Sport Ball Casing And Methods Of Manufacturing The Casing

• US 20150202500A1
• Filed: 01/29/2015
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Berggren, Scott R., Johnson, Scott W., Lindsay, Clayton J., White, Vincent F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,539,473 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/00 Characteristics of used materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0025 Football American football A63B2243/007
• 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: B29C 65/08 using ultrasonic vibrations non-plastics element to plastics elements B29C65/645
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/245 the heat transfer being achieved contactless, e.g. by radiation B29C65/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/30 Electrical means B29C65/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/133 Fin-type joints, the parts to be joined being flexible the parts to be joined being rigid B29C66/1312
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2022/02 Inflatable articles balls B29L2031/54 ; inner tyres B29L2023/245
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/54 Balls
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1043 Subsequent to assembly

Abstract

A spherical sport ball may include a casing that includes first and second substantially hemispherical panel components. Each substantially hemispherical panel component may be a unitary structure having a central panel and a plurality of polygonal peripheral panels adjacent to the central panel. In addition, the first substantially hemispherical panel component may be joined with the second substantially hemispherical panel component at a non-linear, circumferential seam between peripheral panels of the first hemispherical panel component and peripheral panels of the second hemispherical panel component.

Claims

1-26. -26. (canceled)

27. A method of making a spherical sport ball comprising:

forming a casing with a panel component having a unitary structure and including a polygonal central panel and a plurality of polygonal peripheral panels adjacent to the central panel; and

forming indentations in the casing, each indentation defining a side of the polygonal central panel and a side of one of the polygonal peripheral panels.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein forming the panel component includes cutting the entire panel component from a single sheet of casing material.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein forming the indentations includes applying compression and heat to the casing.

30. The method of claim 27, further including joining each peripheral panel to adjacent peripheral panels.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein joining each peripheral panel to adjacent peripheral panels forms a first substantially hemispherical panel component.

32. The method of claim 31, further including forming a second substantially hemispherical panel component and joining the first substantially hemispherical component to the second substantially hemispherical component by forming a non-linear circumferential seam.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein joining each peripheral panel to adjacent peripheral panels and joining the first and second substantially hemispherical panel components include welding the casing.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein joining each peripheral panel to adjacent peripheral panels includes welding flange areas forming edge portions of the peripheral panel to flange areas forming edge portions of the adjacent peripheral panels.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein joining the first and second substantially hemispherical panel components includes welding flange areas forming edge portions of the peripheral panels of the first substantially hemispherical panel component to flange areas forming edge portions of the peripheral panels of the second substantially hemispherical panel component.

36. A method of making a spherical sport ball comprising:

forming a first panel component that has a unitary structure including a first pentagonal central panel and a plurality of first pentagonal peripheral panels;

joining adjacent edges of the first pentagonal peripheral panels to each other to form five welded seams;

forming a second panel component that has a unitary structure including a second pentagonal central panel and a plurality of second pentagonal peripheral panels;

joining adjacent edges of the second pentagonal peripheral panels to each other to form five welded seams; and

locating the first panel component adjacent to the second panel component and forming a non-linear welded seam between the first pentagonal peripheral panels and the second pentagonal peripheral panels.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein forming the first panel component includes forming elongated indentations in the first panel component, the indentations forming the sides of the pentagonal central panel and at least one side of each polygonal peripheral panel.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the indentations are elongate regions of the first panel component that have been compressed.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the first and second central panels each have a regular pentagonal shape, wherein the peripheral panels have a regular pentagonal shape, and the indentations in the casing are arranged to resemble seams between the panels of a pentagonal panel pattern.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein each of the plurality of first pentagonal peripheral panels includes a plurality of flange areas extending from edges of the first pentagonal peripheral panels;

wherein joining adjacent edges of the first pentagonal peripheral panels to each other includes joining the flange areas of the first pentagonal peripheral panels to flange areas of adjacent polygonal peripheral panels.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein each of the plurality of first pentagonal peripheral panels includes a first plurality of flange areas extending from edges of the first pentagonal peripheral panels;

wherein each of the plurality of second pentagonal peripheral panels includes a second plurality of flange areas extending from edges of the second pentagonal peripheral panels; and

wherein forming a non-linear welded seam between the first pentagonal peripheral panels and the second pentagonal peripheral panels includes welding flange areas of each of the first pentagonal peripheral panels to flange areas of the second pentagonal peripheral panels.

42. A method of making a spherical sport ball comprising:

forming a casing with a first panel component having a unitary structure and including a first polygonal central panel and a first plurality of polygonal peripheral panels adjacent to the first central panel; and

forming indentations in the casing, each indentation defining a side of the first polygonal central panel and a side of one of the first polygonal peripheral panels;

wherein the first panel component includes flange areas that form edge portions of the first polygonal peripheral panels, the flange areas of each of the first polygonal peripheral panels being joined to flange areas of adjacent polygonal peripheral panels; and

wherein the flange areas of adjacent peripheral panels of the first panel component are coextensive at a vertex between the adjacent peripheral panels.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the indentations are elongate regions of the casing that have been compressed.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the first central panel has a regular pentagonal shape, and the first polygonal peripheral panels have a regular pentagonal shape;

and

wherein forming the indentations in the casing includes arranging the indentations to resemble seams between the panels of a pentagonal panel pattern.

45. The method of claim 42, further including forming a second panel component having a unitary structure and including a second polygonal central panel and a plurality of second polygonal peripheral panels adjacent to the second central panel;

wherein the first panel component is joined with the second panel component at a circumferential seam between the first polygonal peripheral panels of the first panel component and the second polygonal peripheral panels of the second panel component.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein each of the first panel component and the second panel component is a substantially hemispherical panel component and the ball is spherical.