High visibility inflated game ball
First Claim
1. A high visibility game ball, comprising:
- a central inflated portion, anda cover formed over said central inflated portion, said cover including a plurality of panels at least one of which comprises a peroxide cured synthetic rubber and a tinting agent for enhancing the visibility of the ball, a portion of said ball which includes said at least one panel having a reflectance of at least 75% in a part of the visible spectrum.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A high visibility inflated game ball such as a basketball, football, soccer ball or volleyball. The game ball includes a central inflated portion and a synthetic rubber cover formed over the central inflated portion. The cover has fluorescent pigment, fluorescent dye, and/or optical brighteners incorporated therein in order to impart to the cover a reflectance of at least 75% in at least a portion of the visible spectrum. In another embodiment, reflective metallic particles are incorporated in addition to, or in place of the pigment, dye and optical brightener in order to add a glittery appearance to the ball cover. The particularly preferred game ball of the invention is a basketball, and is particularly useful at dusk when conventional basketballs of a dull orange color become difficult to see.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A high visibility game ball, comprising:
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a central inflated portion, and a cover formed over said central inflated portion, said cover including a plurality of panels at least one of which comprises a peroxide cured synthetic rubber and a tinting agent for enhancing the visibility of the ball, a portion of said ball which includes said at least one panel having a reflectance of at least 75% in a part of the visible spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A high visibility game ball comprising:
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a central inflated portion, and a translucent cover formed over said central inflated portion, said covering including a plurality of panels, at least one of which comprises a synthetic rubber and a material for enhancing the visibility of the ball, said material including a member selected from the group consisting of reflective particles having faces with a reflectance of at least 75%, and a tinting agent which imparts to at least a portion of the cover panel a reflectance of at least 75% in a part of the visible spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of forming a high visibility game ball, comprising the steps of:
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forming a central inflated portion, and forming a cover over said central inflated portion, said cover including a plurality of panels at least one of which comprises a peroxide cured synthetic rubber and a tinting agent for enhancing the visibility of the ball, said tinting agent being present in an amount sufficient to provide a portion of said ball which includes said at least one panel with a reflectance of at least 75% in a portion of the visible spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of forming a high visibility game ball, comprising:
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forming a central inflated portion, and forming a translucent synthetic rubber cover over said central inflated portion, said cover including a plurality of panels, at least one of which comprises a synthetic rubber and a material for enhancing the visibility of the ball, said material including a member selected from the group consisting of reflective particles having faces with a reflectance of at least 75% and a tinting agent which imparts to at least a portion of the cover panel a reflectance of at least 75% in a part of the visible spectrum.
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Specification