Intelligent sphere and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of intelligent sports equipment, in particular to an intelligent ball and a manufacturing method thereof. The intelligent ball comprises a felt covering layer, a rubber ball shell and a buffer support structure arranged in sequence from outside to inside, and the buffer support structure is completely filled in a spherical inner cavity of the rubber ball shell. The material of the buffer support structure is foamed polypropylene. A cavity is prefabricated in the center of the buffer support structure, a sensor module is suspended and fixed in the cavity, and the sensor module is electrically connected with a power module and a wireless charging receiving coil. The multistage protection structure adopting the buffer support structure and a vacuum filling and sealing viscoelastic buffer layer is matched with an adjustable weight compensation mechanism, on the basis of strictly meeting the ITF standard weight and sphericity, high impact attenuation rate and small gravity deviation are realized, and reliable wireless charging and battery shielding functions are integrated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent sports equipment technology, and in particular to an intelligent sphere and its manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has set mandatory standards for official match balls in terms of weight, diameter, rebound height, and flight stability. These standards require tennis balls to weigh between 56.0 and 59.4g and have a diameter between 65.0 and 67.0mm to ensure consistency and fairness in competition. With the development of smart sports equipment, integrating motion sensors, power supply, and wireless communication components into the tennis ball to collect and transmit motion data such as shot speed, spin, and trajectory has become an important direction for industry development.

[0003] Currently, smart tennis balls with built-in electronic components still face many unresolved problems: Sensors are often fixed using rigid bonding or direct embedding without an effective graded buffer structure. The high-frequency impact generated during ball impact directly affects the sensor and solder joints, easily causing device damage and data failure. This results in a short product lifespan and cannot meet the requirements of high-intensity training and competition. Electronic components such as batteries, wireless charging coils, and circuit boards significantly increase the ball's weight. Conventional structures struggle to control the overall weight within the ITF standard range, leading to ball imbalance and significant differences in ball characteristics compared to standard tennis balls, making them unsuitable for official matches. The low positioning accuracy of internal electronic components makes them prone to excessive center of gravity shift, directly affecting the ball's flight trajectory and spin stability. The lack of dedicated packaging and electromagnetic shielding structures for batteries and wireless charging components increases the risk of charging interference and short circuits. The wireless charging coil lacks a fixed installation position and is prone to displacement after impact, affecting charging reliability. Traditional rubber hemispherical shells are bonded using a high-temperature vulcanization process, which easily causes rubber aging. At the same time, high temperatures can damage internal electronic components, resulting in low production yield and poor stability.

[0004] Therefore, existing smart tennis balls cannot simultaneously meet the requirements of ITF standard compliance, sensor shock protection, stable center of gravity, reliable wireless charging integration, and industrial production, making it difficult to achieve large-scale application in tournament-level scenarios.

[0005] The information disclosed in this background section is intended only to enhance the understanding of the general background of this disclosure and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that the information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides a smart ball and its manufacturing method. It adopts a multi-level protective structure with a buffer support structure and a vacuum-filled viscoelastic buffer layer, combined with an adjustable weight compensation mechanism. While strictly complying with ITF standard weight and ball properties, it achieves a high impact attenuation rate and a small center of gravity deviation. At the same time, it integrates reliable wireless charging and battery shielding functions, effectively solving the core problems of existing smart tennis balls that cannot simultaneously meet the requirements of standard compliance, impact protection, center of gravity stability, reliable charging, and industrial production.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: The first aspect of the present invention provides an intelligent sphere, which includes a felt covering layer, a rubber shell and a buffer support structure arranged sequentially from the outside to the inside, wherein the buffer support structure completely fills the spherical inner cavity of the rubber shell; The solid density of the buffer support structure is 0.08~0.20 g / cm³. 3 The apparent density is 0.03~0.10 g / cm³. 3 The hollowness is 30%~55%; the rubber sphere shell is made of highly elastic rubber material with a wall thickness of 1.5~2.2mm; The buffer support structure has a pre-fabricated cavity in the center, and a sensor module is suspended and fixed in the cavity. The sensor module is electrically connected to a power module and a wireless charging receiving coil. The total weight of the smart sphere is 56.0~59.4g, and the total diameter is 65.0~67.0mm.

[0008] The intelligent sphere of this invention adopts a three-layer coaxial nested design, replacing the traditional solid foam or air pressure bladder with a buffer support structure, which significantly reduces weight while ensuring support strength and rebound performance; by integrating all electronic components inside the foam skeleton, the structure is integrated to avoid loosening of parts; the total weight and total diameter are strictly limited within the ITF standard range to ensure that the core sphericity of the sphere is consistent with that of the ball used in official competitions.

[0009] Furthermore, by adjusting the wall thickness of the rubber sphere and / or the perforation of the buffer support structure, the weight fluctuations of the sensor module, power module, and wireless charging receiving coil are compensated, so that the total weight of the smart sphere falls within the range of 56.0~59.4g; when the wall thickness of the rubber sphere is 1.5~2.2mm, the corresponding shell weight is 27.5~34.5g; when the perforation of the buffer support structure is 30%~55%, the corresponding frame weight is 6~10g.

[0010] More specifically, a 0.1mm change in the rubber shell wall thickness corresponds to a weight change of approximately 1.7g, and a 5% change in the foam perforation corresponds to a weight change of approximately 1.5g. The combination of the two provides a weight adjustment margin of ≥5g, which can cover the weight fluctuations of sensor modules, batteries and charging coils of different specifications, ensuring that the weight of all products meets the ITF standard during mass production.

[0011] Furthermore, the volume of the cavity is 1.5 to 3.0 times the volume of the sensor module; after the sensor module is placed in the cavity, it is vacuum-encapsulated using silicone gel or polyurethane potting compound, with a vacuum degree not exceeding -0.08 MPa and a potting compound filling rate not less than 80%. After the potting compound cures, the sensor module is suspended and fixed at the geometric center of the cavity.

[0012] More specifically, the ratio of cavity volume to sensor volume is controlled at 1.5 to 3.0 times, which ensures that the potting compound has sufficient buffer thickness and avoids excessive potting compound causing center of gravity shift. The vacuum potting process can completely remove air bubbles in the cavity, ensuring that the potting compound evenly wraps the sensor and forms a gapless suspended fixed structure after curing, eliminating center of gravity deviation caused by installation reference offset.

[0013] Furthermore, the cured potting compound forms a viscoelastic buffer material layer, which completely covers the outer surface of the sensor module and fills all the gaps between the inner wall of the cavity and the sensor module. The loss factor tanδ of the viscoelastic buffer material layer is ≥0.3 in the frequency range of 10~2000Hz, and the total thickness is 0.5~3.0mm.

[0014] More specifically, the potting compound, after curing, directly serves as a buffer layer, eliminating the need for additional buffer components and simplifying the structure; the loss factor tanδ≥0.3 ensures that at least 30% of the impact energy is converted into heat dissipation within the 10~2000Hz wide frequency range of tennis ball impact; the thickness range of 0.5~3.0mm balances buffering effect and sensing accuracy, avoiding sensor data delay caused by an excessively thick buffer layer.

[0015] Furthermore, the sensor module includes a PCB board, a MEMS inertial measurement unit soldered onto the PCB board, and a Bluetooth Low Energy chip; The MEMS inertial measurement unit has a range of ±200g acceleration, ±2000dps angular velocity, and a sampling rate ≥1000Hz; The power module is electrically connected to the power input terminal of the PCB board.

[0016] More specifically, the range and sampling rate parameters of the aforementioned MEMS inertial measurement unit are adapted to the peak value and main frequency of tennis ball impact, enabling accurate acquisition of core motion data such as ball speed, rotation rate, and flight trajectory; and it uses a Bluetooth Low Energy chip to achieve wireless data transmission, which has low power consumption and long transmission distance, meeting the needs of daily training and competition.

[0017] Furthermore, the power module includes a rechargeable battery and a battery packaging structure; The battery packaging structure includes: a metal shielding shell with a thickness of 0.1~0.3mm, made of aluminum or aluminum alloy; Insulating gaskets, made of polyimide or Nomex, with a thickness of 0.05~0.15mm; The metal shielding shell is grounded to the grounding layer of the PCB board.

[0018] More specifically, the rechargeable battery uses an arc-shaped soft-pack lithium battery that fits snugly against the inner wall of the foam skeleton without occupying central space or affecting the sphere's center of gravity; the metal shielding shell simultaneously provides electromagnetic shielding, heat dissipation, and mechanical protection, reducing wireless charging signal attenuation by ≥40dB, preventing interference with Bluetooth communication, and lowering the battery's peak temperature by 10~15℃; the insulating pads and grounding design completely eliminate the risk of battery short circuits, improving safety in use.

[0019] Furthermore, an annular groove is pre-set inside the outer edge of the buffer support structure, and the wireless charging receiving coil is embedded in the annular groove and fixed in the annular groove by potting compound. The plane of the wireless charging receiving coil is perpendicular to the central axis of the smart sphere, and the center of the wireless charging receiving coil is located on the equatorial plane of the buffer support structure. The wireless charging receiving coil is electrically connected to the charging management unit on the PCB board through a flexible ribbon cable arranged radially along the buffer support structure.

[0020] More specifically, the wireless charging receiving coil is embedded in a pre-set annular groove on the outer edge of the foam frame, with a fixed position that does not interfere with the rubber spherical shell; the coil plane is perpendicular to the radial direction and the center is located in the equatorial plane, ensuring the maximum coupling area with the charging chamber's transmitting coil during charging, with a coupling efficiency of over 50%; flexible ribbon cable connection is used to avoid ribbon cable breakage caused by ball impact, improving the reliability of the charging system.

[0021] Furthermore, the buffer support structure is a honeycomb, Gyroid, or BCC lattice structure made of EPP, ETPU, TPU, TPE, or PEBA materials.

[0022] Furthermore, the rubber shell is formed by bonding together two prefabricated rubber hemispheres.

[0023] More specifically, the bonding method is used to replace the traditional high-temperature secondary vulcanization process, avoiding high-temperature damage to internal electronic components; the prefabricated hemispherical shell is a mature industrial product with high dimensional accuracy and good consistency, and can be directly connected to existing tennis ball production lines, reducing production costs.

[0024] A second aspect of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned smart sphere, comprising: S1 Prepare two prefabricated rubber hemispherical shells, controlling the wall thickness of each hemispherical shell to be 1.5~2.2mm and the weight of a single shell to be 13.75~17.25g; S2 uses a steam hot pressing molding process to prepare the buffer support structure, controlling the solid density of the buffer support structure to be 0.08~0.20 g / cm³. 3 The apparent density is 0.03~0.10 g / cm³. 3 The hollowness is 30%~55%, and the central cavity of the buffer support structure is integrally formed, with an integrally formed annular groove on the outer edge and the inner side. The S3 assembles the sensor module, solders the MEMS inertial measurement unit and Bluetooth low power chip onto the PCB board; embeds the wireless charging receiving coil in the annular groove and fixes it with potting compound, and connects the wireless charging receiving coil to the charging management unit on the PCB board through a flexible cable. S4 places the sensor module at the geometric center of the cavity, injects silicone gel or polyurethane potting compound into the cavity, performs vacuum potting and curing, so that the potting compound completely wraps the sensor module and fills all the gaps in the cavity, forming a suspended fixed structure. S5 covers the rechargeable battery with an insulating pad and then fixes it to the inner wall of the buffer support structure. The metal shield is grounded to the ground layer of the PCB board, and the rechargeable battery is electrically connected to the power input terminal of the PCB board. S6 joins and bonds two prefabricated rubber hemispheres together to form a rubber sphere with an internally completely filled buffer support structure. S7 uses a pressure bonding process to coat the outer surface of a rubber sphere with a felt covering layer, which is then cured to obtain a smart sphere.

[0025] Furthermore, an adhesive is applied to the mating surfaces of the two prefabricated rubber hemispheres, activated at 60~120℃ for 3~10 minutes, and then held under pressure of 0.3~2.0MPa for 3~15 minutes to complete the bonding.

[0026] Furthermore, the parameters of the steam hot pressing process are: mold temperature 130~150℃, steam pressure 0.2~0.8MPa, holding pressure for 30~60 seconds, and then demolding after cooling in the mold to no higher than 60℃; the cavity and annular groove are integrally formed by pre-embedded aluminum alloy core.

[0027] The technical solution of this invention can achieve the following technical effects: (1) The present invention adopts a multi-level protection structure of buffer support structure and vacuum potting viscoelastic buffer layer, which can not only greatly attenuate the high-frequency impact load when hitting the ball, protect the sensor module, battery and wireless charging coil, improve the reliability and service life of internal electronic components, but also accurately suspend and fix the sensor module at the geometric center of the ball, effectively control the center of gravity deviation, so that the ball's rebound, flight and rotational inertia are fully matched with the ITF standard tennis ball, and meet the requirements for use in official competitions; (2) This invention achieves precise weight compensation by flexibly adjusting the wall thickness of the rubber sphere and the hollowness of the foam skeleton, and can stably control the total weight of the sphere within the standard range of 56.0~59.4g, solving the problem of excessive weight caused by built-in electronic components; at the same time, it is equipped with battery shielding encapsulation, coil positioning installation and low temperature bonding process, which improves charging stability and safety of use. The production process is mature and controllable, and can be directly used for industrial mass production and promotion in competition-level scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view of the intelligent sphere; Reference numerals: 1. Felt covering layer; 2. Rubber spherical shell; 3. Buffer support structure; 4. Sensor module; 5. Viscoelastic buffer material layer; 6. Wireless charging receiving coil. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0032] The above description is merely an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to better understand the technical means of this application and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, specific embodiments of this application are given below.

[0033] Example 1:

[0034] This embodiment provides a smart tennis ball adapted for use in official tennis tournaments, with the following specific parameters: Felt covering layer: Two-piece felt made of wool and nylon 66 blend, with a compressed thickness of 2.5mm, is bonded to the outer surface of the rubber sphere shell using a neoprene rubber-based adhesive, with a bonding amount of 15g / m². 2 The total weight of the felt covering layer is 10.5g.

[0035] Rubber spherical shell: It is made of two prefabricated rubber hemispherical shells bonded together with adhesive; the rubber spherical shell has a wall thickness of 1.8mm, an outer diameter of 61.0mm, an inner diameter of 56.0mm, a Shore A hardness of 60, a total weight of 31.0g, and a single shell weight of 15.5g / piece.

[0036] Buffer support structure: Completely fills the inner cavity of the rubber spherical shell, the sphere has a diameter of 55.8mm, and is made of foamed polypropylene with a honeycomb structure and a solid density of 0.12g / cm³. 3 Apparent density 0.066 g / cm³ 3 It has a porosity of 45%, a resilience of 68%, a hysteresis loss of 0.35%, a compression set of 7%, and a weight of 7.5g. The foam skeleton features a spherical cavity integrally formed through a pre-embedded aluminum alloy core, with a diameter of 24mm, a depth of 8.2mm, and a volume of approximately 3.71cm³. 3 The outer edge has an integrally formed annular groove with a depth of 0.5mm and a width of 1.0mm.

[0037] Viscoelastic buffer material layer: formed by curing silicone gel, with a Shore A hardness of 20 and a loss factor tanδ of 0.36 under the conditions of 1000Hz frequency and 5% strain. It completely fills the cavity and fully wraps the sensor module 360°, with a uniform wrapping thickness of 2mm and a weight of 1.8g.

[0038] Sensor module: includes PCB board, MEMS inertial measurement unit, Bluetooth Low Energy chip and FPC antenna; PCB board size 18mm×12mm×0.6mm, MEMS inertial measurement unit range of ±200g acceleration, ±2000dps angular velocity, sampling rate 1000Hz; total weight of sensor module is 1.5g, suspended and fixed at the geometric center of buffer support structure by viscoelastic buffer material layer, with no direct rigid contact with rubber spherical shell and foam skeleton; cavity volume is 1.91 times the volume of sensor module.

[0039] Power module: includes a rechargeable arc-shaped soft-pack lithium battery (2.0g) and a battery packaging structure; the outer surface of the battery is covered with a 0.2mm thick aluminum shielding shell (0.3g), and a 0.1mm thick polyimide insulating pad is placed between the shielding shell and the battery. The shielding shell is grounded to the grounding layer of the PCB board through conductive adhesive; the total weight of the power module is 2.3g, and it is attached and fixed to the inner wall of the buffer support structure.

[0040] Wireless charging receiver coil: It is embedded in a reserved annular groove 1mm inside the outer edge of the buffer support structure. It is made of enameled copper wire with a wire diameter of 0.1mm, 40 turns, inductance of 12μH, DC resistance of 0.8Ω, and weight of 0.5g. It is connected to the charging management unit on the PCB board through a flexible ribbon cable arranged radially along the buffer support structure.

[0041] The total weight of the smart sphere in this embodiment is within the ITF standard range.

[0042] The method for preparing the above-mentioned smart sphere includes the following steps: S1: Purchase pre-vulcanized rubber hemispherical shells with a wall thickness of 1.8mm, an outer diameter of 61.0mm, and a single shell weight of 15.5g / piece; S2: The buffer support structure is prepared by steam hot pressing molding process. The mold temperature is 140℃, the steam pressure is 0.4MPa, the pressure is held for 45 seconds, and the mold is cooled to 50℃ for demolding. The corresponding spherical cavity and annular groove are integrally formed by pre-embedded aluminum alloy core. S3: Assemble the sensor module, solder the MEMS inertial measurement unit and Bluetooth low power chip onto the PCB board; embed the wireless charging receiver coil in the annular groove and fix it with a small amount of silicone gel, and connect it to the charging management unit on the PCB board through a flexible ribbon cable; S4: Use a high-precision positioning fixture to fix the sensor module at the geometric center of the cavity, inject liquid silicone gel into the cavity, and use a vacuum potting process: vacuum degree -0.095MPa, maintain vacuum for 4 minutes to remove air bubbles, and then cure at 60℃ for 2 hours to form a viscoelastic buffer material layer. S5: Assemble the power module. After covering the rechargeable arc-shaped soft-pack lithium battery with an insulating pad and an aluminum shield, fix it to the inner wall of the buffer support structure with adhesive. Ground the aluminum shield to the grounding layer of the PCB board with conductive glue. At the same time, connect the lithium battery to the power input terminal of the PCB board. S6: Apply neoprene rubber adhesive to the mating surfaces of the two prefabricated rubber hemispherical shells, activate them by preheating at 100°C for 3 minutes, place the assembled electronic component buffer support structure into the lower shell, close the upper shell, and hold the pressure at 0.8MPa for 5 minutes to complete the bonding. S7: The two-piece felt covering layer is wrapped onto the outer surface of the rubber sphere shell through a pressing process, and cured at 40℃ for 20 minutes to obtain the finished smart sphere.

[0043] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 136cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 0.7mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 92% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Charging performance: Supports Qi standard wireless charging, charging time is about 2 hours, battery cycle life >500 times; Long-term stability: After 10,000 standard hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, the ball's center of gravity offset was <0.2mm, and there was no significant attenuation in core performance such as rebound height, weight, and diameter.

[0044] Example 2:

[0045] This embodiment is a smart tennis ball adapted for high-intensity training scenarios of professional teams. The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is: The silicone gel was replaced with polyurethane potting compound (Shore A 40, tanδ=0.55), and the precast cavity size was increased to a diameter of 26mm and a depth of 10mm (volume 4.42cm³). 3 (This is 2.28 times the volume of the sensor), with a filler amount of approximately 2.5g; The total thickness of the viscoelastic cushioning material layer increased to 2.5 mm, the rubber shell wall thickness increased to 2.0 mm, and the shell weight was approximately 34.5 g; the perforation of the foam skeleton was reduced to 40%, and the skeleton weight was approximately 8.5 g. The battery is encased in a 0.3mm aluminum shielding shell, which weighs 0.4g.

[0046] The smart tennis ball in this embodiment weighs approximately 59.2g, which is close to the ITF limit, making it suitable for high-intensity training scenarios.

[0047] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 134cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 0.9mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 94% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Long-term stability: After 15,000 standard ball-hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, and the core performance showed no significant degradation.

[0048] Example 3:

[0049] This embodiment is a smart tennis ball adapted for lightweight / ball speed-sensitive scenarios, and its difference from Embodiment 1 is: The perforation of the buffer support structure is increased to 50%, and it weighs about 6.0g. The thickness of the rubber shell wall is reduced to 1.6mm, and the shell weighs about 27.5g. The prefabricated cavity maintains a diameter of 24mm and a depth of 8.2mm, the amount of silicone gel remains unchanged, and the wireless charging coil uses a finer enameled wire with a diameter of 0.08mm and a weight of 0.4g. The battery shielding shell has been thinned to 0.15mm and weighs 0.2g.

[0050] The smart tennis ball in this embodiment weighs approximately 56.5g and is suitable for scenarios where ball speed response is sensitive.

[0051] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 138cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 1.0mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 90% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Long-term stability: After 8,000 standard ball-hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, and the core performance showed no significant degradation.

[0052] Example 4:

[0053] Unlike Example 1, the buffer support structure in this example is a Gyroid structure made of ETPU material.

[0054] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 137cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 0.6mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 91% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Long-term stability: After 15,000 standard ball-hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, and the core performance showed no significant degradation.

[0055] Example 5:

[0056] Unlike Example 1, the buffer support structure in this example is a BCC structure made of TPU material.

[0057] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 133cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 0.8mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 95% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Long-term stability: After 15,000 standard ball-hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, and the core performance showed no significant degradation.

[0058] Example 6:

[0059] Unlike Example 1, the buffer support structure in this example is made of TPE material to form a honeycomb structure.

[0060] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 132cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 0.7mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 96% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Long-term stability: After 15,000 standard ball-hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, and the core performance showed no significant degradation.

[0061] Example 7:

[0062] Unlike Example 1, the buffer support structure in this example is made of PEBA material to form a honeycomb structure.

[0063] The performance of the aforementioned smart sphere was tested, and the following results were obtained: Rebound performance: When dropped freely from a height of 254cm onto a concrete surface, the rebound height is 141cm; Center of gravity accuracy: The eccentricity distance between the sensor module and the geometric center of the smart sphere is 0.7mm; Impact resistance: In the standard tennis ball impact test, the sensor module showed a 91% attenuation rate of peak acceleration relative to the rubber ball shell; Long-term stability: After 14,000 standard ball-hitting cycles, the sensor functioned normally without failure, and the core performance showed no significant degradation.

[0064] Comparative Example 1: This comparative example adopts the existing mainstream rigid bonding and fixing scheme. The sensor module is directly fixed to the inner wall of the rubber bladder with epoxy resin adhesive and wrapped with a single layer of EVA foam. The dimensions and weight of the remaining rubber shell and felt covering layer are completely consistent with those of Example 1.

[0065] The results were obtained after testing under the same conditions as in Example 1: The sensor's peak acceleration attenuation rate is only 27%; The sensor's offset from the geometric center of the sphere was 3.6 mm, resulting in a significant deviation in the sphere's flight trajectory. The sensor malfunctions after 1000 standard shots and is completely damaged after 5000 shots. It has no wireless charging function, and the sphere is unusable after the battery is depleted.

[0066] Comparative Example 2: This comparative example uses an existing foam cavity embedding scheme, where the sensor is directly embedded in the central cavity of the EPP foam sphere without a silicone gel buffer structure. The remaining structural dimensions are completely consistent with those of Example 1.

[0067] The results were obtained after testing under the same conditions as in Example 1: The sensor's peak acceleration decay rate is only 11%, and the sensor will be damaged after 500 standard shots; After being impacted, the sensor position drifted significantly, with a maximum eccentricity of 6.2 mm, indicating extremely poor center of gravity stability. After long-term use, the foam matrix undergoes compression deformation, and its resilience performance decreases by more than 30%.

[0068] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and accompanying drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the application as defined herein, and are to be considered as covering any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of this application and its equivalents, this application intends to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A smart sphere, characterized in that, The smart sphere includes a felt covering layer, a rubber shell, and a buffer support structure arranged sequentially from the outside to the inside, with the buffer support structure completely filling the spherical inner cavity of the rubber shell; The solid density of the buffer support structure is 0.08~0.20 g / cm³. 3 The apparent density is 0.03~0.10 g / cm³. 3 The hollowness is 30%~55%; the rubber spherical shell is made of highly elastic rubber material with a wall thickness of 1.5~2.2mm; The buffer support structure has a pre-fabricated cavity at its center, and a sensor module is suspended and fixed inside the cavity. The sensor module is electrically connected to a power module and a wireless charging receiving coil. The total weight of the smart sphere is 56.0~59.4g, and the total diameter is 65.0~67.0mm.

2. The intelligent sphere according to claim 1, characterized in that, By adjusting the wall thickness of the rubber sphere and / or the perforation of the buffer support structure, the weight fluctuations of the sensor module, power module, and wireless charging receiving coil are compensated, so that the total weight of the smart sphere falls within the range of 56.0~59.4g; when the wall thickness of the rubber sphere is 1.5~2.2mm, the corresponding shell weight is 27.5~34.5g; when the perforation of the buffer support structure is 30%~55%, the corresponding frame weight is 6~10g.

3. The intelligent sphere according to claim 1, characterized in that, The volume of the cavity is 1.5 to 3.0 times the volume of the sensor module. After the sensor module is placed in the cavity, it is vacuum-encapsulated using silicone gel or polyurethane potting compound. The vacuum degree is not higher than -0.08 MPa, and the potting compound filling rate is not less than 80%. After the potting compound cures, the sensor module is suspended and fixed at the geometric center of the cavity.

4. The intelligent sphere according to claim 3, characterized in that, The cured potting compound forms a viscoelastic buffer material layer that completely covers the outer surface of the sensor module and fills all the gaps between the inner wall of the cavity and the sensor module. The viscoelastic buffer material layer has a loss factor tanδ≥0.3 in the frequency range of 10~2000Hz and a total thickness of 0.5~3.0mm.

5. The intelligent sphere according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensor module includes a PCB board, a MEMS inertial measurement unit soldered to the PCB board, and a Bluetooth Low Energy chip. The MEMS inertial measurement unit has a range of ±200g acceleration and ±2000dps angular velocity, and a sampling rate ≥1000Hz; The power module is electrically connected to the power input terminal of the PCB board.

6. The intelligent sphere according to claim 5, characterized in that, The power module includes a rechargeable battery and a battery packaging structure; The battery packaging structure includes: a metal shielding shell with a thickness of 0.1~0.3mm, made of aluminum or aluminum alloy; Insulating gaskets, made of polyimide or Nomex, with a thickness of 0.05~0.15mm; The metal shielding shell is grounded to the grounding layer of the PCB board.

7. The intelligent sphere according to claim 5, characterized in that, The outer edge of the buffer support structure has a pre-set annular groove, the wireless charging receiving coil is embedded in the annular groove and fixed in the annular groove by potting glue; The plane of the wireless charging receiving coil is perpendicular to the central axis of the smart sphere, and the center of the wireless charging receiving coil is located on the equatorial plane of the buffer support structure; the wireless charging receiving coil is electrically connected to the charging management unit of the PCB board through a flexible cable arranged radially along the buffer support structure.

8. The intelligent sphere according to claim 1, characterized in that, The buffer support structure is a honeycomb, Gyroid, or BCC lattice structure made of EPP, ETPU, TPU, TPE, or PEBA materials.

9. A method for manufacturing the intelligent sphere according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, include: S1 Prepare two prefabricated rubber hemispherical shells, controlling the wall thickness of each hemispherical shell to be 1.5~2.2mm and the weight of a single shell to be 13.75~17.25g; S2 uses a steam hot pressing molding process to prepare the buffer support structure, controlling the solid density of the buffer support structure to be 0.08~0.20 g / cm³. 3 The apparent density is 0.03~0.10 g / cm³. 3 The hollowness is 30%~55%, and a cavity is integrally formed in the center of the buffer support structure, and an annular groove is integrally formed in the inner part of the outer edge; S3 solders the MEMS inertial measurement unit and Bluetooth low power chip onto the PCB board; embeds the wireless charging receiving coil in the annular groove and fixes it with potting compound; and connects the wireless charging receiving coil to the charging management unit on the PCB board via a flexible cable. S4 places the sensor module at the geometric center of the cavity, injects silicone gel or polyurethane potting compound into the cavity, and then performs vacuum potting and curing. S5 After covering the rechargeable battery with an insulating pad and a metal shielding shell, it is fixed to the inner wall of the buffer support structure, and the metal shielding shell is grounded to the grounding layer of the PCB board. At the same time, the rechargeable battery is electrically connected to the power input terminal of the PCB board. S6 joins and bonds the two prefabricated rubber hemispheres together to form a rubber sphere completely filled with the buffer support structure. S7 applies a felt covering layer to the outer surface of the rubber sphere using a pressure bonding process, and obtains the smart sphere after curing.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The bonding process is as follows: apply adhesive to the mating surfaces of the two prefabricated rubber hemispheres, activate them at 60~120℃ for 3~10 minutes, and then hold them under pressure of 0.3~2.0MPa for 3~15 minutes to complete the bonding.

Images