Stereopsis enhanced golf balls

Abstract

A golf ball whose surface bears a series of regularly arranged areas of contrasting appearance. The areas of contrasting appearance may be colored dots in some or all of the indentations in the golf ball surface or may be geometric shapes which encompass a plurality of indentations.

1 . A golf ball having a generally spherical exterior interrupted by indentations, the exterior having a first portion of a plurality of spherically symmetrically spaced shadings visually contrasting with a second portion of the exterior having no shadings thereon, each said shading encompassing at least three of the indentations.  
   
   
       2 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , in which each of the shadings is characterized by a shading area and each of the indentations is characterized by an indentation area, each shading area between about 3 and 20 times larger than each said indentation area.  
   
   
       3 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , in which each of the shadings is characterized by a shading area and each of the indentations is characterized by an indentation area, each shading area between about 5 and 12 times larger than each said indentation area.  
   
   
       4 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , in which the shadings are generally pentagonal.  
   
   
       5 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , in which the shadings are generally circular, triangular, square, or hexagonal.  
   
   
       6 . A process of hitting the golf ball of  claim 1  with a golf club.  
   
   
       7 . A process of making the golf ball of  claim 1 , comprising marking a portion of the exterior of the golf ball with the shadings.  
   
   
       8 . The process of  claim 7 , in which an area of each of the shadings is between about 3 and 20 times larger than an area of each said indentation.  
   
   
       9 . The process of  claim 7 , in which an area of each of the shadings is between about 5 and 12 times larger than an area of each said indentation.  
   
   
       10 . The process of  claim 7 , in which the shadings are generally pentagonal.  
   
   
       11 . A golf ball having indentations and a generally spherical exterior surface between the indentations, the golf ball comprising a multiplicity of generally uniform areas of contrasting appearance, centers of the areas of contrasting appearance substantially equidistantly spaced apart, each of said areas of contrasting appearance encompassing at least three of the indentations.  
   
   
       12 . The golf ball of  claim 11 , in which at least one of the areas of contrasting appearance are generally pentagonal.  
   
   
       13 . The golf ball of  claim 11 , in which an area of each of the areas of contrasting appearance is between about 3 and 20 times larger than the area of one of the indentations.  
   
   
       14 . The golf ball of  claim 11 , in which an area of each of the areas of contrasting appearance is between about 5 and 12 times larger than the area of one of the indentations.  
   
   
       15 . A process of hitting the golf ball of  claim 11  with a golf club.  
   
   
       16 . A process of making the golf ball of  claim 11 , comprising marking the exterior surface of the golf ball with said areas of contrasting appearance.  
   
   
       17 . The process of  claim 16 , in which said areas of contrasting appearance are generally pentagonal.  
   
   
       18 . The process of  claim 16 , in which each of the areas of contrasting appearance is between about 3 and 20 times larger than an area of one of the indentations.  
   
   
       19 . The process of  claim 16 , in which each of the areas of contrasting appearance is between about 5 and 12 times larger then an area of one of the indentations.  
   
   
       20 . A golf ball comprising a spherical ball with a first plurality of indentations arranged in a pattern on a surface of the spherical ball, the surface also having a second plurality of areas of contrasting appearance whose appearance contrasts with a remainder of the surface not covered by the second plurality of areas of contrasting appearance, the areas of contrasting appearance covering from 10% to 50% of the surface and arranged symmetrically in a regular pattern around the ball, and in which the areas of contrasting appearance are located on the surface straddling the indentations or are located in some of the first plurality of indentations.