Patent ID: 7503861

Claim:
A sportsball, comprising: an inflatable bladder; a winding thread layer surrounding said bladder; a carcass having an inner face adjacent said winding thread layer and an outer face, said outer face consisting of a plurality of curvilinearly extending ribs each having sides and an exteriorly projecting face, said ribs defining a plurality of separated panel areas; and a plurality of external cover panels, each affixed to the outer face of said carcass in one of said separated panel areas defined by the ribs, wherein each external cover panel comprises an outer panel portion and an inner panel portion, the outer panel portion having an interior edge and an exterior edge, the inner panel portion having at least one edge which is connected to the interior edge of the outer panel portion, and the exterior edge of the outer panel portion being connected to the ribs; wherein the outer panel portion and inner panel portion comprise materials having different characteristics, the inner and outer panel portions are each visible when the external cover panel is affixed to the outer face; and wherein the interior edge of the outer panel portion parallels the ribs to which the exterior edge is connected for substantially the entire length of the rib that defines the respective panel area.