Polymer alloy bowling ball
AssigneeColumbia Industries, Inc.
InventorsCharles M. Miller, Jr., Samuel J. Orlando
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bowling ball having a thin viscous film deposited upon its surface from within the ball for increasing the coefficient of friction between the ball and the bowling lane. The film comprises a saturated plasticizer incorporated into the ball at the time of manufacture that slowly exudes from the outer shell over an extended period. The method comprises preparing a resin blend capable of being cured into a tough, durable material and mixing the resin blend with a plasticizer which is miscible with the liquid phase resin blend, but incompatible with the solid phase. Catalysts are admixed and heat is applied to the mixture to cure the resin blend into a tough and durable outer shell.
Claims14
A method of making a bowling ball having a film exuded on the surface of said bowling ball from within said bowling ball comprising:
- adding a plasticizer, at least one liquid phase thermosetting resin and at least one catalyst to a container, the amount and type of said plasticizer being sufficient to cause a viscous film to be deposited upon the surface of said bowling ball from within said bowling ball, the amount and type of said liquid phase thermosetting resin being sufficient to produce a bowling ball containing said plasticizer having sufficient hardness and toughness, and the amount and type of said catalyst being sufficient to substantially cure said thermosetting resin under proper reaction conditions;
- mixing said plasticizer and said liquid phase thermosetting resin and said catalyst to form a substantially uniform mixture;
- placing said mixture within a mold at a temperature and for a time sufficient to cure said thermosetting resin to a solid phase substantially incompatible with and substantially unreactive with said plasticizer and allowing the plasticizer to exude as a film on the surface of said bowling ball.
A method of making a bowling ball having a thin film deposited on its surface from within said bowling ball comprising:
- (1) mixing a blend of rigid unsaturated polyester resin, a flexible unsaturated polyester resin, and a saturated polyester plasticizer, said blend of polyester resins being maintained during mixing at a temperature between about 70.degree. F. and about 100.degree. F.;
- (2) adding to the blend of (1) promoters, catalysts, pigments and solvents in amounts sufficient to effect curing and coloring of said bowling ball;
- (3) pouring said blend from (2) into molds and placing in a gelling oven having a temperature ranging from about 105.degree. F. to about 125.degree. F.;
- (4) transferring said molds after a sufficient period of gellation time to a curing oven having a temperature ranging from about 100.degree. F. to about 120.degree. F.;
- (5) curing said blend in said molds;
- (6) removing said cured bowling balls and polishing and smoothing the surface of said balls to obtain a finished bowling ball;
- (7) and allowing the plasticizer to exude as a film on the surface of said bowling ball.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.