US2010029412A1PendingUtilityA1

Golf ball comprising de-vulcanized rubber

53
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Jul 30, 2008Filed: Jul 30, 2008Published: Feb 4, 2010
Est. expiryJul 30, 2028(~2 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Frank M. SimonuttiTung Nan Huang
A63B 37/0078A63B 37/02A63B 37/0064A63B 37/0083A63B 37/008A63B 37/0003A63B 37/0087A63B 37/0035A63B 37/0033A63B 37/0024A63B 37/0051A63B 37/0031
53
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Claims

Abstract

Golf balls in accordance with the principles of the present invention include a core and one or more cover layers, with the core having a base rubber component that comprises de-vulcanized rubber. The base rubber component may include a blend of polybutadiene with the de-vulcanized rubber, and may also include at least one other type of recycled material. A golf ball of the present invention exhibits performance properties similar to golf balls made using solely non-recycled base rubber as the primary component of the core. For example, a golf ball of the present invention may have a compression of between 20 and 100, and a coefficient of restitution of greater than 0.680 at a test velocity of 125 ft/s.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 . A golf ball comprising:
 a core; and   one or more cover layers, the core comprising a blend of polybutadiene and de-vulcanized rubber as a base rubber component, the golf ball configured to meet the golf ball requirements of The Rules of Golf provided by the U.S. Golf Association.   
   
   
       2 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the de-vulcanized rubber is obtained through de-vulcanization of scrap tires. 
   
   
       3 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the de-vulcanized rubber has a Mooney viscosity of about 55±10 and a specific gravity of about 1.18 to about 1.22. 
   
   
       4 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the core comprises 50 to 95 phr of a polybutadiene having a cis-1,4 content of greater than 90%; 5 to 50 phr of de-vulcanized rubber; 10 to 40 phr of a co-crosslinking agent; 1 to 5 phr of an activator; 0.1 to 3.0 phr of a free-radical initiator; and 0 to 25 phr of core scrap regrind. 
   
   
       5 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the core has a compression of between 20 and 100. 
   
   
       6 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the core has a diameter between 1.25 and 1.60 inches. 
   
   
       7 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more cover layers comprise a material selected from the group consisting of ionomers, highly neutralized ionomers, terpolymers, thermoplastic polyurethanes, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       8 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein an outermost cover layer has a Shore D hardness of 45 to 75. 
   
   
       9 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball has a diameter greater than 1.680 inches. 
   
   
       10 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball has a weight between 44.5 and 45.93 grams. 
   
   
       11 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball has a compression of between 60 and 100. 
   
   
       12 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball has a coefficient of restitution of greater than 0.680 at a test velocity of 125 ft/s. 
   
   
       13 . A golf ball comprising:
 a core; and   at least one cover layer, the core comprising a base rubber component that includes a blend of polybutadiene, recycled de-vulcanized rubber, and at least one other type of recycled material.   
   
   
       14 . The golf ball of  claim 13 , wherein the core comprises 50 to 95 phr of a polybutadiene having a cis-1,4 content of greater than 90%; 5 to 50 phr of de-vulcanized rubber; and 1 to 25 phr of the at least one other type of recycled material. 
   
   
       15 . The golf ball of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one other type of recycled material comprises at least one of the group consisting of ground core scrap and Glebar/grinding dust. 
   
   
       16 . The golf ball of  claim 13 , wherein the de-vulcanized rubber is obtained through de-vulcanization of scrap tires. 
   
   
       17 . The golf ball of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one cover layer has a Shore D hardness between 45 and 75 and a combined thickness of between 0.040 and 0.215 inch, and comprises at least one of the group consisting of ionomers, highly neutralized ionomers, terpolymers, thermoplastic polyurethanes, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       18 . The golf ball of  claim 13 , wherein the golf ball has a compression of between 60 and 100. 
   
   
       19 . The golf ball of  claim 13 , wherein the golf ball has a coefficient of restitution of greater than 0.680 at a test velocity of 125 ft/s. 
   
   
       20 . A golf ball comprising:
 a core having a base rubber component comprising de-vulcanized rubber; and   at least one cover layer;   wherein the core has a compression of between 20 and 100, and the golf ball has a coefficient of restitution of greater than 0.680 at a test velocity of 125 ft/s.   
   
   
       21 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the de-vulcanized rubber is obtained through de-vulcanization of scrap tires. 
   
   
       22 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the core further comprises recycled non-de-vulcanized rubber material. 
   
   
       23 . The golf ball of  claim 22 , wherein the recycled non-de-vulcanized rubber material comprises at least one of the group consisting of ground core scrap and Glebar/grinding dust. 
   
   
       24 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the core comprises 50 to 95 phr of a polybutadiene having a cis-1,4 content of greater than 90%; 5 to 50 phr of de-vulcanized rubber; and 0 to 25 phr of recycled non-de-vulcanized rubber material. 
   
   
       25 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the core has a diameter of 1.25 to 1.60 inches. 
   
   
       26 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein an outermost cover layer has a Shore D hardness of 45 to 75. 
   
   
       27 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the golf ball has a diameter greater than 1.680 inches. 
   
   
       28 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the golf ball has a weight between 44.5 and 45.93 grams. 
   
   
       29 . The golf ball of  claim 20 , wherein the golf ball has a compression of between 60 and 100.

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