US1923236A - Game ball - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 22, 1933. w. A. SOI VNETT GAME BALL Filed April 30, 1929 1 VENTOR.

I ATTORNEY-l Patented Aug. 22, 1933 1 UNITED STATES:

GAME BALL William A. Sonnett, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The P. Goldsmith Sons Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a Corporation of Ohio Application April 30, 1929. a Serial No. 359,389

3 Claims.

, My invention relates to game balls, such as footballs, basketballs, volley balls and the like, in which an outer covering of flexible material, such as leather or its equivalent, is provided with an inflatable bladder.

Manufacturers have had considerable difiiculty in this type of game ball in preventing the outer covering, usually of leather, from becoming distorted so that the ball will not retain its original shape. In such game balls, as basketballs, aten'dency for the bulge out of shape results in untrue bouncing. In footballs, if the ends or sides of the ball tend to bulge out, the ball will not preserve a true line of flight in the air during forward pass- 1ng.

It is the object of my invention to provide an inflated ball which is so reinforced that its origi nal shape will be preserved. It is also an object to provide an inner reinforcement for the stitched seams which will lessen the likelihood of the bladder being punctured by the rough inturned seam edges. Another object is the provision of a ball, the various sections of which are so united as to make of the ball a substantially integral formation inside and out instead of a structure composed of sections. I t

The above and other objects to which reference will be made in the ensuing disclosure, I accomplish by that certain combination and arrangement of parts of which I have illustrated several preferred modifications.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a basketball made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cover of the ball shown in Figure 1 turned inside out.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the cover shown in Figure 2, taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2. V

Figure 4 is a perspective View of a football havinga modified type of reinforced cover.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the modified type of reinforcement for the ball shown in Figure 4 taken along the lines 5-5 of this figure.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a still further modified type of seam covering.

As is well known, balls of the type to which my invention applies have been formed of sections 1, the edges of which are laid together and stitched. The cover is then turned outside in and the bladder inserted within the ball. When it is inflated the bladder bears against the seam formed by the rough edges of the turned in edges r of the sections. In Figures 1 and 3 I have shown a ball having an inner cover 2 of flexible lining material retained within the ball. The inner cover is composed of sections, and the ends of the sections are overlapped and laid over the end edges of the outer cover seams as indicated at 3. Stitching is applied as indicated at 4 and the inwardly extending edges of the outer cover seams are thus protected by the inner cover which forms a smooth wall against which the bladder is expanded. It may be clearly seen in Figure 3 that the part 3 stretched across the edges of the cover seam portions and sewed to their sides, not only provides cushion means, but acts as a tension member in conjunction with the seam to hold the cover seam portions together.

In Figures 4 and 5 I have shown a football in which inner cover sections 3 are overlapped and stitched together with stitching 4, but it will be noted in this modification that a semi-flexible rod 5 of material suchv as raw hide or its equivalent, such as a flexible bar of pyroxylin, is retained within the loop caused by the overlapping cover sections. In use, such a construction prevents the pointed end of a football from becoming distorted so that forward passing may be accurately done without the ball losing its pointed shape due either to the natural pressure of the bladder from within, or to softening of the leather due to exposure to the elements.

The overlapping inner cloth cover may be stitched to the meeting edges of the outer cover either at the same time as the edges of the cover are stitched together, or subsequently by an ad: ditional line of stitching.

In Figure 6 the cover sections 1 are not lined on their inner sides with lining, but strips 3a of tape or lining are laid over the meeting edges of the sections and stitched as at 4a to form a protective cover for the seam.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'.-

1. In a gameball having an outer cover composed of tough material with inwardly extending stitched seams, means for reinforcing the said stitched seams comprising semi-rigid members laid along said seams and provided with means for retaining said members along said seams comprising a layer of inner covering material stitched to said stitched scams.

2. A game ball having an outer cover and an inner inflatable bladder, said outer cover composed of sections of tough flexible material stitched together with inturned seams, said ball having an inner lining of flexible material extending across the meeting edges of the inturned seams of the cover sections and stitching extending through the inner lining and the seams near the meeting edges of the outer cover sections.

3. A game ball having an outer cover composed of tough material with inwardly turned and abutted seam portions, and an inner sheet material of substantially reinforcing'strength having a portion extending transversely across the plane of abutment of said seam portions and portions lapping outwardly along the sides of said

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