U.S. patent number RE29,303 [Application Number 05/615,839] was granted by the patent office on 1977-07-12 for tennis ball including needle punched fabric cover.
This patent grant is currently assigned to GAF Corporation. Invention is credited to Redmond Power Fraser, Jr., Elbirt A. Woodward.
United States Patent |
RE29,303 |
Fraser, Jr. , et
al. |
July 12, 1977 |
Tennis ball including needle punched fabric cover
Abstract
.Iadd.The invention is directed to a tennis ball which includes
a spherical shaped inner-member made of rubber or similar material
and filled with compressed air to give it the desired shape and
resiliency. An outer cover made of two pieces of non-woven
non-napped, needle-punched fabric cut into the form of a figure
eight is applied to the inner-member by an adhesive. The
needle-punched fabric is formed by a sheet of fibrous material in
which the fibers normally extend in a plane substantially parallel
with the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet and in which a large
number of the fibers extend substantially perpendicular to the
upper and lower surfaces of the material which is needle-punched
therefrom. As a result, the fibers which extend perpendicular to
the upper and lower surfaces interlock with successive layers of
the fibers to form a desirable cover layer. .Iaddend.
Inventors: |
Fraser, Jr.; Redmond Power
(Greenwich, CT), Woodward; Elbirt A. (Watch Hill, RI) |
Assignee: |
GAF Corporation (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
27062489 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/615,839 |
Filed: |
September 22, 1975 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
527706 |
Feb 15, 1966 |
03396970 |
Aug 13, 1968 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/607; 28/107;
442/394; 428/91; 428/95 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
39/06 (20130101); Y10T 428/23979 (20150401); Y10T
428/2395 (20150401); Y10T 442/674 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
39/06 (20060101); A63B 39/00 (20060101); A63B
039/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/61,58
;428/91,300,95 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Marlo; George J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kehm; Walter C. Mohr; J. Gary
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tennis ball comprising a resilient spherical supporting
member, a .[.felt-like.]. fabric cover member stretched over the
outer surface of said supporting member, said fabric
.Iadd.consisting of a sheet of felt material in which the fibers
thereof extend in planes substantially parallel with the upper and
lower surfaces thereof, .Iaddend.having a large number of fibers
.[.extending.]. .Iadd.of said sheet being oriented
.Iaddend.substantially perpendicular to the upper and lower
surfaces of the .[.fabric and.]. .Iadd.sheet being
.Iaddend.needle-punched therefrom .[.,.]. .Iadd.said
perpendicularly oriented fibers being interspersed and interlocked
with successive parallel layers of the fibers of the sheet, a
substantial number of said perpendicularly oriented fibers
projecting above said upper surface of said sheet, .Iaddend.and
adhesive means adhering said cover member to said supporting
surface. .[.2. A tennis ball as set forth in claim 1 in which a
yarn system member is incorporated in said fabric adjacent the
inner surface of the cover member to enhance its physical
properties..].
Description
This invention relates to tennis balls or the like and more
particularly to a tennis ball having a new and improved outer
covering.
It is well known in the tennis art that it is both desirable and
necessary for a tennis ball to have a fuzzy or roughened nap or
pile-like outer surface to give it the desired aerodynamic and
control characteristics. For this purpose, it has been generally
customary to make the outer covering from a woven woolen material
such as "Melton" which is milled, fulled and steamed, or otherwise
treated, to provide a closely felted outer surface having a raised
nap. It is also well known, however, that such fuzzy or roughened
surface wears down relatively rapidly during use of the ball due to
the friction and abrasive action caused by the ball striking the
racket, the ground, the net and the like, particularly when the
ball has a spin imparted to it as is often the case. In the case of
woven or knitted fabrics, furthermore, the longitudinal fiber
surfaces are subjected to more and more wear by the frictional and
abrasive forces acting on the ball as the nap wears down and are
thus caused to break down and structurally weaken the fabric.
Various substitutes for the napped woolen covers, such as knitted
fabrics, piled fabrics, fabrics woven from a mixture of synthetic
and natural fibers, and the like, have been proposed, but all are
subject to the deficiencies of a woven or knitted material, or
introduce new problems of manufacture or cost.
An object of the present invention is to provide a tennis ball in
which the outer cover is neither woven, knitted, nor napped, but
which has all of the advantages of a napped or piled covering
without the disadvantage of a woven or knitted fabric.
A further object of the invention is to provide a tennis ball
having a new and improved outer cover in which a large number of
fibers are in an essentially perpendicular position with respect to
the plane of the fabric surfaces so as continually to expose cross
sectional surfaces of the fibers as wear progresses, which take the
brunt of the wear stresses and which provide a uniform fuzz level
without the necessity of napping or piling.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tennis ball having
an outer cover of the character above described in which an almost
endless variety of fiber blends can be utilized, thereby allowing
functionality to be the governing factor. Thus, blends of wool and
small percentages of reinforcing synthetic fibers are on one end of
the scale, combining the resilience of wool with the abrasion
resistance of the synthetics, while all-synthetic compositions are
on the other end, providing even more resistance to wear.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a tennis ball
having an outer cover of the character above described in which a
woven, knitted, or otherwise constructed rigid or nonrigid system
of yarns can be readily incorporated either as a backing or an
insert for the nonwoven, nonknitted, nonnapped material or fabric
to provide reinforcement and additional dimensional stability,
stretchability, moldability or other physical properties.
In a preferred aspect, the tennis ball of the invention comprises a
spherical-shaped inner member made of rubber or similar material
and filled with compressed air or the like to give it a desired
shape and resiliency, and an outer cover made from two pieces of
nonwoven, nonnapped, needle-punched fabric cut in the form of a
figure 8 or dumbbell shape, and applied to the outer surface of the
inner member by a suitable adhesive. The needle-punched fabric may
be composed entirely of natural fibers such as wool, or entirely of
synthetic fibers, but is preferably composed of a blend of woolen
and synthetic fibers to give it the resilience of wool and the
abrasive resistance of synthetics. If increased strength is
desired, a woven, knitted or otherwise fabricated yarn system may
be incorporated into the fabric by the needle-punching to provide a
supporting or reinforcing member and to enhance the physical
properties of the cover fabric.
A preferred embodiment of the invention and certain modifications
thereof are illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an enlarged block or section of the
outer fabric cover for the ball;
FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of a tennis ball made in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view further illustrating the
structure of the ball and outer cover;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section showing a backing or supporting
member incorporated in the cover fabric; and
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section showing a reinforcing or
strengthening member incorporated in the body of the cover
fabric.
Referring to the drawing and particularly to FIG. 1, the new and
improved tennis ball 10 is shown as comprising an inner spherical
or ball-shaped supporting member 12 made of rubber or a similar
material and having its hollow interior 14 filled with a compressed
gas such as air to give the ball its desired form and resiliency.
Stretched around the outer surface 16 of member 12 and fixedly
adhered thereto by a heat-cured or other suitable adhesive (not
shown) is an outer cover member 18 which may be applied in any
desired manner but which, in the illustrated embodiment, is formed
from two similar pieces 20 and 22 of fabric cut into a figure 8 or
dumbbell shape and joined together at seams 24 when drawn tight
around the ball-shaped supporting member 12. To assist in
maintaining the cover member tightly stretched around the
supporting member 12, the two sections or pieces 20 and 22 are also
preferably joined together or united at the seams 24 by a suitable
adhesive material.
In accordance with the present invention, cover member 18 comprises
a felt-like fabric that has been formed by needle punching instead
of being woven, knitted or otherwise fabricated from yarn. A fabric
of this general type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,113 to
Lauterbach, and consists, in general, of a sheet or batt of
material in which the fibers normally extend in a direction or
plane substantially parallel with the upper and lower surfaces
thereof, but in which a large number of the fibers are forcibly
bent to intersperse and interlock with successive layers of fibers
and to extend in a direction generally perpendicular to such
surfaces by the repeated insertion and withdrawal of barbed or
rasped needles into and out of the fabric material. A section or
block of such needle-punched fabric is illustrated in FIG. 1
wherein the fibers of the material are normally oriented to lie in
planes substantially parallel with the upper and lower surfaces 26
and 28, respectively, of the cover member 18. Due to the
needle-punching action, however, a large number of the fibers have
been caused to be bent so as to extend substantially perpendicular
to the surfaces 26 and 28 as indicated at 30 in FIG. 1 and also in
the other figures. Additionally, the needle-punching technique
causes a large number of the fiber ends to project or extend
perpendicularly above the surface 26, as indicated at 32, thereby
providing a satisfactorily uniform fuzz level without the necessity
of any napping operation. During use of the ball, a substantial
amount of the abrasive action and wear is taken by the
perpendicularly extending fibers which continually present new
cross sectional areas of fiber to the wear surface and provide
frayed end filaments 32 which replenish the fuzzy or pile like
roughened surface on the outer side of cover member 18.
As above noted, the felt-like needle-punched fabric of cover member
18 may be composed entirely of natural fibers such as wool, or
entirely of synthetic fibers such as nylon, but is preferably
composed of a blend or mixture of both natural and synthetic fibers
to provide the resiliency of wool and the abrasion resistance of
the synthetics. Certain examples of such blends are hereinafter set
forth.
As noted above, a woven or otherwise constructed rigid system of
yarns for additional dimensional stability, or a knitted or
otherwise constructed non-rigid yarn system for increased
stretchability or moldability, may be incorporated in the
needle-punched fabric as a backing or reinforcing member. FIG. 4
illustrates a portion of a ball 10A in which such a yarn system or
member 34A is incorporated as a backing for the needle-punched
cover member 18A. FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of a ball 10B in
which such a yarn system or member 34B has been inserted within the
needle-punched fabric of a cover member 18B. Preferably, as shown
in FIG. 5, member 34B is inserted or incorporated relatively close
to the back or inner surface of cover member 18B so that the major
portion of the fiber mass is available for wear, upended fibers
being liberated continually, as above described, before wear
progresses to the member 34B or to the backing 34A of FIG. 4. The
backing member 34A of FIG. 4 or the insert 34B of FIG. 5 is readily
incorporated in cover members 18A and 18B so as to form a unitary
fabric structure by the needle-punching operation which intermeshes
the perpendicularly extending fibers of the felted fabric with the
woven or knitted yarn system of the backing or insert.
The following are examples of fiber blends which have been found
satisfactory for tennis ball covers made in accordance with the
present invention:
EXAMPLE 1
A blend of 60% wool, 20% nylon and 20% Fiber 40 Viscose, and having
a total weight of 16 ounces per square yard, was needle-punched to
provide a felted cover fabric without any backing or insert
member.
EXAMPLE 2
A blend of 80% New Zealand wool and 20% nylon, and having a weight
of 13.9 ounces per square yard, was needle-punched to a backing of
bleached Osnaburg having a weight of 3.9 ounces per square yard to
produce a felted cover fabric weighing 17.8 ounces per square
yard.
EXAMPLE 3
An insert of Osnaburg cotton scrim weighing 4 ounces per square
yard was needle-punched to a back blend of 60% lamb's wool and 40%
nylon having a total weight of 3.5 ounces per square yard, and to a
face blend comprising 70% New Zealand wool, 10% nylon and 20%
lamb's wool for a weight of 11.2 ounces per square yard to produce
a felted cover having a weight of 18.7 ounces per square yard.
It will be understood, of course, that the foregoing compositions
are for purposes of example only and are not intended to limit the
kind, percentage or amount of fibers used for the cover fabric or
the type of backing or insert material employed.
It will be evident from the foregoing disclosure that the invention
provides a new and improved tennis or the like ball that has all of
the advantages and features set forth in the above objects as well
as other features and advantages, which is relatively simple and
inexpensive to manufacture and which provides a desired fuzzy or
roughened outer surface through long periods of usage and wear. Not
only is the necessity of napping obviated, but more fiber cross
sectional surfaces continue to be exposed as wear progresses. This
mechanism significantly alters the frictional and wear behavior of
tennis ball coverings.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated,
it is intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of
the appended claims. Also, although the invention is described as
relating to a tennis ball, it can be utilized for other playballs
requiring similar characteristics and the claims should be so
construed.
* * * * *