This invention pertains to balls used for athletic games, and more particularly to a method of utilizing a mold for forming pieces of a game ball and securing those pieces into a complete spherical ball.
Soccer balls and methods of their manufacture are well known in the art. Conventional soccer balls are constructed with a stiff polymer exterior with an internal air bladder. The covering of a ball is made of a number of panels stitched together. The thirty two panel ball consists of twenty hexagonal and twelve pentagonal surfaces. The covering is backed with multiple layers of lining of polyester or cotton blend which gives the ball its strength, structure, and bounce. A bladder is placed underneath the layers of covering to hold air. The bladders are usually made of latex rubber or butyl (rubber-like material). Most balls use valves for air retention.
A user inflates the interior bladder to the desired pressure prior to use on the field. The conventional construction presents several limitations. First, it may be difficult to obtain the desired internal pressure. If a user has a pump without a means for measuring pressure, the user may over internal bladder, making the soccer ball too stiff. Second, the internal bladder may be punctured, rendering the soccer ball flat and useless. Third, it is often difficult to achieve a consistent spherical shape during production as the shape is dependent upon the outer shell. Fourth, internal pressure is not consistent in conventional balls, either from ball to ball or during the lifetime of an individual ball. This variation in internal pressure affects the performance and response of the soccer ball during game play. What is needed is a soccer ball which does not utilize an internal inflatable bladder but still provides the proper level of pressure and response as a standard soccer ball.
Additionally, conventional soccer balls require several steps to manufacture. First the outer panel material is constructed with a layer of outer material being backed with a layer or layers of cotton or fibrous material attached via an adhesive. The material is then cut into the thirty-two panels and pre-punched with holes for stitching. The stitching is done by turning the ball inside out so none of the stitches show on the outside of the ball. The stitcher uses a guide to help in assembling the panels in the proper order. A different type of needle is used to complete the stitching of each panel so the final knot disappears. In some instances the panels are glued together rather than being stitched. The finished ball is reversed and the bladder is inserted and inflated. This process is long and tedious and involves multiple steps. What is needed is a process to form and assemble a soccer ball that only involves a few steps.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The invention is directed toward a method of making a game ball comprising selecting a blank of material, heating the blank of material, and putting the blank of material into a mold. The mold has a contoured face with a plurality of hexagonal shapes, a plurality of pentagonal shapes, and a plurality of border sections, each of the border sections disposed between two of the shapes. The hexagonal shapes and the pentagonal shapes are situated in a predetermined pattern. The border sections comprise a first bevel area, a second bevel area, and a groove disposed between the first bevel area and the second bevel area. The method further comprises deforming the blank of material, transferring the shape of the contoured face into the deformed blank of material, forming the deformed material into a molded game ball section, creating a plurality of pentagonal shapes in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the mold, creating a plurality of hexagonal shapes in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the mold, creating a plurality of border sections disposed between two shapes in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the mold, creating a pair of bevel sections within each of the border sections in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the mold, creating a groove disposed between each of the pair of bevel sections in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the mold, cooling the molded game ball section, removing the molded game ball section from the mold, and combining the molded game ball section with one or more other molded game ball sections to form a spherical game ball.
In another embodiment of the invention the method further comprises ensuring each of the plurality of border sections molded into the outer surface of the molded game ball section is substantially twelve millimeters wide, ensuring each of the pair of bevels in the plurality of border sections molded into the outer surface of the molded game ball section is substantially 1.5 millimeters deep into the surface of the molded game ball section, ensuring each of the grooves in the plurality of border sections molded into the outer surface of the molded game ball section has a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape with an angle of sixty degrees, is substantially 0.4 millimeters wide at the surface of the molded game ball section, and is substantially 0.3 millimeters deep into the surface of the molded game ball section, and ensuring that the thickness of the molded game ball section is substantially 2.5 millimeters from the inside edge of the molded game ball section to the outer edge of each of the plurality of grooves.
The method may further comprise creating a vacuum between the contoured face of the mold and the deformed blank of material. The method may further comprise applying hydraulic pressure to the deformed blank of material to compress the deformed blank of material into the mold. The method may further comprise applying an adhesive to the edge of the molded game ball section prior to adjoining the molded game ball sections. The method may further comprise applying an adhesive to the outer surface of the spherical game ball and applying an outer layer of material to the outer surface of the spherical game ball. The method may further comprise creating one or more connectors extending from the edge of the molded game ball section with the mold and creating one or more receivers extending into the edge of the molded game ball section with the mold. The connectors of one molded game ball section are complementary to the receivers of a second game ball section. The connectors of one molded game ball section are disposed within the receivers of a second game ball section when the molded game ball sections are combined together.
The invention is also directed towards a method of making a game ball comprising heating a predetermined amount of particulate polymer material to a melting point and creating a cavity between a contoured female mold and a male mold. The female mold has a contoured face. The contoured face comprises a plurality of hexagonal shapes, a plurality of pentagonal shapes, and a plurality of border sections, each of said border sections disposed between two of the shapes. The hexagonal shapes and the pentagonal shapes are situated in a predetermined pattern. The border sections comprises a first bevel area, a second bevel area, and a groove disposed between the first bevel area and the second bevel area. The method further comprises injecting a predetermined amount of the melted polymer into the cavity, forming the melted polymer into a molded game ball section, creating a plurality of pentagonal shapes in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the female mold, creating a plurality of hexagonal shapes in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the female mold, creating a plurality of border sections disposed between two shapes in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the female mold, creating a pair of bevel sections within each of the border sections in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the female mold, creating a groove disposed between each of the pair of bevel sections in the outer surface of the molded game ball section with the contoured face of the female mold, cooling the molded game ball section, removing the male mold from the female mold, removing the molded game ball section from the female mold, and combining the molded game ball section with one or more other molded game ball sections to form a spherical game ball.
Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described the embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of the best modes suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects all without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, wherein like reference numerals refer to identical or similar components, with reference to the following figures, wherein:
The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced with or without any combination of these specific details, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention and the claims.
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The mold 100 is used to form a polymer material into a partial section of a game ball. The segments of the ball are then combined together to form a complete game ball. The male mold 100 illustrated can be used to vacuum form material into the desired shape with the desired profile. It would be obvious to one skilled in the art that a female mold could be utilized as well. The female mold would have an internal profile identical to the profile of the male mold 100. The female mold could be used for vacuum forming a polymer into the desired shape or for compression molding or injection molding in connection with a male insert.
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Once the molded game ball sections 200 are fit together to form a completed game ball, the process may end there and the game ball may be used. However, referring to
The mold 100 may be used in any type of thermoforming process to manufacture the game ball. In addition, the mold 100 may be used in an injection molding, rotational molding, compression molding, blow molding, transfer molding, or any other type of elastomer or polymer molding process. Referring to
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In some embodiments, the molded game ball sections 200 may be adhered together at the edges with adhesive, ultrasonic welding, other means of attachment. The game ball may be formed from any type of material. In the preferred embodiment the molded game ball sections are formed of an elastomer, but other polymers and thermoplastics may be used. Ideally, the game ball section 200 is formed of polyurethane or thermoplastic polyurethane. The outer layer attached to the game ball may be made of any material, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, or any other polymer or elastomer.
The method of making the ball provides unforeseen benefits. The molding process can be used to create a soccer style game ball out of a minimum amount of material. Furthermore, the grooves molded into the surface of the game ball increases the strength of the game ball without increasing the thickness of the wall. In addition, the materials and grooves of the game ball create a rebounding and attribute in the game ball consistent with a standard soccer ball. In addition, the resulting game ball can be utilized without a bladder, allowing the ball to maintain a consistent internal pressure.
What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of such matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/007,436 filed on Jun. 4, 2014 and is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/026,171 filed on Sep. 13, 2013.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62007436 | Jun 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14026171 | Sep 2013 | US |
Child | 14730761 | US |