Illuminated sports ball
First Claim
1. An illuminated foam sports ball which is easily and quickly illuminated without the use of batteries or electric lamps and wherein the illuminating means does not substantially offset the aerodynamics, feel, or balance of the ball, comprising:
- a body having an exterior surface and at least two grooves extending around said body between points on said exterior surface;
two elongated flexible hollow transparent tubular housings each sized to receive a flexible chemiluminescent light stick and sized to fit within said grooves and extend between said points, said tubular housings each having an external diameter sized approximately the same as the diameter of said grooves and said grooves each having an approximately semi-circular cross-section, so that about one-hair of said tubular housing projects outward from said exterior surface;
a slot in each housing for easily inserting and removing said light sticks while securely retaining the light sticks in the housings;
a bore extending through said ball; and
an anchor cord within said bore attached to both ends of said tubular housings to help retain said tubular housings within said grooves.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An illuminated sports ball including flexible transparent tubing on its exterior for housing and exposing flexible light sources. The tubing is recessed in grooves around the ball so that only a portion thereof projects outward from the exterior surface of the ball. In one embodiment, the grooves terminate at common points on the ball and a central throughbore extends through the ball between these common points. An anchor cord which extends through a bore within the ball may be attached to the ends of the tubes to secure the tubes in the grooves. The tubes may extend within the ball to attach to the anchor cord, or to other tubes positioned around the ball. The light sources are chemiluminescent light sticks which are inserted into the tubes through a central slot. The slot desirably faces the grooves during use and the tubes are torsionally flexible and can be rotated to face outward for inserting the light sticks. In one embodiment the grooves extend in direct paths around the exterior periphery of the ball, while in a second embodiment the grooves follow non-linear paths around the ball.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An illuminated foam sports ball which is easily and quickly illuminated without the use of batteries or electric lamps and wherein the illuminating means does not substantially offset the aerodynamics, feel, or balance of the ball, comprising:
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a body having an exterior surface and at least two grooves extending around said body between points on said exterior surface; two elongated flexible hollow transparent tubular housings each sized to receive a flexible chemiluminescent light stick and sized to fit within said grooves and extend between said points, said tubular housings each having an external diameter sized approximately the same as the diameter of said grooves and said grooves each having an approximately semi-circular cross-section, so that about one-hair of said tubular housing projects outward from said exterior surface; a slot in each housing for easily inserting and removing said light sticks while securely retaining the light sticks in the housings; a bore extending through said ball; and an anchor cord within said bore attached to both ends of said tubular housings to help retain said tubular housings within said grooves. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A sports ball which is easily and quickly illuminated without the use of batteries or electric lamps and wherein the illuminating means does not substantially offset the aerodynamics, feel, or balance of the ball, comprising:
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a compressible body having an exterior surface and at least one groove extending around said body between two points on said exterior surface; an elongated flexible hollow tubular substantially transparent housing element adapted to receive a light-emitting source and sized to fit within said groove and extend between said two points, wherein said housing element comprises a transparent housing sized to receive a flexible chemiluminescent light stick. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An illuminated sports ball, comprising:
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a compressible body having an exterior a bore formed in the interior of said ball and at least one exterior groove formed between points on said exterior surface; an elongated flexible hollow tubular element adapted to receive a light-emitting source and sized to fit within said groove and extend between said points around said sports ball; and an anchor cord positioned with said throughbore and attached to opposite ends of said element to help retain said element in said groove around said sports ball. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of manufacturing an illuminated foam sports ball without substantially affecting the aerodynamics, feel or balance of the ball, comprising the steps of:
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forming the body of said ball with an exterior surface in which a groove extends between points on said exterior surface; positioning two elongated flexible tubular substantially transparent housing elements in said grooves, said elements adapted to receive light-emitting sources; and retaining said elements within said grooves wherein said step of retaining comprises extending said flexible housing elements from said grooves into the interior of said ball and securing them to a separate anchoring member provided in said ball. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A method of manufacturing an illuminated foam sports ball, comprising the steps of:
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forming a body of said ball with an exterior surface; forming a pair of grooves on said exterior surface, each extending on opposite sides of said ball between points on said exterior surface; forming a bore in the interior of said ball; positioning two elongated flexible tubular elements in said grooves, said elements adapted to receive light-emitting sources; positioning an anchor cord within said bore; and joining said two elements to said anchor cord to help retain said elements within said grooves.
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30. A method of manufacturing an illuminated foam sports ball without substantially affecting the aerodynamics, feel or balance of the ball, comprising the steps of:
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forming the body of said ball with an exterior surface in which a groove extends between points on said exterior surface; positioning two elongated flexible tubular substantially transparent housing elements in said grooves, said elements adapted to receive light-emitting sources; and retaining said elements within said grooves, wherein said step of retaining comprises extending said flexible housing elements from said grooves into the interior of said ball and securing them to each other.
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Specification