Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
473595000 | Having means other than ellipsoidal spheroid shape (e.g., football shaped, etc.) to produce erratic or unpredictable rebounding or rolling thereof | 6 |
20110207564 | BALL HAVING MODIFIED SURFACES FOR TRAINING - A ball having a modified surface for training includes an inflatable bladder that includes an inner surface that defines an inflation chamber and an outer ground contacting layer that is disposed on an outer surface of the bladder. The ground contacting layer includes at least one protrusion that is formed during the manufacture of the ball. The protrusion extends radially outward from surrounding portions of the ground contacting layer so as to create a local modified surface area that imparts different bounce properties (bounding pattern) to the ball than the surrounding ground contacting layer portions, thereby causing the ball to have an unpredictable bounding pattern depending upon which portion of the ball strikes the ground. | 08-25-2011 |
20110218064 | BALL WITH ANOMALIES - A bouncy ball includes anomalies which, when bounced upon, causes the ball to bounce irregularly. The anomaly may comprise a solid protrusion formed integrally with an outer skin of the ball or a separate plug filled into a pocket formed in the outer skin. The shape of the protrusion may be partially spherical. The solid protrusion may also include elongate grooves, flat surfaces or any other desired shape, such as a star. The bouncy ball may also include a secondary bladder with inflatable anomalies. The secondary bladder is coupled to a generally spherical inner tube which may be formed with grooves to receive the secondary bladder. Outer skins may be coupled over the secondary bladder and inner tube. | 09-08-2011 |
20110256967 | RANDOM DIRECTION BOUNCER - The present invention is a random direction bouncer including a solid sphere having a core removed therefrom to define a concentric hollow within the solid sphere. The solid sphere has an outer surface and an inner surface. There is at least one cut-out removed from the solid sphere to define an opening corresponding to the cut-out, with the cut-out opening extending from the sphere outer surface to the inner surface, and being in communication with the concentric hollow. The resultant bouncer bounces in a random direction when dropped or thrown against a flat surface, instead of returning to its origin (or thereabouts). | 10-20-2011 |
20130260927 | AMERICAN FOOTBALL INCORPORATING BOUNDARY LAYER TRIP MECHANISMS TO REDUCE AERODYNAMIC DRAG - A football having a prolate spheroidal shape including longitudinally spaced apart first and second ends. The football is capable of being analyzed under computational fluid dynamics analysis, and includes upper and lower central regions. Each positioned between first and second upper and lower end regions, respectively. The football further includes a bladder, a cover, a plurality of boundary layer trip mechanisms coupled to the upper and/or lower central regions, and a lacing coupled to the upper central region. The analysis includes first and second configurations. The first configuration is conducted on the football with the trip mechanisms, and the second configuration is conducted on the football without the trip mechanisms. The first and second configurations provide first and second drag coefficients, respectively. The first coefficient is at least 3 percent lower than the second coefficient. The length of the upper and lower central regions is defined by the lacing. | 10-03-2013 |
20140349791 | POCKET BALL TOY - The present invention relates to a collapsible pocket-sized ball toy and a pocket-sized container or package for the toy, wherein the toy comprises a light weight exterior covering surrounding a light weight expandable spring. | 11-27-2014 |
20160089580 | MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR AN OUTER LAYER FOR A PANEL OF A BALL - Described are methods for manufacturing an outer layer for a panel of a ball, in particular of a football, an outer layer manufactured with such a method as well as a panel and a ball comprising such an outer layer. The method includes shaping a sheet of material in a mold, wherein the mold is formed in such a way that during shaping, the sheet of material assumes a three-dimensional shape of the outer layer of the panel. Moreover, the method includes creating first textures in at least a first partial region on a first side of the sheet of material and creating second textures in at least a second partial region of the sheet of material. | 03-31-2016 |