Bowling ball finger insert having a wear indicator
AssigneeColumbia Industries, Inc.
InventorsRemo N. Picchietti, Mike Sledz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A finger insert having a wear indicator and adapted for installation along the wear surface in a finger hole of a bowling ball. The insert is a composite structure formed of a polymeric material and has a primary layer of a first color and a secondary layer of a contrasting second color. When installed in the finger hole, the primary layer is disposed adjacent the bowler's finger. As the primary layer wears away as a result of repeated bowls, the contrasting second color of the secondary layer becomes visible to indicate that the finger insert has served its useful life and should be changed.
Claims20
A bowling ball insert arcuate in shape for installation as a wear surface in the finger hole of a bowling ball, the insert being a composite structure formed of polymeric material and comprising a primary layer of wearable material of a first color and a secondary layer of a second color, the first color contrasting with the second color, the primary layer disposed to be exposed to contact by the bowler's finger and overlaying the secondary layer when the insert is installed in the finger hole of the bowling ball such that the primary layer wears away as a result of repeated bowls whereby the contrasting second color of the secondary layer becomes visible and thereby visually indicates the level of wear.
A bowling ball insert arcuate in shape for installation as a wear surface in the finger hole of a bowling ball, the insert being of a hollow cylindrical shape and comprising a hollow cylindrical primary layer of a non-utility grade FDA-approved polyvinylchloride which contains no chemical toxins and is of a first color and a hollow cylindrical secondary layer of an utility-grade polyvinyl chloride of a second color, the primary layer having an exposed inner cylindrical surface, the secondary layer surrounding and bonded with said primary layer, and the first color contrasting with the second color, whereby the inner surface of the primary layer is exposed to contact by the bowler's finger when the insert is installed in the finger hole of the bowling ball such that the primary layer wears away as a result of repeated bowls so that the contrasting second color of the secondary layer becomes visible thereby visually indicating the level of wear of the insert.
A bowling ball insert arcuate in shape for installation as a wear surface in a finger hole of a bowling ball, the bowling ball insert being formed by the following process:
- molding a first layer of a polymer of a first color,
- post-molding a second layer of a polymer of a second color adjacent the first layer to form the bowling ball insert, the second color of the second layer contrasting with the first color of the first layer, such that as the one of the layers wears, the color of the other layer becomes visible to visually indicate wear.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.