Dimple patterns for golf balls

Abstract

Golf balls having a dimple pattern arranged in a tetrahedral layout are disclosed. The dimple pattern has four substantially identical dimple sections, where each dimple section is defined by a spherical triangle. The dimples in each of the four dimple sections have at least two different dimple diameters including a minimum dimple diameter and a maximum dimple diameter. The resulting dimple pattern has a low dimple surface coverage and high dimple diameter disparity which helps to reduce the flight of the golf ball while providing improved aerodynamic consistency.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf ball having a substantially spherical surface, comprising:
 a plurality of dimples disposed thereon, wherein the dimples are arranged in a pattern comprising four substantially identical dimple sections,   wherein the dimples in each of the four substantially identical dimple sections comprise a plurality of dimples having at least two different dimple diameters including a minimum dimple diameter and a maximum dimple diameter and the difference between the maximum dimple diameter and the minimum dimple diameter is at least about 0.050 inches, and   wherein the dimples cover about 75 percent or less of the substantially spherical surface, and the pattern results in no dimple-free great circles on the golf ball.   
     
     
         2 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the difference between the maximum dimple diameter and the minimum dimple diameter is at least about 0.075 inches. 
     
     
         3 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the difference between the maximum dimple diameter and the minimum dimple diameter is at least about 0.100 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the pattern is rotationally symmetric about the center of each substantially identical dimple section. 
     
     
         5 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter and the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter each has a coverage contribution, the coverage contributions satisfying the following equation: 
       
         
           
             
               0.5 
               ≤ 
               
                 
                   CC 
                   min 
                 
                 
                   CC 
                   max 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
       where CC min  represents the coverage contribution of the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter in a decimal form of percentage, CC max  represents the coverage contribution of the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter in a decimal form of percentage, and CC min  is at least 0.2. 
     
     
         6 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein each substantially identical dimple section comprises at least one shared dimple, the shared dimple having a centroid that intersects an edge of the dimple section. 
     
     
         7 . The golf ball of  claim 6 , wherein all shared dimples have the maximum dimple diameter. 
     
     
         8 . A golf ball having a substantially spherical surface, comprising:
 a plurality of dimples disposed thereon, wherein the dimples are arranged in a pattern comprising four substantially identical dimple sections,   wherein the dimples in each of the four substantially identical dimple sections comprise a plurality of dimples having at least two different dimple diameters including a minimum dimple diameter and a maximum dimple diameter and the difference between the maximum dimple diameter and the minimum dimple diameter is at least about 0.055 inches,   wherein the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter has a coverage contribution of at least 20 percent, and   wherein the dimples cover about 70 percent or less of the substantially spherical surface, and the pattern results in no dimple-free great circles on the golf ball.   
     
     
         9 . The golf ball of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter has a coverage contribution of at least 30 percent. 
     
     
         10 . The golf ball of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter has a coverage contribution of at least 40 percent. 
     
     
         11 . The golf ball of  claim 8 , wherein the number of the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter is greater than the number of the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter. 
     
     
         12 . The golf ball of  claim 8 , wherein the number of the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter is at least twice the number of the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter. 
     
     
         13 . The golf ball of  claim 8 , wherein the total number of dimples disposed on the substantially spherical surface is no more than 450 dimples. 
     
     
         14 . The golf ball of  claim 8 , wherein the difference between the maximum dimple diameter and the minimum dimple diameter is at least about 0.075 inches. 
     
     
         15 . A golf ball having a substantially spherical surface, comprising:
 a plurality of dimples disposed thereon, wherein the dimples are arranged in a pattern comprising four substantially identical dimple sections,   wherein the dimples in each of the four substantially identical dimple sections comprise a plurality of dimples having from two to four different dimple diameters including at least a minimum dimple diameter and a maximum dimple diameter and the difference between the maximum dimple diameter and the minimum dimple diameter is at least about 0.060 inches,   wherein the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter and the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter each has a coverage contribution, the coverage contributions satisfying the following equation:   
       
         
           
             
               0.5 
               ≤ 
               
                 
                   CC 
                   min 
                 
                 
                   CC 
                   max 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
       where CC min  represents the coverage contribution of the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter in a decimal form of percentage, CC max  represents the coverage contribution of the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter in a decimal form of percentage, and CC min  is at least 0.2, and
 wherein the dimples cover about 65 percent to about 75 percent of the substantially spherical surface. 
 
     
     
         16 . The golf ball of  claim 15 , wherein the pattern results in no dimple-free great circles on the golf ball. 
     
     
         17 . The golf ball of  claim 15 , wherein the total number of dimples disposed on the substantially spherical surface is about 300 dimples to about 450 dimples. 
     
     
         18 . The golf ball of  claim 15 , wherein each substantially identical dimple section comprises at least one shared dimple, the shared dimple having a centroid that intersects an edge of the dimple section, and all shared dimples have the maximum dimple diameter. 
     
     
         19 . The golf ball of  claim 15 , wherein the number of the plurality of dimples having the minimum dimple diameter is greater than the number of the plurality of dimples having the maximum dimple diameter. 
     
     
         20 . The golf ball of  claim 15 , wherein CC min  is at least 0.3.