Golf balls comprising highly-neutralized acid polymers

• US 7,157,512 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2004
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Sullivan, Michael J., Rajagopalan, Murali
• Primary Examiner(s): Buttner; David J.
• Application Number:
  US10/950,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20050038202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 524/322
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0004 Surface depressions or protrusions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0024 Materials other than ionomers or polyurethane
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0026 Balata
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0031 Hardness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0033 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0043 Hardness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0045 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0047 Density; Specific gravity
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0051 Materials other than polybutadienes; Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0056 Hollow; Gas-filled
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0061 Coefficient of restitution
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0062 Hardness
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0064 Diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0065 Deflection or compression
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0075 Three piece balls, i.e. cover, intermediate layer and core
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0076 Multi-piece balls, i.e. having two or more intermediate layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0091 Density distribution amongst the different ball layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/00922 whereby hardness of the cover is lower than hardness of the intermediate layers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0097 Layers interlocking by means of protrusions or inserts, lattices or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/02 Special cores balls with finger holes A63B37/0001, golf ball cores A63B37/005
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2205/02 : containing two or more polymers of the same C08L -group
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/08 : Copolymers of ethene C08L23/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/0876 : Neutralised polymers, i.e. ionomers
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/04 : Macromolecular compounds according to groups C08L7/00 - C08L49/00, or C08L55/00 - C08L57/00; Derivatives thereof

Abstract

A golf ball including a core comprised of a polymer containing an acid group that has been neutralized 90% or greater by a salt of an organic acid, a cation source, or a suitable base of the organic acid, the core having a compression of 90 or less and a diameter of between 1.00 inch and 1.64 inches; and a thermoplastic cover layer including ionomeric copolymers and terpolymers, ionomer precursors, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, non-grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, single-site polymers, high-crystalline acid polymers and their ionomers, or cationic ionomers.

Claims

1. A golf ball consisting of:

an innermost core comprised of a polymer containing an acid group, an organic acid or salt thereof, and sufficient cation source or a suitable base thereof to fully-neutralize the acid groups of the polymer, the core having a compression of 90 or less and a diameter of between 1.00 inch and 1.64 inches; and

a thermoplastic cover layer comprising ionomeric copolymers and terpolymers, ionomer precursors, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, non-grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, single-site polymers, high-crystalline acid polymers and their ionomers, or cationic ionomers, the cover layer having material hardness of 60 Shore D or greater.

2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the core compression is 80 or less.

3. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the cation source is selected from a group consisting of metal cations of lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, barium, lead, tin, zinc, or aluminum.

4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the organic acid is selected from the group consisting of aliphatic organic acids, aromatic organic acids, saturated mono-functional organic acids, unsaturated mono-functional organic acids, and multi-unsaturated mono-functional organic acids.

5. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the salt of organic acid comprises the salts of barium, lithium, sodium, zinc, bismuth, chromium, cobalt, copper, potassium, strontium, titanium, tungsten, magnesium, cesium, iron, nickel, silver, aluminum, tin, calcium, stearic, behenic, erucic, oleic, linoelic, or dimerized derivatives.

6. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the core further comprises a second polymer component comprising ionomeric copolymers and terpolymers, ionomer precursors, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, non-grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, single-site polymers, high-crystalline acid polymers and their ionomers, cationic ionomers, balata, or polybutadiene.

7. The golf ball of claim 6, wherein the second polymer component has a Shore D hardness sufficient to reduce the core compression to less than or equal to about 80.

8. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the core has a diameter of 1.53 inches to 1.64 inches.

9. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the cover is injection molded or compression molded over the core.

10. A golf ball consisting of:

an innermost core comprised of a polymer containing an acid group, an organic acid or salt thereof, and sufficient cation source or a suitable base thereof to fully-neutralize the acid groups of the polymer, the core having a first Shore D hardness, a compression of 90 or less, and a diameter of between 1.00 inch and 1.64 inches;

a thermoplastic or thermoset inner cover layer; and

a thermoplastic cover layer comprising ionomeric copolymers and terpolymers, ionomer precursors, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, non-grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, single-site polymers, or high-crystalline acid polymers and their ionomers;

wherein the inner cover layer has material hardness of 60 Shore D or greater and the cover layer has a material hardness of 60 Shore D or less.

11. The golf ball of claim 10, wherein the cation source is selected from a group consisting of metal cations of lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, barium, lead, tin, zinc, and aluminum.

13. The golf ball of claim 10, wherein the core compression is 80 or less.

12. A golf ball consisting of:

an innermost core comprised of a polymer containing an acid group, an organic acid or salt thereof, and sufficient cation source or a suitable base thereof to fully-neutralize the acid groups of the polymer, the core having a first Shore D hardness, a compression of 90 or less, and a diameter of between 1.00 inch and 1.64 inches;

a thermoplastic or thermoset inner cover layer; and

a thermoplastic cover layer comprising ionomeric copolymers and terpolymers, ionomer precursors, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, non-grafted metallocene-catalyzed polymers, single-site polymers, or high-crystalline acid polymers and their ionomers;

wherein the cover layer has material hardness of 60 Shore D or greater and the inner cover layer has a material hardness of 60 Shore D or less.