dennis Britton
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Patent number: 11918859Abstract: The present invention provides a method for arranging dimples on a golf ball surface in which the dimples are arranged in a pattern derived from at least one irregular domain generated from a regular or non-regular polyhedron. The method includes choosing control points of a polyhedron, generating an irregular domain based on those control points, packing the irregular domain with dimples, and tessellating the irregular domain to cover the surface of the golf ball. The control points include the center of a polyhedral face, a vertex of the polyhedron, a midpoint or other point on an edge of the polyhedron and others. The method ensures that the symmetry of the underlying polyhedron is preserved while minimizing or eliminating great circles due to parting lines.Type: GrantFiled: May 24, 2022Date of Patent: March 5, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Michael R. Madson, Courtney N. Engle
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Patent number: 11918864Abstract: Embodiments of putter-type golf club head comprising a striking surface capable of achieving consistent ball speeds across the striking surface to account for various ball impact locations are described herein. The striking surface has at least two materials that differ in concentration away from the geometric center of the striking surface to provide this consistency. Consistent (or uniform) ball speed is achieved throughout the striking surface as the portion of the golf ball that contacts the striking surface interacts with at least two materials having a differing material characteristic.Type: GrantFiled: August 1, 2022Date of Patent: March 5, 2024Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing CorporationInventors: Alex G. Woodward, Matthew T. Schier, Murphy R. Alexander, Anthony D. Serrano, James D. Willmott, Erik M. Henrikson, David A. Higdon, Cole D. Brubaker, John A. Solheim
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Patent number: 11918860Abstract: A golf ball with improved durability is disclosed herein. The golf ball has a core comprising a polybutadiene material and methyl methacrylate, butadiene, styrene (MBS) with a weight percentage of MBS ranging from 0.5 to 5 weight percent of the core.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2023Date of Patent: March 5, 2024Assignee: Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.Inventors: Armando Becerra, Carl Brown, David Bartels, Vijay Chavan
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Patent number: 11918861Abstract: Golf balls of the invention include at least one core layer comprised or consisting of a homogenous rubber-based core composition with a plurality of functionalized inorganic aluminosilicate ceramic microspheres dispersed throughout without agglomerating to create a relatively higher cross-link density of the core layer material. In golf balls of the invention, cross-link density gradients may be created between core layers by pre-electing the presence/absence, amount, type, and degree of functionalization of the plurality of functionalized inorganic aluminosilicate ceramic microspheres in two given core layers to target important properties such as resilience/CoR and desired playing characteristics such as distance.Type: GrantFiled: January 18, 2023Date of Patent: March 5, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Erin C. McDermott, Brian Comeau
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Patent number: 11911665Abstract: In a golf ball having a core and a cover with a plurality of dimples on the surface, the cover is formed primarily of polyurethane, the dimples have a specific volume occupancy ratio and the ball has a diameter of at least 42.8 mm. In an impact test carried out by hitting the ball with a driver at a head speed of 40 m/s, the sum t1+t2 of the time t1 required from initial contact by the driver with the ball for deformation of the ball to reach a maximum and the time t2 required from the state of maximum ball deformation for the ball and driver to separate is 660 ?sec or less. This golf ball makes it possible for golfers who have a high head speed and ordinary golfers who do not to compete without relying excessively on superiority in terms of distance.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2022Date of Patent: February 27, 2024Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.Inventors: Hideo Watanabe, Atsuki Kasashima
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Patent number: 11904210Abstract: Golf ball having a generally spherical surface and comprising a plurality of dimples separated by a land area formed on the ball surface, wherein the plurality of dimples includes at least one non-spherical dimple having a non-axially symmetric plan shape and a defined point of maximum dimple depth, wherein: (i) each dimple cross-section of the non-spherical dimple consists of two arcs, each arc extending from the defined point of maximum dimple depth to a point at the land area of the golf ball; and (ii) every point on the perimeter of the non-spherical dimple is located at a radial angle, ?, about a unit circle, where 0???2?, and the edge angle value of the non-spherical dimple at any given point on the perimeter is defined by the solution of an edge angle function f(?), wherein f(?) is a non-periodic, continuous, differentiable function.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2023Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Michael R. Madson, Nicholas M. Nardacci
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Patent number: 11904211Abstract: A golf ball material contains (i) fine particles that have an average particle size of less than 300 ?m and are composed of a crosslinked multi-component copolymer having conjugated diene units, non-conjugated olefin units and aromatic vinyl units; and (ii) a thermoplastic resin. The conjugated diene units include butadiene units, the non-conjugated olefin units include units selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene and 1-butene units, the aromatic vinyl units include styrene units, and the content of the conjugated diene units in the multi-component copolymer is 5 wt % or more. This golf ball material is soft, has an excellent rebound resilience and also has a good processability.Type: GrantFiled: May 20, 2022Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.Inventors: Yuki Mizuno, Atsushi Namba
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Patent number: 11896877Abstract: In a golf ball for professional golfers and skilled amateurs which has a single-layer core, a cover and at least one intermediate layer therebetween, the sphere obtained by encasing the core with the intermediate layer (intermediate layer-encased sphere) and the ball have a surface hardness relationship which satisfies the condition: (surface hardness of intermediate layer-encased sphere)>(surface hardness of ball). The core has a diameter of from 35.5 to 39.5 mm and a distinctive hardness profile that satisfies specific conditions. The ball is endowed with both an excellent flight performance and excellent durability to repeated impact.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2022Date of Patent: February 13, 2024Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.Inventors: Hideo Watanabe, Akira Kimura
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Patent number: 11883720Abstract: A golf ball composed of a core and a cover has a spin rate and a launch angle on approach shots at a head speed (HS) of 20 m/s or 10 m/s that satisfy formulas (1) and (2) below: Spin W/Spin D?0.70??(1) Ang W/Ang D<1.20??(2). Here, Spin D is the spin rate (rpm) under dry conditions, Spin W is the spin rate (rpm) under wet conditions, Ang W is the launch angle (°) under wet conditions and Ang D is the launch angle (°) under dry conditions. The golf ball suppresses a decrease in the spin rate on approach shots in rainy weather and thus has an improved controllability, making it especially useful to professional golfers and skilled amateurs who desire a high spin performance around the green.Type: GrantFiled: December 16, 2020Date of Patent: January 30, 2024Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.Inventors: Akira Kimura, Hirotaka Shinohara
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Patent number: 11878217Abstract: The present invention provides a method for arranging dimples on a golf ball surface in which the dimples are arranged in a pattern derived from at least one irregular domain generated from a regular or non-regular polyhedron. The method includes choosing control points of a polyhedron, generating an irregular domain based on those control points, packing the irregular domain with dimples, and tessellating the irregular domain to cover the surface of the golf ball. The control points include the center of a polyhedral face, a vertex of the polyhedron, a midpoint or other point on an edge of the polyhedron and others. The method ensures that the symmetry of the underlying polyhedron is preserved while minimizing or eliminating great circles due to parting lines.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2022Date of Patent: January 23, 2024Assignee: Acushnet CompanyInventors: Michael R. Madson, Nicholas M. Nardacci