Patent Application
20080073809
For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should now be made to the embodiments illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings and described below by way of examples of the invention:
In the following figures, the same reference numerals are used to identify the same components in the various views.
Referring to
The two-piece lacrosse ball 12 includes two separate pieces 22, 24 that are coupled together as and function as an integral spherical unit. The first piece 22 includes two different colored regions 14 and 16, here illustrated as blue and white, while the second piece 24 includes another colored region 18, here shown as yellow. The outer visible surface 20 of the ball 12 may include protrusions 17 and/or indentations 19. Collectively, the colored regions 14, 16, 18, the protrusions 17, and the indentations 19 may be referred to as markings 21. Markings 21 that may be used on lacrosse balls 12 include, but are not limited to, color patterns, numbering, lettering, shapes, and logos or other indicia. Additionally, the outer surface 15 of the ball 12 may also have a texture formed thereon to provide improved aerodynamics and/or non-skid properties to the ball 12.
For a lacrosse ball 12 capable of being used in play and in accordance with current NCAA and other professional governing body rules, each of the pieces 22, 24 are required to be formed of synthetic or natural rubber. For other sports or recreational uses, the choice of materials used in the sports balls is not so limited, and may include other elastomeric materials other than synthetic rubber or natural rubber, or other non-elastomeric materials as one of ordinary skill in the art may contemplate. The composition of materials used in the first piece 22 may be the same as used for the second piece 24, or may be different, with the only requirement being that the coupled pieces have sufficient adherence to one another to function as if they were one piece during usage of the ball.
In an alternative preferred method (not shown), the first piece 22 may be formed via an injection molding technique, wherein the molten raw material 40 is injected within a mold at a desired temperature and pressure to fill the mold. The molten raw material 40 is allowed to cool, and the first piece is then removed from the mold.
Next, as shown in
Alternatively, the lacrosse ball may be formed using a pour molding technique (not shown) similar to the injection molding technique of
The composition of molten raw material 54 may be the same as the molten raw material 40. Alternatively, the composition of the molten raw material 54 may be different that that of the molten raw material 40, depending upon the ultimate characteristics of the lacrosse ball desired. For example, a lacrosse ball 12 meeting current NCAA specifications is required to be formed of either natural rubber or synthetic natural rubber. Thus, the composition of the first piece 22 and second piece 24 may both be synthetic rubber, or may both be natural rubber, or the first piece 22 may be natural rubber and the second piece 24 may be synthetic rubber, and fall within the spirit of the present invention.
In addition, the composition of the first piece 22 and the second piece 24 may both be of the same general composition, but have varying compositions within this general classification and still fall within the spirit of the present invention. Thus, for example, the first piece 22 and second piece 24 could be formed of a synthetic rubber material having slightly varying positioning of pendent groups or atoms on the polymer chains, or chain lengths, or crosslinking, and still fall within the spirit of the present invention.
Moreover, and preferably, the color of the first piece 22 and the second piece 24 are different so as to create the distinctive colored regions 14, 18 representing a marking or markings visible to the user. Distinctive color regions are formed primarily by the introduction of pigments or dyes into the respective molten polymer materials 40, 54 prior to molding. However, as one of ordinary skill recognizes, subtle changes to the chemical structure of the respective molten raw materials 40, 54 may also achieve this desired result.
To form the second colored region 16 on the first piece 22, paint, ink or another coloring material 56 are applied to a portion 58 of the rounded outer surface 44 in a postproduction step. These coloring materials 56 are applied via spraying, dipping, brushing, or any other application technique known to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art.
As one of ordinary skill recognizes, the protrusions 17 and/or indentations 19 on the outer visible surface 20 of the ball 12 may also be introduced while forming the first 22 and/or second piece 24 by simply altering the shape of the respective molds 42, 48 prior to introduction of the respective molten raw materials 40, 54 used to form the respective pieces 22, 24. The shapes and size of these protrusions 17 or indentions 19, like the shapes and sizes of the pieces 22, 24, may vary greatly, depending upon the desired visible appearance of the outer surface 20 of the ball 12.
As one of ordinary skill appreciates, a sports ball that includes three or more pieces is easily attainable by slight modifications to the preferred method described above.
For example, a three-piece ball 58 could be made with a slight modification to the process described in
Similar to the two-piece ball 12 described above, the compositions of the each of the pieces 60, 64, 68 may be the same, or vary, as desired by the manufacturer. Moreover, and preferably, the color of the first piece 60 the second piece 64 and the third piece 68 are different so as to create the distinctive colored regions representing a marking or markings visible to the user. However, the color of any of the three pieces 60, 64, 68 may be the same and create the same effect.
Alternatively, as shown in
Similar to the three-piece ball 58 described above, the compositions of the each of the pieces 72, 74, 78 may be the same, or vary, as desired by the manufacturer. Moreover, and preferably, the color of the first piece 72, the second piece 74 and the third piece 78 are different so as to create the distinctive colored regions representing a marking or markings visible to the user. However, the color of any of the three pieces 72, 74, 78 may be the same and create the same effect.
As one of ordinary skill can envision, four-, five- and six- or more-piece balls may be formed by slightly altering the methods as described in
The visible outer surface portions of one or more of the pieces disclosed in conjunction with any of the preferred embodiments described in
The introduction of these logos and other indicia, as molded in features, are also advantageous in that they do not adversely affect the roundness, and hence playability, of the sports balls by their introduction. Moreover, as these features are molded-in, they do not wear-off easily during use. Finally, because these logos and other indicia can be introduced with contrasting color schemes, they are especially prominent and visible to the user, especially compared to protrusions or indentions typically formed today on sports balls that are the same color.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, numerous variations and alternate embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, other molding techniques other than pour molding or injection molding are specifically contemplated herein. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only in terms of the appended claims.
