Golf balls incorporating HNP ionomers based on highly diverse mixtures of organic acids

• US 10,119,008 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2016
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Bulpett, David A., Blink, Robert, Sullivan, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Buttner, David J
• Application Number:
  US15/216,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20160326341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0023 Covers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0024 Materials other than ionomers or polyurethane
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0043 Hardness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0049 Flexural modulus; Bending stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0051 Materials other than polybutadienes; Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0063 Hardness gradient
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0064 Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0072 with a specified number of layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0075 Three piece balls, i.e. cover, intermediate layer and core
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0076 Multi-piece balls, i.e. having two or more intermediate layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/008 Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/02 Special cores balls with finger holes A63B37/0001, golf ball cores A63B37/005
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 2003/0893 Zinc
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 3/08 Metals
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 5/09 Carboxylic acids; Metal salts thereof; Anhydrides thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 5/098 Metal salts of carboxylic acids
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/0876 Neutralised polymers, i.e. ionomers

Abstract

Golf ball incorporating an HNP composition consisting of a mixture of: at least one ethylene acid copolymer; sufficient amount of cation source to neutralize greater than about 100% of all acid groups present; and a highly diverse mixture of at least four organic acids having different characteristics such as relating to: carbon chain lengths, number of double bonds on carbon chains, positioning of double bonds on carbon chains, number of branches, types of branches, positioning of branches on carbon chains, positioning of acid groups on carbon chains, configurations (cis/trans), functional groups on carbon chains, being saturated/unsaturated, being conjugated/non-conjugated; presence/absence of functional group(s) on carbon chain; being aliphatic/aromatic, or combinations thereof. No organic acid is present in highly diverse mixture in a concentration greater than 80%, or, in some embodiments, greater than 60%, or greater than 40%. HNP composition may be relatively soft/relatively low modulus, relatively hard/relatively high modulus, or blends thereof.

Claims

1. A golf ball having at least one layer comprising a highly neutralized acid polymer composition consisting of a mixture of:

at least one ethylene acid copolymer;

a sufficient amount of cation source to neutralize greater than about 100% of all acid groups present; and

a highly diverse mixture of at least 20 organic acids exhibiting the chromatogram of FIG. 1.

2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein all organic acids of the highly diverse mixture are carboxylic acids.

3. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least 90% of the organic acids of the highly diverse mixture are fatty acids.

4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least two organic acids of the highly diverse mixture have different carbon chain lengths.

5. The golf ball of claim 4, wherein the carbon chain lengths differ by at least two carbon atoms.

6. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least three organic acids of the highly diverse mixture have different carbon chain lengths.

7. The golf ball of claim 6, wherein the carbon chain lengths differ by at least two carbon atoms.

8. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein no single organic acid is present in the highly diverse mixture in a concentration greater than 40%.

9. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the highly diverse mixture contains saturated organic acids and unsaturated organic acids.

10. The golf balls of claim 9, wherein one organic acid has a carbon chain having a different number of carbon-carbon double bonds than a carbon chain of at least one other organic acid.

11. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein a first organic acid has a first carbon chain and a second organic acid has a second carbon chain having the same number of carbon-carbon double bonds as the first carbon chain;

and wherein at least one carbon-carbon double bond position on the first carbon chain is not a carbon-carbon double bond position on the second carbon chain.

12. The golf ball of claim 10, wherein at least one organic acid has a cis-type carbon-carbon double bond configuration and at least one other organic acid has a trans-type carbon-carbon double bond configuration.

13. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least one organic acid has a carbon chain that is branched differently than a carbon chain of at least one other organic acid.

14. The golf ball of claim 13, wherein one organic acid has a carbon chain having a different number of branches than a carbon chain of at least one other organic acid.

15. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein a first organic acid has a first carbon chain and a second organic acid has a second carbon chain having the same number of branches as the first carbon chain;

and wherein at least one branch position on the first carbon chain is not a branch position on the second carbon chain.

16. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least two organic acids have different functional groups.

17. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein one functional group is carboxylic acid.

18. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the highly diverse mixture comprises at least one aliphatic organic acid and at least one aromatic organic acid.

19. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the highly diverse mixture contains organic acids having two or more different characteristics.

20. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the highly diverse mixture contains organic acids having three or more different characteristics.

21. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the highly diverse mixture contains organic acids having four or more different characteristics.

22. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the highly diverse mixture contains organic acids having five or more different characteristics.

23. A golf ball having at least one layer comprising a highly neutralized acid polymer composition consisting of a mixture of:

at least one ethylene acid copolymer;

a sufficient amount of cation source to neutralize greater than about 100% of all acid groups present; and

a highly diverse mixture of at least 14 organic acids exhibiting the chromatogram of FIG. 2.

24. A golf ball having at least one layer comprising a highly neutralized acid polymer composition consisting of a mixture of:

at least one ethylene acid copolymer;

a sufficient amount of cation source to neutralize greater than about 100% of all acid groups present; and

a highly diverse mixture of at least 15 organic acids exhibiting the chromatogram of FIG. 3.