US727200A - Playing-ball. - Google Patents

Description

' No, 727,200. a I PATBNTED MAY 5, 1903.

F. H, RIGHARDSL;

PLAYING BALL.

APPLICATION mum oo'r.1. 1902.

no MODEL.

esses I I 1Q 'ni'ar:

UNITED STATES? Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFrcE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEMPSI'IALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PLAYING-B LL.

srnorrrcarrron forming ar of Letters Patent rte-727,200, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed October 1, 1902.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of 1 Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Balls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention, relating to playing-balls, and especially to those adapted for the purposes of golf, has for its object to provide a structure whereby increased efficiency is obtained at a reduced cost of manufacture.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 illustrates a ball partially broken away to show its components. Fig. 2 shows a strip of stock from which a spring is shaped or bowed, and Fig. 3 illustrates the method of building up the interior of the ball.

In the various figures like parts are designated by similar characters of reference.

The interior of the ball, as shown, preferably comprises a hard center piece A, which may be formed either of a solid body of pla'stic or fibrous material or it may compriseafl metal or steel shell. This central body A is inclosed in a shell of suitable material 13- such, for instance, as celluloid. This part of the ball may be formed, if desired, in the manner illustrated in the patent granted to me October 14, 1902, No. 711,228. Upon the structure thus formed I build up a layer C of high resilience, preferably, as shown, by winding on the center piece A strips Z, Fig. 3, of either sulfur-cured rubber or acid-cured dental dam, the latter being preferred principally because it is acid-cured and practically free from foreign mixture, which would impair its elasticity, and also because it can be drawn taut without liability to rupture and is not liable to become out. I preferably employ this material from one-half to three- "ball under high compression.

- from one-fourth to one-half of an inch, as at Serial no. 125,523. (No model.)

.2, Fig. 3, and its thinness in due proportion. A further advantage of the dental dam is its lightness, whereby the weight of other'parts tune ball may be to some extent compen- 5o sated. Simultaneously with winding the rubber strips I insert in miscellaneous directions short lengths of tern pered-steel wire,which are preferably flat or oblong in cross-section, as illustrated, and which are bent or curved to form springs D, and these are placed flatwise upon the ball during the winding operation. These springs D are formed unto varioussized hemispherioally-curved members and are of such sizes as to permit them to be sprung onto the spherical structure F at each winding, (see Fig. 3,) thereby makinga tension in the wire, whereby each member tends constantly to recover its normal condition, so that every member is in a state of high initial tension. Moreover, since the rubber is wound-upon the ball under great tension it holds the inclosed central portion of the The structure hence comprises a sphere which is bound 7o tightly within windings of highly-tensioned sheet-rubber holding under tension a plurality of individual springs, said springs being highlytensioned by the bending, so that a ball of phenomenal energy is produced. The relative'arrangement shown and described is not essential in all cases, so long as windings of rubber alternate with the insertion of springs, as'variations in windings of wire and rubber maybe resorted to. It will be seen that thew'ire springs are of diiferent diameters and inserted in difierent directions and also that each spring is bound tightly by the highly tensioned rubber, whereby the spring action is considerably modified, the same being rendered far more resisting than would be the caseif. the spring were not restrained by the rubber. The effect of overwinding a spring in this manner is to render it extremely stiff, so that a light 0 blow from a club upon a ball fails to flex the wire to such an extent as to render the ball unduly active. The outer layer of windings of rubber confining a series of distorted springs holds all within a powerful grip, so that the tendency upon the part of all of the members is to preserve a spherical form. When the ball is given a hard blow with a club, the springs directly affected by the club are flexed, while the ball as a whole is changed from its spherical form, this change beinginstantly resisted by the springy spherical core F, which is confined under great tension by the windings of rubber and said springs, so that the ball has phenomenal flying power. It will also be seen that each spring is packed or embedded within the rubber, so as to form a perfectly-acting resilient member which can Withstand considerable deformation under a blow and recover its form completely and instantly. Upon the filling thus formed I provide a shell 5, of wear resisting material, preferably guttapercha, and preferably holding said filling under a high degree of compression. Since the springs and rubber are very effective in maintaining the spherical form of the filling, the shell, although in a tense condition thereon, is not subjected to undue additional strain by reason of the change of the filling from its normal spherical form under a blow, so that liability of the shell to burst under a heavy blow is minimized. It will also be understood that the layer, which is formed of springs and windings of rubber and which is designated as O, furnishes a peculiar local resiliency under the action of a blow and makes a very effective distribution of the force of the blow throughout a large portion of the ball.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a playing-ball, the combination with a core, of windings thereon of tensioned rubber alternating with bowed individual members of resilient material, and a cover upon said windings. I 2. A playing-ball comprising a sphere and a cover thereon; said sphere consisting at least partially of windings of tensioned rubber mixed promiscuously with bowed individual members of resilient material.

3. A playing-ball comprising a sphere of hard material, windings thereon of tensioned rubber mixed with wire springs, and a cover.

4:. A playing-ball comprising a sphere and a cover; said sphere comprising layers of soft rubber and wire springs inserted therebetween.

5. A playing-ball comprising a metallic sphere, windings thereon of tensioned rubber, bowed individual springs promiscuously inserted therebetween, and a cover.

6. A playing-ball comprising a core, windin gs thereon of tensioned rubber,steel springs held in confinement thereby, and a cover.

'7. A playing-ball comprising a sphere and a cover thereon, said sphere consisting at least partially of windings of rubber in which are inserted a number of bowed individual springs.

8. A playing-ball comprising a sphere of steel, windings thereon of tensioned rubber mixed with tempered springs, and a hard cover formed of plastic material.

9. A playing ball comprising a hollow sphere of steel, a plastic shell thereon, a soft layer inclosing said shell and throughout which are promiscuously embedded a plurality of tempered springs in a tense condition, and a cover formed of plastic material and holding said sphere under compression.

10. A playing-ball at least a portion whereof consists of a strip of tensioned rubber wound in miscellaneous directions, and within which windings are a series of bowed individual springs.

11. A playing-ball at least a portion whereof consists of a plurality of tempered-steel springs held in a tense condition by windings of tensioned approximately pure rubber strips, said springs and said strips being applied in miscellaneous directions.

12. A playing-ball at least a portion whereof consists of tempered-steel springs held in a tense condition by windings of tensioned approximately pure rubber strips; said wire and said strips being applied in miscellaneous directions; and a hard sphere within said windings.

13. A playing-ball at least a portion whereof consists of tempered-steel springs held in a tense condition by windings of tensioned approximately pure rubber strips; said wire and said strips being applied in miscellaneous directions; and a steel shell within said windings.

14. A playing-ball at least a portion whereof consists of tempered-steel springs held in a tense condition by windings of tensioned approximately pure rubber strips; said wire and said strips beingapplied in miscellaneous directions; a metal sphere within said windings; and a shell of gutta-percha holding said windings under compression.

15. A playing-ball at least a portion where of consists of a spherical body of resilient material, a layer of celluloid thereon and a soft elastic layer, throughout which are interspersed springs of tempered wire.

16. A playing ball comprising acenter piece, a layer thereon, and a thick spherical body of soft rubber, throughout which are interspersed tempered springs.

17. A playing ball comprising a center piece, a celluloid shell thereon, and a thick spherical body of tense soft rubber, throughout which are interspersed tempered-steel springs in a tense condition; said body being held under compression by a gutta-percha cover.

18. A playing-ball whereof at least a portion consists of flat tempered springs interof plastic material thereon, a hard shell and spersed with windings of tensioned-rubber a soft springy layer interspersed with bowed :0 strips. individual springs.

19. A playing-ball having a hard shell and 5 a core, and a layer between said shell and FRANCIS RICHARDS core; said layer consisting of a plurality of Witnesses: tempered springs mingling with rubber. F. W. BARNACLO,

20. A playing-ball having a core, a layerl JOHN O. SEIFERT.

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