Football with segmented cover panels

摘要

A prolate spheroidal inflatable game ball in the form of a football is provided with a segmented panel having stripes formed by attaching stripe pieces to adjacent segments. In one embodiment, the stripe pieces have beveled edges and the edges of adjacent segments have corresponding beveled edges. The component pieces of the panel can be joined to the stripe pieces using stitching to securely fasten the components of the segmented panel together. A segmented panel of this construction can allow different materials having different characteristics to be used for various portions of the segmented panel.

主权项

1. A prolate spheroidal inflatable game ball comprising:
a cover, the cover comprising a plurality of panels; and an inflatable bladder disposed inside the cover; wherein at least one panel of the plurality of panels includes a stripe piece disposed between an end cone segment and a central body segment along a longitudinal axis; the stripe piece comprising multiple layers, including a padding layer; wherein edges of the stripe piece are joined to an edge of the end cone segment and an edge of the central body segment; wherein the end cone segment and the central body segment of the at least one panel are separate components joined together; wherein the edges of the stripe piece are beveled, forming a first beveled edge and a second beveled edge; wherein the edge of the end cone segment is beveled forming a third beveled edge and the edge of the central body segment is beveled forming a fourth beveled edge; wherein the first beveled edge of the stripe piece corresponds to the third beveled edge of the end cone segment and the second beveled edge of the stripe piece corresponds to the fourth beveled edge of the central body segment; wherein the edges of the stripe piece are joined to the edge of the first end cone segment and the edge of the central body segment with stitching; and wherein the stripe piece is joined to the central body segment with stitching having a first stitch line extending through a full thickness of the stripe piece and a second stitch line extending through the fourth beveled edge of the central body segment and through the second beveled edge of the stripe piece.