Games using tangible projectile – Golf – Ball
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-09
2002-01-01
Graham, Mark S. (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Golf
Ball
C525S093000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06334820
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid golf ball having an intermediate layer between a core and a cover layer, and more specifically, to a solid golf ball having the excellent flying performance and improved shot feeling.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are two types of golf balls generally used. The first type is a thread-wound golf ball provided by winding rubber threads upon a solid rubber ball (solid core) or a rubber bag filled with a liquid (liquid core) and covering the thread-wound core with balata or another rubber-like substance. The second type is a solid golf ball, for example, a two-piece golf ball provided by covering a rubber core with an ionomer or another synthetic resin.
The thread-wound golf ball has excellent control performance and shot feeling but poor durability. The two-piece golf ball has excellent durability and flying performance and becomes the main stream of the solid golf ball. The two-piece golf ball is, however, harder and thereby causes a golfer to have a greater impact on a shot than the thread-wound golf ball. Namely the disadvantage of the two-piece golf ball is poor shot feeling. An improvement in shot feeling is demanded because the muscleless people feel difficulty in shot.
Lowering the hardness of the two-piece golf ball to improve the shot feeling decreases the resilience and damages the good carry, which is the advantage of the two-piece golf ball.
One proposed golf ball has a core made of a rubber composition containing an organic sulfur compound, in order to improve the shot feeling without damaging the resilience and the flying performance of the solid golf ball.
There is, however, a good requirement for further improved golf balls having the long flying distance and the excellent roll-stopping performance. Three-piece golf balls, which have an intermediate layer between a core and a cover layer, have accordingly been proposed to meet the requirement.
One proposed three-piece golf ball has an intermediate layer made of hard/rigid ionomer resin, which has high hardness and flexural modulus, and a cover layer made of soft/flexible ionomer resin, which has low hardness and flexural modulus, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-92372. This arrangement enables the hard intermediate layer having high resilience to compensate for the decrease in resilience due to the soft ionomer cover. The hard intermediate layer, however, leads to the poor shot feeling.
Another proposed three-piece golf ball has an intermediate layer made of a mixture of a hard ionomer (i.e. rigid ionomer) and a soft ionomer (i.e. flexible ionomer), so as to lower the hardness of the intermediate layer as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-10357. The lowered hardness of the intermediate layer containing the soft ionomer, however, undesirably lowers the resilience of the resulting ball. Increasing the content of the soft ionomer to lower the hardness of the intermediate layer and attain the satisfactory shot feeling results in the insufficient flying distance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is thus to provide an improved solid golf ball having the improved shot feeling without damaging the excellent durability and carry, which are the advantages of the conventional solid golf ball.
The present inventors have found that a solid golf ball having an intermediate layer made of a thermoplastic resin composition including a specific block copolymer and an ionomer has excellent resilience and flying performances and good shot feeling, thus completing the present invention.
The present invention is directed to a solid golf ball having an intermediate layer between a core and a cover layer. The intermediate layer comprises a thermoplastic resin composition including polymer components (a) and (b). The component (a) is one or more selected from the group consisting of a first block copolymer which includes at least one polymer block A of an aromatic vinyl compound and at least one polymer block B of a conjugated diene compound, and a second block copolymer obtained by hydrogenating the first block copolymer. The component (b) consists of ionomers.
These and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments/examples with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4431193 (1984-02-01), Nesbitt
patent: 5693711 (1997-12-01), Akiba et al.
patent: 5935022 (1999-08-01), Sugimoto et al.
patent: 5948862 (1999-09-01), Sano et al.
patent: 5957784 (1999-09-01), Asukura et al.
patent: 5892372 (1983-06-01), None
patent: 9010357 (1997-01-01), None
Gorden Raeann
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.
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