Foam-Filled Rubber Play Ball for Extended Bounce Life
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional pressurized sports balls, such as tennis balls, lose their bounce over time due to gas escape, and existing solutions fail to significantly extend bounce life without increasing weight.
Innovation Solution
A play ball with a resiliently compressible foam body attached to the entire inside surface of a rubber shell, providing additional resiliency through foam tension and compression, achieved by heat fusion and adhesive attachment, allowing for extended bounce life without significant weight increase.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional pressurized ball structure is used, then initial bounce performance is good, but bounce life is short due to gas escape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the ball from pressurized gas-filled to foam-filled, transforming the resiliency mechanism from gas pressure to foam compression and tension. This parameter change eliminates gas escape issues while maintaining bounce performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite structure combining rubber shell with foam filling material (such as EVA or PU foam). This composite material approach provides both the durability of rubber and the sustained resiliency of foam, extending bounce life significantly.
2Duration of action of moving object
If foam filling is added to extend bounce life, then bounce duration increases, but ball weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes foam material with controlled porosity and density to provide resiliency without excessive weight. The foam structure allows for lightweight construction while maintaining compression and tension properties needed for extended bounce life.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes foam density and composition parameters to achieve the right balance between weight and resiliency. By controlling foam expansion ratios and material composition, the ball achieves extended bounce duration without significant weight increase.
3Reliability
If foam filling is attached to entire inside surface, then resiliency and bounce life are significantly extended, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the foam filling attachment process with the existing shell fusing operation. The foam is attached to the entire inside surface during the same heating process used to fuse the shell halves, eliminating the need for separate attachment steps and reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam filling is pre-shaped and prepared before insertion into the shell. This preliminary preparation allows for easier integration during assembly and ensures proper attachment to the entire inside surface without requiring complex in-situ forming processes.
4Strength
If heat fusion is used to attach foam to shell, then attachment strength is improved, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the foam attachment process with the shell fusing operation into a single heating step. Both the foam-to-shell attachment and the shell-half fusion are accomplished simultaneously using the same heat source, reducing process complexity while ensuring strong attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam material itself provides the attachment mechanism through heat fusion, eliminating the need for separate adhesives or mechanical fastening systems. The foam's own properties are utilized to create the bond, simplifying the manufacturing process while ensuring strong attachment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The foam-filled rubber shell significantly extends the effective bounce life of the ball, maintaining equivalent bounce duration and life without substantial weight increase, and enhances durability for toys like dog bouncing toys.
Implementation Method 1
The attachment of the foam periphery to the shell interior enables the foam to provide additional resiliency by foam tension, in addition to resiliency by foam compression
Implementation Method 2
a resiliently compressible foam body attached intimately over an entire peripheral surface thereof to an entire inside surface of the shell
Implementation Method 3
The attachment is preferably by both heat fusion of the contacting surfaces of the shell and foam filling and adhesive coated thereon
Implementation Method 4
the foam body is coated with an adhesive prior to confinement in the shell thereby providing an additional retention force to the interior surface of the shell
Data Source
AI summary
A play ball has a rubber shell filled with resilient foam having an entire outer peripheral surface thereof intimately attached by heat fusion and adhesive to an entire interior surface of the shell. Such attachment enables the foam to provide additional resiliency by foam tension, as well as by foam compression, thereby significantly extending the effective bounce life of the ball. A seamed dog chew toy has essentially similar construction such that the increased retention force provided by the intimate attachment of the foam to the shell resists the chewing force of the dog popping a seam improving durability.