Inflatable articles that provide long term inflation and pressure control
AssigneePrimo Research, Inc.
InventorsMichael O'Neill, Donald Allan Sandusky
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides an inflatable article having a gas impermeable membrane of one or more layers and a sealable valve, including a cap plug design adapted for insertion into the valve, to reduce leakage. The invention also relates to a method for inflating inflatable articles in order to obtain specific article pressure and retain such pressure for an extended period of time
Claims25
A pressurized inflatable sports ball comprising:
- a gas impermeable inflation membrane comprising one or more layers or chambers and an interior wall, said membrane defining a hollow cavity comprising a compressible gas and an internal symmetry, wherein the compressible inflation gas comprises a mixture of air and at least one low permeability gas;
- and
- two or more acoustic pads adhered to said interior wall and configured such that the internal symmetry of said sports ball is not disrupted, wherein the acoustic pads comprise reticulated foam.
A pressurized inflatable sports ball comprising:
- a gas impermeable inflation membrane comprising one or more layers or chambers and an interior wall, said membrane defining a hollow cavity comprising a compressible gas and an internal symmetry wherein the compressible inflation gas comprises a mixture of air and at least one low permeability gas;
- two or more acoustic pads adhered to said interior wall and configured such that the internal symmetry of said sports ball is not disrupted wherein the acoustic pads comprise reticulated foam;
- and
- a sealable inflation valve comprising a recessed valve needle passageway, a recessed aperture within said passageway and a cap plug device, said cap plug device comprising a protruding profile, wherein the passageway is recessed within the membrane of the ball, and wherein said cap plug device is adapted to fit within the passageway such that said protruding profile and said recessed aperture form a seal surface.
The sports ball of claims and 19 wherein said seal surface is positioned in opposition to the direction of the force exerted by the internal pressure of the sports ball.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.