What is claimed is:
1. A golf ball comprising:
a core, wherein the core comprises at least one layer formed of a composition comprising at least one rubber, a metal salt of an ,-unsaturated acid, an initiator, and at least one thermoplastic material having a Vicat-softening temperature of at least about 38 C.;
an inner cover disposed about the core; and
an outer cover disposed about the inner cover.
2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the at least one thermoplastic material has at least one of a hardness of at least about 15 Shore A, a dynamic storage modulus of at least about 104 dynescm2, or a loss tangent no greater than 1 at 23 C. and a frequency of 1 Hz.
3. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the at least one thermoplastic material comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.
4. The golf ball of claim 3, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a block polymer selected from the group consisting of a copoly(ether-ester), copoly(ether-amide), copoly(ester-amide), copoly(urethane-ether), copoly(urethane-ester), maleic anhydride grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymers, and mixtures thereof.
5. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the amount of the at least one thermoplastic material is from about 1 to 50 parts per hundred of the total parts of the rubber.
6. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the at least one rubber is selected from the group consisting of polybutadiene, polyisoprene, ethylene-propylene, styrene-butadiene, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, a polymer of ethylene-propylene diene monomer, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymer, and mixtures thereof, including functionalized derivatives thereof.
7. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the core has a diameter of about 1.55 inches or less.
8. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the outer cover comprises a castable reactive liquid material.
9. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein the castable reactive liquid material is cast polyurethane.
10. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the outer cover has a hardness from about 30 Shore D to about 60 Shore D.
11. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the outer cover has a thickness from about 0.02 inches to about 0.045 inches.
12. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the inner cover comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of ionomers, thermoplastic or thermoset polyurethanes, polyetheresters, polyetheramides, or polyesters, dynamically vulcanized elastomers, functionalized styrene-butadiene elastomers, metallocene polymers, polyamides such as nylons, acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS), and blends thereof.
13. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the inner cover has a thickness from about 0.01 inches to about 0.05 inches.
14. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the inner cover has a hardness of about 65 Shore D or greater.
15. A golf ball comprising:
a core comprising at least two layers, wherein at least one of the core layers is formed of a composition comprising at least one rubber, a metal salt of an ,-unsaturated acid, an initiator, and at least one thermoplastic material having a Vicat-softening temperature of at least about 38 C.; and
an inner cover disposed about the core; and
an outer cover disposed about the inner cover.
16. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the at least one thermoplastic material comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.
17. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a block polymer selected from the group consisting of a copoly(ether-ester), copoly(ether-amide), copoly(ester-amide), copoly(urethane-ether), copoly(urethane-ester), maleic anhydride grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymers, and mixtures thereof.
18. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the at least one thermoplastic material has at least one of a hardness of at least about 15 Shore A, a dynamic storage modulus of at least about 104 dynescm2, or a loss tangent no greater than 1 at 23 C. and a frequency of 1 Hz.
19. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the amount of the at least one thermoplastic material is from about 1 to 50 parts per hundred of the total parts of the rubber.
20. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the at least one rubber is selected from the group consisting of polybutadiene, polyisoprene, ethylene-propylene, styrene-butadiene, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, a polymer of ethylene-propylene diene monomer, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymer, and mixtures thereof, including functionalized derivatives thereof.
21. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the core has a diameter of about 1.55 inches or less.
22. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the outer cover comprises a castable reactive liquid material.
23. The golf ball of claim 22, wherein the castable reactive liquid material is cast polyurethane.
24. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the outer cover has a hardness from about 30 Shore D to about 60 Shore D.
25. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the outer cover has a thickness from about 0.02 inches to about 0.045 inches.
26. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the inner cover comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of ionomers, thermoplastic or thermoset polyurethanes, polyetheresters, polyetheramides, or polyesters, dynamically vulcanized elastomers, functionalized styrene-butadiene elastomers, metallocene polymers, polyamides such as nylons, acrylonitrile butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS), and blends thereof.
27. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the inner cover has at least one of a hardness of about 65 Shore D or greater.
28. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the inner cover has a thickness from about 0.01 inches to about 0.05 inches.
29. A method of forming a golf ball comprising:
forming a first mixture comprising at least one rubber and at least one thermoplastic material;
mixing said first mixture at a first temperature sufficient to allow substantially homogeneous mixing of said first mixture;
cooling said first mixture to a second temperature;
forming a second mixture by adding the first mixture to a free-radical initiator having an activation temperature at a temperature above the second temperature; and
shaping and heating the second mixture to at least the activation temperature to crosslink the second mixture so as to form a portion of a golf ball core;
forming an inner cover disposed about the golf ball core; and
forming an outer cover thereon.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least one thermoplastic material comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for determining a faulty component in a system having a plurality of interacting components, comprising:
generating, by a plurality of diagnosis devices, a plurality of lists of potentially faulty components using a corresponding plurality of different diagnosis algorithms implemented independently of each other;
assigning, for each potentially faulty component, an error value corresponding to a probability of a defective function of each potentially faulty component as a function of a symptom;
for at least one set of components of the system, linking, by an evaluation device, the error values to form an error score value for each potentially faulty component as a function of the plurality of lists;
assigning a respective error score value to each potentially faulty component; and
determining the faulty component based on the respective error score value assigned to each potentially faulty component.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein one of (i) a deviation from specified system data, or (ii) a deviation of sensor data from setpoint data, is used as the symptom for a faulty component of the system.
3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the different diagnosis algorithms determine the potentially faulty components as a function of at least one of: (a) a fault tree for the system; (b) a failure mode and effects analysis; (c) a functional model of the system; (d) a symptom-cause matrix; and (e) an error case database.
4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein system data are considered in generating the lists of potentially faulty components, wherein the system data include at least one of sensor data of the components, externally input symptom data, and data output by a control device of the system.
5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the error score value is determined by adding up the error values of a particular component.
6. A device for determining faulty components in a system having a plurality of interacting components, comprising:
a plurality of diagnosis devices configured to generate a plurality of lists of potentially faulty components using a corresponding plurality of different diagnosis algorithms implemented independently of each other, wherein the lists each include an associated error value for each potentially faulty component; and
an evaluation device configured to perform, for at least one set of components of the system, linking the error values to form an error score value for each potentially faulty component as a function of the plurality of lists.
7. The device as recited in claim 6, wherein the components are devices of a motor vehicle.