Avoidance of resonance in the inflatable sport ball by limiting the critical ratio
First Claim
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1. A sport ball comprising a self-contained inflation mechanism, wherein said sport ball comprising a self-contained inflation mechanism has substantially the same rebound characteristics as a corresponding sport ball that does not comprise a self-contained inflation mechanism.
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Abstract
A sport ball having an internal device such as an internal pump has a critical ratio that insures that rebound characteristics or coefficient of restitution of the ball, such as a basketball, will be acceptable for use. The invention also includes the method for evaluating design and/or quality control of a sport ball by measuring the internal vibration and determining the critical ratio of the sport ball.
31 Citations
32 Claims
- 1. A sport ball comprising a self-contained inflation mechanism, wherein said sport ball comprising a self-contained inflation mechanism has substantially the same rebound characteristics as a corresponding sport ball that does not comprise a self-contained inflation mechanism.
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21. A sport ball having a self contained inflation mechanism and exhibiting a minimum critical ratio equal to:
- (half period of component vibration)/(duration of the ball'"'"'s impact with the floor), wherein the critical ratio is selected such that the sport ball having the self contained inflation mechanism exhibits substantially the same minimum critical ratio as a comparable sport ball without a self contained inflation mechanism.
- View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of determining the critical ratio of an inflated sport ball, comprising the steps of:
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a) determining the duration of the ball'"'"'s impact with the floor;
b) determining the half period of component vibration;
calculating the critical ratio by dividing the half period of component vibration, (b), by the duration of the ball'"'"'s impact with the floor, (a). - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A sport ball which comprises a self-contained inflation mechanism, the sport ball having rebound characteristics determined by dropping the ball repetitively with different orientations from a height of 72 inches onto a wooden floor and measuring the rebound height that occurs when respective surface areas of the ball contact the floor,
wherein the ball has rebound characteristics according to which the maximum rebound height minus the minimum rebound height is less than or equal to 5.5 inches.
Specification