Golf ball having spherical quadrilateral segmented dimple pattern

Abstract

Various aspects of a dimple pattern methodology, and dimple pattern configurations are disclosed herein. A spherical quadrilateral segment division can be used to maintain a high level of symmetry in the dimple pattern while also maintaining a specific dimple layout in polar regions of the golf ball. In one aspect, the specific configurations disclosed herein can provide geometric symmetry while being adaptable to relatively complex processes for forming golf ball covers. Furthermore, the configurations disclosed herein provide a dimple pattern with a high level of symmetry having a particular subset of preferred polar dimples.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf ball having an outer surface comprising a plurality of dimples disposed thereon that define a dimple pattern,
 the golf ball being segmented via an equatorial plane, and a first plane and a second plane each being orthogonal to the equatorial plane and to each other, such that a first subset of four zones define a first hemisphere of the golf ball and a second subset of four zones define a second hemisphere of the golf ball,   the first and second subset of four zones each being comprised of first zones and second zones, such that the first and second hemispheres each consist of two first zones and two second zones,   the first zone consisting of a plurality of spherical quadrilaterals including at least one first spherical quadrilateral and at least one second spherical quadrilateral, and   the second zone consisting of a plurality of spherical quadrilaterals including at least one third spherical quadrilateral and at least one fourth spherical quadrilateral,   wherein the first, second, third, and fourth spherical quadrilaterals each have:
 (i) distinct dimple configurations, and 
 (ii) dimple configurations having mirror symmetry about a respective symmetry plane. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spherical quadrilaterals of the first zone include a single first spherical quadrilateral and two second spherical quadrilaterals. 
     
     
         3 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spherical quadrilaterals of the second zone include a single third spherical quadrilateral and two fourth spherical quadrilaterals. 
     
     
         4 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one second spherical quadrilateral and the at least one fourth spherical quadrilateral are disposed along the equatorial plane. 
     
     
         5 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one first spherical quadrilateral and the at least one third spherical quadrilateral are each disposed adjacent to a polar axis of the golf ball. 
     
     
         6 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth spherical quadrilaterals each have an identical size relative to each other. 
     
     
         7 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second zones have distinct dimple patterns from each other. 
     
     
         8 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the first zones and the second zones are mirror symmetrical about a respective plane extending through a polar axis of the golf ball. 
     
     
         9 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the dimple pattern has at most second order rotational symmetry about any axis of the golf ball. 
     
     
         10 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the dimple pattern has at most second order rotational symmetry about an axis defined by any two planes of the golf ball selected from: the equatorial plane, the first plane, and the second plane. 
     
     
         11 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth spherical quadrilaterals each include two external edges that are coplanar with at least one edge of the first or second zones, and
 the first, second, third, and fourth spherical quadrilaterals each include two internal edges that are noncoplanar with edges of the first and second zones.   
     
     
         12 . The golf ball according to  claim 11 , wherein the internal edges of the first, second, third, and
 fourth spherical quadrilaterals are shorter than the external edges of the first, second, third, and   fourth spherical quadrilaterals.   
     
     
         13 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the respective symmetry planes of the first, second,
 third, and fourth spherical quadrilaterals each extend through a centroid of a respective one of the first and second zones.   
     
     
         14 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second zones are each rotationally asymmetric about an axis passing through a golf ball centroid and a respective geometric face of the first zone and the second zone. 
     
     
         15 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the golf ball lacks any dimple-free great circles. 
     
     
         16 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth spherical quadrilaterals are each irregularly shaped polygons. 
     
     
         17 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the dimple pattern includes 300-400 dimples. 
     
     
         18 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dimples includes dimples of at least three different dimple diameters. 
     
     
         19 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of dimples includes dimples of at least six different dimple diameters. 
     
     
         20 . The golf ball according to  claim 1 , wherein exactly two of the three spherical quadrilaterals of the first zones and exactly two of the three spherical quadrilaterals of the second zones share a common vertex at a polar axis of the golf ball.