US2083155A - Method of making a golf ball - Google Patents

Description

June 8, 1937. l c. w. I EGUILLON` 2,083,155

METHOD OF MAKING A GOLF BALL Filed NOV. 1Q, 1934 PatentedJ `lune 9 193'?4 A ss 'e en rrr] .Marano or MAG a GoIQFBALr.

' Charles W. Leguillon,

Akron, Ohio, assignor to 'lihe B. 1F. Goodrich Company, New York Y.,

This invention relates to balls, such as golf balls, having as component lparts an inner envelope containing a liquid, semi-liquid or mobile substance, a. tense winding of rubber thread thereon and, in the oase of-golf balls, a. cover layer of a material' comprising gutta percha,l

balata or the likev molded winding.

Heretofore on the rubber-thread sion as Well as to increase the tensionof the Winding, but difficulty has been encountered in preventing escape of the mobile material from the inner envelope through the aperture made 0 thereinv by-the needle.

,stantial volume ofpocketed air within vthe inner envelope also has .been a matter-of some concern as operating .against perfect `balance and` proper performance of such balls.

g5 'I'he chier objects of my invention areI to over`v come these several defects and disadvantages, 4which I do by usinga liquid dispersion of rub-. ber, such as'natural or'articial latex, which may be preliminarily concentrated to give it a high 0` content of solids, and which may have' Vulcanialng agents mixed into it, aS the mobile substance within the innerenvelopc, or at least as the sub-l stance to' be injected into the envelope by means of the eedle', and preferably by providing for coagula'tion of the rubber dispersion at least in the vicinltyof the needle sealing the aperture.

Suitable apparatus for the practice of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, Ofswhlch "v Fig. 1 isa longitudinal section of a ball-holding device and a ball therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical lsection of a device adapted for the injection oi a rubber-coagulant into the ball, with the holder and ball of Fig. 1 associated therewith.

" Fig. 3 is av vertical section of the ball-holding device and ball therein in association with parts of a device similar to thatnof Fig. 2 but` ad ted Iorithe injection of a liquid dispersionof ru ber into the coreI of the ball,

Referring to the drawing, the ball-holder -comprises a cup-shaped member II) formed with a breather aperture II- through xits bottom wall,

stop-collar I2 secured in proper position on its The presence of a sub-l aperture, foreiectively exterior by a set-screw I3fav block ting Within the I loosely fitcup-shaped member i9, formed with a conical recess in one end adapted for the reception of the ball, designated I5, and adapted to abut the bottom of the cup-shaped member l0 at its other end, and provided centrally of the conical recess with a positioning pin I6 adapted to extend into 'a ball impaled upon it "as shown, but not to ex'- tend so far into the ball as to puncture the ilexfible wall, Il', of the core of the ball.. able material which is in the core at the time thewindings are applied Fig'. 2. f Y l v For retaining the impaled ball and the loosely fitting block I4 in the cup-shaped member While the assembly is being manipulated, as in beingl inserted in and removed from the devices of Figs. '2 and 3, a screw plug I9 formed w'ith'spannerv holes 20,20 and with an external stop-flange 2 I of less outer diameter l of the cup-shaped'member I0 is adapted to be screwe'd into the end .of the member III and is formed with a conical recess` in its inner face the wall -ofvwhich is adapted to be engaged bythe 25 thereto is shown at I 8f than the outer diameter ball when by the injection of liquid the ball has been \enlarged to ax `I4 and the plug I9 determinate size; the block being determinately spaced `With relation to' each otherby their engagement with thecup-shaped member I0.

. Y o0 'I'he plug I9 is centrally formed with anaperture 22 for the admissionv of the injecting needle. 'I'he injecting device oi Fig. 2 comprises a base 23- formed on its upper side with a `well .for a iluid 24 such as watersupplied -to it under pressure through a pipe the oor of the base.

A flexible diaphragm 21 is clamped throughout its margin between the .base and' a magazine member 28 heldy tol the base'by bolts 29, 29 and lformed, over the diaphragm, with a chamber for a body of rubber-coagulant 30. d is in communication with the bore of a hypo ermic needle 3| mounted in a nipple 32 screwed upona projection formed on the member 28, the needle being in position to punch through the wall oi the ball to the interior of the core when the holder of- Fig. lwith 'theball `therein is forced down into a guide member 33 screwed onto a boss formed on the member 28, the point of the needle being just within the interior ofthe core when the stop-collar I2 on the holder abuts the top of the guide member '33', asshown in Fig. `2, and the weight ofthe ball and of the block I4 being supported by the frlctional engagement of the This chamber V l s material of the ball with the injection needle, the ball as shown in Fig. 2 being not yet expanded by injection and consequently being out of contact' with the conical face of the plug I9. 5 i The member 28 is provided with a filler aperture adapted to be closed by a screw 34, for the introduction ofthe rubber-coagulant 30 into the chamber,` and an aperture adapted to be closed by a screw 35 is provided in the base member 22 for venting air from the chamber therein as the water 24 is initially conducted into the chamber, to avoid the poorly-controlled squirting eiiect that would result from the presence of an entrapped elastic substance such as air. The apparatus which is partially shown in Fig. 3 is the same as that shown in Fig. 2 except that the magazine chamber is filled with a liquid dispersion of rubber, 36, instead of thev coagulant 30 of Fig. 2. I

In-the practice of my method with the apparatus illustrated the ball. comprising the envelope containing the il'owable material I8, which may be any of the substances usually employed for that purpose or may be a concentrated nat- 25 ural latex or other dispersion of rubber, and may be loaded with a weighting material, is mounted in the holding devices as' shown in Fig. 1 andthe assembly istthen forced down in the guide member I3 of Fig. 2 until the parts are in the relative positions there shown, with 'the point/of the injection needle just within, or almost Within, the interior of the core.

Some of thecoagulant 30 may then be injected into the interior of the core; so that the 3J flowablefsubstance already therein, or the mixture, is given coagulating properties, or the coagulant may be injected only into the aperture which is formed by the needle in the material of the wall of the core or in the rubber of the windings, or both, by maintaining the pressure on. the coagulant, through the diaphragm 21,

while the needle is being withdrawn from the ball by removing the holder assembly from the guide member 32.

The holder assembly is then transferred to the apparatus of Fig. 3 and similar procedure is 'em= ployed for injecting into the core, through the same needle-hole,1a' sufiicient amount of the rubber dispersion 38 to distend the ball to such size as is permitted, with a given pressure upon the dispersion, by the space denned by the block `M and plug I9.

The holder assembly is then removed from the injection device, the plug I9 is removed from the member Il, whereupon the block I4 and ball i are dropped out of the member i0 and the ball,

then readily grasped, is removed from the block il and its pin I6.

As the needle hole substantially closes by reason of th'e resilience of the material as the ball is withdrawn from the injection device of Fig. 2 substantially none of the coagulant or of 'the ilowable material originally in the core escapes in the small time required for mounting the holder assembly in the injecting device of Fig. 3, and as4 it is withdrawn from the latter the presenceof causes such ,coagulation of the rubber of the dispersion as permanently to seal the needle hole.

I claim:

The method of making a ball which comprisesl winding rubber thread under tension upon a liquid i'llled envelope constituting a core, thereafter applying a coagulant internally of the structure in the vicinity of the wall of the core, and then injecting a liquid dispersion of rubber into'the core and eifecting coagulation thereof in the vicinity of vthe injection aperture in the wall of the core by .reason of the presence of the said coagulant. J

CHARLES W. LEGUILLON.

the coaguiant within the bau

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