Method of Manufacturing a Sport Ball
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsZvi Rapaport, Vincent F. White, Bhupesh Dua
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sport ball may include a casing and a bladder. The casing may form at least a portion of an exterior surface of the ball. The bladder may be located within the casing and formed from a plurality of polymer bladder elements joined along abutting edges to form a sealed and valveless structure that encloses a pressurized gas. In some configurations, the bladder may be at least partially formed from an ether-based thermoplastic polyurethane material.
Claims28
1-24. (canceled)
A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
- bonding edges of a plurality of polymer elements together to define seams in a bladder;
- joining an inflation tube to the bladder at a location of at least one of the seams;
- locating the bladder within an interior of a casing of the sport ball such that the inflation tube extends through the casing and to an exterior of the casing;
- injecting a pressurized fluid into the bladder through the inflation tube;
- and
- sealing the inflation tube.
A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
- cutting a planar polymer sheet to define a plurality of planar polymer elements;
- bonding edges of the planar polymer elements together to form a bladder;
- and
- inflating the bladder to induce the planar polymer elements to curve outward.
33-36. (canceled)
A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
- bonding edges of a plurality of polymer elements together to define seams in a bladder;
- locating the bladder within an interior of a casing of the sport ball;
- and
- injecting a pressurized fluid into the bladder;
- wherein the plurality of polymer elements are formed of alternating layers of material including a first center layer, a second adjacent layer and a third adjacent layer, wherein the first layer is disposed between the second adjacent layer and the third adjacent layer;
- and
- wherein the first layer is formed of a material that includes an ethylene-vinyl copolymer, wherein the second adjacent layer is formed of a material that includes a thermoplastic polyurethane, and wherein the third adjacent layer is formed of a material that includes a thermoplastic material.
A method of manufacturing a sport ball, the method comprising:
- selecting a first material having a first diffusion rate for a first gas and a second diffusion rate for atmospheric gases, the first diffusion rate being lower than the second diffusion rate;
- forming a plurality of polymer elements, each of the polymer elements being formed of alternating layers of material including a first center layer, a second adjacent layer and a third adjacent layer, wherein the first layer is disposed between the second layer and the third layer;
- and
- wherein the first layer is formed of the first material and at least one of the second layer and the third layer are formed of a second material;
- bonding edges of the plurality of polymer elements together to define seams in a bladder;
- locating the bladder within an interior of a casing of the sport ball;
- and
- injecting a quantity of the first gas into the bladder to pressurize the bladder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.