FLOATING SOCCER BALL |
|||||||
申请号 | US14858590 | 申请日 | 2015-09-18 | 公开(公告)号 | US20160082323A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2016-03-24 |
申请人 | Stewart Higa; Dylan Dinehart; | 发明人 | Stewart Higa; Dylan Dinehart; | ||||
摘要 | For an aerodynamic soccer ball, a shell with a hollow interior is provided. A plurality of orifices are disposed and uniformly spaced on the shell. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
||||||
说明书全文 | This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/052,193 entitled “FLOATING SOCCER BALL” and filed on Sep. 18, 2014 for Stewart Higa, which is incorporated herein by reference. The subject matter disclosed herein relates to balls and more particularly relates to floating balls. Balls are often more enjoyable to play with when highly responsive. For example, a soccer ball may be more enjoyable to play with if the ball floats when kicked. A more particular description of the embodiments briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only some embodiments and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of scope, the embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, but mean “one or more but not all embodiments” unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “including,” “comprising,” “having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to,” unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” also refer to “one or more” unless expressly specified otherwise. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of an embodiment. The description of elements in each figure may refer to elements of proceeding figures. Like numbers refer to like elements in all figures, including alternate embodiments of like elements. The embodiments described herein include the shell 105 with a hollow interior and the plurality of orifices 110 disposed on the shell 105. The orifices 110 increase the air resistance of the ball 100 in-flight. In addition, the reduction of material for the shell 105 reduces the mass of the ball 100, enabling higher accelerations, more rapid deceleration due to air resistance, and longer float when the ball 100 is struck, higher velocities of the ball 10. The shell 105 may be fabricated of a semi-rigid, resilient flexible material. The material may be selected from the group consisting of styrene, polystyrene, and polyester, in one embodiment, the stiffness of the shell 105 is within 20 percent of the stiffness of a traditional soccer ball. In addition, the elasticity of the shell 105 may be within 20 percent of the elasticity of a traditional soccer ball. In one embodiment, the resilience of the shell 105 is within 50 percent of the resilience of a traditional soccer ball. The shell 105 may include dimples, grooves, or combinations thereof. The orifices 110 may be disposed on the shell 105. Each orifice 110 may have an orifice area in the range of 10 to 60 centimeters squared (cm2). In one embodiment, each orifice 110 has an orifice area in the range of 40 to 50 cm2. Air may pass through an orifice 110 to the interior of the shell 105. The plurality of orifices 110 may have a total orifice area in the range of 25 to 55 percent of an available shell area. The available shell area may be an area of the shell 105 without the orifices 110. In a certain embodiment, the total orifice area is in the range of 38 to 49 percent of the available shell area. The total orifice area may be 43 percent of the available shell area. In one embodiment, the orifices 110 are uniformly spaced on the shell 105. For example, a center of each orifice 110 may be equidistant from all other orifices 110. Alternatively, an area of orifices 110 in a specified hemisphere of the shell 105 may be equal to an area of orifices 110 in other hemispheres of the shell 105. In one embodiment, the orifices 110 form a tessellation pattern on the shell 105. Each orifice 110 may be circular. Alternatively, each orifice 110 may be multi-sided. For example, orifices 110 may be triangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, and the like. The orifices 110 may be regular geometric shapes. Alternatively, the orifices 110 may be irregular geometric shapes. In one embodiment, two or more geometries of orifices 110 are employed. In one embodiment, each orifice 110 has beveled edges. In one embodiment, outer edges of the orifice 110 are beveled. Alternatively, inner edges of the orifice 110 may be beveled. In a certain embodiment, the outer and inner edges of the orifice 110 are beveled. In one embodiment, the edges of each orifice 110 are rounded. In addition, the edges of each orifice 110 may be reinforced with a filament, a fiber, or combinations thereof. The outer shell 115 may have an outer shell thickness 130 in the range of 1.2 to 1.8 mm. In a certain embodiment, the outer shell thickness 130 is in the range of 1.45 to 1.55 mm. The outer shell 115 may be formed of thermoplastic rubber or the like. The inner shell 120 may have an inner shell thickness 135 in the range of 1.2 to 1.8 mm. In a certain embodiment, the inner shell thickness 135 is in the range of 1.45 to 1.55 mm. The inner shell 120 may be formed of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropelene, or the like. The inner shell 115 and outer shell 120 may be formed with a double injection molding process. The shell 105 may be reinforced. For example, a filament, fiber, wire, or the like may be embedded in the shell 105. In one embodiment, the reinforcing may increase the resilience of the shell 105. The ball 100 may be a soccer ball with a mass in the range of 50 to 150 grams (g) for a size 3 ball. Alternatively, the ball 100 may be a size for soccer ball with the mass in the range of 66 to 200 g for size for ball. In a certain embodiment, the ball 100 is a soccer ball with a mass in the range of 75 to 250 g for a size 5 ball. When the ball 100 is struck, such as when kicked or hit, the ball 100 rapidly accelerates because of its stiffness and/or resilience and low mass. In addition, the higher air resistance and lower mass of the ball 100 allows the ball 100 to float longer while decelerating more quickly. As a result, the user's enjoyment from the ball 100 is increased. Embodiments may be practiced in other specific forms. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. |