JP2011251003A - Golf ball - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf ball having further excellent visibility.SOLUTION: The golf ball 10 has a solid core 12 covered with a cover 14. The cover 14 is made of a light transmission body (i.e., transparent body or translucent body) added with a fluorescent material and a reflecting material. The fluorescent material may employ, for example, a fluorescent pigment, fluorescent dye, or fluorescent brightener. The reflecting material may employ, for example, a brightness material or polarizing material. When the cover is made into a double structure, an inner layer cover may be added with the reflecting material, and an outer layer cover may be added with the fluorescent material, and vice versa. Further, the inner layer cover may be added with both of the reflecting material and the fluorescent material, and the outer layer cover may be added with only one of the reflecting material or fluorescent material, and vice versa. Both of the inner layer cover and the outer layer cover may be added with both of the reflecting material and the fluorescent material.

Description

  The present invention relates to a golf ball having a cover that has good visibility and can be easily distinguished from other balls.

  The cover that is the outermost layer of the golf ball is generally white, but golf balls (color balls) in which the cover is colored yellow or orange are also commercially available. This type of color ball is particularly effective when played in winter, for example. That is, in the winter season, the lawn on the field withers and white, but the color ball has better visibility on the white lawn in this way than the white ball.

  In addition, there is an advantage that it is very easy to distinguish from the player's ball by using a color ball of a different color from other players even in the winter season.

  However, the demand for color balls is not very large. In this regard, in Patent Document 1, since a general white ball is colored in a significantly rich color, when a player who is used to a white ball uses a color ball, for example, the player visually recognizes at the time of addressing. It is presumed that the reason is that the user feels uncomfortable, and it has been proposed to reduce the degree of coloring. That is, Patent Document 1 discloses a light-colored ball.

  However, the light color ball disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a small degree of coloring as the name suggests, so if the distance from the eye viewpoint to the ball is long, it is not easy to distinguish it from a white ball. In other words, this light color ball is substantially the same as a white ball in terms of visibility from a long distance. For example, it is not easy to recognize a light color ball on a lawn that has withered when playing in winter. There are concerns.

  Therefore, the present applicant has proposed a golf ball that can be easily seen from a long distance not only on a dry lawn in winter but also when playing in weather such as fog and rain. .

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-155937 JP 2007-144097 A

  The present invention has been made in connection with the technique described in Patent Document 2, and an object thereof is to provide a golf ball with better visibility.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a golf ball comprising a cover having a single layer structure.
The cover is made of a translucent material including at least one of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer, and a reflection material and a fluorescent material are added.

The present invention also provides a golf ball comprising a cover having at least two layers.
The cover has a first layer made of a translucent material to which at least one of a reflective material or a fluorescent material is added to at least one of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer;
A second layer made of a translucent material to which at least one of the fluorescent material or the reflective material is added;
It is characterized by having.

  The golf ball having such a configuration is improved in visibility because the color tone becomes clear by the fluorescent material. Furthermore, since a reflective material is added, this reflective material reflects light such as sunlight. This makes it easier for the player to visually recognize the golf ball.

  For example, a golf ball that is colored yellow-green, yellow, or orange and reflects light by a reflective material can be easily distinguished from a lawn that has withered white in winter. Further, even when playing in weather such as fog or rain, the flight direction and the falling point of the ball can be easily visually confirmed from a long distance. That is, a golf ball having excellent visibility can be obtained.

  In addition, as a suitable example of a reflecting material, the luster or polarizing material etc. with which glass flakes or silicon dioxide was coat | covered with the metal or metal oxide can be mentioned.

  Moreover, when at least any one of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer is 100 weight part, the preferable addition rate of the said fluorescent material is 0.001-3.0 weight part. In this case, although the cover is colored, it is translucent to the extent that light can be transmitted. In the present invention, this state is also included in “coloring”.

  It is preferable to add at least one of a hindered amine light stabilizer or a hindered phenol antioxidant to the cover. This is because the weather resistance is improved. In this case, in order to make the cover translucent enough to allow light to pass, when at least one of the thermoplastic resin and the thermoplastic elastomer is 100 parts by weight, a hindered amine light stabilizer, a hindered phenol is used. It is preferable to add a system antioxidant or a mixture thereof in a proportion of 0.01 to 2.0 parts by weight.

  According to the present invention, a fluorescent material is added to the cover, and a reflective material that reflects sunlight or the like is added. Visibility is improved by the clear color tone of the fluorescent material, and the reflective material reflects light such as sunlight, which makes it easier for the player to visually recognize the golf ball.

  Such a golf ball having excellent visibility can be easily distinguished from, for example, a lawn that has died in winter and has a white color. Further, even in weather such as fog and rain, the flight direction and the falling point can be easily determined from a long distance visually.

  In addition, it is easy to distinguish from the golf balls of other players.

1 is a schematic overall cross-sectional view of a golf ball according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a general | schematic whole sectional drawing of the golf ball which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a table | surface showing the raw material and composition of a cover, color tone, and visibility in the golf ball (two piece solid golf ball) of Examples 1, 2 and Comparative Examples 1, 2. It is a table | surface showing the raw material and composition, color tone, and visibility of the cover in the golf balls (three-piece solid golf balls) of Examples 3 to 8 and Comparative Example 3.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the golf ball according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall schematic cross-sectional view of a golf ball 10 according to the first embodiment. In this case, the golf ball 10 is a so-called two-piece solid golf ball in which a single-layer solid core 12 is covered with a single-layer cover 14.

  As the material of the solid core 12, the same material as the solid core of a conventional two-piece solid golf ball may be selected. Preferable examples thereof include polybutadiene rubber as a base rubber, zinc acrylate which is an α, β-unsaturated carboxylic acid metal salt, dicumyl peroxide which is an organic peroxide, zinc oxide which is a filler, and the like. The compounded rubber composition is mentioned.

  On the other hand, the cover 14 is composed mainly of either a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer, or a mixture thereof. Typical examples of thermoplastic resins include ionomer resins, and typical examples of thermoplastic elastomers include polyester-based thermoplastic elastomers, polyamide-based thermoplastic elastomers, polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomers, and the like.

  The cover 14 is a so-called transparent body or translucent body. In other words, the cover 14 is a translucent body exhibiting translucency. A reflective material and a fluorescent material are added to the cover 14.

  The reflective material easily reflects incident light such as sunlight. That is, reflected light is generated. The player can easily recognize where the golf ball 10 is located on the course by visually recognizing the reflected light.

  In addition, since the fluorescent material is added to the cover 14, the cover 14 is colored. This coloring makes it easier for the player to visually recognize the golf ball 10.

  That is, in the first embodiment, in addition to coloring the cover 14, reflected light is generated by the reflective material added to the cover 14. The golf ball 10 is remarkably easy to visually recognize and identify.

  As a preferable specific example of the substance that generates reflected light as described above, a surface of a glass flake coated with a metal or metal oxide, a metal, or a surface of aluminum, mica, silica (silicon dioxide), or the like A bright material coated with a metal oxide can be given.

  On the other hand, preferred examples of the fluorescent material include fluorescent pigments, fluorescent dyes, and fluorescent brighteners. The color tone of the cover 14 can be variously set by appropriately selecting the type of fluorescent pigment, fluorescent dye, fluorescent whitening agent, and the like.

  A suitable addition amount of the fluorescent material is 0.001 to 3.0 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the cover resin composition (thermoplastic resin, thermoplastic elastomer, or a mixture thereof). If it is less than 0.001 part by weight, the saturation becomes excessively light. On the other hand, when the amount is more than 3.0 parts by weight, the saturation becomes excessively thick and fading easily occurs. A more preferable addition amount of the fluorescent material is 0.01 to 2.7 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the cover resin composition, and a more preferable addition amount is 0.02 to 2.5 parts by weight.

  An ultraviolet absorber may be further added to the cover 14. When the cover 14 contains an ultraviolet absorber, there is an advantage that the weather resistance of the golf ball 10 is improved.

  Alternatively, any one of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and a mixture thereof may be added to the cover 14. Even in this case, the weather resistance of the golf ball 10 can be improved.

  Here, it is preferable to add titanium dioxide or zinc oxide having an average particle size of 10 to 200 nm. If a material having a thickness of less than 10 nm is added, the weather resistance is not improved so much. Moreover, when the thing exceeding 200 nm is added, a cover will become whitish. What has an average particle diameter of 10-100 nm is still more preferable.

  Of course, when a mixture is added, a mixture of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide having an average particle diameter of preferably 10 to 200 nm, more preferably 10 to 100 nm may be used.

  As this kind of fine particle titanium dioxide, TTO-55 (average particle size = 30-50 nm), TTO-51 (average particle size = 10-30 nm), TTO-D-1 (dendritic particles) manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd. And average major axis diameter = 200 to 300 nm, average minor axis diameter = 40 to 70 nm = average particle diameter) and the like. On the other hand, as specific examples of the fine zinc oxide, FZO-50 (average particle diameter = about 20 nm) manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd., ZINCOX SUPER F-1 (average particle diameter = 100 nm) manufactured by Hakusui Tech Co., Ltd., ZINCOX SUPER F-2 (Average particle diameter = 65 nm).

  The addition ratio of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or a mixture thereof is preferably 0.01 to 1.0 part by weight when the cover resin composition is 100 parts by weight. If it is less than 0.01 part by weight, the effect of improving the weather resistance of the golf ball 10 is poor. On the other hand, if it exceeds 1.0 part by weight, the cover becomes whitish and the effect of improving the weather resistance is saturated, which is uneconomical.

  Furthermore, a hindered amine light stabilizer, a hindered phenol antioxidant, or a mixture thereof may be added to the cover 14, thereby improving the weather resistance of the golf ball 10. Specific examples of hindered amine light stabilizers include TINUVIN XT855FF manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, while specific examples of hindered phenol antioxidants include IRGANOX manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals. 1010, IRGANOX 1076, and the like.

  The addition ratio of this type of light stabilizer, antioxidant, or mixture of both is preferably 0.01 to 2.0 parts by weight when the cover resin composition is 100 parts by weight. Similarly to the above, if it is less than 0.01 parts by weight, the effect of improving the weather resistance of the golf ball 10 is poor, and if it exceeds 2.0 parts by weight, the effect of improving the weather resistance is saturated, which is uneconomical.

  The cover 14 may be added with the above-described fluorescent material, ultraviolet absorber, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, antioxidant, light stabilizer, and the like at the same time.

  Further, in order to increase the durability of the cover 14, a clear paint may be applied on the cover 14. As the clear paint, those not containing a pigment can be used, and those containing a fluorescent pigment, a fluorescent dye or the like can be used as long as the coating film has sufficient transparency.

  In the first embodiment, the solid core 12 may have two or more layers.

  Next, a golf ball 20 according to a second embodiment whose overall schematic cross section is shown in FIG. 2 will be described. This golf ball 20 is a three-piece solid golf ball having a single-layer solid core 22 and a cover 28 composed of two layers, an inner layer cover 24 and an outer layer cover 26.

  In this case, the solid core 22 may be formed from, for example, a rubber composition containing polybutadiene rubber, zinc acrylate, dicumyl peroxide, zinc oxide, and the like, similar to the solid core 12.

  Then, a reflective material is added to one of the inner layer cover 24 and the outer layer cover 26, and a fluorescent material is added to the remaining one of the outer layer cover 26 and the inner layer cover 24. That is, for example, when only the reflective material is added to the inner layer cover 24, the fluorescent material is added to the outer layer cover 26. Further, when only the fluorescent material is added to the inner layer cover 24, a reflecting material is added to the outer layer cover 26.

  In short, the second embodiment is basically based on separately forming a layer including a reflective material and a layer including a fluorescent material. That is, in the second embodiment in which the cover has two or more layers, it is not particularly necessary to add both the reflective material and the fluorescent material to all the layers constituting the cover.

  However, both the reflective material and the fluorescent material may be added to the inner layer cover 24, and only one of the reflective material and the fluorescent material may be added to the outer layer cover 26, and vice versa. In addition to adding only one of the reflective material and the fluorescent material to the outer cover 26, both the reflective material and the fluorescent material may be added. Furthermore, both the reflective material and the fluorescent material can be added to both the inner layer cover 24 and the outer layer cover 26.

  The inner layer cover 24 and the outer layer cover 26 are preferably made of at least a thermoplastic resin (for example, an ionomer resin) or a thermoplastic elastomer (for example, a polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer, a polyamide-based thermoplastic elastomer, or a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer). The cover resin composition containing either one is formed as a main component.

  When a fluorescent material is added to the inner layer cover 24 or the outer layer cover 26, for example, the color may be formed in the same manner as the cover 14. Of course, if necessary, an ultraviolet absorber, an antioxidant, a light stabilizer and the like may be added, and a colorant and the like may be further added.

  When a fluorescent material is added to the outer layer cover 26, as described above, it is sufficient to add a reflective material to the inner layer cover 24, and it is not particularly necessary to add a fluorescent material. Therefore, in this case, the inner layer cover 24 may be transparent like the inner layer cover in the conventional three-piece solid golf ball, or white by adding a white pigment such as titanium dioxide. May be.

  In the golf ball 20 according to the second embodiment configured as described above, at least one of the inner layer cover 24 and the outer layer cover 26 is colored, and a reflective material is applied to the remaining one of the outer layer cover 26 or the inner layer cover 24. It has been added. For this reason, the golf ball 20 functions similarly to the golf ball 10 (see FIG. 1) according to the first embodiment. Needless to say, a clear paint may be applied on the outer cover 26.

  The golf ball according to the present invention is not limited to the golf balls 10 and 20 described above, and is a multi-piece solid golf ball composed of one solid core and three or more covers, or two or more solids. A multi-piece solid golf ball including a core and one or more layers of a cover may be used.

  Further, instead of the solid cores 12 and 22, so-called thread wound cores may be employed.

  A solid core 12 having a diameter of 38.3 mm and a JIS-C hardness of 80 is a rubber composition in which cis-1,4-polybutadiene is used as a base rubber and zinc acrylate, zinc oxide, and dicumyl peroxide are mixed. Produced.

  On the other hand, Surlyn 1605 and Surlyn 1706 (both trade names of ionomer resins manufactured by DuPont Polychemical Co., Ltd.) were blended at a weight ratio of 50:50 to obtain a mixture as a resin composition for the cover. , C.I. I. Solvent Yellow 98 Hostasol Yellow 3G (trade name of Clariant's yellow fluorescent dye), PR-30PDR (trade name of Clariant's light stabilizer), TINUVIN XT855FF (Ciba Specialty Chemicals' hindered amine series) (Trade name of light stabilizer) and Fire Mist Gold (reflective pigment made by BASF, coated with glass oxide) . In addition, each ratio of the yellow fluorescent dye, the light stabilizer, the hindered amine light stabilizer, and the reflective material with respect to 100 parts by weight of the cover resin composition was as shown in FIG.

  Here, PHR in FIG. 3 indicates parts by weight of each material with respect to 100 parts by weight of the cover resin composition. That is, for example, when the hostol yellow 3G is 0.07 PHR, it means that 0.07 part by weight of the hostol yellow 3G is added to 100 parts by weight of the resin composition for cover. In FIG. 3, Hostasol Yellow 3G is represented as “Yellow 3G”.

  This cover raw material was injection-molded on the solid core 12 to form a cover 14 to obtain a golf ball 10 (see FIG. 1) which is a two-piece solid golf ball. The cover 14 was a transparent body having a yellowish color. This is Example 1.

  In addition, the fluorescent material is 0.1 parts by weight of pink FX-307 (trade name of pink fluorescent pigment manufactured by Sinlohi), and Hostalux KSB-1 (trade name of fluorescent whitening agent manufactured by Clariant) 0.027. A golf ball 10 was obtained in accordance with Example 1 except that the cover 14 was made using the raw material for the cover prepared by changing to parts by weight. This is Example 2.

  For comparison, a golf ball was obtained in the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2 except that no reflective material was added to the cover and the cover was formed with the components and composition ratios shown in FIG. These are designated as Comparative Examples 1 and 2, respectively.

  Furthermore, after producing the solid core 22 in accordance with the solid core 12 of the first and second embodiments, the solid core 22 is covered with a cover 28 having an inner layer cover 24 and an outer layer cover 26 having the component / composition ratio shown in FIG. Thus, a golf ball 20 (see FIG. 2) which is a three-piece solid golf ball was obtained. Each is referred to as Examples 3-8.

  For comparison, golf balls were obtained in the same manner as in Examples 3 to 8, except that no reflective material was added and that the inner layer cover and the outer layer cover were formed with the components and composition ratios shown in FIG. This is referred to as Comparative Example 3.

  3 and 4 also show in what color each golf ball of Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 is colored.

  The golf balls of Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 are placed on the green, and whether or not the golf balls are easily recognized from a point 200 yards away is evaluated for visibility. went. Visibility was evaluated as “◯” when it looks clearer than a general white golf ball.

  Furthermore, the golf ball was set on a tee ground in a sunny environment, and the vividness was evaluated. The case where it was felt that it was rich in fashion and high-class was rated as ○, and the case where it was not so was marked as △.

  The above results are also shown in FIGS. From these FIGS. 3 and 4, it is clear that the golf balls 10 and 20 of Examples 1 to 8 have good visibility and are brighter than the golf balls of Comparative Examples 1 to 3. This is because the golf balls 10 and 20 of Examples 1 to 8 are reflected by light such as sunlight because a reflective material is added to the covers 14 and 28, whereas reflected light is generated. This is because such a reflective material is not added to the golf balls 1 to 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 20 ... Golf ball 12, 22 ... Solid core 14, 28 ... Cover 24 ... Inner layer cover 26 ... Outer layer cover

Claims (6)

In a golf ball having a single-layer structure cover,
A golf ball characterized in that the cover is made of a translucent material including at least one of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer, and a reflective material and a fluorescent material are added. In a golf ball comprising a cover having at least two layers,
The cover has a first layer made of a translucent material to which at least one of a reflective material or a fluorescent material is added to at least one of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer;
A second layer made of a translucent material to which at least one of the fluorescent material or the reflective material is added;
A golf ball comprising:   3. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the reflective material is a glitter material or a polarizing material in which glass flakes or silicon dioxide is coated with a metal or a metal oxide.   4. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the fluorescent material is 0.001 to 3 parts by weight when at least one of the thermoplastic resin and the thermoplastic elastomer is 100 parts by weight. 5. A golf ball characterized by being added at a ratio of   5. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a hindered amine light stabilizer or a hindered phenol antioxidant is added to the cover.   6. The golf ball according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the thermoplastic resin and the thermoplastic elastomer is 100 parts by weight, the hindered amine light stabilizer or the hindered phenol antioxidant is 0.01. A golf ball characterized by being added at a ratio of ˜2.0 parts by weight.

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