GB2582273A

GB2582273A - Sports balls

Info

Publication number: GB2582273A
Application number: GB1903045.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robinson David
Original assignee: Gazapi Sport Ltd
Current assignee: Gazapi Sport Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-07
Filing date: 2019-03-07
Publication date: 2020-09-23
Also published as: WO2020178432A1; GB201903045D0

Abstract

A sports ball having markings that provide a visual indication of the rotation of the ball in flight. The ball maybe oval, such as a rugby ball or American football, and on such balls the markings may be a spiral or a helix extending along the length of the ball. The ball may also be spherical, such as a soccer or cricket ball. The markings may be provided by paint or tape or may be integrally moulded onto the ball. The markings may be applied to the ball surface during or after manufacture. The markings allow monitoring of the spin of the ball, for example, whilst practicing ball kicking or passing.

Description

SPORTS BALLS

The present invention relates to sports balls and in particular to sports balls that can be used in training and practice. The invention is especially useful with oval shaped balls such as those used in rugby and American football.

An essence of many ball sports is the requirement to accurately propel the ball from one location to another. For example passing and kicking in both rugby and American football require accurate transfer of the ball between individual players when passing or delivery to a selected location when kicking. Similarly the kicking of footballs whether passing in play or the taking of free kicks and corner kicks also required accurate delivery of the ball.

Much of the time spent in practice and training for these sports is devoted to improving the accuracy and consistency of these attributes. In some instances it is desirable to impart a spin or a particular rotation to the ball in order to get a swerve or a streamlined effect such as the rotation about the axis of an oval rugby ball or American football to produce a torpedo effect or to produce a curve or swerve in the flight of a football.

The present invention provides a ball that contains marking which will give instant feedback during the delivery of the ball and the correctness of the actual delivery versus the intended delivery. The ball will provide a visual assessment of the accomplishment of the spin pass with the oval rugby ball or American football enabling determination of any adjustments the player needs to make to optimise a pass so as to be faster and more accurate. Additionally the ball can indicate adjustments that a player who is kicking the ball should make to optimise the delivery of the ball from the kicking such as in touch kicking and goal kicking in rugby and the delivery of kicks in football.

Accordingly the invention provides a ball provided with markings that provides a visual indication of the rotation of the ball in flight.

In one embodiment where the ball is oval such as the balls used in rugby or American football the marking may comprise a spiral at one or both ends of the ball. However it is preferred that the markings extend the full length of the ball. If one is trying to deliver a spin pass where the ball rotates about its longitudinal axis in delivery the spiral will provide an image when the ball is in flight and the image will be distorted as the spin deviates from the desired rotation around the axis of the ball enabling the passer to determine adjustments that need to be made to optimise the spin. Similarly with a kick aimed to deliver the ball to a particular location the spiral can indicate the movement of the ball in flight and allow the kicker to make adjustments in the kicking action required to improve accuracy.

In another embodiment which employs spherical balls such as in soccer where it can be desirable to impart a swerve or curve to the ball in flight such as with free kicks, penalties and corner kicks markings can be provided around the circumference of the ball to provide an instant visual picture of the rotation of the ball in flight enabling the kicker to refine the kicking action to improve the flight and final delivery of the ball.

The preferred pattern of markings on the ball will depend upon the nature of the ball and the sport involved. With the oval ball used in rugby or American football the markings may comprise a spiral at one or both ends of the ball. The markings of the spiral and the distance between adjacent rings of the spiral being selected to enable visual detection during the flight of the ball at typical speeds of delivery. In the embodiment employing a soccer ball the markings may be spaced apart circumferential strips around part or all of the surface of the ball, preferably extending across the entire surface of the ball. Hereagain the width of the strips and their spacing will be selected to enable visual inspection during flight of the ball.

In a further embodiment the invention may be used with cricket balls where the bowlers art is to impart certain rotations to the ball in order to produce swerving in the air or spin upon landing on the wicket. These rotations derive from the way in which the ball is held in the bowlers hand and the action of delivery of the ball form the hand. Markings can be provided around the circumference of the ball to observe the flight of the ball and enable the bowler to understand how best to hold and deliver the ball to achiever a particular effect. Similarly this could be applied to baseball where the pitchers at included causing deviation of the ball during flight.

The markings may be applied to the surface of the ball subsequent to the manufacture of the ball or may be provided on the surface of the ball during manufacture. We prefer that they are applied after manufacture such as by painting. They should however be attached to the surface of the ball in a way that prevents or reduces the possibility of them being removed from the ball during use particularly when the balls are to be used outside and subjected to the vagaries of the weather.

The markings may be painted on to the ball, they may be applied as tape or they may be integrally moulded onto the ball during manufacture.

The present invention is illustrated by the accompany figures in which Figure 1 is an end view of an oval ball such as an American football according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the oval ball shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of a spherical soccer ball according to the invention and Figure 4 is a side view of the soccer ball shown in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a view of a rugby ball according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows an American football (1) provided with a helix of markings (2) which can be viewed if the ball is passed or kicked with rotation about the longitudinal axis of the ball. Figure 2 is a side view of the same ball.

Figure 3 shows a soccer ball (3) provided with a helix of circumferential markings (4) and Figure 4 is a side view of the same ball.