Games using tangible projectile – Projectile – per se; part thereof or accessory therefor – Having hollow core or bladder enclosed within cover
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-30
2001-05-08
Wong, Steven (Department: 3711)
Games using tangible projectile
Projectile, per se; part thereof or accessory therefor
Having hollow core or bladder enclosed within cover
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227992
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a textile for use in the manufacture of tennis balls and to a method of manufacturing the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, tennis balls are manufactured with the use of a textile having a felted surface. This means that the outer surface of the ball presents a layer of entangled fibres. The felt has a significant influence on the flight characteristics and feel of a tennis ball. Over the last 50 years a large number of attempts have been made to propose other types, (generally cheaper or having an increased resistance to wear) of non-felted tennis ball covering but they have been found unsuccessful to equal the feel and characteristic of the felted fabric and to replace the classic felted covering.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,169 describes a game ball having various types of depressions on one of its hemisphere. One particular ball is a tennis ball (see
FIG. 5
) having one hemisphere covered with a standard tennis ball covering and another covered by a plastic-like smooth material having grooves radiating from its pole.
It has been further proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,287,766 to replace the standard fabric covering of the tennis ball by a smooth and soft rubber-like material. Said rubber covering is provided with regular holes in order to mimic the skin friction of a standard tennis ball felt cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,828 describes a tennis ball having a deep groove extending in the rubber spherical core of the ball in order to control the air turbulence during the ball trajectory. In one embodiment it is proposed to cover the ball with a non-felted fabric made of woven synthetic filaments or fibres. These synthetic filaments are woven so as define a series of rectangular areas.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,376,778 it is proposed to protect the seam of the textile and to produce a better controlling effect by compressing the outer fabric once provided on a tennis ball at various points along the seam. However, applying pressure to the tennis ball is not recommended as the pressure may alter the internal shape of the core of the ball. Also, compressed area obtained by such compression method are not very wear-resistant and disappear rapidly when used on a tennis ball.
A problem with the modern game of tennis is that as players become more and more powerful, less skill is needed to play the game. The game is fast and rarely are more than two or three shots played in a rally. This makes the games less enjoyable for spectators.
It would be desirable to have a felted tennis ball covering which would allow for greater control over the flight of the tennis ball. More particularly it would be desirable to have a felted tennis covering which, when applied to a tennis ball, alters substantially the flight and/or rebound characteristics when spin is imparted by the player to the ball. This would allow tennis players by imparting spin to various degrees to cause the ball to vary its course to a differing extent as it flies through the air and also to achieve a greater deviation from the expected path of the ball's rebound from the court.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect, the present invention provides with a fabric for use as a tennis ball covering said fabric having a felted outer surface composed of entangled fibres, said outer surface being provided with a three dimensional pattern thereon. Advantageously the fabric of claim
1
, wherein said three dimensional pattern comprises a series of depressed and non-depressed areas.
Preferably, the fabric is a woven fabric comprising interlaced warp and weft threads and wherein said three dimensional pattern is generated by the variation of the interlacing frequency of said warp and weft threads. Advantageously, the fabric has depressed areas and non-depressed areas and the depressed areas are created by increasing the frequency of the interlacing of warp and weft threads. In particular, the non-depressed areas may be created by the weft threads interlacing every 5 to 10 warp threads and the depressed area are created by the weft threads interlacing 1 to 3 warp threads.
It is further preferred that the three dimensional pattern be generated by the variation in the entanglement rate of the fibres of the felted outer surface. Advantageously such variation in the entanglement rate is produced by needle felting techniques.
It is also preferred that the fabric comprises at least a support layer and an outer layer, said outer layer having a pattern cut through it and being affixed on the support layer to create said three dimensional pattern. Advantageously, the support layer includes a scrim and constitutes between 40 and 70% of the weight of the fabric.
It is further preferred that the fabric be provided with a pattern of regular indentations on the surface of the fabric. Advantageously the pattern can be a pattern of dimples, eventually circular in shape. The indentations may be to between 30% and 70% of the full thickness of the fabric and each indentation may have a diameter which is at its widest part between 5 mm and 20 mm.
It is further preferred that the indentations be separated by a portion of full thickness textile.
It is further preferred that the three dimensional pattern be formed on the fabric before the fabric is applied to a tennis ball.
The invention also provides various methods of manufacturing a fabric according to the first aspect of the invention. For example it is preferred to manufacture a fabric of the invention by interlacing warp and weft threads and generating a three dimensional pattern by varying the interlacing frequency of said warp and weft threads. According to another method a three dimensional pattern is created on a fabric of the invention by varying the entanglement rate of the fibres of the felted outer surface. A further method to manufacture a fabric of the invention comprises providing at least a support layer and an outer layer, said outer layer having a pattern cut through it and affixing said outer layer on the support layer to create said three dimensional pattern.
It is a further aspect of the invention to use such fabric to cover tennis balls. Such tennis balls being a further object of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1287766 (1918-12-01), Saunders
patent: 1376778 (1921-05-01), Orr
patent: 1547339 (1925-07-01), MacLellan
patent: 2023673 (1935-12-01), Ellis
patent: 2109223 (1938-02-01), Schmidt
patent: 2423827 (1947-07-01), Chagnon
patent: 2952063 (1960-09-01), Bukalders et al.
patent: 3065520 (1962-11-01), Schmidt
patent: 3558413 (1971-01-01), Wall
patent: 4234643 (1980-11-01), Grotefend et al.
patent: 4616828 (1986-10-01), Haythornthwaite
patent: 4874169 (1989-10-01), Litchfield
patent: 5404626 (1995-04-01), Bylund et al.
patent: 441874 (1936-01-01), None
Milliken Industrials Limited
Ratner & Prestia
Wong Steven
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