Wound golf balls with high specific gravity centers

• US 6,986,717 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Issued: 01/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Jones, Douglas E., Morgan, William E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gorden, Raeann
• Application Number:
  US10/259,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20030114248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,205 Days
• Field of Search: 473/356, 473/357, 473/359, 473/361, 473/365, 473/372
• US Class Current: 473/372
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2037/087 Wound cores or layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0003 Golf balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0062 Hardness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0064 Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0078 Coefficient of restitution
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/008 Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0082 Density; Specific gravity
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0087 Deflection or compression
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0092 Hardness distribution amongst different ball layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/04 Rigid cores

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards an improved golf ball that includes a high-specific gravity central sphere encapsulated in a soft and resilient shell layer. The soft-resilient shell may be formed of polybutadiene rubber. This shell is subsequently wound with thread a wound core, which is then covered. The sphere can be formed of a solid metal or molded of high-specific gravity powder retained in a binding material.

Claims

1. A wound golf ball comprising:

a sphere comprised of a high specific gravity filler and a binder material, wherein the sphere has a specific gravity of at least about 6.0;

at least one molded shell formed around the sphere;

a wound layer formed of spun elastic threads disposed about the shell to form a wound core; and

a cover surrounding the wound core.

2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the binding material is a thermoplastic or thermoset material.

3. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the high specific gravity filler is metallic powder.

4. The golf ball of claim 3, wherein the metallic powder is formed from one of the following:

tungsten, steel, brass, titanium, lead, zinc, copper, bismuth, nickel, molybdenum, iron, bronze, cobalt silver, platinum, golf, or alloys thereof.

5. The golf ball of claim 3, wherein the sphere has a mass, the metallic powder forms a first percentage of the mass, the binding material forms a second percentage of the mass, and the first percentage is greater than the second percentage.

6. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the molded shell comprises less than about 10 parts per hundred of a filler material.

7. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the cover is formed of polyurethane.

8. The golf ball of claim 7, wherein the cover includes at least two layers.

9. The golf ball of claim 6, wherein the molded shell comprises an activator in an amount of about 2 to about 7 pph.