Dimpled golf ball and dimple distributing method
View Patent ↗A golf ball having a plurality of dimples on its surface, the dimples as a whole are distributed on at least a portion of the golf ball using principles of electromagnetic theory. The dimples placed on the golf ball surface are assigned charge values that are used to determine the electric potential. A solution method is then applied to minimize the potential by rearrangement of the dimple positions.
1. A method for arranging a plurality of dimples on a golf ball using the principles electromagnetic theory, comprising the steps of:
defining a portion of the golf ball surface in which dimples will be arranged;
placing a first plurality of dimples within the defined surface;
assigning charge values to said dimples;
applying Coulomb's Law to determine the potential of the charges;
applying a first solution method to minimize the potential;
altering the dimple location and distribution according to the solution method.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined portion of the golf ball surface approximately corresponds to a hemispherical portion of the golf ball.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined portion of the golf ball surface comprises a portion of an Archimedean shape.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined portion of the golf ball surface comprises a fractional portion of the curved surface of the golf ball.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the defined portion of the golf ball surface is repeated on other portions of the golf ball.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the defined portion of the golf ball surface comprises the entire surface of the golf ball.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of dimples initially are randomly placed within the defined surface.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of dimples initially are arranged within the defined surface to form a portion of a phyllotactic pattern.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein different charge values are assigned to dimples differing in size or shape.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of applying a second solution method to minimize the potential.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first solution method comprises a gradient-based solution.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second solution method comprises a higher order solution method than a gradient-based method.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the second solution method comprises Newton or Quasi-Newton solution methods.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second solution method is capable of accelerating the rate of convergence from the first solution method.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of defining a dimple in a fixed position on the surface of the golf ball.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the fixed position of the dimple corresponds to a vent pin for an injection mold.