Appeal No. 2004-0242 Page 8
Application No. 09/873,594
ounces by varying the thickness of the inner layer or ply 14 and the outer cover
layer or ply 16 and secure desired "feel" and playing characteristics.
Teachings of Wu
Wu's invention relates to golf balls and more particularly to polyurethane covered
golf balls made from a polyurethane composition of a polyurethane prepolymer cured
with a slow-reacting curing agent selected from the group of slow-reacting polyamine
curing agents and difunctional glycols. Wu states (column 1, lines 11-14) that such a
golf ball has improved resiliency and shear resistance over golf balls made from
conventional polyurethane formulations. Wu teaches (column 1, line 15, to column 2,
line 44) that:
Conventionally, golf balls are made by molding a cover about a core that
is either a solid one-piece core or a wound core made by winding thin elastic
thread about a center. The center is either a solid mass or a liquid-filled envelope
which has been frozen prior to winding the thread therearound. Golf balls made
from a solid core are referred to conventionally as two-piece balls while those
with wound cores are referred to as three-piece balls. Attempts have been made
to make a one-piece golf ball, i.e. a solid homogeneous golf ball; however, to
date no commercially acceptable one-piece golf ball has been made.
Balata had been used as the primary material for covers of golf balls until
the 1960's when SURLYNŽ, an ionomeric resin made by E.I. dupont de
Nemours & Co., was introduced to the golf industry. SURLYNŽ costs less than
balata and has a better cut resistance than balata. At the present time,
SURLYNŽ is used as the primary source of cover stock for two-piece golf balls.
The problem with SURLYNŽ-covered golf balls, however, is that they lack the
"click" and "feel" which golfers had become accustomed to with balata. "Click" is
the sound made when the ball is hit by a golf club while "feel" is the overall
sensation imparted to the golfer when the ball is hit.
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