Method of manufacturing a ball

• US 4,239,568 A
• Filed: 07/07/1978
• Issued: 12/16/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Clearview Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Tachikawa Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Takazawa, Kazuyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Goolkasian, John T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dawson, Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US05/922,754
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 156/155, 156/156, 156/212, 156/242, 156/297, 264/221, 264/224, 264/314, 264/317, 273/58 BA, 273/58 B, 273/58 K, 273/58 R, 428/35, 249/65
• US Class Current: 156/155
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 22/04 Spherical articles, e.g. balls B29D22/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1028 by bending, drawing or stretch forming sheet to assume shape of configured lamina while in contact therewith
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1089 of discrete laminae to single face of additional lamina

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a ball for use in volleyball or soccer includes the steps of manufacturing a spherical hollow body of a brittle material, sticking cloth strips in an overlapping manner on the spherical hollow body to provide a bag body, cutting a predetermined portion of the bag body to make an opening thereon, collapsing the spherical hollow body in the bag body into pieces, taking the collapsed pieces out of the bag body through the opening, putting a tube having a valve through the opening into the bag body, sticking rubber ribbons on places corresponding to the overlapping portions of the cloth strips, and sticking leather sheets on the rubber ribboned bag body to provide an outer layer for the ball.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a ball, comprising:

manufacturing a spherical hollow body of a brittle frangible material;

adhering a first number N of four-sided polygonal-shaped cloth strips on said spherical hollow body in such a manner that the cloth strips overlap at the margins thereof to provide a first layer of a bag body;

adhering a second number N-1 of four-sided polygonal-shaped cloth strips on said bag body in overlying relation with respective ones of said cloth strips of said first layer to form a second layer of said bag body, with said second cloth strips overlapping each other at the margins thereof at the overlaps of the margins of said first cloth strips, such that all but one of said first cloth strips is covered by a respective second cloth strip;

collapsing said brittle spherical hollow body into pieces within said bag body, and thereafter cutting an opening through said still uncovered one of said cloth strips of said first layer of said bag body;

taking the collapsed pieces of said spherical hollow body out of said bag body through said opening;

providing a tube inflatable to a round configuration and having a valve for such inflating;

coating the exterior of said tube with a lubricant;

inserting said tube in a folded condition through said opening into said bag body such that said valve protrudes out of said bag body through said opening;

adhering the turned-up edges of said opening to the base of said tube valve;

providing another four-sided polygonal-shaped second cloth strip with an aperture and adhering said another second cloth strip in overlying relation on said uncovered one of said first cloth strips with said valve extending out through said aperture and the portion of said another second cloth strip surrounding said aperture overlying said edges of said opening in said one of said first cloth strips, to complete said second layer of cloth strips with said tube inside said bag body;

inflating said tube to provide an interior support for said bag body to thereby maintain the bag body with a spherical shape while maintaining a lubricated contact between the inflated tube and the bag body;

adhering thin, narrow, rubber ribbons atop the overlapping margins of said second cloth strips of said bag body while leaving a portion of each of said second cloth strips exposed between the surrounding ribbons;

forming low outwardly-projecting protrusions on and extending longitudinally along said ribbons;

sizing four-sided polygonal leather sheets to fit snugly upon the respective second cloth layer areas bounded by said low protrusions; and

adhering said sized leather sheets to respective ones of said second cloth strips while using said protrusions to help guide the edges of said leather sheets into position on said bag body so that said sized leather sheets are snugly bounded by said protrusions.

4. A method according to claim 1, including the steps of:

providing a vulcanizing mold with a spherical interior cavity having shallow grooves therearound at positions corresponding to the boundaries of the leather sheets;

positioning said bag body, with the ribbons adhered thereon, within the cavity of said vulcanizing mold;

inflating the tube within said bag body so that the bag body makes intimate contact with the inner surface of the mold; and

heat curing the ribbons within the mold for causing the material of the ribbons to flow into the grooves so as to form said protrusions.

2. A method of manufacturing a ball, comprising:

manufacturing a spherical hollow body of a fracturable material;

adhering a number of first cloth strips on said spherical hollow body in such a manner that the first cloth strips overlap at the margins thereof to provide a first layer of a substantially spherical bag body;

adhering a number of second substantially four-sided polygonal-shaped cloth strips on said bag body in overlying relation with said first layer to form a second layer of said bag body which substantially totally covers and surrounds said first layer except for at least a portion of one of said first cloth strips being uncovered, said second cloth strips overlapping each other at the margins thereof;

breaking said fracturable spherical hollow body into pieces within said bag body;

removing the fractured pieces of said spherical hollow body from the said bag body through an opening formed in the uncovered portion of said one first cloth strip;

providing a tube inflatable to a ball-like configuration and having a valve for such inflating;

coating the exterior of said tube with a dry lubricant;

inserting said tube in a folded condition through said opening into said bag body such that said valve protrudes out of said bag body through said opening;

providing a further second substantially four-sided polygonal cloth strip with an aperture therethrough and adhering said further second cloth strip in overlying relation on the uncovered portion of said one first cloth strip with said valve extending out through said aperture so as to complete said second layer of cloth strips with said tube being confined inside said bag body;

inflating said tube to provide an interior support for said bag body to maintain it with a spherical shape while maintaining a lubricated contact between the inflated tube and the bag body;

adhering thin elastomeric ribbons atop the overlapping margins of said second cloth strips of said bag body while leaving a portion of each of said second cloth strips exposed between the surrounding ribbons;

providing low outwardly-projecting protrusions on and extending longitudinally along said ribbons;

sizing four-sided polygonal-shaped outer covering sheets to fit snugly upon the respective second cloth layer areas bounded by said low protrusions; and

adhering said sized outer covering sheets to respective ones of said second cloth strips while using said protrusions to help guide the edges of said sized outer covering sheets into position on said bag body so that said sized outer covering sheets are snugly bounded by said protrusions.

3. A method according to claim 2, including the steps of:

providing a vulcanizing mold with a spherical interior cavity having shallow grooves there around at positions corresponding to the boundaries of the covering sheets;

positioning said bag body, with the ribbons adhered thereon, within the cavity of said vulcanizing mold;

inflating the tube within said bag body so that the bag body makes intimate contact with the inner surface of the mold; and

heat curing the ribbons within the mold for causing the material of the ribbons to flow into the grooves so as to form said protrusions.