Cardboard balls for ball games

Abstract

Recreating a ball for ball games using cardboard was a difficult task. [Solution] Stacks of cardboard circles of different diameters to form a sphere. To ensure the smoothness of the sphere, multiple thicknesses of cardboard are used to recreate the curve of the sphere. A rectangular cardboard block is inserted in the center to facilitate disassembly. Additionally, a sphere made of a material with a specific gravity greater than the cardboard is inserted to adjust the weight.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for achieving a sustainable sports ball and its configuration.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there has been a growing call for reducing plastic use, and this is often achieved by replacing plastic products with non-plastic alternatives. Recently, cardboard has been frequently chosen as one of these non-plastic materials. Cardboard is generally used as packaging material, typically as a cardboard box, like the kind used for oranges. However, cardboard is often used for purposes other than packaging. For example, toys, furniture, and beds are frequently made and commercialized using cardboard. Cardboard can be recycled, with over 90% of it being recyclable, making it a generally known and highly sustainable material. Furthermore, a separate recycling system for cardboard has been established for it, even within the category of waste paper. Therefore, it is less likely to be discarded as general waste like regular paper or cardboard, making it a sustainable material among waste paper. As such, cardboard has a high recycling rate and is a sustainable material, so it is used to make a variety of products, but there are no prior examples of replicating a ball for ball games using cardboard. For example, there is prior art, such as Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-328119, which involves creating globes and other items that were previously mainly made of plastic from cardboard. There are also prior examples of using cardboard to create spherical toys and decorative spheres. However, recreating balls for ball games such as baseballs and golf balls from cardboard presented challenges in these prior examples and proved to be extremely difficult. Even in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-328119, balls for ball games cannot be recreated. Furthermore, in a prior example (Non-Patent Literature 1) of a spherical toy or decorative sphere made from cardboard, although it is spherical, the gaps between the cardboard layers hinder the smoothness of the sphere, leaving voids on the surface, which is problematic for use as a ball for ball games. Additionally, a ball with a voided surface experiences turbulent air resistance. Moreover, weight adjustment is difficult in this prior example, making it unsuitable for use as a ball for specific ball games. Due to these challenges, the cardboard spherical spheres in the prior examples are unsuitable as balls for ball games. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-328119 [Non-patent literature]

[0004] A ball made from cardboard [Non-Patent Document 1] https: / / 4dflats.jp / p / Sphere60_natural [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a method and technology for reproducing a ball or sphere for ball games using cardboard, which is a sustainable material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In other words, the present invention has the following aspects. [1] A sphere or ball is recreated by layering circular corrugated cardboard pieces with gradually changing diameters. [2] By varying the thickness of the layered cardboard, the curve of the sphere can be made smoother to create a ball for ball games. [3] To match the weight of a ball used for ball games, a material other than cardboard is inserted into the center of the ball to adjust its weight. The material used for weight adjustment must not be plastic. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] This invention makes it possible to reproduce balls or spheres for ball games using corrugated cardboard, which was previously impossible. Furthermore, this technology makes it possible to construct balls for ball games such as baseball and golf using corrugated cardboard without using plastic. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A side view of a ball made by stacking perfectly round cardboard pieces to form a sphere. [Figure 2] A top view of a ball made by stacking perfectly round pieces of cardboard to form a sphere. [Figure 3] A side view of a ball made by stacking perfectly round cardboard pieces to form a sphere. [Figure 4] A top view of a ball made by stacking perfectly round pieces of cardboard to form a sphere. [Figure 5] A side view of a ball made by stacking perfectly round cardboard pieces to form a sphere. [Figure 6] A top view of a ball made by stacking perfectly round pieces of cardboard to form a sphere. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] <Baseball> By setting the maximum diameter of the circular corrugated cardboard of this invention to 74 mm (or less for a hardball by the thickness of the outer leather portion), a baseball can be reproduced. <Golf balls> By making the maximum diameter of the circular corrugated cardboard of this invention 42 mm, it is possible to reproduce a golf ball. [Examples]

[0010] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following description. The following materials were used as raw materials. Example 1: Corrugated cardboard C, B, G flute Example 2: Corrugated cardboard C-flute and G-flute Example 3: Corrugated cardboard C flute Example 4: Corrugated cardboard C-flute, steel ball for weight adjustment Cardboard flutes and thickness flute thickness A flute 5mm C flute 4mm B flute 3mm E flute 1.5mm F flute 1.1 mm G flute 0.9 mm Details of Example 1 Material: Use corrugated cardboard C flute (thickness 4 mm). Structure: Cut 16 sheets of corrugated cardboard of C flute into perfect circles. Cut two sets each of circles with diameters of 36, 46, 53, 60, 64, 68, 71, 72 (mm). Cut 2 sheets of corrugated cardboard of B flute into perfect circles. 18 mm. Cut 2 sheets of corrugated cardboard of G flute into perfect circles. 5 mm. Paste the above perfect circle corrugated cardboard in order from the largest diameter of 72 mm by diameter to complete the sphere. Also, use glue for pasting to reproduce the sphere. Usage: Mainly for baseball, targeting entertainment baseball. Figure: Figure 1 is a view from the side of the laminated corrugated cardboard ball. : Figure 2 is a view from the top of the laminated corrugated cardboard ball. Details of Example 2 Material: Use corrugated cardboard C flute (thickness 4 mm). Structure: Cut 18 sheets of corrugated cardboard of C flute into perfect circles. Cut two sets each of circles with diameters of 12, 36, 46, 53, 60, 64, 68, 71, 72 (mm). Also, cut a square with sides of 10 mm in the center part of the circle. Use G flute to create a rectangular prism with a cross-sectional area of 10 mm square and a length of 64 mm, and insert and paste the above perfect circle corrugated cardboard into the rectangular prism in order from the 72 mm one to complete the sphere. Glue was used only for pasting the last perfect circle corrugated cardboard. At that time, it was pasted while shifting the eye direction by 10 degrees. Usage: Mainly for baseball, targeting entertainment baseball. Figure: Figure 3 is a view from the side of the laminated corrugated cardboard ball. : Figure 4 is a view from the top of the laminated corrugated cardboard ball. Details of Example 3 Material: Use corrugated cardboard C flute (thickness 4 mm). Structure: Cut 18 sheets of corrugated cardboard of C flute into perfect circles. Cut out two sets each of circles with diameters of 12, 36, 46, 53, 60, 64, 68, 71, and 72 mm. Also, cut out circles with diameters of 0, 0, 26, 33, 40, 44, 48, 51, and 52 mm (0 mm is left uncut) from the center of each of the circular cardboard pieces. Glue the pieces together to create a sphere. Usage: Primarily for baseball use, and intended for recreational baseball. Figure: Figure 5 is a side view of a laminated corrugated cardboard sphere. Figure 6 is a view from the top surface of a laminated corrugated cardboard sphere. Example 4 Details Materials: Corrugated cardboard C-flute (4mm thick) Structure: Cut 18 pieces of C flute cardboard into perfect circles. Two sets of circles were cut out with diameters of 12, 36, 46, 53, 60, 64, 68, 71, and 72 mm. In addition, circles of 0, 0, 16, 23, 30, 34, 41, and 42 mm were cut out and placed in the center of each of the cardboard circles. The above cardboard circles were glued together in order to complete the sphere. The sphere was recreated by gluing them together. A hollow was created in the center, so a ball made of a high-density material (excluding plastic) was fitted into it. The total weight of the sphere was then adjusted to 140g. The cardboard sphere was wrapped with the same leather as that used for baseballs. Use: Primarily for baseball, specifically for hardball baseballs. Based on Example 1, this sustainable baseball is practical. Its simple structure makes it ideal for children to simply enjoy playing baseball. The ball's surface is smooth enough for use as a baseball. Furthermore, if it becomes damaged or no longer needed, it can be easily recycled as cardboard, making it a truly sustainable ball. Based on Example 2, this sustainable baseball is practical for baseball use. Its structure is similar to a ball, and it possesses sufficient strength, making it a sustainable baseball that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Furthermore, if it becomes damaged or no longer needed, it can be easily recycled as cardboard, making it a sustainable ball. Additionally, because it uses less glue, it is easy to recycle and disassemble. It is a more easily recyclable and sustainable ball. Based on Example 3, this sustainable ball is practical for baseball use. Its structure is similar to a ball, and because it is hollow inside, it is very lightweight and suitable for use as a baseball, primarily for children's enjoyment. In addition to its use as a ball for sports, it can also be used as a capsule. Furthermore, if it becomes damaged or no longer needed, it can be easily recycled as cardboard, making it a sustainable ball. Based on Example 4, this ball is practical as a sustainable ball for hardball baseball. It has sufficient strength and its weight is within specifications, making it a sustainable ball suitable for use in hardball baseball. Furthermore, if it becomes damaged or no longer needed, it can be separated and recycled as cardboard, making it a truly sustainable ball. [Industrial applicability]

[0011] The corrugated cardboard spherical ball of the present invention can be used as a ball for ball games. It has the same size and weight as ordinary ball game products and can be used as a sustainable ball. Therefore, the present invention is useful as a product for ball games made of corrugated cardboard.

Claims

1. A cardboard sphere or ball characterized by stacking multiple pieces of cardboard cut into perfect circles, each with n different thicknesses (n≧1), and then gradually decreasing the diameter of the stacked structure, starting from the maximum diameter L of the perfect circle, thereby reproducing a sphere.

2. A cardboard ball for sports, characterized in that a rectangular cardboard box is inserted into the center to improve strength in the direction perpendicular to the center of the circle and to stabilize it, thereby improving strength in the direction of the center of the circle, and further characterized in that the strength of the ball is improved by gradually shifting the direction of the cardboard weave to evenly distribute the weave direction in all 360 degrees.

3. A cardboard ball or sphere for ball games according to claim 1, characterized in that the central part of a cardboard cut into a perfect circle has n different thicknesses (n≧1) and the central part is cut into a perfect circle, making the central part hollow.

4. A cardboard ball or sphere for ball games according to claim 3, characterized in that the central part of a cardboard cut into a perfect circle has been cut into n different thicknesses (n≧1), and a spherical object with a specific gravity heavier than the cardboard is fitted into it to adjust the weight.

Images