Football with gyroscopic ring

A football having a body formed of a foam material an oblate spheroid contour being substantially symmetrical about a major axis and a minor axis. An outwardly opening groove is formed in the outer surface of the body and extends circumferentially about the minor axis. A soft, resilient plastic ring is seated in the groove. The ring has a weight in the range of approximately one-third to approximately the weight of the foam body. Shallow dimples are formed on the outer surface of the body with the dimples arranged in a plurality of rows extending along the major axis of the body. Each row has a number of dimples located on a compound curve which passes through a meridian at the minor axis of the body, has loops on opposite sides of the meridian and terminates at the meridian at opposite ends of the body. The diameters of the dimples decrease from the largest diameters located adjacent the minor axis of the body to the smallest diameters adjacent the ends of the body along the major axis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The common American football whether made with an inflatable bladder and an 
outer casing of leather or synthetic material or made of a solid foam 
plastic is difficult to throw for any distance with a high degree of 
accuracy except for the most experienced players. Accuracy in throwing a 
football depends, in part, upon the ability of the player to spin or 
spiral the football when it is thrown. Attempts have been made in the past 
to overcome the inability of a football to be spiralled by an unskilled 
thrower by providing ribs and grooves on the outer surface of the football 
so that the player can more easily grip and impart a spin to the ball when 
it is thrown. Other approaches in the past have involved installing 
weights in the football in the form of annular bands, disks, axially 
extending tubes, and even circumferentially extending tubes containing 
weights which weights move outwardly by centrifugal force when the 
football is thrown with a spiral-like spin. In the footballs that were 
equipped with axially extending weighted tubes, these tubes were usually 
installed in a longitudinal passage extending through the longitudinal 
axis of the football. However, none of these modified footballs have 
gained popular acceptance among the general populace who play football. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, this invention is directed to a football to be used primarily 
by those engaged in non-regulation play who prefer to use a football of 
the type having a solid foam body. 
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a foam body football 
that an unskilled player can throw with the accuracy usually attained only 
by a skilled player. 
Another object of this invention is a foam body football that can be thrown 
a greater distance than the conventional foam body football. 
Another object of this invention is a foam body football that can be thrown 
in a spiral more easily than conventional footballs of the inflated 
bladder or foam body type. 
Another object of this invention is a weighted foam body football that can 
be kicked and caught without causing injury to the kicker or the receiver. 
Another object of this invention is a foam body football having a dimpled 
surface which enables a player to better grip and throw the ball in a 
spiral. 
Other objects of the invention may be found in the following specification, 
claims and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the football 11 of this invention which 
defines an oblate spheroid body 13 preferably formed of a resilient foam 
material such as plastic, rubber or the like. Polyurethane is the 
preferred foam material. The body 13 defines generally pointed end 
portions 15 and 17 aligned along a major axis 19. A minor axis 21 extends 
through the center of the body at right angles to the major axis 19. The 
body 13 further includes an outer convex surface 23 that may be self 
skinned or provided with a surface coating applied to the interior of the 
mold which forms the body 13. The outer convex surface 23 is covered with 
dimples 25, 27, 29, and 31 of diminishing diameters arranged in a 
plurality of rows 33 with each row 33 of dimples located on a compound 
curve 35 which spirals in relationship to the main axis 19 of the body 13. 
The compound curve passes through a meridian 36 at the minor axis 21, its 
loops 37 are positioned on opposite sides of the meridian 36 and the curve 
terminates at the ends 15 and 17 of the body at the meridian. 
A shallow annular groove 39 is formed about the equator of the body aligned 
with the minor axis 21. Seated in this shallow annular groove is a ring 41 
formed of a flexible, resilient material such as a flexible 
polyvinylchloride. The ring 41 may be adhered to the body 13 of foam 
material by an adhesive or by the friction of the materials of the ring 
and body. The ring may also be formed with lettering 49 on the outer 
surface thereof. 
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ring 41 is formed with a 
weight equal to approximately 60 to 65% of the weight of the foam body 13. 
The weight of the ring can be varied ranging from somewhat less than 
one-third the weight of the body 13 to approximately the weight of the 
body 13. The relatively heavy ring 41 provides a stabilizing gyroscopic 
effect to a thrown football and also provides weight to enable the ball to 
travel a much greater distance than a football with only a foam body could 
be thrown or kicked. 
To enable player to grip the football and throw it in a spiral to take 
maximum advantage of the weight of the ring 41, the dimples 25, 27, 29 and 
31 are arranged with decreasing diameters and depth extending along each 
of their compound curves 35 from the dimples of largest diameter located 
next to the ring 41 to dimples of the smallest diameter located next to 
the end portions 15 and 17 of the body 13. In addition to providing a 
gripping surface for the ball thrower, the dimples 25, 27, 29 and 31 also 
provide a slight amount of friction which stabilizes the football much as 
dimples on a golf ball stabilize the flight of the golf ball. 
Forming the ring 41 of a soft, flexible, resilient material allows the 
football 11 to be kicked by a player wearing ordinary street shoes without 
causing injury to the player.