Golf ball dimple profile and plan shape
Golf ball having a generally spherical surface and comprising a plurality of dimples separated by a land area formed on the ball surface, wherein the plurality of dimples includes at least one non-spherical dimple having a non-axially symmetric plan shape and a defined point of maximum dimple depth, wherein: (i) each dimple cross-section of the non-spherical dimple consists of two arcs, each arc extending from the defined point of maximum dimple depth to a point at the land area of the golf ball; and (ii) every point on the perimeter of the non-spherical dimple is located at a radial angle, θ, about a unit circle, where 0≤θ≤2π, and the edge angle value of the non-spherical dimple at any given point on the perimeter is defined by the solution of an edge angle function f(θ), wherein f(θ) is a non-periodic, continuous, differentiable function.
1. A golf ball having a generally spherical surface and comprising:
a plurality of dimples separated by a land area formed on the ball surface, wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a plurality of non-spherical dimples each having a non-axially symmetric plan shape, a varying edge angle, a defined point of maximum dimple depth, and an effective dimple diameter which is twice an average radial dimension of a set of points defining the plan shape from the plan shape centroid, wherein:
each dimple cross-section of each non-spherical dimple consists of two arcs, each arc extending from the defined point of maximum dimple depth to a point at the land area of the golf ball; and
the effective dimple diameter for each of the non-spherical dimples is within a range of about 0.020 inches to about 0.250 inches.
2. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein each of said non-spherical dimples has a maximum dimple depth of from about 0.005 inches to about 0.020 inches.
3. The golf ball of claim 2 , wherein each of said non-spherical dimples has an average edge angle of from about 9 degrees to about 19 degrees.
4. The golf ball of claim 2 , wherein each of said non-spherical dimples has an average edge angle of from about 10 degrees to about 18 degrees.
5. The golf ball of claim 2 , wherein each of said non-spherical dimples has an average edge angle of from about 12.5 degrees to about 15.5 degrees.
6. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-spherical dimples includes dimples having at least two different maximum dimple depths.
7. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-spherical dimples includes dimples having at least two different average edge angles.
8. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-spherical dimples includes dimples having at least two different plan shape areas.
9. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the total dimple volume of all said non-spherical dimples is at least 25% of the total dimple volume.
10. The golf ball of claim 9 , wherein the total dimple volume of all said non-spherical dimples is at least 50% of the total dimple volume.
11. The golf ball of claim 10 , wherein the total dimple volume of all said non-spherical dimples is at least 75% of the total dimple volume.
12. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein every point on the perimeter of the non-spherical dimple is located at a radial angle, θ, about a unit circle, where 0≤θ≤2π, and the edge angle value of the non-spherical dimple at any given point on the perimeter is defined by the solution of an edge angle function f(θ), wherein f(θ) is a non-periodic function.
13. The golf ball of claim 1 , wherein the dimples have an effective dimple diameter of about 0.100 inches to about 0.225 inches.
14. The golf ball of claim 13 , wherein the dimples have an effective dimple diameter of about 0.125 inches to about 0.200 inches.
15. A golf ball having a generally spherical surface and comprising:
a plurality of dimples separated by a land area formed on the ball surface, wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a plurality of non-spherical dimples each having a non-axially symmetric plan shape, a varying edge angle, and a defined point of maximum dimple depth, wherein:
each dimple cross-section of each non-spherical dimple consists of two arcs, each arc extending from the defined point of maximum dimple depth to a point at the land area of the golf ball; and
each of said non-spherical dimples has a dimple volume D v such that V s 1<D v <V s 2; wherein V s 1=0.0300x 2 +0.0016x−3.00×10 −6 , and V s 2=−0.0464x 2 +0.0135x−2.00×10 −5 , and x is the dimple's plan shape area.
16. The golf ball of claim 15 , wherein x is from about 0.0025 in 2 to about 0.045 in. 2 .
17. The golf ball of claim 16 , wherein x is from about 0.0030 in 2 to about 0.040 in. 2 .
18. The golf ball of claim 17 , wherein x is from about 0.0025 in 2 to about 0.035 in 2 .
19. The golf ball of claim 18 , wherein x is from about 0.0035 in 2 to about 0.045 in. 2 .
20. A golf ball having a generally spherical surface and comprising:
a plurality of dimples separated by a land area formed on the ball surface, wherein the plurality of dimples comprises a plurality of non-spherical dimples each having a non-axially symmetric plan shape, a varying edge angle, a defined point of maximum dimple depth, and an effective dimple diameter which is twice an average radial dimension of a set of points defining the plan shape from the plan shape centroid, wherein:
each dimple cross-section of the non-spherical dimples consists of two arcs, each arc extending from the defined point of maximum dimple depth to a point at the land area of the golf ball; and
the plurality of non-spherical dimples comprise at least one dimple in which every point on the perimeter of the dimple is located at a radial angle, θ, about a unit circle, where 0≤θ≤2π, and the edge angle value of the dimple at any given point on the perimeter is defined by the solution of an edge angle function f(θ), wherein f(θ) is one of the following:
1.
f
(
θ
)
=
1
4
+
4
π
·
sin
(
θ
)
+
sin
(
3
θ
)
3
+
sin
(
5
θ
)
5
+
sin
(
7
θ
)
7
2.
f
(
θ
)
=
1
4
+
5
cos
(
θ
2
)
3
·
sin
(
3
2
θ
)
+
sin
(
7
2
θ
)
7
3.
f
(
θ
)
=
1
4
+
sin
(
-
4
.139
·
θ
)
+
sin
(
-
1
.026
·
θ
)
0
.
3
8
7
+
sin
(
5
.166
·
θ
)
0
.
7
2
3
.