A ball is disclosed formed with a spherical core of polyurethane foam covered with a thin winding of cotton yarn and with a hand stitched outer cover; the ball is formed in a mold by providing a polymeric isocyanate with a mixture of water and a polyol crosslinking catalyst with the ratio between the isocyanate and the mixture of the catalyst and the water being variable to provide a ball of desired resilience and density so that the ball formed by the method can duplicate such characteristics as found in conventional baseballs and softballs.
A croquet ball, comprising: a one-piece substantially spherical body which is externally knurled and entirely composed of cold-molded polyurethane including a widely distributed filler which provides said body with a weight of substantially 16 ounces, an external diameter of substantially 3.625 inches and a bounce, when dropped from a height of 60 inches onto a steel plate one inch thick and set rigidly in concrete, when the ambient temperature is 20.degree. C., of: about 43 inches, when the ball is at 20.degree. C., about 43 inches when the ball is at 0.degree. C., and about 35 inches when the ball is a 100.degree. C.
Baseballs and softballs are comprised of a spherical core and a two-piece cover. The core consists essentially of a single spherical mass of partially blown ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer having 12 percent to 30 percent by weight of polymerized vinyl acetate units therein. Foam is in the center of the core which gradually reduces in cell size radially outwardly to a skin having a density substantially equal to the density of said copolymer.
4256304 - Baseball - Owned by Athletic Training Equipment Company (Clackamas, OR)
A baseball suitable for continuous use in a pitching machine comprises a molded, resilient polyurethane foam sphere having a type A-2 shore durometer hardness of less than about eighty to eighty-five. The sphere has a smooth polyurethane surface skin, with the surface of the sphere being provided with a regular pattern comprising a multiplicity of cup-like or hemispherical depressions substantially covering the surface. The baseball has the advantage of durability as well as the advantage of being formed economically in one operation from a homogeneous composition. The cup-like depressions enable the ball to travel greater distances than would be expected for the resilient material, and enhance the accuracy with which the ball can be pitched, bringing the ball substantially within the range of initial performance of a conventional or regulation baseball. The ball is pitched in a pitching machine providing backspin and the depressions appear to cause turbulent airflow enhancing lift and drag factors on the ball as well as stabilizing its flight path. The ball resilience further enhances the ease with which it is manufactured since the ball can be easily removed from a simple mold despite the presence of mold projections used to form the aforementioned depressions.
A baseball includes a spherical core of foamable material and three layers of foamable material engaged on the spherical core and a cover layer engaged on the three layers. The intermediate layer of the three layers includes a hardness and a density greater than that of the other two layers and less than that of the spherical core, for allowing the other two layers to form a cushioning device and for preventing the players from being hurt by the baseball.
A game ball is comprised of a single spherical core and a cover. The core is comprised of a single spherical mass of partially blown copolymer of ethylene and at least one unsaturated monocarboxylic acid having from 3 to 8 carbon atoms. The copolymer contains up to 30 percent by weight of the acid copolymerized therein with foam at the center of the core and having a skin with the density substantially equal to the density of the copolymer. The game balls are baseballs and softballs.
