The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 13, 2001
Filed:
Jan. 29, 1999
Michael J. Sullivan, Chicopee, MA (US);
Thomas J. Kennedy, III, Wilbraham, MA (US);
R. Dennis Nesbitt, Westfield, MA (US);
Mark L. Binette, Ludlow, MA (US);
Michael John Tzivanis, Chicopee, MA (US);
John Nealon, Springfield, MA (US);
John T. Neill, Westfield, MA (US);
Spalding Sports Worldwide, Inc., Chicopee, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to the use of gel material in a golf ball. In one aspect of the invention discrete gel particles form an integral structural and functional role in the hard-cover, mantle or core elements of a golf ball to provide an additional ways of varying the playability properties of a golf ball. In one embodiment the invention is directed to a golf ball comprising a mantle dispersed with discrete voids filled with gel to provide a heterogeneous mixture of at least one gel material and at least one non-gel material. In another embodiment of the invention 10 parts of ground down silica gel material, 50 parts Iotek® 1002, 50 parts Iotek® 1003, and 0.025 parts UM Blue to provide a composite mantle. In this embodiment the degree of measured compression (and good guide to deformability and initial spin rate when struck by a golf club) is increased with a commitment decrease in Shore C/D hardness. In another aspect of the invention discrete elastomeric particles form an integral structural and functional role in the hard-cover, mantle or core elements of a golf ball.