Liquid center for golf balls
First Claim
1. A golf ball comprising a fluid-filled center, a cover, and at least one intermediate layer interposed between the center and the cover, wherein the fluid-filled center comprises a center shell, said center shell formed from a composition comprising a blend of at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer and at least one hydrophobic polymer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed toward golf balls with improved resistance to water permeation. These golf balls comprise cover, core and, optionally, intermediate layers, with at least one of these layers including a polymer blend that provides resistance to water permeation through that layer. The polymer blends that provide the disclosed resistance to water permeation comprise at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer and at least one hydrophobic polymer. Most importantly, the golf balls formed with the polymer blends of the present invention also exhibit essentially unchanged physical and performance characteristics including coefficient of restitution, compression and initial velocity.
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Citations
45 Claims
- 1. A golf ball comprising a fluid-filled center, a cover, and at least one intermediate layer interposed between the center and the cover, wherein the fluid-filled center comprises a center shell, said center shell formed from a composition comprising a blend of at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer and at least one hydrophobic polymer.
- 13. A golf ball comprising a cover, a core, and at least one optional intermediate layer, wherein the core comprises a plurality of layers, and wherein at least one of said plurality of layers comprises a blend of at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer and at least one hydrophobic polymer, wherein said blend provides improved resistance to water permeation through said at least one layer.
- 22. A golf ball comprising a cover, a center and an intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer is disposed concentrically between the center and the cover, wherein the center and the intermediate layer comprise a plurality of layers, and wherein at least one of the plurality of layers comprises a blend of at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer and at least one hydrophobic polymer, the blend providing resistance to water permeation.
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33. A method of making a golf ball, comprising the steps of:
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preparing a blend comprising at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer and at least one hydrophobic polymer; and
forming a core, an intermediate layer, and a cover, wherein the intermediate layer and cover comprise a plurality of layers, and wherein at least one layer of the intermediate layer and the cover is formed from the blend. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 45)
c) forming a hollow center shell from said blend;
d) filling the hollow center shell with a fluid, thereby providing a fluid-filled center;
e) forming said intermediate layer around the fluid-filled center, thereby providing a core; and
f) encasing the core in a cover.
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38. The method of claim 37, wherein at least one layer of the intermediate layer is formed by wrapping the fluid-filled center with an elastic thread.
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39. The method of claim 37, wherein at least one layer of the intermediate layer is a solid, non-wound layer.
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44. The method of claim 33, wherein the golf ball has less than 0.4 grams weight loss.
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45. The method of claim 33, wherein the at least one hydrophilic thermoplastic polymer is a homopolymer, a copolymer, a terpolymer, a block copolymer, a graft polymer, or a mixture thereof and the at least one hydrophobic polymer is selected from the group consisting of ethylene-glycidyl acrylate copolymers, ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymers, maleic anhydride grafted metallocene-catalyzed copolymers of ethylene and octene, maleic anhydride grafted metallocene-catalyzed copolymers of ethylene and hexene, maleic anhydride grafted metallocene-catalyzed copolymers of ethylene and butene, ethylene-n-butyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate terpolymers, ethylene-n-butyl acrylate-glycidyl acrylate terpolymers, ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl acrylate terpolymers, ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate terpolymers, ethylene-n-butyl acrylate-acrylic acid ionomers, ethylene-n-butyl acrylate-methacrylic acid ionomers, and mixtures thereof.
Specification