Game ball

• US 5,123,659 A
• Filed: 03/01/1991
• Issued: 06/23/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Williams, Donald E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marlo, George J.
• Application Number:
  US07/660,898
• Time in Patent Office: 480 Days
• Field of Search: 273/60 R, 273/60 A, 273/60 B, 273/DIG. 22, 273/65 EE, 273/65 EF, 273/65 ED, 273/58 J
• US Class Current: 473/601
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/182 Softball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 37/0098 Rigid hollow balls, e.g. for pétanque
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/003 characterised by the choice of material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/04 Rotational or centrifugal casting, i.e. coating the inside of a mould by rotating the mould
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/22 Making multilayered or multicoloured articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/0461 by having different chemical compositions in different places, e.g. having different concentrations of foaming agent, feeding one composition after the other
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/66 the filler comprising hollow constituents, e.g. syntactic foam
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2023/0633 LDPE, i.e. low density polyethylene
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2096/005 Ionomers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/04 cellular or porous
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/165 Hollow fillers, e.g. microballoons or expanded particles
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/54 Balls
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/025 Copolymer of an unspecified olefin with a monomer other than an olefin
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/04 Macromolecular compounds according to groups C08L7/00 - C08L49/00, or C08L55/00 - C08L57/00; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 273/22 Ionomer

Abstract

A game ball is made by rotationally molding a hollow spherical shell from a blend of foamed ionomer resins (Surlyn 9450 and Surlyn 8528) and low density polyethylene resin. The center of the hollow spherical core may be filled with foamed polyurethane, and the spherical core may be covered by a leather cover. If desired, hollow ceramic microspheres or beads can be added to the resins before molding.

Claims

1. A game ball comprising a molded spherical shell having a spherical inside surface and a spherical outside surface which define a wall thickness, the shell being formed from a first ionomer resin which is a metal salt of the reaction product of an olefin having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms and an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid having from 3 to 8 carbon atoms, a second ionomer resin which is a different metal salt of the reaction product of an olefin having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms and an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid having from 3 to 8 carbon atoms, the total amount of the first and second resins being about 70 percent to 85 percent of the total amount of resin, and low density polyethylene in the amount of 15 to 30 percent of the total amount of resin.

2. The game ball of claim 1 in which the metal of the first resin is sodium and the metal of the second resin is zinc.

3. The game ball of claim 2 in which said first ionomer resin is present in an amount of about 10 percent to 20percent of the total amount of resin and said second ionomer resin is present in an amount of about 65 percent to 75 percent of the total amount of resin.

4. The game ball of claim 2 in which said first ionomer resin is present in an amount of about 17 percent of the total amount of resin, said second ionomer resin is present in an amount of about 68 percent of the total amount of resin, and said low density polyethylene is present in an amount of about 15 percent of the total amount of resin.

5. The game ball of claim 1 in which said shell further includes about 0.35 to 0.50 parts of blowing agent per 100 parts of resin.

6. The game ball of claim 1 including a foamed polyurethane center which fills the inside of said shell.

7. The game ball of claim 1 including a cover surrounding said shell.

8. The game ball of claim 1 in which said shell includes about 10 percent by weight of beads having a diameter of about 10 to 150 microns.