GB2145337A

GB2145337A - Balls and like projectiles for use in games and sports

Info

Publication number: GB2145337A
Application number: GB08421216A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Kinnear Christie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-08-22
Filing date: 1984-08-21
Publication date: 1985-03-27
Also published as: GB8421216D0; GB2145337B; GB8322533D0; AU3228484A; AU568671B2

Abstract

A resilient ball or like projectile eg a shuttlecock or puck for use in sports and games includes at least one flexible, visible, reflective surface 4 positioned below the external periphery of the ball or projectile, or within a depression or recess formed in such periphery. In the preferred embodiment a flexible reflective surface is provided within each of a plurality of depressions 2 in the ball surface. The depressions may be subsequently filled with transparent material. In an alternative construction a transparent hollow ball has the inside of its shell covered with flexible reflective material. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in and relating to balls and like projectiles for use in games and sports This invention relates to balls and like projectiles for use in games and sports and to a method of making the same. The expression "balls and like projectiles" is intended to include, in addition to such items as squash balls, tennis balls and golf balls, other projectiles used in sports and games such as badminton shuttlecocks and ice hockey pucks.

Hitherto, limited success has been achieved in filming or televising squash and similar sports in which the ball or projectile tends to travel at high velocity against a background not conducive to good visibility. This is also the case in golf where the flighted ball often becomes invisible to the eye against the sky.

Previous attempts to improve visibility have proved to be unsatisfactory for such reasons as impaired performance of the projectile itself, limited useful life of the means applied to the projectile to improve visibility and potential hazards to the health of the players and damage to equipment used for striking the projectile.

The present invention sets out to provide balls and projectiles for use in sports and games whose visibility is such that they can readily be detected during filming and televising and which overcome or alleviate the disadvantages referred to above.

According to the present invention in one aspect, there is provided a resilient ball or like projectile for use in sports and games which includes at least one flexible visible reflective surface positioned below the external periphery of the ball or like projectile or within a depression or recess formed in such periphery.

In a preferred embodiment, the or each flexible reflective surface is located within a depression or recess formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

The or each reflective surface may comprise a flexible member bonded to the floor of a depression or recess formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile by, for example, a flexible adhesive. In this arrangement, the depth of the or each depression or recess is such that, as the ball is struck, the walls of the depression or recess deformed to at least partially cover the reflective member to protect the same.

Preferably each reflective member is dimensioned such that when it is bonded to the floor of a depression or recess its periphery is spaced from the side walls of the depression or recess.

Alternatively, the or each reflective surface may comprise a coating applied to the floor of one or more depressions or recesses formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

Reflective members may be distributed randomly or as a pattern about the ball or projectile periphery.

The or each reflective surface may be retroreflective; that is to say light rays which impinge upon the surface are returned along coincident or nearly coincident paths. The or each depression or recess may be filled with a transparent material. Alternatively, a single. reflective or retroreflective surface may be applied to the internal periphery of a hollow ball or projectile manufactured from a transparent material.

According to the present invention in another aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing balls or like projectiles for use in sports and games in which flexible reflective surfaces are applied to the floor of each of a plurality of depressions or recesses formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

According to the present invention is a still further aspect, there is provided a method of filming or televising a game in which a ball or like projectile such as described above is employed, which method comprises illuminating the path travelled by the ball or like projectile and directing a camera towards such illuminated path to receive images of the light reflected from the reflective members set in the surface of the ball or projectile.

The source of light is located sufficiently adjacent to the camera so that the light rays reflected by the reflective surface(s) are returned to the camera lens.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which; Figure 1 is a section to an enlarged scale taken through a portion of the surface of a ball in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a section to an enlarged scale taken through the ball surface illustrated in Figure 1 at the moment of impact between the ball and a racquet; and Figure 3 is a section in an enlarged scale taken through a portion of the surface of an alternative ball in accordance with the invention.

The ball partially illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings is manufactured from a resilient material 1 (for example a rubber or like material) and includes a series of recesses 2 of generally cylindrical cross section set in its surface. Typically, the ball illustrated is one used in the game of squash.

Bonded to the floor of each recess 2 by a layer of a petrol based flexible contact adhesive 3 (such as that known as "UHU Flexi-Mend") is a piece of flexible retroreflective material 4. Typically, the reflective material is one similar to the light intensity reflecting fabric manufactured by 3M Company under the tradename 8910 silver. As will be seen from the drawings, each piece of reflective material 4 is spaced from the recess walls to ensure that when the ball is struck by a racquet 5, or impacts upon a solid object such as the wall of a squash court, the recessed walls can fold inwardly to provide some protection for the reflective material. In addition, the spacing between the periphery of the pieces of reflective material and the recess walls prevents undue bending of the material during impact.It has been found that the reflective members should be mounted such that they can flex and move independently of the recess walls. Bonding of the reflective members to the side walls of the recesses inhibits this independent flexing movement and leads to detachment of the edges of the reflective pieces thereby adversely affecting the aerodynamics and flight of the ball.

The flexible nature of the reflective members 4 is important. Use of rigid members or members retained in rigid containers has been found to produce inequal distortion between the members or containers and the adjacent wall of the flexible ball surface causing the rigid member or container to come loose with consequent danger of injury to the players and damage to the racquet strings and court walls. In addition, it has been found that the use of rigid members or containers produces wear at the mating edges of the ball surface and the rigid members or containers which, in time, causes the edges of the rigid members or containers to become exposed with consequent damage to racquet strings and to the court walls.

In Figure 3 of the drawings, the depression 2 are filled with a transparent material 6. The ball illustrated in this Figure is more suited for use as a golf ball and the recesses may comprise some or all of the dimples normally found in the surface of such balls. Thus, the pieces of reflective material may be bonded directly to the floors of these dimples and then covered with a transparent flexible material.

It is to be understood that whilst the invention as it has been described with specific reference to squash and golf balls, the invention has wide application to a variety of balls and like projectiles used in games and sports. Such games and sports include cricket, tennis, baseball, badminton, ice hockey and the like.

As mentioned previously, the main purpose of the reflective members set in the surface of a ball or like projectile is to improve visibility when filming or televising of the sport in question. In use, the likely flight path of the ball or projectile is illuminated with one or more beams of light from a source which is located sufficiently adjacent to the camera used for filming or televising to ensure that the light reflected by the reflective members travels towards the camera. Where the reflective surfaces of the members 4 are retroreflective, the reflected light travels along a path which is coincident with or nearly coincident with the light rays directed towards the reflective members.

It is to be understood that the foregoing is merely descriptive of two specific embodiments of the invention and that various modifications maybe made to the embodiments described without departing from the true scope of the invention. Thus, the reflective surfaces may comprise flexible coatings applied directly to the floor of each depression or recess. Further, such a coating may be applied to the internal periphery of a ball or projectile manufactured from a transparent material.

Claims

1. A resilient ball or like projectile for use in sports and games which includes at least one flexible visible reflective surface positioned below the external periphery of the ball or like projectile or within a depression or recess formed in such periphery.

2. A ball or like projectile as claimed in claim 1 in which the or each flexible reflective surface is located within a depression or recess formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

3. A ball or like projectile as claimed in claim 2 in which the or each reflective surface comprises a flexible member bonded to the floor of a depression or recess formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

4. A ball or like projectile as claimed in claim 3 wherein the depth of the or each depression or recess is such that, as the ball is struck, the walls of the depression or recess deform at least partially to cover the reflective member to protect the same.

5. A ball or like projectile as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 wherein each reflective member is dimensioned such that when it is bonded to the floor of a depression or recess its periphery is spaced from the side walls of the depression or recess.

6. A ball or like projectile as claimed in claim 2 wherein the or each reflective surface comprises a coating applied to the floor of one or more depressions or recesses formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

7. A ball or like projectile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims where reflective surfaces are distributed randomly about the ball or projectile periphery.

8. A ball or like projectile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each reflective surface is retroreflective.

9. A ball or like projectile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each depression or recess is filled with a transparent material.

10. A ball or like projectile as claimed in claim 1 wherein a single reflective or retroreflective surface is applied to the internal periphery of a hollow ball or projectile manufactured from a transparent material.

11. A method of manufacturing balls or like projectiles for use in sports and games in which flexible reflective surfaces are applied to the floor of each of a plurality of depressions or recesses formed in the external periphery of the ball or projectile.

12. A method of filming or televising a game in which a ball or projectile as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 is employed, which method comprises illuminating the path travelled by the ball or like projectile and directing a camera towards such illuminated path to receive images of the light reflected from the reflective members set in the surface of the ball or projectile.

13. A ball or like projectile substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.