SPORTS BALL COMPRISING AUTOMATIC INFLATION MEANS AND METHOD TO MANAGE THE INTERNAL PRESSURE OF SUCH A BALL

• US 20080026886A1
• Filed: 07/12/2007
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Inventors: Blanpain, Roland, Vassilev, Andrea
• Granted Patent: US 7,654,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/593
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/12 Tools or devices for blowing up or closing balls for pricking-balls A63B39/04

Abstract

Sports ball, and more generally a pneumatic object with at least one internal pressure sensor (10) of said ball, automatic inflator (6), capable of compensating for a decrease in the internal pressure, this inflator having at least one gas micro-generator, said at least one micro-generator being capable of being actuated when the pressure sensor (10) measures an internal pressure below a predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. Sports ball comprising at least one internal pressure measurement sensor of said ball, automatic inflator, capable of compensating for a decrease in the internal pressure, comprising at least one gas micro-generator, said at least one micro-generator being capable of being actuated when the pressure measurement sensor measures an internal pressure below a predetermined threshold.

2. Sports ball according to claim 1, wherein said micro-generator comprises a pyrotechnic formulation capable of igniting by means of a Joule effect and an electrical actuator capable of inducing the ignition of said formulation.

3. Sports ball according to the claim 2, wherein the pyrotechnic formulation is solid propergol.

4. Sports ball according to claim 2, wherein the electrical actuator comprises a capacitive circuit powered by a micro-battery.

5. Sports ball according to claim 2, wherein the electrical actuator comprises a capacitive circuit powered by a device converting deformation energy of the object into electrical energy, of the piezoelectric device type.

6. Sports ball according to any of the above claims comprising an internal temperature sensor of the ball.

7. Sports ball according to claims 1 to 5, comprising several gas micro-generators distributed regularly so as to limit the unbalance effect.

8. Method to manage the internal pressure of a sports ball comprising several gas micro-generators and a pressure sensor comprising the following steps:

measurement of the internal pressure of the sports ball by the pressure sensor,

comparison of the pressure value with a threshold value,

activation of at least one gas micro-generator if the pressure value measured is below the threshold.

9. Method to manage the internal pressure of a sports ball according to the above claim, wherein the activation of the micro-generators is performed in a predefined order to prevent an unbalance effect.