Patent Publication Number: US-6905387-B2

Title: Flyable ball

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an object such as a toy or ball which, when rotated or spinned through the air, utilizes centrifugal force and gyroscopic and aerodynamic principles to fly though the air. The object is held and thrown into the air in much the same manner a FRISBEE disk. 
   2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
   The flight of the FRISBEE disk has been known for many years. It consists of a unitary, generally circular plastic body in the shape of a plate or pie tin or of similar configuration which forms a wing and when spun in the air, stays aloft due to aerodynamic lift and gyroscopic stability. Forward flight splits rushing air at the leading edge of the airborne disk. Half of the air goes over the top of the disk and the other half of the air goes underneath the disk. Because the edge of the disk is tipped up, the disk deflects the lower airstream downward. As the disk pushes down on the air, the air pushes upward on the disk resulting in a force known as the aerodynamic lift. The upper airstream is also deflected downward like all viscus fluids, since flowing air tends to follow curved surfaces even when those surfaces bend away from the airstream. The inward bend of the upper airstream is accompanied by a substantial drop in air pressure just above the disk thereby sucking the disk upward. 
   The prior art further includes the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,985 issued on Sep. 18, 1973 to Heisler entitled “Discus Toy”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,911 issued on Apr. 21, 1981 to Opresik et al entitled “Martian Flyer or Earth U.F.O.”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,536 issued Jun. 22, 1982 to Magid et al entitled “Inflatable Throwing Toy”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,011 issued Sep. 3, 1991 to Lovik entitled “Flying Balloon Toy”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,869 issued Jun. 23, 1992 to Schipmann entitled “Aerodynamic Toy”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,363 issued Nov. 1, 1994 to Levin entitled “Flying Disk with Rotatable Member”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,239 issued Mar. 16, 1999 issued to Trichak entitled “Illuminatable Aerodynamic Disc or Saucer”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,753 issued Nov. 16, 1999 to Perez entitled “Aerodynamic Toy”. 
   SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
   A feature of the present invention relates to a flyable ball comprising a unitary spherically shaped body made from a resilient material, with the body having a center axis, a transverse center axis and a radially outwardly extending annular ring or rim projecting from the body and located below the transverse center axis for supplying centrifugal stabilization when the ball is thrown through the air with a spin. 
   Another feature of the present invention is to provide a flyable ball of the aforementioned type wherein the annular rim includes a pair of surfaces which are configured and shaped to form an air foil which causes lift and guides the ball in flight after the ball is spun through the air and thrown by a person gripping the annular rim. 
   Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a flyable ball of the aforementioned type wherein the body has a hollow interior and is inflatable with air directed through a valve provided in the body. 
   A further feature of the present invention is to provide a flyable ball of the aforementioned type wherein the resilient material is vinyl plastic. 
   A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a flyable ball of the aforementioned type wherein the resilient material of the spherically shaped body is a chemically activated foam which fills the interior thereof. 
   Another feature of the present invention is to provide a flyable ball of the aforementioned type wherein the ring or rim has an annular groove in one of the surfaces which is furthest away from the transverse axis, with the air moving under the ball creating a vacuum where the air contacts the grooved rim. 
   Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a flyable ball of the aforementioned type wherein the surface of the annular rim closest to the transverse axis curves in a direction towards the surface provided with the annular groove. 
   Another feature of the present invention is to provide a toy or ball which is made by a molding process and which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture, economical to produce and efficient in operation. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of the flyable toy or ball. 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view through the center of the ball taken on the line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1  and showing the solid foam interior thereof. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the flyable ball in flight illustrating the air circulating across the top of the ball and around the rim. 
       FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of the ball or toy, with a rim part broken away and in section, and illustrating the toy in rotation, with air flowing across the top and bottom of the toy resulting in an upward aerodynamic lift. 
       FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of another embodiment of the flyable toy or ball. 
       FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view through the ball taken on the line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 5  and illustrating the hollow interior thereof filled with air. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The present invention discloses two embodiments of the toy, one embodiment having a solid foam interior and the other ball being inflatable, with the interior thereof occupied by air. Each embodiment is made by a molding process, with similar but different molds being used in producing each embodiment. The inflatable ball ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ) is made from vinyl utilizing a conventional rotational molding process. The foam toy is made in a mold in which the chemically activated foam is injected with the foam growing after it is poured into the mold. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the toy or ball is designated by the numeral  10 . It has a unitary spherically shaped body  12  made from a resilient plastic material such as a chemically activated foam now utilized in producing NERF footballs for children. 
   The spherically shaped body  12  has a center axis  14  and a transverse axis  16  which intersects and is perpendicular to the center axis  14 . The body  12  is provided with a radially outwardly extending annular ring or rim  20  which is located below the transverse axis  16 . Because the ring or rim  20  is placed below the transverse axis  16 , or the center of the spherical shaped body  12 , it creates an air foil which causes lift and a gliding effect when the toy  10  is spinning and passing through the air. The configuration of the body  12  and the softness or resiliency of the material makes the toy easy and safe to catch. 
   The annular ring or rim  20  includes a pair of surfaces including a first surface  22  which is closest to the transverse axis  16  and a second surface  24  which lies in a plane parallel to the plane containing the axis  16 . The first surface  22  is curved away from the body  12  and towards the second surface  24  where it intersects the second surface  24  at the outer edge of the ring or rim  20 . The ring  20  is provided with an annular open groove  26  in the second surface  24 . The annular open groove  26  has a flat annular surface  27  and a pair of side surfaces  28  and  29 . The groove  26  is spaced inwardly from the edge of the ring where the first and second surfaces  22  and  24  intersect. 
   It should be noted that the upper portion of the spherical shaped body  12  is larger than the lower portion as viewed in  FIG. 2 . The toy  10  has an outside rim diameter at the edge of the rim of approximately 8⅛ inches. The height of the toy  10  measured along the center axis  14  is approximately 3½ inches. It will be appreciated that the bolt or toy  10  will be made in various sizes using generally the same shape and configuration. 
   In use, a person standing and throwing this object initially grips the rim  20  and spins the object, either overhand or underhand, backhand or forehand on a horizontal axis which will allow gyroscopic and aerodynamic principles to take effect, thus creating a gliding flight for the ball  10 . The ball  10  can also be thrown underhand or overhand on a vertical axis and bounced or rolled across the ground. 
   When the object or ball  10  is held by the rim and thrown in much the same manner as a person would a FRISBEE disk, the air, as shown in  FIG. 4 , travels a greater distance over the top of the ball  10  than below the ball  10 . The air moving over the ball  10  creates a vacuum where the ball meets the lip or rim  20 , thereby aiding in achieving flight. The centrifugal force illustrated in  FIG. 3  by the series of arrows creates a gyroscopic stabilization which enables the ball  10  to remain stable in flight when thrown with the spin thereby allowing the aerodynamic principles to take effect. 
   The other embodiment is illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6  and it discloses an inflatable ball or toy  30  having the same overall appearance as the foam ball illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The spherically shaped ball  30  is made in a rotational molding process utilizing vinyl plastic material which forms the spherically shaped body  32 . The interior of the body  32  is hollow and a valve  36  is provided in the lower portion of the body  32  to permit air to be directed into the interior  34  much like an inflatable football or basketball. The body  32  has a center axis  38  and a transverse axis  40 . The body  32  has an upper portion  31  and a lower portion  33  and further includes a radially outwardly extending annular rim or ring  42  which is located below the transverse center axis  40  as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The rim or ring  42  has a pair of first and second surfaces  44  and  46 . The first surface  44  is curved away from the body  32  and towards the second surface  46  where it intersects surface  46  at the outer edge of the rim  42 . The second surface  46  is provided with an annular open groove  48  which has a flat annular surface  50  and a pair of side surfaces  52  and  54 . The upper portion of the body  32  above the ring or rim  42  is larger in area than the lower portion of the body  32  located below the ring or rim  42 . The ring  42  forms an air foil which causes lift and a gliding effect when the ball is spun and is in flight. As with the first embodiment, the configuration of the ball and the softness makes it easy to catch. A person standing and throwing the ball  30  with a spin, either overhand or underhand, backhand or forehand on a horizontal axis allows well known gyroscopic and aerodynamic principles to come into play thus creating a gliding flight for the ball  30 . Because the air travels a greater distance across the top of the ball, an aerodynamic lift is created. Air moving under the ball creates a vacuum where the ball meets the grooved rim  42 . This also aids in achieving flight.