U.S. patent application number 11/550706 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-24 for golf ball with colored impact zone.
Invention is credited to John J. Kang.
Application Number | 20080096691 11/550706 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39318621 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080096691 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kang; John J. |
April 24, 2008 |
GOLF BALL WITH COLORED IMPACT ZONE
Abstract
A golf ball has colored lines emanating from colored visual
impact zones of the ball to form a useful alignment tool as well as
directional indicators. The visual impact zones are located on
opposite ends of the golf ball. The utility of such a colored
design on the golf ball aids the golfer in seeing the ball to
improve with eye-hand coordination and proper alignment of the
golfer's body to the ball in order to produce a better ball
striking result.
Inventors: |
Kang; John J.; (Coto de
Caza, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MACPHERSON KWOK CHEN & HEID LLP
2033 GATEWAY PLACE, SUITE 400
SAN JOSE
CA
95110
US
|
Family ID: |
39318621 |
Appl. No.: |
11/550706 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/351 ;
473/280 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 43/008 20130101;
A63B 69/3688 20130101; A63B 24/0021 20130101; A63B 37/0003
20130101; A63B 2024/0031 20130101; A63B 37/0011 20130101; A63B
69/3655 20130101; A63B 37/0022 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/351 ;
473/280 |
International
Class: |
A63B 37/00 20060101
A63B037/00; A63B 69/36 20060101 A63B069/36 |
Claims
1. A golf ball, comprising: a colored first impact zone; and a
colored second impact zone on the opposite side as the first impact
zone, wherein the second impact zone is smaller than the first
impact zone.
2. The golf ball of claim 1, further comprising: a colored first
directional line emanating from the first impact zone and extending
around the ball through the second impact zone; a colored second
directional line emanating from the first impact zone and extending
around the ball through the second impact zone, wherein the second
directional line is orthogonal to the first directional line.
3. The golf ball of claim 2, further comprising: a colored third
directional line emanating from the first impact zone and extending
around the ball through the second impact zone; a colored fourth
directional line emanating from the first impact zone and extending
around the ball through the second impact zone, wherein the third
directional line is orthogonal to the fourth directional line and
wherein the third and fourth directional lines bisect the first and
second directional lines.
4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the first impact zone is
octagonal and the second impact zone is circular.
5. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the color of first and second
impact zones is selected from the group consisting of red, orange,
reddish-orange, yellow, blue, black, and purple.
6. The golf ball of claim 3, wherein the third and fourth
directional lines each comprise a parallel pair of thin colored
lines.
7. The golf ball of claim 6, wherein the first and second impact
zones and the first, second, third, and fourth directional lines
are the same color.
8. The golf ball of claim 3, wherein the first and second
directional lines are different from the third and fourth
directional lines.
9. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the difference is color.
10. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the difference is shape.
11. The golf ball of claim 2, wherein the first directional line is
a thick solid line and the second directional line is a thin broken
line.
12. A golf ball, comprising: a colored first impact zone; a colored
second impact zone on the opposite side as the first impact zone,
wherein the second impact zone is smaller than the first impact
zone; a colored first set of orthogonal directional lines emanating
from the first impact zone and extending around the ball through
the second impact zone; and a colored second set of directional
lines emanating from the first impact zone and extending around the
ball through the second impact zone, wherein the second set of
directional lines bisects the first set of directional lines.
13. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the first and second impact
zones are of a different shape.
14. The golf ball of claim 13, wherein the first impact zone is an
octagonal shape and the second impact zone is a circular shape.
15. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the color of the impact
zones and the color of the directional lines is selected from the
group consisting of red, orange, reddish-orange, yellow, blue,
black, and purple.
16. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the second set of
directional lines each comprise a parallel pair of thin colored
lines.
17. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the first and second impact
zones and the first and second sets of directional lines are the
same color.
18. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the first set of directional
lines is different from the second set of directional lines.
19. The golf ball of claim 18, wherein the difference is color.
20. The golf ball of claim 18, wherein the difference is shape.
21. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the first set of directional
lines comprises a thick solid line and an orthogonal thin broken
line.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to golf balls, and in
particular, to visual designs on golf balls.
[0003] 2. Related Art
[0004] Innovations in golf ball technology generally stem from
improving its flight characteristics, such as distance or
trajectory. However, these innovations do little for golfers with
worsening or developing eye-hand coordination, such as elderly or
youth golfers, respectively. For this segment of golfers, it is
more imperative to see the ball and hit it cleanly in the right
spot. Mis-hits, "shanks", "topping", and hitting the ball "fat" are
all common errors due to improper ball striking. A golf ball that
helps golfers see the ball more clearly can reduce the errors
involved.
[0005] One type of golf ball innovation deals with improving sight
lines for putting. Some of these types of innovations related to
alignment for putting can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 676,506,
1,842,944, 2,709,595, 3,420,529, 3,753,565, 4,209,172, 4,235,441,
4,603,862, 5,564,707, 5,662,530, 6,004,223, 6,676,544, 6,739,980,
and pending patent application Pub. No. 2003/0144068. However, all
of these patents and pending application make one assumption--that
the golfer is able to clearly see the lines. This, obviously, is
not the case, due to factors such as poor vision, poor lighting
(e.g., dusk or dawn), or poor playing conditions (e.g., cloudy,
rainy, or windy). Further, the sight line in the aforementioned
patents refer to putting alignment and not necessarily ball
striking alignment for the golfer's full swing. Thus, these
innovations have limited use, since they only aid in putting and
not necessarily tee shots, chip shots, bunker shots, etc.
[0006] Another patent application involves patterns of colors on
the golf ball (Patent Application Pub. No. US2006/0035723 A1). This
application posits that the "symmetrical imprinting of a repeating
pattern" aids the golfer in viewing the golf ball, and consequently
"improves the ball-striking ability" of said golfer. However,
repeating symmetrical patterns may not produce enough contrast with
the golf ball's white background to enhance visual perception since
a repeating pattern will mute out the white of the ball, thereby
reducing the ability of the golfer to focus. Also, simply repeating
symmetrical patterns cannot aid the directional alignment of the
golfer to the golf ball, which is also critical for ball striking.
If the golfer is not aligned properly, and has too "open of stance"
(leading shoulder pointed right of the target), or too "closed of a
stance" (leading shoulder pointed left of the target), direct
impact of the ball will not equate to a proper ball strike.
[0007] Therefore, there is a need for a golf ball design that
overcomes the disadvantages of conventional golf ball designs
discussed above.
SUMMARY
[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, a golf
ball has a bright colored shape, termed as the impact zone, on two
opposite sides of the golf ball. The shape creates a bright color
contrast with the typical white background of the ball. Differing
colors can be used so long as they are brightly colored. Hues of
orange and red will typically produce the best contrast on the
white background of the ball and the green of the grass. It is this
color contrast that helps with the golfer's visual acuity. The
shape does not have to be the same on each side, but can be. In one
embodiment, the shape is an octagonal shape on one side and a
circular shape on the other. Other shapes may include circular,
square, triangle, or any multi-sided shape. The shapes may vary in
size, but should be sufficiently large for easy identification by
the golfer for best visualization. Having different size shapes for
the impact zones enables golfers of any skill level to use the
ball. For example, less skilled golfers or golfers with poor
eyesight may choose to use the larger impact zone, while more
highly skilled golfers or golfers with good eyesight may choose to
use the smaller sized impact zone.
[0009] In other embodiments, the golf ball has directional lines
emanating from the two impact zones, where the lines can have
differing characteristics to help aid the golfer in forming a
proper alignment or stance with the ball. In one embodiment, two
orthogonal thick solid lines span the circumference of the ball,
with two parallel thin lines each bisecting the thick solid lines
and spanning the circumference of the ball. In another embodiment,
a single broken line replaces one of the thick solid lines.
Different types of lines and arrangements can be used for alignment
with any type of golf shot, not just putting. The lines are
preferably a bright color as well, such as the same color as the
impact zones. However, the colors need not be same or even brightly
colored.
[0010] Embodiments of the present invention and their advantages
are best understood by referring to the detailed description that
follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0011] FIG. 1 shows one side of a golf ball according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 shows the opposite side of the golf ball of FIG.
1;
[0013] FIG. 3 shows one side of a golf ball according to another
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0014] FIG. 4 shows the opposite side of the golf ball of FIG.
3.
[0015] It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are
used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the
figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] According to one aspect of the present invention, a golf
ball has two impact zones, both of differing sizes and shapes to
match the golfer's experience level and eye-hand coordination.
Experienced golfers may only need the smaller target, whereas
beginners or older golfers may want the larger impact zone. In both
cases, the impact zones aid the golfer to see the golf ball by way
of the color contrast between the impact zone and the golf ball
background. The zone color can be any bright color so long as there
is a clear contrast to the golf ball background, which is typically
white, but not necessarily limited to just white. According to
another embodiment, colored sight lines emanate from the impact
zones to aid the golfer with alignment and/or stance.
[0017] FIGS. 1 and 2 show one embodiment of a golf ball 100
according to one embodiment. FIG. 1 shows one side of golf ball 100
with a larger impact zone 102. As shown, impact zone 102 is an
octagonal shape, but other shapes, such as circular or multi-sided
shapes may also be suitable, such as triangle, square, hexagonal,
etc. In one embodiment, the color of impact zone 102 is a reddish
orange, but any bright color that provides a clear color contrast
to the ball may be used, such as red, orange, blue, purple, black,
etc. The greater the degree of color contrast, the better the
visual perception of the golf ball. The larger the shape, the
better target is provided for the beginner golfer so long as the
shape does not exceed the total area of the white background on
that hemisphere of the golf ball.
[0018] Also, as shown in FIG. 1, golf ball 100 has two directional
lines 104 at right angles from each other and two directional lines
106 at right angles from each other and bisecting directional lines
104. Directional lines 104 and 106 emanate from impact zone 102 and
span across the circumference of golf ball 100. This embodiment
shows four sets of directional lines; however, in other
embodiments, here can be as few as three and as many as eight. More
than eight directional lines will have a blurring effect that will
deter from visual focus. Each set of directional lines may be
different in character from the directional lines immediately
adjacent to that line (i.e., next directional set rotating the golf
ball either left or right). The different characteristics can be a
thicker line, dotted line, different colored line, different number
of lines, etc. In this embodiment, directional lines 106 comprise a
pair of thin lines. Directional lines 104 and 106 may be the same
color as impact zone 102 or they can be of a different color. The
directional lines aid the golfer to align his feet a body with the
golf ball to produce a better ball strike.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows the opposite side of golf ball 100 and rotated
90 degrees along the y-axis from the view in FIG. 1. Golf ball has
a smaller impact zone 200 from that of impact zone 102. The smaller
impact zone can be used by more highly skilled golfers, while the
larger impact zone can be used by less skilled golfers, ones with
lesser eyesight, and/or in low visibility conditions. Impact zone
200 is shown as a small circle with the same color as impact zone
102 and directional lines 104 and 106. In other embodiments, the
shape can be different, such as an oval, square, triangle, or any
other multi-sided shaped. Directional lines 104 and 106 also
emanate from impact zone 200 and extend across the ball to impact
zone 102.
[0020] FIGS. 3 and 4 show a golf ball 300 according to another
embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 3 showing one side
of golf ball 300 with large impact zone 102 and FIG. 4 showing the
opposite side of golf ball 300 rotated 90 degrees about the y-axis
having smaller impact zone 200. The only difference with this
embodiment is that one set of directional lines 104 of FIGS. 1 and
2 is replaced with a dotted line 302, which is the same color as
directional lines 104 and 106, but need not be.
[0021] Thus, with designs of the present invention, namely a large
colored impact zone and a smaller colored impact zone on the
opposite side, a golfer has aids in striking the ball. Studies have
shown that children's eye-hand coordination in sports is improved
with color contrast. For example, the Pediatric Clinics of North
America stated, "Specific visual skills that help children succeed
in sports include clarity, good color and contrast vision, and well
developed eye tracking of motion."
(http://vision.about.com/od/sportsvisioncare/f/eyehand.htm) By also
including directional lines, the golf ball provides additional aids
for ball and/or stance alignment.
[0022] Although the invention has been shown and clearly depicted,
various other changes, additions and omissions in the form and
detail thereof may be made therein without departing from the
intent and scope of this invention. Examples of different
embodiments include, but are not limited to, different line types
or shape forms or size. Thus the invention is limited only by the
following claims.
* * * * *
References