Method of manufacturing a golf ball
First Claim
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1. A method of manufacturing a golf ball comprising:
- forming a golf ball precursor product, the golf ball precursor product having a first volume;
heating a golf ball precursor product such that the golf ball precursor product undergoes a predetermined volumetric thermal expansion of the first volume to create a thermally expanded golf ball precursor product,wherin the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product substantially prevents cracking of a cover upon application of the coverover the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product through an exothermic reaction or heated process; and
applying the cover over the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product through the exothermic reaction or the heated process.
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Abstract
A method of manufacturing golf balls is disclosed that prevents the cover from cracking due to thermal expansion of the core during the cover formation process. The method includes the forming a core. One or more optional boundary layers can be applied to the surface of the core. The core and any boundary layers are pre-heated such that the core and any boundary layer undergo volumetric thermal expansion. After the pre-heating, the cover of the ball is formed over the core and any boundary layer. The method of the present invention also decreases cover molding cycle times for golf balls.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing a golf ball comprising:
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forming a golf ball precursor product, the golf ball precursor product having a first volume;
heating a golf ball precursor product such that the golf ball precursor product undergoes a predetermined volumetric thermal expansion of the first volume to create a thermally expanded golf ball precursor product,wherin the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product substantially prevents cracking of a cover upon application of the coverover the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product through an exothermic reaction or heated process; and
applying the cover over the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product through the exothermic reaction or the heated process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of manufacturing a golf ball comprising:
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forming a core;
forming at least one boundary layer surrounding the core;
heating the core and the at least one boundary layer such that the core and the at least one boundary layer undergo a predetermined volumetric thermal expansion to create a thermally expanded core and a thermally expanded at least one boundary layer, wherein the thermally expanded core and the thermally expanded at least one boundary layer substantially prevent cracking of a cover upon application of the cover over the thermally expanded core and the thermally expanded at least one boundary layer through an exothermic reaction or heated process; and
applying the cover over the thermally expanded core and the thermally expanded at least one boundary layer through the exothermic reaction or the heated process. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of manufacturing a golf ball comprising:
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compression molding a core composed of a polybutadiene material;
injection molding a boundary layer composed of an ionomer blend material around the core to form a golf ball precursor product, the golf ball precursor product having a diameter ranging from 1.630 inch to 1.644 inch;
heating the golf ball precursor product to cause a predetermined volumetric thermal expansion of the golf ball precursor product to create a thermally expanded golf ball precursor product having at least a 1.29% volume increase of the golf ball precursor product, wherein the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product substantially prevents cracking of a thermosetting polyurethane cover upon application of the thermosetting polyurethane cover over the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product through an exothermic reaction; and
applying the thermosetting polyurethane cover to the thermally expanded golf ball precursor product through the exothermic reaction involving a polyurethane prepolymer and a curing agent. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification