Patents Examined by Raeann Gorden
  • Patent number: 12383798
    Abstract: A golf ball includes a core, a cover layer, and a chromogenic polymer incorporated into at least one of the cover layer or a coating layer applied to the cover layer. The chromogenic polymer causes the golf ball to exhibit a color-shift effect upon application of an external stimulus. The color-shift effect can be measured as a deltaE of greater than 2 when the external stimulus is within a target range. The external stimulus may be different depending on the type of chromogenic polymer, and, as a result, the target range depends on the type of external stimulus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Manjari Kuntimaddi, Erin C. McDermott
  • Patent number: 12383799
    Abstract: A golf ball includes a composition producing a unique visible effect to enhance a performance parameter of the golf ball. The golf ball includes a color-shifting cover surrounding a core. The color-shifting cover includes a cover material mixed with a colorant. The cover material includes at least one of a thermoset polyurethane, cast urethane, or ionomer material. The colorant includes one or more of a flake, pigment, or dye. The color-shifting cover includes a visible shift in color based on a change in at least one of incidence of light, temperature, or pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Robert Blink, Manjari Kuntimaddi
  • Patent number: 12377320
    Abstract: Thermoplastic and thermoset compositions including hydroxyurethane linkages, golf ball components formed using such thermoplastic or thermoset compositions, and golf balls including such golf components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2024
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael Michalewich, Manjari Kuntimaddi
  • Patent number: 12357888
    Abstract: A carbon-fiber composite golf club head comprises a carbon-fiber composite body, at least one carbon-fiber composite component and at least one weight component. The carbon-fiber composite body comprises a hollow body portion, one-piece formed by stacking carbon fiber prepreg materials, and a striking face portion disposed at a front end of the body portion. The at least one carbon-fiber composite component is mounted to at least one opening of one or both of a crown and a sole of the body portion. The at least one weight component is mounted at a rear end of the carbon-fiber composite body. By combining the carbon-fiber composite body, one-piece formed by carbon fiber composite material and comprising the body portion and the striking face portion, with the at least one carbon-fiber composite component, a weight of a main part of a club head is significantly reduced to increase a weight of counterweight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2025
    Assignee: O-TA PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yen-Chi Hsu, Chi-Wen Ling
  • Patent number: 12357881
    Abstract: An object of the present disclosure is to provide a golf ball having excellent flight distance on driver shots and good spin rate on middle iron shots. The present disclosure provides a golf ball comprising a spherical core and a cover, wherein a hardness difference (C1?C0), a hardness difference (C2?C1), a hardness difference (C3?C2) and a hardness difference (C4?C3) are more than 0 and 6.0 or less, a hardness difference (C5?C4) is 5.0 or more, and a hardness difference (C6?C5), a hardness difference (C7?C6) and a hardness difference (C8?C7) are more than 0 and 3.5 or less where C0 (center), C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 and C8 (surface) are a Shore C hardness at each point from the center obtained by dividing a radius of the spherical core into equal eight parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2025
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Hidetaka Inoue, Mariko Hashinokuchi, Kazuya Kamino
  • Patent number: 12357880
    Abstract: Golf balls having dimple patterns arranged in dipyramid layouts are disclosed. The patterns may be arranged in triangular dipyramid, quadrilateral dipyramid, pentagonal dipyramid, or hexagonal dipyramid layouts. The dipyramid patterns have six, eight, ten, or twelve substantially identical dimple sections, where each dimple section is defined by a spherical triangle. The dimples in each of the identical dimple sections have at least two different dimple diameters including a minimum dimple diameter and a maximum dimple diameter. The resulting dimple patterns have a surface coverage of about 70 percent or less. The reduced surface coverage helps to reduce the flight of the golf balls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael Madson, Courtney Engle, Nicholas Nardacci
  • Patent number: 12343597
    Abstract: The golf ball includes a core having an inner layer core and an outer layer core, a single-layered intermediate layer and cover, wherein the inner layer core is formed of a rubber composition, the intermediate layer and the cover are formed of a resin composition, and a relationship between an initial velocity of the inner layer core, an initial velocity of the entire core, an initial velocity of an intermediate layer-encased sphere, and an initial velocity of a ball satisfies the following conditions: (initial velocity of ball)<(initial velocity of intermediate layer-encased sphere) (initial velocity of intermediate layer-encased sphere)?(initial velocity of entire core)?0.70 (m/s) (initial velocity of entire core)?(initial velocity of inner layer core)?0.20 (m/s) and a specific gravity of the intermediate layer and a deflection of the golf ball when compressed under a predetermined load are set within specific ranges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2025
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hideo Watanabe
  • Patent number: 12343606
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a body having a face, a crown and a sole together defining an interior cavity. The body having a channel located on the sole and extending generally from a heel end of the body to a toe end of the body. A weight member movably positioned within the channel such that a position of the weight member within the channel is able to be adjusted, thereby adjusting a location of a center of gravity of the body. Additionally, adjustment of the weight member provides a maximum x-axis adjustment range of the position of the center of gravity (Max ?CGx) that is greater than 2 mm and a maximum z-axis adjustment range of the center of gravity (Max ?CGz) that is less than 2 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2025
    Assignee: TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Nathan T. Sargent, Joseph Reeve Nielson, Christopher John Harbert, Todd P. Beach, Brian Bazzel, Mark Vincent Greaney, Christian Reber Wester, Craig Richard Slyfield, Kraig Alan Willett
  • Patent number: 12337213
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2024
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Erin McDermott, Manjari Kuntimaddi, Dennis Britton
  • Patent number: 12330024
    Abstract: A color coating solution is produced by dispersing a nano-color pigment and a metallic gloss pigment into a polymer resin, and the solution is coated and molded on a cover layer having a color similar to that of the color coating solution. Since the pigment composition is different between the cover layer and the color coating layer, internal shieldability is improved. As a result, a dark color or uneven surface of the core, mantle, or cover is not exposed, so that a surface defect rate can be reduced. Since both the nano-color pigment and the metallic gloss pigment are used in the color coating layer, the metallic gloss and the color are exhibited in a single layer. Therefore, it is possible to provide natural metallic gloss without a strange texture feeling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2025
    Assignee: Volvik Inc.
    Inventors: Kyung Ahn Moon, Sang Wook Park
  • Patent number: 12324965
    Abstract: Compositions including a water releasing agent and golf ball cores made from such compositions having a high hardness gradient are disclosed. The type and concentration of the components in the composition, including the water releasing agent, affect the hardness and hardness gradient of cores made from the composition and, thus, can be used to produce a golf ball having desirable performance characteristics. Cores made from the composition may be cured using infrared radiation to further increase the hardness and hardness gradient of such cores. Cores cured using infrared radiation may have a center and a skin with hardness greater than the hardness of the center to produce a high hardness gradient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Erin McDermott, Manjari Kuntimaddi
  • Patent number: 12324964
    Abstract: Compositions including a resiliency additive and golf ball components made from such compositions having a tailored Coefficient of Restitution are disclosed. The type and concentration of the constituents in the composition, including the resiliency additive, affects the Coefficient of Restitution of components made from the composition and, thus, can be used to produce a golf ball having desirable performance characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Glenn Rabatin, Christopher Cavallaro
  • Patent number: 12318666
    Abstract: In a golf ball including a core, an intermediate layer, and a cover, the relationship of the surface hardness between an intermediate layer-encased sphere and the ball satisfies a predetermined relational expression, and with an initial velocity of the ball and a deflection under a predetermined load applied to the ball optimized, and letting a value of (initial velocity of core×weight of core) be Ciw, a value of [(initial velocity of intermediate layer-encased sphere?initial velocity of core)×(weight of intermediate layer-encased sphere?weight of core)] be Miw, and a value of [(initial velocity of ball?initial velocity of intermediate layer-encased sphere)×(weight of ball?weight of intermediate layer-encased sphere)] be CViw, the expression of Ciw+Miw+CViw is optimized, and lift and drag coefficients at predetermined Reynolds numbers and spin rates of dimples are set to predetermined ranges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masanobu Kuwahara, Hideo Watanabe
  • Patent number: 12318664
    Abstract: Golf balls including a plurality of radar detectable marks disposed on any single layer or among two or more layers thereof are provided. When all of the radar detectable marks present on any layer of the ball are radially projected onto the outer surface of the ball, the resulting overall pattern of projected radar detectable marks includes a series of three or marks located on a 1.5 mm wide great circle band on the outer surface of the ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Matthew F. Hogge, Richard Daprato, Michael R. Madson, Nicholas M. Nardacci
  • Patent number: 12318665
    Abstract: Compositions including a resiliency additive and golf ball components made from such compositions having a tailored Coefficient of Restitution are disclosed. The type and concentration of the constituents in the composition, including the resiliency additive, affects the Coefficient of Restitution of components made from the composition and, thus, can be used to produce a golf ball having desirable performance characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Glenn Rabatin, Christopher Cavallaro
  • Patent number: 12296228
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2025
    Assignee: Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.
    Inventors: Armando Becerra, Carl Brown, David Bartels, Vijay Chavan
  • Patent number: 12296229
    Abstract: Dual component cores having positive hardness and compression gradients and golf balls including these cores are disclosed. The hardness, compression, and diameter relationships in the core assemblage components help to reduce the spin rate of the ball off the driver while still providing desirable performance characteristics in and around the green.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2025
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Douglas E. Jones
  • Patent number: 12285662
    Abstract: An embodiment of a putter type golf club head with an upper and lower portion, made from two different materials, is enclosed herein. Other embodiments are described herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: David A. Higdon, Jacob T. Clarke
  • Patent number: 12285658
    Abstract: A golf club head comprises a face portion having a face's front surface for hitting a ball, a face's rear surface and a face's center. The face's back surface is provided with a central thin part, a sole side thin part extending in the toe-heel direction on the sole side than the central thin part, and a sole side rib extending in the toe-heel direction located between the central thin part and the sole side thin part. The width W1 of the sole side thin part is larger than the width W2 of the sole side rib, each measured in a vertical cross-sectional view of the head taken perpendicularly to both the face's front surface and the horizontal surface, passing through the face's center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Yuki Shimahara
  • Patent number: 12280301
    Abstract: 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 differs 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: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: James D. Willmott, Erik M. Henrikson, David A. Higdon, Cole D. Brubaker, Anthony D. Serrano, John A. Solheim