Patent Application
20250121258
The present invention is generally directed to sports balls. More particularly, the present invention is directed to soccer balls and other such balls fabricated from a plurality of geometrically shaped panels (typically pentagons and hexagons). Even more particularly, the present invention is directed to structures and methods that both make ball manufacturing easier while still providing balls that are softer and more desired by players and which also meet organizational specifications while still providing the appearance and feel of sport balls having a larger number of stitched-together panels.
The conventional shape of a sports ball, such as a soccer ball, comprises 32 panels which typically includes 20 hexagonally shaped panels and 12 pentagonally shaped panels. Sewing these panels, whether by hand or by machine, is a laborious job. In both machine sewn balls and in hand sewn balls, sewing is costly and consumes considerable work time. Stitching also requires attention to detail to make sure that graphical elements and other design components align with each other after assembly.
There are two aspects of ball manufacture that increase the cost of manufacture. Since stitching the panels together, whether by machine or hand sewing, is laborious and contributes significantly to the cost of manufacture, reducing the number of stitching operations significantly impacts the cost. In another aspect, stitching typically involves the use of relatively thick panels. Thicker panels render the sports balls softer and this is especially important in soccer as that game involves the practice of “heading” the ball; that is, hitting the ball with the player's head.
Although other panel designs have been created in both machine and hand sewn balls, none of them have caught on well with players. There is, however, one popular panel design which uses 12 pentagonally shaped panels which is employed in both hand and machine sewn balls. Sport ball manufacturers are turning out high production volumes using this 12 pentagon shaped panel ball due to its having fewer panels as compared to 32 panel balls. This 12 panel design provides high production volume using a manufacturing infrastructure which is very similar to the manufacture of 32 panel balls all of which tends to save significant production costs.
However, the 12 panel ball has its own drawbacks such as the panel size being larger than normal. Players cannot get a good grip on the ball because there are not as many sewing edges as found in constructions using 32 panels in which the player has more control. For this reason and others, there is a need to have a ball having fewer panels without sacrificing the player control provided by the sewn edges seen in balls having a full complement of 32 panels sewn together.
In ball making it is well known that the thicker the ball material (either PU, TPU or PVC or any other material top backed by suitable foamy material), the softer the ball is. For purposes of player comfort, use, control and safety, softer balls are more desirable. Whether hand sewn or made by machine there is a desire to make the balls softer. However, with the presence of thicker panels, the stitching together of the panels is made more difficult when stitching is required to penetrate panels having thicknesses typically greater than 4 mm.
On the other hand, a slightly thinner material ball cannot be made as soft and therefore it is not liked by soccer players. Furthermore, a ball which is shaped using thinner material is not liked and it forms a flat rounded shape ball. Such a ball does not provide the desired softness which is needed because of “heading” of the ball during the game. Balls made with thicker material are greatly desired by the players. These balls are usually made with thicker panels which are typically 4 mm thick and there is a desire to have balls made with even thicker foam material beyond 4 mm due to the kind of softness it provides; however, there is a restraint that balls with thicker panels are more difficult to sew. Furthermore, the shape of balls having material which is over 4 mm thick does not come out rounded and having a good appearance.
From the above, it is therefore seen that there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described herein and above.
It should be appreciated that this Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In a preferred embodiment, the sports ball of the present invention comprises 12 pentagonally shaped panels. This design provides a high production volume by reducing the sewing requirement. However, and more importantly, the present invention employs a pressed-on design using a heat press. Heat pressing is employed to incorporate shapes into the panels which would otherwise be provided by sewing. The advantages of this design are particularly evident in a sports ball having 12 pentagonally shaped panels. These advantages include: (1) a unique design is heat pressed onto each panel and, whether sewn by hand or by machine, the resultant ball looks like a 32 panel ball; (2) the desired design is heat pressed onto each panel's top material surface which preferably comprises TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), PU (polyurethane) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) leather with foam backing having a controllable thickness; (3) the 32 panel design created by heat pressing the panels' surface provides grooves which helps players better control the ball during play in a match, just like the original 32 panel sewn ball; and (4) high volume of production results from punching the ball panels from material for ball making and then sewing and printing which is made easier due to having fewer panels.
More generally, the present invention comprises a method and system for reducing the number of panels in a stitched-together sports ball by heat pressing grooves into sports ball panels and to match (simulate) stitching found in balls having a larger number of panels.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sports ball comprises a plurality of stitched together panels sewn at their edges and configured to form a closed volume by such stitching. Naturally, the ball includes an interior inflatable bladder which occupies the closed interior volume. However, in accordance with the present invention at least one of the panels includes grooves which simulate the presence of a larger plurality of panels. These simulated grooves are heat pressed into the panels and provide the same effect as if there were a larger number of panels that were sewn together. In this way the laborious effort at stitching together panels is significantly reduced. In accordance with the present invention, there is at least one of the panels which has groves therein which simulate the presence of seams thus producing the same effect as having larger number of panels.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the sewing burden is reduced by decreasing the number of panels that are employed. In particular, it is noted that pairs of pentagonal and/or hexagonal panels may be employed. In each case (there are three cases), panel portions are formed from a single piece of exterior material which is shaped like two adjoined pentagonal portions, two adjoined hexagonal portions, or one pentagonal panel portion paired with one hexagonal portion. In this way, the stitching which would ordinarily be required is replaced with a simulated seam.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention the panels are individually shaped so as to be thinner at their periphery than at their middle portions. In this way sewing is made easier while still providing desirable levels of softness, safety and control.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sports ball such as a soccer ball that requires significantly less effort at stitching panels together.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a soccer ball having fewer stitched together panels but which, to the players, feels like a ball having the usual number of panels.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a soccer ball which is easier to manufacture but yet meets all of the requirements of officially approved soccer balls.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a soccer ball which is easier to manufacture but which provides the same feel and texture to soccer players.
It is also an object of the present invention to reduce the number of sewing operations by geometrically combining similar or mating geometric shapes along an edge which is actually a simulated seam.
It is yet another object of the present invention to make the manufacture of sports balls, especially soccer balls, easier, quicker, and less expensive without sacrificing a player's desirability of using a ball made in accordance with methods described herein.
Lastly, but not limited hereto, it is an even further object of the present invention to produce soccer balls which are easy to manufacture but which possess the same structure as currently popular soccer ball forms.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention.
The recitation herein of desirable objects which are met by various embodiments of the present invention is not meant to imply or suggest that any or all of these objects are present as essential features, either individually or collectively, in the most general embodiment of the present invention or in any of its more specific embodiments.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of practice, together with the further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
In one embodiment of the present invention, a sports ball comprises only pentagonal panels such as the one shown in
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention as shown in
In order to make a ball with centrally thicker panels, a novel shape of the ball panels is described herein. By using such panels, this produces a ball that solves is not limited to the construction of sports balls the problem of sewing a ball with thicker panels and it will additionally provide extraordinary cushioning levels due to the thicker material present in the central portions of the panels.
A design heat press die is made in such a shape that, when heat pressed with a die there is formed a desired panel shape. This panel shape has its highest point in the center and, as it extends towards its perimeter, the panels exhibit slopes and taper down to a thinner thickness at the panel edges. With this procedure panels can now be sewn very easily to produce a ball which possesses panels having a dome shaped cross-section. Such panels provide cushioning through the use of foam material that has been shaped with the use of a heat pressed die. This produces sports balls fabricated from a plurality of geometrically shaped panels having raised middle portions. The panels thin down toward their edges. Such domed panels also enhance the life of the ball because the sewing lines lie in the recessed area and are not exposed to rubbing on the ground or to player contact. Thus there is less stress on the ball.
One of the embodiments of the present invention involves reducing the need for sewing by “combining” the function of two panels into a single piece of material. The single piece includes an embossed seam that runs along the geometric line separating the panel portions. The five sided portions are designated by reference numeral 501; the six sided portions are designated by reference numeral 502. In
Since certain seams in the present invention are provided by embossing, greater flexibility in patterning is employed. As seen in
It is noted that, while the illustrations herein indicate the presence of three layers (outer layer, foam and fabric) in the panels, the embodiments of the present invention are not confined to this exact layered structure. It is also noted that desirable sports balls of the present invention also include an inner bladder and possibly other interior wrappings that are not relevant to the present invention. As used herein, relating to the structures shown in
All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Although the description above contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of this invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural, chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention, for it to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 USC § 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”
While the invention has been described in detail herein in accordance with certain preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and changes therein may be effected by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
