Composition for coating the external surface of sport balls and balls thus obtained

• US 5,040,795 A
• Filed: 02/22/1990
• Issued: 08/20/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Adidas Sarragan France SARL (Adidas AG)
• Original Assignee: Adidas Fabrique de Chaussures de Sport SARL
• Inventors: Sonntag, Jean-Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): Schofer, Joseph L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Delmendo, R. H.
• Application Number:
  US07/483,453
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: 273/58 J, 273/58 B, 273/58 BA, 273/65 EE, 273/65 EG, 273/65 EC, 273/60 R, 273/60 A, 273/60 B, 273/235 A, 273/58 K, 273/58 R, 524/492, 524/493
• US Class Current: 473/596
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0025 Football American football A63B2243/007
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/08 Ball covers; Closures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 3/36 Silica
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 7/18 inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 5/00 Coating compositions, e.g. paints, varnishes or lacquers, characterised by their physical nature or the effects produced electrically insulating plastics, resins or waxes H01B3/30; Filling pastes
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 7/61 inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 7/67 Particle size smaller than 100 nm

Abstract

A sport ball is provided with an outer ball surface which has portions having a roughness higher than the portions of the surface. These rougher portions are obtained by applying, using a serigraphic process, a coating composition comprising a binder and an inorganic builder, the latter advantageously including a combination of substances having hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties.

Claims

1. A sport ball having an external surface which is locally covered at a plurality of sites which are widely distributed over said surface, by an adhering coating composition, and which remains uncoated by said coating composition throughout a remainder which is interspersed between and among said sites;

said coating composition comprising a binder having mixed therein at least one inorganic particulate builder which is a hydrophilic material, said hydrophilic material having a surface area of more than 40 m² /g and a specific gravity of less than 100 g/l;

said coating composition protruding from said surface as bumps and providing said sport ball with a greater surface roughness at said sites than does said external surface on said remainder of said external surface.

2. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

said coating composition further comprises at least one builder which is a hydrophobic material mixed into said binder, said hydrophobic material having a specific gravity of about 0.1 to less than 0.4 kg/dm³.

3. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

said binder is at least one compound selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, styrene-butadiene, butadiene-acrylonitrile, polyacrylate and polymethacrylate.

4. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

said hydrophilic material has a particle size of about 4-50 nm diameter.

5. The sport ball of claim 4, wherein:

said hydrophilic material is at least one inorganic compound selected from the group consisting of glass and pyrogenated silica.

6. The sport ball of claim 5, wherein:

said hydrophilic material is present in a said binder at a ratio of hydrophilic material to binder of about 30 to 70 g/kg.

7. The sport ball of claim 2, wherein:

said hydrophobic material has a particle size of about 10-200 microns in diameter.

8. The sport ball of claim 7, wherein:

said hydrophobic material is air filled and is at least one inorganic material selected from the group consisting of air-filled microspherules of glass and air-filled microspherules of silica.

9. The sport ball of claim 8, wherein:

said glass in an alkaline or alkaline earth silicate or borosilicate glass.

10. The sport ball of claim 8, wherein:

said hydrophobic material is present in said binder at a ratio of hydrophobic material to binder of about 10 to 50 g/kg.

11. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

each said site has a width of about 20-200 microns, each said bump projects outwards about 15-100 microns from said external surface, and said bumps are spaced from one another by about 2-5 mm.

12. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

said binder is substantially transparent.

13. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

said coating composition further comprises a die mixed into said binder, whereby said coating composition is provided with a color which is visually distinctively different from that of said external surface.

14. The sport ball of claim 1, wherein:

said coating composition further comprises a stabilizer against photochemical decay of said binder.

15. The sport ball of claim 1, configured as a soccer ball.