SELF CONTAINED SPORT BALL INFLATION PUMP

POMPE DE GONFLAGE DE BALLON DE SPORT INCORPOREE

English Abstract

An inflatable sport ball, such as a basketball, a football, a soccer ball, a
volley ball or a playground ball, is provided with a self-contained inflation
mechanism for inflating or more likely adding pressure to the ball. The
mechanism is a battery-operated, diaphragm pump which is inside of the ball
with a switch which is operable from outside of the ball to pump ambient air
into the ball.

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne un ballon de sport gonflable, tel qu'un ballon de basket-ball, un ballon de football américain, un ballon de football anglais, un ballon de volley-ball ou un ballon de terrain de jeux, qui est pourvu d'un mécanisme de gonflage incorporé, permettant de gonfler ce ballon ou, plus précisément, d'en augmenter la pression. Ce mécanisme se présente sous la forme d'une pompe à membrane, alimentée par piles, qui est logée à l'intérieur dudit ballon et présente un commutateur pouvant être actionné depuis l'extérieur du ballon, de manière à y introduire de l'air ambiant.

Claims

5
Claims:
1. An inflatable sport ball comprising an integral battery-operated
pump.
2. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said ball
includes a layer which prevents the ball from expanding significantly as
pressure is increased.
3. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said pump
includes means for pumping ambient air into said ball and means for
preventing said pumped air from escaping out of said ball.
4. An inflatable sport ball comprising a carcass and an internal pump
assembly attached to said carcass, said pump assembly including an
electric pump, an air inlet into said pump, an air outlet including a one-
way valve from said pump into said ball, permitting air flow from said
pump into said ball and preventing air flow from said ball back into said
pump and a battery connected to said pump through a switch, said
switch being actuatable from outside said ball.
5. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said sport
ball is a basketball.
6. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said sport
ball is a volley ball.
7. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said sport
ball is a football.

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8. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said sport
ball is a soccer ball.
9. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 wherein said sport
ball is a playground ball.
10. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 1 and further including
means for releasing pressure from said ball.
11. An inflatable sport ball as recited in claim 10 wherein said means
for releasing pressure comprises an adjustable automatic pressure relief
valve.

Description

CA 02406726 2002-10-17
WO 01/83048 PCT/USO1/12216
Self Contained Sport Ball Inflation Pump
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 60/1 59,31 1 , filed October 1 4, 1 999.
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to sport balls which contain a pump
for inflating or adding pressure to the balls.
Conventional inflatable sport balls, such as basketballs, footballs,
soccer balls, volley balls and playground balls, are inflated through a
traditional inflation valve using a separate inflation needle that is
inserted into and through a self-sealing inflation valve. A separate
pump, such as a traditional bicycle pump, is connected to the inflation
needle and the ball is inflated using the pump. The inflation needle is
1 5 then withdrawn from the inflation valve which self-seals to maintain the
pressure. This system works fine until the sport ball needs inflation or
a pressure increase and a needle and/or pump are not readily available.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a sport ball which has a self-
contained inflation mechanism. The object is to be able to inflate or add
pressure to a sport ball without the need for separate inflation
equipment such as a separate inflation needle and pump. Specifically,
the invention relates to a sport ball which has a self-contained pump
device which is operable from outside the ball and which pumps
ambient air into the ball to achieve the desired pressure. More
specifically, the pump device is a battery operated electric pump within
the ball with means for admitting ambient air into the pump and

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2
discharging that air through one-way valve means into the interior
volume of the ball.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 shows a cross section of a portion of a sport ball with
a self-contained electric pump and battery operable from outside the ball
for adding air pressure to the ball.
Figure 2 is a cross section of another portion of the sport ball
showing a pressure relief valve.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Referring to the drawing, a portion of a sport ball 10 is illustrated
incorporating the pump of the present invention. The ball which is
illustrated is a typical basketball construction comprising a carcass
having a rubber bladder 12 for air retention, a layer 14 composed of
layers of nylon or polyester yarn windings wrapped around the bladder
and an outer rubber layer 16. For a laminated ball, an additional outer
layer 18 of leather or a synthetic comprises panels which are applied by
adhesive and set by cold molding. The windings are randomly oriented
and two or three layers thick and they form a layer which cannot be
extended to any significant degree and which restricts the ball from
expanding to any significant extent above its regulation size when
inflated above its normal playing pressure. This layer for footballs,
volleyballs and soccer balls is referred to as a lining layer and is usually
composed of cotton or polyester cloth that is impregnated with a
flexible binder resin such as vinyl or latex rubber.
Incorporated into the carcass of the ball of the invention during
the formation is the rubber pump housing 20 with a recess 22 and with
a flange 24 which is bonded to the bladder using a rubber adhesive.

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The recess 22 in the housing 20 is configured to hold the pump 26
firmly in place.
The electric pump 26 is a mini or micro battery operated,
diaphragm air pump of which there are a number of commercially
available models such as from Sensidyne OEM Division of Clearwater,
Florida and T Squared Manufacturing of Lincoln Park, New Jersey.
Mounted on the pump 26 is a replaceable battery 28 similar to a watch
battery. The battery 28 is mounted with a switch 30 connected
between the battery and the electrical motor of the pump. The tube 32
is connected to the inlet of the pump 26 for admitting ambient air into
the pump. The outlet of the pump 26 is connected by the tube 34 to
a one-way duckbill valve 36 for admitting air from the pump 26 to the
interior of the ball and for preventing the flow of air back out of the ball.
The switch 30 is accessible by lifting the flap 38 comprising the layers
16 and 18. The flap 38 can be held down by velcro between the flap
38 and the underlying layer.
Although the pump assembly of the invention is small and
lightweight, perhaps only about 40 grams or less, it is desirable that a
weight be added to the ball structure to counterbalance the weight of
the pump assembly. For example, a standard needle valve may be
located on the opposite side of the ball. The material forming the
needle valve may be weighted to counterbalance the pump assembly.
Alternately, an area opposite the pump could be composed of thicker
rubber so as to counterbalance the pump.
Since the pressure in a sport ball can be too high through
overinflation or a temperature increase, it is advisable to have a way to
bleed pressure from the bal when the conventional inflating needle is not
available. Such an arrangement is shown in Figure 2 involving an
automatic, self-regulating, adjustable pressure relief valve 40. This

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comprises an aperture 42 through the carcass covered on the inside by
the cup-shaped enclosure 44. The enclosure 44 has an opening 46 with
a valve seat 48. The valve 50 seals against the valve seat 48 to hold
the pressure in the ball. The valve stem 52 is threaded through a disk
54 whereby the disk 54 can be moved axially on the valve stem 52 by
turning the head 56 of the valve stem 52. A spring 58 is located
around the valve stem 52 between the disk 54 and the carcass.
Therefore, turning the head 56 and valve stem 52 moves the disk 54
axially on the valve stem and adjusts the pressure of the spring 58. The
pressure of the spring 58 is adjusted such that an over pressure in the
ball will force the valve to open and bleed pressure and then close when
the desired pressure is reached. Alternately, a manual pressure relief
valve can be provided by merely reversing the slope on the valve 50 and
the valve seat 48 and placing the spring on the opposite side of the disk
54 whereby pressure applied to the head 90 will compress the spring
and open the valve.

Representative Drawing