Inflatable sports ball

Abstract

An inflatable sports ball which comprises an inflatable bladder which is provided with a bladder valve; a bladder pocket which encloses the bladder; an outer carcass which encloses the bladder pocket and is provided with an outer carcass valve hole; and a valve stem which extends from the bladder valve hole through the bladder pocket to the outer carcass valve hole. The bladder pocket is in form of a hosohedron with a plurality of identical lune faces, and each of the lune faces is formed by a panel which is made of a material cheaper in costs in comparison with materials which form the bladder or the outer carcass.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to an inflatable sports ball and more particularly pertains to an inflatable sports ball which is low in material costs, simple to manufacture, yet maintaining the performance of the sports ball at a reasonable level.[0002]In general, a sports ball, such as a soccer ball, comprises an inflatable bladder, one or more layers of lining, and an outer carcass. The bladder is made of rubber, synthetic rubber or latex rubber. The layers of lining are made of polyester or cotton. Sometimes an extra layer of foam is added between the outer carcass and the lining. The outer carcass is made of synthetic leather or leather. The layers of linings may be attached to the interior of the outer carcass for imparting tensile strength and shape retention property to the sports ball. In some sports balls, there is also provided with a layer of yarn wound around the inflatable bladder so as to provide further protection to the bladder and to...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016]With the above construction, the bladder pocket may attain a true round shape by simply joining the edges of the panels together by machine stitching, high-frequency welding or other similar processes. As each of the lune-shaped panels or the rectangular panels are identical, mass production of the panels are possible. No mold is required to be formed and no vulcanization is required, so the manufacturing process is simple, and the manufacturing costs are low. Besides, as the present construction of the bladder pocket is in form of a hosohedron with a plurality of identical lune faces, it would not require a high precision manufacturing process for the bladder pocket to form a true round shape. By adjusting the thickness of the panels of the bladder pocket or the number of layers of materials forming the bladder pocket, the overall weight of the sports ball may be adjusted. In other words, the weight of the bladder and the outer carcass may be reduced, but yet the overall weight of the sports ball could be maintained by increasing the weight of the bladder pocket. As the material costs of th

Problems solved by technology

For example, if the panel is made of PVC, high-frequency welding may be used; but if the pane

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