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US 12,415,114 B2Granted
Sports balls
Assigneeadidas AG
InventorsHans-Peter Nürnberg, Daniel Stephen Price, Henry Niles Hanson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to sports balls. A sports ball comprises a surface layer comprising a plurality of panels. The sports ball further comprises a lattice structure extending below the surface layer, wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of lattice cells comprising radially extending elements. The lattice cells which are adjacent to the surface layer have at least one dimension which is smaller than an average diameter of the panels.
Claims17
A sports ball, comprising:
- a surface layer comprising a plurality of panels, wherein the plurality of panels comprises molded polymer panels or 3D-printed polymer panels;
- and
- a single-piece spherically-shaped homogeneous shell disposed below the surface layer,
- wherein the shell comprises a plurality of openings in the form of through holes extending through the shell, each opening having a dimension that is smaller than 1 cm,
- wherein the surface layer is directly attached to the single-piece spherically-shaped homogeneous shell and covers the plurality of openings, and
- wherein the sports ball is a soccer ball, a volleyball, or a basketball.
3 more elements
A non-inflatable sports ball, comprising:
- a surface layer comprising a plurality of panels;
- and
- a single-piece spherically-shaped homogeneous shell disposed below the surface layer,
- wherein the shell comprises a plurality of openings in the form of through holes extending through the shell, each opening having a dimension that is smaller than 1 cm,
- wherein the shell comprises a polymeric material comprising:
- an elastic modulus ranging from 10 MPa to 50 MPa and a thickness ranging from 4 mm to 12 mm;
- or
- an elastic modulus ranging from 0.1 MPa to 2 MPa and a thickness ranging from 20 mm to 120 mm,
- wherein the surface layer covers the plurality of openings,
- wherein the sports ball is a soccer ball, a volleyball, or a basketball,
- wherein the sports ball does not comprise an inflatable bladder, and
- wherein a radial deformation of the sports ball ranges from 4 cm to 6 cm when a 1000 N force is applied thereto.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.