Low compression, resilient golf balls including elemental catalyst and method for making same
First Claim
1. A golf ball comprising a material formed from the conversion reaction of an amount of polybutadiene, a free radical source, and a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, which reaction occurs at a sufficient temperature to form a polybutadiene reaction product which comprises an amount of trans-polybutadiene greater than the amount of trans-polybutadiene present before the conversion reaction, wherein the reaction product has a first dynamic stiffness measured at −
- 50°
C. that is less than about 130 percent of a second dynamic stiffness measured at 0°
C., and wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A low compression, resilient golf ball having a center and a cover, made from a polybutadiene reaction product having polybutadiene, a cis-to-trans catalyst including a Group VIA element, such as at least one of sulfur, polymeric sulfur, selenium, or tellurium, and a free radical source. The reaction product typically has a first dynamic stiffness measured at −50° C. that is less than about 130 percent of a second dynamic stiffness measured at 0° C. A multi-layer golf ball having a center, at least one intermediate layer disposed concentrically about the center, and a cover. At least a portion of at least one of the center, intermediate layer, or both, are made from a reaction product including polybutadiene having a cis-to-trans catalyst that includes at least one elemental sulfur, polymeric sulfur, selenium, or tellurium component and a free radical source. In particular, the use of various combinations of polybutadiene, cis-to-trans catalyst including at least one elemental component, free radical source, filler, and crosslinker, produces golf balls and golf ball components that are resilient (fast) and have low compression (soft).
132 Citations
56 Claims
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1. A golf ball comprising a material formed from the conversion reaction of an amount of polybutadiene, a free radical source, and a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, which reaction occurs at a sufficient temperature to form a polybutadiene reaction product which comprises an amount of trans-polybutadiene greater than the amount of trans-polybutadiene present before the conversion reaction, wherein the reaction product has a first dynamic stiffness measured at −
- 50°
C. that is less than about 130 percent of a second dynamic stiffness measured at 0°
C., and wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
- 50°
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25. A method for forming a golf ball which comprises:
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combining (a) a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof;
(b) a free radical source; and
(c) a first resilient polymer component comprising a cis-polybutadiene component present in an amount greater than about 70 percent of the total polymer component;
converting a portion of the first resilient polymer component to a second resilient polymer component in about 5 to 18 minutes at a sufficient temperature to convert at least a portion of the cis-polybutadiene component to a trans-polybutadiene component and wherein the polybutadiene in the second resilient polymer component is at least about 10 percent trans-polybutadiene and less than about 7 percent vinyl-polybutadiene; and
forming the second resilient polymer component into at least a portion of the golf ball. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
a single-step compression molding of the first resilient polymer component to convert the first resilient polymer component to the second resilient polymer in about 8 to 15minutes; and
forming the second resilient polymer component into a solid sphere.
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35. The method of claim 34, wherein the converting and forming are substantially simultaneous.
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36. The method of claim 25, wherein the cis-to-trans catalyst is present in an amount from about 0.01 to 25 parts per hundred of the total resilient polymer component.
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37. The method of claim 36, wherein the cis-to-trans catalyst is present in an amount from about 0.01 to 1 parts per hundred of the total resilient polymer component.
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38. The method of claim 37, wherein the cis-to-trans catalyst is present in an amount from about 0.05 to 0.5 parts per hundred of the total resilient polymer component.
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39. The method of claim 25, wherein the cis-to-trans catalyst is selected to further comprise at least one of an inorganic sulfide, organosulfur compound, an aromatic organometallic compound, a metal-organosulfur compound, or an aromatic organic compound.
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40. The method of claim 25, which further comprises providing an accelerator in an amount sufficient to facilitate cis-to-trans conversion.
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41. The method of claim 40, wherein the accelerator is selected to comprise at least one of sulfenamide, thiazole, dithiocarbamate, thiuram, xanthate, thiadiazine, thiourea, guanadine, or aldehyde-amine.
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42. The method of claim 40, wherein the accelerator is provided in an amount from about 0.05 to 2 phr of the total resilient polymer component.
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43. The method of claim 42, wherein the accelerator is provided in an amount from about 0.1 to 1 phr of the total resilient polymer component.
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44. The method of claim 28 wherein a portion of the sphere comprises a fluid.
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45. The method of claim 28 wherein a tensioned elastomeric material is wound about the sphere.
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46. The method of claim 45, wherein the tensioned elastomeric material comprises the reaction product.
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47. The method of claim 25, wherein the combining step further comprises (d) at least one metallic salt of an unsaturated fatty acid or monocarboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of zinc acrylate, zinc diacrylate, zinc methacrylate, zinc dimethacrylate, and mixtures thereof.
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48. A golf ball prepared by a process which comprises:
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combining (a) at least one of a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof, (b) a free radical source; and
(c) a first resilient polymer component comprising a cis-polybutadiene component present in an amount greater than about 70 percent of the resilient polymer component;
converting a portion of the first resilient polymer component to a second resilient polymer component in about 5 to 18 minutes, wherein at least a portion of the cis-isomer content is converted to a trans-isomer content and wherein the polybutadiene in the second resilient polymer component is at least about 10 percent trans-polybutadiene and less than about 7 percent vinyl-polybutadiene; and
forming the second resilient polymer component into at least a portion of the golf ball. - View Dependent Claims (49)
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50. A golf ball comprising a material formed from the conversion reaction of a sufficient amount of polybutadiene, a free radical source, and a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, which reaction occurs at a sufficient temperature to form a polybutadiene reaction product which comprises;
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an amount of trans-polybutadiene greater than the amount of trans-polybutadiene present before the conversion reaction; and
a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising the at least one Group VIA element, wherein the reaction product comprises a sphere which has a midpoint having a first hardness and a surface having a second hardness at least 10 percent greater than the first hardness, wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (51)
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52. A method for forming a golf ball which comprises:
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combining (a) a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof;
(b) a free radical source; and
(c) a first resilient polymer component comprising a cis-polybutadiene component present in an amount greater than about 70 percent of the total polymer component;
converting a portion of the first resilient polymer component to a second resilient polymer component in about 5 to 18 minutes at a sufficient temperature to convert at least a portion of the cis-polybutadiene component to a trans-polybutadiene component and wherein the polybutadiene in the second resilient polymer component is at least about 10 percent trans-polybutadiene and less than about 7 percent vinyl-polybutadiene; and
forming the second resilient polymer component into at least a portion of the golf ball, wherein the second resilient component comprises a sphere which has a midpoint having a first hardness and a surge having a second hardness such that the second hardness differs from thee first hardness by greater than 10 percent of the first hardness. - View Dependent Claims (53)
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54. A method for forming a golf ball which comprises:
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combining (a) a cis-to-tans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof;
(b) a free radical source; and
(c) a first resilient polymer component comprising a cis-polybutadiene component present in an amount greater than about 70 percent of the total polymer component;
converting a portion of the first resilient polymer component to a second resilient polymer component in about 5 to 18 minutes at a sufficient temperature to convert at least a portion of the cis-polybutadiene component to a trans-polybutadiene component and wherein the polybutadiene in the second resilient polymer component is at least about 10 percent trans-polybutadiene and less than about 7 percent vinyl-polybutadiene; and
forming the second resilient polymer component into at least a portion of the golf ball, wherein the second resilient component has a first dynamic stiffness measured at −
50°
C. that is less than about 130 percent of a second dynamic stiffness measured at 0°
C.- View Dependent Claims (55)
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56. A golf ball comprising a material formed from the conversion reaction of an amount of polybutadiene, a free radical source, at least one metallic salt of an unsaturated fatty acid or monocarboxylic acid, a vulcanization accelerator, and a cis-to-trans catalyst comprising at least one Group VIA component, which reaction occurs at a sufficient temperature to form a polybutadiene reaction product which comprises an amount of trans-polybutadiene greater than the amount of trans-polybutadiene present before the conversion reaction, wherein the reaction product has a first dynamic stiffness measured at −
- 50°
C. that is less than about 130 percent of a second dynamic stiffness measured at 0°
C., wherein the at least one Group VIA component comprises selenium, tellurium, or a combination thereof.
- 50°
Specification