Wear indicator for sports balls
First Claim
1. In a sports ball having an external surface susceptible of wear in relation to its extent of use, a wear indicator on said surface defined by a plurality of marking elements, each of said elements being of a different thickness so as to have a different predetermined degree of resistance to wear in relation to use of said ball so as to signify different selected degree of wear when each respective of said marking elements is no longer visible to the human eye.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A wear indicator is provided for use on sports balls and other articles of manufacture, the wear indicator consisting of one or more dots imprinted upon the surface of the article, each dot manifesting a different degree of resistance to wear due to article use and each dot being composed of a mixture of pigment and a rubber cement hardener in which the resistance to wear is proportional to the ratio of the hardener to the pigment, or in which each dot is of a selected thickness and wear resistance proportional to its thickness. A brand name also may be imprinted on the surface of the article either as a permanent marking or to signify a predetermined degree of wear when no longer visible to the eye.
17 Citations
17 Claims
- 1. In a sports ball having an external surface susceptible of wear in relation to its extent of use, a wear indicator on said surface defined by a plurality of marking elements, each of said elements being of a different thickness so as to have a different predetermined degree of resistance to wear in relation to use of said ball so as to signify different selected degree of wear when each respective of said marking elements is no longer visible to the human eye.
- 9. In a sports ball having an external surface susceptible of wear in relation to its extent of use, a wear indicator on said surface defined by at least one visible marking element having a predetermined degree of resistance to wear in relation to use of said ball so as to become invisible after said ball is exposed to a predetermined degree of wear, wherein each said marking element is composed of a mixture of a pigment and a rubber cement hardener.
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15. The method of indicating degree of wear of a sports ball comprising the steps of:
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(a) forming a plurality of different colored dots by intermixing a plurality of different colored pigments with a rubber cement hardener material, the ratio of said hardener to each of said different colored pigments increasing with the degree of wear to be represented by each said color; and
(b) applying each of said different colored dots to an external surface of said sports ball. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification