Amusement devices: games – Board games – pieces – or boards therefor – Electrical
Patent
1993-01-25
1996-01-09
Marlo, George J.
Amusement devices: games
Board games, pieces, or boards therefor
Electrical
273232, 273235R, 273DIG22, A63B 3712
Patent
active
054822866
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
According to United States Golf Association (U.S.G.A.) rules, a golf ball may not have a weight in excess of 1.620 ounces or a diameter smaller than 1.680 inches. The initial velocity of U.S.G.A. "regulation" balls may not exceed 250 feet per second with a maximum tolerance of 2%. Initial velocity is measured on a standard machine kept by the U.S.G.A. A projection on a wheel rotating at a defined speed hits the test ball and the length of time it takes the ball to traverse a set distance after impact is measured. U.S.G.A. regulations also require that a ball not travel a distance greater than 280 yards when hit by the U.S.G.A. outdoor driving machine under specified conditions. In addition to this specification, there is a tolerance of plus 4% and a 2% tolerance for test error.
These specifications limit how far a golf ball will travel when hit in several ways. Increasing the weight of a golf ball tends to increase the distance it will travel and lower the trajectory. A ball having greater momentum is better able to overcome drag. Reducing the diameter of the ball also has the effect of increasing the distance it will travel when hit. This is believed to occur primarily because a smaller ball has a smaller projected area and, thus, a lower drag when travelling through the air. Increasing initial velocity increases the distance the ball will travel.
The foregoing generalizations hold when the effect of size, weight, or initial velocity is measured in isolation. Flight characteristics (influenced by dimple pattern and ball rotation properties), club head speed, radius of gyration, and diverse other factors also influence the distance a ball will travel.
In the manufacture of top-grade golf balls for use by professional golfers and amateur golf enthusiasts, the distance a ball will travel when hit (hereinafter referred to as "distance") is an important design criterion. Since the U.S.G.A. rules were established, golf ball manufacturers have designed top-grade U.S.G.A. regulation balls to be as close to the maximum weight, minimum diameter, and maximum initial velocity as golf ball technology will permit. The distance a ball will travel when hit, however, has been improved by changes in raw materials and by alterations in dimple configuration.
Golf balls not conforming to U.S.G.A. specifications in various respects have been made in the United States. Prior to the effective date of the U.S.G.A. rules, balls of various weights, diameters, and resiliencies were common. So-called "rabbit balls," which claim to exceed the U.S.G.A. initial velocity limitations, have also been offered for sale. Recently, oversized, overweight golf balls have been on sale for use as golf teaching aids (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,384 to Barber).
Oversized golf balls are also disclosed in New Zealand Patent 192,618 dated Jan. 1, 1980, issued to a predecessor of the present assignee. This patent discloses an oversize golf ball having a diameter between 1.700 and 1.730 inches an an oversized core of resilient material so as to increase the coefficient of restitution. Additionally, the patent discloses that the ball should include a cover having a thickness less than the cover thickness of conventional balls. The patent has no disclosure as to dimple size or the percentage of surface coverage by the dimples.
Golf balls made by Spalding in 1915 were of a diameter ranging from 1.630 inches to 1.710 inches. While these balls had small shallow dimples, they covered about 50% of the surface of the ball. Additionally, as the diameter of the ball increased, the weight of the ball also increased.
Golf balls known as the LYNX JUMBO were also produced and sold in October of 1979. This ball had a diameter of substantially 1.80 inches. The dimples on the LYNX JUMBO balls had 336 Atti-type dimples with each dimple having a diameter of 0.147 inch and a depth of 0.0148 inch. With this dimple arrangement, 56.02% of the surface area of the ball was covered by the dimples. This ball met with little or no commercial success.
Top-grade golf balls sold in the Un
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Melvin Terence
Molitor Robert P.
Nesbitt R. Dennis
Stiefel Joseph F.
Lisco Inc.
Marlo George J.
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