US3011048A

US3011048A - Illuminated catch ball

Info

Publication number: US3011048A
Application number: US828846A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerard J O'brien
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-07-22
Filing date: 1959-07-22
Publication date: 1961-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 1978-11-28

Description

Nov. 28, 1961 G. J. OBRIEN 3,011,048

ILLUMINATED CATCH BALL Filed July 22, i959 Bymww United States Patent C) Y 3,011,048 ILLUMINATED CATCH BALL Gerard J. OBren, 71 Bayview Ave., Jersey City, NJ. Fired July z2, 1959, ser. No. 828,846 1 Claim. (Cl.'2406.4)

This invention relates to toys and more particularly to an illuminated catch ball. An important object of the invention is the provision of a hollow ball of any desired size such as, for example, a baseball, made of a translucent plastic material in any color or combination of colors, having a small electric battery cell with a light bulb thereon in closed circuit therewith, removably mounted on the ball to illuminate the ball.

A ball so illuminated may be used as a catch ball by children in the dark, and the darker the environment the more clearly visible the ball is. As an accessory to using the illuminated ball in that manner in the dark, each child may have, attached to his belt or shirt pocket by a fountain pen clip, a second small battery cell with a light bulb energized thereby, so that his position in the dark may be observed by the other players.

Another object of the invention is the provision of ref leasable locking means engaging the cell and the wall of the ball whereby the cell is securely mounted within the ball and yet may be readily removed when, for example, it is desired to replace the cell or the bulb.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of additional securing means within the ball to serve to permit a limited degree of resiliently restrained swinging movement of the bulb with respect to the cell and of the cell itself when the ball is brought to a sudden stop, especially in case the ball should hit the floor or ground or some obstacle in flight. The resilient restraining force in each case prevents damaging shock to, and promptly restores the bulb and/or the cell to their original aligned positions.

The above as well as additional objects will be claried in the following description wherein reference numerals refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended primarily for the purpose of illustration and that it is therefore neither desired nor intended to limit the invention necessarily to any or all of the exact details of construction shown or described except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring brielly to the dra-wing,

FIG. l is a ball of the kind mentioned above, with parts broken away to expose the interior and with parts in section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a modified structure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlargement of FIG. l.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral indicates a unitary hollow ball or sphere made of any suitable translucent plastic material which, as is well known, possesses a degree of resiliency or flexibility and is therefore relatively soft. If desired, simulated stitches 11 may be provided on the outer surface of the ball to give it more of the appearance of a baseball.

The ball is provided with an axial opening 12 thereinto; this opening is very considerably smaller than the diameter of a spherical ball, as is illustrated in FIG. 1. A socket 13 made of any suitable material `but preferably of a yieldable material such as rubber or plastic, has a recess 13 to receive and snugly hold the base of a small battery cell 15. On its own base, that is the end opposite the recess 14, the socket has an enlarged gasket 16 having a spherical conformation of the same radius of 3,011,048 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 curvature as the ball 10, composed of an intermediate portion'17 having the same diameter as the opening 12, and two diametrically opposed portions `18 and 19 having larger diameters than the intermediate portions.l It should here be mentioned that the various parts or Velements of the structure inserted into or mounted on the ball are shown exaggerated in the drawing for the purpose of clarity. From the above it is apparent that the gasket 16 is sufficiently yieldable to permit of insertion of the cell 15 and its socket 14 into the ball or removal thereof from the ball, in an obvious manner.

A small electric light bulb 20 is secured on the other end of the cell in contact with the positive contact or terminal of the battery, by means of a coiled spring 21 whose base 22 tightly grips the wall of'the cell and whose other end 23 is reduced in diameter and tightly grips the metallic cylindrical contact portionlftY ofthe bulb. The positive terminal of the cell is shown at 25 and the tip terminal of the bulb, which engages the terminal 25 of the cell, is shown at 26.

As an added means to prevent too wide swinging of the cell and its bulb when the ball is in use in the manner stated above, or is rolled along the ground or on a floor, an internal cylindrical wall or socket 27 may be formed on the inner surface of the ball in axial alignment with the opening 12, into which the bulb projects.

As a modification which reduces such swinging of the cell and bulb to a minimum, or completely eliminates it in the case of the cell, the provision shown in FIG. 2 may be made. Herein a cylindrical wall 28 in axial alignment with the opening 12 has a greater axial length than the Wall 27 and at least its innermost portion 28a has a sufficiently large diameter so that the base 22, that is, lthe widest portion of the spring 21, may register therein. Thus the entire structure mounted in the ball is restricted from wobbling.

The plastic ball may be manufactured with one hemisphere thereof white and the other black, in -which case the ball in ight or in being rolled will give the effect of a light flashing on and off. In any event, the illumination of the ball makes it clearly visible in ight for a game of catch played in the dark. In actual manufacture an inexpensive way of making the ball is by forming two halves thereof and fusing them permanently together along an equatorial line, not shown.

It is to be noted that the gasket 16 is illustrated in the drawing as being concentric with the sphere formed by the ball 10. In -the case where the cell 15 is thin enough so that the total diameter of the cell and the base of the spring 23 is relatively small compared with the diameter of the sphere, the gasket 16 need not have the curvature of the sphere as the diameter of the area of the gasket will be relatively small so that the gasket may be ilat, or lie in a plane at right angles to the axis of the ball through the opening 12.

It is further to be noted that the gasket as described may be considered as a gasket having a circumferential groove defining an intermediate portion 17 and

outer portions

18 and 19.

When the ball is not being used, the socket with the cell and bulb are readily removed and the cell is easily detached from the bulb so that the cell will not become deenergized uselessly.

The spring 22 which secures the bulb to the cell will obviously permit the bulb 20 to swing out of axial align-y excessive'degrees and thus to prevent twisting of the bulb too kfarjto 4be restored by thespring. 'Howeven the impatuof the -bulb with either wall 27 or 2S will beata greatly reduced force so as to leave the bulb intact; this is particularly true when the

Walls

27 and 28 are also formed cfa soft plasticmaterial, as described and illustrated. Thus the circuitbetweenvthe bulb and the cell ref meains unbroken during the application of such shocks, Y

but even if the bulb should be tiltedsuiciently to break the contact momentarilyvthe instant restoring of the bulb to its normal position by the spring will again Yclosepthe circuit. Should Vsuchsh'ock impact be directed downward, A FIG. 1, along theaxis ofthe opening 12, the bulb tip 426 v may momentarily beseparatedfrom thecell terminal a'gaino openI the` circuit, but here also the spring will instantaneously restorethe mutual contacts.

Whenthe cell socket 13 -is also made `of the same yieldable plastic, vasy mentioned above, it also permitsl a limitedamount of `swinging `on its axis so vthat a lateral shock force onutheballvwill -be greatly reduced by the socket 13 before itis applied Ato the c'ell.

Thus both the cell ,and the bulb are protected against damage,y and the bulb maintains its illumination.

The invention lhaving thus been, described, what s claimed and desired lto be secured byLetter Patent is as Yfollows: e

A catch ball comprising a hollow ,translucent plasticV metallic yieldable resilientY means engaging the cellandA the metallic shell of the bulb and normally maintaining the bulb in axial positionV with respect to the cell with the contacttip of the bulb engaging the positive terminal of the cell and closing the circuit through the bulb and cell, the cell with the bulb thereon being positioned along a diameter of the sphere entirely within the sphere in alignment with said opening, said Yresilient means permittling tilting of the bulb out of alignment` with the kcell owing to shockto 'the ball upon impact and restoring the bulb to alignment'with fthe cell after such impact, means removably mounted in said opening for securing they cell along saiddiarneter, a cylindrical Wallof resilient insulating material on the innersurface of the sphere diametrically opposite said opening, at least the ,outerl .portion ofsaid bulb Vregistering in the enclosure formed byl said wall, the largest transverse diameter of the bulb being slightly smaller than the internal diameter of said wall whereby a clearance in lall radial directions is provided between the bulb and said wall and the wall provides a limit stop to the titing of the bulb out of axial alignment with the cell.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ..-man