Fan-shaped golf ball dimple

Abstract

Golf balls include dimples for generating a turbulent boundary layer. At least some of the dimples include a fan-shape. The fan-shaped dimple has a plurality of blades. Each blade has a trailing edge flush with a land area of a spherical surface of the golf ball, a leading edge, and a side wall connected to the leading edge. The dimple also has a sloped floor extending from the trailing edge to the leading edge, a blade tip connecting the leading edge to the trailing edge at a distal end of the blade, and a blade root connecting the leading edge to the trailing edge at a proximal end of the blade.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf ball comprising a plurality of dimples, at least one of the dimples comprising:
 a plurality of asymmetrical blades connected about a dimple center, wherein each blade comprises a trailing edge, a leading edge, and a side wall connected to the leading edge, wherein the leading edge comprises a reflex curvature.   
     
     
         2 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the height of the side wall varies along the leading edge. 
     
     
         3 . The golf ball of  claim 2 , wherein the height of the side wall is substantially zero at each end of the side wall. 
     
     
         4 . The golf ball of  claim 3 , wherein the leading edge of one blade is connected to the trailing edge of an adjacent blade at a connection point and the side wall has a largest height at the connection point. 
     
     
         5 . The golf ball of  claim 4 , wherein the connection point is at the midpoint of the leading edge. 
     
     
         6 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the number of blades in the dimple is in a range inclusive from 3-8. 
     
     
         7 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the dimples comprises a plurality of dimples. 
     
     
         8 . The golf ball of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dimples comprises 92-250 dimples. 
     
     
         9 . The golf ball of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a first dimple subset and a second dimple subset that comprise a different number of blades than the first dimple subset. 
     
     
         10 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of dimples comprises at least 152 fan-shaped dimples, including some three-blade dimples and some five-blade dimples. 
     
     
         11 . The golf ball of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of dimples further comprises a third dimple subset having a different number of blades than the first dimple subset and the second dimple subset. 
     
     
         12 . The golf ball of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a first dimple subset and a second dimple subset that comprise blades having a different width than the blades of the dimples in the first dimple subset. 
     
     
         13 . The golf ball of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a first dimple subset and a second dimple subset that comprise blades having a different reflex curvature than the blades of the dimples in the first dimple subset 
     
     
         14 . The golf ball of  claim 7 , further comprising a plurality of circular dimples. 
     
     
         15 . The golf ball of  claim 14 , wherein the golf ball comprises 12 five-bladed fan shaped dimples, 80 six-bladed fan shaped dimples, and 180 circular dimples. 
     
     
         16 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the inflection point is at the midpoint of the side wall. 
     
     
         17 . A golf ball comprising a plurality of dimples, each of the plurality of dimples comprising a plurality of asymmetrical blades connected about a dimple center, wherein each blade comprises a trailing edge, a leading edge, a side wall connected to the leading edge, and a blade tip connecting the leading edge to the trailing edge at a distal end of the blade, wherein the leading edge comprises a reflex curvature. 
     
     
         18 . The golf ball of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of dimples is arranged on the golf ball such that each dimple has a number of blades equal to its number of neighboring dimples, and each blade tip lies approximately along a great circle arc connecting the dimple's center to the center of a neighboring dimple. 
     
     
         19 . The golf ball of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of dimples is arranged on the golf ball such that each blade nests into a recess between adjacent blades of a neighboring dimple. 
     
     
         20 . The golf ball of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a first dimple subset and a second dimple subset that comprise a different number of blades than the first dimple subset.