TWI685413B - Multilayered golf ball having whiskers and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a multilayered golf ball having whiskers and a manufacturing method thereof. The multilayered golf ball includes a core, an outer cover layer covering the core, and at least one inner cover layer disposed between the core and the outer cover layer. The outer cover layer has a flexural modulus between 29.6 MPa and 489 MPa, and the inner cover layer has a flexural modulus between 44.8 MPa and 220 MPa. The inner cover layer includes a whisker-based three-dimensional network structure, wherein the content of whiskers ranges from 1% to 5% based on the total weight of the inner cover layer. Therefore, the ball moving distance can be increased without playability.

Description

Multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside and manufacturing method thereof

The invention relates to a multi-layer golf ball and a manufacturing method thereof, in particular to a multi-layer golf ball with whiskers inside and a manufacturing method thereof.

With the improvement of people's living standards and the emphasis on outdoor leisure life, more and more people love golf, and these people may come from men or women of all walks of life or all ages. In other words, golf can allow people from different industries, different ages and different genders to compete and communicate in the same field, and this is the charm of this sport.

In the game of golf, players must continue to push the golf ball. During the process of propulsion, the flying distance of the ball and the controllability of hitting at close range often become the key to winning the game. Although the skill of the player is usually the key to winning or losing in the game, the characteristics of the golf ball also have a certain degree of influence. For a multi-layer golf ball, combining layers of different materials can produce some additional features, such as accelerating the initial speed of the ball, increasing or decreasing the amount of rotation of the ball, etc., so that the player can more easily control the flight of the shot Distance and trajectory.

Therefore, the inventors have been engaged in design and manufacturing experience in related fields for many years, and actively studied how to increase the travel distance of golf balls, and at the same time improve the playability of the ball, finally developed under the careful consideration of various conditions出发明。 The present invention.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide A multi-layer golf ball with whiskers inside and meeting the demands of professional players and amateur players, and its manufacturing method.

In order to solve the above technical problems, one of the technical solutions adopted by the present invention is: a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside, which includes a core, an outer cover layer covering the core and at least one The inner covering layer between the spherical core and the outer covering layer is characterized in that the bending modulus of the outer covering layer is between 20MPa and 600MPa, and the bending modulus of the inner covering layer is between 20MPa Between 400MPa and 400MPa, the inner cover layer includes a three-dimensional network structure composed of a plurality of whiskers, wherein the plurality of whiskers account for 1% to 5% of the total weight of the inner cover layer.

In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a method for manufacturing a multi-layer golf ball with whiskers inside, which includes: forming a core; forming at least an inner cover layer to cover the Spherical core, wherein the bending modulus of the inner cover layer is between 20MPa and 400MPa, the inner cover layer includes a three-dimensional network structure composed of a plurality of whiskers, and a plurality of the whiskers occupy the 1% to 5% of the total weight of the inner cover layer; and forming an outer cover layer to cover the inner cover layer, wherein the bending modulus of the outer cover layer is between 20 MPa and 600 MPa.

In an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of whiskers account for 2.5% to 3% of the total weight of the inner cover layer.

In an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of whiskers are zinc oxide whiskers.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the outer cover layer is a low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations, and the material of the inner cover layer is a highly neutralized acid polymer resin.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the bending modulus of the outer cover layer is between 29.6 MPa and 489 MPA, and the bending modulus of the inner cover layer is between 44.8 MPA and 220 MPA.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the rebound coefficient (COR) of the core is between 0.65 and 0.85, (125 ft/s) average swing speed, and the player's swing speed (175 ft/s).

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of forming the inner cover layer includes: The whiskers and a molding resin are mixed in a weight ratio of 1:9 to form a first resin composition; granulating the first resin composition to obtain a plurality of resin mother particles; The resin masterbatch and another molding resin are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:7 to form a second resin composition; and injection molding is performed using the second resin composition as a raw material.

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the multilayer golf ball with whiskers provided therein and the manufacturing method thereof can pass the “inner cover layer includes a three-dimensional network structure composed of whiskers, in which the whiskers occupy the inner "1-5% of the total weight of the cover layer" and the "inner and outer cover layers each have a specific bending modulus" technical solution to increase the hitting distance (including the flying distance and rolling distance) while taking into account the backspin, Combat feel and durability.

In order to further understand the features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings provided are for reference and explanation only, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

G‧‧‧Multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside

1‧‧‧ball heart

1a‧‧‧Inner Sphere

1b‧‧‧Outer heart

2‧‧‧Inner cover

21‧‧‧Three-dimensional network structure

W‧‧‧whisker

3‧‧‧Outer cover

31‧‧‧ball socket

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a multilayer golf ball with whiskers in the present invention.

2 is a partial schematic perspective view of a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic perspective view of part IV in FIG. 3.

5 is a partial schematic perspective view of a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As we all know, the performance of the golf ball will be affected by the layered structure and material Therefore, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a golf ball, which can produce a golf ball having any suitable number of layers (such as a three-layer or three-layer multi-layer ball), and the resulting multi-layer golf ball can increase the impact Ball distance (including flying distance and rolling distance), without sacrificing the spin of the ball, hitting feel and durability.

The following is a specific specific example to illustrate the implementation of the "multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside and its manufacturing method" disclosed by the present invention. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and advantages of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. effect. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments. Various details in this specification can also be based on different viewpoints and applications, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are merely schematic illustrations, and are not drawn according to actual sizes, and are declared in advance. The following embodiments will further describe the related technical content of the present invention, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that although terms such as “first”, “second”, and “third” may be used herein to describe various elements or signals, these elements or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are mainly used to distinguish one component from another component, or one signal from another signal. In addition, the term "or" as used herein may include any combination of any one or more of the associated listed items, depending on the actual situation.

[First embodiment]

Referring to FIG. 1, the first embodiment of the present invention provides a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside and a manufacturing method thereof. It first performs step S100 to form a core; then, performs step S102 to form at least one inner cover layer to Cover the core; finally, perform step S104 to form an outer cover layer to cover the inner cover layer.

Please refer to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4. In step S100, the spherical core 1 can be manufactured by any known method in the technical field, such as injection molding. The diameter of the spherical center 1 may be between 1.40 inches and 1.64 inches. Further, the material of the spherical center 1 The material is injected into a ball mold (not shown in the figure) and heated and molded at an appropriate temperature. After molding, the core 1 is removed from the ball mold and cooled to maintain its shape.

In this embodiment, the material of the core 1 is mainly natural or synthetic rubber or a material containing natural or synthetic rubber (hereinafter referred to as rubber material), and the rubber material may account for 50 wt% to 70 wt% of the total weight of the core 1. Moreover, the core 1 can be provided with desired characteristics by selecting appropriate rubber materials (such as polybutadiene rubber), for example, controlling the rebound coefficient (COR) of the core 1 between 0.65 and 0.85 to improve the impact. The initial velocity of the ball, thereby increasing the flying distance of the golf ball. In other embodiments, the material of the core 1 may also be a thermoplastic material, such as ionomer resin, polyamide resin, polyester resin, polyurethane resin, or a combination thereof.

According to actual needs, the core 1 may contain additives, and the additives may use crosslinking agents and fillers, but is not limited thereto. Specific examples of the cross-linking agent include zinc acrylate, magnesium acrylate, etc., and specific examples of fillers include zinc oxide, barium sulfate, high specific gravity metal powder (such as tungsten powder), and the like.

In step S102, the inner cover layer 2 can be made by any method known in the art, such as injection molding. The thickness of the inner cover layer 2 may be between 0.01 inches and 0.6 inches. In other embodiments, the material of the inner cover layer 2 can also be formed into two hemispherical structures (not shown in the figure) around the spherical core 1 by a stamper (not shown in the figure), and the two can be made at an appropriate temperature After the hemispherical structure melts, it flows and joins together to form a complete inner cover 2.

In this embodiment, the composition of the inner cover layer 2 may include a highly neutralized acid polymer resin and a plurality of whiskers W (whiskers), and the highly neutralized acid polymer resin may account for 95% of the total weight of the inner cover layer 2 % To 99%, the whiskers W may account for 1 wt% to 5 wt% of the total weight of the inner cover layer 2, preferably 2.5 wt% to 3 wt%, more preferably 2.8 wt% to 3 wt%. The whiskers W may have the same or different irregular shapes, the outer diameter of the whiskers W may be between 1 μm and 50 μm, and the aspect ratio of the whiskers W may be between 5 and 1000 . It is worth noting that the flexural modulus of the inner cover layer 2 is between 20MPa and 400MPa, preferably between 44.8 Between MPa and 220MPa.

As the highly neutralized acidic polymer resin, HPF resin produced by E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company can be used. Specific examples of the HPF resin include HPF 1000, HPF 2000, HPF AD1035, HPF AD1043, HPF AD1172, and the like. For the whiskers W, four needle-shaped zinc oxide whiskers can be used. However, the invention is not limited to the examples given above. In other embodiments, the whiskers W included in the inner cover layer 2 may also use other oxide whiskers, carbide whiskers, nitride whiskers, boride whiskers, metal whiskers, inorganic salt whiskers or Their combination.

According to actual needs, a cation source such as magnesium, sodium, zinc, or potassium can be used to neutralize the acidic polymer to 80% or more. The inner cover layer 2 may include additives, and the additives may use a melt flow modifier and a coloring agent (such as a white colorant), but is not limited thereto. Specific examples of melt flow modifiers include fatty acids and their salts, polyamides, polyesters, polyacrylates, polyurethanes, polyethers, polyureas, and polyols.

In this embodiment, the highly neutralized acidic polymer resin contained in the inner cover layer 2 can be replaced with a low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations, and a low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations can be used Sarin resin (Surlyn ^® ) produced by DuPont (EIDupont de Nemours and Company). Specific examples of Sarin resin include Surlyn 8150, Surlyn 8320, Surlyn 8940, Surlyn 8945, Surlyn 9120, Surlyn 9150, Surlyn 9320W, Surlyn 9910, Surlyn 9945, Surlyn 9950, Surlyn AD1022, etc.

It is worth noting that, in order to evenly disperse the whiskers W in the inner cover layer 2, the material of the inner cover layer 2 is prepared by the following steps. First, the whiskers W and the molding resin (highly neutralized acidic polymer resin or low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations) are mixed in a weight ratio of 1:9 to form a first resin composition; The first resin composition is granulated to obtain a plurality of resin mother particles; then, the resin mother particles and another molding resin (highly neutralized acid polymer resin) are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:7 to form the first Two resin composition; Finally, the second resin composition is used as a raw material for compression molding, that is, the raw material based on the second resin composition is injected into the compression mold in.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the whiskers W dispersed in the inner cover layer 2 can be interwoven into a three-dimensional network structure 21, and in the presence of the three-dimensional network structure 21, the overall performance of the golf ball can be improved. For example, the inner cover layer 2 can have a synergistic effect with the core 1 to increase the hitting distance (including the flying distance and the rolling distance), and the inner cover layer 2 can have a synergistic effect with the outer cover layer 3 to achieve Increase the backspin of the ball, improve the feel of hitting the ball and increase the durability.

In step S104, the outer cover layer 3 can be formed by any method known in the art, such as compression molding. The thickness of the outer cover layer 3 may be between 0.01 inches and 0.2 inches. Further, the material of the outer cover layer 3 can be formed into two hemispherical structures (not shown in the figure) around the core 1 by a stamper (not shown in the figure), and can be at a temperature of 50°C to 200°C The two hemispherical structures are fused together to form a complete outer cover 3.

In this embodiment, the main material of the outer cover layer 3 may be a low acid ionomer resin or polyurethane based on metal cations, and the main material may account for 80% to 100% of the total weight of the outer cover layer 3. As the low acid ionomer resin based on metal cation, Sarin resin (Surlyn ^® ) produced by DuPont (EIDupont de Nemours and Company) can be used. Specific examples of the salin resin include Surlyn 8150, Surlyn 8320, Surlyn 8940, Surlyn 8945 , Surlyn 9120, Surlyn 9150, Surlyn 9320W, Surlyn 9910, Surlyn 9945, Surlyn 9950, Surlyn AD1022 and so on. It is worth noting that the bending modulus of the outer cover layer 3 is between 20 MPa and 600 MPa, preferably between 29.6 MPa and 489 MPa.

According to actual needs, the outer cover layer 3 may contain one or more additives to impart desired characteristics of the golf ball, such as aesthetics, practicality, and durability. Specific examples of additives include colorants, matting agents, ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, hardeners, modifiers, and fillers.

After the above steps are completed, a multilayer golf ball G with whiskers inside is formed, which includes a core 1, an outer cover layer 3 covering the core 1 and at least one device An inner cover layer 2 disposed between the spherical core 1 and the outer cover layer 3, wherein the inner cover layer 2 includes a three-dimensional network structure 21 composed of a plurality of whiskers W.

Although FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 only show that the multilayer golf ball G with whiskers inside includes an inner cover layer 2, step S102 may be repeated twice or more to form multiple layers located at the center of the ball according to actual needs 1 and the inner cover layer 2 between the outer cover layer 3. For example, for a three-layer golf ball, only one inner cover 2 is required; for a four-layer golf ball, two inner layers 2 are required.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 again, in order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the golf ball, a plurality of ball sockets 31 (Dimple) may be provided on the surface of the outer cover 3. The ball socket 31 may have any shape known in the art (such as a hemispherical shape), and the number of the ball sockets 31 may be between 200 and 500, preferably between 250 and 400. Without affecting the intended effect of the present invention, any type of coating known in the art, such as a protective layer, a color layer, a matting layer, etc., may be formed on the surface of the outer cover layer 3.

[Second Embodiment]

Please refer to FIG. 1, and in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6, the second embodiment of the present invention provides a multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside and a manufacturing method thereof. It first performs step S100 to form a core; then, performs step S102 At least one inner cover layer is formed to cover the core; finally, step S104 is executed to form an outer cover layer to cover the inner cover layer.

The main difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that in step S100, an inner spherical core 1a is formed first, and then an outer spherical core 1b covering the inner spherical core 1a is formed. The inner spherical core 1a and the outer spherical core 1b can be made by any known method in the technical field, for example, the inner spherical core 1a is made by injection molding, and the outer spherical core 1b is made by compression molding. For detailed technical details, please refer to the description of the first embodiment, so no more details will be given here.

In this embodiment, the materials of the inner core 1a and the outer core 1b are mainly natural or Synthetic rubber or materials containing natural or synthetic rubber, but not limited thereto. The inner core 1a and the outer core 1b may have different characteristics, for example, the hardness of the inner core 1a is less than that of the outer core 1b, so as to reduce the backspin at the kick-off and increase the hardness of the iron shot. Backspin.

[Evaluation item]

Using the No. 6 iron and the tee (TaylorMade jetspeed), under the same test conditions (such as environmental conditions, swing speed and force, etc.), the golf balls of the experimental and control examples were hit with a club speed of 110 mph. Ball several times, and record the ball's flying distance, rolling distance and spin amount, the results are shown in Table 1 to Table 2.

In addition, taking 12 golf balls each of the experimental example and the control example, using a shell tester (ADC COR machine developed by Automated Design Corporation), repeatedly ejecting the ball at a speed of 175 ft/s to hit the metal steel plate until the ball breaks, Record the impact times of the first 6 broken balls, the results are shown in Table 3.

The experimental and control golf balls are all three-layer golf balls, the skin hardness (ShoreD) is 62±2, and the overall compression of the ball is 65±7 degrees; the difference is that the experiment In the golf ball of the example, the inner cover layer (that is, the middle layer) has 3% by weight of whiskers, and in the golf ball of the comparative example, no whiskers are added.

[Beneficial effect of embodiment]

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the multilayer golf ball with whiskers provided therein and the manufacturing method thereof can pass the “inner cover layer includes a three-dimensional network structure composed of whiskers, in which the whiskers occupy the inner "1-5% of the total weight of the cover layer" and the "inner and outer cover layers each have a specific bending modulus" technical solution to increase the hitting distance (including the flying distance and rolling distance) while taking into account the backspin, Combat feel and durability.

Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the present invention involves "mixing the whiskers into a molding resin at a weight ratio of 1:9, then taking a part from the resin composition formed, and mixing into another at a weight ratio of 3:7. "Forming a resin, and then using the formed resin composition as a raw material to form the inner cover layer" technical solution, can make the whiskers have excellent dispersion in the inner cover layer, to avoid the occurrence of agglomeration and affect the performance of the sphere.

The content disclosed above is only a preferred and feasible embodiment of the present invention, and therefore does not limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention, so any equivalent technical changes made by using the description and drawings of the present invention are included in the application of the present invention. Within the scope of the patent.

G‧‧‧Multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside

1‧‧‧ball heart

2‧‧‧Inner cover

3‧‧‧Outer cover

31‧‧‧ball socket

Claims (11)

A multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside, which includes a core, an outer cover layer covering the core, and at least one inner cover layer disposed between the core and the outer cover layer, which The flexural modulus of the outer cover layer is between 20 MPa and 600 MPa, and the flexural modulus of the inner cover layer is between 20 MPa and 400 MPa. The inner cover layer includes a plurality of whiskers In the formed three-dimensional network structure, a plurality of the whiskers account for 2.5% to 3% of the total weight of the inner cover layer. The multilayer golf ball having whiskers inside according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of whiskers are zinc oxide whiskers. The multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside according to claim 1, wherein the material of the inner cover layer is a highly neutralized acidic polymer resin or a low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations. The multilayer golf ball with whiskers inside according to claim 1, wherein the material of the outer cover layer is a low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations. The multi-layer golf ball with whiskers inside according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient of rebound (COR) of the core is between 0.65 and 0.85. A method for manufacturing a multi-layer golf ball with whiskers inside, comprising: forming a core; forming at least an inner cover layer to cover the core, wherein the bending modulus of the inner cover layer is between 20 MPa and 400 MPa Between, the inner cover layer includes a three-dimensional network structure composed of a plurality of whiskers, and the plurality of whiskers account for 2.5% to 3% of the total weight of the inner cover layer; and forming an outer cover layer To cover the inner cover layer, wherein the outer cover layer has a bending modulus between 20 MPa and 600 MPa. The method for manufacturing a multilayer golf ball having whiskers inside according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of whiskers are zinc oxide whiskers. The method for manufacturing a multi-layer golf ball having whiskers inside according to claim 6, wherein the step of molding the inner cover layer includes: mixing a plurality of the whiskers with a molding resin in a weight ratio of 1:9 To form a first resin composition; granulate the first resin composition to obtain a plurality of resin masterbatches; a weight ratio of 3:7 of the plurality of resin masterbatches and another molding resin Mixing to form a second resin composition; and injection molding using the second resin composition as a raw material. The method for manufacturing a multilayer golf ball having whiskers inside according to claim 8, wherein the molding resin and the another molding resin are highly neutralized acid polymer resins or low acid ionization based on metal cations物resin. The method for manufacturing a multilayer golf ball having whiskers inside according to claim 6, wherein the outer cover layer is formed using a low acid ionomer resin based on metal cations. The method for manufacturing a multi-layer golf ball with whiskers inside according to claim 6, wherein the coefficient of rebound (COR) of the core is between 0.65 and 0.85.

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