Patent Abstract:
A wall mount assembly for suspending a football near a wall to provide the illusion that the football is floating without support. The wall mount assembly having a lace engagement component for engaging with the laces of the football to hold the football to a wall engagement portion of the wall mount assembly. Lace engagement components can be selected to rotate the position of the laces from the top of the mounted football to closer to the wall behind the football if desired to display a signature on a football panel not adjacent to the laces.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     This disclosure relates generally to a wall mount that allows the display of a football. 
     American football is one of several sports that uses a ball that is best described as a prolate spheroid which may defined as a spheroid with a polar axis (distance between the two tips of the ball) is greater than the equatorial diameter (diameter midway between the two tips). Sports that use a prolate spheroid shaped ball including American Football, Arena Football, Canadian Football, Rugby, and Australian Rules Football, among others. These balls are distinct from the ball known as a soccer ball in the United States which is a truncated icosahedron and not a prolate spheroid. While footballs used at the highest level of play and for commemorative purposes are made of a leather type material with separate lace material, there are also footballs made of a polymer (often called rubber) that are cast with the laces being protrusions in the cast surface rather than one or more components distinct from the leather panels. 
       FIG. 1  shows an American football such as the type used in the National Football League. The football  100  has a first pole  104  and a second pole  108 . The football has four panels  116  that are separated by seams  112 . The football  100  has a set of laces  150  that are gripped by the person throwing the football  100 . The set of laces  150  has one or more longitudinal laces  154  which straddle the equator of the football. The equator  120  on the football would be the latitude that is halfway between the poles  104  and  108 . A set of latitudinal laces  158  cross the longitudinal laces  150  at the ends and at several places along the longitudinal laces  154 . The latitudinal laces  158  are substantially orthogonal with the longitudinal laces  154   
     To provide context for this disclosure, it is useful to give an approximate size and weight for a football. According to the NFL Rule 2, section 1, the ball must be from a specified supplier and bear the signature of the commissioner of the NFL, but more relevant to this application the football must be an inflated 12½ to 13½ pound urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind. It shall have the form of a prolate spheroid and the size and weight shall be:
         long axis: 11 to 11¼ inches;   long circumference: 28 to 28½ inches;   short circumference: 21 to 21¼ inches.   weight: 14 to 15 ounces.       

     Regulation sized footballs used in an NCAA-regulated college football game are roughly:
         long axis: 10½ to 11½ inches;   long circumference: approximately 28 inches; and   short circumference: approximately 21 inches.       

     The average is approximately 11.5 inches long by 6.7 inches in diameter. An NCAA football differs from the NFL ball in that it has two 1-inch white stripes that are three to three and one-quarter inches from either end of the ball and located only on the two panels adjacent to the laces. It can be up to one-half inch shorter along the long axis, but only slightly narrower than NFL balls. 
     There may be special commemorative balls that are of a different size, or balls intended for younger players that are smaller than the NCAA or NFL footballs. Footballs used in other types of football may have different aspect ratios (length to diameter). 
     There are a number of reasons why a person may wish to display a football rather than to simply store it with other outside gear. The football may have been the specific football used in an event of some significance such as a ball that was the 200 th  catch by a particular receiver, or the game ball awarded to a star player in a college game. 
     Frequently, the football is not in compliance with all the rules to be a game ball but is instead a commemorative football. Many of these commemorative balls are regulation size but are provided with coloring, text, or emblems not found on a regulation ball. There are many different types of commemorative footballs. The football may be a special commemorative ball noting a special event such as a bowl game appearance. The football may have special coloring or other markings that notes that it is a football associated with a particular college (NCAA) or professional (NFL) team. 
     The football (commemorative or regulation ball) may be signed by a player or football coach and thus have significance much like any other autograph from a famous person. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Aspects of the teachings contained within this disclosure are addressed in the claims submitted with this application upon filing. Rather than adding redundant restatements of the contents of the claims, these claims should be considered incorporated by reference into this summary. 
     This summary is meant to provide an introduction to the concepts that are disclosed within the specification without being an exhaustive list of the many teachings and variations upon those teachings that are provided in the extended discussion within this disclosure. Thus, the contents of this summary should not be used to limit the scope of the claims that follow. 
     Inventive concepts are illustrated in a series of examples, some examples showing more than one inventive concept. Individual inventive concepts can be implemented without implementing all details provided in a particular example. It is not necessary to provide examples of every possible combination of the inventive concepts provide below as one of skill in the art will recognize that inventive concepts illustrated in various examples can be combined together in order to address a specific application. 
     Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the disclosed teachings will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within the scope of and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
         FIG. 1  shows an American football such as the type used in the National Football League. 
         FIG. 2  shows a rear perspective view of a wall mount assembly  200  with a wall mount component  204  and a lace engagement component  304 . 
         FIG. 3  shows a front perspective view of the wall mount component  204  and the lace engagement component  304 . 
         FIG. 4  is a rear side perspective view of lace engagement component  304 . 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom side perspective view of lace engagement component  304 . 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of a football  100  engaged with a wall mount assembly  200  before the wall mount assembly  200  is placed over fastener heads protruding from a prepared wall. 
         FIG. 7  shows an observer  170  looking at a football  100  that is engaged with a wall mount assembly  200 . 
         FIG. 8  shows an alternative lace engagement component designed to display an autographed or otherwise annotated football. 
         FIG. 9  shows a back view of short wire lace engagement component. 
         FIG. 10  shows a side view of short wire lace engagement component. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 2  shows a rear perspective view of a wall mount assembly  200  with a wall mount component  204  and a lace engagement component  304 . The wall mount component  204  has a wall-facing side  208  to allow the wall mount component  204  to be placed flush against the wall. The wall mount component  204  may have one or more fastener engaging slots  212  that allow the wall mount component  204  and a football engaged with the lace engagement component  304  to fit over the head of a fastener (such as a screw head). 
     Frequently the smaller portion  216  of the one or more fastener engaging slots  212  is placed directly above the larger portion  220  of the fastener engaging slots  212 , but the orientation of the smaller portion  216  to the larger portion  220  may deviate plus or minus a small amount degrees from purely vertical alignment. Given the engagement of the lace engagement component  304  with the wall mount component  204 , the angle of the longitudinal centerline which runs internal to the football from the first pole  104  to the second pole  108  will be substantially orthogonal with the axis of the smaller portion  216  to larger portion  220 . 
     The wall mount component  204  has a ball facing side  240  (better seen in other figures) that is on the opposite side of the wall mount component  204  relative to the wall facing side  208 . The ball facing side  240  may be in a variety of configurations but is preferably adapted to nestle the curved surface of the football near the equator  120  of the football  100 . 
     One configuration for the ball facing side  240  is to have a set of fingers  244  extend outwards. While four fingers  244  are shown in  FIG. 2 , different numbers of fingers could be used. Using two fingers may be adequate, but most configurations are going to use three or more fingers for stability. The fingers may have finger tips that are partial hemispheres. Appropriate choices for the geometry of the ball facing side  240  may allow for footballs from more than one regulation size to be used with a particular wall mount assembly. For example, a football mount may be used with either an NFL regulation sized football or an NCAA regulation sized football. Other mount assemblies adapted for other types of footballs such as balls used in Rugby or reduced sized commemorative balls may have different geometries as it is not essential that any one mount assembly must accommodate all possible prolate spheroid balls. 
       FIG. 3  shows a front perspective view of the wall mount component  204  and the lace engagement component  304 . The ball facing side  240  with four fingers  244 , and four finger tips  248  are visible. A cavity  252  within the ball facing side  240  may be covered with a cavity cover (not shown here). The cavity may be used to store a set of batteries and electronics for use in providing sound or LED illumination to add another aspect to the display. 
     One of skill in the art will recognize that the activation of a light may be done by a switch or via alternatives such as sound activation, wireless controller, light sensor (so a flashlight beam toggles the light on and off) or other activation tools known in the art. Deactivation could be achieved in the same manner as activation. For a process that plays a college fight sound or some other sound upon activation, deactivation may not be necessary as the sound may automatically terminate after the end of a set duration. 
     A printed circuit board with some or all of the relevant electronics could serve as the cavity cover. This printed circuit board may extend beyond the perimeter of the cavity wall. 
       FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  show views of a lace engagement component  304 .  FIG. 4  is a rear side perspective view of lace engagement component  304 .  FIG. 5  is a bottom side perspective view of lace engagement component  304 . The lace engagement component may be described as having a wall mount engagement  308 , a set of one or more lace engaging fingers  312 ,  316  to engage one or more laces, and a set of spring portions  320  between the fingers  312 ,  316  and the wall mount engagement  308 . 
     The lace engagement component  304  may be made from a range of suitable materials, preferably a material that will not oxidize or otherwise discolor the football  100  or laces  150 . Stainless steel such as T302 tempered stainless steel is one suitable material. 
     Those of skill in the art will recognize that a variety of wire stock may be used although the choice of wire stock may influence other aspects of the design. Here are the qualities of one wire stock (Inter Wire Group of Armonk N.Y. item number 0800SSCL) that has provided suitable results.
         Description: 0.080 T302 S/S CL.   Specification 1: ASTM-A313-08.   Specification 2: SAE-J230-94.   TENS STR MAX PSI—257,000.   TENS STR MIN PSI—249,000.       

       FIG. 6  is a top view of a football  100  engaged with a wall mount assembly  200  before the wall mount assembly  200  is placed over fastener heads protruding from a prepared wall. A first seam  112  is essentially on the top of the football  100  as mounted. The a second seam, essentially 90 degrees offset from the first seam  112  runs among the fingers  244  extending from the ball-facing side  240  of the wall mount component  204 . One of skill in the art will recognize that the weight of the football  100  will cause the football  100  to drop both the football  100  and the distal end of the lace engagement component  304  after the user releases an engaged football  100  after engagement with the wall mount. The lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  are shown engaged to two latitudinal laces  158  per lace engaging finger. To engage a lace engaging finger  312  or  316  with one or more latitudinal laces  158 , the lace engaging finger  312  or  316  is moved by bending spring  320  and placing the tip  324  or  330  ( FIG. 4 ) under the one or more latitudinal laces  158  to be engaged. Releasing spring  320  provides sustained engagement with the one or more latitudinal laces  158  as one would need to work against the spring  320  in order to disengage the lace engaging finger  312  or  316  from the engaged latitudinal laces  158 . 
       FIG. 7  shows an observer  170  looking at a football  100  that is engaged with a wall mount assembly  200  with wall mount component  204  and lace engagement component  304  engaging a set of laces  150  on the top of the football  100 . Fasteners  178  connected to wall  182  engage with the wall mount component  204  to suspend the football  100  in a manner that is not visible to observer  170  as the football  100  is between the observer  170  and the wall mount component  204  in this head on line of vision  174 . The lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  may be set to engage latitudinal laces  158  on the wall side of the longitudinal laces  154  and thus should be obscured except when the observer  170  stands on a stool close to the wall  182  so that the observer  170  may view the football panel  116  located between the top of the football  100  and the wall  182 . Even when the observer  170  is in such a position, the lace engagement component  304  is not very noticeable. The lace engagement component  304  may optionally be made with lace colored lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  and spring section  320  made to blend with brown leather or whatever color is used for a commemorative football. The football  100  shown in  FIG. 6  has the NCAA white stripes on two panels as discussed above. 
     Process of Mounting the Football. 
     Step 1. Find a desired location where you would want to mount the football  100  on the wall  182 . 
     Step 2. Place the wall mount component  204  against the wall  182  at the desired position including desired height from floor. Please note that the wall mount component  204  must be facing in the “UP” direction as noted on the wall mount component. Optionally, a stud sensor may be used to locate a wood stud to reduce the need for a dry wall anchor. 
     Step 3. Mark holes with a pencil through the smaller portion  216  of the fastener engaging slots  212 . Remove the wall mount component  204  from the wall  182 . 
     Step 4. Using a power drill and a 9/32″ drill bit, drill holes into wall  182  through marks made in Step 3. Add wall anchors to dry wall if you did not drill into a wood stud. 
     Step 5. Using a power drill or screwdriver, drive provided screws into studs (or drywall anchors) wall mount component  204  to the wall  182 . DO NOT tighten the screws to leave the wall mount component  204  easily removable from the wall  182  by using the fastener engaging slots  212  and sliding the wall mount component  204  upward releasing wall mount component  204  from the wall  182 . 
     Step 6. Remove the sliding the wall mount component  204  upward releasing wall mount component  204  from the wall  182 . 
     Step 7. Bend the spring portion  320  of the lace engagement component  304  as needed to guide the lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  through the latitudinal lace  158  as shown in  FIG. 6 . For a football  100  such as shown in  FIG. 6 , it may be desirable to engage the middle two latitudinal laces  158  in the four latitudinal on either side of the equator  120 . Release spring portion  320 . 
     Step 8. After engaging latitudinal laces  158  with the lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  of the lace engagement component  304 , engage the wall mount engagement  308  of the lace engagement component  304  with the wall mount component  204  by guiding the wall mount engagement  308  into a slot  280  in the wall facing side  208  the wall mount component  204 . 
     Step 9. Rotate the football  100  to allow viewing of the fastener engaging slots  212  with the screw heads protruding from the wall  182 . After engaging the screw heads, slide the wall mount component  204  downward to secure the wall mount component  204  to the wall  182 . 
     Step 10. Rotate the football  100  down allowing the football  100  to come to rest against the finger tips  248  of the wall mount component  204 . 
     NOTE: It is possible that the football  100  will not make contact with all four finger tips  248  of the wall mount component  204  after mounting as the rigidity of the wire in the lace engagement component  304  support the weight of the football  100  to hold the football  100  in a proper vertical orientation. Depending on the stiffness of the lace engagement component  304 , the football  100  may make contact with all, some, or none of the finger tips  248  of the wall mount component  204 . Thus, a designer may choose to have a wall mount component that lacks fingers  244  and rely on the stiffness of the lace engagement component  304  to hold the football  100  out from the wall. 
     Step 11. Step back and enjoy viewing the collectible football  100  that now appears to be suspended without support near the wall  182  as the wall mount component  204  is hidden from view by the football  100 . 
     Alternatives and Variations. 
     Short Wire for Autographed Footballs 
       FIG. 8  shows a computer aided drafting image of a football  1100  (without laces in this model) engaged with an alternative to lace engagement component  304  discussed above. This short wire lace engagement component  1304  is designed to engage laces not at the top of the football as discussed above but partially rotated towards the wall. This rotation allows panel  1404  which would typically have the insignia for the NFL, NCAA, or other relevant insignia for this football  1100  and panel  1408  which is typically unadorned when manufactured. This panel  1408  provides a place for a signature or other markings (such as Game Ball 2012 Champion Game) or other annotations. Rotating the laces towards the wall mount  204  to display the signature or other annotations on panel  1408  may be desired by some users for some footballs  1100 . Thus, a portion of the seam  1412  on the top side of panel  1408  is well above the longitudinal axis of the football  1100  that runs from pole  1104  to the opposite pole (not seen in  FIG. 8 ). 
       FIG. 9  shows a view of short wire lace engagement component  1304  as viewed from the wall looking towards an engaged football  100 .  FIG. 9  provides a side view of the same short wire lace engagement component. Visible in  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  are: the wall mount engagement section  1308 , lace engaging fingers  1312  and  1316  with tips  1324  and  1330 , and spring section  1320 . The geometry of the wall mount engagement section  1308  will need to cooperate with the wall mount component  204 . 
     Kits. 
     It is advantageous to sell a single wall mount component  204  with a set of two or more lace engagement components (such as 304 or 1304) that have the capacity to work with the one wall mount component  204 . This allows a purchaser of the wall mount kit to use the wall mount assembly to display a football  100  with the laces  150  on the top of the football  100  as shown in  FIG. 7  or with the laces  150  rotated towards the wall mount component  204  to prominently display a lower panel with a signature or other notation. 
     A kit may include lace engagement components that are adapted for a football that has a different girth than found in the NCAA or NFL footballs, such as a rugby football or a smaller commemorative football. A kit may include screws and dry wall anchors. 
     Alternative Engagements with Laces 
     While the figures discussed above had lace engagement finger  312  engaged with different latitudinal laces  158  than were engaged by lace engagement finger  316 , this is not a requirement in order to use the teachings of the present disclosure. As one of skill in the art will appreciate, the lace engagement component  304  could be designed to allow lace engagement finger  316  to engage latitudinal laces  160  and  164  ( FIG. 6 ) and extend towards first pole  104  and allow lace engagement finger  312  to also engage latitudinal laces  160  and  164  and extend towards second pole  108 . 
     One of skill in the art will appreciate that an alternative lace engagement component  304  could be implemented to engage the longitudinal lace  154  in addition to or instead of engaging with one or more latitudinal lace  158 . For example the lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  that are adapted to engage one or more of the latitudinal laces  158  could be replaced with hooks (not shown) which may be substantially “U” shaped, that would engage one or more of the longitudinal laces  154 . However, the best use of the longitudinal laces  154  may be to help conceal lace engaging fingers  312  and  316  by routing the fingers under one or more of the longitudinal laces  154 . In most instances, engaging with the latitudinal laces  158  provides the best resistance to gravity and keeps the football  100  secured better than alternative engagements with the longitudinal laces  154 . 
     One of skill in the art will recognize that some of the alternative implementations set forth above are not universally mutually exclusive and that in some cases additional implementations can be created that employ aspects of two or more of the variations described above. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific examples or particular embodiments provided to promote understanding of the various teachings of the present disclosure. Moreover, the scope of the claims which follow covers the range of variations, modifications, and substitutes for the components described herein as would be known to those of skill in the art. 
     The legal limitations of the scope of the claimed invention are set forth in the claims that follow and extend to cover their legal equivalents. Those unfamiliar with the legal tests for equivalency should consult a person registered to practice before the patent authority which granted this patent such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office or its counterpart.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0