Patent ID: 7740782

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a sportsball, which comprises the steps of: (a.1) pre-cutting a plurality of ball panels in a predetermined shape to form two ball shells each having an outer surface and a plurality of channels indented on said outer surface to form a plurality of panel contours thereon, and a contouring edge defining a starting point at one of said channels to continuously extend from said channel to another said adjacent channel until said contouring edge is extended back to said starting point, wherein each of said ball panels has one or more connecting edges and one or more free edges; (a.2) aligning a plurality of ball panels with each other such that when said ball panels are connected with each other in an edge-to-edge manner, each of said channels is formed between two connecting edges of every two of said adjacent ball panels while said contouring edge of each of said ball shells is formed along said free edges of said ball panels; (b.1) disposing said two ball shells in two molding cups respectively, wherein each of said molding cups has an inner surface being overlapped with said outer surface of said respective ball shell, a molding rim shaped and sized corresponding to said contouring edge of said respective ball shell, and a plurality of panel guiders integrally protruded from said inner surface of said respective molding cup to guide said ball panels overlapped thereon; (b.2) coupling said molding rims of said two molding cups with each other to align said contouring edges of said ball shells; and (b.3) vulcanizing said ball shells in said molding cups with heat for integrally bonding said contouring edges of said ball shells to form a ball carcass having an air cavity therein, wherein said contouring edges of said ball shells are alignedly linked to form a common edge of said ball carcass which is a molding line thereof, and to form as said channels of said ball carcass to invisible said molding line thereat, wherein said ball panels are aligned edge-to-edge on said inner surface of said respective molding cup, such that said connecting edges of said ball panels are integrally connected with each other to form each of said ball shells in one piece structure.