Easier To Construct Sports Ball

In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a sports ball is provided which exhibits a reduced need for stitching of the panels due to the use of panels having simulated seams formed by hot pressing. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention the panels are shaped having thicker central foam areas and thinner peripheral areas, thus rendering sewing easier.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is generally directed to sports balls. More particularly, the present invention is directed to soccer balls and other such balls fabricated from a plurality of geometrically shaped panels (typically pentagons and hexagons). Even more particularly, the present invention is directed to structures and methods that both make ball manufacturing easier while still providing balls that are softer and more desired by players and which also meet organizational specifications while still providing the appearance and feel of sport balls having a larger number of stitched-together panels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The conventional shape of a sports ball, such as a soccer ball, comprises 32 panels which typically includes 20 hexagonally shaped panels and 12 pentagonally shaped panels. Sewing these panels, whether by hand or by machine, is a laborious job. In both machine sewn balls and in hand sewn balls, sewing is costly and consumes considerable work time. Stitching also requires attention to detail to make sure that graphical elements and other design components align with each other after assembly.

There are two aspects of ball manufacture that increase the cost of manufacture. Since stitching the panels together, whether by machine or hand sewing, is laborious and contributes significantly to the cost of manufacture, reducing the number of stitching operations significantly impacts the cost. In another aspect, stitching typically involves the use of relatively thick panels. Thicker panels render the sports balls softer and this is especially important in soccer as that game involves the practice of “heading” the ball; that is, hitting the ball with the player's head.

Although other panel designs have been created in both machine and hand sewn balls, none of them have caught on well with players. There is, however, one popular panel design which uses 12 pentagonally shaped panels which is employed in both hand and machine sewn balls. Sport ball manufacturers are turning out high production volumes using this 12 pentagon shaped panel ball due to its having fewer panels as compared to 32 panel balls. This 12 panel design provides high production volume using a manufacturing infrastructure which is very similar to the manufacture of 32 panel balls all of which tends to save significant production costs.

However, the 12 panel ball has its own drawbacks such as the panel size being larger than normal. Players cannot get a good grip on the ball because there are not as many sewing edges as found in constructions using 32 panels in which the player has more control. For this reason and others, there is a need to have a ball having fewer panels without sacrificing the player control provided by the sewn edges seen in balls having a full complement of 32 panels sewn together.

In ball making it is well known that the thicker the ball material (either PU, TPU or PVC or any other material top backed by suitable foamy material), the softer the ball is. For purposes of player comfort, use, control and safety, softer balls are more desirable. Whether hand sewn or made by machine there is a desire to make the balls softer. However, with the presence of thicker panels, the stitching together of the panels is made more difficult when stitching is required to penetrate panels having thicknesses typically greater than 4 mm.

On the other hand, a slightly thinner material ball cannot be made as soft and therefore it is not liked by soccer players. Furthermore, a ball which is shaped using thinner material is not liked and it forms a flat rounded shape ball. Such a ball does not provide the desired softness which is needed because of “heading” of the ball during the game. Balls made with thicker material are greatly desired by the players. These balls are usually made with thicker panels which are typically 4 mm thick and there is a desire to have balls made with even thicker foam material beyond 4 mm due to the kind of softness it provides; however, there is a restraint that balls with thicker panels are more difficult to sew. Furthermore, the shape of balls having material which is over 4 mm thick does not come out rounded and having a good appearance.

From the above, it is therefore seen that there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described herein and above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, the sports ball of the present invention comprises 12 pentagonally shaped panels. This design provides a high production volume by reducing the sewing requirement. However, and more importantly, the present invention employs a pressed-on design using a heat press. Heat pressing is employed to incorporate shapes into the panels which would otherwise be provided by sewing. The advantages of this design are particularly evident in a sports ball having 12 pentagonally shaped panels. These advantages include: (1) a unique design is heat pressed onto each panel and, whether sewn by hand or by machine, the resultant ball looks like a 32 panel ball; (2) the desired design is heat pressed onto each panel's top material surface which preferably comprises TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), PU (polyurethane) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) leather with foam backing having a controllable thickness; (3) the 32 panel design created by heat pressing the panels' surface provides grooves which helps players better control the ball during play in a match, just like the original 32 panel sewn ball; and (4) high volume of production results from punching the ball panels from material for ball making and then sewing and printing which is made easier due to having fewer panels.

More generally, the present invention comprises a method and system for reducing the number of panels in a stitched-together sports ball by heat pressing grooves into sports ball panels and to match (simulate) stitching found in balls having a larger number of panels.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sports ball comprises a plurality of stitched together panels sewn at their edges and configured to form a closed volume by such stitching. Naturally, the ball includes an interior inflatable bladder which occupies the closed interior volume. However, in accordance with the present invention at least one of the panels includes grooves which simulate the presence of a larger plurality of panels. These simulated grooves are heat pressed into the panels and provide the same effect as if there were a larger number of panels that were sewn together. In this way the laborious effort at stitching together panels is significantly reduced. In accordance with the present invention, there is at least one of the panels which has groves therein which simulate the presence of seams thus producing the same effect as having larger number of panels.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the sewing burden is reduced by decreasing the number of panels that are employed. In particular, it is noted that pairs of pentagonal and/or hexagonal panels may be employed. In each case (there are three cases), panel portions are formed from a single piece of exterior material which is shaped like two adjoined pentagonal portions, two adjoined hexagonal portions, or one pentagonal panel portion paired with one hexagonal portion. In this way, the stitching which would ordinarily be required is replaced with a simulated seam.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention the panels are individually shaped so as to be thinner at their periphery than at their middle portions. In this way sewing is made easier while still providing desirable levels of softness, safety and control.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sports ball such as a soccer ball that requires significantly less effort at stitching panels together.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a soccer ball having fewer stitched together panels but which, to the players, feels like a ball having the usual number of panels.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a soccer ball which is easier to manufacture but yet meets all of the requirements of officially approved soccer balls.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a soccer ball which is easier to manufacture but which provides the same feel and texture to soccer players.

It is also an object of the present invention to reduce the number of sewing operations by geometrically combining similar or mating geometric shapes along an edge which is actually a simulated seam.

It is yet another object of the present invention to make the manufacture of sports balls, especially soccer balls, easier, quicker, and less expensive without sacrificing a player's desirability of using a ball made in accordance with methods described herein.

Lastly, but not limited hereto, it is an even further object of the present invention to produce soccer balls which are easy to manufacture but which possess the same structure as currently popular soccer ball forms.

The recitation herein of desirable objects which are met by various embodiments of the present invention is not meant to imply or suggest that any or all of these objects are present as essential features, either individually or collectively, in the most general embodiment of the present invention or in any of its more specific embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of a conventional pentagonal panel as employed in the standard soccer ball. Panel 100 comprises outer layer 101. Materials employed in this layer are described elsewhere herein. Below outer layer 101 there is found foam layer 102. On the interior of the panel there is typically disposed fabric layer 103. As is well known, the typical soccer ball comprises a combination of pentagonal panels along with hexagonal panels one of which is shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates a hexagonal panel comprising outer layer 201, foam layer 202, and fabric layer 203. In preferred embodiments of the present invention the layers in both the hexagonal and pentagonal panels comprise the same three layers.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a sports ball comprises only pentagonal panels such as the one shown in FIG. 2. However, the present invention employs simulated seams or grooves 150. In the present invention, sewing is required at the periphery of panel 100 shown in FIG. 2. Because of the presence of simulated seams 150, such as those formed by hot pressing, sewing or stitching is not required along the lines seen in FIG. 2. The result is ball 200 for sports play which is comprised only of pentagonal panels having peripheral edges 110. FIG. 3 also illustrates, via grayed or shadow lines 150, simulated seams. These shadow lines provide a view of what the ball would look like on the side opposite to the centrally visible pentagonal panel. In this way significant efforts at sewing or stitching are eliminated.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 5, the geometric panels which are stitched together to form an enclosed volume are shaped, such as by hot pressing with a die, so as to produce panels having thicker central areas and thinner peripheral areas. Such a structure provides two significant advantages: (1) stitching along the panel periphery becomes much easier because the sewn-together material is thinner; and (2) the ball can be made softer due to the presence of thicker foam layer 302. As usual, even the modified panels described herein still possess outer layer 301, inner foam layer 302 and inner fabric layer 303. This is illustrated in FIG. 5 which shows a cross-section of a typical hexagonal panel 300. It is seen that panel 300 has thinner edge portions 312 and thicker middle or central portion 313. FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 except that it shows a cross-sectional view through pentagonal panel 400 thus exposing thicker foam layer 413 along with its thinner peripheral region. Outer covering 401 is also seen. Inner fabric layer 403 is also visible.

FIG. 7 depicts soccer ball 400 comprised of the usual hexagonal and pentagonal mix of panels. It is noted that each of the panels shown includes a central foam area which causes the panels to be thicker in their central regions as illustrated by reference numeral 313. FIG. 7 also illustrates the fact that the use of shaped panels is not limited to sports balls having a reduced number of panels such as the one illustrated in FIG. 3.

In order to make a ball with centrally thicker panels, a novel shape of the ball panels is described herein. By using such panels, this produces a ball that solves is not limited to the construction of sports balls the problem of sewing a ball with thicker panels and it will additionally provide extraordinary cushioning levels due to the thicker material present in the central portions of the panels.

A design heat press die is made in such a shape that, when heat pressed with a die there is formed a desired panel shape. This panel shape has its highest point in the center and, as it extends towards its perimeter, the panels exhibit slopes and taper down to a thinner thickness at the panel edges. With this procedure panels can now be sewn very easily to produce a ball which possesses panels having a dome shaped cross-section. Such panels provide cushioning through the use of foam material that has been shaped with the use of a heat pressed die. This produces sports balls fabricated from a plurality of geometrically shaped panels having raised middle portions. The panels thin down toward their edges. Such domed panels also enhance the life of the ball because the sewing lines lie in the recessed area and are not exposed to rubbing on the ground or to player contact. Thus there is less stress on the ball.

One of the embodiments of the present invention involves reducing the need for sewing by “combining” the function of two panels into a single piece of material. The single piece includes an embossed seam that runs along the geometric line separating the panel portions. The five sided portions are designated by reference numeral 501; the six sided portions are designated by reference numeral 502. In FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, reference numeral 500 refers to embossed line 500 which simulates the usual stitched seam. By use of this embossing, sewing operations are thus eliminated. FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are similar to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, but rather embossed dots 610 are employed to simulate stitching in a different fashion. Sewing needs are also thus reduced.

Since certain seams in the present invention are provided by embossing, greater flexibility in patterning is employed. As seen in FIG. 14, the embossed pattern of lines 601 extends across the simulated seam. However, in FIG. 15, the embossed pattern of lines 602 extends along the simulated seam.

It is noted that, while the illustrations herein indicate the presence of three layers (outer layer, foam and fabric) in the panels, the embodiments of the present invention are not confined to this exact layered structure. It is also noted that desirable sports balls of the present invention also include an inner bladder and possibly other interior wrappings that are not relevant to the present invention. As used herein, relating to the structures shown in FIGS. 8-13, the term panel portion refers to the two distinct geometric structures shown therein, be they five sided or six sided. These dual panels are used as panels in their own right in the final assembly of the sports ball.

While the invention has been described in detail herein in accordance with certain preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and changes therein may be effected by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.