American-style football including electronics
First Claim
1. An American-style football having a major longitudinal dimension extending about a longitudinal axis comprising:
- an inflatable prolate spheroidal shaped bladder including a valve;
a lining positioned about the bladder;
a cover assembly including at least first, second, third and fourth cover panels joined along longitudinally extending seams and collectively positioned over the bladder and the lining, the football formed without a separate layer of padding positioned between the cover assembly and the lining, each of the first, second, third and fourth cover panels contacting the lining at locations spaced apart from the seams, the valve extending through the lining and the cover assembly;
a lacing coupled to the first and fourth cover panels; and
at least one thin electronic tag positioned between the lining and the cover assembly, and spaced apart from the valve, the at least one tag being covered by one or both of the first and fourth cover panels but not covered by the second and third cover panels, such that neither the second cover panel nor the third cover panel overlie the at least one tag or any other electronic circuit, the at least one tag configured to enable at least one characteristic of the football to be monitored during use.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An American-style football having a major longitudinal dimension extending about a longitudinal axis and including an inflatable prolate spheroidal shaped bladder, a lining positioned about the bladder, a cover assembly, a lacing and a thin electronic tag. The cover assembly includes at least first, second, third and fourth cover panels collectively positioned over the bladder and the lining. The lacing extends along a longitudinal plane extending through the longitudinal axis and is coupled to the first and fourth cover panels. The tag is positioned between the lining and the cover assembly. The tag is covered by at least one of the first and fourth cover panels but not covered by the second and third cover panels. The tag is configured to enable at least one characteristic of the football to be monitored during use. In another example implementation, the tag is positioned between the lining and the bladder.
128 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An American-style football having a major longitudinal dimension extending about a longitudinal axis comprising:
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an inflatable prolate spheroidal shaped bladder including a valve; a lining positioned about the bladder; a cover assembly including at least first, second, third and fourth cover panels joined along longitudinally extending seams and collectively positioned over the bladder and the lining, the football formed without a separate layer of padding positioned between the cover assembly and the lining, each of the first, second, third and fourth cover panels contacting the lining at locations spaced apart from the seams, the valve extending through the lining and the cover assembly; a lacing coupled to the first and fourth cover panels; and at least one thin electronic tag positioned between the lining and the cover assembly, and spaced apart from the valve, the at least one tag being covered by one or both of the first and fourth cover panels but not covered by the second and third cover panels, such that neither the second cover panel nor the third cover panel overlie the at least one tag or any other electronic circuit, the at least one tag configured to enable at least one characteristic of the football to be monitored during use. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An American-style football having a major longitudinal dimension extending about a longitudinal axis comprising:
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an inflatable prolate spheroidal shaped bladder including a valve; a lining positioned about the bladder; a cover assembly including at least first, second, third and fourth cover panels joined along longitudinally extending seams and collectively positioned over the bladder and the lining, the football formed without a separate layer of padding positioned between the cover assembly and the lining, each of the first, second, third and fourth cover panels contacting the lining at locations spaced apart from the seams, the valve extending through the lining and the cover assembly; a lacing coupled to the first and fourth cover panels; and at least one thin electronic tag positioned between the lining and the bladder, and spaced apart from the valve, the at least one tag being covered by the lining, and by one or both of the first and fourth cover panels, but not covered by the second cover and third cover panels such that neither the at least one tag nor any other electronic circuit is covered by lining and by one or both of the second and third cover panels, the at least one tag configured to enable at least one characteristic of the football to be monitored during use. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification