Multi-energy x-ray system and method for golf ball inspection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11543241-B1
Application number	US-202117369063-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jul 7, 2021
Priority date	Jul 7, 2021
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

Systems and methods for measuring the concentricity of golf balls using varying energy levels to gather and analyze data on concentricity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for determining eccentricity of one or more golf balls, comprising:
a radiolucent ball-holding apparatus configured to secure at least one golf ball therein, wherein the at least one golf ball comprises a center and a cover;
an imaging system comprising at least one x-ray source, a filter, and an imager capable of obtaining a first set of images of the at least one golf ball at a first orientation and a second set of images are a second orientation, wherein the first orientation and the second orientation are perpendicular, wherein the first set of images comprises a first image obtained at a first energy level and a second image obtained at a second energy level, wherein the second set of images comprises a third image obtained at the first energy level and a fourth image obtained at the second energy level, and wherein the first and second energy levels are different; and
an analyzer operatively coupled to the imaging system and capable of performing an inspection routine on the first and second sets of images comprising determining eccentricity for the at least one golf ball based on a first eccentricity of the at least one golf ball at the first orientation and a second eccentricity of the at least one golf ball at the second orientation and determining whether the eccentricity meets at least one predetermined threshold.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first orientation is along the equator of the golf ball.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the filter is formed from a material having a density of about 1 g/cm 3 to about 10 g/cm 3 .

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the filter has a thickness of about 0.001 inches to about 0.25 inches.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the thickness is about 0.001 inches to about 0.025 inches.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the filter is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of brass, aluminum, copper, and alloys thereof.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first energy level is greater than the second energy level.

8. A system for determining eccentricity of a plurality of golf balls, comprising:
a radiolucent ball-holding apparatus configured to secure a plurality of golf balls therein, wherein each of the plurality of golf balls comprises a center and a cover;
an imaging system comprising at least one x-ray source, at least one filter, and an imager capable of obtaining a first set of images of the plurality of golf balls at a first orientation and a second set of images are a second orientation, wherein the first orientation and the second orientation are perpendicular, wherein the first set of images comprises a first image obtained at a first energy level and a second image obtained at a second energy level, wherein the second set of images comprises a third image obtained at the first energy level and a fourth image obtained at the second energy level, and wherein the first and second energy levels are different; and
an analyzer operatively coupled to the imaging system and capable of performing an inspection routine on the first and second sets of images comprising calculating eccentricity E for each of the plurality of golf balls based on the following equation:
E= √{square root over (( E AoR 2 +E 1 2 +E 2 2 ))}

where E AoR is the eccentricity along the axis of rotation, E 1 is the shift from the first set of images, and E 2 is the shift from the second set of images.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the analyzer is capable of determining whether the calculated eccentricity meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of golf balls comprises at least two golf balls.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of golf balls comprises at least four golf balls.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first orientation is along the equator of the golf balls.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of golf balls further comprises an outer core layer disposed about the center to form an inner ball, and the cover is disposed about the inner ball.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the filter is formed from a material having a density of about 1 g/cm 3 to about 10 g/cm 3 .

15. The system of claim 8 , wherein the filter has a thickness of about 0.001 inches to about 0.25 inches.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the thickness is about 0.001 inches to about 0.025 inches.

17. The system of claim 8 , wherein the filter is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of brass, aluminum, copper, and alloys thereof.

18. A method of determining concentricity of a golf ball, comprising:
providing a golf ball comprising a center and a cover;
securing the golf ball in a holding apparatus, wherein the holding apparatus is radiolucent;
providing at least one x-ray imaging system comprising an x-ray source, a filter, and an imager;
capturing a first x-ray image of the golf ball at a first orientation at a first energy level;
placing the filter within a path of the x-ray source;
capturing a second x-ray image of the golf ball about a first axis at a second energy level, wherein the second energy level is less than the first energy level;
capturing a third x-ray image of the golf ball at the first energy level and a second orientation, wherein the second orientation is perpendicular to the first orientation;
capturing a fourth x-ray image of the golf ball at the second energy level and second orientation;
using a processor operatively connected to the x-ray imaging system, determining eccentricity for the golf ball based on a first eccentricity of the at least one golf ball at the first orientation and a second eccentricity of the golf ball at the second orientation.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second energy level is at least about 5 percent less than the first energy level.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the first and second orientations are perpendicular to each other.

Assignees

• Acushnet Co

Inventors

• Furze Paul
• Comeau Brian

Classifications

• G01B15/045 Primary

  by measuring absorption · CPC title

• A63B47/008 Primary

  Devices for measuring or verifying ball characteristics · CPC title

• G01B5/0023

  Measuring of sport goods, e.g. bowling accessories, golfclubs, game balls · CPC title

• A63B2102/32

  Golf · CPC title