Abstract:
An inflatable sport ball, such as a basketball, a football, a soccer ball, a volley ball or a playground ball, is provided with a self-contained inflation mechanism for inflating or more likely adding pressure to the ball. The mechanism is a pump which is inside of the ball and which is operable from outside of the ball to pump ambient air into the ball.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/594,980, filed on Jun. 15, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,618, which is a continuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of U.S. 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 
     Conventional inflatable sport balls, such as basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, volley balls 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 The inflation needle is then withdrawn from the inflation valve which self-seals to maintain the pressure.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. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a sport ball which has a self-contained inflation mechanism. The object 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, the 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 most specifically comprises a piston and cylinder arrangement with the piston operable from outside the ball. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a cross section 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 exit of the pump of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a more detailed view of the duckbill 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. 
     FIGS. 7,  8  and  9  illustrate another embodiment of the invention employing a different piston and cylinder arrangement. 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a further pump embodiment of the invention. 
     FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate a pump embodiment which is operated by rotary motion. 
     FIG. 14 shows an arrangement for releasing pressure from the ball. 
     FIGS. 15 to  22  shown other pump variations. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring first to FIGS. 1 to  5  of the drawings, a portion of a sport ball  10  is illustrated incorporating one embodiment of an inflation pump of the invention. The ball 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 and an outer rubber layer  16 . For a laminated ball, an additional outer layer  18  of leather or a synthetic comprises panels which are applied by adhesive and set by cold molding. The windings are randomly oriented and two or three layers thick and they form a layer which cannot be extended 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. 
     Incorporated into the carcass of the ball of the invention during the formation is the rubber pump boot or housing  20  with a central opening and with a flange  22  which is bonded to the bladder using a rubber adhesive. The boot is located between the rubber bladder  12  and the layer of windings  14 . An aluminum molding plug is inserted into the boot opening during the molding and winding process to maintain the proper shape central opening and to allow the bladder to be inflated during the manufacturing process. The central opening through the boot  20  is configured with a groove  24  to hold the flange  26  on the upper end of the pump cylinder  28 . The cylinder can optionally be bonded to the boot using any suitable flexible adhesive (epoxy, urethane or other). 
     Located in the pump cylinder  28  is the pump piston  30  which is illustrated in both FIGS. 1 and 2. The piston includes a circular 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 an O-ring groove  36  containing the 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 the 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. The cap is cemented into the cylinder. 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  which 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. Mounted on the upper surface of the cylinder cap  50  is a pad  60  which is engaged by the button  58  when the piston is pushed down against the spring force to lock or unlock the piston. The pad 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. 
     The description thus far and the drawing FIGS. 1 to  5  disclose a particular and preferred pump arrangement. However, other pump arrangements can be used within the scope of the invention. FIGS. 7,  8  and  9  illustrate another type of pump inside of the ball and operable from outside. The pump comprises a rigid cylinder  88  attached to the carcass  90  of the ball. The piston  92  is hollow with a cap  94  on the top. The O-rings  96  form the seal between the piston  92  and the cylinder  88 . Adjacent the top of the piston  92  are air intake holes  98  and an air outlet hole  100  is in the bottom of the piston. A flap valve  102  covers the hole  100  such that air flows into the piston  92  and out of the outlet hole  100  through the flap valve  102  to fill the cylinder  88  with air when the piston  92  is pulled up. In the bottom of the cylinder  88  is a hole  104  and a flap valve  106 . When the piston  92  is pushed back down, the flap valve  102  closes and the flap valve  106  opens and the air in the cylinder  88  is forced through the hole  104  and flap valve  106  into the ball. When the piston  92  is being pulled up, the flap valve  106  is forced closed. A spring  108  forces the piston  92  to the up or extended position and the piston is pushed down against the spring force. J-slots  110  on the piston  92  cooperate with the projections  112  on the cylinder to lock the piston in the down position. Therefore, the piston is turned to lock and unlock the piston such as by the use of a coin  114  in the slot  116 . 
     Another variation of the invention is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Generally shown is a cylinder  118  attached to the carcass  120  of the ball and a cap  122  on the cylinder. The actual layers of the carcass are not shown in this FIG.  10 . Inside of the cylinder is a piston  124  with an O-ring seal  126  and a piston rod  128 . On the bottom of the cylinder is a one-way valve  130  of the duckbill-type. In this embodiment, the spring  132  forces the piston  124  and the piston rod  128  down into the cylinder so that the piston rod  128  is pulled up against the spring force and the spring forces the piston and piston rod down into the cylinder. Attached to the upper end of the piston rod is a flip-up pull ring  134 . As seen in FIG. 11, this ring  134  is flipped down and covered with a flap  136  of the ball covering which is held down by a typical hook-and-loop fabric  138  such as Velcro™. 
     FIG. 12 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which the pump generally designated  140  with a cylinder  142 , a piston  144 , a piston rod  146  and a duckbill valve  148  has the piston rod rotatably connected to the rotating disk or crank wheel  150 . This disk  150  is rotatably mounted in the chamber  152  and a crank fitting  154  extends up through the carcass of the ball. The crank  156  is inserted into the fitting  154  for rotation of the disk  150  and the consequent operation of the pump. The related version of this embodiment shown in FIG. 13 has the rotating disk comparable to the disk  150 , now designated  158 , rotatably mounted on the surface of the ball. The disk has a finger hole  160  so that the disk can be manually rotated with a finger inserted into the hole. 
     Since the pressure in a sport ball can be too high through overinflation or a temperature increase, it is advisable to have a way to bleed pressure from the ball when the conventional inflating needle is not available. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 14 including a bleeding aperture  162  through the carcass of the ball, a plug  164  in the aperture and an elastic cover  166  having holes  168  that normally keep the plug  164  tight and sealed in the aperture  162 . The elastic cover  166  permits the plug  162  to be pushed open to bleed pressure through the holes  168  and the aperture  162 . 
     FIG. 15 represents a pump operated by a pull cord mechanism  170  with a piston  172  attached by the piston rod  173  to the drive wheel  174  which is ratcheted and spring loaded and which operates in the same well-known manner as the starter of a lawn mower. The piston  172  is provided with an O-ring seal  176  which is the same as the O-ring seal shown in FIG. 1 which permits air flow past the piston in one direction but not the other. The cylinder is provided with the one-way flow valve  178  of the duckbill type for permitting flow into the ball and preventing flow back out. 
     FIG. 16 is another variation of a pump with a cylinder  180 , a piston  182  with a one-way flow O-ring arrangement  184  and one-way flap valves  186  for the flow of air into the ball from the pump. Further shown is a pump cylinder support  188  which is a flexible or soft material such as rubber to support and minimize movement of the pump. 
     FIG. 17 is a pump variation in which the pump is operated by a pull string or cord. The pump cylinder  190  is supported in the ball by the flexible supports  192  and  194 . Air is admitted into the cylinder  190  through the bore  196  in the support  192  and through the one-way flap valve  198 . The piston  200  has a skirt  202  around the periphery which functions as a one-way check valve. This permits flow past the piston as it moves down and prevents bypass flow as the piston is pulled up. The spring  204  forces the piston down and the string  206  is used to pull the piston up against the spring force to pump air out into the ball through the duckbill outlet valve  208 . 
     FIG. 18 shows another pump variation  210  which would include a duckbill valve at the lower end such as the duckbill valve shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The extensions  212  at the bottom and  214  on the piston  216  keep the spring  218  centered and prevent the spring from rubbing excessively on the cylinder wall. These extensions also function as a stop when the spring is compressed and these extensions engage each other. In this embodiment, the piston  216 , which again has the one-way flow O-rings  220 , is operated by inserting a separate push rod down through the opening  222  to push the piston down against the spring force. 
     FIG. 19 is a pump variation which comprises a piston  224  which forms the end of the chamber  226  which is attached to the carcass of the ball. Air is admitted into the chamber  226  through the hole  228  and flows out of the chamber  226  through the hole  230  in the piston and through the one-way flap valve  232  into the cylinder  234 . The skirt or micro-cup valve  236  forms the seal between the piston and the wall of the cylinder  234 . The cylinder  234  is closed at the end  238  which has an opening  240  and a one-way flap valve  242 . The cylinder support tube  244  has an opening  246  for air flow. To operate this pump, the top of the ball in the area of the hole  228  is pressed down which forces the chamber  226  down. This forces the piston  224  down in the cylinder  234  and closes the flap valve  232  to force air from the cylinder  234  through the flap valve  242  and out the hole  246  into the ball. The flap valve  242  prevents the air from flowing back out of the ball. Also, the flap valve prevents flow down around the skirt  236  and out of the ball. 
     FIG. 20 illustrates an arrangement which can function in one of two ways. This comprises a piston  248  in the cylinder  250  with the piston being forced up by the spring  252 . The piston is once again provided with the one-way flow O-ring arrangement  254  and the cylinder has the one-way flow duckbill  256 . In this embodiment, the piston rod comprises a valve stem  258  the same as used on an automobile or bicycle tire. This valve stem  258  can be used to mechanically reciprocate the piston by pushing down on the valve stem. Means not shown would be used to lock the valve stem down. In addition to being able to inflate the ball by mechanically moving the piston, the ball can be inflated with a tire pump. The tire pump is merely attached in the normal manner to the valve stem  258  and used to pump up the ball just like an auto or bike tire. 
     FIGS. 21 and 22 illustrate a different type of pump  260  which has a cylinder  261  formed from a flexible bladder  262 . The flexible bladder, which may be rubber or similar material, is sealed to the ball carcass  264  at  266 , and closed at the bottom end by the round plate  268  which contains the duckbill valve  270 . The bladder  262  is attached at the top to the piston  272  having an opening  274  to the atmosphere and a flap valve  276 . When the piston  272  is pushed down by the piston rod  278  from the position shown in FIG. 21, the flap valve  276  closes and the air is forced out of the bladder  262  through the duckbill valve  270  into the ball. As the piston  272  is pushed down, the bladder flexes and the top part follows the piston down inside of the bottom part into the position shown in FIG.  22 . When the piston is pulled up, the flap valve  276  opens and the bladder fills with air. A flap which may be held in place by velcro would cover over the ball opening  280 .