Sport Ball Bladder

• US 20090325745A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike International Ltd. (Nike, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: White, Vincent F., Rapaport, Zvi
• Granted Patent: US 8,210,973 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/604
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2039/006 pressurised
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 39/00 Hollow non-inflatable balls , i.e. having no valves rigid balls A63B37/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 39/04 Pricking-balls; Tools for blowing them up
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/04 Closures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/08 Ball covers; Closures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 45/00 Apparatus or methods for manufacturing balls working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 22/02 Inflatable articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 22/04 Spherical articles, e.g. balls B29D22/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/42 Alternating layers, e.g. ABAB(C), AABBAABB(C)
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/00 Coating on the layer surface
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2274/00 Thermoplastic elastomer material thermoplastic elastomer fibres B32B2262/0215, thermoplastic elastomer particles B32B2264/0221, thermoplastic elastomer foam B32B2266/0292
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/31 Heat sealable
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/54 Yield strength; Tensile strength
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/554 Wear resistance
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/704 Crystalline
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/7145 Rot proof, resistant to bacteria, mildew, mould, fungi
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/7242 Non-permeable
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/065 of foam
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/08 of synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/12 next to a fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/304 : comprising vinyl halide (co)polymers, e.g. PVC, PVDC, PVF, PVDF
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/306 : comprising vinyl acetate or vinyl alcohol (co)polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/40 : comprising polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 : using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties

Abstract

A sport ball may include a casing and a bladder. The casing may form at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball. The bladder may be located within the casing and formed from a plurality of polymer bladder elements joined along abutting edges to form a sealed and valveless structure that encloses a pressurized gas. In some configurations, the bladder may be at least partially formed from an ether-based thermoplastic polyurethane material.

Claims

1. A sport ball comprising:

a casing that forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball; and

a bladder located within the casing, the bladder being formed from a plurality of polymer bladder elements joined along abutting edges to form a sealed and valveless structure that encloses a pressurized gas.

2. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein an intermediate layer is located between the casing and the bladder.

3. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein the bladder elements have at least one of pentagonal and hexagonal shapes.

4. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein the abutting edges of the bladder elements are bonded to each other to define seams between the bladder elements, and a sealed fill inlet is bonded to one of the seams.

5. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein a sealed fill inlet is bonded to the bladder between corners of at least three of the bladder elements.

6. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein the bladder elements include a thermoplastic polymer material.

7. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein the bladder elements include an ether-based thermoplastic polyurethane material.

8. The sport ball recited in claim 1, wherein the bladder elements include alternating layers of polyurethane and ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer.

9. A sport ball comprising:

a casing that forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball, the casing including a first number of casing panels joined along abutting edges; and

a bladder located within the casing, the bladder being formed from the first number of polymer bladder panels joined along abutting edges.

10. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein each of the casing panels have a first shape, and each of the bladder panels have the first shape.

11. The sport ball recited in claim 10, wherein the first shape is pentagonal.

12. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein a portion of the casing panels have a first shape and another portion of the casing panels have a second shape, and a portion of the bladder panels have the first shape and another portion of the bladder panels have the second shape.

13. The sport ball recited in claim 12, wherein the first shape is pentagonal and the second shape is hexagonal.

14. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein the bladder has a sealed and valveless structure that encloses a pressurized gas

15. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein an intermediate layer is located between the casing and the bladder.

16. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein the bladder elements include a thermoplastic polymer material.

17. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein the bladder elements include an ether-based thermoplastic polyurethane material.

18. The sport ball recited in claim 9, wherein the bladder elements include alternating layers of polyurethane and ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer.

19. A sport ball comprising:

a casing that forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball; and

a bladder located within the casing and at least partially formed from an ether-based thermoplastic polyurethane material.

20. The sport ball recited in claim 19, wherein the bladder is formed from a plurality of polymer bladder elements joined along abutting edges to form a sealed and valveless structure that encloses a pressurized gas.

21. The sport ball recited in claim 19, wherein the casing includes a first number of casing panels joined along abutting edges, and the bladder is formed from the first number of polymer bladder panels joined along abutting edges.

22. The sport ball recited in claim 21, wherein each of the casing panels have a first shape, and each of the bladder panels have the first shape.

23. The sport ball recited in claim 19, wherein an intermediate layer is located between the casing and the bladder.

24. The sport ball recited in claim 19, wherein the bladder is formed from various bladder elements having at least one of pentagonal and hexagonal shapes.

25. A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:

bonding edges of a plurality of polymer elements together to define seams in a bladder;

joining an inflation tube to the bladder at a location of at least one of the seams;

locating the bladder within an interior of a casing of the sport ball such that the inflation tube extends through the casing and to an exterior of the casing;

injecting a pressurized fluid into the bladder through the inflation tube; and

sealing the inflation tube.

26. The method recited in claim 25, wherein the step of joining includes bonding the inflation tube to the bladder.

27. The method recited in claim 25, wherein the step of joining includes locating the inflation tube where the edges of at least three of the polymer elements are bonded together.

28. The method recited in claim 25, wherein the step of sealing includes trimming the inflation tube.

29. The method recited in claim 25, further including a step of placing the inflation tube into the casing following the step of sealing.

30. A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:

cutting a planar polymer sheet to define a plurality of planar polymer elements;

bonding edges of the planar polymer elements together to form a bladder; and

inflating the bladder to induce the planar polymer elements to curve outward.

31. The method recited in claim 30, wherein the step of bonding includes forming the bladder to have a sealed and valveless structure.

32. The method recited in claim 30, further including a step of locating the bladder within a casing of the sport ball.

33. A sport ball comprising:

a casing that forms at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball, the casing being formed from a plurality of fluid-filled chambers; and

a bladder located within the casing, the bladder having a sealed and valveless structure that encloses a pressurized gas.

34. The sport ball recited in claim 33, wherein a polymer material forming an exterior of the casing contacts a polymer material forming an exterior of the bladder.

35. The sport ball recited in claim 33, wherein the bladder elements have at least one of pentagonal and hexagonal shapes.

36. The sport ball recited in claim 33, wherein the bladder is formed from a plurality of polymer bladder elements joined along abutting edges