Improvements in the Construction of Moulds to be employed in the Manufacture of Golf Balls.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Nov., 1897-Accepted, 22nd Jan., 1898
Improvements in the Construction of Moulds to be employed in
the Manufacture of Golf Balls.
I, WILLIAM HILLMAN, of 7, The Quadrant, Coventry, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
The invention has for its object improvements in the construction of moulds to be
employed in the manufacture of golf balls.
Heretofore golf balls moulds have so far as I am aware been made in two equal
parts, the ball produced has therefore been of unequal density, that at the hemi-
spherical line of junction being the least: the ball has therefore not long retained its
correct shape and the markings or projections on the ball at and near the line of
junction of the half moulds have been somewhat injured in removing the ball from
the mould.
Now according to my present invention I divide the mould into six equal parts
provided with radial meeting faces; each part mould is externally of rectangular
form and fits a corresponding opening in one or other of the six sides of a mould box
or guide block.
The bottom part mould is fixed firmly in the bottom of the mould box or guide
block and the other five part moulds are fitted with suitable heads formed with
shoulders to fit against the outer sides or faces of the mould box or guide block when
they are completely forced home. The four side moulds are provided with any
suitable operating mechanism so that they can all be moved forward and backward,
preferably, simultaneously and the top part mould is provided with mechanism by
which it can be raised and forced down when required. I also form one of the
openings in the mould box, preferably the upper one, of circular shape and I form
part of the head of its corresponding part mould to fit the same, the said circular
opening being large enough to readily admit the ball making material already
roughly shaped within the space enclosed by the part moulds when the latter are
moved outwards.
The part moulds are preferably formed on their inner faces with approximately
hemispherical recesses so as to produce on the ball corresponding approximately
hemispherical projections but other desired markings may be produced.
An effective arrangement for operating these part moulds is to fix the top part
mould to a vertical plunger which may be operated by a screw or otherwise and to
connect to said plunger four steel wedges which by acting in suitable guides shall
in their descent force the four side part moulds inward.
The mode in which the mould is used is as follows. The top part mould is raised
and the four side part moulds are moved outwards, a mass of material sufficient to
make a ball and already approximately ball shaped is placed within the mould box on
the bottom part mould, the top part mould and the fourside part moulds are then caused
to press the mass of material into the required shape after which the movable
part moulds are again separated and the ball removed.
The ball making material is heated in the usual way but by the use of the moulds
herein described it may be treated at a lower temperature than when using hemi-
spherical moulds.

page_text: After the removal of the ball from the mould the slight fins formed at the junctions
of the part moulds are removed.
Improvements in the Construction of Moulds to be employed in
the Manufacture of Golf Balls.
I, WILLIAM HILLMAN, of 7, The Quadrant, Coventry, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
The invention has for its object improvements in the construction of moulds to be
employed in the manufacture of golf balls.
Heretofore golf ball moulds have, so far as I am aware, been made in two equal
parts; the ball produced has therefore been of unequal density at different parts
thereof, that at the hemispherical line of junction being the least. The ball has
therefore not long retained its correct shape and the markings or projections on
the ball, at and near the line of junction of the half moulds, have been somewhat
injured in removing the ball from the mould.
When using moulds constructed according to my invention these difficulties are
avoided.
:-
I will describe my invention by the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Fig. 1 is a plan of a complete mould with all the parts in position as when a ball
is under compression therein.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same with the exception that the top part-mould has been
removed and the mould is shown empty.
Fig. 3 is a cross section drawn on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the mould
empty.
Fig. 4 is a side view and Fig. 5 is a plan of the uppermost part-mould.
Fig. 6 is a side view and Fig. 7 is an end view of one of the part-moulds and its
holder or carrier.
Fig. 8 is a side view of the mould box.
Fig. 9 is an external view and Fig. 10 a section of a ball as it leaves the
mould.
According to my present invention I divide the mould into six equal parts a,
a², a², a², a², a², provided with approximately radial meeting faces a³; each part-
mould is externally of rectangular form, except that the corners are slightly rounded,
and each of the part-moulds a a² fits a corresponding opening b¹ in one or other
of five of the six sides of a mould box or guide block b.
The bottom part-mould a is fixed firmly in the bottom of the mould box or guide
block b, and the part-moulds a² are formed or fitted with heads at formed with
shoulders to fit against the outer sides or faces of the mould box or guide block b
when they are completely forced home. I also form one of the openings 6¹ in
the mould box b, preferably the upper one 61*, of circular shape and I form the
part of the head as of its corresponding part-mould a¹ to fit the same, the
said circular opening 61 being large enough to readily admit the ball-making
material already roughly shaped within the space enclosed by the part-moulds when
the latter are moved outwards.
The part-moulds are preferably formed on their inner faces with a number of

page_text: approximately hemispherical recesses a so as to produce on the ball e corresponding
approximately hemispherical projections c¹, but other desired markings may be
produced.
The four side moulds a² are provided with any suitable operating mechanism so
that they can all be moved forward and backward, preferably simultaneously, and the
top part-mould a¹ is capable of being removed from the mould box 6 and of being
replaced and secured in position or of being raised and forced down when
required.
An effective arrangement for operating these part-moulds a¹ a² is represented in
the accompanying drawings, in which the part-moulds are carried and operated by
what is known as an "independent universal chuck," that is to say, the mould
box 6 is placed within a central space in the "chuck," the part-moulds a² are fixed
in holders, or carriers d' shaped to fit externally the chuck dogs d, which latter can
be independently adjusted by the screws e in relation to the radially sliding boxes d²,
whilst these latter with the dogs d are simultaneously advanced and withdrawn by
means of the scroll f taking into teeth on the parts d². The dogs d and the radially
sliding boxes d² are mounted with capability of sliding within spaces in the body g
of the chuck; the face plate or back part gl of the chuck is bolted to the body g
thereof, and a screw his screwed through the face plate g¹ to adjust and afford
support to the bottom part-die a. The mode in which the mould, as represented
in the drawings, is used, is as follows.
The scroll is fixed firmly to a suitable pillar, not shown, the body g of the
chuck is rotated so as to withdraw the part-moulds a² from their innermost
position to a sufficient distance apart, the nuts j of the swing plate i are slackened,
the swing plate is then swung round as shown at Fig. 2, and the top mould a¹
is then removed, the plastic gutta-percha, already roughly shaped to form the ball,
is then inserted into the space between the part-dies, the top part-die a¹ is replaced,
the swing-plate i is turned over the same and then secured by screwing the nuts j
firmly down by the fingers, the body g of the chuck is then swung round until all the
part-moulds a² are home, the part-mould occupying a fixed position whilst the
part-mould a' is brought to its home position as before described.
The ball-making material is heated in the usual way, but by the use of the moulds
herein described it may be treated at a lower temperature than when using
hemispherical moulds.
After the removal of the ball c from the mould the slight fins c² formed at the
junctions of the part-moulds are removed.
I would here remark that other means than that herein described may be employed
for operating the part-moulds. For instance, the top part-mould may be fixed to a
vertical plunger which may be operated by a screw or otherwise, and to said plunger
four steel wedges may be fixed, which, by acting in suitable guides, shall in their
descent force the four side part-moulds a² inwards and outwards.
Or said part-moulds a² may be connected to pistons working in hydraulic or
compressed air cylinders connected together so that by the admission of hydraulic or
air pressure to one or other side of the pistons, the said part moulds may be moved
in either direction simultaneously as desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that
what I claim is :-
The improved construction of golf ball moulds substantially as herein set forth.
nated this and dan of Navam han 1907
ovember.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.