US20160107047A1

US20160107047A1 - Amusement ball

Info

Publication number: US20160107047A1
Application number: US14/880,223
Authority: US
Inventors: Dan Canobbio
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-10-18
Filing date: 2015-10-10
Publication date: 2016-04-21

Abstract

Disclosed is the amusement ball for recreational purposes. The amusement ball includes a hollow spherical lattice shell of polyurethane having plurality of open spaces and an inflatable balloon inserted in the hollow spherical lattice shell through the open spaces and is further having a closeable opening. The inflatable balloon on inflation bulges out of the open spaces of the hollow spherical lattice shell. The inflatable balloon is inflated through the closeable opening. Further, the hollow spherical lattice shell maximizes the bounce potential of the inflatable balloon.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present invention claims priority of the provisional patent application No. 62/065,615 filed on Oct. 18, 2014; all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an amusement ball and more particularly relates to an amusement ball device having a hollow spherical lattice shell to maximize the bounce of the inflated balloon.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of balloons as a “favor” or at parties, celebrations, and other events is now extremely well known. Millions of balloons are so used each year especially among children. Generally, these balloons do not bounce much due to less weight and non-spherical shape.
Further, lack of pressure in the circumference of balloons causes less bounce. Therefore, there is a need of an amusement ball device that includes a shell for the balloon to maximize the bounce effect. Further, the balloon should be easily inflated by the mouth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, an amusement ball device for maximizing bounce potential when hitting on a surface is provided.
An object of the present invention is to provide an amusement ball including a hollow spherical lattice shell of polyurethane having plurality of open spaces and an inflatable balloon inserted through the open spaces of the hollow spherical lattice shell having a closeable opening. The inflatable balloon on inflation bulges out of the open spaces of the hollow spherical lattice shell. The inflatable balloon is inflated through the closeable opening. Further, the hollow spherical lattice shell maximizes the bounce potential of the inflatable balloon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the amusement ball wherein the hollow spherical lattice shell further including plurality of horizontal bars, plurality of diagonal bars, wherein at least one of the diagonal bar attached to at least one of the plurality of horizontal bars; and plurality of vertical bars, wherein at least one of the vertical bar attached to at least one of the plurality of horizontal bars; and at least one of the diagonal bars to create open spaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the amusement ball wherein the closeable opening of the inflatable ball is knotted or may be closed by a valve. Further, each of the plurality of horizontal bars, vertical bars 204, and diagonal bars 206 have curved inside perimeter surfaces, wherein the curved inside perimeter surface of each of the plurality of horizontal bars, the vertical bars, and the diagonal bars collectively forms a hollow spherical lattice shell.
These and other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the amusement ball in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the hollow spherical lattice shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the inflatable balloon in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this technology is illustrated and described in a preferred embodiment multi-purpose tool operated by a user for storing, opening, clamping, cutting and holding of articles to a user may be produced in many different configurations, forms and materials. There is depicted in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, as a preferred embodiment of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and the associated functional specifications for its construction and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. Those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations within the scope of the technology described herein.
Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the invention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever feasible and convenient, the same reference numerals are used in the figures and the description to refer to the same or like parts. The drawings are in a simplified form and not to precise scale. For purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as top, bottom, left, right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front may be used with respect to the accompanying drawings.
These and similar directional terms should not be strictly construed to limit the scope of the invention. In addition, words such as attached, affixed, coupled, connected and similar terms with their inflectional morphemes are used interchangeably, unless the difference is noted or made otherwise clear from the context. These words and expressions do not necessarily signify direct connections, but include connections through mediate components and devices.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the amusement ball 100 for maximizing bounce potential when hitting on a surface in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The amusement ball 100 includes a hollow spherical lattice shell 102 of polyurethane having plurality of open spaces, and an inflatable balloon 104 inserted in the hollow spherical lattice shell 102 through the hollow spaces. The inflatable balloon includes a closeable opening 106.
The inflatable balloon 104 on inflation bulges out of the open spaces of the hollow spherical lattice shell 102. The inflatable balloon is inflated through the closeable opening 106. The hollow spherical lattice shell 102 maximizes the bounce potential of the inflatable balloon 104 on hitting a surface. In a preferred embodiment, the inflatable balloon should be inflated to a level either equal with the circumference of the hollow spherical lattice shell 102 or bulging beyond the hollow spherical lattice shell 102.
Example of surfaces include but not limited to a wall, ground, ceiling, table, chair, bed, human, animal, any article, any living and non-living goods etc. The hollow spherical lattice shell 102 forces the inflatable balloon 104 to take spherical shape. Further, the hollow spherical lattice shell 102 increases the weight of the inflatable balloon 104 and thus maximizes the bounce potential of the inflatable balloon 104.
The hollow spherical lattice shell 102 and the open spaces are explained in detailed in conjunction with FIG. 2 of the present invention. Further, the inflatable balloon 104 and the closeable opening 106 is explained in detail in conjunction with FIG. 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the hollow spherical lattice shell 102 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The hollow spherical lattice shell 102 further includes a plurality of horizontal bars such as 202 a and 202 b, plurality of diagonal bars such as 204 a and 204 b, and plurality of vertical bars such as 206 a and 206 b.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the horizontal bar 202 a is attached to diagonal bar 206 a and the vertical bar 204 a is attached to the horizontal bar 202 a. Further, horizontal bar 202 b is attached to the vertical bar 204 b and diagonal bar 206 b is attached to the vertical bar 204 b. The attachment results in creation of open spaces such as 208 a and 208 b.
The plurality of horizontal bars 202, each of the plurality of vertical bars 204, each of the plurality of diagonal bars 206 have curved inside perimeter surfaces mating with one another to form a spherical structure. The curved inside perimeter surface of the plurality of horizontal bars 202, each of the plurality of vertical bars 204, each of the plurality of diagonal bars 206 collectively forms the hollow spherical lattice shell 102.
Example of the material used for creating the hollow spherical lattice shell 102 includes but not limited to polyurethane, injection plastic such as PVC and polypropylene etc. It would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various combinations of horizontal bar, vertical bar and diagonal bar may be envisioned to create open spaces without deviating from the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the inflated balloon 104 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The inflated balloon 104 is inflated or deflated from the closeable opening 106. The closeable opening 106 is closed either by a knot, valve or thread. It would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the closeable opening 106 may be closed in different ways without deviating from the scope of the present invention.
In a preferred embodiment the material used for creating the inflatable balloon 104 is latex. However, it would readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various materials may also be used to create inflatable balloon 104 without deviating from the scope of the present invention.
The present invention offer various advantages such as maximizing the bounce of a balloon. The amusement ball may be used indoors as the product is much lighter than other balls. Further, ability to bounce may be enjoyed over and over again by adding new balloon.
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the above description. It is apparent from the foregoing that a new and improved amusement ball has been provided. The invention is quite simple and can be used on different surfaces. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is to be limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims

1. An amusement ball device for maximizing bounce potential when hitting on a surface comprising:

a hollow spherical lattice shell of polyurethane having plurality of open spaces; and

an inflatable balloon inserted in the hollow spherical lattice shell through the open spaces, wherein the inflatable balloon having a closeable opening, further wherein the inflatable balloon on inflation bulges out of the open spaces of the hollow spherical lattice shell, wherein the inflatable balloon is inflated through the closeable opening;

wherein the hollow spherical lattice shell maximizes the bounce potential of the inflatable balloon.

2. The hollow spherical lattice shell according to claim 1 further comprising:

plurality of horizontal bars;

plurality of diagonal bars, wherein at least one of the diagonal bar attached to at least one of the plurality of horizontal bars; and

plurality of vertical bars, wherein at least one of the vertical bars attached to at least one of the plurality of horizontal bars; and at least one of the diagonal bars to create open spaces,

wherein each of the plurality of horizontal bars, each of the plurality of vertical bars, each of the plurality of diagonal bars have curved inside perimeter surfaces mating to form a spherical structure.

3. The amusement ball according to claim 1, wherein the closeable opening of the inflatable ball is knotted.

4. The amusement ball according to claim 1, wherein the closeable opening of the inflatable is closed by a valve.