Golf ball

• US 5,292,132 A
• Filed: 05/22/1992
• Issued: 03/08/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SRI Sports Limited (Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Inventors: Oka, Kengo
• Primary Examiner(s): Marlo, George J.
• Application Number:
  US07/886,932
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 273/232
• US Class Current: 473/384
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0004 Surface depressions or protrusions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0006 Arrangement or layout of dimples
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0017 Specified total dimple volume
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0019 Specified dimple depth
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/002 Specified dimple diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0026 Balata
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0052 Liquid cores
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/008 Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0087 Deflection or compression
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0096 Spin rate

Abstract

In a golf ball having dimples and lands other than the dimples formed on the surface thereof, dimples are arranged so that less than 40 lands are provided which contain a rectangle having a short side greater than 0.4 mm and an area greater than 0.8 mm² and not including a part of the dimple or the whole thereof. A land having the greatest area of all lands is so small that a dimple having an area greater than the average area of all dimples cannot be formed therein.

Claims

1. A golf ball having dimples and lands and having a great circle around an equator thereof, the golf ball, comprising less than 40 lands containing a rectangle having a short side greater than 0.4 mm and an area greater than 0.8 mm² and not including any parts of the dimple and failing to intersect the great circle, the dimples also failing to intersect the great circle around the equator.

2. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein the dimples are densely arranged on the surface of the golf ball so that less than 1/5 of an average area of dimples in which a rectangle not including a part of a dimple or the whole thereof can be formed.

3. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein over 400 dimples are provided on the golf ball.

4. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein 432 dimples are provided on the golf ball.

5. The golf ball as defined in claim 4, wherein a first type, a second type, a third type, a fourth type and a fifth type of dimples are provided on the golf ball, the first type of dimples having a diameter of 4.30 mm, the second type of dimples having a diameter of 4.00 mm, the third type of dimples having a diameter of 3.70 mm, the fourth type of dimples having a diameter of 3.40 mm, and the fifth type of dimples having a diameter of 2.70 mm.

6. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein 420 dimples are provided on the golf bal.

7. The golf ball as defined in claim 6, wherein a first type, a second type, a third type, a fourth type, and a fifth type of dimples are provided on the golf ball, the first type of dimples having a diameter of 4.30 mm, the second type of dimples having a diameter of 4.00 mm, the third type of dimples having a diameter of 3.70 mm, the fourth type of dimples having a diameter of 3.40 mm, and the fifth type of dimples having a diameter of 2.80 mm.

8. The golf ball as described in claim 1, wherein the rectangle has a short side of 0.7 mm and an area of 1.9 mm².

9. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein the golf ball is divisible into twenty, generally equally sized units with one rectangle being provided in each unit, a number of lands being equal to a number of the rectangles.

10. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein three types of lands are provided, a first one of the types of lands having a short side of 0.4 mm and an area of 0.8 mm², a second one of the types of lands having a short side of 1.0 mm and an area of 2.2 mm² and a third one of the types of lands having a short side of 1.0 mm and an area of 2.2 mm².

11. The golf ball as defined in claim 10, wherein the golf ball is divisible into twenty, generally equally sized units with one of the first type of lands being provided in each unit, one-half of the second type of lands being provided in each unit and one-tenth of the third type of lands being provided in each unit such that the golf ball has 1.6 lands per unit.

12. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein the golf ball is divisible into twenty, generally equally sized units with 1.6 lands being provided per unit.