Particular Unitary Or Layered Construction Patents (Class 473/371)
  • Patent number: 7067572
    Abstract: A golf ball is manufactured by molding and vulcanizing a rubber composition comprising 100 pbw of a base rubber composed primarily of a polybutadiene having a cis-1,4 content of at least 60 wt % and a Mooney viscosity of at least 30 and synthesized using a rare-earth catalyst, 15–50 pbw of an unsaturated carboxylic acid and/or a metal salt thereof, at least 2 pbw of a processing aid having a highest melting point of up to 115° C., and 1–5 pbw of an organic peroxide. The golf ball can be efficiently manufactured and has excellent rebound characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Higuchi, Nobuyuki Kataoka, Hiroyuki Nagasawa, Atsushi Nanba
  • Patent number: 7056232
    Abstract: In a multi-piece solid golf ball comprising a solid core, an intermediate layer, and a cover, the intermediate layer has a gage G1 of 0.8–2 mm and a Shore D hardness of 50–65, the cover has a gage G2 of 0.5–1.3 mm and a Shore D hardness of 37–53, and the intermediate layer gage G1 and the cover gage G2 satisfy [G1/(G1+G2)]×100?45%. Upon full shots with a driver, the ball gains a reduced spin rate and an increased initial velocity, which lead to an increase in travel distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2006
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Maruko, Michio Inoue
  • Patent number: 7048650
    Abstract: A layer of a golf ball is formed of a golf ball-forming composition in which a silicone rubber powder, silicone resin powder or composite powder thereof is blended in an elastomer, resin or butadiene rubber base. The composition is easy to remove from a mold after molding, and the golf ball has advantages including high durability against consecutive strikes, and good feel and rebound even at low temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasushi Ichikawa, Rinya Takesue, Eiji Takehana
  • Patent number: 7048649
    Abstract: In a solid multi-piece golf ball comprising a solid core, a mantle, and a cover, the ratio of the compression of the mantle to the compression of the solid core is at least 0.98, and the difference in JIS-C hardness between the surface and the center of the solid core is at least 5. This construction and combination of features provide the ball with a good feel when hit with various types of golf clubs and improved distance when struck with a driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Watanabe, Yasumasa Shimizu, Akira Kawata
  • Patent number: 7037967
    Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions and preparative process of partially or fully neutralized mixtures of carboxylate functionalized ethylene high copolymers or terpolymers (Mw between 80,000 and 500,000) with carboxylate functionalized ethylene low copolymers (Mw between 2,000 and 30,000) and organic acid salts and injection or compression molded applications such as golf ball components thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2006
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.
    Inventor: John C. Chen
  • Patent number: 7026399
    Abstract: A composition including a non-silicone material, a silicone material, and a crosslinking agent. The composition forms a structure selected from the group consisting of an interpenetrating network structure and a thermoplastic vulcanizate structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Hyun Jin Kim, Hong Guk Jeon
  • Patent number: 7026381
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece golf ball having an improved repulsion and coloring-resistance, and showing a good adhesion to the paint film. The one-piece golf ball of the present invention comprises a golf ball body formed by vulcanizing a rubber composition and a paint film covering the golf ball body, wherein the rubber composition contains 0.05 to 10 parts by mass of a phosphorus stabilizer with respect to 100 parts by mass of the rubber component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Fujisawa, Kazuhiko Isogawa
  • Patent number: 7018306
    Abstract: A multi-layer golf ball can be prepared, possessing the performance characteristics of both a solid ball and a wound ball, by selecting the content and thickness of one or more of the layers, wherein the multi-layer golf ball comprises a center, an intermediate layer, a wound layer of tensioned material, and a cover, such that any one or more of the following are satisfied: (a) at least a portion of the intermediate layer includes a thermoset material; (b) the winding includes fiber, glass, carbon, polyether urea, polyether block copolymers, polyester urea, polyester block copolymers, isotactic-poly(propylene), polyethylene, polyamide, poly(oxyethylene), polyketone, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide), poly(acrylonitrile), diaminodicyclohexyhnethane, dodecanedicarboxylic acid, or copolymers or combinations thereof; (c) the thickness of the wound layer is less than about 1 mm; and (d) at least a portion of the cover includes a thermoset material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Roman D. Halko, Brian R. Fletcher
  • Patent number: 7014575
    Abstract: A golf ball having a multi-layered core comprising at least three core layers and a dimpled cover is disclosed. The core may have three layers, A, B and C, four layers, A, B, C and D, five layers, A, B, C, D and E or up to six layers, A, B, C, D, E and F. In accordance to the present invention, the radius or thickness of each core layer is at least twice as much as the adjacent outer core layer. One outer core layer can be a water vapor barrier layer to protect the ball from water vapor encroachment, which reduces the performance of the ball. Another outer core layer can be a thin dense layer with high specific gravity to increase the rotational moment of inertia to reduce the spin of the ball during flight. Another outer core layer can be a perforated spherical shell to increase the resilience and/or coefficient of restitution of the ball. Another outer core layer could be a cushioning layer to act as a shock absorber. The core layers may also have increasing or decreasing hardness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Sullivan, Derek A. Ladd, Antonio U. DeSimas
  • Patent number: 7014573
    Abstract: A method for making a multilayer golf ball including a solid center having a center hardness, a plurality of laminates cut into a plurality of shapes formed around the center to create an inner ball, and a cover formed around the inner ball, wherein the plurality of layers can include at least a first layer having a hardness greater than the center hardness and a second layer having a hardness greater than the first layer hardness, and optionally a third layer disposed between the first and the second layers having a hardness greater than the first layer hardness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey L. Dalton, Herbert C. Boehm, Christopher Cavallaro
  • Patent number: 7008972
    Abstract: Golf balls and methods of making same having at least one layer including a microporous composition, wherein the microporous composition includes a polymer component and a filler component and interconnecting pores, so as to improve adhesion between layers, printability of layers, and increase the cure time of the layers and the overall golf ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Sullivan, Kevin M. Harris, Lawrence Fitzgerald
  • Patent number: 6998445
    Abstract: A low compression, resilient golf ball having a center including a material formed from the conversion reaction of sufficient amounts of polybutadiene, a free radical source, and a cis-to-trans catalyst to convert a portion of cis-isomer to trans-isomer in the polybutadiene, wherein said material has an amount of trans-isomer greater than the amount of trans-isomer present before the conversion reaction, and wherein the reaction product is susbstantially free of antioxidant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Derek A. Ladd, Laurent C. Bissonnette, David A. Bulpett, Murali Rajagopalan
  • Patent number: 6991563
    Abstract: A perimeter weighted golf ball with a low compression core is provided. The core preferably comprises a diene polymer that has low cross-link density or not cross-linked with a reactive co-agent. This core has low compression and low specific gravity. The low specific gravity core is encased within a thin dense layer positioned outside of the centroid radius to provide the ball with a high moment of inertia. The same core can be encased within a plurality of intermediate layers having either increasing hardness or decreasing hardness to provide selective golf balls for either low swing speed players or advanced players. Alternatively, a thin layer of diene polymer highly cross-linked with reactive a co-agent may be incorporated into the ball to increase the hardness of the ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael J Sullivan, Derek A Ladd, Peter R. Voorheis
  • Patent number: 6992145
    Abstract: In a golf ball comprising a core and a cover of plural layers, a cover inner layer is formed primarily of an ionomer resin in admixture with a compound containing at least two reactive functional groups and having a molecular weight of up to 20,000 and a cover outer layer is formed primarily of a non-ionomer resin. The ball is fully durable to repeated impact, and maintains good spin performance, rebound characteristics and feel even after repeated impact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasushi Ichikawa, Rinya Takesue, Eiji Takehana
  • Patent number: 6989431
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the core or the cover comprises a thermoplastic or thermoset composition comprising a polyurea prepolymer formed from a reactant A comprising an isocyanate; and a reactant B comprising a polyether polyamine having a repeating branched oxyalkylene monomer unit, or a polymerized polyamine formed from a chiral diol or a chiral cyclic ether.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Murali Rajagopalan, Shenshen Wu
  • Patent number: 6982301
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a solid core and a cover disposed about the core, wherein the core is formed from a polybutadiene blend comprising a) a first polybutadiene having a first Mooney viscosity between about 50 and about 150, and b) a second polybutadiene having a second Mooney viscosity between about 30 and about 100, wherein the first Mooney viscosity is greater than the second Mooney viscosity, and wherein the blend has a greater weight percentage of the first polybutadiene than that of the second polybutadiene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2006
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Peter R. Voorheis, Samuel A. Pasqua, Jr., Michael J. Sullivan, David A. Bulpett, Derek A. Ladd
  • Patent number: 6972310
    Abstract: The present invention provides a golf ball having a marking that can be directly printed on the surface of golf ball body without undercoating treatment when printing the marking and has good appearance and excellent durability after repeated hitting. The present invention relates to a golf ball having a marking printed with an ink composition on the surface thereof, wherein the ink composition comprises epoxy resin having a terminal OH group, polyisocyanate curing agent and a coloring agent as essential components, and the curing agent comprises 25 to 35% by weight of isocyanurate polyisocyanate derived from hexamethylene diisocyanate, 25 to 35% by weight of biuret polyisocyanate derived from hexamethylene diisocyanate and 35 to 50% by weight of isocyanurate polyisocyanate derived from isophorone diisocyanate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuhiko Isogawa
  • Patent number: 6967229
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein at least the core or the cover comprises an elastomeric composition comprising a base polymer and a carbon-carbon initiator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Peter R. Voorheis
  • Patent number: 6958379
    Abstract: Golf equipment having improved cut and shear resistance that includes a polyurea composition, preferably saturated and/or water resistant, formed of a polyurea prepolymer and a curing agent, wherein the polyurea prepolymer includes an isocyanate and an amine-terminated compound, and wherein the curing agent includes a hydroxy-terminated curing agent, amine-terminated curing agent, or a mixture thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Shenshen Wu, David A. Bulpett, Murali Rajagopalan
  • Patent number: 6955613
    Abstract: This invention relates to a multi-layered, multi-piece golf ball that comprises a core, an intermediate layer, and a cover, wherein the core comprises a spherical body and ribs that are arranged on the surface of the spherical body and that have almost the same height as the thickness of the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer fills a plurality of concave portions formed on the surface of the spherical body while being surrounded by the ribs. This arrangement enables the golf ball to have both high ball bounce resilience and a soft feel when hit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: Mizuno Corporation
    Inventors: Norikazu Ninomiya, Kenji Onoda, Masao Ogawa, Yuri Naka
  • Patent number: 6953403
    Abstract: A golf ball with a precise spin rate is disclosed. The distribution of weight among the layers within the golf ball relative to a centroid radius is realized to precisely control the moment of inertia of the ball. In accordance to one aspect of the present invention, a high spin rate golf ball with a dense center, which is positioned radially inside of the centroid radius, and a low specific gravity mantle is provided. In accordance to another aspect of the present invention, a low spin rate golf ball with an inner core and a thin dense layer disposed radially outside of the centroid radius is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Michael J. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 6943208
    Abstract: A golf ball is characterized by comprising a molded and vulcanized product of a rubber composition as a constituent component, the rubber composition comprising 100 pbw of a base rubber composed primarily of a polybutadiene containing at least 60 wt % of cis-1,4-bond, having a Mooney viscosity (ML1+4, 100° C.) of at least 30, and synthesized using a rare-earth catalyst, 15-50 pbw of an unsaturated carboxylic acid and/or a metal salt thereof, at least 2 pbw of a processing aid having a highest melting point of up to 115° C., and at least two organic peroxides including an organic peroxide having the shortest half-life at 155° C. designated (a) and another organic peroxide having the longest half-life at 155° C. designated (b), a ratio of half-lives (bt/at) being at least 7 wherein at is the half-life of (a) and bt is the half-life of (b), a total content of the organic peroxides being 0.1-0.9 pbw per 100 pbw of the base rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Higuchi, Nobuyuki Kataoka, Hiroyuki Nagasawa, Atsushi Nanba
  • Patent number: 6943217
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core formed from a composition comprising a metal salt of an unsaturated organic acid and at least one co-curing agent comprising an unsaturated imide or a metallic derivatives thereof; and a cover layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Peter R Voorheis, Murali Rajagopalan
  • Patent number: 6943213
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the cover comprises a thermoplastic or thermoset composition comprising a polyurethane prepolymer or polyurea prepolymer formed from an isocyanate and a polyacrylate polyol or polyacrylate polyamine, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Manjari Kuntimaddi
  • Patent number: 6939924
    Abstract: Golf ball covers and intermediate layers incorporate the reaction product of a thermoplastic urethane and a modified isocyanate to form a crosslinked polyurethane. The layers exhibit the ease of processing of a thermoplastic urethane, with the superior mechanical properties of a thermoset urethane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Inventors: Hyun Jin Kim, Hong Guk Jeon
  • Patent number: 6924347
    Abstract: A golf ball including a core, a cover, and, optionally, an intermediate layer disposed between the core and the cover, wherein at least one of the core, cover layer, or optional intermediate layer includes at least one dendritic macromolecule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: William E Morgan, Kevin M Harris, Murali Rajagopalan, Shenshen Wu, Manjari Kuntimaddi
  • Patent number: 6919393
    Abstract: The present invention provides a solid golf ball having exceptional rebound characteristics and flight performance, as well as good shot feel. The present invention relates to a solid golf ball comprising at least one layer of a core, and at least one layer of a cover formed on the core, wherein at least one layer including the inmost layer of the core is formed by vulcanizing a rubber composition comprising a base rubber, a co-crosslinking agent, a vulcanization initiator and a filler, the core has a center hardness in JIS-C hardness of 40 to 60, a surface hardness in JIS-C hardness of 80 to 95 and a hardness difference (B?A) between a hardness in JIS-C hardness at a distance of 5 mm from the center point of the core (B) and the center hardness (A) of not less than 1 to less than 10.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: SRI Sports Limited
    Inventors: Satoshi Mano, Masatoshi Yokota
  • Patent number: 6919395
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein at least one of the core and the cover is formed of a composition comprising an organic, inorganic, or metallic nanoparticulate material having a particle size of less than about 1000 nm and at least one matrix material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Murali Rajagopalan, Mitchell E. Lutz, Peter R. Voorheis
  • Patent number: 6913547
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover disposed about the core, wherein the core comprises a center and at least one outer core layer adjacent the center, and the cover comprises at least one inner cover layer and an outer cover layer, wherein the center has an outer diameter from about 0.375 in to about 1.4 in and deflection of greater than about 4.5 mm under a load of 100 Kg, the outer core layer has an outer diameter of from about 1.4 in to about 1.62 in, the inner cover layer has an outer diameter of greater than about 1.58 in and a material hardness of less than about 72 Shore D, and the outer cover layer has a hardness of greater than about 50 Shore D.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Christopher Cavallaro, Ryan B. Bosanko, Edmund A. Hebert
  • Patent number: 6910974
    Abstract: In a multi-piece solid golf ball comprising a solid core, an intermediate layer, and a cover, the solid core is formed mainly of an organosulfur compound-containing base rubber, the intermediate layer is formed mainly of a base resin containing at least 50% by weight of a polyurethane elastomer, the cover is formed mainly of a polyurethane elastomer, and the Shore D hardnesses of the layers are controlled. The golf ball has excellent travel distance and feel as well as improved scuff resistance and durability to repeated impact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2005
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideo Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6908402
    Abstract: A perimeter weighted golf ball with a low compression core is provided. The core preferably comprises a diene polymer that has low cross-link density or not cross-linked with a reactive co-agent. This core has low compression and low specific gravity. The low specific gravity core is encased within a thin dense layer positioned outside of the centroid radius to provide the ball with a high moment of inertia. The same core can be encased within a plurality of intermediate layers having either increasing hardness or decreasing hardness to provide selective golf balls for either low swing speed players or advanced players. Alternatively, a thin layer of diene polymer highly cross-linked with reactive a co-agent may be incorporated into the ball to increase the hardness of the ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael J Sullivan, Derek A Ladd, Peter R. Voorheis
  • Patent number: 6905647
    Abstract: Golf ball 1 includes a core 2 and a cover 3. The core 2 has two layers including a center 4 and a mid layer 5. The mid layer 5 is formed by covering the center 4 with two half shells comprising a rubber composition, and by compression and heating of the center 4 and half shells in a mold. The rubber composition contains solid particles dispersed therein. The solid particles have a ratio “D/T”, i.e., a ratio of the particle size D to the thickness of the mid layer T, of equal to or greater than 0.3. Upon molding, the solid particles inhibit the center 4 to approach a cavity face. Accordingly, deviation of mass of the mid layer 5 can be suppressed. The solid particles have a ratio “W/T”, i.e., a ratio of the radial width W thereof to the thickness of the mid layer T, of from 0.3 to 1.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiichiro Endo, Keiji Ohama
  • Patent number: 6905423
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a golf ball that provides improved playing characteristics by providing a cushioning interface between a center and subsequent layers. The ball can include a center, a soft intermediate layer, and a cover, although various constructions and modifications are possible. The intermediate layer can include an elastomeric latex or solution that will dry to form a soft film on the surface of the center. Such a soft rubber interlayer can serve as a cushioning interface to help improve durability and softness of the ball upon club impact. In another embodiment, the thin intermediate layer includes a responsive viscoelastic composition that exhibits an increase in viscosity under shear forces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: William E. Morgan, Kevin M. Harris, Michael J. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 6905648
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a golf ball comprising a dual core component, an inner cover layer and an outer cover layer. The dual core comprises an interior spherical center component formed from a thermoset material, a thermoplastic material, or combinations thereof. The dual core also comprises a core layer disposed about the center component, formed from a thermoset material, a thermoplastic material, or combinations thereof. The one or more polyurethane layers are preferably formed via a reaction injection molding (RIM) technique. The inner cover layer is relatively soft and preferably comprises an ionomer or ionomer blend. The outer cover layer is relatively hard and comprises a hard polyurethane. The resulting multi-layered golf ball of the present invention provides for enhanced distance without sacrificing playability or durability when compared to known multi-layer golf balls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Callaway Golf Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Sullivan, R. Dennis Nesbitt, Thomas J. Kennedy, III, Michael John Tzivanis, Mark L. Binette, Viktor Keller, William M. Risen, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6905425
    Abstract: A golf ball is provided that is soft and thus provides an excellent shot feeling, the golf ball exhibiting less deterioration in impact resilience and a superior spin characteristic. The golf ball is further superior in burr resistance and scuff resistance when being shot by an iron club. The golf ball is formed of a core and a cover surrounding the core and the cover composition contains a polymer component including 10 to 80 parts by weight of an ethylene-(meth)acrylic acid copolymer-based ionomer resin (Component A), 0 to 60 parts by weight of an ethylene-(meth)acrylic acid-(meth)acrylic acid ester ternary copolymer-based ionomer resin (Component B), and 5 to 60 parts by weight of a thermoplastic elastomer containing a styrene block (Component C). The cover composition has a shore D hardness of 40 to 60.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Sasaki, Akira Kato
  • Patent number: 6899641
    Abstract: A multi-piece solid golf ball comprising a core, an intermediate layer enclosing the core, and an outer layer enclosing the intermediate layer is characterized in that the intermediate layer is made of a thermoplastic resin composition, the intermediate layer on its surface has a Shore D hardness of at least 57, the intermediate layer has a specific gravity of 1.00-1.30 g/cm3, the outer layer has a specific gravity of at least 1.00 g/cm3, the core has a specific gravity of 1.05-1.20 g/cm3, the intermediate layer and the outer layer have a total gauge of up to 3.3 mm, [(core surface JIS-C hardness)?(core center JIS-C hardness)]?16, [(intermediate layer surface JIS-C hardness)?(core surface JIS-C hardness)]?0, and ?18?[(outer layer surface Shore D hardness)?(intermediate layer surface Shore D hardness)]<0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideo Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6899640
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a one-piece golf ball formed by vulcanization from a rubber composition composed of 100 parts by weight of rubber base material, 10 to 40 parts by weight of unsaturated carboxylic acid, 10 to 60 parts by weight of metal oxide, and 0.9 to 5 parts by weight of organic peroxide, said rubber base material containing 60 to 100% by weight based on the weight of a polybutadiene which is synthesized with a catalyst of rare earth element, contains no less than 60% of cis-1,4-linkage, and has a Mooney viscosity (ML1+4(100° C.)) no less than 40. This golf ball has good shot feeling and high rebound resilience and is easy to produce by extrusion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroto Sasaki, Hiroshi Higuchi, Nobuyuki Kataoka, Atsushi Nanba
  • Patent number: 6890992
    Abstract: The present invention is directed toward more durable golf ball cores and more durable golf balls. The golf balls of this invention comprise a cover and a core wherein the core may further comprise a center and one or more layers of a mantle disposed between the center and the cover. The core, the mantle or the layers of the mantle, comprise a mixture of one or more thermoset rubber materials and at least one compatible, modified, non-ionic polyolefin. The non-ionic polyolefin that is modified may be a homopolymer, copolymer, terpolymer, block copolymer or a mixture thereof that is present at about 0.5 to about 10 parts per hundred of the thermoset rubber material used in the core or core layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Jeffrey L. Dalton
  • Patent number: 6887167
    Abstract: The present invention provides a multi-piece solid golf ball, which is superior in flight distance, spin performance, shot feel and scuff resistance. The present invention relates to a multi-piece solid golf ball comprising a core consisting of a center and an intermediate layer, and a cover, wherein the center has a diameter of 25 to 40 mm, and a surface hardness (B) is higher than a central point hardness (A) of the center by not less than 15, the intermediate layer has a thickness of 0.5 to 8.0 mm, and a surface hardness of the intermediate layer (C) is higher than the (A) by 15 to 35, the cover comprises polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer as a main component, and has a thickness of 0.3 to 1.5 mm and a hardness (D) in Shore D hardness of 35 to 55, and the (D) is higher than the (D) by 3 to 25.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Kato, Keiji Moriyama
  • Patent number: 6884181
    Abstract: A golf ball construction (2) is provided having a solid core composition of a rubber having between 3 to 25 percent by weight of an additive selected from the group of boron carbide, silicon carbide, and/or other advanced ceramic materials, the additives providing an improved core composition. The golf ball (2) further has an improved dimple arrangement in which each dimple (20) defines a dimple edge (24) adjacent a land area (22) of the golf ball, the dimple edge having a radius between 0.050 inches to 0.250 inches. The cover (6) of the ball additionally provides a surface marking opposite a balance point of the golf ball. The balance point of the golf ball being determined by floating the golf ball and allowing the ball to assume a resting configuration within the floating solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Talon Sports
    Inventors: Lauro C. Cadorniga, Mitchell Godfrey, Robin Carden
  • Patent number: 6881794
    Abstract: A golf ball consisting of a core having a diameter of between about 1.54 and about 1.61 inches and a compression of between about 70 and about 80, the core comprising a polybutadiene rubber having a Mooney viscosity of less than about 50 and a halogenated organosulfur compound, or a salt thereof, present in an amount of at least about 2.2 parts per hundred parts of polybutadiene rubber, the halogenated organosulfur compound having the formula: where R1-R5 are C1-C8 alkyl groups; halogen groups; thiol groups; carboxylated groups; sulfonated groups; or hydrogen; and a cover having a thickness of less than about 0.05 inches, the cover consisting essentially of a first ionomeric material, a second ionomeric material, and a metallocene-catalyzed polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Peter Voorheis, Murali Rajagopalan, Michael D Jordan, Christopher Cavallaro
  • Patent number: 6861492
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the core or the cover comprises a thermoplastic or thermoset composition comprising a reaction product of an isocyanate and a siloxane polyahl having a formula of: where R1 is a hydrocarbon moiety; R2 to R6 are independently selected from hydrogen or hydrocarbon moieties; D1 and D2 are optional and independent hydrocarbon moieties; A1 and A2 are independent active hydrogen moieties; m is an integer from 1 to about 1,000; n is zero or an integer from 1 to about 1,000; and z is an integer from 1 to about 100.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Shenshen Wu, Murali Rajagopalan, Kevin M. Harris, Shawn Ricci
  • Patent number: 6855793
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core, a cover, and, optionally, at least one intermediate layer disposed between the core and the cover, wherein at least one of the cover or the intermediate layer comprise a thermoplastic polycarbonate-urethane copolymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Kevin M Harris, Murali Rajagopalan
  • Patent number: 6855072
    Abstract: A multi-piece solid golf ball comprising a solid core and a cover of two inner and outer layers surrounding the core. The outer cover layer has a surface formed with a plurality of three types of dimples such that a product of the Shore D hardness of the inner cover layer multiplied by the Shore D hardness of the outer cover layer and a proportion VR (%) of the total of the volumes of dimple spaces satisfy one of: (1) 1,500 to less than 2,000 VR: 0.8 to 1.1% (2) 2,000 to less than 2,500 VR: 0.75 to 1.05% (3) 2,500 to less than 3,000 VR: 0.7 to 1% (4) 3,000 to less than 3,500 VR: 0.65 to 0.95% (5) 3,500 to 4,000 VR: 0.6 to 0.9%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisashi Yamagishi, Hiroshi Higuchi, Junji Hayashi, Akira Kawata
  • Patent number: 6852042
    Abstract: A high CoR golf ball having predetermined moment of inertia is provided. A portion of the golf ball preferably contains substantially no filler, which contributes to the increased resilience of the ball. In accordance to one aspect of the invention, the portion with substantially no filler is the core of the ball. The remaining portions of the ball preferably contribute to the moment of inertia of the ball.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventors: Michael J. Sullivan, Derek A. Ladd, Antonio U. Desimas
  • Patent number: 6852784
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core comprised of a polymer containing an acid group fully-neutralized by an organic acid or a salt, a cation source, or a suitable base thereof; and a cover layer; wherein the golf ball has a COR of no less than about 0.830 and an initial velocity of greater than 255 ft/s.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Michael J Sullivan
  • Patent number: 6849675
    Abstract: A golf ball comprising a core and a cover layer, wherein at least one of the core or cover layer comprises a plasticized polyurethane composition comprising at least one polyurethane and at least one plasticizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Acushnet Company
    Inventor: Michael J. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 6846442
    Abstract: A process for producing a golf ball which includes the steps of placing a rubber composition into the cavity of a mold having an upper portion and a lower portion, clamping the upper portion and the lower portion together at a moving velocity of from 0.03. mm/s to 1.0 mm/s, causing excess rubber composition to flow out from the cavities; and unclamping the mold and removing from the mold cavity spherical bodies and associated rubber flashers formed in the mold cavities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazushige Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 6838513
    Abstract: A golf ball 1 has a core 2, a cover 3, a mark layer 4, and a finishing coat layer 5. An ink used for the mark layer 4 includes an isocyanate curing agent that contains a diisocyanate trimer, a base material, and a colorant. Preferred curing agent contains an isophorone diisocyanate trimer. The ink includes a diisocyanate curing agent at equal to or greater than 1% by weight and equal to or less than 20% by weight, calculated on the basis of the solid content. The base material includes a polymer having a hydroxyl group as a principal component. The “NCO/OH” value, which is a ratio of isocyanate groups of the isocyanate curing agent and hydroxyl groups of the base material, is equal to or greater than 0.5 and equal to or less than 2.0. The mark layer 4 may be printed on a base coat layer, alternatively, may be printed on a crosslinked rubber. This ink has excellent adhesiveness to a base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Okido, Satoru Komatsu, Hiroaki Tanaka, Kazuhisa Fushihara
  • Patent number: 6838524
    Abstract: The present invention provides a solid golf ball which gives a superior shot feeling to the golfer and exhibits stabilized repulsion performance when it is hit at any head speed. The solid golf ball of the present invention comprises a core containing at least one layer which is molded by vulcanizing the rubber composition including: (a) a base rubber, (b) a co-crosslinking agent, (c) an organic peroxide, and (d) a polysulfide compound represented by the formula: wherein at least one of R1 to R5 and at least one of R6 to R10 are each Br, and n is an integer not less than 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
    Inventors: Seigou Sakagami, Satoshi Mano