Golf ball

• US 5,301,951 A
• Filed: 08/31/1992
• Issued: 04/12/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taylor Made Golf Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Morell, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Marlo, George J.
• Application Number:
  US07/936,729
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• Field of Search: 273/232, 273/220, 40/327
• US Class Current: 473/383
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0004 Surface depressions or protrusions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/00065 located around the pole or the equator
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/002 Specified dimple diameter

Abstract

The present invention relates to a golf ball.

The peripheral surface of the ball has dimples defining, at their intersections with this peripheral surface, circles of intersection distributed for the most part over the interior of twenty-four first elementary surfaces in the form of an irregular spherical quadrilateral, identical or constituting mutual mirror images, of eight second identical elementary surfaces in the form of spherical equilateral triangle and of twenty-four third elementary surfaces in the form of a spherical rectangular triangle, which are identical or constituting mutual mirror images, these elementary surfaces being defined by nine equatorial circles of the sphere defining the general shape of the peripheral surface of the ball. By a careful selection of the relative position of the equatorial circles, the distribution and diameters of the circles of intersection, one can render the orientation of the ball relatively indifferent with respect to the impact on the ball.

Claims

1. A golf ball comprising:

a peripheral surface having the general shape of a sphere and a plurality of dimples provided in said peripheral surface, said dimples defining, by virtue of respective intersections between said dimples and said peripheral surface, circles of intersection distributed in a repeating pattern and generally bounded within elementary surfaces defined by arcs of nine equatorial circles of the sphere, said nine equatorial circles comprising;

three equatorial circles, defining intersections with the sphere of three equatorial planes, said three equatorial planes being secant, two by two, at right angles, along axes that are themselves secant two by two, at right angles, to the center of the sphere;

six equatorial circles distributed into three groups of two equatorial circles, the two equatorial circles of each of said groups being associated, respectively, with one of said three equatorial planes, each of said two equatorial circles of said groups of equatorial circles intersecting a respective one of said axes and being mutually symmetrical with a respective one of said equatorial planes, and each of said two equatorial circles of each of said three groups being angularly offset with respect to a respective equatorial plane by an identical angle α

which is not 0° and

is less than 90°

, and which is different from 45°

so that arcs of said nine equatorial circles define;

twenty-four first elementary surfaces, each of said twenty-four first elementary surfaces being either identical or mirror images with respect to said three equatorial planes, and each of said twenty-four first elementary surfaces comprising an irregular quadrilateral having a right angle;

eight second identical elementary surfaces, each of said eight second identical elementary surfaces being in the form of an equilateral triangle; and

twenty-four third elementary surfaces, each of said twenty-four third elementary surfaces being either identical or mirror images with respect to said three equatorial planes, and each of said twenty-four third elementary surfaces comprising a spherical right triangle.

2. The golf ball as defined by claim 1, at least one of said equatorial circles not intersecting with any of said circles of intersection.

3. The golf ball as defined by claim 2, each of said equatorial circles subdividing each of the other equatorial circles into two equatorial circle arcs, each of which corresponding to one of the two hemispheres defined by said equatorial circles, and said equatorial circle arcs of one of the hemispheres being angularly offset with respect to the equatorial circle arcs respectively corresponding to the other hemispheres, by the same value around the axis of said equatorial circle.

4. The golf ball as defined by claim 2, none of said equatorial circles intersecting with any of said circles of intersection.

5. The golf ball as defined by claim 1, comprising circles of intersection at certain mutual intersections of said equatorial circles.

6. The golf ball as defined by claim 1, said circles of intersection being distributed in an identical pattern in said identical elementary surfaces and in a pattern constituting a mirror images of said identical pattern in said elementary surfaces that constitute mirror images of said identical elementary surfaces.

7. The golf ball as defined by claim 1, said angle α

being approximately 34°

47'"'"'.

8. A golf ball comprising:

a peripheral surface, generally having the shape of a sphere, said peripheral surface having a plurality of dimples, said dimples being arranged in predetermined patterns generally within a plurality of elementary surfaces defined by arcs of nine equatorial circles of said sphere, said plurality of elementary surfaces comprising;

a plurality of first elementary surfaces in the form of spherical quadrilaterals;

a plurality of second elementary surfaces in the form of first spherical triangles; and

a plurality of third elementary surfaces in the form of second spherical triangles having a shape different from said first spherical triangles.

9. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, each of the spherical quadrilaterals being an irregular spherical quadrilateral having a right angle.

10. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, each of the first spherical triangles being a spherical equilateral triangle.

11. The gold ball as defined in claim 8, each of the second spherical triangles being a spherical right triangle.

12. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, each of the spherical quadrilaterals being an irregular spherical quadrilateral having a right angle, each of the first spherical triangles being a spherical equilateral triangle, and each of the second spherical triangles being a spherical right triangle.

13. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, the plurality of first elementary surfaces equalling twenty-four, the plurality of second elementary surface equalling eight, and the plurality of third elementary surfaces equalling twenty-four.

14. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, wherein:

(a) said plurality of first elementary surfaces comprises;

(i) a first plurality of identical first elementary surfaces in the form of spherical quadrilaterals;

(ii) a second plurality of identical first elementary surfaces in the form of spherical quadrilaterals, said second plurality of first elementary surfaces comprising respective mirror images of said first plurality of first elementary surfaces;

(b) said plurality of second elementary surfaces comprises;

(i) a first plurality of identical second elementary surfaces in the form of spherical triangles;

(ii) a second plurality of identical second elementary surfaces in the form of spherical triangles, said second plurality of identical second elementary surfaces comprising respective mirror images of said first plurality of identical second elementary surfaces; and

(c) said plurality of third elementary surfaces comprises;

(i) a first plurality of identical third elementary surfaces in the form of spherical triangles;

(ii) a second plurality of identical third elementary surfaces in the form of spherical triangles, said second plurality of identical third elementary surfaces comprising respective mirror images of said first plurality of identical third elementary surfaces.

15. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, said plurality of first elementary surfaces equalling twenty-four, said plurality of second elementary surfaces equalling eight, sand said plurality of third elementary surfaces equalling twenty-four.

16. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, each of said plurality of first elementary surfaces containing thirteen dimples, each of said plurality of second elementary surfaces containing three dimples, and each of said plurality of third elementary surfaces containing six dimples.

17. The golf ball as defined in claim 16, having a diameter of approximately 42.67 mm.

18. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, said plurality of dimples comprising a plurality of dimples of different diameters.

19. The golf ball as defined in claim 18, each of said plurality of first elementary surfaces containing dimples of seven different diameters, each of said plurality of second elementary surfaces containing dimples of a single diameter, and each of said plurality of third elementary surfaces containing dimples of four different diameters.

20. The golf ball as defined in claim 8, comprising a further plurality of dimples, each of said further plurality of dimples containing a respective intersection of a plurality of said equatorial circles of said sphere.