Tennis ball
First Claim
1. A tennis ball comprising a resilient hollow core at least partially covered with a needlefelt having a surface and an entanglement of fibers in a range of angles including a plurality of angles which are non-perpendicular with respect to the surface.
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Abstract
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a tennis ball having a hollow resilient core to which a needlefelt covering is adhered. The needlefelt comprises an entanglement of fibers produced by needling a fiber batt in a range of angles including a plurality of angles which are non-perpendicular to the plane of the batt, and cutting or otherwise shaping the needlefelt to form a blank adapted at least partially to cover a ball. The needlefelt includes a scrim material therein.
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Citations
12 Claims
- 1. A tennis ball comprising a resilient hollow core at least partially covered with a needlefelt having a surface and an entanglement of fibers in a range of angles including a plurality of angles which are non-perpendicular with respect to the surface.
- 3. A tennis ball formed by securing a needlefelt to a resilient hollow core, wherein said needlefelt is characterized in that it comprises an entanglement of fibers formed by the needlefelting of a fiber batt passed through a needlefelting machine having at least one needleboard providing needles to penetrate said batt in a range of angles including a plurality of angles which are non-perpendicular with respect to the surface of the batt, and in that said needlefelt is cut or otherwise shaped to form a blank adapted at least partially to cover a ball.
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7. A needlefelt as claimed in 6, characterized in that the needleboard is correspondingly curved.
Specification