WO2004085006A1

WO2004085006A1 - Golf ball

Info

Publication number: WO2004085006A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/000310
Authority: WO
Inventors: Deok-Ho Shin
Original assignee: Avia. Co. Ltd.
Priority date: 2003-02-17
Filing date: 2004-02-16
Publication date: 2004-10-07
Also published as: KR20040074191A

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved golf ball constructed to allow a striking force to be linearly transmitted to an inner central core of the golf ball when the ball is hit and is equipped with a light-emitting capability for providing good visibility. The golf ball comprises: a spherical inner core including therein an inner nucleus and an outer nucleus; an outer core externally positioned of the inner core and filled with synthetic resin material; a surface part used as a finished material at an circumferential surface of the outer core; and a light-emitting member internally disposed at an inner nucleus of the inner core and applied with an electricity for emitting a light when an impact energy exceeding an appropriate amount of pressure is applied. According to the golf ball, an impact energy is directly transmitted to a center of the golf ball to thereby reduce a spin rate, and the golfer easily discern the flying direction of the golf ball and a drop zone thereof.

Description

GOLF BALL

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a golf ball and, more particularly, to a golf ball

constructed to allow a striking force to be linearly transmitted to an inner central core

of the golf ball when the ball is hit and is equipped with a light-emitting capability for

providing good visibility.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, golf balls are classified into one-piece golf balls, two-piece golf

balls and three-piece golf balls. The one-piece golf balls consist entirely of high

resilient composite material made of rubber and resin, and the two-piece golf balls

include a double structure of a solid core of molded synthetic rubber and a reinforced

cover covering the solid core. The three-piece golf balls comprise a two-layer core

with rubber threads wound in the central part thereof and a cover covering the core.

Generally, a typical golf ball is formed on its surface thereof with a plurality of

dimples each having a prescribed pattern which is designed to reduce air resistance

when the golf ball is hit and to improve flight distance.

As a prior art describing the typical golf ball, Korean Laid-open Publication

No. 2002-7836 is disclosed and illustrated in FIG. 1, where the golf ball comprises a

resilient inner core (10), a resilient outer core (20) and a cover (30). The outer core (20) includes a plurality of reinforcing members radially extended from an inner

circumference to an outer circumference of the outer core. When a golfer strikes the

golf ball with a golf club, the striking force is directly transmitted to the golf ball and

no deformation is made at a point where the striking force is applied on the golf ball.

As a result, the time gap between the striking of the golf ball and the take-off of the

golf ball by the repulsive and resilient force is shortened, thereby improving the flight

distance.

The dimple structure of the conventional golf ball thus constructed has been

improved without deviating from using the conventional material thereof. However,

there is a drawback in that an impact energy is not properly transmitted to an inner

core of the golf ball when the golf ball is hit by a golf club, whereby a circumferential

shape of the golf ball is deformed upon impact, resulting in a horizontal deflection

different from the desired hitting direction of the golfer.

There is another drawback in that the golfer's view is obstructed during night

play or when the air is foggy, preventing the golfer from knowing the direction of a hit

golf ball and proceeding to further rounds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is disclosed to solve the aforementioned drawbacks and

it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf ball for use in a situation where

view is obstructed, thereby allowing the golfer to easily discern the flying direction of the golf ball, and result in a minimal deformation of the golf ball when the ball is hit

by a golf club.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a golf ball

comprises: a spherical inner core positioned in an inner center of a golf ball; an outer

core filled at an appropriate thickness on an external side of the inner core and covered

at an external surface thereof by a surface part; and a plurality of impact transmitting

members radially provided inside of the outer core for directly transmitting an striking

force to the inner core side, wherein each center position of the lower distal end of the

adjacent impact transmitting members inserted into the outer core forms a respective

apex of an equilateral triangle.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a golf ball

at an external surface thereof by a surface part; a light-emitting member internally

disposed at an inner nucleus of the inner core and applied with electricity for emitting

light when an impact energy exceeding an appropriate amount of pressure is applied;

and a plurality of conical impact transmitting members radially provided inside the

outer core, both distal ends being respectively supported to the inner core and an inner

surface of the surface part for directly transmitting a striking force to the light-emitting

member side.

Preferably, the inner core constructed in a dual structure includes an inner nucleus positioned at an inner central area thereof and an outer nucleus encompassing

the inner nucleus

each center position of the lower distal end of the adjacent impact transmitting

members inserted into the outer core forms a respective apex of an equilateral triangle

Preferably, each lower external circular surface of the impact transmitting

members is protrusively formed with a plurality of lugs contacting each inner

circumferential surface of a guide member

Preferably, the light-emitting member includes a cubic case internally disposed

at a central position of the inner nucleus, a battery internally disposed at an inner

position of the case, a plurality of light-emitting elements disposed at an external side

of the case, and a vibration switch for selectively contacting the battery in response to

a vibration energy transmitted from the inner nucleus to apply electricity to the light-

emitting elements

Preferably, the vibration switch includes an electrode plate for vertically

mounting an electrode electrically connected to the battery, and a spring member

plurally wound on an external surface of the electrode and on the same axis of the

electrode and grounded to the light-emitting element via the electrode plate

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention,

reference should be made to the following detailed description with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of cut-out essential parts for illustrating a three-

piece golf ball according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a golf ball according to an embodiment of the

present invention;

FIG 3 is a cross-sectional view of an inner structure of a golf ball according to

an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG 4 is a cross-sectional view of an inner structure of a golf ball according to

another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG 5 is a perspective view of essential parts for illustrating a coupled

structure of a golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of essential parts for illustrating another coupled

structure of a golf ball according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG 7 is a perspective view of an assembled condition between an impact

transmitting member and a guide member according to an embodiment of the present

invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a light-emitting member according to the

present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a usage of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is an exemplary drawing for schematically illustrating a manufacturing

process of a golf ball according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in

detail with reference to the annexed drawings, where the present embodiment is not

limiting the scope of the present invention but is given only as an illustrative purpose.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 9, the golf ball includes a spherical inner

core (100) composed therein of an inner nucleus (110) and an outer nucleus (120), an

outer core (200) positioned at an external side of the inner core (100) and filled with

synthetic resin material, a surface part (400) encompassing the outer core (200), and a

light-emitting member (500) internally disposed at an inner nucleus (110) of the inner

core (100) and emitting a light in response to a vibrating force when an impact energy

exceeding an appropriate amount of pressure is applied to the golf ball.

Preferably, each center position of the lower distal end of the adjacent impact

transmitting members (300), which are inserted into the outer core, forms a respective

apex of an equilateral triangle. This is designed to allow a striking force to be

directly transmitted to the center of the golf ball, i.e., the inner core (100) side of the

golf ball when a golf ball is hit.

Furthermore, each impact-transmitting member (300) is circumferentially

formed with an inclined extended surface (310) of a prescribed angle so that an

external striking energy can be easily transmitted to the inner core (100) side.

Preferably, each impact-transmitting member (300) is made of transparent or semi- transparent synthetic resin material to allow a light generated from the light-emitting

member (500) to be illuminated outside through the impact-transmitting member.

Preferably, the impact-transmitting member (300) is shaped of a cone, and as

illustrated in FIG 6, each top center portion thereof is positioned at a vertex of an

equilateral triangle at the surface part (400), or as illustrated in FIG. 5, each top center

portion thereof is externally protruded from a center of the equilateral triangle to act as

a protruding dimple (41).

Preferably, each impact transmitting member (300) is circumferentially

coupled with a trigonal guide member (350), and when the impact transmitting

member (300) is coupled to the trigonal cubic member (350), both upper and lower

distal ends of the impact transmitting member (300) being exposed from the guide

member (350) each at a prescribed portion thereof.

Preferably, the guide member (350) is shaped of an equilateral triangle at a

distal end surface thereof to define a part of the surface part (400). Each impact-

transmitting member (300) is formed at its lower portion with a plurality of circular

lugs (330) in the lengthwise direction for coupling with an inner surface of the guide

member (350).

Preferably, the outer core (200) is sequentially molded with synthetic resin to

form a multi-layer. In addition, the radius from each vertex of the respective

equilateral triangle on the surface part to the center portion of the golf ball is constant.

The light-emitting member (500) includes a cubic case (510) internally disposed at a central position of the inner nucleus (110), a battery (520) internally

disposed at an inner position of the case (510), a plurality of light-emitting elements

(530) such as Light Emitting Diode (LED), Liquid Crystal Diode (LCD) or the like

disposed at an external side of the case (510), and a vibration switch (540) for

selectively contacting the battery (520) in response to a vibration energy transmitted

from the inner nucleus (110) to apply electricity to the light-emitting elements (530).

The vibration switch (540), which is a switch provided at an external side of

the case (510) which is turned on and off by the vibration energy, includes an electrode

plate (544) for vertically mounting an electrode (542) electrically connected to the

battery (520), and a spring member (545) plurally wound on an external surface of the

electrode (542) and on the same axis of the electrode (542) and grounded to the light-

emitting element (530) via the electrode plate (544).

The operation of an embodiment of the present invention thus constructed will

now be described with reference to the drawings,

First, a manufacturing process will be briefly explained. As illustrated in FIG

10, upper and lower inner nucleuses (110) are manufactured by upper and lower

respectively symmetrically opposed molds (610,620), and a light-emitting member

(500) is installed in an interior space of the inner nucleus (110).

Successively, the upper and lower sides of the inner nucleus (110) are sealed to

allow formation of a spherical shape. The spherical inner nucleus (110) is externally

sealed by a bi-sected outer nucleus (120). The support holes (122) of the outer nucleus (120) are inserted by distal ends of the impact transmitting members (300) and

covered by a surface part (400). Thereafter, externally protrusive distal ends of the

impact transmitting members (300) are cut and trimmed to obtain the final product of a

golf ball.

In a golf ball completed by the afore-mentioned manufacturing process

according to the present invention, when the golf ball is hit by a golf head of a golf

club, a striking force or an impact is transmitted to the inner nucleus (110) side of the

inner core (100) via the impact transmitting members (300). The golf ball is flown

upwards from the ground by the striking force to receive a lift and a drag.

When a striking energy is transmitted to the golf ball from the club head, the

energy is transmitted to the inner core (100) side from the surface part (400) at the

struck area of the golf ball via the impact-transmitting member (300) and the outer

core (200), whereby the impact serves to function as a force necessary for producing

the flight of the golf ball.

When the impact is transmitted to the inner core (100), a repulsive force

against the impact is generated and the repulsive force is transmitted from the inner

nucleus (110) side to the outside via the impact-transmitting member (300) such that

the shape at the struck area is not changed.

Furthermore, the impact energy is transmitted to the spring member (545) of

the vibration switch (540), whereby the spring member (545) contacts the centrally-

positioned electrode (542) and the electric current from the battery (520) is applied to the light-emitting element (530) via the electrode plate (544) to allow the light-

emitting element (530) to emit light.

The light generated by the light-emitting element (530) is transmitted outside

via the transparent or semi-transparent impact-transmitting member (300) to allow a

golfer to discern the flying direction of a golf ball. The golf ball is again illuminated

by an impact force hitting the ground such that the golfer can easily locate the golf ball.

The golf ball according to the present invention is lit for approximately 2 to 10

seconds, the time the electric current is applied to the light-emitting element (530).

The lighting time may be prolonged by installation of a separate current collector (550)

at the electrode plate (544).

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present

invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not

intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and

modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be

acquired from practice of the invention. It is intended that the scope of the invention

be defined by the claims appended hereto, and their equivalents.

As apparent from the foregoing, there is an advantage in the golf ball thus

described according to the embodiments of the present invention in that the improved

golf ball has an illuminating function and an impact energy is directly transmitted to

the center of the golf ball such that a circumferential shape of the golf ball is not

deformed upon impact and the view of a golfer is not obstructed during a round of golf at nighttime or when the air is foggy, thereby assisting the golfer in discerning the

direction of the golf ball and a drop zone thereof, and proceeding to further rounds.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A golf ball comprising:

a spherical inner core positioned in an inner center of a golf ball;

an outer core filled at an appropriate thickness on an external side of said inner

core and covered at an external surface thereof by a surface part; and

a plurality of impact transmitting members radially provided inside of said

outer core for directly transmitting a striking force to said inner core side,

wherein each center position of the lower distal end of said adjacent impact

transmitting members inserted into said outer core forms a respective apex of an

equilateral triangle.

2. The ball as defined in claim 1, wherein each impact-transmitting member is

circumferentially formed with an inclined extended surface of a prescribed angle.

3. The ball as defined in claim 1, wherein the inner core comprises dual

construction comprising:

an inner nucleus centrally positioned therein; and

an outer nucleus encompassing said inner nucleus.

4. The ball as defined in claim 1, wherein each impact-transmitting member is circumferentially coupled with a trigonal guide member.

5. The ball as defined in claim 4, wherein each guide member is mutually abutted

against at each lateral side thereof for surface contact therebetween.

6. The ball as defined in claim 5, wherein each impact-transmitting member is

formed at its lower portion with a plurality of circular lugs in the lengthwise direction

for coupling with an inner surface of said guide member.

7. A golf ball comprising:

a spherical inner core positioned in an inner center thereof;

an outer core filled at an appropriate thickness on an external side of the inner

core and finished at an external surface thereof by a surface part;

a light-emitting member internally disposed at an inner nucleus of said inner

core and applied with electricity for emitting a light when an impact energy exceeding

an appropriate amount of pressure is applied; and

a plurality of conical impact transmitting members radially provided inside

said outer core for directly transmitting a striking force to said light-emitting member

side and for illuminating a light generated by said light emitting-member via said

impact transmitting member .

8. The golf ball as defined in claim 1, wherein said light-emitting member

comprises:

a cubic case internally disposed at a central position of said inner nucleus;

a battery internally disposed at an inner position of the case;

a plurality of light-emitting elements disposed at an external side of the case;

and

a vibration switch for selectively contacting said battery in response to a

vibration energy transmitted from said inner nucleus to apply electricity to said light-

emitting elements.

9. The ball as defined in claim 8, wherein the vibration switch comprises:

an electrode plate for vertically mounting an electrode electrically connected

to said battery; and

a spring member plurally wound on an external surface of said electrode and

on the same axis of said electrode and grounded to said light-emitting element via said

electrode plate.