Golf ball having non-planar parting line with non-circular dimples

• US 9,649,536 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2015
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Acushnet Company (FILA Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Nardacci, Nicholas M., Hunt, David P., Madson, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gorden, Raeann
• Application Number:
  US14/929,500
• Publication Number:
  US 20160051861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 561 Days
• Field of Search: 473383
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0004 Surface depressions or protrusions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/00065 located around the pole or the equator
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0007 Non-circular dimples
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0012 Dimple profile, i.e. cross-sectional view
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/002 Specified dimple diameter
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/007 Characteristics of the ball as a whole
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 45/00 Apparatus or methods for manufacturing balls working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a golf ball comprising of non-concentric arcs defining a non-planar parting line on its spherical surface resulting in having a large size disparity between non-circular dimples in one hemisphere and adjacent non-circular dimples from the opposing hemisphere. The parting line is produced by a pair of adjacent non-circular dimples, wherein μ_d indicates the average non-circular dimple diameter and N indicates dimples from the Northern hemisphere and those from the Southern hemisphere are indicated by S. A large disparity may be created, if the following condition is satisfied:

$\frac{{\mu }_d\left(N\right)}{{\mu }_d\left(S\right)}>1.25\mathrm{or}\frac{{\mu }_d\left(N\right)}{{\mu }_d\left(S\right)}<0.80.$

Claims

1. A golf ball having a non-planar parting line about non-circular dimples on its spherical surface, the parting line comprising:

non-concentric arcs having straight connecting line segments between the arcs, wherein each arc maintains a tangency with its connecting lines and a relief distance greater than or equal to 0.003 inches when measured from an average non-circular dimple diameter to one of the non-concentric arcs and an absolute relief distance of at least 0.001 inches when measured from all points on the non-circular dimple perimeter to one of the non-concentric arcs; and

a radius of each non-concentric arc relates to a corresponding average non-circular dimple perimeter diameter according to the equations;

2. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ball comprises:

a plane comprising a non-circular dimple center and the vertical axis through the center of the ball; and

another plane comprising the center of a corresponding non-concentric arc and said vertical axis through the center of the ball,

wherein these planes create an arc shift angle defined to the average non-circular dimple perimeter diameter by the equation;

3. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein adjacent non-circular dimples on opposing hemisphere sides of the parting line have a large size disparity which is defined by the equation:

4. The golf ball according to claim 3, wherein adjacent non-circular dimples on opposing hemisphere sides of the parting line have a large size disparity which is defined by the equation:

5. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein adjacent non-circular dimples on opposing hemisphere sides of the parting line are weighted more towards one hemisphere over the other, based on the equation:

C_RP>

1.5 or C_RP<

0.66

C_RP is the dimple radius preference coefficient.

6. The golf ball according to claim 5, wherein adjacent non-circular dimples on opposing hemisphere sides of the parting line are weighted more towards one hemisphere over the other, based on the equation:

C_RP>

2.0 or C_RP<

0.50

7. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ball comprises non-circular dimples and circular dimples.

8. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the golf ball comprises non-circular dimples and circular dimples adjacent the non-planar parting line.

9. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is an icosahedron-based dimple pattern.

10. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is a dodecahedron-based dimple pattern.

11. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is a pentagonal dipyramid-based dimple pattern.

12. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is a triangular dipyramid-based dimple pattern.

13. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is a tetrahedron-based dimple pattern.

14. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is an icosidodecahedron-based dimple pattern.

15. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is octahedral-based dimple pattern.

16. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is a cube-octahedral dimple pattern.

17. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the dimple pattern of the ball is a hexagonal dipyramid dimple pattern.

18. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the spherical surface is a cover formed from a urethane or a urea material.