Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a sport ball includes providing a fluid impervious bladder, providing apparatus for penetrating the bladder and including apparatus for receiving an object in sealing engagement, providing a plug dimensioned and configured to engage in sealing relationship the apparatus for receiving in sealing engagement, inserting the plug into the apparatus for receiving, inflating the bladder, and forming additional layers of material on the bladder that is part of a complete sport ball. Thereafter, the method includes providing a self-contained inflation mechanism dimensioned and configured to be disposed within the envelope of the sport ball and dimensioned and configured to engage the apparatus for receiving, removing the plug from the apparatus for receiving, and placing the inflation mechanism into the apparatus for receiving. 
     In some forms of the invention the step of forming additional layers includes adding reinforcing windings, molding a layer of rubber on the windings, and laminating composite panels onto the ball and setting the panels in a molding process.

Description:
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/594,980, filed Jun. 15, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,618. That application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/478,225, filed Jan. 6, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,225, and further claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/159,311, filed Oct. 14, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to methods of manufacturing sport balls that contain mechanisms for inflating or adding pressure to such balls. 
     Conventional inflatable sport balls, such as basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, volleyballs and playground balls, are inflated through a traditional inflation valve using a separate inflation needle that is inserted into and through a self-sealing inflation valve. A separate pump, such as a traditional bicycle pump, is connected to the inflation needle and the ball is inflated using the pump. The inflation needle is then withdrawn from the inflation valve that self-seals to maintain the pressure. This system works fine until the sport ball needs inflation or a pressure increase and a needle and/or pump are not readily available. 
     The U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/594,980, filed Jun. 15, 2000 and having the same assignee as this application, describes a sport ball that has a self-contained inflation mechanism, dimensioned and configured to be retained completely within the envelope of the ball except when the inflation mechanism is being used to inflate the ball. The object of that invention is to be able to inflate or add pressure to a sport ball without the need for separate inflation equipment such as a separate inflation needle and pump. Specifically, that invention relates to a sport ball, which has a self-contained pump device, which is operable from outside the ball and which pumps ambient air into the ball to achieve the desired pressure. More specifically, the pump device provides a chamber within the ball with means for admitting ambient air into the chamber and provides means for forcing that air from the chamber through one-way valve means into the interior volume of the ball. The pump device more specifically comprises a piston and cylinder arrangement with the piston operable from outside the ball. 
     The manufacturing process for molded volley balls, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, rugby balls and the like requires molding processes with temperatures of approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure of approximately 100 psi within the ball. In conventional sport balls this does not present a problem. However, in the manufacture of sport balls having a self-contained pump these temperatures and pressures do create a problem. More particularly, the preferred internal pump construction utilizes plastic pump components that are likely to be damaged by this combination of pressure and temperature. The design of the pump is preferably based on the environmental conditions anticipated in normal use of the ball. While it would be possible to design the pump using materials that would withstand the temperatures and pressures encountered during the manufacturing process, such a rigorous design specification would substantially increase the costs of manufacture of the pump. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a sport ball having a self-contained pump for adding air to the interior of the ball, which does not require the pump to be manufactured to specifications which would tolerate the harsh temperature and pressure conditions that occur during the manufacturing process. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing a sport ball of this type which is simple and inexpensive to implement. 
     It has now been found that these and other objects of the invention may be achieved in a method of manufacturing a sport ball which includes providing a fluid impervious bladder, providing apparatus for penetrating the bladder that includes apparatus for receiving an object in sealing engagement, providing a plug dimensioned and configured to engage in sealing relationship the apparatus for receiving in sealing engagement, inserting the plug into the means for receiving, inflating the bladder, forming additional layers of material on the bladder that constitutes part of a complete sport ball, providing the plug with a self-contained inflation mechanism dimensioned and configured to be disposed within the envelope of the sport ball and dimensioned and configured to engage the means for receiving, removing the plug from the means for receiving, and placing the inflation mechanism into the means for receiving. 
     In some forms of the invention the step of forming additional layers includes adding reinforcing windings and may also include the step of forming additional layers including molding a layer of rubber on the windings as well as the step of laminating composite panels onto the ball and setting the panels in a molding process. 
     The invention also includes a method of manufacturing a sport ball which includes providing a flat piece of rubber, die-cutting two openings in a flat piece of rubber, forming the flat piece of rubber into a bladder having the geometric shape of a sport ball with openings disposed in generally opposed relationship, cementing a needle valve in one of the openings, cementing a boot in the other of the openings in the rubber, inserting a plug in the boot that is dimensioned and configured for sealing engagement with the boot, forming additional layers of material on the bladder, and replacing the plug with a self-contained inflation mechanism dimensioned and configured to be disposed within the envelope of the sport ball and dimensioned and configured to engage the boot. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of a portion of a sport ball with a self-contained piston and cylinder arrangement operable from outside the ball for adding air pressure to the ball. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the piston shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the cap for the pump of FIG. 1 showing the configuration for locking and unlocking the pump piston. 
     FIG. 4 is a detailed cross-section view of a one-way valve assembly for use on the outlet of the pump of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a more detailed view of the one-way valve in the FIG. 4 assembly. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of an entire sport ball illustrating a pump on one side and a traditional inflation valve on the opposite side including a counterweight. 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-section view similar to FIG. 1 showing a plug positioned in a sport ball. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a sport ball having a pump mechanism that is disposed completely within the envelope of the sport ball except when the mechanism is being used to inflate the ball. The method of manufacture will best be understood by first considering the structure of the ball. Referring first to FIGS. 1 to  7  of the drawings, a portion of a sport ball  10  is illustrated incorporating one embodiment of an inflation pump. The ball  10  which is illustrated is a typical basketball construction comprising a carcass having a rubber bladder  12  for air retention, a layer  14  composed of layers of nylon or polyester yarn windings wrapped around the bladder  12  and an outer rubber layer  16 . For a laminated ball, an additional outer layer  18  of leather or a synthetic comprises panels that are applied by adhesive and set by cold molding. The windings are randomly oriented and two or three layers thick. The windings form a layer which cannot be expanded to any significant degree and which restricts the ball from expanding to any significant extent above its regulation size when inflated above its normal playing pressure. This layer for footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls is referred to as a lining layer and is usually composed of cotton or polyester cloth that is impregnated with a flexible binder resin such as vinyl or latex rubber. 
     Located in the pump cylinder  28  is the pump piston  30  that is illustrated in both FIGS. 1 and 2. The piston includes an annular groove  32  at the bottom end, which contains the spring  34  that forces the piston up in the cylinder  28 . Also, at the bottom end of the piston  30  is a circumferential O-ring groove  36  containing an O-ring  38 . As seen in FIG. 1, this O-ring groove  36  is dimensioned such that the O-ring  38  can move up and down in the groove  36 . The O-ring is forced into the position shown in FIG. 1, when the piston  30  is pushed down. In this position, the O-ring seals between the cylinder wall and the upper flange  40  of the groove  36 . As shown in FIG. 2, there are recesses or slots  42  in the groove  36  extending from just below the upper flange  40  down through the lower flange  44 . Only one of these slots  42  is shown in FIG. 2 but there are preferably two or more. When the piston  30  is forced up by the spring  34 , the O-ring  38  moves to the bottom of the groove  36  which opens up a by-pass around the O-ring through the recesses  42  so that the air can enter the cylinder  28  below the piston  30 . Then, when the piston is pushed down, the O-ring moves back up to the top of the groove and seals to force the air out through the cylinder exit nozzle  46 . 
     At the upper end of the piston are the two flanges  48  which cooperate with a cylinder cap  50  to hold the piston down in the cylinder and to release the piston for pumping. The cylinder cap  50  is fixed into the top of the cylinder  28  and the piston  30  extends through the center of the cylinder cap  50 . The cap  50  is cemented into the cylinder  28 . FIG. 3 shows an isometric view of the bottom of the cylinder cap  50  and illustrates the open areas  52  on opposite sides of the central opening through which the two flanges  48  on the piston can pass in the unlocked position. In the locked position, the piston is pushed down and rotated such that the two flanges  48  pass under the projections  54  and are rotated into the locking recesses  56 . Attached to the upper end of the piston  30  is a button or cap  58  that is designed to essentially completely fill the hole in the carcass and to be flush with the surface of the ball. This button may be of any desired material such as cast urethane or rubber. The cylinder cap  50  provides cushioning to the pump and should also be flexible to match the feel of the rest of the ball. Its surface should be textured to increase grip. 
     FIG. 1 of the drawings shows a pump exit nozzle  46  but does not show the one-way valve that is attached to this exit. Shown in FIG. 4 is a one-way valve assembly  62  of the duckbill-type to be mounted in the exit nozzle  46 . This assembly comprises an inlet end piece  64 , an outlet end piece  66  and an elastomeric duckbill valve  68  captured between the two end pieces. The end pieces  64  and  66  are preferably plastic, such as a polycarbonate, and may be ultrasonically welded together. 
     Although any desired one-way valve can be used on the exit nozzle  46  and although duckbill valves are a common type of one way valves, a specific duckbill configuration is shown in FIG.  4  and in greater detail in FIG.  5 . The duckbill structure  68  is formed of an elastomeric silicone material and is molded with a cylindrical barrel  70  having a flange  72 . Inside of the barrel  70  is the duckbill  74  which has an upper inlet end  76  molded around the inside circumference into the barrel  70 . The walls or sides  78  of the duckbill  74  then taper down to form the straight-line lower end with the duckbill slit  80 . The duckbill functions in the conventional manner where inlet air pressure forces the duckbill slit  80  open to admit air while the air pressure inside of the ball squeezes the duckbill slit closed to prevent the leakage of air. Such a duckbill structure is commercially available from Vernay Laboratories, Inc. of Yellow Springs, Ohio. 
     A pump assembly of the type described and illustrated in FIGS. 1 to  5  is preferably made primarily from plastics such as high impact polystyrene. Although the assembly is small and light weight, perhaps only about 25 grams, it is desirable that a weight be added to the ball structure to counterbalance the weight of the pump mechanism. FIG. 6 illustrates such an arrangement wherein a pump mechanism generally designated  82  is on one side of the ball and a standard needle valve  84  is on the opposite side of the ball. In this case, the material  86  forming the needle valve  84  is weighted. Additional material can be added to the needle valve housing or the region surrounding the valve. Alternatively, a dense metal powder such as tungsten could be added to the rubber compound. To improve the balance of the ball weights and patches may be added to the bladder at other locations. 
     Other forms of the invention may utilize different pump constructions and the precise sequence of manufacturing steps may vary in various forms of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize the substantial benefits including the economies of construction inherent in allowing the pumping mechanism to be designed to accommodate the environmental considerations inherent in normal use of the sport ball and not the much harsher conditions that are encountered during the manufacturing process. 
     In the process for manufacturing the sport ball  10 , a flat piece of rubber is formed into the shape of the ultimate sport ball  10 . In the case of most sport balls this will be spherical, although in other sport balls the shape may be something other than spherical. The method of forming the spherical or other contour from a flat piece of rubber is well known in the art. Thereafter, in the preferred method of manufacture, two diametrically opposed openings are cut in the bladder. For convenience in describing the method of manufacture, reference will be made to a spherical ball. Those skilled in the art will understand that despite the reference to a spherical ball, the method of the present invention may be applied to other sport balls having other shapes such as footballs. In the case of a spherical ball, diametrically opposed openings are dye-cut in the bladder. The method in accordance with the preferred form of the invention requires one of these openings for placement of the pumping apparatus and the other of the openings for placement of the weighted needle valve  84 . As noted above, the weighted needle valve  84  provides a counterbalance to the weight of the pumping apparatus that is diametrically opposed to the pumping apparatus in the preferred form of the present sport ball. As described above, the first of these openings has a boot  20  disposed therein. More particularly, the boot  20  is cemented to the bladder in the first opening. Similarly, a standard needle valve  84  is cemented into the diametrically opposed second opening. As described above, the boot  20  has a central bore into which the pumping apparatus is ultimately inserted. 
     Before the manufacturing process step that includes depositing layers of reinforcing material over a bladder, the preferred form of the invention includes the step of inserting a molding plug  25  into the central bore of the boot  20 , as best seen in FIG.  7 . The plug  25  is dimensioned and configured to have a circumferencially extending rib  27  that is dimensioned and configured to have an interfering fit with the groove  24  of the central bore or opening of the boot  20 . Obviously, the groove  24  is also dimensioned and configured to engage with an interfering fit with the pump cylinder  28  of the pump apparatus as best shown in FIG.  1 . 
     Incorporated into the carcass of the ball  10  during the formation is a rubber boot or housing  20  with a central opening and with a flange  22  that is bonded to the bladder using a rubber adhesive. The flange  22  of the boot  20  is located between the rubber bladder  12  and the layer of windings  14 . A molding plug  25 , shown in FIG. 7, is inserted into the boot  20  opening just prior to the molding and winding process. The plug  25  maintains the shape of the central opening of the boot  20  and allows the bladder  12  to be inflated during the manufacturing process. Preferably, the plug  25  is rubber although it may be aluminum, another metal or plastic. The plug  25  is preferably dimensioned and configured for an interference fit between the outer surface of the plug and the central opening of the boot  20 . This provides an air tight seal between the plug  25  and the boot  20 . In a preferred form of the invention the plug  25  will extend approximately 1⅛ inches into the interior of the ball  10 . The upper (as viewed) or opposite axial extremity is preferably dimensioned to be flush with the rubber outer layer  16 . 
     Thus, the plug  25  is installed in the boot  20  prior to the conventional addition of reinforcing windings and a rubber outer layer  16 . Thereafter, the bladder  12  is inflated and followed by the addition of reinforcing windings  14  and followed by the addition of a rubber outer layer  16 . Similarly, in the case of a aminated ball, the plug  25  is installed in the boot  20  before the addition of an outer layer  18  of leather or synthetic panels that are applied by adhesive and set by cold molding. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the molding process for the butyl rubber bladder is typically at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit and uses a 100 psi internal molding pressure in a process that takes about six minutes. Thereafter, reinforcing windings are wrapped evenly around the outer surface of the bladder  12  until the bladder  12  is embraced by a layer of threads to form a strengthened structure. Before starting the next step the threads that cover the plug  25  are moved away from the plug  25  so that they will not interfere with the later step of removing the plug  25  and inserting a pump  82  or other device. Thereafter, a natural rubber layer  14  is molded onto the structure at a temperature of approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit with a 100 psi internal molding pressure in a process that takes about six minutes. In the case of some sport balls, the next step is lamination of composite panels onto the ball and setting of the panels by means of a molding process at 120 degrees Fahrenheit with an internal pressure of about 100 psi. 
     It is only after completion of all of these steps that the molding plug  25  with its circumferential rib  27  engaging the groove  24  of the boot  20  is removed from the boot  20 . Typically, the plug  25  is removed from the ball by inserting a slender metal hooked shaped member along the interface between the boot  20  and the plug  25 . Thereafter, the hook shape end is engaged with the inner extremity of the plug  25  and the plug is removed. After removal of the plug  25  the pump  82  is inserted into the boot  20 . More particularly, the central opening through the boot  20  and particularly the groove  24  cooperates with the flange  26  on the upper end of the pump cylinder  28 . The cylinder  28  can optionally be bonded to the boot using any suitable flexible adhesive (epoxy, cyanoacrylate, urethane or other). It will thus be seen that these process steps of installing a plug  25  into the boot  20  during manufacturing steps that require high temperatures followed by removal of the plug  25  and insertion of a pump  82  permits the use of a pump  82  that does not require a design criteria that requires the pump to tolerate the very high temperatures encountered in the ball manufacturing process and thus enables manufacture of a sport ball that can be competitively priced. 
     Although the method in accordance with the present invention has been described with respect to the molded sport balls those skilled in the art will recognize that the method also has application to stitched sport balls such as stitched footballs, soccer balls and volleyballs. Similarly, although the method has been described with respect to a pump for inflating a sport ball those skilled in the art will recognize that the method has application to installing other devices such as a pressure gauge, a pressure relief valve, or other mechanism into a sport ball. Those skilled in the art will recognize that various other modifications and rearrangements of the parts and process steps may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and that the present invention is limited only by the following claims: