Ball

• US 4,874,169 A
• Filed: 03/21/1988
• Issued: 10/17/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Peter G. Litchfield
• Original Assignee: Peter G. Litchfield
• Inventors: Litchfield, Peter G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marlo, George J.
• Application Number:
  US07/171,464
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• Field of Search: 273/58 K, 273/58 B, 273/232, 273/58 BA, 273/58 A, 273/58 R, 273/58 J, 273/60 R, 273/60 A, 273/65 EF, 273/26 R, 273/26 D, 273/61 R, 40/327
• US Class Current: 473/613
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/14 Special surfaces A63B37/0004 takes precedence

Abstract

A game ball has a first hemisphere provided with depressions or protrusions which constitute from 1% to 30% of the surface of the hemisphere, the depressions being located solely in the middle one-third annulus of the hemisphere. When projected along the plane of a line joining the first hemisphere and a second hemisphere, the ball will deviate from a normal trajectory in the direction of the one hemisphere. The second hemisphere may have a smooth surface, or may have a uniform texture, such as that found on a tennis ball.

Claims

1. A hand projectable game ball of generally spherical shape including a pair of complementary hemispherical portions joined along a generally equatorial line, one of said hemispheres of said pair including a predetermined uniform surface configuration extending over the entire surface of said hemisphere, the other hemisphere of said pair including an equatorial zone immediately adjacent said equatorial line, a polar zone and an intermediate zone between said polar and said equatorial zones, and flight control means on said other hemisphere substantially influencing the flight of the ball when thrown and confined solely to the area of said other hemisphere delineated as said intermediate zone and occupying between 1 pand 30 percent of said second hemispherical surface.

2. A ball according to claim 1 wherein said flight control means comprises surface disturbance within said intermediate zone significantly interrupting the surface of the ball, the remainder of the spherical surface of the ball being devoid of surface disturbance.

3. A ball according to claim 2, wherein said surface disturbance comprises at least one depression in said other generally hemispherical surface.

4. A ball according to claim 3, wherein said at least one depression comprises a regular pattern of depressions in said other generally hemispherical surface.

5. A ball according to claim 4, wherein each said depression has the shape of informational indicia including letters or numbers.

6. A ball according to claim 2, wherein said surface disturbance comprises at least one protrusion on said other generally hemispherical area.

7. A ball according to claim 6, wherein said at least one protrusion comprises a regular pattern of protrusions on said one generally hemispherical surface.

8. A ball according to claim 7, wherein each said protrusion has the shape of informational indicia including letters or numbers.

9. A ball according to claim 2, wherein said other generally hemispherical surface is provided with a uniform texture.