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US 2012/0266433 A1Published application
Cover Strip Machine And Method Of Removing A Golf Ball Cover
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorTakahisa Ono
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The embodiment relates to a cover strip machine and process for removing a golf ball cover for recycling purposes. The cover strip machine may comprise four or more rotating gears. The process comprises heating a golf ball, distorting a golf ball, placing a golf ball in a cover strip machine to remove the cover, and separating gear pairs with a driver to remove the golf ball core.
Claims20
A golf ball cover removal machine comprising:
- four shafts, wherein at least one shaft is a drive shaft;
- four gears, wherein each gear has a plurality of teeth, and wherein each gear is associated with a shaft to form four gear-shaft combinations;
- wherein any gear-shaft combination is positioned adjacent two neighboring gear-shaft combinations;
- wherein any gear-shaft combination is oriented at an angle with respect to the adjacent two neighboring gear-shaft combinations;
- wherein each gear is further oriented so that the teeth of each gear is engaged with the teeth of the two neighboring gears;
- wherein the gear-shaft combinations are positioned so that the gear-shaft combinations form a gear perimeter and define a central gap;
- wherein the gears are configured to rotate thereby removing a cover from a golf ball when the golf ball is passed through the central gap.
4 more elements
A method of removing a cover from a golf ball comprising steps of:
- heating a golf ball until the cover softens;
- placing a golf ball in a golf ball cover removal machine, wherein the golf ball removal machine comprises at least four toothed stripping gears surrounding a central gap;
- activating the at least four toothed stripping gears to remove the cover from the ball;
- using an actuator to retract and separate at least one gear from the remaining gears.
1 more element
A golf ball cover removal machine comprising:
- four or more gears with teeth oriented so that the teeth of each gear is interlocked with the teeth of two adjacent gears;
- wherein the gears create a central gap;
- and
- wherein the gears are configured to rotate thereby removing a cover from a golf ball and directing a remaining portion of the golf ball through the central gap.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.