Inflatable game ball with a lobular carcass and a relatively thin cover

• US 6,123,633 A
• Filed: 09/03/1998
• Issued: 09/26/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Wilson Sporting Goods Company (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Guenther, Douglas G., Gaff, Bradley Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiu, Raleigh W.
• Application Number:
  US09/146,091
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 473/603, 473/604, 473/605, 473/609, 473/614, 473/596, 473/597
• US Class Current: 473/604
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0037 Basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/08 Ball covers; Closures therefor

Abstract

A game ball including a carcass and a plurality of thin cover panels which have a substantially uniform thickness. The carcass is shaped so that the outer surface of the ball has a plurality of lobes even though the cover has a uniform thickness. The carcass has an outer surface which includes a plurality of generally spherical portions, channels between adjacent spherical portions, and recessed surface portions between each channel and the adjacent spherical portions.

Claims

1. A game ball comprising:

a carcass which includes an inflatable bladder, the carcass having a lobular outer surface which is provided by a plurality of generally spherical portions, channels between adjacent generally spherical portions of the carcass, and recessed portions between channel and the adjacent spherical portions, and

a plurality of cover panels secured to the carcass, each cover panel having a central portion which is secured to one of the generally spherical portions of the carcass and a side portion which is secured to one of the recessed surface portions, each of the cover portions having a substantially uniform thickness of less than 1.25 mm, the central portions of the cover panels extending radially outwardly beyond the channels.

2. The game ball of claim 1 in which the thickness of the cover panels is about 0.70 to 1.00 mm.

3. The game ball of claim 1 in which the carcass has a cross sectional thickness through said generally spherical portions which is substantially the same as the cross sectional thickness through the channels.

4. The game ball of claim 1 in which the cross sectional thickness through said generally spherical portions of the carcass is greater than the cross sectional thickness through said channels.

5. The game ball of claim 1 in which each of the channels has a cross sectional height which is substantially the same as the thickness of the cover panels.

6. The game ball of claim 1 in which each of the channels has a cross sectional height which is greater than the thickness of the cover panels.

7. The game ball of claim 1 in which each of said recessed surface portions includes a concave portion which curves laterally outwardly and upwardly from a channel and a convex portion which merges the concave portion with a spherical portion of the carcass.

8. The game ball of claim 1 in which each of the channels includes a pair of flat parallel side walls and an outer surface.

9. The game ball of claim 8 in which the outer surface of each channel is concave and curved.

10. The game ball of claim 1 in which the outer surface of each channel is concave and curved.

11. The game ball of claim 1 in which the thickness of the cover panels is less than 1.00 mm.