U.S. patent number 3,708,170 [Application Number 05/220,175] was granted by the patent office on 1973-01-02 for football.
This patent grant is currently assigned to A-T-O Inc.. Invention is credited to William R. Presnell.
United States Patent |
3,708,170 |
Presnell |
January 2, 1973 |
FOOTBALL
Abstract
A football including an inflatable bladder insertion opening and
in which an extended lacing length and corresponding cross loops
are provided to accommodate football players with small hands and
to improve the ball handling and passing manipulation. The lacing
loops re extended out to a length of about 55-60 percent of the
total length of a seam line. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The
present invention relates to improvements in football lacing
constructions and is directed more specifically to improving the
ball handling efficiency and security. Heretofore the basic or
standard football has had a bladder insertion opening which is
closed by a lacing assembly including eight loop stitches directed
transversely of the bladder opening, which lacing and loops have
traditionally been utilized by football players as a gripping
surface, especially for passing. The problem up to now has been
that football players with small hands have had to grip the ball
closer to the enlarged or fat center section in order to get one or
two fingers on the lacing. This has increased the possibility of
fumbles and mishandling of the ball in wet or cold weather,
especially when a player has a limited spread between the fingers
and the thumb. The improved lacing construction of this disclosure
is accompanied by the enlargement of the bladder insertion opening
in one of the seams of the casing so that the inflatable bladder
may be laid in the casing more accurately, so that the
reinforcement patch for the air valve and the alignment of the air
valve in the patch area can be made easier, and so that additional
lacing extended toward and into the conoidal ends of the football
will place a gripping surface in the area of the football casing
where a player with small hands can easily improve the efficiency
of ball handling. The objects of the invention are to provide an
extended lacing for closing the bladder insertion opening in a
football casing so as to get an increase in the gripping surface
for more efficient ball handling. It is also an object of this
invention to provide an extra lacing surface so that football
players with small hands may obtain a more secure grip on the
football and thereby improve the accuracy of passing, and afford a
means for improving the distance of passing as more force and
spiral action may be imparted to a ball with the longer lacing. Yet
other objects of the invention are to provide an improved lacing
construction which will afford better all round ball control, to
improve maximum offensive efficiency in ball handling and passing,
and to minimize or reduce the chances of fumbles in cold weather,
or when the ball is wet. A preferred embodiment of the present
lacing construction for a football consists in providing an
extended lacing assembly for closing the bladder insertion opening
whereby extra lacing loops are brought nearer the opposite
longitudinal ends of the football for the purpose of allowing ball
handling in an area where the ball diameter will be found more
suitable for players having small hands, but without detriment to
the other players with normal or large hands.
Inventors: |
Presnell; William R. (Dellwood,
MO) |
Assignee: |
A-T-O Inc. (Willoughby,
OH)
|
Family
ID: |
22822384 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/220,175 |
Filed: |
January 24, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/597 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
41/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
41/00 (20060101); A63B 41/08 (20060101); A63b
041/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/58,55,65 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Marlo; George J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A football comprising an elongated inflatable casing having a
central ellipsoidal section and opposite conoidal end sections
tapering off in opposite directions from said central section, the
opposite end sections being on and symmetrical with the elongated
axis of the casing, a bladder opening in the casing extending along
the curved surface of the ellipsoidal center section, and lacing
means closing said bladder opening and having spaced loops directed
transversely of the length of the bladder opening, said lacing
means and loops extending into and forming gripping surfaces in
said conoidal end sections of said casing.
2. The football of claim 1 and in which said casing is composed of
plies extending longitudinally of the football and being side
seamed to each other, said bladder opening being in one of said
side seams to open to the casing interior, and said lacing means
being disposed on the outer surface of said casing for contact by
the fingers of the player handling the football.
3. The football of claim 2 wherein said lacing means connects the
plies across the bladder opening and extends lengthwise of the seam
for substantially 55 to 60 percent of the total length of the
surface of said central and opposite end sections of the
casing.
4. The football of claim 1 wherein said lacing means has a length
along the curvature of said central and opposite end sections of
substantially 55 to 60 percent of the total length of the casing as
measured along the surface thereof.
5. A football comprising an inflatable casing having a central
ellipsoidal section and opposite conoidal end sections, said casing
having visible seam lines running from end to end of the football
along the exposed surface, and lacing means in one of said seam
lines extending through said central section and into each of said
end sections, said lacing means being raised on the casing surface
and including elongated portions running along said one seam line
and loop portions directed across and spaced apart along said
elongated portions.
6. The football set forth in claim 5 wherein said one seam line is
interrupted to provide an opening to the casing interior, and said
lacing means holds said opening closed with the endmost ones of
said loop portions being adjacent the end limits of said
opening.
7. The football set forth in claim 5 wherein said lacing means
extends along a seam line for substantially 55 to 60 percent of its
length.
8. The football set forth in claim 5 wherein said lacing means
extends along a seam line in said ellipsoidal central section and
into each conoidal end section.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawings accompanying and forming a part of the application for
patent on the improved football disclose the following:
FIG. 1 is a view of a prior art football held in position for
passing and showing the usual handhold thereon; and
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the improved
football lacing construction of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED FOOTBALL LACING CONSTRUCTION
In FIG. 1 the football 10 has its central section 10a in an
ellipsoidal configuration and the end sections tapering toward tips
10b and 10c. The casing or outer cover is made up of cooperating
quarter sections 11 side seamed in the usual manner. One of the
side seams 13 is interrupted at the lacing assembly 14 so that an
opening is formed to allow insertion of the bladder or air
containing sack (not shown). The bladder receiving opening is
generally confined to the ellipsoidal central section 10a of the
casing, and is covered by the longitudinal lacing ends 15 and 16
disposed beneath the loops 17 and 18 of the cooperating lacing 15
and 16.
The football 10 is usually gripped by the hand H for passing or
other manipulation with one or two fingers (F1 and F2) in contact
with the lacing. If more fingers are placed in contact with the
lacing the hand must be brought closer to the ellipsoidal center
section of the ball 10 and this is more easily accomplished with a
large hand, but very difficult with a small size hand. The size and
shape of the football body 10 is generally fixed within certain
standards so that the playing and handling characteristics will be
predictable. The players who most often handle the football under
game conditions do not have the same size hands so that some
players are handicapped due to small hands. For such handicapped
players it is necessary to try and grip the body 10 far out toward
a tip section 10c and 10b and yet keep at least the little finger
F2 on the lacing. When passing a football, the fingers use the
lacing as a raised surface for imparting rotation which greatly
aids the stability and flight of the ball as it rotates about its
major axis extending from tip 10c to tip 10b and generally parallel
to the lacings 15, 16. The foregoing refers to prior art
footballs.
The greatly improved football of this invention is shown at 20 in
FIG. 2. The football 20 has a casing with an ellipsoidal center
section 21 which lies between substantially identically shaped
conoidal end sections 22a and 22b. An opening in the quarter
sections 20a is provided in the central portion of the longitudinal
seam 23 for the insertion of a bladder (not shown). The opening is
covered by laces 24 and 25, and is held closed by the lacing looped
portions 24a and 25a directed across the bladder opening. The loop
portions 25a underlie loops 24a, as is shown by partly lifting up
lacing portion 24a to reveal portion 25a. The bladder opening is
suitably internally reinforced for the lacing holes by a ply of
material (not shown) held in place by the stitches 26 which are
exposed to view as indicated in FIG. 2, and the length of the
bladder opening ends at about the last or endmost loops of the
lacing 24 and 25.
The greater length of opening makes it easier to insert the bladder
and adjust the position of the bladder to the inside of the casing,
along with aligning the usual valve washer in the casing with the
usual exposed air valve 27 which is vulcanized into the bladder.
The greater length of opening is obtained as a result of extending
the number of lacing loops 24a and 25a well into the respective
conoidal end sections 22a and 22b so that, in addition to the above
noted advantages, players with small hands can get a secure grip
with more than one finger on the lacings. The extra loops and
extension of the lacing into the casing end sections 22a and 22b
provides better ball control and accuracy of delivery of a pass. By
getting more fingers on the lacings, without having to shift the
hand more into the ellipsoidal center section 21, the ball can be
passed without wobble, and the ability to attempt long passes is
greatly improved. The extra number of lacing loops and the length
of the lacing underlying the loops provides a better handle for the
quarterback and ball carriers, lessens the chance of fumbles when
the ball is wet or the hands are cold, and increases the efficiency
of the player with small hands.
In considering the construction of a football such as that shown in
FIG. 2, it should be understood that the casing may be a single
molded body having simulated seam lines in place of the stitched
seams 23 of footballs made of various separately formed parts which
are assembled by side seaming and stitching and other means. When
the football is a single molded body the lacing means 24 and 25 and
the transverse lacing loops 24a and 25a are molded in place and
form a raised surface in the seam line to simulate the feel of the
lacing means shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, a molded casing is within
the scope of this disclosure with the result that the improved
football shown at 20 in FIG. 2 may have a one-piece molded body
with seam lines and simulated lacing means extending into the
conoidal end sections 22a and 22b so as to duplicate the football
construction heretofore described.
It is to be appreciated that the number of lacing loops extending
transversely of a seam line is not important, as many footballs of
the prior art have had various numbers of such lacing loops. The
limitation of the prior art has been in keeping the bladder opening
nearly a constant size while varying the number of loops. In this
disclosure a departure from the limits of the prior art has been
made by extending the lacing loops farther out toward and into the
conoidal ends of the football casing with the result that the
bladder is more easily inserted and the ball handling efficiency
has been increased.
Heretofore the football of FIG. 1 has had the lacing loops confined
to a length of about 20-35 percent of the total length of a seam
line. The lacing loops of the football of FIG. 2 are extended out
to a length of about 55-60 percent of the total length of a seam
line. This increase is significant and has resulted in improved
assembly and playing characteristics.
* * * * *