U.S. patent application number 11/037040 was filed with the patent office on 2005-07-28 for golf ball.
This patent application is currently assigned to BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Sasaki, Hiroto.
Application Number | 20050164808 11/037040 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34792506 |
Filed Date | 2005-07-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050164808 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sasaki, Hiroto |
July 28, 2005 |
Golf ball
Abstract
A golf ball (G) has incorporated therein an IC chip (3) which
can input and/or output data relating to at least one item selected
from among manufacture history, shot history and flight properties.
The ball's own possession of inherent information facilitates
operations including ball quality control, ball recycling, and
evaluation of flight performance.
Inventors: |
Sasaki, Hiroto;
(Chichibu-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE MION, PLLC
2100 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W.
SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
BRIDGESTONE SPORTS CO.,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
34792506 |
Appl. No.: |
11/037040 |
Filed: |
January 19, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/351 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 43/00 20130101;
A63B 47/008 20130101; A63B 37/0075 20130101; A63B 2225/50 20130101;
A63B 37/0003 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/351 |
International
Class: |
A63B 043/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 26, 2004 |
JP |
2004-017386 |
Claims
1. A golf ball having incorporated therein an IC chip which can
input and/or output data relating to at least one item selected
from the group consisting of manufacture history, shot history and
flight properties.
2. The golf ball of claim 1, having a surface wherein the IC chip
is embedded at least 1 mm inside the ball surface.
3. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the IC chip is embedded at the
center of the ball.
4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said golf ball has a solid
core which is formed of a rubber base composition, and said IC chip
is encapsulated with a protective layer of a special rubber member
and embedded in said solid core.
5. The golf ball of claim 1, which is a practice golf ball.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This non-provisional application claims priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(a) on Patent Application No. 2004-017386 filed in
Japan on Jan. 26, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to a golf ball which bears data
relating to its own manufacture history, shot history and flight
properties so that such data may be read out and used for ball
quality control, flight performance measurement or the like.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] From the past, information data relating to golf ball
materials, manufacture conditions and the date of manufacture and
necessary for quality control of respective golf balls, are managed
within a ball manufacturing factory on the basis of a manufacture
number or mark engraved or printed on the ball surface.
[0004] However, once golf balls are shipped from the factory, it is
difficult to seize the detail of manufacture history directly. For
example, in golf practice ranges where balls are used at very high
frequencies, it is difficult to time the replacement of overused
balls.
[0005] If information data inherent to each golf ball are seized,
such data can be used in determining whether the quality of that
ball is still acceptable or not. This is effective for the
recycling of golf balls. As a golf ball is used more times, the
ball surface is gradually scraped off. Such a worn ball can be
recycled by overlaying filler build-ups on scraped areas. However,
it is unknown how many times the ball has been recycled. If the
number of recycles is known, it is useful for quality control.
[0006] With respect to initial parameters of a golf ball including
initial velocity, launch angle and spin rate, a measuring
instrument such as a hitting robot is installed in the factory for
actually hitting the ball in order to measure various parameters.
Although the parameters of a golf ball are measured and recorded by
the manufacturer at the time of manufacture, it is difficult for a
golf player to learn on a non-personal basis the flight properties
of the ball with which the player actually plays.
[0007] It would be desirable for a golf ball to bear data relating
to its own manufacture history, shot history, flight performance
and the like so that the quality control and flight performance
measurement of the ball are enabled on the basis of such data.
[0008] JP-A 2003-24473 discloses a golf ball having an IC chip
built therein. Referring to FIG. 4, a ball body 11 is bored with an
insert hole 13 that extends radially from the spherical surface
toward the center. An IC chip 14 is inserted into the hole 13 and
positioned at the center of the ball body 11. The opening of the
hole 13 is closed with a generally spherical plug member 17. The IC
chip 14 is located in position by buffer members 15 and 16.
[0009] The IC chip built-in golf ball, however, has the problem
that the flight performance and properties of the ball are largely
affected by the elongated insert hole 12 that extends from the
spherical surface toward the center. For example, when the ball is
hit at one side, the impact energy created by that shot is
converted to kinetic energy, during which process the inclusion of
the elongated insert hole 12 prevents the energy from transferring
through the entirety of the ball interior, degrading ball
performance such as flight properties. With the final target of
increased flight distance borne in mind, most golf balls have
recently been developed as comprising at least a core and a cover,
wherein the core is made of a rubber composition and the cover
consists of one or two layers of thermoplastic resin. Typically the
hardnesses of respective layers are adjusted to optimum ranges so
that the impact energy created when the ball is hit is conducted to
the respective layers where it is converted to repulsion and
kinetic energy of the ball.
[0010] It is then strongly desired from the practical aspect that
the embedment of an IC chip within the golf ball do not change the
ball interior structure substantially or affect the properties of
the golf ball detrimentally.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] An object of the invention is to provide a golf ball which
bears data relating to its own manufacture history, shot history
and flight properties so that such data are read out and used for
ball quality control, flight performance measurement or the like
while the properties (such as flight performance) of the ball are
maintained.
[0012] According to the invention, there is provided a golf ball
having incorporated therein an IC chip which can input and/or
output data relating to at least one item selected from the group
consisting of manufacture history, shot history and flight
properties.
[0013] In the golf ball having a surface, the IC chip is preferably
embedded at least 1 mm inside the ball surface. More preferably,
the IC chip is embedded at the center of the ball.
[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the golf ball has a solid core
which is formed of a rubber base composition, and the IC chip is
encapsulated with a protective layer of a special rubber member and
embedded in the solid core.
[0015] The golf ball is typically a practice golf ball.
[0016] The golf ball of the invention bears on itself data relating
to its own manufacture history, shot history and flight properties,
which ensures facile and smooth operation taken for ball quality
control, ball recycling, and evaluation of ball properties such as
flight performance. In particular, a knowledge about the
manufacture history of each ball is useful in determining the time
of replacement of used balls in a golf practice range or in
resurfacing used balls for recycling. The data relating to the shot
history of a ball enable to learn the initial velocity, launch
angle, spin rate and other properties of the ball when actually
hit, which is very useful in the development of new golf balls.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a golf ball in one
embodiment of the invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an IC chip encapsulated
with a protective layer.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a golf ball in another
embodiment of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art IC chip
built-in golf ball.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, some embodiments of the invention
are illustrated.
[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a golf ball G in one embodiment of the
invention. The golf ball G has incorporated therein an IC chip 3
which can input and/or output data relating to at least one item
selected from among manufacture history, shot history and flight
properties. The golf ball G is illustrated in FIG. 1 as comprising
a solid core 1, a cover 2, and the IC chip 3 encapsulated with a
protective layer 4 (see FIG. 2).
[0023] In the illustrated golf ball, the IC chip 3 encapsulated
with the protective layer 4 is disposed at the center of the ball.
The IC chip 3 is enclosed with the solid core 1, which is, in turn,
enclosed with the single layer cover 2.
[0024] The material of which the solid core 1 is made is typically
a rubber base composition which is obtained by an ordinary process
including compounding in a selected proportion and vulcanizing
under controlled conditions. The core-forming composition generally
comprises a base rubber, a crosslinking agent, a co-crosslinking
agent, an inert filler and the like. The base rubber used may be
natural rubber and/or synthetic rubber which is used in the
manufacture of conventional solid golf balls. Use may be made of
1,4-polybutadiene containing at least 40% cis-configuration, for
example. If desired, the polybutadiene may be compounded with an
appropriate amount of natural rubber, polyisoprene rubber,
styrene-butadiene rubber or the like. Exemplary crosslinking agents
used herein are organic peroxides such as dicumyl peroxide and
di-t-butyl peroxide. The co-crosslinking agent may be selected
from, for example, metal salts of unsaturated fatty acids,
especially zinc and magnesium salts of unsaturated fatty acids
having 3 to 8 carbon atoms (e.g., acrylic acid, methacrylic acid),
but is not limited thereto. Exemplary inert fillers include zinc
oxide, barium sulfate, silica, calcium carbonate, zinc carbonate,
etc. For the solid core material, thermoplastic resins and
elastomers such as ionomer resins and polyester elastomers may also
be used in lieu of the rubber composition.
[0025] While the material of which the cover 2 is made is not
particularly limited, it is preferably selected from thermoplastic
resins and elastomers which are well known in the art. Examples
include thermoplastic urethane elastomers, ionomer resins,
polyester elastomers, polyamide elastomers, propylene-butadiene
copolymers, 1,2-polybutadiene, and styrene-butadiene copolymers,
alone or in admixture of any. For example, one or more ionomer
resins may be used as the base to form the cover. Titanium dioxide,
barium sulfate, magnesium stearate or the like may be added to the
ionomer resin(s) for adjusting specific gravity and hardness. If
necessary, UV absorbers, antioxidants, dispersing aids (e.g., metal
soaps) and the like may be further added. The method of enclosing
the solid core with the cover is not particularly limited.
Typically employed are a method of molding a pair of hemispherical
cover preforms, encasing the core in the cover preforms, and heat
compression molding and a method of injection molding a
cover-forming composition around the core.
[0026] The IC chip 3 encapsulated with the protective layer 4,
shown in FIG. 2, is a generally spherical component which is
prepared by enclosing an IC chip 3 with a protective layer 4 of a
special rubber member such as silicone rubber or butyl rubber. The
IC chip 3 is typically a tiny thin piece of about 0.4 mm square.
The IC chip 3 is protected by encapsulating it with the special
rubber which does not interfere with the internal function of the
IC chip. The special rubber used herein is not particularly limited
as long as it has elastic and vibration-damping functions. For
example, silicone rubber and butyl rubber are used.
[0027] The IC chip 3 encapsulated with the protective layer 4 is
incorporated in the golf ball, typically by embedding the
encapsulated IC chip at the center of the solid core during its
manufacture prior to rubber vulcanization, then vulcanizing the
rubber so that the encapsulated IC chip becomes integral with the
solid core. More specifically, the encapsulated IC chip is forcedly
inserted into an unvulcanized rod-shaped rubber composition, known
as "slug" in the art, at the center, followed by vulcanization. In
this way, the vulcanized rubber and IC chip are integrally
combined.
[0028] The IC chip is designed to input and/or output data relating
to at least one item selected from among manufacture history, shot
history and flight properties.
[0029] As used herein, the term "manufacture history" refers to a
collection of data about a golf ball of interest including the date
of manufacture, manufacture number, manufacture lot, manufacture
factory or the like, and manufacturing conditions such as
vulcanizing temperature, vulcanizing time, mold, injection molding
temperature and injection molding time, and golf ball materials
such as core formulation (rubber composition, etc.) and cover
formulation. These data of "manufacture history" as information
bits can be input to and/or output from the IC chip, offering the
following advantages:
[0030] (i) when defective golf balls are found, quick remedies can
be taken,
[0031] (ii) the timing of replacement of used balls in a golf
practice range can be readily determined, and
[0032] (iii) the number of golf ball resurfacing cycles is seized
and used for quality control.
[0033] The term "shot history" refers to the number of shots a golf
ball has experienced. Counting the number of shots is useful for
the management of golf balls used repeatedly and frequently in a
golf practice range. For example, when a golf ball comes out of an
automatic tee-up machine or automatic vending machine in a golf
practice range, a bit of shot information is transferred to or from
the IC chip whereby the number of shots is learnt. If the number of
shots a golf ball has experienced is known, a worker of the golf
practice range estimates the degree of degradation of the ball on a
non-personal basis, and thus readily determines the timing of
replacement of practice golf balls.
[0034] The "flight properties" include the initial parameters of a
golf ball such as initial velocity, launch angle, and spin rate.
Specifically, radio wave is transmitted from an internal unit of
the golf ball and then the radio wave is measured by the receiver
set in the field. The manner is similar to a global positioning
system (GPS). By delivering such initial parameters to or from the
IC chip, various properties of each golf ball can be directly
measured. Exemplary data relating to flight properties include an
initial velocity, ramp, height, spin rate, fall speed, spin rate
during fall, etc. Heretofore, these data had to be measured in a
factory or laboratory using a measuring instrument such as a
hitting robot or swing robot. Now that the data are transferred to
or from the IC chip, the data can be obtained directly from each
ball. The data indicative of flight properties are useful in the
development efforts of new golf balls intending to upgrade the
flight performance.
[0035] The IC chip has incorporated therein a data storage element
capable of writing and reading the information about the above
items. For example, the data storage element described in JP-A
9-135925 may be used. The data storage element is described as
comprising a storage section, a processor section, and a
transmitter section, wherein information bits relating to
manufacture history, rubber composition, shot history and flight
properties are previously programmed or written in the storage
section. In response to a retrieval command from an external unit,
the processor section reads out the information data in the storage
section, and the transmitter section transmits them to the external
unit. On receipt of such information data, the external unit
displays the information relating to manufacture history, rubber
composition, shot history and flight properties.
[0036] The IC chip may be any of well-known IC chips, for example,
available under the trade name of ".mu.-Chip" from Hitachi,
Ltd.
[0037] Now, the golf ball G shown in FIG. 3 is described as a
second embodiment of the invention. The golf ball G is a
three-piece solid golf ball comprising a solid core 1 and a cover
of two layers 2a and 2b. An IC chip 3 is embedded directly in the
cover inner layer 2a that directly encloses the solid core 1, and
disposed adjacent to the solid core 1.
[0038] The cover layers 2a and 2b are prepared, as described in
conjunction with the first embodiment, by furnishing cover
materials based on thermoplastic resins or elastomers and injection
molding the cover materials around the core in a mold. The IC chip
3 directly embedded in the cover inner layer 2a is obtained by
placing the IC chip in position within a mold and then injection
molding a cover material therein. For example, a core is placed in
a mold cavity, an IC chip is attached to the surface of the core at
a selected position, and a cover material is then injected into the
mold cavity. In this way, there is obtained a ball structure as
shown in FIG. 3 wherein the IC chip 3 and the cover inner layer 2a
are combined in an integral fashion.
[0039] The materials of which the solid core 1 and two cover layers
2a, 2b are made are the same as described in conjunction with the
first embodiment. The solid core 1 may be prepared by well-known
methods. For example, the solid core is prepared by kneading a
core-forming composition on a well-known milling machine such as a
Banbury mixer or roll mill, compression or injection molding the
composition in a core mold, and heating the core form at a
temperature sufficient for the crosslinking and co-crosslinking
agents to act for curing.
[0040] As described above, the golf ball G in an embodiment of the
invention has an IC chip embedded in the ball interior so that the
ball itself bears the information relating to its own manufacture
history, shot history and flight properties. The ball's own
possession of inherent information facilitates operations including
ball quality control, ball recycling, evaluation of flight
performance and the like.
[0041] While specific embodiments of the golf ball of the invention
have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the
art that various modifications thereto can be made without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as
defined in the appended claims. For example, with respect to the
type of golf ball, the illustrated embodiments relate to two and
three-piece solid golf balls comprising a solid core enclosed with
a cover of one or two layers. The invention is applicable to all
types of golf balls, that is, may be embodied as solid golf balls
including one-piece golf balls and multi-piece golf balls of three
or more layer structures, or wound golf balls.
[0042] The position where the IC chip is embedded in the golf ball
is not limited to those of the illustrated embodiments. Preferably,
the IC chip is positioned at a depth of at least 1 mm radially
inward from the ball surface and especially at the center of the
ball because it is desired to minimize the influence of the IC chip
on the durability, flight properties and structure of the golf
ball.
[0043] While the diameter of the inventive golf ball is not
particularly limited, it is preferred from the practical aspect
that the ball have a diameter according to the golf ball
regulation. For the small size, the ball has a diameter of at least
41.15 mm. For the large size, the ball has a diameter of at least
42.67 mm. Practice golf balls may have the same diameter as the
large size or a diameter of at least 44.00 mm.
[0044] Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-017386 is incorporated
herein by reference.
[0045] Although some preferred embodiments have been described,
many modifications and variations may be made thereto in light of
the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the
invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described
without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *