GB2266469A - Golf ball dimple pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

An arrangement of the dimples (24) on the surface of a golf ball is disclosed. The golf ball surface is subdivided by projecting a rhombicuboctahedron onto the surface thereof. The dimples (24) are arranged according to the location of the triangles (12) and squares (10) which comprise the rhombicuboctahedron. The triangles (12) and squares (10) can be used to define six or twelve or even eighteen great circle paths (22) and the dimples can be arranged so that they do not intersect any of the great circle paths. <IMAGE>

Description

GOLF BALL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to golf balls and, more particularly, to the arrangement of dimples on the surface of a golf ball.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Until about the early 1970's, virtually all golf balls in the modern era had their dimple layout based on an octahedron projected onto the surface of the golf ball. An octahedron is an eight-sided figure which, when projected onto a golf ball surface, divides the surface into eight equal spherical triangular sections.

If the dimples on the golf ball are confined in these eight sections, as was the practice in the golf industry, the golf ball has three "parting lines," i.e. great circle paths about the golf ball which are not intersected by any dimples.

The term "parting line" emanates from the fact that spherical objects, such as golf balls, must be made in multi-piece molds. Golf balls are typically made in two hemispherical molds, by either compression or injection molding. No matter which type of molding is used, there is a junction between the two molds at which "flash" forms. When the molds are parted, this flash is called the "parting line." The flash is typically buffed off so that the parting line becomes essentially invisible. It will be appreciated, however, that, since a dimple isa depression in the surface of the golf ball, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to buff the flash out of a dimple without destroying the land area between adjacent dimples. Therefore, golf ball makers virtually always make the parting line free of dimples.As discussed hereinafter, some golf balls, either for aerodynamic or aesthetic reasons, have more than one great circle path which is not intersected by any dimples. Any one of the great circle paths not intersected by dimples can be the actual mold parting line. However, as used herein, the term "parting line" means any great circle path which is not intersected by any dimples, i.e. the term "parting line" as used herein is not limited to the flash line created by the hemispherical molds used to form a golf ball.

In a golf ball derived from an octahedron, there are three parting lines and the three parting lines cross each other at right angles; as a result, the included angle of the corners of each of the eight spherical triangles of an octahedron projected onto a golf ball is a right angle. It will be appreciated that, while the three included angles of a two-dimensional triangle will always total exactly 1800, the three included angles of a spherical triangle, i.e. a triangle on the surface of a sphere, will always exceed 1800 and, with the octahedron layout, will total 2700.

The planar/spherical relationship holds true for other geometric shapes, e.g. squares, pentagons, hexagons, etc. While, for example, a planar square will always total 360 , a spherical square will always exceed 360".

Since the present invention relates to golf balls, which are spheres, it will be understood that where a term such as "square", "triangle", or the like is used when referring to the surface of the golf ball, it always means the spherical square, spherical triangle, etc.

In the early 1970's, some golf ball manufacturers moved away from the octahedron as the basic pattern and adopted the icosahedron, a layout which has one parting line. In ensuing years, others have adopted and modified the icosahedron layout on the surface of a golf ball to obtain different dimple arrangements.

U.S. patents which use the icosahedron as the basis for the dimple arrangement include, for example, U.S.

Patent Nos. 4,560,168; 4,844,472; 4,880,241; 4,925,193; 4,936,587; 5,009,427; and 5,018,741.

Other geometric patterns besides the icosahedron have also been used for arranging the dimples on the surface of the golf ball, primarily to create more parting lines. The primary advantages of having more than one parting line are aerodynamics and aesthetics. With respect to aerodynamics, the United States Golf Association (USGA) adopted a rule in the early 1980's that requires that a golf ball "perform in general as if it were spherically symmetrical." The USGA set up testing procedures at its facilities in Far Hills, New Jersey, to ensure that golf balls met this spherical symmetry standard. Some of the golf balls with an icosahedron layout, which had a single parting line and uniformly shaped dimples, did not pass the USGA symmetry tests and were, therefore, not on the USGA list of Conforming Golf Balls.Since virtually all golfers, including professional, amateur and hacker, will only play with golf balls approved by the USGA, failure of a golf ball to be on the USGA list of Conforming Golf Balls is a golf ball's kiss of death. Golf balls having multiple parting lines are generally spherically symmetrical and, to the best of the knowledge of the applicant, no golf ball with three or more parting lines and uniformly shaped dimples has ever failed to pass the USGA spherical symmetry test.

With respect to the aesthetic aspect, a single parting line can be a distraction to a golfer, especially if it has writing such as a trademark thereon. As is known, golfers tend to be very intense when striking a golf ball. By having multiple parting lines, the distraction of a single band around the ball is eliminated.

It will be appreciated, of course, that golf balls can be made with a single parting line which will pass the USGA spherical symmetry test. Such balls can be made with the parting line substantially inconspicuous if the trademarks or other indicia are applied randomly rather than on the parting line.

One of the more popular of the other geometric patterns has been the cube. U.S. patents which arrange dimples on the surface of a golf ball on the basis of a cube or a modification of a cube or derivation from a cube include U.S. Patent Nos. 4,772,026; 4,971,330; 4,973,057; 4,974,853; 4,974,855; 4,974,856; and 4,982,964.

There have also been various other geometric shapes which have been used for arranging the dimples on the surface of a golf ball. Among these are the cuboctahedron, U.S. Patent No. 4,762,326; modified octahedron, U.S.

Patent No. 4,948,143; truncated octahedron, U.S. Patent No. 4,765,626; hexaoctahedron, U.S. Patent No. 4,974,854; decahedron, U.S. Patent No. 4,998,733; dodecahedron, U.S. Patent No. 4,877,252; and icosidodecahedron, U.S.

Patent No. 5,062,644.

In addition to those patents which arrange dimples on the surface of a golf ball according to a polyhedron, there are also U.S. patents which use combinations of various geometric shapes but without drawing the dimple arrangement from a specific polyhedron. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,886,277 arranges six squares and eight hexagons on the surface of a golf ball and arranges the dimples according to the layout of the squares and hexagons. U.S. Patent No. 5,046,742 is similar to the foregoing patent except that it uses twelve pentagons and twenty hexagons to establish the dimple arrangement.

Similarly, U.S. Patent No. 4,932,664 uses two pentagons, ten trapeziums and ten triangles, and U.S. Patent No.

5,064,199 employs twelve irregular pentagons, eight equilateral triangles and twelve isosceles triangles.

A number of the foregoing patents teach that the dimples can be arranged on the surface of the golf ball so that there are a plurality of parting lines, i.e.

great circle paths which are not intersected by any dimples. As described in the prior art, the number of parting lines which can be obtained with basic geometric arrangements includes: one, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,813,677; 4,915,390; 4,925,193; 4,932,664; 5,018,741; 5,060,953; three, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,720,111; 4,765,626; 4,946,167; 5,009,428; 5,033,750; four, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,886,277; 4,948,143; 4,973,057; 4,979,747; six, U.S. Patent Nos.

4,560,168; 4,772,026; 4,982,964; 5,062,644; 5,064,199; seven, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,762,326; 4,869,512; 4,974,856; nine, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,869,512 and 4,974,855; ten, U.S. Patent No. 4,971,330; twelve, U.S. Patent No. 4,974,854; thirteen, U.S. Patent No. 4,974,853; fifteen, U.S. Patent No. 4,844,472; twenty-one, U.S. Patent No. 4,867,459; twenty-five, U.S. Patent No. 4,867,459; and thirty-one, U.S. Patent No. 4,867,459. While these many different types of possible parting lines are disclosed, some of the patents also teach that dimples can intersect one or more of the parting lines, see for example U.S.

Patent Nos. 4,974,856 and 4,982,964. Indeed, one patent, U.S. Patent No. 4,915,389, requires that all dimples intersect great circle paths on the surface of the golf ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention describes a novel manner in which dimples can be arranged on the surface of a golf ball. In accordance with the present invention, dimples are arranged on the surface of a golf ball based on the geometry of a rhombicuboctahedron. A rhombicuboctahedron is one of the Archimedean geometrical solids. It has eight equilateral triangles and eighteen squares, with the squares arranged in three circular rows perpendicular to each other. As hereinafter illustrated, when the rhombicuboctahedron is projected onto the surface of a golf ball, the triangles and squares can be divided by diagonals and bisectors so that lines connecting the same can be connected to form six great circle paths.

In an alternate embodiment, great circle paths are made by extending the sides of each of the triangles, which results in twelve great circle paths. If desired, both arrangements can be employed, giving a total of eighteen great circle paths. All of these great circle paths can serve as parting lines, i.e. not be intersected by any dimples, or some of them can serve as parting lines and others can be intersected by dimples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a rhombicuboctahedron projected onto the surface of a golf ball; Fig. 2 shows the golf ball of Fig. 1 with division of the squares and triangles to form a golf ball with six parting lines; Fig. 3 shows an arrangement of dimples in the pattern of Fig. 2 with six parting lines; Fig. 4 shows an alternate arrangement of dimples in the pattern of Fig. 2 with six parting lines and with some dimples having different diameters from others; Fig. 5 shows an alternate division of the squares and triangles of Fig. 1 to form a golf ball with twelve parting lines; Fig. 6 shows an arrangement of dimples in the pattern of Fig. 5 with twelve parting lines and multiple diametered dimples; Fig. 7 shows another arrangement of dimples in the pattern of Fig. 5 with all dimples having the same diameter; and Fig. 8 shows an arrangement of triangular dimples in the pattern of Fig. 2 with six parting lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring first to Fig. 1, there is shown a rhombicuboctahedron projected onto the surface of a golf ball comprising squares 10 and triangles 12. Each of the squares 10 is of the same size, and the squares are arranged in three circular rows which are perpendicular to each other. Each corner of a square has a point 11 which it shares in common with two other squares. When all the squares have been formed, triangles 12 are also formed by the sides of squares which are not shared in common with another square. For example, sidewall 13 of the central square 10 is a common sidewall with the square 10 immediately thereabove, while sidewall 15 of central square 10 is a common sidewall with triangle 12 immediately to the right of central square 10. The total number of squares 10 is eighteen while the total number of triangles 12 is eight.

Turning now to Fig. 2, there is shown the arrangement of Fig. 1 in which the triangles and squares have been subdivided to form six great circle lines 22. Each triangle 12 has been subdivided into six identical triangles by extending a line 14 from each apex 16 of the triangle to the midpoint 18 of the side 20 of the triangle opposite the apex 16. For ease of understanding, only one such triangle, the center left, has been numbered. The lines 14 are then extended about the golf ball to form great circle paths 22 which in some cases, such as with squares 10', divide the square into four equal triangles and in other cases, such as with squares 10", bisect the square into two equal rectangles.

Turning to Fig. 3, a plurality of dimples 24 has been superimposed on the surface of the sphere. While the dimples are shown, as preferred, not to intersect the great circle paths 22, it will be appreciated that dimples can intersect some of the great circle paths if desired. One of the great circle paths, e.g. great circle path 22', can serve as the equator or actual parting line of the golf ball as is known in the art.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 4 also has six great circle paths which are not intersected by any dimples.

However, rather than having all of the dimples the same size as shown in Fig. 3, both small dimples 26 and large dimples 28 are employed. In addition, the dimples in Fig. 4 have been arranged so that none of the dimples intersect the sides of the triangles 12 or the squares 10 of Fig. 1. It is to be understood that the dimple arrangement in Fig. 4 is illustrative of having no dimples intersect the great circle paths and sides of the triangles and squares and that, for example, the number of dimples in each triangle and square could be substantially different from the number shown. It will also be understood that dimples of varying sizes and shapes can be employed in accordance with the present invention. Myriad patterns, sizes and shapes of dimples for both those within the triangles and those within the squares will also be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Fig. 5 shows an arrangement which provides for twelve great circle lines about the surface of the golf ball which can serve as twelve parting lines. In Fig. 5, the sides 20 of each triangle 12 have been extended to form great circle lines 30. Because the triangles in a rhombicuboctahedron are arranged symmetrically, the great circle lines 30 will intersect a plurality of sides 20 of two opposed triangles 12 in making the great circle path. Opposed triangles are those which can be intersected perpendicularly at their center points by a line which also passes through the center of the ball. The total number of great circle paths 30 generated by the extension of the sides 20 of triangles 12 is twelve. If this arrangement of twelve great circle paths is combined with the six great circle paths shown in Fig. 2, a total of eighteen great circle paths is obtained.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 6 employs the arrangement of Fig. 5 with dimples having different diameters as represented by small dimples 32 and large dimples 34.

As shown in Fig. 6, none of the dimples 32, 34 intersect any of the great circle paths 30 and, thus, each of great circle paths 30 serves as a parting line. It will be appreciated, however, that one or more of the great circle paths 30 could be intersected by a plurality of dimples 32, 34 in which case the great circle paths intersected by dimples would not serve as parting lines.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, dimples can intersect the common sidewall between adjacent squares; however, if the great circle paths 30 are all to serve as parting lines, none of the dimples can intersect the remaining sides cf the squares since those remaining sides are common sides with the triangles and serve as a portion of a parting line.

Fig. 7 is similar to Fig. 6 in employing the arrangement shown in Fig. 5. In this case, however, all of the dimples 36 have the same diameter. As with Fig. 6, none of the great circle paths 30 is intersected by any dimples and, thus, all of the great circle paths serve as parting lines.

The embodiment of Fig. 8 employs the arrangement of Fig. 2 but, rather than having the usual circular dimples, has triangular dimples. The triangular dimples are formed in two different fashions. The squares 10 of Fig. 2 are divided by diagonals 38 and bisectors 40.

This division of the squares results in eight equal isosceles triangles 42, each of which is a triangular dimple. Since there are eighteen squares on the surface of the ball, there is a total of 144 isosceles triangles of the same size obtained from the squares 10. Referring now to the triangles 12 of Fig. 2, these are divided as in Fig. 2 by lines 14 which extend from each apex of the triangle to the midpoint of the side of the triangle opposite the apex. This divides each triangle into six equal isosceles triangles 44, each of which serves as a triangular dimple. Since there are eight triangles, there is a total of 48 triangular dimples obtained from the triangles 12 of Fig. 2.There is, thus, a total of 192 triangular dimples, each of which has the shape of an isosceles triangle, with 144 of the dimples being from the squares and being all of the same size and 48 dimples being from the triangles and also being all of the same size, with the understanding that the size of the dimples from the triangles is different from the size of the dimples from the squares. When referring to the size of the triangular dimples, the reference is only to the dimension at the surface of the ball; different triangular dimples can have different depths and still be of the same size as the term size is used herein.

In the best mode contemplated for the present invention, 312 dimples are laid out substantially as shown in the embodiment of Fig. 3, i.e. there are six great circle paths which are not intersected by dimples and are, thus, parting lines. The dimples are all of substantially the same size and have a nominal dimple diameter of 4.1 mm and a nominal dimple depth of 0.18-0.20 mm inch. Dimple diameter in the present invention is measured according to the teaching of U.S. Patent No. 4,936,587, the relevant parts of which are incorporated herein by reference, especially Figs. 3-5 and the portions of the specification that relate thereto. Dimple depth according to the present invention is measured similarly to Figs. 14-18 of U.S. Patent No. 4,936,587 which, along with the relevant portions of the specification, is also incorporated herein by reference. In accordance with the instant invention, depth is measured from the chord line 168 of Fig. 18 of the '587 patent rather than from the line 41 which is the continuation of the periphery of the golf ball.

It will be understood that the claims are intended to cover all changes and modifications of the preferred embodiments of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute a departure from the scope of the invention.

Claims (18)

1. A golf ball having a plurality of dimples on the surface thereof, said dimples being arranged according to the configuration of a rhombicuboctahedron projected onto the surface of the golf ball, said projected rhombicuboctahedron comprising eight spherical triangles and eighteen spherical squares, said squares being arranged in three circular rows perpendicular to each other, opposed sides of each square being in common with one opposed side of an adjacent square, the other sides of each square being in common with one side of an adjacent triangle, each said square being of the same size as each other said square and each said triangle being of the same size as each other said triangle.

2. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein each said spherical triangle is subdivided into spherical triangles formed by three spherical lines, each said spherical line extending from an apex of the triangle to the midpoint of the opposed side of the triangle, said spherical lines being extended about the circumference of the said golf ball to form six great circle paths.

3. The golf ball of claim 2 wherein the dimples on the surface of the golf ball are arranged so that they do not intersect any of the said six great circle paths.

4. The golf ball of claim 2 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect at least one of the great circle paths but so that they do not intersect all of the great circle paths.

5. The golf ball of claim 4 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect four of the six said great circle paths.

6. The golf ball of claim 4 wherein the dimples are arranged so that there is only one great circle path which is not intersected by any dimples.

7. The golf ball of claim 2 wherein there are no dimples which intersect the great circle paths, the sides of the spherical squares, or the sides of the spherical triangles.

8. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein there are dimples of at least two different shapes.

9. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein there are dimples of at least two different diameters.

10. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein at least some of the dimples are non-circular.

11. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein the dimples are spherically triangular in shape and in which 144 of the spherically triangular dimples are spherical isosceles triangles formed by subdividing each of the spherical squares with two spherical diagonals and two spherical bisectors, each of said 144 dimples being of the same size as each of the other of said 144 dimples, and in which 48 of the spherically triangular dimples are spherical isosceles triangles formed by subdividing each of the said eight spherical triangles of claim 1 with three spherical lines extending from each apex of each said triangle to the midpoint of the opposed side of the same said triangle, each of said 48 dimples being of the same size as each of the other of said 48 dimples.

12. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein each said triangle has three sides and in which each side of each triangle is extended about the circumference of the ball to form twelve great circle paths, each great circle path including one side of each of two opposed triangles, said opposed triangles being those which can be intersected perpendicularly at their center points by a line which also passes through the center of the ball.

13. The golf ball of claim 12 wherein the dimples on the surface of the golf ball are arranged so that they do not intersect any of the said twelve great circle paths.

14. The golf ball of claim 12 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect at least one of the great circle paths but so that they do not intersect all of the great circle paths.

15. The golf ball of claim 14 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect at least six of said great circle paths.

16. The golf ball of claim 14 wherein the dimples are arranged so that there is only one great circle path which is not intersected by any dimples.

17. The golf ball of claim 12 wherein there are no dimples which intersect the great circle paths, the sides of the spherical squares, or the sides of the spherical triangles.

18. The golf ball of claim 11 wherein there are dimples of at least two different diameters.

19 . The golf ball of claim 11 wherein at least some of the dimples are non-circular.

20 . A golf ball substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or any one of Figures 4 to 8.

18. The golf ball of claim 12 wherein there are dimples of at least two different shapes.

19. The golf ball of claim 12 wherein there are dimples of at least two different diameters.

20. The golf ball of claim 12 wherein at least some of the dimples are non-circular.

21. A golf ball substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or any one of Figures 4 to 8.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows

1. A golf ball having a plurality of dimples on the surface thereof, said dimples being arranged according to the configuration of a rhombicuboctahedron projected onto the surface of the golf ball, said projected rhombicuboctahedron comprising eight spherical triangles and eighteen spherical squares, said squares being arranged in three circular rows perpendicular to each other, opposed sides of each square being in common with one opposed side of an adjacent square, the other sides of each square being in common with one side of an adjacent triangle, each said square being of the same size as each other said square and each said triangle being of the same size as each other said triangle, each said spherical triangle being subdivided into spherical triangles formed by three spherical lines, each said spherical line extending from an apex of the triangle to the midpoint of the opposed side of the triangle, said spherical lines being extended about the circumference of the said golf ball to form six great circle paths.

2. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein the dimples on the surface of the golf ball are arranged so that they do not intersect any of the said six great circle paths.

3 . The golf ball of claiml wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect at least one of the great circle paths but so that they do not intersect all of the great circle paths.

4 . The golf ball of claim3 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect four of the six said great circle paths.

5 . The golf ball of claim 3 wherein the dimples are arranged so that there is only one great circle path which is not intersected by any dimples.

6 . The golf ball of claim 1 wherein there are no dimples which intersect the great circle paths7 the sides of the spherical squares, or the sides of the spherical triangles.

7. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein there are dimples of at least two different shapes.

8. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein there are dimples of at least two different diameters.

9. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein at least some of the dimples are non-circular.

10 . The golf ball of claim 1 wherein the dimples are spherically triangular in shape and in which 144 of the spherically triangular dimples are spherical isosceles triangles formed by subdividing each of the spherical squares with two spherical diagonals and two spherical bisectors, each of said 144 dimples being of the same size as each of the other of said 144 dimples, and in which 48 of the spherically triangular dimples are spherical isosceles triangles formed by subdividing each of the said eight spherical triangles of claim 1 with three spherical lines extending from each apex of each said triangle to the midpoint of the opposed side of the same said triangle, each of said 48 dimples being of the same size as each of the other of said 48 dimples.

11. The golf ball of claim 1 wherein each said triangle has three sides and in which each side of each triangle is extended about the circumference of the ball to form twelve great circle paths, each great circle path including one side of each of two opposed triangles, said opposed triangles being those which can be intersected perpendicularly at their center points by a line which also passes through the center of the ball.

12. The golf ball of claim 11 wherein the dimples on the surface of the golf ball are arranged so that they do not intersect any of the said twelve great circle paths.

13 . The golf ball of claim 11 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect at least one of the great circle paths but so that they do not intersect all of the great circle paths.

14. The golf ball of claim 13 wherein the dimples are arranged so that they intersect at least six of said great circle paths.

15. The golf ball of claim 13 wherein the dimples are arranged so that there is only one great circle path which is not intersected by any dimples.

16 The golf ball of claim 11 wherein there are no dimples which intersect the great circle paths, the sides of the spherical squares, or the sides of the spherical triangles.

17. The golf ball of claim 11 wherein there are dimples of at least two different shapes.