The present invention comprises a sports game ball tracking system and method. The invention includes at least one computer chip imbedded in a game ball. The game balls may be identified with a bar code system or a numbering system. The game ball computer chip may be configured to provide the coordinates of the game ball to a system computer using a global positioning system. The system computer may optionally be linked to a satellite system. The computer chip or chips and the system computer may be coupled to the game clock thereby allowing the position of the game ball to be known at each point in time on the game clock. The system of the present invention may be integrated with an American football down and distance stake and clip replacing the antiquated system of first down measurement of the prior art.

A system for measuring and displaying the pressure of conventional American-style footballs in real time to game officials and spectators continuously. In one preferred embodiment, at least one pressure transducer device is disposed inside the football. The pressure transducer is an electrical oscillator. The frequency of oscillation is a known mathematical function of the bladder pressure. At least one pressure readout device is positioned externally to the football at the outside of the cover-liner. The pressure readout device wirelessly stimulates the pressure transducer device to oscillate. The pressure readout device reads the frequency of oscillation and calculates the value of the pressure. In another preferred embodiment, the value of the football's pressure is measured by physical contact with a Durometer. Both embodiments display the pressure to game officials locally; and transmit the value of the football's pressure to spectators remotely.

A resin composition for a cover or topcoat of golf balls includes: a resin for a cover or topcoat of a golf ball; an ultraviolet (UV) absorber for absorbing UV rays, of which an absorbance spectrum has an absorption peak at a wavelength in a range of 310 nm to 330 nm, has an absorbance in a wavelength range of 300 nm to 350 nm of at least 1.0 AU and has an absorbance at a wavelength of 370 nm of 0.1 to 0.5 AU; and a fluorescent whitening agent for absorbing UV rays and emitting visible rays, of which an absorbance spectrum has an absorption peak at a wavelength in a range of 350 nm to 370 nm, wherein a concentration of the UV absorber ranges from 0.25 to 1.5% by mass with respect to a total mass of the resin composition.

In a golf ball having a core of at least one layer and a cover of at least one layer, at least one core or cover layer contains a butyl rubber ionomer. A method of manufacturing golf balls having a core of at least one layer and a cover of at least one layer includes the steps of preparing a treatment solution of butyl rubber ionomer dissolved in a solvent, applying the treatment solution to at least one layer of the golf ball, and covering the treated layer with, as an outer layer adjoining thereto, a rubber layer, a resin layer or a paint layer. With this golf ball and golf ball manufacturing method, adhesion between the layers can be improved, enabling the durability of the ball to cracking on impact to be increased.

A hand-held compression-tester for golf balls applies a biasing force to the golf-ball, loads it, and then releases the load so that only the biasing force remains. Based on the evolution of a loading curve during these intervals, the compression-tester estimates a compression value.

The present invention is a system for measuring and displaying the pressure of conventional American-style footballs in real time to game officials and spectators continuously. In one preferred embodiment, at least one pressure transducer device is disposed inside the football. The pressure transducer is an electrical oscillator. The frequency of oscillation is a known mathematical function of the bladder pressure. At least one pressure readout device is positioned externally to the football at the outside of the cover-liner. The pressure readout device wirelessly stimulates the pressure transducer device to oscillate. The pressure readout device reads the frequency of oscillation and calculates the value of the pressure. In another preferred embodiment, the value of the football's pressure is measured by physical contact with a Durometer. Both embodiments display the pressure to game officials locally; and transmit the value of the football's pressure to spectators remotely.

A golf ball includes a spherical body and intersection surfaces. The intersection surfaces intersect with a spherical surface centered on the center of the spherical body, and are formed as conductive intersection surfaces having conductivity. The spherical surface is formed to have a smaller diameter than a diameter of the spherical body, and the conductive intersection surface is formed on an outer side in the radial direction of the spherical surface. The intersection surfaces intersect with a spherical surface centered on the center of the spherical body, and are formed as conductive intersection surfaces having conductivity. The conductive intersection surface is formed by both side surfaces of the annular body, and so the conductive intersection surface is formed to be continuous around the entire circumferential length of the spherical surface in the circumferential direction.

Systems and methods for measuring and classifying golf balls and/or components thereof according to concentricity including automated inspection systems that can simultaneously image multiple golf balls (or components thereof) to gather and analyze data on concentricity and, optionally, classify or sort the multiple golf balls (or components thereof) according to the analyzed concentricity data.

A method and system for determining concentricity of a multiple layer golf ball are disclosed herein. One or more images of a golf ball are generated using an X-ray source, a camera or a digital detector, and an image intensifier. An edge detection algorithm is preferably utilized. The method also includes calculating Y,Z center coordinates of the a best fit diameter or ellipse of the inner edge layer and outer edge layer of the multiple layer golf ball.

Methods for determining performance information for an object located within an area include obtaining magnetic field information for the area, measuring first magnetic field data when the object is located at a first position within the area, and determining performance information for the object within the area based on the magnetic field information for the area and the first magnetic field data.