Compositions: coating or plastic – Coating or plastic compositions – Marking
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-21
2003-04-22
Buttner, David J. (Department: 1712)
Compositions: coating or plastic
Coating or plastic compositions
Marking
C106S031130, C101S491000, C525S528000, C528S073000, C473S351000, C473S365000, C473S385000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06551395
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf ball printing inks suitable for pad printing technique and, more particularly, to an ink which can produce a mark having a good appearance and a superior durability without the need for a primer coat on the surface of a golf ball body prior to printing. The invention also relates to a method of printing a mark using the particular ink and to a golf ball having a durable mark printed thereon with the ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf balls are generally stamped or printed with a trademark or other identifying indicia. A conventional method for printing a mark or indicia on a golf ball surface comprised the steps of; applying a white paint to the surface of a golf ball body; printing a mark on the white painted surface; and then applying a clear coat over the white painted surface and the printed mark to improve the appearance of the ball.
Recently, elimination or simplification of the coating step prior to the printing step has been required. In order to meet the requirement, an ink is suggested, the use of which enables the direct printing of a mark on the cover made from a material containing a white pigment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,536 discloses an ink containing nitrocellulose. This ink allows direct printing on the surface of a cover made from an ionomer resin without the need for a primer coat while avoiding unintended transfer of the ink from one golf ball to another due to contact with adjacent golf balls before a clear coat is applied on top of the ink.
This ink, however, does not show enough adherence to the ball body surface sufficient to impart satisfactory durability to a mark printed with the ink. When the clear coating film formed over the printed mark with the ink peels off due to repeated shots or particularly a bunker shot with a golf club, the printed mark peels off together with the clear coating film.
Insufficient adherence of an ink to the ball body surface also causes another problem associated with a mark printed on a golf ball body with an ink using the pad printing technique. In the pad printing process, insufficient adherence of an ink to the surface of the golf ball body may produce unsatisfactory ink transfer from the pad to the ball body with the result that the mark has a poor appearance whereby a void or pinhole due to an ink portion not transferred to the golf ball body.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a golf ball printing ink which allows direct printing on a cover made from an monomer resin or the like or on the surface of a golf ball body made from a vulcanized rubber without the need for a primer coat prior to the printing step. The present invention enables the printing of a defined mark free of any void or pinhole thereon, and ensures a printed mark having superior impact resistance and scuffing resistance which can be retained on the golf ball even when a clear coat as the outermost layer of the golf ball is peeled off due to repeated shots, bunker shots or the like with a golf club. Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball printing method using the inventive ink and a golf ball having a mark printed with the ink.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf ball printing ink for printing a mark on a surface of a golf ball body, comprising an epoxy resin and a coloring agent. The golf ball printing ink may further include an isocyanate compound as a curing agent.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf ball printing method comprising the steps of: roughening a surface of a golf ball body; and printing a mark on the roughened surface of the golf ball body using the pad printing technique, with the use of an ink including an epoxy resin and a coloring agent.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf ball comprising a golf ball body and a mark printed thereon with the inventive ink.
It should be noted that the term “mark” as used in the present invention is meant to include any character and any image as well as any identifying indicia such as a trademark or logo.
These and other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the reading of the following detailed description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An ink according to the present invention is used for printing a mark such as a pattern or a character on the outer surface of a cover made from resin such as ionomer resin or a golf ball body made from a vulcanized rubber. The ink comprises an epoxy resin and a coloring agent, and preferably further comprises a curing agent.
The epoxy resin is contained as a basic resin in the ink and has two or more epoxy groups in the polymer chain thereof, and is capable of crosslinking through the reaction with the curing agent.
The epoxy resin is cured to form a chemical network structure through a crosslinking reaction with a curing agent in the case of a thermoset epoxy resin or with a free radical produced from a photosensitizer by irradiation with ultraviolet rays in the case of a photosensitized epoxy resin. Since such crosslinking reactions proceed rapidly by heating in the presence of the curing agent or by irradiation with ultraviolet rays in the presence of the photosensitizer, the printed mark made from the ink containing the cured epoxy resin is prevented from being transferred from one golf ball to another during conveyance to the succeeding step of an application of a clear coat. Further, the crosslinked epoxy resin can provide the mark with a superior scuffing resistance.
Examples of such epoxy resins used in the present invention include thermoset epoxy resins such as a bisphenol A type epoxy resin obtained from bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin, a bisphenol F type epoxy resin, a novolac-type epoxy resin, an alicyclic-type epoxy resin, a glycidyl ester-type epoxy resin, and glycidylamine-type epoxy resin; and photosensitized epoxy resins incorporated with an acryloyl group or a methacryloyl group to enhance their photosensitivity.
According to the present invention, a preferable epoxy resin has a hydroxyl value of not less than 50, more preferably not less than 100, further preferably not less than 150, particularly not less than 180. The upper limit of the hydroxyl value of the epoxy resin is preferably not more than 300, more preferably not more than 250, further preferably not more than 195. The term “hydroxyl value” as used herein is a value serving as an indication of the amount of hydroxyl groups contained in an epoxy resin. Specifically, the hydroxyl value means the amount in “mg” of potassium hydroxide required to neutralize an acetyl group in acetic acid resulting from saponification of an acetylated compound. The epoxy resin having the hydroxyl value of less than 50 cannot be crosslinked to the desired extent through the reaction with a curing agent, thus resulting in a mark having a lowered durability. When the hydroxyl value is more than 300, a large quantity of the curing agent is required for curing the epoxy resin and resulting in lowering workability due to too high reactivity.
Hydroxyl groups in the epoxy resin can also contribute to a superior affinity of the ink for the surface of the golf ball body, particularly for an ionomer resin cover and hence allow direct printing of the mark on a surface of the ball body without a primer coat. Further, since the ether linkage in the backbone chain of the epoxy resin permits a larger freedom of rotation of the chain, a mark containing the cured epoxy resin is imparted with pliability and flexibility. This means that a mark made from the cured ink is capable of following up any deformation of the ball caused upon a hit and, hence, crazing or peeling of the mark due to repeated hits against the ball can be inhibited.
The curing agent to be used for curing the thermoset epoxy resin may be any basic or acidic
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