US2295815A

US2295815A - Athletic playing ball

Info

Publication number: US2295815A
Application number: US332601A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles A Webb
Original assignee: C B WEBB Co
Current assignee: C B WEBB Co
Priority date: 1940-04-30
Filing date: 1940-04-30
Publication date: 1942-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1959-09-15

Description

Sept. 1 5 1942. c. A. WEBB ATHLETIC PLAYING BALL Filed April 30, 1940 grwam llom UharZesu7.V @&&,

Patented Sept. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ATHLETIC PLAYING Charles A. Webb, Lebanon, Pa., assignor to C. B. Webb Company, Lebanon, Pa., a copartnership composed of C. B. Webb and Grace 1. Webb.

Application April 30, 1940, Serial No. 332,601

17 Claims.

The present invention relates to rubber athletic playing balls, such as foot balls, soccer balls, basket balls and volley balls, and the like, and the invention aims generally to improve such articles. More particularly, the invention aims to improve rubber playing balls of the type shown and discribed in my prior Patent No. 2,172,425, granted September 12, 1939.

Athletic balls of the type referred to above usually comprise a leather cover and an indefiatable rubber bladder therefor, and such balls have become standard balls in professional, varsity and scholastic athletics. Such balls are relatively expensive, particularly for elementary school games and practice work, and ther is a decided demand for an inexpensive rubber practice ball, simulating substantially the leather covered ball insize, weight, feel, and bounce.

Rubber athletic balls of the type shown in my prior patent above referred to, as well as other inflated rubber athletic balls of single wall thickness, possess the objectionable characteristic that the compound is stretchable and will' not be of desired shape, unless inflated precisely to a predetermined pressure or size. Accordingly,

with such prior athletic balls it was necessary to inflate the balls to a precise predetermined pressure, usually 6 lbs. or to a predetermined circumference, which was difficult if not impossible to maintain under all conditions. Ifsuch prior balls were over-inflated they would stretch out of shape.

Heretofore, attempts to overcome the above stated objections have been directedtoattempts to wind the rubber compound shell with cord or twine to reduce the resilience and stretchability of the ball. Th wrapped shell was then dipped in rubber and vulcanized. Theseballs, while partially overcoming the objection of stretchability, are expensive of manufacture, due to the expense of wrapping, and later, dipping, vulcanizing and coloring.

A principal object of my'invention is the provision of an inflated rubber lplaying ball of the type described, of single wall thickness of uniform structure and composition "throughout,-

which will be non-stretchable even der substantial over-inflation, as from 10 toil pounds.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new rubber containing vulcanizable compound for the manufacture 'of said balls, which will be non-stretchable when over-inflated;

A still further object of the invention is the ing pigmented vulcanizable compound that can be molded and vulcanized while possessing the color and appearance of tanned pigskin or other desirable color without requiring extra outer coatings of color. p,

A further object of the inveption is to provide a rubber playing ball. possessing the features above referred to and which will be comparable to a standard leather covered athletic ball in appearance, feel, resilience, stifiness and weight.

The invention is better understood from a consideration of the following description thereof, reference being had to the drawing illustrating one form of ball according to' the invention in elevation, portions being broken away better to show the construction.

According to the invention, the ball I 0 may be of any desired shape and size to correspond to a standard leather covered athletic ball, as for example, a foot ball, soccer ball, volley ball or basket ball, the latter being selected as an illustrative embodiment. The ball advantageously is formed of pre-shaped halves cemented together along a median line, and thereafter finished in a mold as is usual. Preferably, the ball is inflated through a self-closing valve ll of suitable type and construction so that it may be inflated with air to a proper pressure, this being preferable to the so-called gas filled balls wherein the pressure cannot be accurately regu- I lated. Preferably, the surfaces of the finishing molds are engraved to produce irregular dimpled j designs of convex form on the surface of the In order that the inflated balls may possess a resilience and stiffness and weight substantially corresponding to the resilience of a standard leather covered similar playing ball, and at the same time possess the characteristic of nonstretchability even when over-inflated. I preferably form the balls of a vulcanizable compound containing rubber, a non-stretchable stiffening ingredient capable of reducing the weight of the compound, for example leather dust, and a thermo-plasticizer, such as glue and Montan wax capable of softening the compound, when heated, so that a leather design may be embossed in the provision of a new and improved rubber containsurface of the ball.

Preferably the compound may include the fol lowing:

, Pounds Rubber 100 stiffening ingredient (leather flour) 30-75 Thermo-plasticizer 15-40 Zinc oxid 3-15 Titanium dioxide 5-30 y .05-2 Antioxldent 3 Vulcanizing agents '7. 25

The ingredients may be varied within substantial limits, the following examples being two in- I stances of compounds which have produced sat- The compound is preferably one in which the rubber content may be pure rubber; or partly pure and partly reclaimed. To this a substantial amount of the non-stretchable stifiening ingredient, as leather flour, is added to stiffen and lighten the rubber and increase the tensile strength of the compound.

The thermoplastic ingredients are included to render the compound soft under application of heat so that the surface of the ball may be readily molded and ornamented under internal pressure. Upon cooling, these thermo-plastic ingredients act also to stiffen to compound.

The zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and dyes are included in the compound to impart to .the compound a desired color which may vary from a tan, similar to tanned pigskin, to a white, as for example, for volley balls.

The inclusion of the antioxidants, which may be Neozone D, Heliozone or Flectol White, ren-' ders the compound resistant to sun checking and deterioration from heat and oxidation.

The ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, as in a mill, to provide a uniformly homogeneous compound. This compound has a sufiiciently large rubber content to enable it to flow in heated molds so that semi-spherical or semi-ellipsoidal halves may be formed in suitable molds when subjected to heat and pressure. During the molding, the compound is substantially completely cured. The halves may then be cemented together and placed in a finishing heated mold where they are subjected to internal air pressure admitted through the valves l I. During this op-- eration, the heat of the finishing molds softens the thermoplastic ingredients, permitting the compound to take the ornamentation of the finishingmolds to produce the imitation seams, lacing or dimpled appearance resembling tanned pigskin.

An athletic playing ball made in accordance with my invention possesses the characteristics of appearance, feel, resilience and weight corresponding to a standard leather covered athletic ball. In addition, it possesses the characteristic of being non-stretchable, even when over-inflated, while still being constructed entirely of a single wall thickness of homogeneous vulcanizable compound. The inclusion of the large proportion of light colored ingredients, with the desired dye, enables me to produce a non-fading pigmented ball of desired color, thus eliminating the necessity of an outer coat of paint, or rubber veneer which not only is expensive but impairs the realistic feel of the dimpled surface of the ball,

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that proportions and amounts of ingredients may be varied considerably to obtain the desired characteristics of the playing ball,.and that the invention is highly useful and desirable in the manufacture of inflated playing balls other than those simulating leather covered bladder-inflated athletic balls. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted to the details illustrated and described, and the scope of the invention is more fully defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An inflated playing ball of the type described, said ball being of single wall thickness formed of a vulcanized homogeneous compound containing rubber, leather flour and a thermoplastic ingredient.

2. An inflated playing ball of the type de-- scribed, said ball being of single wall thickness formed of a vulcanized homogeneous compound containing 30 to parts of leather flour to parts by weight of rubber.

3. An inflated playing ball of the type described, said ball being of single wall thickness formed of a vulcanized homogeneous compound containing 30 to 75 parts of leather flour and 15 to 40 parts of thermoplastic to 100 parts by weight of rubber.

4. An inflated playing ball of the type described formed of a pigmented vulcanized homogeneous compound of rubber and a non-stretchable stifiening ingredient stable under heat of vulcanization, said compound being air impervious and of uniform color throughout.

5. An inflated playing ball of the type described formed of a pigmented vulcanized homogeneous compound of rubber, leather flour and a pigment, said compound being air impervious and of uniform color throughout.

6. A sun-proof inflated rubber playing ball of the type described formed of a pigmented vulcanized homogeneous compound containing rubber, leather flour, a pigment and anti-oxident, said compound being air impervious, non-stretchable and non-fading in color. r

7. An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearance and shape corresponding to a leather covered athletic ball of desired type, said ball being formed of a vulcanized homogeneous compound of rubber and a stiffening ingredient capable of rendering the rubber non-stretchable, said ball possessing resiliency, weight, appearance and feel similar to the corresponding leather covered athletic ball, and being of predetermined size under excessive internal inflating pressure.

8. An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearance and shape corresponding'to a leather covered athletic ball of desired type,

said ball being formed a vulcanized homogeneous c mp und-of rubber, a thermoplastic ingredient and leather fiour,-said ball possessing resiliency,

in that the compound contains 30 to 75 parts of leather flour, to 40 parts of thermoplastic to each 100 parts. of rubber. 10. A ball as defined in claim dcharacterized in that the compound contains approximately 60 parts of leather flour and parts of thermoplastic to each 100 parts by weight of rubber.

11. A ball as defined in claim 8 characterized in that the compound contains approximately equal parts of leather flour and thermoplasticizer.

l2."An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearance and shape corresponding to a leather covered athletic ball of desired type, said ball being formed of pigmented vulcanized homogeneous compound of rubber, a thermoplastic, a

stable stiffening ingredient rendering said compound non-stretchable and a dye, said ball pos- 'sessing resiliency, weight, appearance, feel and color similar to the corresponding leather covered athletic ball.

- g 13. An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearanceand' shape corresponding to a leather covered athletic ball of desired type, said ball being formed of a pigmented vulcanized homogeneous compound of rubber, a thermoplastic, leather flour, zinc oxideand .a dye, said ball possessing resiliency, weight, appearance, feel and color similar to the corresponding leather covered athletic ball. v

-14. An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearance and shape corresponding to a leather covered athletic ball of desired type,- said 'ball being formed of a pigmented vulcanized holeather covered athletic ball of desired type, said mogeneous compound of rubber, a thermoplastic, leather flour, a dye and an anti-oxidant, said ball possessing resiliency weight, appearance, feel and color similar to thecorresponding leather covered athletic ball.

15. An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearance and shape corresponding to a leather covered athletic ball, and being of predetermined size under excessive internal inflating pressure.

16. An air inflated hollow playing ball of desired appearance and shape corresponding to a leather covered athletic ball of desired type,

said ball being formed of rubber, approximately 7 100 parts, parts leather flour, thermoplastic 20 parts, zinc oxide 13 parts, titanium dioxide 5 parts, dye 2 parts, anti-oxidant 3 parts, said ball possessing resiliency, weight, appearance and feel similar to the corresponding leather covered athletic ball, and being of predetermined size under excessive internal inflating pressure. 17. An air inflated hollow playing ball of ae, sired appearance and shape corresponding to a ball being formed of approximately parts rubber, 38 parts leather flour, 38 parts thermoplastic,

5 parts zinc oxide, 25 parts titanium dioxide, .05-

part dye, and 3 parts anti-oxidant, said ball possessing resiliency,-weight,. appearance and feel similar to the corresponding leather covered athletic ball, and being of predetermined size underexcessive internal inflating pressure.

CHARLES A. WEBB.