Inflatable game ball and method of making same

• US 20030125141A1
• Filed: 12/28/2001
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: I-Concept International, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mei Huei Liu
• Inventors: Chang, I-Teh
• Granted Patent: US 6,638,189 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/605
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/10 Bladder and cover united
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 45/00 Apparatus or methods for manufacturing balls working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29

Abstract

A sports or games balls having an inflatable bladder in which the bladder is re-inforced by a plurality of cloth (or other woven materials) pieces which are adhered to the bladder surface in a substantially orthogonal manner. The cloth-wrapped bladder is heat treated within a mould assembly to strengthen the glue bonding between the cloth pieces and the bladder surfaces and to provide a bladder with a well-defined shaped.

Claims

1. Method of making a sports- or games-ball having an inflatable bladder including the steps of:

inflating said bladder until the surface of said bladder is generally under tension,

adhering a plurality of woven material pieces to the outer surface of said inflated bladder,

moistening said woven material wrapped inflated bladder,

placing said woven material wrapped and inflated bladder inside a mould,

further inflating said woven material wrapped bladder to a pre-determined pressure until said bladder presses against said mould,

apply heat to said woven material wrapped and inflated bladder inside said mould to strengthen the bonding between said bladder and said cloth pieces.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said woven material-wrapped and bonded bladder is made into the shape of said mould.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said plurality of woven-material pieces are adhered in pairs of orthogonally running pieces.

4. The method according to claim 1, further including:

deflating said bladder and,

removing said bladder from said mould.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said woven-material pieces are pre-treated with a water-soluble adhesive before adhering to said inflatable bladder.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least some portion of said woven-material pieces overlap with adjacent woven-material pieces.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said woven material is made of cloth.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said woven material includes synthetic yarn.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said woven material is woven from fibre-glass or polyester yarn.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of woven-material pieces are adhered to said inflatable bladder in the following manner:

forming a first woven-material patch at one pole of said inflated bladder and substantially surrounding the air-inlet valve of said bladder, wherein said pole coincides with the location of said valve,

forming a second woven-material patch at the opposite pole of said inflated bladder, wherein said opposite pole is located diametrically opposite said valve,

joining said first and second woven-material patches by a plurality of longitudinally extending cloth pieces to form a first and a second circumferential strip of woven-material wrapping on said inflated bladder,

adhering a plurality of latitudinal running cloth pieces along the equator of said inflated bladder until the equator of said inflated bladder is substantially covered by woven-material,

applying further cloth pieces until remaining exposed portions of said inflated bladder is substantially covered by woven-material pieces.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein said woven-material patches surrounding said poles forms a cross or square shape.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said longitudinally extending woven material pieces join said first and second polar patches by connecting the corresponding salient part of said polar patches.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein said first and second polar of patches are joined by at least four latitudinal running woven material pieces.

14. A ball having a hollow inflatable bladder made according to the method of claim 1, characterised in that said bladder includes a plurality of cloth- or woven-material patch pairs bonded onto the surface of said inflatable bladder, wherein at least some of said pairs of patches are disposed in a diametrically opposite manner on the surface of said bladder.

15. A ball according to claim 13, wherein said bladder is enclosed within an outer body made of a plurality of sewn panels.

16. A ball having a hollow inflatable bladder made according to the method of claim 4, characterised in that said bladder includes a plurality of cloth- or woven-material patch pairs bonded onto the surface of said inflatable bladder, wherein at least some of said pairs of patches are disposed in a diametrically opposite manner on the surface of said bladder.

17. A ball having a hollow inflatable bladder made according to the method of claim 5, characterised in that said inflatable bladder includes a plurality of cross-shaped cloth pieces pairs disposed substantially at diametrically opposite ends of said bladder.

18. A ball having a hollow inflatable bladder made according to the method of claim 9, characterised in that said inflatable bladder is substantially covered by a plurality of woven-material patches with overlapping of adjacent patches.

19. A method of making an inflatable bladder of a ball by applying a plurality of cloth- or woven-material patch pairs onto the surface of said inflatable bladder, where at least some of said pairs of patches are disposed in a diametrically opposite manner on the surface of said bladder.

20. A ball having a hollow inflatable bladder, wherein said bladder includes a plurality of cross-shaped cloth pieces disposed substantially at the diametrically opposite ends of said bladder, said bladder is enclosed within an outer body made of a plurality of panels sewn together.

21. A ball having a hollow inflatable bladder, wherein said bladder includes a plurality of overlapping cross-shaped cloth pieces disposed on the surface of said bladder.