This application claims the priority of P.R. China Application No. 2004/100489226 filed Jun. 9, 2004, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a game ball carcass and a game ball utilizing said carcass, such as a football (soccer ball), as well as methods of making game ball carcass and game balls. In this application, the term “carcass” refers to an inflatable ball bladder and a reinforcing layer as a composite unit.
Conventionally, balls for ball games having a construction where air is confined, such as soccer ball, volleyball and handball, include a bladder made of rubber where air is confined, a reinforcing layer and a skin layer composed of leather. According to different manufacturing methods of the carcass and the skin layer, balls for ball games can be categorized into hand-stitched balls and laminated balls.
A hand-stitched ball for a ball game such as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,590, is composed of a bladder made of rubber and a skin layer. The bladder is made of rubber which air can not permeate, and by enclosing compressed air through a valve it forms a spherical hollow bladder body. The skin layer is obtained by sewing a plurality of leather panels in such a manner that marginal edges of the leather panels are folded inward and sewn together with threads (about 10,000-denier thread) to form a spherical body. This kind of ball for a ball game is sewn by hand. The leather panels are made of artificial leather or genuine leather. 3 to 4 pieces of fabric (liner-material) are adhered to the back of the artificial leather to enhance the strength. There is no reinforcing layer or fabric pocket layer covering the bladder in such a structure.
Said hand-stitched game balls show merits such as softness, good tactility, easiness for using and good controlling performances. But on the other side, three-dimensionality of the sphere and the thickness (about 4 to 5 mm) and hardness of said leather panels make it impossible or impractical for sewing-machine-making, only hand-stitching is possible or practical. Hence the following problems arise: because of the differences of familiarity and skills of sewing between different operators, the efficiency to produce such kind of game ball is low, the price is high, and quality problems such as differences in weight and size, and deviation from complete spherical shape occur. The defective rate is 2 to 3 times the defective rate of later described laminated ball, with unfavorable durability and inclination of deformation.
The inner pressure of a soccer ball is about 1.0 kg/m2, and impaction of several hundred kg is applied to the ball when kicked. Therefore seams of the ball may come apart and the ball becomes larger than standard dimension, or becomes deformed. Further, during the impaction, threads may rupture and the bladder may protrude. Generally speaking, the durability of hand-stitched balls is below ½ to ⅓ of the durability of the later described laminated balls.
The laminated balls, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,648, include: a similar bladder made of rubber as the bladder of said hand-stitched ball, a reinforcing layer composed of several-thousand meters of nylon filament extending in multiple directions on the bladder (the structure of filament winding is called winding-structure), a covering rubber composed of sulfureted rubber covering on the reinforcing layer, and a skin layer composed of a plurality of leather panels adhering to the covering rubber.
The bladder and the reinforcing layer as a composite unit can be called a carcass.
The quality of the ball (weight, size, sphericity, the performance of shape-keeping and durability) is improved by said reinforcing layer. Said covering rubber firmly adheres leather panels onto the carcass.
Because of said structure of said laminated ball, it can be manufactured mechanically and the efficiency of productivity is higher with less difference in weight and size, and the price is low, with good sphericity and outstanding durability. The disadvantage is its hard tactility and when the ball is touched pain will be caused. Because of its hardness it is difficult to be controlled; therefore sophisticated techniques can hardly be performed during the playing of games with the ball.
Because of the reason of hardness of the laminated ball, impaction of kicking can only be absorbed by the stretching and contracting of the nylon filament making the reinforcing layer, while the performance of absorbing impaction of nylon filament is unfavorable.
Several strategies have been proposed for resolving said problems.
A ball is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,545, comprising: the same bladder as said two kinds of balls, the same reinforcing layer composed of several-thousand meters of nylon filament, and a skin layer made in such a manner that marginal edges of the leather panels are folded inward and sewn together with threads (about 500-denier) by a sewing machine. This time because of the existence of a reinforcing layer wound with nylon filament, no liner material is necessary for the leather panels, hence thin (about 1.0-1.5 mm) and soft leather panels can be sewn by a sewing machine. The composition of said bladder and nylon filament wound on said bladder (i.e. carcass) is inserted into the leather sphere of leather panels sewn by a sewing machine.
Said structure can be manufactured mechanically with outstanding sphericity and durability.
However, because of the reinforcing layer of winding-structure being the same as in a laminated ball, disadvantages such as hardness and uneasiness in controlling have not been eliminated. At the same time, because threads are thinner and lay on the surface, they can be cut when the ball collides with a grain of rock or a gravel in the playing field surface. Also sewing holes on leather panels are easily split. Further, because of visible threads between the leather panels, it is easy to give an impression that the balls have been manufactured in a rough way.
Balls for ball games of the following structure have been further proposed for resolving problems associated therewith.
A ball of the following structure is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,781: 12pieces of fabric trapezoid are sewn together along their margins to form a fabric pocket layer of spherical shape as a reinforcing layer, only one side of the twelve fabric pieces is left un-sewn, and the only one side serves as a hole for placing a bladder, then the fabric pocket layer is reversed through the hole to put sewn margins into the inner side and place said bladder into the fabric pocket layer through the opening. Then the only one side of the opening is sewn from outside and leather panels are adhered onto the sewn fabric pocket layer i.e. onto the carcass. Finally compressed air is supplied through the valve (not shown on figures).
This last mentioned structure can be manufactured mechanically, the efficiency being high, the price being low, with outstanding sphericity and durability. The reinforcing layer is composed of fabric pieces, and, due to the diagonal effect of fabric, the ball shows good tactility and can be easily controlled. Diagonal effect means that when the fabric is stretched from an angle, e.g. 45°, deviated from opposite longitudinal and latitudinal threads, the fabric will show great flexibility. Therefore the performance of stretching and contracting during impaction is favorable.
However, in said improved method, the only one side of the opening is sewn from the outside of the fabric pocket. Slight unevenness on the surface of the fabric pocket caused by said outside sewn margin will appear on the surface of the ball through the leather panels, and disadvantages such as swinging on flying and anomaly in rolling and bouncing exists. Also the appearance is bad due to said unevenness and gives an impression of roughness. Further, for ball games such as volleyball, handball and the like, in which fine tactility of finger tips is important, the slight unevenness is quite a serious problem.
An object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention is to resolve the problems due to the slight unevenness at the sewn margin of the opening of the reinforcing layer of the carcass of a game ball, such as the uneasiness of ball-controlling and the low qualities such as bad appearance and tactility.
Whereas current techniques give rise to said problems, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a carcass of a game ball, the sewn margins of the opening of which lie in the inner side of the fabric pocket, with no slight unevenness caused by said sewn margin on the surface of fabric pocket layer. The productivity is high, and qualities such as sphericity and tactility are good.
Another object of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention is to provide a game ball containing said carcass, which improves the ball-controlling of the game ball.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a game ball carcass is provided which includes: a bladder with a valve for introducing air into said bladder; a fabric pocket layer located outside said bladder comprising a plurality of fabric pieces sewn to form a spherical shape, with a hole for the valve; the sewing thread for sewing said fabric pieces and the sewn margin are all located in the inner side of said fabric pocket, and an opening being cut for reversing and placing the bladder is located on one of the fabric pieces; and an opening-cover for enclosing said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the ball carcass opening-cover is adhered solidly on said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, said hole for the valve is located at a position of the opening-cover.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the cut opening is ring-shaped, said opening-cover is anoriginal opening part of said cut fabric piece, and said valve opening of said fabric pocket layer is located on said opening-cover. The cutting line forming said opening is an unclosed ring, and the opening-cover has a base of fabric connecting to the fabric piece.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the cutting line forming said opening is of a multiple cross shape, hence forming several pieces of opening-cover connected to the fabric piece on the base, and said valve opening of said fabric pocket layer is located at the cross point of said cutting line. Through the reinforcing cloth adhered onto the inner side, said opening-cover encloses said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, said valve opening and the opening for the bladder might lie in the same fabric piece. According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, reinforcing cloth is set at said opening for the bladder. Said opening-cover may be integrated together or separated from the opening for the bladder. Said opening-cover is adhered by adhesive onto the opening on the fabric pocket layer. Sewing lines are pre-printed onto said fabric pieces of the fabric pocket layer, and sewing will be along said lines. Said bladder is composed of rubber.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, a game ball is provided which comprises in sequence from an inner to an outer side: a bladder with a valve for introducing air into said bladder; a fabric pocket layer located outside said bladder, and a skin layer comprising a plurality of panels; a plurality of fabric pieces sewn to form a spherical shape, with a hole for the valve; the sewing thread for sewing. said fabric pieces and the sewn margin are all located in the inner side of said fabric pocket, and an opening being cut for reversing and placing the bladder is located on one of the fabric pieces; and an opening-cover for enclosing said opening.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, said game ball skin layer is a skin layer of an adhesion structure formed by skin pieces adhered onto the fabric pocket layer directly or through the covering rubber, and said skin layer is sewn by a sewing machine. A counter weight of similar weight as the weight of the valve and valve house are placed opposite to the valve in the fabric pocket layer or the bladder. Said ballast can be made of rubber or fabric. Sewing lines are pre-printed on the fabric pieces of the fabric pocket layer.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, in the carcass of the game ball in the game ball, because the fabric pocket layer can be sewn totally by sewing machine, the productivity is high. Because of the fabric pocket layer being outside the bladder, the manufactured ball is soft and of good tactility. At the same time because all of the sewing margins which can reshape the ball are left in the inner side, no slight unevenness is left on the surface of the fabric pocket, and the ball appears to be a complete sphere, obtaining good ball-controlling as well as keeping the spherecity.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.